Annual Report on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2024-2025

Introduction

The Access to Information Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. A-1, the Act) was proclaimed into force on July 1, 1983. The Act was later amended by Bill C-58 which received royal assent on June 21, 2019. The purpose of the Act is to enhance the accountability and transparency of Federal Institutions in order to promote an open and democratic society and to enable public debate on the conduct of those institutions. Part 1 of the Act extends the present law of Canada to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution in accordance with the principles that government information should be available to the public, that necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific and that decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government. Part 2 of the Act sets out requirements for the proactive publication of information.

Section 94 of the Act requires each head of a federal institution to submit a report to Parliament on the administration of the Act within their institution during the fiscal year. We are pleased to provide the following Annual Report to Parliament on the administration of the Access to Information Act in accordance with section 94. It provides an overview on the activities of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) during the reporting period of April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025.

The CSA is not reporting on behalf of wholly owned subsidiaries or non-operational institutions.

Organizational Structure

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office is a member of the Information Management and Information Technologies Directorate (IM-IT). The IM-IT Directorate is led by the Chief Information Officer who reports to the Vice-President Corporate Strategy, Innovation and Chief Financial Officer. The Access to Information and Open Government Coordinator is overseen by the Director of Cybersecurity and Information Management.

The ATIP Office is the central coordinating office for all requests received by the CSA under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. It provides advice to senior management on the implementation of statutes and prepares reports to Parliament, the Treasury Board Secretariat and senior management. The ATIP Office also represents the CSA in complaints and investigations conducted by the Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and in any Federal Court application arising from ATIP matters.

The main functions of the CSA ATIP Office are ATIP Operations and Privacy. Analysts assigned to ATIP Operations coordinate and process the CSA's ATIP requests. These analysts are responsible for coordinating with sectors and performing a "line-by-line" review of records. Conversely, the analyst assigned to Privacy provides privacy recommendations and expertise within the CSA. The analyst leads the horizontal implementation of departmental privacy policies, conducts risk analyses including privacy impact assessments and privacy protocols for non-administrative purposes, as well as the prevention and management of privacy breaches.

As of March 31, 2025, the ATIP Office was comprised of 4 full-time employees which include: 1 ATIP coordinator, 2 senior officers and 1 junior officer.

Delegation Order

Under the Act, the head of the CSA is the Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. Decision-making responsibility for the application of the various provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act have been formally established and are outlined in the departmental Delegation of Authority Instrument found in the Annex of this report.

The Delegation Order in effect during the 2024-2025 reporting period was approved in May 2021. The instrument identified that powers are delegated to the Chief Information Officer and the Access to Information and Open Government Coordinator.

Performance under Part 1 of the Access to Information Act, 2024-2025

Between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025, the CSA completed 25 requests, 159 informal requests and 11 consultation requests pursuant to the Access to Information Act in 2024-2025. The CSA completed all 25 requests within the legislative time limits outlined in the Act which represents a 100% compliance response rate.

Training and Awareness

In addition to managing requests the ATIP Office provides guidance and advice on complying with the Act. This guidance is presented to all CSA employees but also to targeted professional groups such as: Human Resources, Information Technology, Contracting and Procurement, etc. This ensures knowledge of common ATIP principles but is also tailored to the mandate of different CSA sectors.

This year the CSA benefited from the services of a consultant to deliver privacy awareness training throughout the Agency. More than 301 employees participated in 4 French and 4 English courses which covered the following topics:

• ATIP "by design" creating records and information that respect ATIP principles
• Privacy "Audit" A guide to assessing privacy compliance
• Privacy Breaches
• Privacy Protection 101
• Privacy considerations during the purchase of software

The purpose of these training sessions was to raise awareness concerning the role of employees and their responsibilities as they relate to the handing of personal information and the processing of privacy and access requests.

Information sessions are also available on the general processing of requests at the CSA. This training session covers an overview of procedures and responsibilities during the processing of a request. In 2024-2025, 1 session was delivered to approximatively 10 individuals.

Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

The CSA's policies, guidelines and procedures for the administration of the Access to Information Act (including section 67.1) are posted on an internal webpage.

In 2024–2025, the ATIP Office continued to develop several guidance documents on the application of the Act. These documents include guidance on the recordings of meetings and improvements to internal training presentations.

The CSA ATIP Office also participated in TBS inter-departmental working groups to remain up to date on changes to policies, guidelines and directives. The ATIP Office continues to develop internal guidance documents, internal procedures and tools to ensure consistency with best practices in the community.

To meet proactive publication requirements under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act, the CSA uses both manual processes and automated systems to comply with mandatory deadlines. Disclosures such as completed ATIA requests, briefing note titles, and travel and hospitality are completed manually and uploaded to the TBS Open Government Portal. In contrast, disclosures of contracts over $25,000 and Grants and Contributions are automated through the Unitas system and directly uploaded to the TBS Open Government Portal.

Initiatives and Projects to Improve Access to Information

The CSA continues to use the ATIP Online Request Service platform managed by the Treasury Board Secretariat to receive requests under the Act.

The ATIP Office currently uses an access to information request management tool which was implemented in 2019-2020. After obtaining this tool, the ATIP Office was able to benefit from its functions which facilitated the production of reports and follow-up of access to information requests. Through TBS procurement, the ATIP Office is preparing for a new system to be implemented in 2025-2026. This new system will allow the ATIP Office to implement technological upgrades and innovations that will improve services (for example, automation of administrative tasks). The ATIP Office is currently undergoing a data migration exercise before this new system is fully implemented.

To strengthen transparency and advance public access to government information, the Open Government team developed the Open Government Roadmap (2024–2027), which outlines strategic actions to reinforce the CSA's commitment to open-by-default principles. As part of this roadmap, several documents were proactively published on the TBS Open Government Portal without the need for a formal ATIA request.

Notable publications include the Science Readiness Levels (SRL) Standard (link) and Space Weather Socioeconomic Impact Study on Canadian Infrastructure (link). These releases demonstrate the CSA's commitment to Open Government principles and increasing transparency through the sharing of information.

The ATIP Office is also a member of the Access to Information and Privacy Communities Development Office (APCDO) since its inception in 2022-2023. The APCDO is an initiative led by the TBS with membership open to ATIP offices across the federal public service. The goal of the APCDO is to enhance the capacity of ATIP offices to provide Canadians with access to government information in a timely manner by attracting new talent to ATIP offices and providing ATIP professionals with centralized training and professional development programs. In 2024-2025, employees of the CSA's ATIP Office benefited from attending several APCDO training sessions tailored to the community thereby enhancing knowledge and skills.

Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints

No complaints were received by the CSA in 2024-2025. Additionally, no applications or appeals were filed with the Federal Court or Federal Court of Appeal during the reporting period.

Proactive Publication under Part 2 of the ATIA

The ATIP Office collaborates with departmental officials to fulfill the proactive publication legislative requirements found in Part 2 of the Access to Information Act. Sections 74 to 78 and 82 to 88 of Part 2 of the Act, stipulate that government entities that support a minister and deputy head, are required to publish proactively travel expenses, hospitality expenses, reports tabled in parliament, reclassification of positions, contracts, grants and contributions, briefing materials, and expense reports.

The responsibility for proactive disclosure is shared with the following sectors: Open Government Office, Correspondence, Finance, Human Resources and Policy. The ATIP Office works in collaboration with these sectors to ensure compliance with the Act; as well as ensuring accuracy and completeness of published information.

The Open Government Office oversees the responsibility for proactively publishing briefing materials for the deputy head appearance at a committee of Parliament, monthly briefing note titles, question period notes and reports tabled in Parliament. The ATIP Office and the Open Government Office also collaborate with program leads, senior management and the Correspondence team to review and publish summaries of completed access to information requests.

In the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the CSA met all proactive publication requirements at a compliance rate of 100%. Additionally, in June 2024, the Open Government Office (in collaboration with the ATIP Office) undertook a thorough compliance review of proactive publication of contracts over $10,000. This comprehensive review resulted in the verification and increased accuracy of contracts being proactively disclosed.

The Policy sector is responsible for preparing transition materials for each new Deputy Minister. In the reporting period of 2024-2025 there were no new incoming deputy heads.

The proactive publishing requirements of ministerial information in accordance with sections 74(a), 74(b), 74(c), 74(d), 75, 76 and 77 do not apply to the CSA. Instead, these requirements are published by the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED).

The following table lists the proactive publication requirements for the CSA pursuant to Part 2 of the Access to Information Act:

Monitoring Compliance

The CSA ATIP Office engages regularly with departmental official at various levels to ensure requests are processed in a timely and efficient manner. Meetings are held regularly with CSA sectors and analysts to ensure that timelines are respected. For all requests, legislative deadlines are tracked through an electronic ATIP request processing system and deadlines are followed-up on a regular basis. The ATIP Office produces weekly reports to monitor performance within the CSA. The weekly reports are sent to the Vice-Presidents, Chief Information Officer, Communications, ISED and other groups who may have interest in the subject matter of the request.

In delivering its mandate, the CSA ATIP Office is involved in many horizontal initiatives and recommendations. The ATIP Office works collaboratively with CSA sectors to ensure that privacy requirements are reflected in contracts, MOUs, and information sharing agreements. The ATIP Office is also focused on the development of tools, guides, and policies to raise awareness among CSA sectors, maintain compliance and report on access and privacy processes and procedures.

To monitor the timeliness, accuracy, and completeness of proactive disclosures under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act, the CSA has implemented a structured monitoring process coordinated by the Open Government Office and the ATIP Office.

Under this structured process, the Open Government Office developed and documented internal procedures in collaboration with program sectors responsible for proactive disclosure, such as Finance, Human Resources, Policy, and Correspondence.

These procedures establish clear roles, responsibilities, and timelines for each type of mandatory disclosure required under Sections 74 to 78 and 82 to 88 of the Act.

Monitoring is conducted on an ongoing basis and includes:

• Regular communication with responsible sectors following each required publication cycle;
• Monthly and quarterly reviews of upcoming and overdue publications;
• Routine email reminders and follow-ups to ensure timely submission of content for publication; and
• Scheduled meetings between the Open Government team and sectoral leads to address outstanding issues and reinforce compliance expectations.

The accuracy and completeness of published content are verified prior to publication through a validation process involving the responsible sector and the ATIP Office. The Open Government Office also collaborates closely with program leads, senior management, and the Correspondence team to ensure alignment, resolve issues, and uphold quality standards throughout the publication process.

This proactive and coordinated approach ensures that the CSA consistently meets its obligations for proactive disclosures under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act with a high standard of accuracy, completeness, and timeliness.

Conclusion

The CSA ATIP Office continues to implement its mandate to respond to all requests for information in accordance with the Access to Information Act.

Annex A: Delegation Order

Approved in May 2021

Canadian Space Agency