ARCHIVED – Annual Report Pursuant to Privacy Act – 1 April 2014 – 31 March 2015

Annual Report Pursuant to Privacy Act – 1 April 2014 – 31 March 2015 [PDF 455 KB]

ISSN 1926-3767

Copyright/Permission to Reproduce

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Description of institution structure

III. Designation Order

IV. Statistical Report

V. Interpretation / Explanation

1. PART 1 – Requests under the Privacy Act
2. PART 2 – Requests Closed During the Reporting Period
3. PART 3 – Disclosures Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)
4. PART 4 – Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations
5. PART 5 – Extensions
6. PART 6 – Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations
7. PART 7 – Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences
8. PART 8 – Complaints and Investigations Notices Received
9. PART 9 – Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)
10. PART 10 – Resources Related to the Privacy Act

VI. Description of Education and Training Activities

VII. New or Revised Policies and Guidelines

VIII. Enhancing Support and Sustaining Compliance

I. Introduction

Privacy Act

The Privacy Act (the Act) gives individuals the right of access to information about themselves held by the federal government, with certain specific and limited exceptions. The Act protects an individual's privacy by setting out provisions related to the collection, retention, use and disclosure of personal information.

In accordance with section 72 of the Act, the head of every federal institution is required to submit an Annual Report to Parliament on the administration of the Act following the close of each fiscal year. The Annual Reports are then tabled in Parliament pursuant to section 72 of the Act. This report describes how the National Energy Board (NEB or Board) fulfilled its privacy responsibilities during the fiscal year 2014-2015.

About the National Energy Board

The Board is an independent federal regulator established in 1959 to promote safety and security, environmental protection and economic efficiency in the Canadian public interest within the mandate set by Parliament for the regulation of pipelines, energy development and trade. The Board reports to Parliament through the Minister of Natural Resources. The Board regulates the following specific aspects of the energy industry:

• the construction and operation of interprovincial and international pipelines;
• pipeline traffic, tolls and tariffs;
• the construction and operation of international and designated interprovincial power lines;
• the export and import of natural gas;
• the export of oil and electricity; and
• Frontier oil and gas activities.

Other responsibilities include:

• providing energy advice to the Minister of Natural Resources in areas where the Board has expertise derived from its regulatory functions;
• carrying out studies and preparing reports when requested by the Minister;
• conducting studies into specific energy matters;
• holding public inquiries when appropriate; and
• monitoring current and future supplies of Canada's major energy commodities.

In addition to its responsibilities under the National Energy Board Act (NEB Act), the Board also has responsibilities under the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Northern Pipeline Act, and certain provisions of the Canada Petroleum Resources Act. As a result of the Canada Transportation Act, which came into effect on 1 July 1996, the Board's jurisdiction has been broadened to also include pipelines that transport commodities other than oil or natural gas.

For more information about the National Energy Board, please visit our website.

II. Description of institution structure

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office

Activities relating to the Privacy Act during the reporting period were the responsibility of the Secretary of the Board who had been designated by the Chair and CEO of the Board as the Coordinator. Organizationally, the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) team resides within the Office of the Secretary and Regulatory Services Team.

The Chair and CEO has overall responsibility for ensuring that the Board’s policies, procedures and practices are compliant with the application and administration of the Privacy Act. The National Energy Board has procedures in place to process privacy requests. These requests are processed by the Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator who has the authority to access all records held by the Board. The ATIP Office works closely with Information and Document Services and Senior Management across the organization.

The ATIP Office is comprised of two permanent full-time Officers and one senior Officer on assignment from another department of the Board. The Executive Support Advisor oversees this team. In addition, the Board hired a contractor in the first half of the year to assist part-time in the processing of ATIP requests. Taking into account the contractor, the delegated authority and the Executive Support Advisor who worked part-time on Access to Information, Privacy, and Parliamentary Enquiries, there are 4 full-time equivalents (FTEs) in the Board’s ATIP Office.

In addition to providing legal advice and guidance to the ATIP Office on all issues related to the application of the Act, the Board’s Legal Services, in general, assist the offices of primary interest within the Board and the ATIP Office in the delivery of their program and activities having a Privacy Act component.

The ATIP Office is responsible for the coordination and implementation of policies, guidelines and procedures to ensure the organization’s compliance with the Privacy Act. The office also provides the following services to the organization:

• Advising program managers of the requirements of the Privacy Act for the collection, retention, use, and disclosure of personal information;
• Promoting staff awareness and providing training on the Privacy Act; and
• Responding to privacy requests;
• Managing the electronic tracking system
• Responding to privacy-related matters in the Management Accountability Framework
• Preparing an Annual Report to Parliament
• Ensuring that the Board’s personal information holdings are published in Info Source;
• Coordinating and overseeing the Privacy Impact Assessment process for the NEB;
• Developing corporate privacy policies and practices to protect and guide access to personal information;
• Participating in forums for the ATIP community, such as the Treasury Board Secretariat ATIP Community meetings and working groups; and
• Monitoring trends in national and international privacy issues to provide informed advice to clients.

Info Source

Info Source is a series of publications containing information about and/or collected by the Government of Canada. The primary purpose of Info Source is to assist individuals in exercising their rights under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. Info Source also supports the federal government’s commitment to facilitate access to information regarding its activities.

During this reporting period, the ATIP Office updated the content of its self-published Info Source chapter, including the description of its information holdings by institutional functions, programs and activities, to ensure it accurately reflect the contents of the records created to support the activities of the NEB. The NEB’s chapter is aligned with its Program Activity Architecture. Under this approach, all classes of records and personal information banks are directly linked to the relevant institutional program and/or activity.

Reading Room

Section 71 of the Access to Information Act requires government institutions to provide facilities where members of the public may obtain information such as Info Source. The following National Energy Board location in Calgary has been designated as a public reading room:

National Energy Board Library
2^nd Floor, 517 – 10^th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB  T2R 0A8

III. Designation Orders

Privacy Act Designation Replacement Order

The Chair and CEO of the National Energy Board (the Board), pursuant to Section 73 of the Privacy Act (the Act) hereby replaces the Privacy Act Designation Order made on the 1^st day of April 2011 at the City of Calgary, in the Province of Alberta by the following text.

The Chair and CEO of the Board, pursuant to Section 73 of the Privacy Act^{Note 1} hereby designates the person holding the position of Secretary of the Board to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Chair and CEO as head of a government institution under the Act.

Dated at the City of Calgary, in the province of Alberta, this 1^st day of February 2013.

______________________________
Gaétan Caron
Chair and CEO

IV. Statistical Report

Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: National Energy Board

Reporting period: 2014-04-01 to 2015-03-31

Part 1: Requests Under the Privacy Act

Part 2: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

2.2 Exemptions

2.3 Exclusions

2.4 Format of information released

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

2.5.3 Other complexities

2.6 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline

2.6.2 Number of days past deadline

2.7 Requests for translation

Part 3: Disclosures Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Part 4: Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

Part 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

5.2 Length of extensions

Part 6: onsultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

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

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

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Part 7: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

7.1 Requests with Legal Services

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Part 8: Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

Part 9: Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)

Part 10: Resources related to the Privacy Act

10.1 Costs

10.2 Human Resources

V. Interpretation / Explanation

PART 1 – Requests under the Privacy Act

Number of Requests

During the reporting period, the Board did not receive any requests pursuant to the Privacy Act. None were outstanding from the previous reporting period.

PART 2 – Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

The Board did not receive any requests nor had any outstanding from the previous reporting period.

PART 3 – Disclosures Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

The Board did not disclose any information under subsections 8(2) or 8(5).

PART 4 – Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

There were no requests for the correction or the notation of personal information during the reporting period.

PART 5 – Extensions

The Board did not take any extensions.

PART 6 – Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

The Board did not receive any consultations from other government institutions and organizations.

PART 7 – Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

The Board did not undertake any consultations on the application of section 70 of the Privacy Act that were sent to the Cabinet Confidences Section of the Privy Council Office.

PART 8 – Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

No privacy complaints were received and no audits or investigations were concluded during the reporting period.

PART 9 – Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)

The Board initiated a Privacy Impact Assessment during the reporting period for its Online Discussion Forum (ODF) initiative. The ODF was created to allow for all Canadians to post their comments and ideas pertaining to all aspects of the Board’s work and mandate online. The objective of the ODF was to better understand Canadians’ perspectives on pipeline safety and environmental protection and to discuss how the Board can adjust its approach to these issues.

A Privacy Impact assessment was required regarding this initiative since users wishing to post comments were required to register and provide some personal information. However, the ODF did not require a new Personal Information Bank (PIB) to be developed by the Board since the activities planned for the ODF were already under the authorization of the existing standard Government of Canada PIB titled “Outreach Activities (938) personal information bank”.

PART 10 – Resources related to the Privacy Act

Costs

Costs are only to include those related to the administration of the Privacy Act incurred by the ATIP Office that has authority to respond to formal privacy requests or requests for correction of personal information. Costs do not include those that were incurred by other areas of the institution, including Offices of Primary Interest and Legal Services. The total cost for resources related to the Privacy Act over the reporting period was $2,302.

The total amount paid for salaries of employees working in the ATIP Office on activities related to the administration of the Privacy Act was $2,302.

The Board incurred no costs on goods and services related to the administration of the Privacy Act, neither on professional services contracts nor on other goods and services.

Human Resources

Over the reporting period, the NEB’s four full-time employees (three Officers and the Executive Support Advisor) dedicated the equivalent of 0.02 person years to Privacy activities. Because the Board did not receive any Privacy Requests, the bulk of the Board’s ATIP Office resources were dedicated primarily to activities related to Access to Information or Parliamentary Inquiries. The resources associated with administering the Access to Information Act were reported on the statistical report for Access to Information and not duplicated on the statistical report for Privacy, in accordance with direction from the Treasury Board Secretariat.

VI. Description of Education and Training Activities

Training for National Energy Board Staff

The NEB promotes access to information imperatives in face-to-face meetings, presentations, learning products, on the Intranet and through its training program. It fosters responsible working relationships with clients and operates under clearly defined timelines.

Training on the provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act is mandatory at the National Energy Board and is included in the menu of New Employee Orientation Training. At least annually, the ATIP Office delivers both specialized training to respond to the needs of officers and clients, and general training to raise employees’ awareness of their responsibilities under these Acts and the impact they have on Board programs and initiatives.

Yvon Gauthier Info-Training provided a complete selection of training courses designed to increase knowledge and awareness of Access to Information and Privacy issues and legislation. The mandatory “ATIP for all NEB employees” is a half-day course that was provided in two sessions on September 16 and 18, 2014, to 46 employees, including 37 new employees. The two-hour “ATIP – Focus on Privacy” course is available to all, but was attended this year by two ATIP Office staff on September 17, 2014. The one-day course, “ATIP for Designated Staff only”, was attended by eight employees on September 19, 2014.

In addition, the Board’s Records Services Team delivered training highlighting horizontal linkages between ATIP, Security and Records Management, and our electronic corporate records repository (RDIMS). Employees who attend these sessions develop a complete awareness of their responsibilities and are more able to responsibly handle information at the National Energy Board.

Training for ATIP Analysts

In addition to ATIP staff participating in informal on-the-job training on AccessPro software (Privasoft), Case Management and Redaction, during the reporting period, ATIP staff participated in the some more formal events and training sessions.

ATIP staff participated in the contracted training delivered by Yvon Gauthier Info-Training. One ATIP officer new to the NEB attended an “ATIP for all NEB employees” session, and two ATIP Office staff attended both the “ATIP for Designated Staff only” session and the “ATIP – Focus on Privacy” session. The consultant also met informally with ATIP staff while here, and provided advice and guidance as needed throughout the year.

The Canadian Access and Privacy Association (CAPA) is a non-profit incorporated organization established in 1987 for the purpose of furthering the knowledge and expertise of its members in the legal and practical aspects of access to information and the protection of privacy. This year, the NEB again supported one member of the ATIP team to attend the December 8, 2014 Annual Conference in Ottawa, featuring:

• Keynote speeches from Emily McCarthy, Assistant Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada and from Daniel Therrien, Privacy Commissioner of Canada;
• A legal update on privacy-enabling innovation and new technologies; and
• A summary of important court decisions from the past year on access and privacy issues

VII. New or Revised Policies and Guidelines

Since new privacy-related policies and guidelines had been developed in 2013-14, the NEB did not roll out any additional policies, procedures, or guidelines directly related to privacy during 2014-2015, focusing rather on the effectiveness of our ATIP processes. The NEB complies with the Directive on Privacy Requests and Correction of Personal Information, Directive on Privacy Practices, Directive on Privacy Impact Assessment, and all other related Treasury Board Secretariat policies, guidelines, and procedures.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, the National Energy Board will refine its process for responding to Privacy Act requests where desirable. Responsible officials assessed as an office of primary interest are required to prepare written confirmation that all relevant materials have been submitted attesting that a thorough search has been performed, that there is a rational for any recommended exemptions as supported by the Act, and that they have considered and abide by the principles supporting the duty to assist the requester. Procedures are streamlined to better assist the offices of primary interest with their retrieval processes to ensure that established timelines are respected.

VIII. Enhancing Support and Sustaining Compliance

Senior management at the National Energy Board supports the Privacy Management Framework as it enables a more effective management of privacy within the NEB and facilitates compliance with Treasury Board Secretariat Policy and Directives obligations.

The NEB continues to improve the timeliness, efficiency and accuracy of responses to ATIP requests. The ATIP Office uses a database to track the process of completing requests and sends out weekly reports listing those requests outstanding. The ATIP Office staff meets weekly with the Secretary of the Board as the ATIP Coordinator, along with legal counsel and other senior management, to monitor and direct the progression of the requests. The Chair and CEO, and the Chief Operating Officer are kept apprised of the time to process ATIP requests as appropriate. If any requests to correct personal information were received, they would be monitored with the same system.

This year, the NEB:

• Continued to implement a structured and Board-wide ATIP awareness program to ensure that staff and senior officials understand their roles and responsibilities regarding ATIP; and
• Worked collaboratively with consultants who have expertise in ATIP and business processes to assist with the development and implementation of a Privacy Management Framework.

Date modified:

2023-11-27