2024-2025 Annual Report on the Access to Information Act

Introduction

Purpose

The Access to Information Act (Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter A‑1) was proclaimed on July 1, 1983.

The Access to Information Act gives Canadian citizens and permanent residents a broad right of access to information contained in government records, subject to certain specific and limited exceptions.

Section 94 of the Access to Information Act requires that the head of every government institution prepare, for submission to Parliament, an annual report on the administration of the Act within the institution during each financial year. This annual report is tabled in Parliament pursuant to section 94 of the Access to Information Act, and describes how ISED administered its responsibilities for the reporting period.

Institutional mandate

ISED helps Canadian businesses grow, innovate, and expand so they can create good‑quality jobs and wealth for Canadians. It also supports science research and the integration of scientific considerations into investment and policy choices. The Department helps small businesses grow through trade and innovation and promotes increased tourism in Canada. It also works to position Canada as a global centre for innovation where investments support clean and inclusive growth, the middle class prospers through more job opportunities, and companies become global leaders.

ISED's efforts focus on improving conditions for investment, supporting science, helping small and medium‑sized businesses grow, building capacity for clean and sustainable technologies and processes, increasing Canada's share of global trade, promoting tourism, and building an efficient and competitive marketplace.

ISED supports the following ministers and secretaries of state:

  • the Minister of Industry;
  • the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation;
  • the Secretary of State for Small Business and Tourism; and
  • the Secretary of State for Rural Development.

The Department also supports two deputy ministers and one associate deputy minister.

The Department has four wholly owned, operational subsidiaries, which do not report separately, and for which results are included in this report. These include: the Canadian Intellectual Property Office; the Competition Bureau; Measurement Canada; and the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. The department has no non-operational subsidiaries.

Organizational structure

Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Services is part of the Office of the Corporate Secretary at ISED. The ATIP team has a complement of 20 employees, consisting of one director at the executive level, three managers, and 16 advisors at various levels, from team leader to junior officer, all of whom are dedicated to processing access to information (ATI) and privacy requests and performing related functions (e.g., proactive publication, policy, training, administration, and outreach).

ATIP Services is responsible for the implementation and management of programs and services relating to the administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act for the Department. Specifically, ATIP Services makes decisions on the disposition of ATI and privacy requests; promotes awareness of the legislation to ensure departmental responsiveness to statutory obligations; monitors and advises on departmental compliance with the Acts, regulations, procedures, and policies; and represents ISED on ATIP matters when dealing with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the Privy Council Office, and other government institutions. ATIP Services is also responsible for consulting with other federal departments and third parties with respect to ATIP requests.

The Director of ATIP Services is responsible for the development, coordination, and implementation of effective policies, guidelines, and procedures to manage ISED's compliance with the Acts, including with proactive publication requirements, pursuant to part II of the Access to Information Act. The administration of the legislation within the Department is managed by ATIP Services, but is also facilitated at the sector, branch, and regional office levels. Each sector and corporate branch has an ATIP liaison officer (reporting to an assistant deputy minister, executive director, etc.) who coordinates activities and provides guidance on the administrative processes and procedures of the Acts. ATIP Services, which is located in Ottawa, responds to all formal requests submitted to the Department under both Acts.

For a breakdown of the groups/positions responsible for meeting each applicable proactive publication required under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act, see the section, Proactive Publications, of this report.

Section 96 of the Access to Information Act permits institutions reporting to the same minister to enter into agreements with each other for the purpose of sharing ATIP resources and capacity. However, ISED currently has no such agreements in place.

Delegation of authority

The ATIP Delegation Order in effect on the last day of this reporting period was approved by the former Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, on May 18, 2021. Pursuant to subsection 95(1) of the Access to Information Act and subsection 73(1) of the Privacy Act, that delegation instrument provides full authority to the Deputy Minister and Corporate Secretary as well as to the ATIP Services Director and managers (see Annex B).

Performance

Responses within legislated timelines

In 2024–2025, 1,081 access to information requests were brought to conclusion (23% more than the previous year's 882 closures). Of these, 693 were concluded within legislated timelines, resulting in on‑time performance of 64% (7% higher than the previous year's on-time performance of 57%).

Factors affecting performance

  • Completion of informal cases: In 2024-2025, ISED completed 1,500 informal requests for copies of information previously released under the Access to Information Act, from a total case load of 2,252 informal cases, comprised of 2,189 newly received requests, and a further 63 carried over from the previous year.
  • Of the 1,081 access to information requests concluded in 2024-2025, 306 were in respect of requests received between 2017 and 2023 that had already passed their respective legislative due dates. Every request closed, that is already late, has the effect of further lowering on-time performance metrics. For example, had ISED not closed these 306 backlogged (late) cases, its on-time performance would have risen from 64% to 89%.
  • Proactive Publication: ISED's ATIP Services published 1,905 briefing note titles and reference numbers, as required by the Access to Information Act's proactive publication provisions (107% more than in the previous year's 919). In addition, ISED ministers appeared before various committees of Parliament on seven occasions, the briefing materials for which required full disclosure. These efforts are in addition to other proactive publication reviews, such as those for Question Period cards, transition briefing materials, monthly disclosures of completed ATI requests, and departmental audit and evaluation reports. Proactive publication requirements continue to impact ATIP Services' human resources significantly.
  • Parliamentary Committee Motions for the Production of Papers: While the department aims to release as much information as possible in response to such Parliamentary requests, the proposed records to be released are reviewed by ATIP employees prior to disclosure to ensure that the principles of the ATIP legislation are respected, specifically, to ensure there are no inadvertent disclosures of proprietary, third party business information, personal information, or other information that might compromise Canada's economy, security, or international affairs. ISED was the subject of two Parliamentary Committee motions for the production of information in 2024-2025, which resulted in the review of 68,455 pages (6,684% more than the previous year's 1,009 pages). The review and correlated administrative processing significantly impacted the ATIP Services Branch.
  • Parliamentary (Order Paper) Questions: Similar to motions, though not subject to ATIP legislation, the proposed responses to parliamentary questions are also reviewed by ATIP employees prior to disclosure, to ensure there are no inadvertent disclosures of proprietary third‑party business information, personal information, or other information that might compromise Canada's economy, security, or international affairs. ATIP employees analyzed proposed responses for 215 such questions in 2024-2025.

Multi-year trends

ISED received a total of 1,481 new ATI requests in 2024–2025, compared to 941 new requests in 2023-2024. This represents a 57% increase, year-over-year. In addition, 1,408 incomplete requests were carried from the previous fiscal year into 2024-2025 (see the table under the section, Requests outstanding and carried-forward, that follows). This resulted in a total caseload in 2024-2025 of 2,889 requests (1,481 plus 1,408).

Of these 2,889 requests, 1,081 were closed during the 2024-2025 reporting period, and 1,808 were carried forward into 2025-2026. These 1,808 cases represent a 28% increase to the 1,408 cases that were carried forward from 2023-2024.

Additionally, ISED managed 197 consultation requests from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations (174 new during the reporting period and 23 that were carried over from the previous year). This represents a 12% decrease compared with last year's consultation case load of 225 requests. Of the current 197 consultation requests, 168 were closed (17% fewer than last year's 202 closures) and 29 were carried forward to 2025–2026.

The Department also received 2,189 informal requests for copies of previously released ATI requests, a 410% increase over last year's 429 informal requests.

Requests outstanding and carried-forward

Requests outstanding (Carried-in from 2023-2024):

Fiscal year requests were received Open requests that were within legislated timelines as at March 31, 2024 Open requests that were beyond legislated timelines as at March 31, 2024 Total
2023-2024 236 205 441
2022-2023 22 231 253
2021-2022 44 280 324
2020-2021 19 235 254
2019-2020 3 80 83
2018-2019 4 30 34
2017-2018 0 19 19
Total 328 1,080 1,408

Requests carried-forward (Carried-out to 2025-26):

Fiscal year requests were received Open requests that were within legislated timelines as at March 31, 2025 Open requests that were beyond legislated timelines as at March 31, 2025 Total
2024-2025 267 445 712
2023-2024 60 213 273
2022-2023 19 204 223
2021-2022 38 265 303
2020-2021 12 202 214
2019-2020 1 48 49
2018-2019 2 21 23
2017-2018 0 11 11
Total 399 1,409 1,808

Complaints

Information on complaints is detailed under the section Key issues and actions taken on complaints, of this report.

Number of pages processed

The total volume of pages of information processed in 2024-2025 was 295,689 pages, including:

  • 288,371 pages from Access to Information requests; and
  • 7,318 pages from consultation requests

This represents an increase of 100% as compared to last year's total processed page count of 148,051.

This is exclusive of the 68,455 pages of information processed in respect of Parliamentary Committee motions, which, if factored-in, would bring the total number of pages of information processed to 364,144 (a 146% increase, year-over-year).

Completion times for closed requests

The 1,081 ATI requests closed by ISED during the reporting period were completed within the following timeframes:

  • 106 within 1 to 15 days (10%)
  • 167 within 16 to 30 days (15%)
  • 219 within 31 to 60 days (20%)
  • 220 within 61 to 120 days (20%)
  • 103 within 121 to 180 days (10%)
  • 96 within 181 to 365 days (9%)
  • 170 more than 365 days (16%)

Disposition of requests

The disposition of the 1,081 completed ATI requests is as follows:

  • 202 were all disclosed (19%)
  • 592 were disclosed in part (55%)
  • 153 had no existing records (14%)
  • 81 were abandoned (7%)
  • 14 were transferred (1%)
  • 13 were all exempted (1%)
  • 24 were all excluded (2%)
  • 2 where ISED declined to act, with the approval of the Information Commissioner (-1%)

Records were all disclosed in 19% of cases, 3% higher than the 16% of all-disclosed cases in 2023–2024, while 55% were disclosed in part, 3% less than the 58% of partial disclosure cases in the previous year. Records were fully exempted and excluded in 1% and 2% of requests, respectively, similar to 2023–2024.

Limits to the right of access – Exemptions and exclusions

Exemptions in accordance with sections 13 through 26 of the Access to Information Act were invoked by the Department as outlined in the Annual Statistical Report at Annex A. Several exempting provisions can be applied to withhold information in response to one request, and these are reported separately in the statistical report. However, the same exempting provision invoked to withhold information more than once within the same request is reported only once in the statistical report. The following are those most frequently used:

  • section 19 (personal information): 218 uses
  • section 20 (third‑party information): 452 uses
  • section 21 (advice to government): 797 uses

The Department has several statutory exempting provisions recognized under the Access to Information Act, pursuant to section 24. Such exemptions are most frequently applied to information relating to the Competition Act and the Investment Canada Act, and ISED invoked section 24 of the Access to Information Act on 30 occasions during the reporting period.

The Access to Information Act does not apply to published material, material available for purchase by the public (section 68 of the Act), or confidences of the King's Privy Council for Canada (Cabinet confidences) (section 69 of the Act). Annex A shows the frequency these exclusions were invoked, and include 17 occasions to exclude published material and 336 occasions to protect Cabinet confidentiality.

Sources of requests

As in the previous year, the media and the public-at-large were the most frequent types of requesters, representing 82% of all new requests received in 2024–2025 (67% and 15%, respectively). The academic community, ranked in third-place, with 6% of requests, with the business community ranking fourth, with just under 6%. Requesters who declined to self‑identify with a "requester type" dropped to 9%, from its 30% share in the previous year.

Organizations submitted the fewest requests, at three (less than 1% of the overall volume).

Extensions

In 2024-2025, ISED invoked extensions on ATI requests on 415 occasions for different reasons and lengths. This represents an extension volume of 28% on the department's 1,481 new requests.

Consultations with Legal Services accounted for 36 of the extensions (9%); negotiating with or awaiting on approvals of other government institutions and/or third parties accounted for 294 cases (71%); and a large volume of records, where complying with legislated timelines would have unreasonably interfered with operations, was cited for the remaining 85 extensions (20%).

The lengths of the extensions taken were as follows:

  • 30 days or less, 71 cases (17%)
  • 31 to 60 days, 160 cases (39%)
  • 61 to 120 days, 63 cases (15%)
  • 121 to 180 days, 90 cases (22%)
  • 181 to 365 days, 14 cases (3%)
  • More than 365 days, 17 cases (4%)

Topics and formats of information requested

In 2024-2025 requests pertaining to artificial intelligence ranked as the number one, most-requested subject, with 150 requests (10% of new cases). Telecommunications issues ranked in the number two place, with 106 requests (7% of volume), with ISED Portfolio issues (Statistics Canada, NRC, SSHRC, etc.), coming in third, with 86 requests (6% of volume). The remaining 1,139 requests, representing the final 77% of cases, pertained to a combination of other ISED business issues, such as lobbying, contracts and expenses, intellectual property, competition, science, bankruptcy and insolvency, international relations, and the aerospace and automotive sectors. Within the automotive category, there was a sharp increase in requests pertaining to electric batteries, and the critical minerals used in their manufacturing.

2024-2025 also saw an observable increase in interest relating to the price of groceries and grocery codes of conduct (41 requests this year, compared with six last year), as well as Indigenous, First Nations and Aboriginal peoples' issues, most notably, in the areas of tourism and intellectual property (20 requests this year, compared with two last year).

The most requested format of information continues to be, overwhelmingly, in the form of briefing notes. This year saw 957 requests for copies of briefing notes (representing 64% of new requests, up from 54% in the previous year).

Topics and formats of information requested
- 2024–25 2023–24 2022–23 2021–22 2020-21
Total new requests 1,481 941 1,141 1,206 1,475
Requests for briefing notes

957

64%

512

54%

698

61%

886

73%

987

67%

Consultations completed for other institutions

ISED managed a case load of 197 consultation requests from other departments and institutions, including 174 newly received during the year and 23 that were carried over from the previous year. Of the total case load of 197 cases, the Department completed 168 requests (17% fewer than the previous year's 202 completed requests) and carried forward 29 cases to the new year.

Of the 168 completed access consultations, ISED recommended disclosure, in full or in part, for 130 cases (77%), with exemptions or other actions being recommended for the remaining 38 cases (23%).

With respect to the processing times of consultations, 149 cases (89%) were completed within two months. A further 10 cases (6%) took up to four months to complete and 7 cases (4%) between four and 12 months to complete. Two requests (1%) took longer than a full year to complete.

Annual statistical report

TBS prescribes requirements for annual statistical reports on the Access to Information Act, which must comprise part of the corresponding annual reports to Parliament. ISED's Annual Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act is enclosed with this report as Annex A.

Training and awareness

Enhanced awareness and knowledge of ATIP obligations on the part of departmental officials has shown to improve the quality of responses and ISED's rate of compliance with legal obligations.

Throughout 2024–2025, ATIP Services delivered numerous training and awareness sessions to employees across the Department on both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act (and their requirements). In total, 24 training sessions relating to access to information and/or privacy were delivered to 571 employees, as follows:

  • ATIP 101 at ISED: An overview of the legislation, associated timelines, and processes, as well as the role of the Department, the courts, and the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Canada, combined with a more in‑depth look at the exempting and excluding provisions of the Access to Information Act, focusing on the top three such provisions used most frequently at ISED, and how to identify information pertaining to those provisions. This session is also offered in a modified format, on-demand, to focus solely on either the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.
    • 18 sessions, 356 participants
  • Personal Information Boot Camp: Comprehensive training focused solely on the Privacy Act and its related policy requirements, including the concept of 'informed consent,' privacy notice statements, privacy impact assessments, and privacy breach administration. This includes an in‑depth look at the type and volume of personal information that exists within the Department and the requirements surrounding the collection and use of personal information in relation to ISED and other Government of Canada programs.
    • 3 sessions, 171 participants
  • Speciality (on-demand) training: In 2024-2025, ISED delivered training on two specifically requested topics, including operational processing training for Liaison Officers responsible for facilitating ATIP requests in their respective sectors (two sessions), and training for ATIP officers on how to create and analyze data queries pertaining to ATIP statistics (one session).
    • 3 sessions, 44 participants

Mandatory training is tracked by ISED's Human Resources practitioners and individual team managers to ensure participation, and the department has made its 'Enhanced Training for ATIP Practitioners' available on its ATIP intranet site, where all employees can access and reference the material.

Policies, guidelines, and procedures

To improve the administration of the ATIP program and to ensure that TBS ATIP policies are respected and implemented, ATIP Services collaborates with both internal and external stakeholders on a continuous basis. In 2024-2025, these collaborations included:

  • Ad hoc all-staff meetings and semi-monthly management team meetings to discuss emerging and ongoing operational and policy issues;
  • Ongoing collaboration with ISED stakeholders on the effective processing of ATIP requests; and
  • Monthly teleconferences with the Office of the Information Commissioner, resulting in streamlined processes.

In addition, new policies, procedures and business practices were developed (or existing ones were updated) throughout the year, as enhancements, or to comply with various TBS directives and policies. In the past year, this included: Guidance on the use of Microsoft Co-Pilot.

ATIP Services also continues to enhance its intranet site—where all departmental employees can access plans, reports, acts, regulations, policies, directives, training decks, procedures, and checklists in one convenient place.

Proactive publications

For the purpose of proactive publications (pursuant to part II of the Access to Information Act), ISED is considered a "government institution" (officially, the "Department of Industry") pursuant to schedule I of the Financial Administration Act.

With specific regard to proactive publications, as required under Part II of the Access to Information Act, ISED distributes operational responsibilities between relevant sectors. For example, the ATIP Services Branch leads on, and facilitates the proactive publication of briefing note titles and reference numbers, sharing validation duties with the relevant sectors that produced the content. The Branch further facilitates the proactive publication of reports tabled in Parliament, and conducts prepublication reviews of Question Period notes, which are published by ISED's Strategic Communications and Marketing Sector. The Strategy and Information Policy Sector leads on and coordinates the proactive publication of transition briefing materials, with assistance from the ATIP Services Branch. The Office of the Corporate Secretary leads on the proactive publication of materials used for appearances before Committees of Parliament, while all financial and HR-related proactive publications are facilitated by the Corporate Management Sector. Compliance for all departmental proactive publications is verified by the ATIP Services Branch.

The following table shows the proactive publication requirements that were incumbent on ISED during the reporting period, the frequency at which ISED was required to publish each requirement, and the internet location at which each can be found:

Proactive publication requirements table:

Legislative requirement Section of ATIA Publication timeline Does item apply to Industry Canada? Internal group(s) or positions(s) responsible for fulfilling requirement % of proactive publication item(s) published within legislated timelines Link to web page where published
Applies to all government institutions as defined in section 3 of the Access to Information Act
Travel expenses 82 Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement Yes,
12 lots
Corporate Management Sector 100% 2024 travel expenses
2025 travel expenses
Hospitality expenses 83 Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement Yes,
9 lots
Corporate Management Sector 100% 2024 hospitality expenses
2025 hospitality expenses
Reports tabled in Parliament 84 Within 30 days after tabling Yes,
6 items

ATIP Services Branch

Canadian Intellectual Property Office

Competition Bureau

Industry Sector

Corporate Management Sector

100%

2023-2024 Annual Report on the Access to Information Act

2023-2024 Annual Report on the Privacy Act

Canadian Intellectual Property Office

2022-2023 Annual Report

Empowering competition: A landmark year

2023-2024 Annual Report

Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy progress report: 2023-2024

Departmental Fees Report – fiscal year 2023-2024

Applies to government entities or departments, agencies, and other bodies subject to the Act and listed in Schedules I, I.1, or II of the Financial Administration Act
Contracts over $10,000 86 Q1-3: Within 30 days after the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the quarter Yes,
4 lots
Corporate Management Sector 100% Contracts over $10,000
Grants and contributions over $25,000 87 Within 30 days after the quarter Yes,
4 lots
Corporate Management Sector 100% Grants and contributions over $25,000
Packages of briefing materials prepared for new or incoming deputy heads or equivalent 88(a) Within 120 days after appointment Yes,
2 lots

Strategic Policy Sector

ATIP Services Branch

50%
1 of 2 lots
Packages of briefing materials prepared for new or incoming deputy heads or equivalent
Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared for a deputy head or equivalent, that is received by their office 88(b) Within 30 days after the end of the month received Yes,
12 lots

Office of the Deputy Minister

ATIP Services Branch

All ISED Sectors

92%
11 of 12 lots
2024 Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared for a deputy head or equivalent, that is received by their office
2025 Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared for a deputy head or equivalent, that is received by their office
Packages of briefing materials prepared for a deputy head or equivalent's appearance before a committee of Parliament 88(c) Within 120 days after appearance Yes,
2 lots

Parliamentary Affairs

ATIP Services Branch

50%
1 of 2 lots
Packages of briefing materials prepared for a deputy head or equivalent's appearance before a committee of Parliament
Applies to government institutions that are departments named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act or portions of the core public administration named in Schedule IV to that Act (i.e. government institutions for which Treasury Board is the employer)
Reclassified positions 85 Within 30 days after the quarter Yes,
4 lots
Corporate Management Sector 100% Reclassified positions
Apply to Ministers' Offices (therefore apply to any institution that performs proactive publication on behalf of a Minister's Office)
Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for new or incoming ministers 74(a) Within 120 days after appointment No N/A N/A N/A
Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared by a government institution for the minister, that is received by their office 74(b) Within 30 days after the end of the month received Yes,
12 lots

Office of the Deputy Minister

ATIP Services Branch

All ISED Sectors

92%
11 of 12 lots
2024 Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared by a government institution for the minister, that is received by their office
2025 Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared by a government institution for the minister, that is received by their office
Package of question period notes prepared by a government institution for the minister and in use on the last sitting day of the House of Commons in June and December 74(c) Within 30 days after last sitting day of the House of Common in June and December Yes,
2 lots

Strategic Communications and Marketing Sector

ATIP Services Branch

100% Package of question period notes prepared by a government institution for the minister and in use on the last sitting day of the House of Commons in June and December
Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for a minister's appearance before a committee of Parliament 74(d) Within 120 days after appearance Yes,
6 lots

Parliamentary Affairs

ATIP Services Branch

67%
4 of 6 lots
Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for a minister's appearance before a committee of Parliament
Travel expenses 75 Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement Yes,
12 lots
Corporate Management Sector 100% 2024 Travel expenses
2025 Travel expenses
Hospitality expenses 76 Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement Yes,
5 lots
Corporate Management Sector 100% 2024 Hospitality expenses
2025 Hospitality expenses
Contracts over $10,000 77 Q1-3: Within 30 days after the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the quarter No N/A N/A N/A
Ministers' offices expenses Note: This consolidated report is currently published by TBS on behalf of all institutions. 78 Within 120 days after the fiscal year 2024-2025 figures will be published on the TBS website on or before 29 July 2025 at: https://open.canada.ca/en/expenditures-ministers-offices

Of the 86 items and lots ISED was required to proactively publish during the reporting period, 93% were published on-time (86 of 92 items/lots), pursuant to legislative requirements.

Initiatives and projects to improve access to information

  • ISED continues to subscribe to the ATIP Online Management Tools (AOMT) platform, and to implement change management processes for each update released by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
  • The ATIP Services Branch worked with ISED's new AI Acceleration Hub on efforts to evaluate the AI components included within the two ATIP case management systems newly offered for procurement, and to choose the correct system for ISED's future needs.
  • At the request of ISED's Human Resources Branch, the ATIP Services Branch is (at the time of this report) developing new training on the processing of ATIP cases relating to labour relations issues. This new training session will be released later in 2025-2026.
  • In the interest of furthering reconciliation—specifically, to remove barriers to accessing information—ISED waives the $5 application fee where the applicant self-identifies as a member of Canada's Indigenous, Aboriginal or First Nations communities.

Key issues and actions taken on complaints

Applicants have the right to register a complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada regarding any matter relating to the processing of their requests, and several complaints can be linked to the same request.

ISED received 21 new complaint notices during the reporting period, as compared with 31 during the 2023–2024 period, ten less than in the previous year. These 21 complaints represent 1% of the total ATI requests received for this reporting period (and 2% of the total requests closed). The types of complaints received have been identified in the table below.

The Information Commissioner issued findings on 20 complaint investigation during the reporting period. Where complaints are "well founded", ISED implements recommendations or fulfills orders issued by the Commissioner, aimed at resolution. Where complaints are "not well founded", no further action is taken. Where complaints are "resolved", this implies that resolution was obtained during the course of the investigation.

A further 16 complaints were either discontinued by the plaintiff, or ceased to be investigated by the Commissioner, for a total of 36 case closures. The nature of these complaints, and their findings (and other reasons) are summarized as follows:

Key issues and actions taken on complaints
Complaint type Received Completed Findings
Refusal – exemptions 8 13

3 – Ceased to investigate

1 – Not well founded

8 – Well founded

1 – Resolved

Refusal – general (i.e., missing information, inadequate search, no records, etc.) 3 4

1 – Ceased to investigate

1 – Not well founded

2 – Well founded

Unjust length of extension 6 12

7 – Ceased to investigate

4 – Not well founded

1 – Well founded

Delay 4 7

5 – Ceased to investigate

2 – Well founded

Total 21 36 -

Note: Some of the completed complaints include cases that were in progress during prior fiscal years and therefore do not all represent 2024-2025 complaints (see the table under: Total outstanding complaint inventory by year received, that follows).

No audits relating to the administration of the Access to Information Act were conducted during the reporting period.

Total outstanding complaint inventory by year received

Fiscal year complaints were received Number of outstanding complaints
2024-2025 11
2023-2024 5
2022-2023 1
Total 17

Fees and operating costs

Access to information fees

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution. With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.

  • Enabling authority: The Access to Information Act
  • Fee payable: A $5 application fee is the only fee charged for an Access to Information Request
  • Total revenue: $2,985 (collected for 597 of the 1,481 new requests received)
  • Fees waived or refunded: $4,420 (waived/refunded for 884 of the 1,481 new requests received)
    • Note: To help ensure that requests are more manageable in volume and delivered in a more timely fashion, large requests for voluminous information or those that touch upon multiple or complex subjects are separated into multiple requests, and the application fees are waived in respect of those multiplied requests. For example, when ISED receives a single request for two items, where one item is simple, and can be released quickly, but the other is complex and will require an extension, the request is separated into two unique requests so as not to delay the release of the simple item due to the complexity of processing the other. The separation is solely an administrative action, which benefits both ISED and the applicant. However, the separation itself automatically necessitates a second $5 fee (in case management systems) which ISED treats as 'notional' and subsequently reverses (waives).

Of the 1,481 Access to Information requests ISED received in 2024-25, 879 were separated out of their original requests solely for ease of processing, and a further 5 were refunded; hence, the reason for waiving 884 of the 1,481 application fees logged the year. This is a common, administrative practice employed by ATIP offices across government.

Operating costs

The cost of delivering ISED's Access to Information program and services for 2024–2025 was $2,041,833, based on salary costs and operating expenses, representing a 0.2% decrease from last year's costs of $2,044,483.

Salary costs for 2024–2025 totalled $1,950,156, equating to 21.634 full‑time employees (FTEs), including students, when averaged over the year.

Operating expenses (software licenses, stationery, postage, etc.) for the year totalled $91,677, representing an overall decrease of 1.5% below last year's $92,991.

Monitoring compliance

With respect to monitoring the processing time of requests, ATIP Services has a number of measures in place. ATIP Services has continued the following business practices:

  • Managers regularly review and monitor the status of access requests using the ATIP case management system;
  • Managers regularly review the status of consultation processes on access requests to ensure inter-institutional consultations are only conducted when required to properly exercise discretion, or where ISED intends to disclose information;
  • Managers conduct weekly bilateral meetings with staff to review work plans and establish priorities; and
  • Managers report weekly to the Director on requests to be closed as well as on‑time compliance and issues delaying or otherwise affecting processing.

Further:

  • ATIP Services has an escalation process to address delays in responses to taskings;
  • ATIP Services management meets on a regular basis with representatives of the Office of the Information Commissioner to address outstanding complaints and learn new approaches that could increase compliance and avoid future complaints; and
  • ATIP training sessions address and reinforce the importance of respecting the legislated 30-day timeline.

With respect to the most frequently requested types and subjects of information, the ATIP Services Branch prepares an annual analysis, pursuant to requirement 4.1.44 of the TBS Directive on Access to Information Requests, detailing the information most frequently requested through Access to Information requests received by ISED, and the projected human and financial resources that would be necessary to make that information more readily available by other means.

With respect to ensuring the right of public access to information, pursuant to requirement 4.2.8 of the TBS Directive on Access to Information Requests, the ATIP Services Branch has prepared guidance on the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements and disclosure of third party information, in the context of contracting, and has made that guidance available on its intranet site for the knowledge of all ISED employees.

With respect to the monitoring of Proactive Publications for accuracy and completeness, ISED's Proactive Publication Matrix details both the departmental area responsible for facilitating publication of each required item, as well as the names of the employees (and their areas) responsible for compiling, approving and publishing information. In most cases, information for proactive publication is prepared by an analyst, then approved by a Director or Director-General prior to being published. All departmental program areas that are responsible for proactive publications are also responsible for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the content they publish, while the ATIP Services Branch conducts a semi-annual review of all proactive publications for measure compliance in meeting the respective proactive publication deadlines.

Additionally, the following new and updated procedures and policy guidance issued in 2024-2025 pertain to issues of compliance:

  • Info Source 2024 Update (June 2024);
  • Update ATIP 101 at ISED training deck (July 2024); and
  • Others, in relation to Privacy management.

Annex A – Annual Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Reporting period: 2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31

Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

Category Number of requests
Received during reporting period 1,481
Outstanding from previous reporting periods 1,408
  • Outstanding from previous reporting period
441
  • Outstanding from more than one reporting period
967
Total 2,289
Closed during reporting period 1,081
Carried over to next reporting period 1,808
  • Carried over within legislated timelines
399
  • Carried over beyond legislated timelines
1,409

1.2 Sources of requests

Sources Number of requests
Media 944
Academia 92
Business (private sector) 83
Organization 7
Public 225
Decline to Identify 130
Total 1,481

1.3 Channels of requests

Source Number of requests
Online 1,467
E-mail 14
Mail 0
In-person 0
Telephone 0
Facsimile 0
Total 1,481

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of informal requests

Category Number of requests
Received during reporting period 2,189
Outstanding from previous reporting periods 63
  • Outstanding from previous reporting period
63
  • Outstanding from more than one reporting period
0
Total 2,252
Closed during reporting period 1,500
Carried over to next reporting period 752

2.2 Channels of informal requests

Source Number of requests
Online 2,183
E-mail 6
Mail 0
In-person 0
Telephone 0
Facsimile 0
Total 2,189

2.3 Completion time of informal requests

Completion time
1-15 days 16-30 days 31-60 days 61-120 days 121-180 days 181-365 days + 365 days Total
56 172 244 306 219 503 0 1,500

2.4 Pages released informally

Less than 100 pages released 100-500 pages released 501-1,000 pages released 1,001-5,000 pages released + 5,000 pages released
# of requests Pages released # of requests Pages released # of requests Pages released # of requests Pages released # of requests Pages released
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2.5 Pages re-released informally

Less than 100 pages released 100-500 pages released 501-1,000 pages released 1,001-5,000 pages released + 5,000 pages released
# of requests Pages released # of requests Pages released # of requests # of requests Pages released # of requests Pages released # of requests
1,374 19,373 90 20,094 20 15,071 11 21,948 5 64,219

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on declining to act on requests

- Number of requests
Outstanding from previous reporting period 5
Sent during reporting period 0
Total 5
Approved by the Information Commissioner during reporting period 2
Declined by the Information Commissioner during reporting period 3
Withdrawn during reporting period 0
Carried over to next reporting period 0

Section 4: Requests closed during the reporting period

4.1 Disposition and completion time

Disposition of requests Completion time Total
1-15 days 16-30 days 31-60 days 61-120 days 121-180 days 181-365 days + 365 days
All disclosed 16 38 70 53 8 13 4 202
Disclosed in part 15 63 101 128 79 78 128 592
All exempted 1 2 4 2 3 1 0 13
All excluded 1 4 2 9 7 0 1 24
No records exist 26 58 35 26 5 2 1 153
Request transferred 13 0 1 0 0 0 0 14
Request abandoned 34 2 6 2 1 0 36 81
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2
Total 106 167 219 220 103 96 170 1,081

4.2 Exemptions

Section # of requests
13(1)(a) 13
13(1)(b) 2
13(1)(c) 16
13(1)(d) 3
13(1)(e) 4
14 1
14(a) 45
14(b) 45
15(1) 2
15(1) IA 37
15(1) Def 5
15(1) SA 12
16(1)(a)(i) 0
16(1)(a)(ii) 1
16(1)(a)(iii) 0
16(1)(b) 3
16(1)(c) 14
16(1)(d) 0
16(2) 2
16(2)(a) 4
16(2)(b) 0
16(2)(c) 60
16(3) 0
16.1(1)(a) 0
16.1(1)(b) 0
16.1(1)(c) 0
16.1(1)(d) 0
16.2(1) 1
16.3 0
16.4(1)(a) 0
16.4(1)(b) 0
16.5 0
16.6 0
17 0
18(a) 9
18(b) 67
18(c) 0
18(d) 11
18.1(1)(a) 0
18.1(1)(b) 1
18.1(1)(c) 0
18.1(1)(d) 0
19(1) 218
20(1)(a) 2
20(1)(b) 202
20(1)(b.1) 0
20(1)(c) 229
20(1)(d) 19
20.1 0
20.2 0
20.4 0
21(1)(a) 330
21(1)(b) 419
21(1)(c) 35
21(1)(d) 13
22 11
22.1(1) 1
23 56
23.1 0
24(1) 30
26 2

4.3 Exclusions

Section # of requests
68(a) 17
68(b) 0
68(c) 0
68.1 0
68.2(a) 0
68.2(b) 0
69(1) 0
69(1)(a) 10
69(1)(b) 0
69(1)(c) 2
69(1)(d) 13
69(1)(e) 31
69(1)(f) 7
69(1)(g) re (a) 93
69(1)(g) re (b) 0
69(1)(g) re (c) 92
69(1)(g) re (d) 24
69(1)(g) re (e) 55
69(1)(g) re (f) 9
69.1(1) 0

4.4 Format of information released

Paper Electronic Other
E-Record Data set Video Audio
4 790 0 0 0 0

4.5 Complexity

4.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e-record formats
# of pages processed # of pages disclosed # of requests
288,371 71,673 914
4.5.2 Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper and e-record formats by size of requests
Disposition Less than 100 pages processed 101-500 pages processed 501-1,000 pages processed 1,001-5,000 pages processed More than 5,000 pages processed
# of requests Pages processed # of requests Pages processed # of requests Pages processed # of requests Pages processed # of requests Pages processed
All disclosed 195 2,368 6 870 0 0 1 1,757 0 0
Disclosed in part 499 8,321 50 12,670 18 12,893 19 40,981 6 183,285
All exempted 11 186 2 926 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 24 376 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request Abandoned 58 417 13 3,721 2 1,399 8 18,201 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 789 11,668 71 18,187 20 14,292 28 60,939 6 183,285
4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats
# of Minutes Processed # of Minutes Disclosed # of Requests
0 0 0
4.5.4 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of requests
Disposition Less than 60 minutes processed 60-120 minutes processed + 120 minutes processed
# of requests Minutes processed # of requests Minutes processed # of requests Minutes processed
All disclosed 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 0 0 0 0 0 0
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0
4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats
# of minutes processed # of minutes disclosed # of requests
0 0 0
4.5.6 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats by size of requests
Disposition Less than 60 minutes processed 60-120 minutes processed + 120 minutes processed
# of requests Minutes processed # of requests Minutes processed # of requests Minutes processed
All disclosed 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 0 0 0 0 0 0
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0
4.5.7 Other complexities
Disposition Consultation required Legal advice sought Other Total
All disclosed 23 0 0 23
Disclosed in part 171 128 0 299
All exempted 1 1 0 2
All excluded 0 15 0 15
Request Abandoned 26 1 0 27
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0
Total 221 145 0 366

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1 Requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines 693
Percentage of requests closed with legislated timelines 64.10%

4.7 Deemed refusals

4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines
Number of requests closed past the legislated timelines Principal reason
Interference with operations or workload External consultation Internal consultation Other
388 44 148 70 126
4.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extensions taken)
Number of days past legislated timelines Number of requests past legislated timeline where no extension was taken Number of requests past legislated timeline where an extension was taken Total
1 to 15 55 5 60
16 to 30 19 5 24
31 to 60 34 6 40
61 to 120 46 13 59
121 to 180 28 5 33
181 to 365 27 8 35
More than 365 66 71 137
Total 275 113 388

4.8 Requests for translation

Translation requests Accepted Refused Total
English to French 0 0 0
French to English 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Disposition of requests where an extension was taken 9(1)(a) interference with operations or workload 9(1)(b) consultation 9(1)(c) third-party notice
Section 69 Other
All disclosed 6 0 25 4
Disclosed in part 54 29 144 72
All exempted 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 4 7 0
Request abandoned 20 3 21 12
No records exist 3 0 4 1
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 2 0 2 2
Total 85 36 203 91

5.2 Length of extensions

Length of extensions 9(1)(a) interference with operations or workload 9(1)(b) consultation 9(1)(c) third-party notice
Section 69 Other
30 days or less 25 0 46 0
31 to 60 days 21 2 50 87
61 to 120 days 13 6 40 4
121 to 180 days 3 27 60 0
181 to 365 days 6 1 7 0
More than 365 days 17 0 0 0
Total 85 36 203 91

Section 6: Fees

Fee type Fee collected Fee waived Fee refunded
# of requests Amount # of requests Amount # of requests Amount
Application 597 $2,985 879 $4,395 5 $25
Other fees 0 $0 0 $0 0 $0
Total 597 $2,985 879 $4,395 5 $25

Section 7: Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

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

Consultations Other Government of Canada institutions # of pages to review Other organizations # of pages to review
Received during the reporting period 165 6,188 9 127
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 21 4,610 2 12
Total 186 10,798 11 139
Closed during the reporting period 157 7,318 11 139
Carried over within negotiated timelines 12 2,687 0 0
Carried over beyond negotiated timelines 17 793 0 0

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

Recommendations Number of days required to complete consultation requests
1-15 days 16-30 days 31-60 days 61-120 days 121-180 days 181-365 days + 365 days Total
Disclose entirely 44 10 3 2 1 1 1 62
Disclose in part 40 2 7 6 2 2 1 60
Exempt entirely 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Exclude entirely 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 6
Consult other institution 3 1 4 2 0 0 0 10
Other 9 3 4 0 0 1 0 17
Total 102 17 19 10 3 4 2 157

7.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations outside the Government of Canada

Recommendations Number of days required to complete consultation requests
1-15 days 16-30 days 31-60 days 61-120 days 121-180 days 181-365 days + 365 days Total
Disclose entirely 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 4
Disclose in part 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 4
Exempt entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Other 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Total 3 6 2 0 0 0 0 11

Section 8: Completion time of consultations on cabinet confidence

8.1 Requests with legal services

Number of days Less than 100 pages processed 101-500 pages processed 501-1,000 pages processed 1,001-5,000 pages processed More than 5,000 pages processed
# of requests Pages disclosed # of requests Pages disclosed # of requests Pages disclosed # of requests Pages disclosed # of requests Pages disclosed
1 to 15 22 44 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 14 46 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 62 570 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 24 617 13 2,901 5 2,322 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 0 0 0 0 1 301 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3,803 0 0
More than 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2,941
Total 122 1,277 13 2,901 6 2,623 3 3,803 1 2,941

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Number of days Less than 100 pages processed 101-500 pages processed 501-1,000 pages processed 1,001-5,000 pages processed More than 5,000 pages processed
# of requests Pages disclosed # of requests Pages disclosed # of requests Pages disclosed # of requests Pages disclosed # of requests Pages disclosed
1 to 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More than 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Section 9: Investigations and report of finding

9.1 Investigations

Section 32 notice of intention to investigate Subsection 30(5) ceased to investigate Section 35 formal representations
21 16 2

9.2 Investigations and reports of finding

Section 37(1) initial reports
Received Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
3 0 3
Section 37(2) final reports
Received Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
19 0 2

Section 10: Court action

10.1 Court actions on complaints

Section 41
Complainant (1) Institution (2) Third Party (3) Privacy Commissioner (4) Total
0 0 0 0 0

10.2 Court actions on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b)

Section 44 under paragraph 28(1)(b)
0

Section 11: Resources related to the Access to Information Act

11.1 Allocated costs

Expenditures Amount
Salaries $1,950,156
Overtime $0
Goods and Services $91,677
  • Professional services contracts
$0
  • Other
$91,677
Total $2,041,833

11.2 Human resources

Resources Person years dedicated to Access to Information activities
Full-time employees 21.112
Part-time and casual employees 0.000
Regional staff 0.000
Consultants and agency personnel 0.000
Students 0.522
Total 21.634

Annex B – Delegation of ATIP Authority

Delegation in effect on the last day of 2024–2025

The Department of Industry
(To be known as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada)

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act Delegation Order

The Minister of Industry Canada, pursuant to section 95(1) of the Access to Information Act and section 73(1) of the Privacy Act, hereby delegates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers and functions of the Minister as the head of a government institution, under the section of the Acts set out in the schedule opposite each position. This Delegation Order supersedes all previous Delegation Orders.

Schedule

Position Access to information Act and Regulations Privacy Act and Regulations
Deputy Minister Full authority Full authority
Corporate Secretary Full authority Full authority
Director, Access to Information and Privacy ( ATIP ) Services Full authority Full authority
Manager, ATIP Services Full authority Full authority
And    
Senior Advisor, ATIP Services Section: 7, 8(1), 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27(1), 68, 69 Section: 8(1), 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 69, 70

Dated, at the City of Ottawa, this 18th day of May, 2021

Original signed by the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne
Minister of Industry
(to be known as Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development)