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Atlantic Fisheries Fund

Title of the PIA

Privacy Impact Assessment of Atlantic Fisheries Fund (AFF)

Government institution

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)

Head of DFO or delegate for section 10 of the Privacy Act

Director, Access to Information and Privacy Secretariat

Senior official or executive for the new or substantially modified program or activity

Regional Director General, Maritimes Region

Name and description of the program or activity of the government institution

The AFF program is an initiative of Sub-program 1.1.1 Commercial Fisheries which is part of Program 1.1 Integrated Fisheries Management. The following descriptions are provided for Program 1.1 and Sub-program 1.1.1 in the Report on Plans and Priorities 2016-17

Program 1.1 - Integrated Fisheries Management

The Integrated Fisheries Management program administers Canada's fisheries in consultation with Aboriginal groups, federal departments, other levels of government, private industry and non-governmental stakeholders. The program promotes sustainability, allocating harvestable resources amongst commercial harvesters, recreational anglers, and Aboriginal groups, as well as aquaculture for seed, spat and broodstock. It derives authority from the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act and related regulations and relies on scientific assessments to develop tools such as Integrated Fisheries Management Plans and Rebuilding Strategies.

Sub-program 1.1.1 - Commercial fisheries

The Commercial Fisheries Program is managed in partnership with its stakeholders. It relies on scientific assessments and is dependent on consultative processes to develop and review policies, procedures and regulations and to ensure that the fisheries governance regime is accountable, predictable and transparent. In collaboration with its stakeholders, the program develops and uses management tools such as licenses, quotas, trap limits, escapements and bycatch.

Legal authority

This initiative derives its authority for collecting personal information from subsection 4.4 (1) Fisheries Act.

Personal Information Bank

This initiative requires the creation of a new Personal Information Bank for Grants and Contributions programs.

Short description of the project, initiative or change

The AFF program is a contribution program jointly funded by the federal, provincial and territorial governments. It is intended to help transform and drive innovation in Canada's fish and seafood sector to respond to the growing demand for seafood globally. Its aim is to bring high value, high quality, and sustainable fish and seafood to markets at home and around the world.

In addition to being a partnership between the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories, the AFF program works with industry, labour organizations, Indigenous communities, and scientific and academic communities to identify and support potential projects and activities of mutual interest. The AFF program has an Atlantic component and a national component.

The Atlantic component of the initiative will support innovation, infrastructure, and science partnerships in Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. This component will align with and contribute to the five pillars of the Atlantic Growth Strategy in order to advance its objectives. The objectives of the Atlantic component of AFF are to:

  1. Increase productivity, quality and sustainability in the fish and seafood sector
  2. Enhance capacity to adapt to and address ecosystem shifts and their impacts on the fish and seafood sector, including shifts related to climate change
  3. Increase recognition of Canadian fish and seafood products as market-leading in terms of quality and sustainability

The Canadian Fish and Seafood Program (CFSP) is the national component of the AFF program which was originally announced as the Market Access and Development pillar of the AFF. The CFSP funding is intended to help Canada's fish and seafood sector to transition to the growing demand for seafood globally. Its aim is to bring high value, high quality and sustainable products to markets at home and around the world. The objective of the CFSP is to address cross cutting market access issues affecting the Canadian fish and seafood sector at a national, regional and/or on a sectoral level. These will be achieved through:

  1. Access to new markets and maintained and improved access to existing markets, including in Canada
  2. Increased recognition of Canada's fish and seafood sector as a global leader in providing high quality, legally and sustainably sourced, value-added products
  3. Strengthen relationship and improve collaboration and organization within the Canadian fish and seafood sector

Risk area identification and categorization

The following section contains risks identified in the PIA for the AFF program. The numbered risk scale is presented in an ascending order: the first level (1) represents the lowest level of potential risk for the risk area; the fourth level (4) represents the highest level of potential risk for the given risk area.

Type of program or activity

Personal information is used to make decisions that directly affect the individual (i.e. determining eligibility for programs including authentication for accessing programs/services, administering program payments, overpayments, or support to clients, issuing or denial of permits/licenses, processing appeals, etc.)

Level of risk to privacy: Low

Type of personal information involved and context

Financial information (income tax returns, personal net worth statements, financial statements, credit history etc.) about a business operating as a sole proprietorship or partnership is considered personal information about the principle owner(s) of the business; personal information is used to inform and support funding decisions.

Level of risk to privacy: Medium

Program or activity partners and private sector involvement

This initiative is a partnership between the government of Canada and Canadian provincial/territorial governments.

Level of risk to privacy: Medium

Duration of the program or activity

The initiative is expected to last for seven (7) years.

Level of risk to privacy: Low

Program population

The use of personal information is for external administrative purposes that affects only certain individuals.

Level of risk to privacy: Medium

Technology & privacy

The program or activity requires the use of an existing electronic system, application or software, including collaborative software (or groupware), to support the program or activity in terms of the creation, collection or handling of personal information.

Does the new or substantially modified program or activity involve implementation of a new electronic system or the use of a new application or software, including collaborative software (or groupware), to support the program or activity in terms of the creation, collection or handling of personal information?

     No

Does the new or substantially modified program or activity require any modifications to information technology (IT) legacy systems?

     No

Does the new or substantially modified program or activity involve implementation of new technologies or one or more of the following activities enhanced identification methods, surveillance, or automated personal information analysis, personal information matching and knowledge discovery techniques?

     No

Overall risk to privacy based on technology: Low

Personal information transmission

Personal information is transferred to a portable device (i.e. USB key, diskette or laptop computer), transferred to a different medium or is printed.

Level of risk to privacy: Medium

Risk impact to the individual or employee in the event of a privacy breach

The most likely impact to the individual in the event of a privacy breach is financial harm however the likelihood of it occuring is low.

Level of risk to privacy: Medium

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