Annual Report: 2004-2005

Early in this commissioner’s term, the persistent, widespread problem of delay in answering access requests became the commissioner’s top priority. Through special reports (report cards) to Parliament on the performance of individual departments and the use of order powers to compel ministers and deputy ministers to explain why mandatory, statutory response deadlines were being ignored, the commissioner sought to bring the government’s attention to bear on solving the delay problem.

Many departments took up the challenge, made timeliness a priority, devoted the resources necessary and instituted streamlined processes for answering access requests. In year one (1998), all six institutions reviewed received a grade of "F". In those six institutions, from 35 percent to 86 percent of answers to access requests were late. Last year, in those same institutions, the percentage of responses which were late ranged from a high of 17 percent in Foreign Affairs and International Trade to 3.8 percent in the Privy Council Office.

This dramatic improvement in the delay situation is also reflected in the profile of complaints to the Information Commissioner. In 1998-99, 49.5 percent of the 1,351 complaints which were investigated related to failure to meet response deadlines. Last year, delay complaints represented 14.5 percent of the office’s workload. This year, that percentage has increased to 21 percent. This, then, is both a positive and negative story; substantial improvements have been made, yet vigilance is essential because some backsliding is evident.