Good morning and thank you very much, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for the invitation to describe the framework that National Defence has put in place to comply with the Access to Information Act. It is always an honour to meet with distinguished members and colleagues before the committee and to answer your questions. This morning, I am joined by the director of access to information and privacy, Ms. Kimberly Empey.
Mr. Chair, before describing the access to information framework at Defence, I believe it would be helpful to provide a bit of context. The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces are together the largest federal government organization. Together they form the defence team, which comprises over 100,000 employees, including 66,000 regular force members, 23,000 reserve force members and 22,000 civilian employees. Defence operates at bases and stations throughout Canada and has the largest land holdings of any organization in the Government of Canada. The Canadian Armed Forces conduct operations throughout the world. The department is involved in billions of dollars of acquisitions activities annually, including large, multi-year, major capital projects. In summary, Defence is a very large and complex organization.
Mr. Chair, I would now like to share a few statistics from Defence fiscal year 2014-15 annual report to Parliament on the Access to Information Act. Total volume of files for the year was 2,635, which was slightly lower than in fiscal year 2013-14, and this was the first decrease in four years. Of these, 2,029 were closed during the year, with 49% closed within 30 days, and an additional 17% closed within 60 days.
For this reporting period, Defence employed 38 full-time employees and three part-time employees as well as two consultants to do the access to information business, and we spent just over $3 million to manage that business.
Mr. Chair, to manage the requests it receives under the Access to Information Act, Defence has put in place a four-step framework, anchored in internal policies, instructions, and training, that identifies the procedures and processes for handling requests for information under the act.
First, requests are received and assessed by a tasking group that often works with the applicant to clearly define the request and then identify the internal organization responsible for the records in question.
Second, these organizations provide the records to specially trained staff in the directorate of access to information and privacy, who further assess the request with respect to administrative requirements, such as the need for further consultation or an extension. They validate proposed exclusions and seek legal advice where required.
In the third step, two days are given to allow the department to assess the requirements and form a communication plan to support the release of the information.
Finally, the requested records are sent to the applicant and a summary of the completed request is posted online so that other members of the public may request the same information.
For simple requests, this process is completed in 30 days. As you can see, while we absolutely respect the public's right to information and we take our responsibilities seriously and endeavour to provide information with the minimum delay possible, the size, complexity, and mandate of the Defence organization sometimes introduce complications not seen in other organizations. In fact, given the nature of our organization, I believe we perform reasonably well.
Mr. Chair, this ends my opening remarks, and I would be pleased to respond to any of the questions that the committee may have.
Thank you.