2017 to 2018 Report on Fees

Erratum

Subsequent to the tabling in Parliament and online publication of LAC 2017 to 2018 Report on Fees, an error was identified. Corrections have been made to both the PDF and HTML versions of the document posted online.

Please note that information concerning Fee-setting authority for each category of fees should exclude references to the Financial Administration Act, section 19(1) and Order in Council JUS-94-0004-01.

Table of contents

• Minister’s message
• General fees information
  • General and financial information by fee category
  • Financial totals for all fee categories
  • Fees under the department’s authority

Minister's Message

On behalf of Library and Archives Canada (LAC), I am pleased to present the 2017 to 2018 Report on Fees.

On June 22, 2017, the Service Fees Act received royal assent, thereby repealing the User Fees Act.

The Service Fees Act introduces a modern legislative framework that enables cost-effective delivery of services and, through enhanced reporting to Parliament, improved transparency and oversight. The act provides for:

• a streamlined approach to consultation and the approval of new or modified fees
• a requirement to have performance standards and report against these standards, along with a policy to remit fees to fee payers when standards are not met
• an automatic annual fee adjustment by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to ensure that fees keep pace with inflation
• annual detailed reporting to Parliament in order to increase transparency

This 2017 to 2018 Fees Report is the first report to be prepared under the Service Fees Act. The report includes new information such as a detailed listing of all fees along with future year fee amounts. Additional fee information will be included starting next fiscal year, once LAC fully transitions to the Service Fees Act regime.

I welcome the increased transparency and oversight embodied by the reporting regime of the Service Fees Act, and I fully endorse LAC’s efforts to transition to this modern framework.

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism

General fees information

The tables that follow provide information on each category of fees, including:

• the name of the fee category
• the date that the fee (or fee category) was introduced and last amended (if applicable)
• service standards
• performance results against these standards
• financial information regarding total costs, total revenues and remissions

In addition to the information presented by fee category, there is a summary of the financial information for all fees as well as a listing of fees under LAC's authority. This listing includes the existing fee dollar amounts and the adjusted dollar fee amount for a future year.

General and financial information by fee category

General information

Fee category	Copies by LAC staff of textual documents and microforms, 105-mm microfiches of maps and architectural drawings, documents and archival records created in digital formats
Fee-setting authority	Department of Canadian Heritage Act, sections 8 to 12
Year introduced	2005
Year last amended	Not applicable
Service standard	Regular orders are processed within 30 business days of receipt. For rush service, orders are processed within 10 business days of receipt, and only if the following conditions are met: reference number is provided copyright status and access restrictions have been established access and copying restrictions do not apply, or a letter of permission is included with the request requested documents are available "rush service" is indicated on the request consent to pay all additional surcharges is indicated on the request Copies of textual documents and microforms Please note that written requests cannot be processed in less than 10 business days because time is needed for the registration of requests, delivery of documents from off-site storage (24 hours), identification of requested documents by staff, and special handling of archival documents. Processing times apply once requests have been received. Number of pages: Up to 1,000 pages Response time: Within 10 business days Number of pages: 1,001–6,000 pages Response time: Within 30 business days Copies of 105-mm microfiches of maps and architectural drawings Please note that written requests cannot be processed in less than 10 business days because time is needed for the registration of requests, delivery of documents from off-site storage (24 hours), and identification of requested documents by staff. Processing times apply once requests have been received. Number of copies: 1–249 Response time: In-person request: 1 to 4 business days, maximum of 50 copies per 24 hours Written request: 7 business days Number of copies: 250–499 Response time: In-person request: 5 to 10 business days Written request : 7 to 10 business days Number of copies: 500–749 Response time: 10 to 15 business days Number of copies: 750–999 Response time: 15 to 20 business days Number of copies: 1,000–1,249 Response time: 20 to 25 business days Number of copies: 1,250–1,500 Response time: 25 to 30 business days
Performance results	LAC processed regular orders within 30 days for 4852 of the 4940 orders (98.2%). LAC processed rush orders within 10 days for 1731 of the 1790 orders (96.7%).
Other information	LAC provides mainly digital copies unless this is not permitted because of legislative restrictions. For further information regarding our services, prices and performance standards, consult LAC Copy services section.

Copies by LAC staff - Text version

Fee category

Copies by LAC staff of textual documents and microforms, 105-mm microfiches of maps and architectural drawings, documents and archival records created in digital formats

Fee-setting authority

Department of Canadian Heritage Act, sections 8 to 12

Year introduced

2005

Year last amended

Not applicable

Service standard

• Regular orders are processed within 30 business days of receipt. For rush service, orders are processed within 10 business days of receipt, and only if the following conditions are met:
  • reference number is provided
  • copyright status and access restrictions have been established
  • access and copying restrictions do not apply, or a letter of permission is included with the request
  • requested documents are available
  • "rush service" is indicated on the request
  • consent to pay all additional surcharges is indicated on the request
• Copies of textual documents and microforms

  Please note that written requests cannot be processed in less than 10 business days because time is needed for the registration of requests, delivery of documents from off-site storage (24 hours), identification of requested documents by staff, and special handling of archival documents.

  Processing times apply once requests have been received.
  • Number of pages: Up to 1,000 pages
    Response time: Within 10 business days
  • Number of pages: 1,001–6,000 pages
    Response time: Within 30 business days
• Copies of 105-mm microfiches of maps and architectural drawings

  Please note that written requests cannot be processed in less than 10 business days because time is needed for the registration of requests, delivery of documents from off-site storage (24 hours), and identification of requested documents by staff.

  Processing times apply once requests have been received.

  • Number of copies: 1–249
    Response time:
    • In-person request: 1 to 4 business days, maximum of 50 copies per 24 hours
    • Written request: 7 business days
  • Number of copies: 250–499
    Response time:
    • In-person request: 5 to 10 business days
    • Written request : 7 to 10 business days
  • Number of copies: 500–749
    Response time: 10 to 15 business days
  • Number of copies: 750–999
    Response time: 15 to 20 business days
  • Number of copies: 1,000–1,249
    Response time: 20 to 25 business days
  • Number of copies: 1,250–1,500
    Response time: 25 to 30 business days

Performance results

LAC processed regular orders within 30 days for 4852 of the 4940 orders (98.2%). LAC processed rush orders within 10 days for 1731 of the 1790 orders (96.7%).

Other information

LAC provides mainly digital copies unless this is not permitted because of legislative restrictions.

For further information regarding our services, prices and performance standards, consult LAC Copy services section.

Financial information (dollars)

2016 to 2017 Revenue	2017 to 2018 Revenue	2017 to 2018 Cost *	2017 to 2018 Remissions †
116,466	153,532	695,875	Not applicable

* The amount includes direct and indirect costs, where such costs are identifiable and material.

† A remission is a partial or full return of a fee paid. Under the Service Fees Act, departments are required to develop policies that determine when fees will be remitted to fee payers should service standards not be met. The requirement for departments to remit is anticipated to come into effect on March 31, 2020. This effective date allows departments time to develop remissions policies and adjust service standard tracking and remittance systems. During fiscal year 2017 to 2018, some departments may have issued remissions, in accordance with the authority of their enabling legislation or regulation, as opposed to the authority given by the Service Fees Act. It is remissions issued under enabling legislations or regulations that are shown above.

General information

Fee category	Copies of documents on microform by clients themselves
Fee-setting authority	Department of Canadian Heritage Act, sections 8 to 12
Year introduced	2005
Year last amended	Not applicable
Service standard	Not applicable
Performance results	Client self-service: clients retrieve the microform from the shelf and make their own copies.
Other information	Not applicable

Copies of documents on microform by clients themselves - Text version

Fee category

Copies of documents on microform by clients themselves

Fee-setting authority

Department of Canadian Heritage Act, sections 8 to 12

Year introduced

2005

Year last amended

Not applicable

Service standard

Not applicable

Performance results

Client self-service: clients retrieve the microform from the shelf and make their own copies.

Other information

Not applicable

Financial information (dollars)

2016 to 2017 Revenue	2017 to 2018 Revenue	2017 to 2018 Cost *	2017 to 2018 Remissions †
3,453	2,772	316,118	Not applicable

* The amount includes direct and indirect costs, where such costs are identifiable and material.

† A remission is a partial or full return of a fee paid. Under the Service Fees Act, departments are required to develop policies that determine when fees will be remitted to fee payers should service standards not be met. The requirement for departments to remit is anticipated to come into effect on March 31, 2020. This effective date allows departments time to develop remissions policies and adjust service standard tracking and remittance systems. During fiscal year 2017 to 2018, some departments may have issued remissions, in accordance with the authority of their enabling legislation or regulation, as opposed to the authority given by the Service Fees Act.  It is remissions issued under enabling legislations or regulations that are shown above.

General information

Fee category	Service fee for reproduction of documents by private sector suppliers
Fee-setting authority	Department of Canadian Heritage Act, sections 8 to 12
Year introduced	2005
Year last amended	Not applicable
Service standard	For previously copied material: within 6 weeks of receipt of request. For previously uncopied material: within approximately 10 to 12 weeks of receipt of request. A rush service of 10 business days is also offered under certain conditions.
Performance results	LAC processed regular orders within 6 weeks for previously copied material and within 10 to 12 weeks for previously uncopied material for 5722 of the 5844 orders (97.9%). LAC processed rush orders within 10 days for 3369 of the 3502 orders (96.2%).
Other information	For further information regarding our services, prices and performance standards, consult LAC Copy services section.

Service fee for reproduction of documents by private sector suppliers - Text version

Fee category

Service fee for reproduction of documents by private sector suppliers

Fee-setting authority

Department of Canadian Heritage Act, sections 8 to 12

Year introduced

2005

Year last amended

Not applicable

Service standard

For previously copied material: within 6 weeks of receipt of request. For previously uncopied material: within approximately 10 to 12 weeks of receipt of request. A rush service of 10 business days is also offered under certain conditions.

Performance results

LAC processed regular orders within 6 weeks for previously copied material and within 10 to 12 weeks for previously uncopied material for 5722 of the 5844 orders (97.9%). LAC processed rush orders within 10 days for 3369 of the 3502 orders (96.2%).

Other information

For further information regarding our services, prices and performance standards, consult LAC Copy services section.

Financial information (dollars)

2016 to 2017 Revenue	2017 to 2018 Revenue	2017 to 2018 Cost *	2017 to 2018 Remissions †
29,953	28,359	344,702	Not applicable

* The amount includes direct and indirect costs, where such costs are identifiable and material.

† A remission is a partial or full return of a fee paid. Under the Service Fees Act, departments are required to develop policies that determine when fees will be remitted to fee payers should service standards not be met. The requirement for departments to remit is anticipated to come into effect on March 31, 2020. This effective date allows departments time to develop remissions policies and adjust service standard tracking and remittance systems. During fiscal year 2017 to 2018, some departments may have issued remissions, in accordance with the authority of their enabling legislation or regulation, as opposed to the authority given by the Service Fees Act.  It is remissions issued under enabling legislations or regulations that are shown above.

General information

Fee category	Postage and handling
Fee-setting authority	Department of Canadian Heritage Act, sections 8 to 12
Year introduced	2005
Year last amended	Not applicable
Service standard	Not applicable
Performance results	Not applicable
Other information	Prices are subject to annual postage or mail service rate increases.

Postage and handling - Text version

Fee category

Postage and handling

Fee-setting authority

Department of Canadian Heritage Act, sections 8 to 12

Year introduced

2005

Year last amended

Not applicable

Service standard

Not applicable

Performance results

Not applicable

Other information

Prices are subject to annual postage or mail service rate increases.

Financial information (dollars)

2016 to 2017 Revenue	2017 to 2018 Revenue	2017 to 2018 Cost *	2017 to 2018 Remissions †
992	1,379	35,748	Not applicable

* The amount includes direct and indirect costs, where such costs are identifiable and material.

† A remission is a partial or full return of a fee paid. Under the Service Fees Act, departments are required to develop policies that determine when fees will be remitted to fee payers should service standards not be met. The requirement for departments to remit is anticipated to come into effect on March 31, 2020. This effective date allows departments time to develop remissions policies and adjust service standard tracking and remittance systems. During fiscal year 2017 to 2018, some departments may have issued remissions, in accordance with the authority of their enabling legislation or regulation, as opposed to the authority given by the Service Fees Act.  It is remissions issued under enabling legislations or regulations that are shown above.

General information

Fee category	Fee charged for the processing of formal requests filed under the Access to Information Act (ATI Act)
Fee-setting authority	Access to Information Act- section 11 (fees) Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act (2016), section 7.5
Year introduced	1985
Year last amended	2018
Service standard	Provide response within 30 business days following receipt of request; the response time may be extended under section 9 of the ATI Act. If this is the case, a notice of extension is to be sent within 30 business days after receipt of request.
Performance results	LAC responded within 30 days for 6410 of the 6738 cases (95%).
Other information	LAC has no plans to introduce or amend user fees and regulatory charges under its authority. Currently, the $5 application fee per request is applied. In May 2016, the Interim Directive was introduced, stipulating that institutions would not collect fees beyond the $5 application fee. All other search and preparation fees were waived.

Fee charged for the processing of formal requests filed under the Access to Information Act (ATI Act) - Text version

Fee category

Fee charged for the processing of formal requests filed under the Access to Information Act (ATI Act)

Fee-setting authority

Access to Information Act- section 11 (fees)
Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act (2016), section 7.5

Year introduced

1985

Year last amended

2018

Service standard

Provide response within 30 business days following receipt of request; the response time may be extended under section 9 of the ATI Act. Notice of extension is to be sent within 30 days after receipt of request.

Performance results

LAC responded within 30 days for 6410 of the 6738 cases (95%).

Other information

LAC has no plans to introduce or amend user fees and regulatory charges under its authority.
Currently, the $5 application fee per request is applied.
In May 2016, the Interim Directive was introduced, stipulating that institutions would not collect fees beyond the $5 application fee. All other search and preparation fees were waived.

Financial information (dollars)

 

2016 to 2017 Revenue	2017 to 2018 Revenue	2017 to 2018 Cost *	2017 to 2018 Remissions †
6,512	5,592	164,805	Not applicable

* The amount includes direct and indirect costs, where such costs are identifiable and material.

† A remission is a partial or full return of a fee paid. Under the Service Fees Act, departments are required to develop policies that determine when fees will be remitted to fee payers should service standards not be met. The requirement for departments to remit is anticipated to come into effect on March 31, 2020. This effective date allows departments time to develop remissions policies and adjust service standard tracking and remittance systems. During fiscal year 2017 to 2018, some departments may have issued remissions, in accordance with the authority of their enabling legislation or regulation, as opposed to the authority given by the Service Fees Act.  It is remissions issued under enabling legislations or regulations that are shown above.

Financial totals for all fee categories

Total revenues, costs and remissions (dollars)

2016 to 2017 Total revenue	2017 to 2018 Total revenue	2017 to 2018 Total cost	2017 to 2018 Total remissions
157,376	191,634	1,557,248	Not applicable

Note: the totals are the sums of the revenues, costs and remissions reported for all fee categories in the “Financial information” tables.

Fees under LAC's authority

Fee amounts for 2017 to 2018, 2019 to 2020, and a future fiscal year, as applicable (dollars)

Name of fee	2017 to 2018 Fee amount	2019 to 2020 Adjusted fee amount *	Future fee amount and fiscal year †
Copies by LAC staff of textual documents	$0.40	$0.41	Not applicable
Copies by LAC staff of microforms	$0.30	$0.31	Not applicable
Copies by LAC staff of 105mm microfiches of maps and architectural drawings	$4.00	$4.09	Not applicable
Copies by LAC staff of documents and archival records created in digital formats	$20.00	$20.44	Not applicable
Copies of documents on microform, by clients themselves	$0.20	$0.20	Not applicable
Service fee for reproduction of documents, by private sector suppliers	A service fee of 20% based on the rate charged by private sector suppliers.	Not applicable	Not applicable
Postage	Prices are subject to annual postage or mail service rate increases.	Not applicable	Not applicable
Handling	$0.35	$0.36	Not applicable

* Fees are adjusted annually in one of two ways: (1) Under the Service Fees Act, fees are adjusted in each fiscal year by the percentage change over 12 months in the April All-Items Consumer Price Index for Canada, as published by Statistics Canada for the previous fiscal year. The Consumer Price Index rate for this report is 2.2%. (2) The fee is subject to a periodic adjustment at a predetermined rate, in accordance with another authority in legislation or regulation.

This fees are subject to the CPI increase under current legislative authority. However, the projected adjusted fees amount may not come into effect in 2019 to 2020 as a result of fee changes, new regulations and/or other factors.

† The “Future fee amount and fiscal year” is the new amount of the fee, in a future fiscal year other than 2019 to 2020, adjusted by a predetermined rate, in accordance with the authority in legislation or regulation.