2023-24 Departmental Results Framework (DRF) and Performance Information Profiles (PIPs) Results

Table 1 – 2023-24 Departmental Results

Departmental Results Framework	Performance Indicators	Targets	2023-24 Actual results	Explanations
Privacy rights are respected and obligations are met.	Percentage of Canadians who feel that businesses respect their privacy rights.	Not a survey year	Not a survey year	2023-24 was not a survey year.
	Percentage of Canadians who feel that the federal government respects their privacy rights.	Not a survey year	Not a survey year	2023-24 was not a survey year.
	Percentage of complaints responded to within service standards.	75%	50%	The OPC worked to provide timely responses to Canadians’ complaints. Although the OPC did not meet its 75% target, it reduced the ongoing overall investigative backlog by 4% which comprises investigations under the Privacy Act and PIPEDA.
	Percentage of formal OPC recommendations implemented by departments and organizations.	85%	82%	The OPC worked to resolve instances of non-compliance after the fact, on a case-by case basis, by issuing recommendations to federal institutions and private-sector organizations as part of its compliance activities. In 2023-24, 82% of the OPC’s recommendations were accepted and implemented by organizations found to have contravened federal privacy laws, which is slightly below the target of 85%.
Canadians are empowered to exercise their privacy rights.	Percentage of Canadians who feel they know about their privacy rights.	Not a survey year	Not a survey year	2023-24 was not a survey year.
	Percentage of key privacy issues that are the subject of information to Canadians on how to exercise their privacy rights.	No target set for 2023–24	No target set	Considering the possibility of a transformed legal framework and the fact that our guidelines are grounded in legislation and could become outdated following such reform, the OPC did not set any target for this indicator in 2023–24. There are no results to report for this indicator for these periods. This indicator will be reviewed and updated in 2024–25.
	Percentage of Canadians who read OPC information and find it useful.	70%	68%	The OPC’s website is the primary communication channel between the organization and Canadians. Overall, 63% of those who responded using the web-based feedback tool in 2023-24 found the information to be useful, which is below the target of 70%. It is important to note that only a minority of web visitors provided feedback. Work is underway to better understand Canadians’ information needs and improve the web user experience, including through top tasks analysis and web usability best practices. This work will support the OPC in making data-driven improvements to enhance the effectiveness of its online resources and the overall user satisfaction.
Parliamentarians, and public and private sector organizations are informed and guided to protect Canadians’ privacy rights.	Percentage of OPC recommendations on privacy-relevant bills and studies that have been adopted.	60%	50%	Of the OPC’s recommendations on bills and studies that completed their parliamentary journey in 2023–24, 50% of them were adopted by Parliament. For example, two privacy-related amendments were made to the Online Streaming Act (C-11) that aligned with the recommendations put forward by the OPC.
	Percentage of private sector organizations that have good or excellent knowledge of their privacy obligations.	85%	88%	To ensure that Canadians’ privacy rights are protected, it is necessary that businesses understand their obligations under federal privacy laws. Results indicate that 88% of private sector organizations surveyed rate themselves as moderately or highly aware of their responsibilities under Canada’s privacy laws. This result exceeds the target of 85% and has been relatively consistent since 2018.
	Percentage of key privacy issues that are the subject of guidance to organizations on how to comply with their privacy responsibilities.	No target set for 2023–24	No target set	Considering the possibility of a transformed legal framework and the fact that our guidelines are grounded in legislation and could become outdated following such reform, the OPC did not set any target for this indicator in 2023–24. There are no results to report for this indicator for these periods. This indicator will be reviewed and updated in 2024–25.
	Percentage of federal and private sector organizations that find OPC’s advice and guidance to be useful in reaching compliance.	70%	72%	The OPC’s website is the primary communication channel between the organization and Canadians. Overall, 65% of those who responded using the web-based feedback tool in 2023-24 found the information to be useful, which is below the target of 70%. It is important to note that only a minority of web visitors provided feedback. Work is underway to better understand Canadians’ information needs and improve the web user experience, including through top tasks analysis and web usability best practices. This work will support the OPC in making data-driven improvements to enhance the effectiveness of its online resources and the overall user satisfaction.

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Table 2 – 2023-24 Compliance Program Results

Compliance Performance Information Profiles	Performance Indicators	Targets	2023-24 Actual results	Explanations
Canadians’ complaints are resolved.	Percentage of investigations resolved using Early Resolution.	At least 45%	60%	Early resolution is an integral investigative tool used by the OPC to resolve low-complexity, non-systemic complaints quickly and efficiently. The OPC uses approaches such as engagement and negotiation to provide the best outcome for the parties involved. In these cases, the OPC does not issue a formal finding. In 2023-24 the OPC exceeded its target by 15% and surpassed the number of complaints resolved through this process.
	Percentage of complaints accepted active more than 12 months.	At most 2%	20%	Temporary funding that was received in the 2023 federal budget allowed the OPC to hire additional resources and reduce its backlog of complaints. Although the OPC did not meet its target for this indicator, in 2023-24, the OPC reduced the proportion of investigations older than 12 months by 4%, going from 24% to 20%. At the end of March 2024, 20% (152) of all ongoing OPC investigations were older than 12 months.
Increased Compliance with federal privacy legislation.	Percentage of investigations closed as Well-founded.	N/A	N/A	This indicator has been discontinued.
	Percentage of material privacy breaches reviewed by the OPC where the organization took appropriate measures to OPC satisfaction.	At least 90%	94%	It should be noted that this result applies only to privacy breaches that our office is made aware of. The OPC remains concerned that, too often, breaches are going undetected or are being mis-assessed, leading to under-reporting of privacy breaches in the public and private sectors.

Table 3 – 2023-24 Promotion Program Results

Promotion Performance Information Profiles	Performance Indicators	Targets	2023-24 Actual results	Explanations
Canadians use resources and means to exercise their privacy rights and responsibilities.	Take-up of information to Canadians.	At least 15% increase over the previous year	0%	Material published on our website, such as guidance documents, interpretation bulletins and tips for individuals, generated 666,833 visits in 2023–24. The OPC will continue its efforts to update and promote the resources available to Canadians on its website and other social media to help them exercise their privacy rights.
Parliamentarians are more informed about privacy implications of proposed bills and government initiatives.	Percentage of privacy-relevant bills and studies that proceed through the legislative process having received OPC’s views.	At least 85%	100%	This indicator measures the OPC’s responsiveness to parliamentarians’ need for advice on the privacy implications of bills and studies. The measure therefore only applies to bills and studies that were being actively studied by a parliamentary committee during the year. In 2023-24, the OPC provided views and/or appeared on 9 privacy-relevant bills and studies.
Preventative actions are taken by public and private sector organizations.	Percentage of PIA reviews/consultations that lead to the implementation of a privacy protection measure.	At least 90%	84%	In 2023-24, the OPC received 49 written responses to advice given by our Office following Privacy Impact Assessment reviews and consultations with institutions on potentially privacy invasive initiatives. 84% of these responses indicated that one or more of our recommendations for improvements to privacy practices had been or would be implemented.
	Percentage of private-sector organizations that have privacy compliance measures in place (CPO, privacy policy, breach response plan, etc.).	At least 65%	55%	Just over half (55%) of the business representatives surveyed said their company has a privacy policy. Over time, the proportion of companies with a privacy policy has declined, from a high of 65% in 2019, to 59% in 2022, to 55% this year. In 2022, the decrease in the proportion of companies reporting a privacy policy was considered within the context of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Specifically, when businesses were preoccupied with the impact of the pandemic on operations, it was reasonable to assume that privacy responsibilities might not be top-of-mind. This year’s findings suggest the decline in privacy policies may be a trend, rather than an isolated event influence by the pandemic.