RCMP still working through information request backlog, hasn’t hired all approved staff

ABOVE: Global’s Amy Minsky questioned commissioner Legault and the assistant information commissioner regarding the RCMP’s information request backlog during a press conference Thursday 

OTTAWA — The RCMP has still not hired all the staff needed to help work through its backlog of access to information requests, even though approval for the extra bodies came seven months ago.

The federal information commissioner first told Global News in August that the RCMP had stopped responding to people using access-to-information legislation to obtain documents.

At the time, a spokesman with the RCMP said the force’s commissioner approved increased funding and staffing levels for the access request branch in March, but that only some of the positions had been filled.

The message today is the same.

Read more: The access-to-information system is busting, says information czar

“Some of these positions have already been staffed, and it is anticipated that the rest will be staffed in the near future,” spokeswoman Sgt. Julie Gagnon wrote in an email this week.

Since the funding was approved, the ATIP branch has increased full time staffing to 59 positions from 43, and added five part-time positions.

The office is working to staff more positions, she wrote.

Once those positions are filled, Gagnon said she is confident the extra bodies, coupled with the increased funding, will “result in immediate improvements.”

When asked, the spokeswoman didn’t provide a timeline for when the force expects to fill the remaining jobs.

Report signals crumbling integrity

Some details of what Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault knows about the RCMP’s troubles with fulfilling their legal obligation under the legislation were published in her annual report to Parliament Thursday.

The report revealed administrative complaints against the RCMP, which included complaints regarding timeliness and cost, more than tripled between 2011-12 and 2012-13.

The commissioner’s report also highlighted many other problems with the access system, signalling the integrity of the system is at risk.

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She pointed the finger to the government, citing a lack of leadership and failing to provide enough resources for the many agencies struggling to keep up with access requests pouring in from citizens, journalists and researchers, among others.

In 2012-13 Legault’s office was flooded with 42 per cent more administrative complaints that the year before.

And that trend has continued into the current year.

Treasury Board President Tony Clement, who Legault said she holds responsible for the access system’s failings, defended his government’s track record on access to information.

“I’m very proud of our record,” he told reporters Thursday. “We have an open and transparent record second to none.”

WATCH: Treasury Board Tony Clement responds to the information commissioner’s harsh criticism.

RCMP breaking the law: Legault

The national police force is also ranked second on a list of the top 15 institutions responsible for new complaints to the commissioner’s office, jumping up from fourth place the previous year.

“The RCMP was so understaffed that it was unable to even acknowledge receipt of access requests within the 30 days in which it should have,” Legault wrote in her report. “We have held a number of meetings with the RCMP, and it has put a plan into place to respond to our concerns.”

The commissioner’s office says it will monitor the effectiveness of that plan, though she doesn’t yet know what it entails.

“I have not seen a detailed plan yet, but I know they have certainly been staffing in order to address the matter,” Legault told reporters Thursday.

Despite the extra staff, the RCMP is still not giving timelines regarding when they will provide answers to information requests.

“That’s against the law,” Legault said.

The commissioner said what she has seen with the RCMP is unprecedented, despite a slew of other problems she says are slowly corroding the access system.

Failing to respond to people using the system is a failure to respect the most basic obligations of the act, Legault said.

Canada’s access laws give all Canadians the right to access records the government holds, subject to certain exemptions; the laws have been described as essential to democratic accountability.

Despite those certain exemptions, federal institutions are legally obliged to acknowledge receipt of all requests and confirm each will be processed and responded to within 30 days.

The act permits for extensions beyond the initial 30 days, within reason. Any requester who feels their rights under the act have not been honoured can complain to Legault’s office, which can take departments to court, but doesn’t have the power to compel any action.

The RCMP, meanwhile, hasn’t even been completing the first step of the process, neglecting to send receipts of acknowledgement, Legault said.

Work is still happening: RCMP

RCMP spokeswoman Gagnon, however, stressed that the work is still happening behind the scenes.

“We feel it is necessary to clarify that the RCMP has not stopped responding to ATI requests,” her email read.

The force saw a significant increase in the volume and complexity of requests received during 2012-13, including a 274 per cent increase in the number of pages reviewed compared to the previous year, she wrote.

That year, Gagnon said, the RCMP processed and completed 823 requests.

“Of the total number of access to information and privacy requests received, the RCMP was late in acknowledging approximately three per cent within the 30-day timeframe required,” she wrote. “But we can assure you that we have not stopped responding to any request.”

While the RCMP says it is working to improve its response time, the process could be very long, Legault said Thursday.

“What I’ve seen in the past is, when an institution goes under in terms of responding to requests, it takes them about two to three years to recover.”