Report on the administration of the Access to Information Act

April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024

INTRODUCTION AND MANDATE

The Invest in Canada Hub (“Invest in Canada”) is a departmental corporation, established in June 2017 under the Invest in Canada Act. It was formally launched in March 2018 with the coming into force of its enabling legislation. Invest in Canada’s mandate, for the purpose of supporting economic prosperity and stimulating innovation in Canada, is to:

(a) promote foreign direct investment in Canada and attract and facilitate that investment; and

(b) coordinate the efforts of the government, the private sector and other stakeholders with respect to foreign direct investment in Canada.

The Access to Information Act (the “Act” or “ATIA”) is a federal statute that provides a right of access to records under the control of certain federal government institutions, such as Invest in Canada, to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, as well as individuals and corporations located in Canada.

Invest in Canada’s financial year is aligned with Treasury Board Secretariat’s (“TBS”) requirement that all government institutions subject to the Act report on an April 1 to March 31 reporting cycle.

Invest in Canada does not have any non-operational (“paper”) subsidiaries during this reporting period.

This report is prepared and tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 94 of the Act.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

During the 2023-2024 reporting period, the privacy and access to information functions were performed by the organization’s corporate services. The corporate services team assumes the roles of the organization’s Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office, including intake officer, ATIP officer and ATIP coordinator. The team is responsible for receiving, processing and approving the requests and responses. Invest in Canada’s corporate services also fulfill the organization’s ATIA responsibilities under Part 2 Proactive Publication, with the proactive publication requirements carried out by various members of the team including finance and procurement. 

Invest in Canada’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the head of the institution responsible for Privacy and Access to Information. During the reporting period, Invest in Canada was not party to any service agreements under section 96 of the Access to Information Act.

DELEGATION ORDER

The CEO is designated as the head of the department for the purposes of the Act.

Pursuant to section 95(1) of the Act, the CEO’s authority has been delegated to enable the Corporation to meet its legislated requirements. The CEO delegated most of their powers and duties to the Chief Operating Officer.

A copy of the delegation order is appended in Annex A.

PERFORMANCE 2023-2024

In 2023-24, Invest in Canada received ten (10) requests related to access to information. The organization responded to 10 consultation requests from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations. There were no active requests that were outstanding from previous reporting periods and no active complaints that were outstanding from previous reporting periods. Invest in Canada responded to 100% of requests received within legislated timelines, with 6 requests completed within 16 to 30 days and 4 requests completed within 31 to 60 days. There were 5 requests (50%) for which records were all disclosed, 3 requests (30%) for which records were disclosed in part and 2 requests (20%) for which no records existed. Extensions were sought for 4 requests where consultation and volume of pages were considered. The completed Access to Information Statistical Report is included in Annex B.

TRAINING AND AWARENESS

During the reporting period, Invest in Canada continued to promote awareness of the department’s obligations under the Act through a variety of training approaches provided in both official languages. In addition to the implementation of policies and guidance to support employees’ understanding of responsibilities under the Access to Information Act, Invest in Canada made the online training on Access to Information and Privacy through the Canada School of Public Service mandatory for all employees. Invest in Canada will continue to assess employees’ learning needs and provide online self-directed or instructor-led training to employees as required. 

POLICIES, GUIDELINES, AND PROCEDURES

Invest in Canada developed and implemented its internal Policy on Information Management, which includes guidance on Access to Information and Protection of Privacy, in September 2019 and continues to implement and raise awareness among employees. The Policy was reviewed, updated and approved in 2023-24. 

PROACTIVE PUBLICATION UNDER PART 2 OF THE ATIA

Invest in Canada is a government institution, listed in Schedule II of the Financial Administration Act, for the purposes of Part 2 of the ATIA. Government institutions are subject to sections 82 to 88 of the ATIA and as such are required to proactively disclose the following: travel expenses, hospitality expenses, reports tabled in Parliament pursuant to a statutory requirement, reclassification of positions, contracts over $10,000, grants and contributions over $25,000, and briefing materials. Invest in Canada published proactive publications on the Open Government website. The organization published 100% of the proactive publications due within the legislated timelines.

INITIATIVES AND PROJECTS TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Invest in Canada continued use the centralized ATIP Online system for requests from the public to effectively manage information requests using the online system. 

SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES AND ACTIONS TAKEN ON COMPLAINTS OR AUDITS

There were no complaints received by Invest in Canada and no investigations of complaints were conducted by the Office of the Information Commissioner.

MONITORING COMPLIANCE

Invest in Canada received no requests under the Act during the reporting period.

ANNEX A: DELEGATION ORDER

Delegation Order

The Chief Executive Officer of The Invest In Canada Hub, pursuant to section 95(1) of the Access to Information Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons acting in those positions, to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Chief Executive Officer as the head of a government institution, under the provisions of the Act and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Dated, at the City of Ottawa, this 1^st day of August, 2023

Laurel Broten
Chief Executive Officer

ANNEX B: 2023-24 STATISTICAL REPORT

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

Section 2: Informal Requests 

 

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on Declining to Act on Requests

 

Section 4: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

* I.A.:  International Affairs       Def.:  Defence of Canada       S.A.:  Subversive Activities 

4.5 Complexity

4.6 Closed requests

4.7 Deemed refusals

Section 5: Extensions

Section 6: Fees

Section 7: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

Section 8: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

Section 9: Investigations and Reports of finding

 

Section 10: Court Action

Section 11: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

Note: Enter values to three decimal places.