Education Department takes 7 months to begin processing access to info request
Deputy minister of education says staffing issues caused delay
Nunavut’s information and privacy commissioner, Graham Steele, says it might be time to rethink how the GN handles access-to-information requests after one sat, untouched, for seven months within the Department of Education this year. (File photo)
Nunavut’s information commissioner says the Department of Education had no good reason to wait seven months to start processing an access to information request, and recommends the GN consider centralizing how it processes requests like these, so they don’t “gather dust.”
“The department of education dropped the ball, badly,” Graham Steele stated in a review of a complaint submitted to his office on June 21.
In his review, Steele says a person requested records from the Department of Education in November 2021. Steele does not describe the request, but said there was nothing unusual about it.
After following up with the department four times over the next seven months, the applicant, a CBC North journalist, still did not get a response. He filed a complaint to Steele on June 21.
The department had not started work on the person’s file, Steele stated in his report.
Rebecca Hainnu, the deputy minister of education, responded to Steele on June 29, saying staffing capacity was an issue in this case. She said five people cycled through as acting director of policy between January 2021 to January 2022.
The next day, a representative with the department had reached out to the applicant to sort out a date for when the requested records could be expected to be released.
The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In his review, Steele suggested the territorial government give “serious consideration” to re-organizing the way departments process access to information requests, so responses are consistent and reliable.
“Perhaps the time has come to revisit the notion that each public body is capable of doing its own ATIPP processing,” he stated.
“The department cannot go on like this. Or maybe it can. That is up to the minister, the executive council, and the legislative assembly.”
now does the Acting Director have any input on requests for information?
shouldn’t this be approved by a mid manager level?
this department is just embarrassing and it starts from the top.
“The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”
Funny, give them a half year or so?
“Rebecca Hainnu, the deputy minister of education… said five people cycled through as acting director of policy between January 2021 to January 2022.”
Is a request like this typically handled by the Director of Policy? Why do I doubt this is the issue at all?
Also, it has not been ‘January’ for about 6 months
I suspect the Minister has no clue what is going on and is repeating the best arguments conjured by the high ranking civil servants inside her circle (“Just say this!”).
Still, it is hard to ignore how unsatisfactory and uninformative an answer like this is, or the mix of contempt and delusion department leadership (taking that for what it is) has for the public, as demonstrated by a ‘non-answer’ like this.
Left a school in disarray; what were the expectations when she got promoted? Basically, it was an affirmative action hire… look at us we are adhering to the TRC’s recommendations for reconciliation. Disregard what the resulting consequences will be…
Paradoxically, the voices quick to identify any resultant dysfunction will point to ‘systems’ and other nebulous forces we can’t quite touch, and they will be correct in one sense, though they would not dare draw real attention to the unflattering contents of their creation.
and so it will be in perpetuity.
Any dysfunction will, of course, be blamed on ‘systems’ and other nebulous forces we can’t see or quite put our fingers on.
Yuck… sorry for the mess of words. This comment makes more sense when it ends with the first paragraph only. I wish there was an editing window here, but I suppose paying more attention could be a cure for that.
Go enjoy the sun and take a break
ATIPP is in the EIA portfolio. They have delegated the work and by extension the cost to Departments, with no added funding. Policy analysts do this work as a side-of-the-desk project, not part of their main job. They receive some training from the ATIPP Manager (who manages no one, technically) who is housed in EIA.
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Staffing capacity is real. There are neither bodies nor expertise to handle this. Imagine you’re a new policy analyst and this is now your job. Now you have to go around asking Deputy Ministers and Directors for their email records and they are often sensitive issues. How well do you think this job can be done by working-level staff? Most staff also have a mediocre level of computer skills to search, consolidate and release information. They have little guidance on how to do redactions and often rely on the individual providing the record to do it for them. Do you need access to records from a departed employee’s email? CGS is virtually unresponsive and doesn’t care because they barely have the staff to reset passwords for GN staff. ATIPP is a complete gong show in Nunavut, not by design or some nefarious government conspiracy, rather it is mostly because of systematic issues the GN faces (and that it doesn’t strategically care to address).
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I vote that EIA put out a $2,000,000 tender and let the private sector do the work this until it can do it right. I’ll bid.
Informative post. When you say “systemic issues” do you mean the surplus of incompetence warming so many GN chairs?
Incompetence exists because there is no one to choose for jobs. Only half of all GN positions are ever staffed, so the government runs on fumes. If Nunavut was a place to live long term or got with the times and allowed remote work the incompetence would dissolve with the losers not winning job competitions.
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The systematic issues are no funding, no staff, no training, and just low prioritization to ATIPP. I really don’t even think ATIPP is necessary, but I call a spade a spade in his mismanaged it is.
It’s not clear when the request was made, or what period of seven months covered, but we were also still in the middle of dealing with a pandemic and the ensuing absences and shut downs that came with it.
What would you, the outraged public, prefer the department focus their limited Human Resources on in the middle of a pandemic? Maybe, I don’t, educating the students of Nunavut and keeping them safe from illness?
I’m all for transparency and accountability in government, but I’m also for sensible priorities. Perhaps the CBC reporters (who seem hell-bent on slagging the department every chance they get) might keep that in mind. I don’t know about you, but I’d much prefer the department focus on education over ATIIP.
Even if we grant issues around ‘covid’ may have slowed some things down, I still find the “either / or” you’ve packaged this as not serious or believable.
The article clearly says the request was made in november 2021 and a complaint was filed on june 21. The period from the end of november to the end of june is 7 months… So you’re right… Maybe the department should focus on improving education outcomes because obviously your comprehension is slagging…
Mr.Steele is correct. There should be an independent centralized government authority coordinating ATIPP requests. Asking any organization to investigate itself is a bad idea
good morning friends it is nice whether we are having today !
many moons ago the entire gnwt infermation infrestructure was run onlee by myself and my trustee pal gus . we had every fax machine in the baffin rigion rolling so smoothlee that a baby could sleep on it !
but a fax machine is onlee as good as your stupid fingers will allow you to use it !!! in the late 1980s my poor wife and i got into the habet of sending faxis of a personal nature to each other . yes we were young and uttirlee foolish but that is what young love is .
one day i was in a bit of a fog and sent her my usual dailee fax . but instead of sending it to her my stupid fingers sent it to all the hamlit offices and i had not even noticed !!! what an aweful feeling when my director who was also the premier at the time pulled me aside to show me the faxis i had sent to all 100 hamlit offices !! every single mayor in the nwt now had in there possession a copy of my poor wifes secret squares recipie !!!! i was devestated but that is the price you pay for having stupid fingers !
i wish you all the best with you fax machine problem . i wish i could help but i have sworn off those aweful machines ever since that day !
Harold! So good to see your story again! I come to see NN comments especially looking for your colorful comments 🙂 Have a good one friend!
For the Dept… I’d imagine they’re the straw stirring the drink for hiring. Looking pretty solid… only 80 vacancies to address
So far I have applied for work so many times, but Nunavut role is having family, couple employment,. Remember nunavut was built by education , many Inuit educated individuals needs to do more, get more educated. My college education my memory of what I learn are becoming less and less as there are no jobs since few years pass nope just income support. Not enough support. Not enough recognition for those hard working students, or just being ignored.
Call a spade a spade
Nobody will address the real elephant in the room: utter incompetence in hiring qualified staff and retention issues due to poor management.