2013-2014 Appendix A. Facts and figures
Trend in complaints registered, 2011–2012 to 2013–2014
Note: As of April 1, 2013, the Commissioner counts all miscellaneous complaints as refusal complaints. Previously, they had been classified as administrative complaints.
Text Version
This bar chart shows the number of complaints the Commissioner registered in each of 2011–2012, 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 in three categories (from top to bottom): administrative complaints, Cabinet confidence exclusion complaints and refusal complaints.
In 2011–2012, the Commissioner received 391 administrative complaints, 38 Cabinet confidence exclusion complaints and 1,036 refusal complaints.
In 2012–2013, the Commissioner received 519 administrative complaints, 37 Cabinet confidence exclusion complaints and 1,040 refusal complaints.
In 2013–2014, the Commissioner received 801 administrative complaints, 61 Cabinet confidence exclusion complaints and 1,219 refusal complaints.
The number of complaints the Commissioner received in 2013–2014 increased in all three main categories from 2012–2013: administrative complaints (about delays, time extensions and fees) grew by 54 percent, Cabinet confidence refusal complaints by 65 percent and refusal complaints (about the application of exemptions) by 17 percent. The ratio of administrative complaints to refusal complaints is up from last year at 39:61.
| 2011–2012 | 2012–2013 | 2013–2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizenship and Immigration Canada | 66 | 109 | 305 |
| Canada Revenue Agency | 324 | 336 | 283 |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 68 | 125 | 185 |
| Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada | 56 | 83 | 120 |
| National Defence | 74 | 72 | 120 |
| Canada Border Services Agency | 36 | 63 | 106 |
| Transport Canada | 30 | 72 | 83 |
| Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | 71 | 45 | 61 |
| Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada | 47 | 45 | 60 |
| Correctional Service Canada | 65 | 57 | 56 |
| Department of Justice Canada | 47 | 24 | 51 |
| Health Canada | 49 | 37 | 48 |
| Privy Council Office | 36 | 52 | 48 |
| Industry Canada | 34 | 36 | 42 |
| Natural Resources Canada | 12 | 21 | 38 |
| Employment and Social Development Canada | 25 | 20 | 37 |
| Environment Canada | 17 | 26 | 29 |
| Public Works and Government Services Canada | 45 | 35 | 28 |
| Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board | 1 | 7 | 22 |
| Fisheries and Oceans Canada | 23 | 18 | 21 |
*Institutions are listed according to the number of complaints the Commissioner received about them in 2013–2014. The number of complaints for each year includes any complaints initiated by the Commissioner under subsection 30(3) of the Access to Information Act.
As part of the overall 30-percent increase in complaints in 2013–2014, 16 of the 20 institutions about which the Commissioner received the most complaints were the subject of more complaints in 2013–2014 than they had been the year before.
| 2011–2012 | 2012–2013 | 2013–2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizenship and Immigration Canada | 34 | 27 | 179 |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 19 | 70 | 102 |
| Canada Revenue Agency | 43 | 96 | 96 |
| Canada Border Services Agency | 10 | 22 | 49 |
| National Defence | 19 | 26 | 41 |
| Transport Canada | 14 | 31 | 38 |
| Health Canada | 17 | 23 | 26 |
| Correctional Service Canada | 17 | 17 | 24 |
| Employment and Social Development Canada | 6 | 9 | 23 |
| Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada | 20 | 33 | 21 |
| Natural Resources Canada | 4 | 1 | 19 |
| Privy Council Office | 2 | 12 | 15 |
| Fisheries and Oceans Canada | 5 | 9 | 13 |
| Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada | 20 | 6 | 12 |
| Public Works and Government Services Canada | 18 | 19 | 11 |
| Environment Canada | 7 | 13 | 10 |
| Public Health Agency of Canada | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Canadian Food Inspection Agency | 6 | 18 | 7 |
*Institutions are listed according to the number of complaints the Commissioner received about them in 2013–2014.
Overall, the Commissioner received 54 percent more administrative complaints in 2013–2014 than she did the year before. While a few institutions, including Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, saw decreases in this type of complaint, most were the subject of more, and in a few cases significantly more: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (563 percent), Canada Border Services Agency (123 percent) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (46 percent).
Turnaround times for complaint investigations, 2011–2012 to 2013–2014
Complaints closed within nine months
Text Version
This bar chart shows the proportion of complaints the Commissioner closed within nine months from date of registration in each of 2011–2012, 2012–2013 and 2013–2014.
In 2011–2012: 49.4 percent of complaints were closed within nine months (739 complaints).
In 2012–2013: 56.7 percent of complaints were closed within nine months (919 complaints).
In 2013–2014: 62.5 percent of complaints were closed within nine months (1,118 complaints).
In 2013–2014, the Commissioner closed more complaints within nine months of their being registered (63 percent) than she did in 2012–2013 (57 percent). This continues the trend of increasingly timely investigations since 2011–2012. The overall median time for closing a complaint was 194 days from the date it was registered (down 21 days from 2012–2013). However, there remains a gap of 173 days (roughly six months) between the median closure time for refusal complaints when measuring from the date the file is registered and from when it is assigned to an investigator. The Commissioner does not have enough staff to immediately assign these files upon receiving them.
Administrative complaints closed within 90 days
Text Version
This bar chart shows the proportion of administrative complaints the Commissioner closed within 90 days from the date of assignment to an investigator in each of 2011–2012, 2012–2013 and 2013–2014.
In 2011–2012: 49.0 percent of administrative complaints were closed within 90 days (266 complaints).
In 2012–2013: 70.4 percent of administrative complaints were closed within 90 days (336 complaints).
In 2013–2014: 68.4 percent of administrative complaints were closed within 90 days (473 complaints).
The Commissioner’s goal is to close 85 percent of administrative complaints within 90 days of their being assigned to an investigator. In 2013–2014, the closure rate slipped slightly to 68 percent from 70 percent the year before. However, the Commissioner closed 137 more of these files (41 percent) than in 2012–2013.
Priority and early resolution complaints closed within six months
Text Version
This bar chart shows the number of priority and early refusal complaints the Commissioner closed within six months from the date of assignment to an investigator in each of 2011–2012, 2012–2013 and 2013–2014.
The Commissioner also has a goal to close 75 percent of her priority and early resolution cases within six months. In 2013–2014, she closed 65 percent of these files in this time frame, up slightly from the previous year.
| Overall | With merit | Not well founded | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizenship and Immigration Canada | 148 | 127 | 21 |
| Canada Revenue Agency | 146 | 105 | 41 |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 100 | 92 | 8 |
| Transport Canada | 61 | 59 | 2 |
| Canada Border Services Agency | 56 | 47 | 9 |
| National Defence | 53 | 44 | 9 |
| Correctional Service Canada | 44 | 33 | 11 |
| Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada | 34 | 26 | 8 |
| Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada | 32 | 26 | 6 |
| Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | 27 | 22 | 5 |
| Privy Council Office | 27 | 22 | 5 |
| Health Canada | 27 | 13 | 14 |
| Public Works and Government Services Canada | 24 | 16 | 8 |
| Fisheries and Oceans Canada | 19 | 12 | 7 |
| Department of Justice Canada | 18 | 11 | 7 |
| Library and Archives Canada | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| Public Health Agency of Canada | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat | 12 | 10 | 2 |
| Bank of Canada | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Canadian Food Inspection Agency | 11 | 10 | 1 |
| Industry Canada | 11 | 8 | 3 |
| Others (52 institutions) | 160 | 97 | 63 |
| Total | 1,045 | 813 | 232 |
*The number of complaints includes any complaints initiated by the Commissioner under subsection 30(3) of the Access to Information Act.
This chart lists the 21 institutions about which the Commissioner completed the most complaints with a finding in 2013–2014 (that is, the complaint was found to have merit or to be not well founded).