Privacy Act - Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization Annual Report to Parliament - April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024

1.0 Introduction

Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization (CASDO) is pleased to present to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Privacy Act for the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2023, and ending March 31, 2024.

1.1 About the Privacy Act

The purpose of the Act is to protect the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information about them held by a government institution, and to provide individuals with a right of access to that information and the right to request the correction of that information. This report is prepared in accordance with Section 72 of the Privacy Act.

Section 72 of the Act requires that the head of every federal government institution submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Act during the fiscal year. This report outlines CASDO’s accomplishments in carrying out its privacy responsibilities and obligations during the 2023 to 2024 reporting period.

1.2 About Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization

Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization is a departmental corporation under Schedule II and IV of the Financial Administration Act, created following the Royal assent of the Accessible Canada Act June 2019, to contribute to the realization of a Canada without barriers. CASDO is governed by a Board of Directors and a Chief Executive Officer and is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion of Canada. CASDO’s applied title is Accessibility Standards Canada. CASDO is subject to the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act (ATIP).

The purpose of the Accessible Canada Act is to benefit all persons, especially persons with disabilities, through the realization, within the purview of matters coming within the legislative authority of Parliament, of a Canada without barriers, particularly by the identification and removal of barriers, and the prevention of new barriers, in the areas of:

• employment;
• the built environment;
• information and communication technologies;
• communications, other than ICT
• the procurement of goods, services and facilities; 
• the design and delivery of programs and services;
• transportation; and
• areas designated under regulations.

CASDO’s mandate is to contribute to the realization of a Canada without barriers, on or before January 1, 2040, through, among other things:

• the development and revision of accessibility standards;
• the recommendation of accessibility standards to the Minister;
• the provision of information, products and services in relation to the accessibility standards that it has developed or revised;
• the promotion, support and conduct of research into the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers; and
• the dissemination of information, including information about best practices, in relation to the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers.

2.0 Privacy management at CASDO

Being a small organization, CASDO requested to take advantage of Employment and Social Development Canada’s expertise and efficiency in administering the ATIA and PA through a Memorandum of Understanding.

The Corporate Secretariat of ESDC is responsible for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines, systems and procedures to ensure CASDO’s responsibilities under the Act are met, and to enable appropriate processing and proper disclosure of information. ESDC is also responsible for related policies, systems and procedures emanating from the Act.

The activities of ESDC for Privacy are:

• Provide privacy request handling, co-ordinating and processing services in collaboration with CASDO, for records held under CASDO’s control including consultations with Other Government Departments and resolution of investigations received by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner trigged by complaints from requesters. 
• Provide best practices, advice and guidance to CASDO to support the drafting and tabling of an Annual Report on the administration of the PA.
• Provide statistical information for reporting purposes.
• Provide CASDO with advice and guidance on establishing an ATIP Liaison function.
• Act as a liaison with the office of the Privacy Commissioner for CASDO-related matters.
• In collaboration with CASDO, identify potential privacy related issues based on on-going analysis and review of CASDO business and functions.
• Provide advice and guidance to CASDO on privacy related matters, including but not limited to:
  • Privacy impact assessments;
  • Information sharing agreements;
  • Contracting;
  • Publishing of information about institutions and information holdings (formerly known as Info Source)
  • Permissible disclosures
  • Policy analysis, Research, Evaluation (PARE) projects
  • Privacy Notice Statements and consents.
• Provide advice and guidance to CASDO on how to handle security incidents.
• Provide guidance to assist CASDO in their responsibilities under the PA, including provision of training decks, access to online training sessions and privacy management awareness training to CASDO employees.

Under Section 73 of the Privacy Act, institutions within the same ministerial portfolio can work together to process requests. A service agreement is in place between CASDO and ESDC related to access to information during the reporting period.

Additional copies of this report may be obtained from:

Accessibility Standards Canada
320 Saint-Joseph Blvd., Suite 246
Gatineau QC, K1A 0H3

3.0 Access to Information Delegation Order

Section 73 of the Privacy Act empowers the head of the institution to delegate any of the powers, duties or functions assigned to them to employees of the institution.

A signed and dated copy of the Delegation Order can be found in Annex A.

4.0 Summary of Key Data

No data to report.

4.1 Requests Received and Completed Under the Privacy Act

During the 2023-2024 reporting period, CASDO did not receive any new requests pursuant to the Privacy Act. Therefore, there was no impact on the department’s ability to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant to the Privacy Act and no mitigation measures were implemented.

4.2 Exemptions and Exclusions

Canadians have a right of access to their personal information, but the Privacy Act identifies specific exemptions for which the need for confidentiality of certain information is recognized. An exemption is a provision under the Act that authorizes the head of the government institution to not disclose personal information in response to a privacy request.

5.0 Training and Awareness Activities

CASDO is a small-sized department and receives limited requests under the Act each year. Therefore, no formal training has been given to staff.

6.0 Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

CASDO follows the policies, guidelines or procedures of Employment and Social Development Canada.

7.0 Complaints and Investigations

CASDO did not receive any complaints during this reporting period.

8.0 Monitoring Compliance

ESDC use a formal or automated tracking system to record completion time. Should there be a need to request an extension, CASDO’s Chief Executive Officer would be notified.

9.0 Material Privacy Breaches

CASDO follows the policies, guidelines or procedures of Employment and Social Development Canada.

10.0 Privacy Impact Assessments

In 2002, Treasury Board issued a policy that requires federal government institutions subject to the Privacy Act to conduct Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) before establishing new programs, systems or policies or before making any substantial modifications to an existing program, system or policy.

During this reporting period, CASDO did not initiate any Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) and, therefore, no assessments were forwarded to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

11.0 Public Interest Disclosure

Personal information collected by CASDO in the course of its programs and activities is being disclosed only for the purpose for which it was collected in accordance with paragraph 8(2)(a) of the Privacy Act. During 2023 to 2024, CASDO did not disclose personal information for any other purposes as outlined in paragraphs 8(2)(b) through (m) inclusively.

Section 1: Requests Under the Privacy Act

1.1    Number of requests received

		Number of Requests
Received during reporting period		0
Outstanding from previous reporting periods		0
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Outstanding from more than one reporting period
Total		0
Closed during reporting period		0
Carried over to next reporting period		0
Carried over within legislated timeline	0
Carried over beyond legislated timeline	0

1.2    Channels of requests

Source	Number of Requests
Online	0
E-mail	0
Mail	0
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	0

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of informal requests

		Number of Requests
Received during reporting period		0
Outstanding from previous reporting periods		0
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Outstanding from more than one reporting period	0
Total		0
Closed during reporting period		0
Carried over to next reporting period		0

 2.2    Channels of informal requests

Source	Number of Requests
Online	0
E-mail	0
Mail	0
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	0

2.3    Completion time of informal requests

Completion Time
0 to 15 Days	16 to 30 Days	31 to 60 Days	61 to 120 Days	121 to 180 Days	181 to 365 Days	More Than 365 Days	Total
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

2.4    Pages released informally

Less Than 100 Pages Released		100-500 Pages Released		501-1000 Pages Released		1001-5000 Pages Released		More Than 5000 Pages Released
Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 3: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

3.1    Disposition and completion time

Disposition of Requests	Completion Time
	0 to 15 Days	16 to 30 Days	31 to 60 Days	61 to 120 Days	121 to 180 Days	181 to 365 Days	More Than 365 Days	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
No records exist	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

3.2    Exemptions

Section	Number of Requests	Section	Number of Requests	Section	Number of Requests
18(2)	0	22(1)(a)(i)	0	23(a)	0
19(1)(a)	0	22(1)(a)(ii)	0	23(b)	0
19(1)(b)	0	22(1)(a)(iii)	0	24(a)	0
19(1)(c)	0	22(1)(b)	0	24(b)	0
19(1)(d)	0	22(1)(c)	0	25	0
19(1)(e)	0	22(2)	0	26	0
19(1)(f)	0	22.1	0	27	0
20	0	22.2	0	27.1	0
21	0	22.3	0	28	0
		22.4	0

3.3    Exclusions

Section	Number of Requests	Section	Number of Requests	Section	Number of Requests
69(1)(a)	0	70(1)	0	70(1)(d)	0
69(1)(b)	0	70(1)(a)	0	70(1)(e)	0
69.1	0	70(1)(b)	0	70(1)(f)	0
		70(1)(c)	0	70.1	0

3.4    Format of information released

Paper	Electronic				Other
	E-record	Data set	Video	Audio
0	0	0	0	0	0

3.5    Complexity

3.5.1    Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper, e-record and dataset formats

Number of Pages Processed	Number of Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests
0	0	0

3.5.2    Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper, e-record and dataset formats by size of requests

Disposition	Less Than 100 Pages Processed		100-500 Pages Processed		501-1000 Pages Processed		1001-5000 Pages Processed		More Than 5000 Pages Processed
	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

3.5.3    Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

Number of Minutes Processed	Number of Minutes Disclosed	Number of Requests
0	0	0

3.5.4    Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of requests

Disposition	Less than 60 Minutes processed		60-120 Minutes processed		More than 120 Minutes processed
	Number of requests	Minutes Processed	Number of requests	Minutes Processed	Number of requests	Minutes Processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

3.5.5    Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

Number of Minutes Processed	Number of Minutes Disclosed	Number of Requests
0	0	0

3.5.6    Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats by size of requests

Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

3.5.7    Other complexities

Disposition	Consultation Required	Legal Advice Sought	Interwoven Information	Other	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0

3.6    Closed requests

3.6.1    Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

Number of requests closed within legislated timelines	0
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%)	0

3.7    Deemed refusals

3.7.1    Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

Number of requests closed past the legislated timelines	Principal Reason
	Interference with operations / Workload	External Consultation	Internal Consultation	Other
0	0	0	0	0

3.7.2    Request closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

Number of days past legislated timelines	Number of requests past legislated timeline where no extension was taken	Number of requests past legislated timeline where an extension was taken	Total
1 to 15 days	0	0	0
16 to 30 days	0	0	0
31 to 60 days	0	0	0
61 to 120 days	0	0	0
121 to 180 days	0	0	0
181 to 365 days	0	0	0
More than 365 days	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

3.8    Requests for translation

Translation Requests	Accepted	Refused	Total
English to French	0	0	0
French to English	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

Section 4: Disclosures Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Paragraph 8(2)(e)	Paragraph 8(2)(m)	Subsection 8(5)	Total
0	0	0	0

Section 5: Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

Disposition for Correction Requests Received	Number
Notations attached	0
Requests for correction accepted	0
Total	0

Section 6: Extensions

6.1    Reasons for extensions

	15(a)(i) Interference with operations				15 (a)(ii) Consultation			15(b) Translation purposes or conversion
	Further review required to determine exemptions	Large volume of pages	Large volume of requests	Documents are difficult to obtain	Cabinet ConfidenceSection (Section 70)	External	Internal
Number of extensions taken
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

6.2    Length of extensions

	15(a)(i) Interference with operations				15 (a)(ii) Consultation			15(b) Translation purposes or conversion
Length of Extensions	Further review required to determine exemptions	Large volume of pages	Large volume of requests	Documents are difficult to obtain	Cabinet ConfidenceSection (Section 70)	External	Internal
1 to 15 days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30 days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 days or greater								0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 7: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

7.1    Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations

Consultations	Other Government of Canada Institutions	Number of Pages to Review	Other Organizations	Number of Pages to Review
Received during the reporting period	0	0	0	0
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0
Closed during the reporting period	0	0	0	0
Carried over within negotiated timelines	0	0	0	0
Carried over beyond negotiated timelines	0	0	0	0

7.2    Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

Recommendation	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
	0 to 15 Days	16 to 30 Days	31 to 60 Days	61 to 120 Days	121 to 180 Days	181 to 365 Days	More Than 365 Days	Total
Disclose entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclose in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exempt entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exclude entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

7.3    Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations outside the Government of Canada

Recommendation	Number of days required to complete consultation requests
	0 to 15 Days	16 to 30 Days	31 to 60 Days	61 to 120 Days	121 to 180 Days	181 to 365 Days	More Than 365 Days	Total
Disclose entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclose in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exempt entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exclude entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 8: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

8.1    Requests with Legal Services

Number of Days	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed		100-500 Pages Processed		501-1000 Pages Processed		1001-5000 Pages Processed		More than 5000 Pages Processed
	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

8.2    Requests with Privy Council Office

Number of Days	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed		100‒500 Pages Processed		501-1000 Pages Processed		1001-5000 Pages Processed		More than 5000 Pages Processed
	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 9: Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

Section 31	Section 33	Section 35	Court action	Total
0	0	0	0	0

Section 10: Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Personal Information Banks (PIBs)

10.1 Privacy Impact Assessments

Number of PIAs completed	0
Number of PIAs modified	0

10.2 Institution-specific and Central Personal Information Banks

Personal Information Banks	Active	Created	Terminated	Modified
Institution-specific	0	0	0	0
Central	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0

Section 11: Privacy Breaches

11.1 Material Privacy Breaches reported

Number of material privacy breaches reported to TBS	0
Number of material privacy breaches reported to OPC	0

11.2 Non-Material Privacy Breaches

Number of non-material privacy breaches	0

Section 12: Resources Related to the Privacy Act

12.1 Allocated Costs

Expenditures		Amount
Salaries		$0
Overtime		$0
Goods and Services		$0
Professional services contracts	$0
Other	$0
Total		$0

12.2 Human Resources

Resources	Person Years Dedicated to Privacy Activities
Full-time employees	0.000
Part-time and casual employees	0.000
Regional staff	0.000
Consultants and agency personnel	0.000
Students	0.000
Total	0.000
Note: Enter values to three decimal places.