One of the theories is that the increase has come about because I now have the authority to issue orders. I believe that Canadians are increasingly impatient or fed up with waiting. Some of the complaints submitted to us come from people who have been waiting for information for several months or even several years. They know that I can now order the institution to deal with the record or the file, particularly for complaints about how long the process is taking.
On the other hand, there has not been much of an increase in complaints about exemptions. By this, I mean denials or requests people are complaining about because they have not received all of the information to which they are entitled. The figures are fairly similar.
This year, we received 4,000 complaints about one particular institution, all of which had to do with processing delays. This institution received 120,000 access to information requests, so inevitably there are going to be complaints. The number of access requests has increased to such an extent that it is impossible for the institution to respond to them within the 30-day time limit. It's a problem.