ARCHIVED – Annual Report on the Privacy Act 2017–18

Annual Report on the Privacy Act 2017–18 [PDF 820 KB]

ISSN 2561-7753

Copyright/Permission to Reproduce

About the National Energy Board

The National Energy Board is an independent federal regulator of several parts of Canada’s energy industry. It regulates pipelines, energy development and trade in the public interest with safety as its primary concern. The Minister of Natural Resources is responsible for this organization‎.

The National Energy Board (NEB or the Board) was established by Parliament to regulate, among other things, the construction, operation and abandonment of pipelines that cross provincial or international borders, international power lines and designated interprovincial power lines, imports of natural gas and exports of crude oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas, refined petroleum products, and electricity, and oil and gas exploration and production activities in certain areas. The NEB is also charged with providing timely, accurate and objective information and advice on energy matters.

For more information about the NEB please visit our website.

The 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) fulfilled its privacy responsibilities during the fiscal year 2017–18.

Tabling of the annual report

This annual report is prepared and is tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 72 of the Act.

1. Statistical Report and Interpretation

I. Requests received under Privacy Act

In 2017–18, the NEB received nine requests under the Act. This is a notable increase as the NEB received no requests in the previous reporting period.

II. Costs

During 2017–18, the NEB Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office incurred $7,860 in salary costs and $373 in goods and services costs to administer the Act.

See annex A for further statistical information.

2. Practices and procedures

I. NEB Structure

Privacy requests at the NEB are processed by the ATIP Office, which reports to the Vice President, Projects, as the ATIP Coordinator.

Privacy requests are initially received by the Information Management & Architecture Team’s Records department and forwarded to the ATIP Office.

The NEB has 6 full-time employees, who allocate a portion of their time to activities related to the Act.

II. NEB ATIP Training

The NEB promotes access to information and privacy through in-person meetings, presentations, learning products, on the NEB’s intranet and through its training programs. It fosters responsible working relationships with clients and operates under clearly defined timelines.

During 2017–18, the NEB continued to require that all NEB staff and contractors successfully pass the Access to Information and Privacy Fundamentals – I015 course offered by the Canadian School of Public Service (CSPS). During this reporting period, there were 83 NEB employees who successfully completed the course which, combined with the 420 NEB employees who completed the course in 2016–17, represents approximately 92% of all NEB employees and contractors employed during the previous 2 fiscal years. Going forward, the Board will continue its focus on ensuring that relevant staff have the necessary level of ATIP training.

Training on the provision of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act was also offered by the ATIP Office which 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. In this regard, the NEB undertook to review its Access to Information training materials (i.e. tasking email, PowerPoint presentation, ATIP Tips Sheet, etc.) to improve its training and communications with NEB leadership and staff.

The NEB further continued to implement its “ATIP Tip of the Week” initiative, started in 2016–17, where each week a new ATIP tip was posted on the screensavers for all NEB staff as a means to remind them of ATIP best practices and their obligations under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

The NEB ATIP officers received training by attending numerous conferences/webinars offered by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Information and Privacy Policy Department, as well as attending the Canadian Access and Privacy Association yearly conference held in Ottawa in November 2017.

III. NEB Policies

Documentation and training materials on the NEB ATIP program are available through the corporate intranet, along with links to other materials, such as the acts, Treasury Board Secretariat policies and guidance documents, and a range of information management and guidance tools. The NEB did not implement any new policies, guidelines or procedures during the reporting period, but rather continued applying new initiatives from the previous reporting period.

In 2017–18, the NEB also undertook a comprehensive review of its ATIP procedures. This was an effort to enable continuous improvement and to identify opportunities for efficiencies in processing access to information and privacy requests. The ATIP Office will begin implementing new processes in fiscal year 2018–19.

3. Delegation of authority

The Governor in Council has designated the NEB Chair and CEO with the authority to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Act. The Chair and CEO has historically delegated this authority.

The Chair and CEO delegated this authority to the Executive Vice-President, Transparency and Strategic engagement in September 2016. In November 2017, a new delegation order was signed delegating authority to the Vice-President, Projects to exercise the powers, duties and functions under the Act.

See annex B for a copy of the delegation orders.

4. Complaints and appeals to the Federal Court

During 2017–18, there was one new complaint registered with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. As always, the NEB will continue to work closely with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to resolve complaints in a timely and efficient manner.

No appeals were made to the Federal Court of Canada during 2017–18.

5. Privacy Impact Assessments

During the 2017–18 reporting period, no privacy impact assessments were completed.

The NEB posts summaries of completed privacy impact assessments on its external website and forwards copies of completed assessment reports to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

6. Disclosure under paragraphs 8(2)(e) or (m) of the Privacy Act

The NEB did not disclose any personal information under paragraphs 8(2)(e) or 8(2)(m) of the Act during the reporting period.

7. Privacy breaches

One material privacy breach occurred at the NEB during the reporting period. An individual’s personal information was disclosed to another individual in response to an access to information request. Upon identification, the breach was immediately contained and reported to both the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

8. Compliance

The NEB achieved a compliance rating of 100% for completed privacy requests closed within the legislated timeframe in 2017–18.

For requests closed during the reporting period, the NEB processed a total of 387 pages and disclosed 376 pages to requesters. This represents a 72-percent decrease in the number of pages processed as compared to fiscal year 2016–17.

Annex A – Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: National Energy Board of Canada

Reporting period: 2016-04-01 to 2017-03-31

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: Consultations 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

Note: Enter values to two decimal places.

Appendix B – Delegation 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 February 2013 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 Executive Vice President, Transparency and Strategic Engagement 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 September 2016.

______________________________
Peter Watson
Chair and CEO

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 September, 2016 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 2} hereby designates the person holding the position of Vice President, Projects 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 6^th day of November 2017.

______________________________
Peter Watson, P.Eng., FCAE
Chair and CEO

Date modified:

2023-11-27