Emily'sSandbox

A Message from the Director

I’m happy to present the second edition of the At Your Service newsletter. We will continue to provide this newsletter as a way to stay in touch between Forum events. At the Forum held on September 27, we continued our discussion on how to engage you better and showed you VOILÀ, a new tool we’ve developed in response to your request for a single, integrated system for sharing information from the School. You also gave us valuable feedback about capacity planning for courses. For me, though, a real highlight of the last Forum was a panel discussion on talent management for non-EX employees and the great questions you raised in that discussion. A summary of all of the conversations at the September Forum is included in this edition of the newsletter. The next Forum event will be held virtually, through our GCcollab portal VOILÀ, on December 14. We really appreciate your flexibility as we adapt to the space crunch we’re experiencing as we share Asticou Centre with the students and staff of École secondaire Mont-Bleu, whose own facility was severely damaged by the tornado that touched down in Gatineau on September 21, 2018. We’ll give you more details on just how this “virtual Forum” will unfold in the agenda for the event. The December Forum will focus on two key themes. First, we will invite representatives of the School’s data and reporting teams to join us so they can help respond to some of the concerns, questions and comments you have raised. Second, we will continue the dialogue you have requested about defining and differentiating the roles of PoCs and RTCs. I’m also really hoping you’ll let us know what you think of the newsletter, VOILÀ, and the changes we continue to make in how we engage with you. In closing, I want you to know that I’ve been thrilled with the dynamic engagement so many of you have brought to VOILÀ. As of November 15, 2018, this new platform had 160 members. I hope we can make that number grow rapidly and make VOILÀ our primary channel for sharing updates and facilitating dialogue among all the players in the world of public service learning. Looking forward to connecting with you on December 14! Linda MacMillan Director, Client Service

In case you missed it…
In case you missed the September 27 Points of Contact and Required Training Coordinators Forum—or if you want to go back and catch it again—a video recording of the session is now available. The link to the webcast and timeframes for Forum topics are in the “September 2018” sub-folder in the “PoC/RTC Forums” folder under the “Files” tab of VOILÀ.

When are institutions required to proactively publish information?
For government institutions, proactive publication obligations will come into force upon Royal Assent of Bill C-58. Therefore, institutions are encouraged to prepare now to meet the requirements of Bill C-58.

What if there is information in the documents that are to be proactively published that is subject to an exclusion or exemption under the Access to Information Act?

Proactive publication under Part 2 would not require the release of information that would properly be withheld in a response to an access to information request, such as personal information, or Cabinet confidences. The relevant provisions of Bill C-58 are: Section 90 (1) A head of a government institution is not required to cause to be published any of the information, any part of the information, any of the materials or any part of the materials referred to in any of sections 82 to 88 if that information, that part of the information, those materials or that part of those materials were set out in a record and, in dealing with a request for access to that record, he or she could under Part 1 refuse to disclose that record, in whole or in part, for a reason that is set out in that Part. (2) A head of a government institution shall not cause to be published any of the information, any part of the information, any of the materials or any part of the materials referred to in any of sections 82 to 88 if that information, that part of the information, those materials or that part of those materials were set out in a record and, in dealing with a request for access to that record, he or she would be required under Part 1 to refuse to disclose that record, in whole or in part, for a reason that is set out in that Part or because that Part does not apply to the information or materials in question.

Implementation

Does TBS have any tools that institutions can use to guide this transition process?

This site provides guidance and tools such as process maps that institutions can use to assist with implementation in their respective organizations. We will continue to add additional tools and information as they become available. With requirements for government institutions coming into force upon Royal Assent of Bill C-58, institutions are encouraged to begin looking at their internal processes to identify areas where adjustments might be needed to deliver on these new obligations and to also consider putting practices into effect before the law comes into force.

What governance is required within my organization to support proactive publication?
Each institution will need to determine the appropriate governance and processes to support publication within their organization.

Will Bill C-58 change what we are already proactively publishing?
Proactive publication requirements in Bill C-58 for Crown corporations build on existing practices, with some changes to the timing for publication. Institutions are encouraged to compare existing proactive processes against the requirements in Bill C-58.

How can I determine if a senior official or employee in my organization is subject to the new proactive publication requirements?

Institutions are encouraged to consult with their legal counsel to determine whether or not a senior-level employee in their organization would fall under Bill C-58’s definition under Section 81: senior officer or employee means, in respect of a government institution, any person who exercises the powers or performs the duties and functions of a deputy minister, an associate deputy minister, an assistant deputy minister, a deputy head, an assistant deputy head, a president, a vice-president, a chief executive officer or a member of a board of directors, and any person who holds a position of an equivalent rank. (dirigeant ou employé)

Who is the “head of the government institution” for my institution?

Section 3 of the Access to Information Act defines the “head of the government institution” as follows: head, in respect of a government institution, means (a) in the case of a department or ministry of state, the member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada who presides over the department or ministry, or (b) in any other case, either the person designated under subsection 3.2(2) to be the head of the institution for the purposes of this Act or, if no such person is designated, the chief executive officer of the institution, whatever their title; (responsable d’institution fédérale) Once Bill C-58 comes into force, this definition will apply to both Part 1 (request-based system) and Part 2 (proactive publication) of the Access to Information Act.

If Royal Assent of Bill C-58 falls during the middle of the month, do I need to proactively publish documents from the entire month or just the period following Royal Assent?

The transition provisions of Bill C-58, set out below, provide that the proactive publication requirements apply to information or materials that were prepared on or after the date of coming into force of the requirements. The requirements will come into force on Royal Assent of the bill. Non-application of Part 2 46 A provision of Part 2 of the Access to Information Act that requires the publication of any information or any materials does not apply to (a) any expenses or expenditures that were incurred before the coming into force of that provision; (b) any contract, agreement or arrangement that was entered into before that date; (c) any letter that, before that date, established the mandate of a minister; (d) any briefing materials, memoranda or question period notes that were prepared before that date; (e) any report that was tabled in the Senate or the House of Commons before that date; or (f) any occupied position in a government institution that was reclassified before that date.

Where to post information

Where will Crown corporations be required to proactively publish information?
Crown corporations and wholly-owned subsidiaries can continue to publish items to their institutional websites, with the option to publish to open.canada.ca. If publishing to open.canada.ca using standardized templates, wholly-owned subsidiaries must publish through the parent organization.

What information can be posted to the Open Government portal?

Crown corporations can publish any standardized information (Travel and Hospitality) to the Open Government portal using standardized templates. Should Crown corporations want to publish non-standardized publications to the Open Government portal (Reports Tabled in Parliament), they will be required to create a metadata record on open.canada.ca that will link back to the publication on their page. This same process applies to all government departments that wish to publish non-standardized information to the Open Government portal. Creating a metadata record on open.canada.ca ensures that all publications are centralized and searchable in one place.

How do I post to the Open Government Portal?
Information about how to post to the portal is available here.

Will information that has already been released in the public domain need to be republished under this legislation?
The transition provisions of Bill C-58 provide that the proactive publication requirements apply to information or materials that were prepared on or after the date of coming into force of the requirements. The requirements will come into force on Royal Assent of the bill.

What is the retention schedule for proactively published information?
Guidance on retention schedules will be posted as it becomes available.

Travel and hospitality expenses

Where can I find the requirement to make receipts available within 5 business days upon request?
This is not a statutory requirement but will be required through policy. This policy requirement is currently in development.

Reports tabled in Parliament

Which reports tabled in Parliament are required to be proactively published?
Section 84 in Bill C-58 would require that any report of a government institution respecting its activities that must be tabled in the Senate or House of Commons under an Act of Parliament be published electronically within 30 days after the day it is tabled.