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Departmental plan for fiscal year 2020 to 2021

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

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From the Ministers

It is our pleasure as Ministers of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to present the Departmental Plan for fiscal year 2020 to 2021.

As one of the government’s most-complex departments with the greatest impact on the daily lives of citizens, ESDC provides programs and services that support Canadians at all stages from birth to death. Recognizing the magnitude of responsibility that comes with this, we are committed to work together, along with our ministerial counterparts responsible for other portfolios and with Canadians across the country, to build a stronger, more inclusive and more resilient country that meets the needs of all.

We are committed to the principle of growing the middle class and those working hard to join it. As such, we will advance measures to increase Canadians’ economic and social security. We strongly believe in helping Canadians get the skills they need to find and keep good quality jobs. Through the Employment Insurance program, the Canada Student Loans and Grants program and our renewed labour market transfers to provinces and territories, more Canadians will have access to the education and employment supports needed to remain competitive now and into the future. Going forward, we will make Employment Insurance work better for Canadians and do more to help ensure and promote a skilled workforce and to support employers across Canada who are having difficulty finding workers with the right skills to fill available jobs. And to ensure we are helping the most vulnerable, the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy, Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy, and the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy are just a few of the initiatives that will help achieve the objective of growing the middle class.

In addition, we will develop measures that will maximize labour force participation including that of under-represented groups – women, people with a disability, Indigenous peoples, visible minorities and newcomers. To accomplish this, we will raise awareness around the financial supports available to those wishing to acquire post-secondary education, lengthen the interest-free grace period on loan repayments for new parents and recent graduates, invest in skills training to support demands in the energy efficient home construction field, and continue to promote skilled trades as a first career choice for young people.

We will also continue working directly with industry and organized labour to help Canadians have a fair chance at success and to grow our economy. Hard work should earn a decent wage, so we will raise the minimum wage in federally regulated workplaces to $15 an hour. Mental health and work-life balance are key elements of everyone’s productivity and quality of life; we will support both by making mental health an element of occupational health and safety and by introducing a new Family Day. Our ongoing support of industry and labour in the collective bargaining process helps protect the middle class and gives more people an opportunity to join it.

We believe that possessing a sense of belonging and of inclusion contributes greatly to one’s sense of self-worth. This is why it is important for us to continue to advance the implementation of policies and practices that were established in the new Accessible Canada Act. We will address discrimination and stigma too often experienced by Canadians with disabilities, raise public awareness, and work with employers and businesses to improve the economic inclusion of persons with disabilities. We will apply a Gender-Based Analysis Plus lens to help ensure we take into consideration the variation in experiences and barriers that different groups face as we develop programs and services that are effective for everyone. We will continue to put a priority on delivering easy-to-use, seamless, digitally enabled services that put the needs and expectations of Canadians first and allow them to access the supports they need, when they need them, wherever they are located.

The Government of Canada recognizes that the best start in life for our children means ensuring access to quality early learning and child care that is affordable, flexible and inclusive. Children are one of our most precious resources—investing in them means investing in Canada. By the end of 2020, the investments we are making through the bilateral Early Learning and Child Care agreements with the provinces and territories will have led to the creation of up to 40,000 more affordable child care spaces. Going forward, we will work with the provinces and territories to invest in the creation of additional before- and after-school spaces to help families provide more support for early childhood educators and lay the groundwork for a Pan-Canadian childcare system.

As Canada’s seniors population continues to increase, we must adjust our programs and services to meet this growing demand. That is why we will develop a better understanding of the needs of seniors and review our capacity to connect seniors to benefits and programs. By proactively enrolling individuals aged 70 or older for the Canada Pension Plan retirement pension, increasing Old Age Security pension by 10 percent for seniors when they turn 75, and providing low-income seniors who work the ability to keep more of what they earn, we will reinforce a greater sense of security. We will ensure all seniors have the supports needed to continue making significant and valuable contributions to their families, communities, and workplaces.

Canada prides itself on being a multicultural and inclusive country and the acceptance of our differences is one of our greatest strengths. In our efforts to continue building a country that provides equal opportunities for all, we will keep moving forward with Canada’s commitment to build a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples. We also remain strongly committed to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, working with both national and international partners to build a better world for future generations, and will work with our colleagues to support the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent.

Our agenda builds on the progress we have already made. We will continue to achieve results that are meaningful and have significant impact. More middle class Canadians and those working hard to join them will directly benefit from our efforts. We are looking forward to delivering on our commitments and creating a better future for all. To do all of this, we will be working closely with ESDC’s talented and professional employees, who deliver services and benefits people need, when, where and how they want them from coast to coast to coast.

For more information on our priorities as they relate to Employment and Social Development Canada, please see our ministerial mandate letters:

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen

The Honourable Filomena Tassi

The Honourable Deb Schulte

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

The Honourable Filomena Tassi, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Labour

The Honourable Deb Schulte, P.C. M.P.

Minister of Seniors

Plans at a glance

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will help build a stronger, more inclusive, and competitive Canada. We will continue to focus on programs and planned activities that work to improve the standard of living and the quality of life for all Canadians. This includes working to increase accessibility and to remove and prevent barriers faced by persons with disabilities.

The department will deliver a range of programs and services that support Canadians in various stages of life. ESDC’s planned initiatives for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 will include more help for Canadian families. This means providing more access to early learning and childcare options, helping them spend more time with their newborns, and ensuring that they can manage during times of unemployment.

The department will also continue to help students finance their post-secondary education, provide income support to seniors, and help create opportunities for all Canadians to take part in society and the economy.

The Labour Program will help foster safe, healthy, fair and inclusive workplaces through legislative and regulatory reforms that protect employees and support employers.

Service Canada will focus on ongoing improvements that ensure that Canadians have a reliable, single point of access to some of the government’s most important programs and services. These include Employment Insurance, the Social Insurance Number, Passports, Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan. Please refer to the Service Excellence section for details on the department’s plans to meet the needs of Canadians.

The department will continue to experiment with innovative ways to address policy, program, and service delivery challenges. The ESDC Innovation Lab is a dedicated team that supports all areas of the department to pilot and test new ways of doing things. The lab uses the latest science and research about how people behave to test new designs and pilot better ways of delivering services and benefits to Canadians.

For more information on ESDC’s plans, priorities and planned results, see the Core Responsibilities: planned results and resources section of this report.

Operating Context

Economic and social factors will continue to impact the department’s operations and the strategies it uses to achieve results. The past few years have featured historically low unemployment, progress in job creation and economic growth, and overall high levels of well-being for Canadians. However, GDP growth projections have been lower recently, with the economy expected to grow 1.6% in 2020, as compared to 2.0% in 2018 and 1.6% in 2019, before returning to 2.0% in 2021.

Job creation in the last few years has been particularly strong. The unemployment rate decreased to historic lows throughout this period. As a result, the number of Employment Insurance claimants receiving regular income benefits decreased, reaching its lowest point in more than 20 years. At the same time, the percentage of Canadians aged 15 to 64 who were employed reached an all-time high.

This growth has created opportunities for Canadians across the country. However, there is uncertainty about the future due to the following factors that will influence the economy, society, and how we deliver services:

  • aging population
  • new technologies that are changing the nature of work
  • ongoing globalization of production and labour
  • challenges for workers in energy-intensive provinces and territories
  • difficulty recruiting specific skills
  • trade disputes

Challenges in meeting employer demand for skilled labour will continue, despite the fact that Canada has the most educated workforce in the world. Labour market tightness will also continue in most provinces, industries and occupations. Despite this, wage growth is expected to remain modest. Some groups continue to struggle in the labour market, including recent immigrants, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and people with lower educational attainment.

Barriers remain that impede the full participation of Canadians in society and the economy. Although Canada is a prosperous country, too many Canadians live in poverty. In 2017, the most recent year that data is available, the rate of poverty was 9.5%, the lowest it has ever been. However, there are still 3.4 million Canadians living in poverty.

As well, 22% of the Canadian population in 2017 identified as having a disability. These individuals continue to face barriers to employment: only 59% of Canadians with disabilities aged 25 to 64 are employed compared to 80% of Canadians without disabilities. In addition, persons with disabilities generally earn less and are more likely to live in poverty.

Taking action for people, planet and prosperity is at the heart of Canada’s commitment to implement the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At the core of the 2030 Agenda are 17 Sustainable Development Goals that aim to address today and tomorrow’s pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. ESDC is coordinating the government’s efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda in close collaboration with all other departments.

Service is another important aspect of the department’s operating context. Clients expect to receive digital services from the government that are comparable to those they get from the private sector. Most clients want online and mobile self-service options that are easy to use, complete and connected to other services. However, providing services to all Canadians requires balancing online options with the availability of high-quality in-person services. The department will continue its efforts to ensure that Canadians have world-class services that meet their needs.

Overall Risks and Mitigation

As the department strives to ensure that Canadians receive high quality and efficient services, it must remain mindful of the changing environment in which it operates as well as the risks that may delay or prevent it from achieving its mission. The department also recognizes that 1 of the biggest risks it faces is a failure to take risks. As a result, the department will continue to pursue innovation and experimentation to learn from the successes and failures that come from testing new and different approaches to policy development, program design, and service delivery.

The department is committed to improving the design and delivery of its services to meet the changing expectations of Canadians. The key risks facing the department and their mitigation strategies are described below.

Information Technology. A large portion of the department’s IT systems are aging, with some as much as 56 years old. Over time, underinvestment in maintenance and updating has resulted in an increasing risk of failure. Our aging systems make it more costly and difficult to introduce new services and benefits to Canadians. The department has received additional funding, allowing us to make progress to replace and strengthen our IT systems. This will take time, effort and additional investments as we must still deliver services to Canadians while we make improvements. In the end, these improvements will help ensure services and benefits are always there when Canadians need them.

Investment Planning and Investment Portfolio Management. Without the right infrastructure and resources, there is a risk that the department will not deliver its services, programs and projects. To respond to this risk, the department has put in place governance and oversight to better manage resources and projects and better coordinate all the planned investments.

Human Resources Management. To deliver programs to Canadians, the department needs to maintain a skilled workforce. It remains difficult to attract and retain employees due to various issues. Among those are shifting demographics, retirements, changing skills requirement, and issues with paying employees because of the Phoenix pay system. Finding and retaining skilled workers in the system transformation area is particularly challenging. These challenges mean that there is a risk that ESDC does not have the skills and competencies needed to develop and deliver services and programs to Canadians. To address this risk, the department will continue to implement its Workforce Action Plan. This plan contains initiatives to attract, develop and retain a skilled and diverse workforce. These efforts include talent management, succession planning and executive workforce management approaches. The department will also increase the number of resources dedicated to resolving and preventing pay issues.

Fraud. Fraud and wrongdoing are serious risks that could result in:

  • inappropriate access or disclosure of Canadians’ personal information
  • the issuance of inappropriate benefit payments
  • loss of Canadians’ trust

To minimize the likelihood and impact of fraud and wrongdoing from occurring, ESDC is implementing a renewed Fraud Framework that guides its approach to prevent, detect and address these threats.

Privacy. The department needs to hold a lot of personal information about Canadians given the nature of the programs and services it delivers. Like other organizations, ESDC always faces security threats. There is a risk that sensitive or confidential information may be used in the wrong way. Wrongful use of information could result in fraud and a loss of public confidence. ESDC has numerous oversight mechanisms in place to protect personal and sensitive information. The department will continue to protect this information through measures such as mandatory training for employees, monitoring the network for unauthorized access, security sweeps of offices, and increased cybersecurity protection.

Service delivery. Canadians expect that the services they receive are of high quality and are delivered efficiently. The department is changing the delivery of programs and services to make them more accessible and easier to use. There is a risk that ESDC will not be able to maintain the delivery of high-quality services while changing how it is delivering them. As a response, ESDC is modernizing its technology and processes. The department will also continue to carefully monitor the progress of this work while ensuring that Canadians continue to receive the services they need.

Emergency and Business Continuity and Physical security. Like many organizations, the department faces threats that may prevent it from keeping its offices open and critical systems working. These threats include natural disasters, workplace violence and the compromise of sensitive information. To reduce the potential impact of these threats, ESDC provides its employees with security awareness training and prepares plans to respond to potential disruptions. The department also practices the planned responses on a regular basis to assess their adequacy and make changes as needed.

Program Design. Society, the economy and other aspects of our environment are changing quickly. There is a risk that ESDC may not be able to keep up with these rapid changes. To address this risk, ESDC will use public opinion research, consultations with stakeholders, client surveys, social media, and other activities to better understand the expectations of Canadians and inform the development of appropriate programs. The department will also engage experts to better understand and respond to new issues, for example the changing nature of work.

Service Excellence

The risks and costs associated with aging IT systems, a growing number of clients, and finite resources means that Service Canada must make strategic choices in the services it delivers for Canadians. Service Canada is focusing its efforts on ensuring that unemployed workers, seniors, persons with disabilities, new parents, and other Canadians, receive the benefits they need, when they most need them. This means that other Service Canada activities, such as the collection of overpayments, or updates to client accounts may be delayed.

To help address the above challenges, the department is innovating and transforming the way it delivers services to Canadians. This will allow Canadians to digitally self-serve, seamlessly access services, receive high quality, timely, accurate services and have their needs anticipated.

Modernizing Services to Canadians

Service Canada will advance service transformation of its business processes and technology through the following activities in fiscal year 2020 to 2021:

  • shifting the delivery of Old Age Security (OAS) benefits to the more modern Canada Pension Plan (CPP) IT platform. This will ensure that delivery of these important benefits remains stable. It will also allow for integrated processing of pension benefits and payments where possible
  • finalizing the scope and expected activities of the Benefits Delivery Modernization programme and taking the first steps towards the phased implementation to improve how Employment Insurance, OAS and CPP services are delivered to Canadians
  • continuing to modernize our services through automatic enrolment and by having more options for online self-service such as secure, 2-way online communication with clients
  • migrating several call centres to a new contact centre platform to replace older technology and improve services to Canadians by reducing wait times and answering more calls
  • including self-service options in the call centre Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system that can be accessed by clients at all times. Clients will be able to:
    • be authenticated through the IVR
    • get information on their current payment
    • get information on their application status
  • finalizing consultations with its partners to ensure necessary tools exist to bolster identity management and protect personal information contained within the Social Insurance Number database
  • strengthening the department’s security program through the update of its security policy and related directives and guidelines to support a strong security culture. This will help ensure the ongoing protection of Canadians’ personal information
  • continuing to take steps to ensure clients receive the benefits that they are eligible for by:
    • proactively contacting potential recipients
    • expanding partnerships with other organizations to reach more Canadians directly
    • simplifying forms and application processes
    • making our services more accessible in person, online, and over the phone

The department is refreshing its Service Strategy to guide improved operations and the client experience. The strategy will support the design and delivery of technology-enabled services that are focused on clients, empowered employees, integrated decision-making, and measurement and reporting on outcomes.

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will modernize grants and contributions programs by focusing on 4 key areas: client experience, efficiency, innovation and stewardship. Examples include:

  • improving existing grants and contributions service standards and implementing a new “Time to Decision” service standard. This will inform clients of the expected timelines for receiving decisions after applications are submitted
  • updating application materials and web pages related to program delivery to ensure they are fully accessible and use simple language
  • publishing a new Call for Proposal calendar to inform clients when they can apply for funding
  • delivering a survey to measure client’s satisfaction and expectations of grants and contributions programs
  • launching an experiment to develop an applicant guide using behavioural insight to measure outcomes and develop guidance materials that result in more complete funding applications

Service Canada Regional Service Delivery

Service Canada regions support key government commitments and respond to the unique service delivery needs of citizens in the areas they serve. In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, Service Canada regions will deliver services in a way that responds to the evolving needs of clients in the regions through:

  • operating an extensive network of Service Canada Centres, outreach locations, specialized call centres and processing centres throughout the country
  • making labour market information available through the Claimant Information Sessions to employers and individuals to help them make better decisions

Additionally, Service Canada offices pilot new approaches to respond to differing needs across regions or to test new initiatives before implementing across the whole network. Service Canada will pursue the following initiatives in each region:

Western Canada and Territories
  • Continue working with provincial and territorial governments, and with their respective Public Guardians and Trustees, to ensure children in care have access to the Canada Learning Bond. This will be done through a simplified Social Insurance Number application process, which is needed to open a Registered Education Savings Plan
  • Deliver outreach services in rural and remote communities, including over 500 Indigenous communities, to increase access to federal benefits
  • Deploy new technologies such as satellite receivers, mobile internet hubs, and portable scanners to address access barriers in remote and isolated areas
Atlantic Region
  • Put in place a new telephone system to make it easier for clients to access information for National Identity Services, the Employment Insurance Premium Reduction Program, the Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Program and Government Annuities
  • Continue to put in place the digital assistance service in Service Canada Centres to help clients access service quicker
Ontario Region
  • Continue to test client-focused design and accessibility elements and integrate multiple points of service as part of Phase II of the Toronto North York Flagship Service Canada Centre
  • Ensure in-person services maintain client service excellence by using the City of Toronto Service Area Strategy Framework to support service delivery within Service Canada Centres across the Greater Toronto Area
  • Streamline and improve services to Temporary Foreign Worker and Grants and Contributions program clients through the country’s first Service Delivery Hub
  • Increase service capacity and reduce wait times through the Community-Based Virtual Service initiative that connects clients to Service Canada officers by video chat
Quebec Region
  • Promote government services and carry out transactions for Indigenous clients in attendance via the third edition of the Open House for Indigenous clients in an urban setting
  • Deliver additional clinics in universities and colleges to issue Social Insurance Numbers to international students. These clinics make it possible to serve thousands of clients and to reduce wait times in Service Canada Centres
  • Implement a plan to improve access to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to address labour market pressures related to workforce availability
  • Expand access to the work-sharing program to support businesses experiencing a slowdown in operations
Figure 1: Breakdown of points of service in person by region
Figure 1: Breakdown of points of service in person by region
Text description of figure 1

In-Person Regional Network is comprised of 611 points of service. There are 4 types of points of service: Service Canada Centres, Scheduled Outreach sites, Service Canada Centre – Passport service sites, and Service delivery partner sites. These points of service are spread within 4 regions: Western Canada and Territories, Ontario, Québec, and Atlantic.

Points of service

Region Service Canada Centres Scheduled outreach sites Service Canada Centre – Passport service sites Service Delivery partner sites
Western Canada and Territories 97 126 10 15
Ontario 89 76 13 0
Québec 74 18 6 0
Atlantic 57 27 3 0
National total 317 247 32 15

Core responsibilities: planned results and resources

This section contains detailed information on the department’s planned results and resources for each of its core responsibilities.

Social Development

Description

To increase inclusion and opportunities for Canadians to participate in their communities.

Planning highlights

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will undertake the following activities to advance this core responsibility.

The department will continue to increase access to early learning and childcare via the following initiatives:

  • work with provinces and territories on achieving early learning and childcare commitments
  • transform Indigenous early learning and childcare programming to improve the coordination of federal programs and investments in support of the priorities set by Indigenous communities

The department will remove barriers faced by people with disabilities and increase accessibility by:

  • playing a key role in the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act and working to identify, remove and prevent barriers faced by people with disabilities. This will be accomplished through the following initiatives:
    • supporting the implementation of the new Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization and a new Chief Accessibility Officer for the department
    • developing the Accessibility Data Strategy in collaboration with Statistics Canada to measure the outcomes of the Accessible Canada Act and its regulations. In addition, conducting public opinion research to measure Canadian attitudes toward accessibility over time
    • leading the development of regulations to support the Accessible Canada Act
    • engaging partners on the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act. This includes the disability community, provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous governments and organizations, and regulated entities
    • promoting culture change and raising awareness of accessibility at the national level, including supporting activities during the annual national AccessAbility Week
  • advancing Enabling Accessibility Fund initiatives that:
    • support small capital projects that increase accessibility in community spaces and workplaces. This allows people with disabilities to participate more fully in community activities, programs and services and gives them access to employment opportunities
    • support mid-sized projects that began in 2019
    • empower youth to identify accessibility barriers in workplaces or community spaces and work with local organizations to find new solutions that increase accessibility for people with disabilities

The department will work to reduce and prevent homelessness through Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy by:

  • providing homeless individuals or those at-risk with the services they need. The department will support key partners in the community, including Indigenous organizations, in working together to plan and design coordinated access to services
  • requiring communities to publish annual reports that will track implementation progress and outcomes. Community progress reports will help the department make better decisions about how to support communities to reduce and prevent homelessness
  • expanding the reach of the program to up to 6 new communities. These communities will be chosen through an open selection process and will receive stable funding to tackle homelessness beginning in 2020
  • continuing to support organizations in their work to prevent and reduce Indigenous homelessness. The department will work with partners to identify investment priorities that meet the needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals

The department will work to reduce poverty by continuing to implement Opportunity for All: Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy, including:

  • supporting the National Advisory Council on Poverty in the development of an annual report on progress to be tabled in Parliament and in providing advice to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development on poverty reduction
  • continuing to advance the data and measurement plan to address key gaps in poverty measurement in Canada. This will include ensuring that poverty data is available on all Canadians (including vulnerable groups), data on various dimensions of poverty are included, and the data are robust, timely, and publicly available
  • co-developing Indigenous indicators of poverty and well-being. This will be done by working with National Indigenous Organizations, modern treaty holders, self-governing Indigenous governments and others to co-develop indicators of Indigenous poverty and well-being

The department will also undertake work to develop a Guaranteed Paid Family Leave to ensure that more parents can stay home with their children during the first year of their child’s life.

The department will support organizations and communities to improve the social inclusion of vulnerable groups through the Social Development Partnership Program. This will be done via the following initiatives:

  • providing $5 million in fiscal year 2020 to 2021 for projects and capital assistance to celebrate, share knowledge and build capacity in Canada’s Black Canadian communities. The funding will help not-for-profit organizations to pay for improvements to physical spaces and to strengthen organizations so they can address the needs of Black Canadian communities
  • financially supporting 28 national disability organizations to help them increase the social inclusion of persons with disabilities. The department will also fund 12 regional associate organizations of the Canadian Association for Community Living to support the inclusion of persons with intellectual disabilities
  • funding projects that:
    • help make disability organizations stronger by giving youth a chance to be leaders
    • engage national Indigenous organizations on key issues about barriers faced by Indigenous persons with disabilities
    • find new ways to improve the financial security of persons with disabilities
    • develop tools and resources in priority areas of the Accessible Canada Act, and include participation by persons with disabilities in legislative and regulatory implementation
    • promote accessibility and inclusion in communities and workplaces across Canada during National AccessAbility Week
    • engage the disability community on how the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is implemented

The department will implement the foundational elements of a national Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy and invest in and foster collaboration among the public, private and community sectors by:

  • continuing to implement the Investment Readiness Program that will provide $50 million over 2 years to help social purpose organizations seek loans or other forms of financing to grow their social impact. This will help organizations that are trying to solve social and environmental challenges get access to the social finance market
  • launching the Social Finance Fund and investing $755 million over 10 years to accelerate the growth of Canada’s social finance market
  • allocating at least $100 million to projects that support gender equality. The parameters of the Fund will be established to make sure that it benefits marginalized communities and those that find it hard to access the social finance market
  • establishing the Social Innovation Advisory Council to lead the implementation of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy

As part of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Canada has committed to working towards building a more peaceful, inclusive and prosperous world that leaves no one behind. The department is leading the implementation of Canada’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To accelerate action on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the department will develop a 2030 Agenda National Strategy that reflects efforts of all levels of government, civil society, Indigenous peoples, the private sector and all Canadians.

ESDC will also support the work of stakeholders through the SDGs Funding Program to:

  • increase public awareness of the SDGs
  • develop new partnerships and networks
  • improve knowledge of issues related to the SDGs
  • use new approaches to make progress on many SDGs
  • support reconciliation with Indigenous peoples

Services to Canadians


In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will continue improving services to Canadians under this core responsibility by:

  • simplifying assessment, monitoring processes, and reducing client-reporting requirements for the Enabling Accessibility Fund and other programs
  • continuing work on a research project to examine program delivery trends and outcomes to understand funding patterns and make adjustments to ensure that client needs are met

Gender-based analysis plus

The programs found in the department's Social Development core responsibility are aligned with the Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being pillar of the Gender Results Framework. These programs provide funding to organizations that seek to improve outcomes for persons and groups facing barriers to full and equal participation in society. ESDC has developed these programs using a Gender-based analysis plus lens in order to take into consideration the variation in experiences and barriers these different groups face.

United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

ESDC’s planned activities under its Social Development core responsibility support Canada’s efforts to address the UN 2030 Agenda for SDGs. In particular, Early Learning and Child Care, the Enabling Accessibility Fund, the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy, Opportunity for All: Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy, and Reaching Home contribute towards:

  • ending poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1)
  • ensuring inclusive and equitable education and promoting lifelong learning for all (SDG 4)
  • achieving gender equality (SDG 5)
  • reducing inequality within and among countries (SDG 10)
  • making cities and communities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (SDG 11)

In addition to contributing to the above SDGs, the Social Development Partnerships Program helps achieve SDG 17 as it relates to encouraging and promoting effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships.

Experimentation

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department’s planned experimentation projects include the production and testing of insights to support the development of Accessibility Plans. These projects will ensure that Accessibility Plans meet requirements of the Accessible Canada Act of 2019. The department will also continue to use experimentation to improve the services we provide to Employment Insurance claimants. As the year progresses, further projects will be conducted to support the department`s response to the needs and expectations of Canadians.

Planned results for Social Development

Departmental result: Access to early learning and child care is increased

Departmental result indicator: Number of children in regulated child care spaces and/or early learning programs and number of children receiving subsidies or other financial supports

Target: Not available1

Date to achieve target: Not available

2016 to 2017 actual results: Not available

2017 to 2018 actual results: 21,205

2018 to 2019 actual results: Not available2

Departmental result: Barriers to accessibility for people with disabilities are removed

Departmental result indicator: Number of community spaces and workplaces that are more accessible due to Enabling Accessibility Fund funding

Target: 4303

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 575

2017 to 2018 actual results: 609

2018 to 2019 actual results: 4734

Departmental result: Homelessness in Canada is prevented and reduced

Departmental result indicator: Reduction in the estimated number of shelter users who are chronically homeless

Target: 31% reduction from the 2016 baseline estimated at 26,900 shelter users5

Date to achieve target: March 2024

2016 to 2017 actual results: 26,900

2017 to 2018 actual results: Not available6

2018 to 2019 actual results: Not available6

Departmental result: Not for profit organizations, communities and other groups have an enhanced capacity to address a range of social issues such as the social inclusion of people with disabilities, the engagement of seniors and support for children and families

Departmental result indicator: For every dollar invested through the Social Development Partnerships Program, amount leveraged/invested by non-federal partners7

Target: $0.30

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results:

  • Social Development Partnerships Program- Children and Families: $1.33
  • Social Development Partnerships Program- Disabilities: $0.32

2017 to 2018 actual results:

  • Social Development Partnerships Program- Children and Families: $1.02
  • Social Development Partnerships Program- Disabilities: $0.22

2018 to 2019 actual results:

  • Social Development Partnerships Program- Children and Families: $0.94
  • Social Development Partnerships Program- Disabilities: $0.32

Departmental result: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs8

Departmental result indicator: Service standard target for Social Development program priority service, as defined by the Government of Canada’s Policy on Service, was met.9

Target: 1 out of 110

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 2017 to 2018 is the baseline year: target was 1 out of 1

2017 to 2018 actual results: 1 out of 1

2018 to 2019 actual results: 1 out of 1

Notes

  1. A target is not yet available as the department’s approach to early learning and childcare was under development at the time of publication.
  2. Results will be available in the Spring of 2020 with the submission of annual progress reports from provinces and territories for fiscal year 2018 to 2019. Fiscal year 2017 to 2018 is the baseline year.
  3. This target is based on the anticipated number of projects for fiscal year 2020 to 2021.
  4. The number of projects to make community spaces more accessible in fiscal year 2018 to 2019 was lower than previous years because the maximum amount for projects was increased. This led to fewer projects but more funding per project.
  5. Fiscal year 2027 to 2028 target: 50% (Date to achieve target: March 2028)
  6. Indicators based on calendar year. Results for the calendar year ending December 31, 2017, and ending December 31, 2018, are anticipated to be available in February 2020. Results for calendar year 2019 are anticipated to be available in February 2021.
  7. While it is not mandatory, the Social Development Partnership Program – Children and Families component continues to encourage funded recipients to leverage cash and in-kind investments from other sources. Increased partnerships, through cash and/or in-kind contributions, increases the impact of funded initiatives and expands the capacity of recipients to build and further their knowledge, expertise and understanding to better address complex social issues.
  8. Service standards are published on www.canada.ca.
  9. Service standard refers to Grants and Contributions program payments that are processed within the prescribed timeframe.
  10. In this core responsibility, the target is for 1 program priority service standard.
Table 1: Planned budgetary financial resources for Social Development
Item Main Estimates 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2021 to 2022 Planned spending 2022 to 2023
Planned gross spending 953,560,319 953,560,319 603,256,887 651,982,293
Less: planned spending in specified purpose accounts 0 0 0 0
Less: planned revenues netted against expenditures 0 0 0 0
Planned net spending 953,560,319 953,560,319 603,256,887 651,982,293
  • Note: The decrease between 2020 to 2021 and 2022 to 2023 planned spending is related to the sunsetting of the funding for the Early Learning and Child Care program in 2020 to 2021, offset by an increase in contribution funding for Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Transformation Initiative.
Table 2: Planned human resources for Social Development
Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2022 to 2023
559 544 541

Financial, human resources and performance information for ESDC’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Pensions and Benefits

Description

Assist Canadians in maintaining income for retirement, and provide financial benefits to survivors, people with disabilities and their families.

Planning highlights

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will undertake the following activities to advance this core responsibility.

The department will ensure that seniors have income support for retirement through the following key initiatives:

  • the department will implement the enhanced Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) earnings exemption introduced in Budget 2019. Effective July 1, 2020, low-income seniors who work will be able to keep more of what they earn. This exemption will apply to both employment and self-employment income and will:
    • increase the exemption from $3,500 to $5,000 per year for each GIS recipient, and their spouse
    • introduce a partial exemption of 50 per cent on the next $10,000 of earnings
  • the department will begin proactively enrolling individuals aged 70 or older for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement pension, starting in April 2020. This will ensure that Canadians receive the full value of their retirement pension to which they contributed

The department will ensure that those with disabilities and their families have financial support for retirement through the following key initiatives:

  • the department will implement improvements to respond to the needs of Canadians with severe and prolonged disabilities who receive Canada Pension Plan – Disability (CPP-D) benefits. This will include the following planned activities:
    • strengthen quality assurance to find efficiencies, enhance program performance and improve the decision-making process
    • analyze interactions between the department and Canadians to identify where and how we can make improvements
    • consult with internal and external partners to advance Canada Pension Plan – Disability program objectives
  • the department will implement new measures under the Canada Disability Savings Program related to the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) announced in Budget 2019. These new measures will eliminate the requirement to close a RDSP when beneficiaries no longer qualify for the disability tax credit. This means that people who become ineligible for the Disability Tax Credit can keep their RDSP open and do not have to repay the government back for money that was put into the RDSP. When implemented, this will help the long-term financial security of persons with disabilities, in particular those with episodic disabilities
  • the department will also conduct outreach activities to increase awareness and understanding of the Registered Disability Savings Plan and the Canada Disability Savings Grant and Bond

Services to Canadians

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will continue improving services to Canadians under this core responsibility:

  • the Canada Pension Plan Service Improvement Strategy will continue to enhance electronic services and simplify processes for CPP and CPP-Disability clients by implementing the online CPP-Disability Application
  • the department will migrate the Old Age Security program from its current delivery system to the newer system used to deliver CPP. This will help address risks related to aging IT infrastructure and improve services to eligible seniors

Gender-based analysis plus

The programs found in the department's Pensions and Benefits core responsibility are aligned with the Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being pillar of the Gender Results Framework. These programs provide income support to Canadians to help them maintain their standard of living during retirement and contribute to improving living standards of populations who are at an increased risk of experiencing poverty, such as seniors, women who are widows or have to take time off work due to caregiving responsibilities, and persons with disabilities.

United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

ESDC’s planned activities under its Pensions and Benefits core responsibility support Canada’s efforts to address the UN 2030 Agenda for SDGs. Canada’s Pension Plan, including its disability improvements, and the Canada Disability Savings Program collectively contribute to SDGs focused on:

  • ending poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1)
  • promoting inclusive and sustained economic growth, productive employment and decent work for all (SDG 8)
  • reducing inequality within and among countries (SDG 10)

Experimentation

The department continues to experiment with ways to renew the Canada Pension Plan - Disability Program by building on lessons learned from previous pilots. For example, in fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will complete a pilot that looks at ways to reduce the time to finalize an appeal on a decision. This work makes use of predictive analytics to identify more complex appeal files.

The outcome of this pilot will be used to improve the process for Canadians.

Planned results for Pensions and Benefits

Departmental result: Seniors have income support for retirement

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of seniors receiving the Old Age Security Pension in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors1

Target: 97%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 98% (2014)

2017 to 2018 actual results: 97% (2015)

2018 to 2019 actual results: 97% (2016)2

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors3

Target: 90%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 88% (2014)

2017 to 2018 actual results: 91% (2015)

2018 to 2019 actual results: 91% (2016)

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Canada Pension Plan contributors aged 70+ receiving retirement benefits4

Target: 99%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 99% (2014)

2017 to 2018 actual results: 99% (2015)

2018 to 2019 actual results: 99% (2016)

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of seniors living in poverty

Target: Not applicable5

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 4.4% (2015)

2017 to 2018 actual results: 4.7% (2016)

2018 to 2019 actual results: 4.7% (2017)

Departmental result: People with disabilities and their families have financial support

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Canada Pension Plan contributors who have contributory eligibility for Canada Pension Plan Disability benefits and therefore have access to financial support in the event of a severe and prolonged disability

Target: 66%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 66% (2015 to 2016)

2017 to 2018 actual results: 66% (2016 to 2017)

2018 to 2019 actual results: 63% (2017 to 2018)

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Canadians eligible for the Disability Tax Credit who have a Registered Disability Savings Plan to encourage private savings

Target: 37%

Date to achieve target: December 2020

2016 to 2017 actual results: 29%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 31%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 34% (2018)

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Registered Disability Savings Plan beneficiaries that have received a grant and/or a bond to assist them and their families to save for their long-term financial security

Target: 83%

Date to achieve target: December 2020

2016 to 2017 actual results: 86% (2016)

2017 to 2018 actual results: 85% (2017)

2018 to 2019 actual results: 83% (2018)6

Departmental result: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs7

Departmental result indicator: Number of service standard targets for Pensions and Benefits program priority services, as defined by the Government of Canada’s Policy on Service, that are being met

Target: 10 out of 108

Date to achieve target: March 2023

2016 to 2017 actual results: 7 out of 10

2017 to 2018 actual results: 3 out of 10

2018 to 2019 actual results: 5 out of 109

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Canada Pension Plan Retirement Benefits paid within the first month of entitlement

Target: 90%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 97%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 96%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 96%

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of decisions on applications for a Canada Pension Plan disability benefit made within 120 calendar days

Target: 80%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 84%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 77%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 63%10

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Old Age Security basic benefits paid within the first month of entitlement

Target: 90%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 87%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 87%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 92%

Notes:

  1. The estimated total number of eligible (for OAS) seniors recognizes that not all persons aged 65 years and older apply for OAS benefits when they first become eligible. There is a 3-year time lag in the availability of data.
  2. Since July 2013, individuals aged 65 years and older may defer receipt of their OAS pension for up to 5 years, in exchange for a higher pension, which may explain not meeting the 98% target that was set in the 2018 to 2019 Departmental Plan.
  3. The estimated eligible senior population consists of those persons aged 65 years and older currently in receipt of GIS and those estimated to be entitled to but not currently receiving it. There is a 3-year time lag in the availability of data.
  4. Anyone who has made at least 1 valid contribution to the CPP is eligible to receive a monthly retirement pension. Eligible CPP contributors aged 70+ consists of those currently in receipt of the retirement pension and those entitled to but not currently receiving the retirement benefit (including individuals who may have opted out of benefit receipt). There is a 3-year time lag in data availability.
  5. This indicator is contextual and is used by the department to monitor overall social trends and inform policy development. Specific outcomes are not actively targeted in the areas measured by this indicator. This contextual indicator is based on Canada’s Official Poverty Line, which is established using the Market Basket Measure thresholds. Data is collected by Statistics Canada through the survey data from the annual Canadian Income Survey.
  6. The number of RDSPs being opened has continued to increase year over year since program inception. However, the percentage rate decreased in 2017 (compared to 2016) and the 2018 target was not met.
  7. Service standards are published on www.canada.ca.
  8. Target is to meet 10 out of a possible 10 priority service standards for Pensions and Benefits program priority services.
  9. ESDC/Service Canada must make strategic choices in the services it delivers to use its available resources to provide the best services possible, and meet its service standards, with particular priority given to starting payment of benefits to clients as quickly as possible.
  10. While the service standard was not met, the average timeframe was below the service standard. In 2018 to 2019, for initial application decisions, the average time achieved was 102 days. Increased inventory resulted in Service Canada having to balance the processing of older applications and the prioritization of files for the gravely ill and terminally ill. This is being balanced with a focus to minimize the impact on less critical application types and results in some applications aging above target processing timeframe.
Table 3: Planned budgetary financial resources for Pensions and Benefits
Item Main Estimates 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2021 to 2022 Planned spending 2022 to 2023
Planned gross spending 60,951,895,699 113,898,809,509 120,348,679,461 127,051,513,062
Less: planned spending in specified purpose accounts 0 52,946,913,810 55,875,088,228 58,936,024,718
Less: planned revenues netted against expenditures 271,422,277 271,422,277 189,784,686 181,634,098
Planned net spending 60,680,473,422 60,680,473,422 64,283,806,547 67,933,854,246
  • Note: Refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.
Table 4: Planned human resources for Pensions and Benefits
Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2022 to 2023
5,530 4,357 3,776
  • Note: The decrease in full-time equivalents between fiscal year 2020 to 2021 and fiscal year 2022 to 2023 is mainly due to a reduction in temporary resources provided to address Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan delivery.

Financial, human resources and performance information for ESDC’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Learning, Skills Development and Employment

Description

Help Canadians access post-secondary education and get the skills and training they need to participate in a changing labour market, as well as provide support to those who are temporarily unemployed.

Planning highlights

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will undertake the following activities to advance this core responsibility.

More students from low and middle-income families access post-secondary education

The department will help more students from low- and middle-income families access and participate in post-secondary education in the following ways:

  • encouraging families to start saving early through the Canada Education Savings Program (CESP) to make post-secondary education more accessible and affordable for their children by:
    • collaborating with provinces and territories, Indigenous organizations and other stakeholders to promote the benefits of early savings for post-secondary education in Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP) and through the Canada Learning Bond. Funded projects and community-based initiatives will be monitored to ensure promising approaches are shared through the Canada Learning Bond Champions’ Network
    • collaborating with Statistics Canada for a 2020 iteration of the Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning to better understand why RESPs are used (or not used), to help inform how to improve the program
Canadians access education, training, and life-long learning supports to gain the skills and work experience they need

The department will help Canadians to access education, training and lifelong learning support to gain the skills and work experience they need to succeed in the job market by:

  • providing financial and non-financial supports to students through the Supports for Student Learning Program to help them succeed in their studies by:
    • delivering increased annual federal investments to Indspire so that more Indigenous students receive scholarships and bursaries
    • supporting students to study or work abroad through the Outbound Student Mobility Pilot, which is part of Canada’s International Education Strategy. The focus will be on helping under-represented students, including Indigenous students, students from less privileged backgrounds, or students with disabilities
  • enhancing student financial assistance through the Canada Student Loans Program to make post-secondary education more accessible and affordable by:
    • removing restrictions for borrowers who have used the Repayment Assistance Program for Borrowers with a Permanent Disability (RAP-PD). This will make it easier for students with permanent disabilities to access funding to return to school
    • supporting borrowers to take interest-free and payment-free temporary leave from their studies for medical or parental reasons for a maximum of 18 months
    • continuing to make it easier for adult learners to qualify for Canada Student Grants and Canada Student Loans. This will be done by maintaining and monitoring the 3-year pilot project for improved support for adults returning to post-secondary education
  • equipping Canadians with the tools they need to succeed in the changing labour market by:
    • releasing the inaugural Future Skills Council’s strategic plan and encouraging businesses, labour, public sector, and not-for-profit organizations to prioritize areas identified in the plan
    • sharing early findings from 12 research studies and 16 innovation projects initiated in fiscal year 2019 to 2020 from the Future Skills Centre to help Canadians understand the skills needed in the future labour market
    • providing $922 million to provinces and territories through the Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs) to support skills training and employment programs. This will help employers train workers, and address local labour market needs. This is an increase of $50 million compared to fiscal year 2019 to 2020
    • providing provinces and territories with nearly $2.5 billion through Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDA) – an increase of nearly $100 million compared to fiscal year 2019 to 2020 – to support Canadians and employers with:
      • Employment Insurance (EI)-funded skills training
      • employment supports that help workers prepare for, find, and keep good jobs
    • improving adult literacy and essential skills for Canadians through the Literacy and Essential Skills Program (LES) by:
      • engaging partners across Canada to update Employment and Social Development Canada’s Essential Skills Framework
      • supporting at least 500 organizations to provide essential skills training
      • working toward at least 5,500 Canadians having access to essential skills training or support
  • support for apprenticeship training, innovation and access to skilled trades by:
    • providing grants to eligible apprentices in designated Red Seal trades through the Apprenticeship Grants Program to help strengthen the skilled trades. During fiscal year 2020 to 2021:
      • the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant will support 48,000 apprentices
      • the Apprenticeship Completion Grant will support 23,000 apprentices
      • the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women will support 2,100 women to enter eligible Red Seal trades
    • developing Canada’s skilled trade labour force through the Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship (Red Seal Program) by working with provinces and territories to develop national standards for each of the 56 Red Seal trades. In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the provinces and territories will issue over 25,000 Red Seal endorsed certifications
    • encouraging Canadians to explore and prepare for careers in the skilled trades through the Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness Program (STAR). In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, STAR will continue to fund 9 projects that:
      • increase participation in apprenticeship and the skilled trades, including groups facing barriers to employment
      • improve awareness and perceptions of apprenticeship and the skilled trades
      • provide participants with opportunities to gain skills and work experience
      • reduce barriers to apprenticeship and help Canadians get training to succeed in the skilled trades
    • the Union Training and Innovation Program will fund projects to help:
      • provide new training equipment and materials, such as mobile training units, mobile simulators or virtual training equipment, leading to higher quality training and a more skilled and productive trades workforce
      • enhance engagement of apprenticeship stakeholders
      • improve the participation of groups facing barriers to employment in apprenticeship and the skilled trades (including women, Indigenous peoples, youth, newcomers, and persons with disabilities)
Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market

The department will help Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market, via the following key initiatives:

  • supporting labour market efficiency:
    • in fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will strengthen the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) which will continue to provide access to temporary foreign workers while ensuring that Canadians have the first opportunity at available jobs by:
      • reducing backlogs and improving processing time for Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications
      • implementing a 2-year LMIA pilot to help employers transition Agri-food workers to permanent residence
      • supporting the Migrant Worker Support Network pilot to advance worker protection by ensuring employers and vulnerable workers know their rights and obligations
    • the Sectoral Initiatives Program (SIP) will fund projects that help employers identify and promote their skills and workforce needs. SIP will work with partners to make the products of SIP-funded projects more accessible
  • connecting workers with jobs:
    • Job Bank will display all jobs funded by the Canada Summer Jobs program. This will help youth find quality work opportunities from May to July 2020
    • the National Occupational Classification will be updated to reflect new and emerging job requirements. This will better support job seekers, businesses, researchers and service providers in Canada. Also, detailed profiles of the skills and competencies associated with each occupation will be produced
  • supporting the relationship between Canada and Indigenous people by:
    • providing funding to 109 Indigenous service delivery organizations across Canada to provide skills and employment training to Indigenous participants through the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program
    • providing Indigenous Peoples with skills development, job training and employment support through 50 Skills and Partnership Fund projects expected to help at least 8,000 Indigenous people become employed
  • increasing employment opportunity for youth via:
    • the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) will continue to help youth aged 15 to 30, get the information and gain the skills, work experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition into the labour market. YESS is led by the department with 10 other federal partners and is made up of 3 program areas:
      • the YESS Program will provide flexible supports and services to youth, particularly those that face barriers, to successfully find jobs
      • Canada Summer Jobs will provide quality job placements for youth during the summer through wage subsidies to employers
      • Goal Getters will help youth complete high school and transition to post-secondary education and/or the labour force
  • fostering a culture of service through the Canada Service Corps by:
    • building new relationships with regional and national organizations to expand the reach of the program
    • supporting the creation of 7,000 service placements for young Canadians
    • innovating and experimenting with new program design elements (for example, financial incentives) to help reduce barriers for youth from underrepresented groups
  • preparing students for the world of work through the Student Work Placement program by:
    • expanding access to all fields of study and creating up to 15,000 work-integrated learning opportunities for post-secondary students
    • launching an innovative work-integrated learning initiative to improve access for all post-secondary students (for example, hackathons, project-based, and micro-internships)

Increasing employment opportunities for persons with disabilities by helping up to 4,800 persons with disabilities prepare for, get and maintain employment through the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities Program. In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the program will fund projects that help persons with disabilities get ready for, find and keep jobs, increasing their economic participation and independence. They also help employers to hire persons with disabilities. The department will hold a call for proposals to choose new national and regional projects.

Helping skilled newcomers find jobs that match their skills through the Foreign Credential Recognition Program by:

  • ensuring simple and aligned national credential recognition processes (for example, standardized national exams)
  • providing loans to cover expenses related to their credential recognition and other supports such as mentoring, training, work placement and wage subsidies

Through the Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities, the department will continue to provide funding to a network of 14 organizations across Canada. This funding helps communities to strengthen economic and skills development.

Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions

The department will help Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions such as job loss, illness, or maternity/parental leave by:

  • continuing to implement enhancements to the Employment Insurance (EI) program to ensure that it aligns with the changing labour market. This will include advancing the design of the Canada Training Benefit that would provide workers with supports to help them keep their skills up to date
  • monitoring the EI pilot project for seasonal workers. The pilot project provides up to 5 extra weeks of EI regular benefits to eligible seasonal claimants who live in 1 of 13 targeted EI economic regions

Services to Canadians

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will continue improving services to Canadians under this core responsibility:

  • putting into place a new a tool in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program’s Global Talent Stream to process applications quicker and improve response time to clients
  • continuing to pilot a Labour Market Impact Assessment Online platform to improve service delivery of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
  • moving forward with plans to reform the Social Security Tribunal and make the recourse process for Employment Insurance and Income Security, which includes the Canada Pension Plan, the Canada Pension Plan Disability and Old Age Security programs, easier to navigate and more responsive to the needs of Canadians. ESDC will also create a navigator service that will help individuals better understand the process for first level EI appeals

Gender-based analysis plus

The full participation of Canadians through education and skills development is essential to ensuring sustained and inclusive growth. Encouraging persons facing barriers to full and equal participation in society to explore and access new careers closely aligns with both the Education and Skills Development and Economic Participation and Prosperity pillars of the Gender Results Framework.

United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

ESDC’s planned activities under its Learning, Skills Development and Employment core responsibility support Canada’s efforts to address the UN 2030 Agenda for SDGs. The Student Work Placement, Future Skills, Canada Student Grants, Canada Student Loans, Literary and Essential Skills, Canada Education Savings Grant, and the Canada Learning Bond programs contribute towards achieving several SDGs:

  • ending poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1)
  • ensuring inclusive and equitable education and promoting lifelong learning for all (SDG 4)
  • achieving gender equality (SDG 5)
  • promoting inclusive and sustained economic growth, productive employment and decent work for all (SDG8)
  • reducing inequality within and among countries (SDG 10)

In particular, the department’s amended Labour Market Development Agreements, combined with implementation of Workforce Development Agreements and the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training, the Skills and Partnership Fund, and the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy programs support the achievement of SDGs 5, 8 and 10.

In addition, the Sectoral Initiatives Program supports the development of tools to help employers in clean energy sectors to have an adequate supply of skilled people, including supporting research on the changing nature of jobs and skills need in the sustainable energy subsector.

The Canada Service Corps supports SDG 8 by creating, facilitating and funding opportunities for youth to gain skills that will benefit them in both life and work, allowing for a successful transition to the labour market.

Experimentation

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will pursue the following experimentation projects under this core responsibility:

  • working with the Tamarack Institute, a pilot project under Goal Getters will leverage innovative, community-led partnerships to expand supports for youth in up to 13 communities across Canada. The project will develop strategies to help youth transition into adulthood by supporting them in finishing high school and moving into post secondary school, apprenticeship, or work experience
  • the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) will add experimentation and innovation as eligible activities for funding. The department will also add research and development and experimentation as eligible activities under YESS
  • Service Canada will pilot a Youth Program Navigator initiative to connect vulnerable youth to relevant employment and skills development programming and supports. This is a pilot under the YESS
  • the Sectoral Initiatives Program will support a pilot project that connects mid-career retail workers affected by automation to jobs in the information and communications technology sector
  • the Literacy and Essential Skills (LES) Program is funding a project that will test whether incentive-based funding achieves improved essential skills when compared to traditional fee-for-service models
    • working with Privy Council Office, the LES Program is implementing a ‘Challenge Prize’ to motivate stakeholders to create innovative solutions to address the essential skills needs of lower-skilled workers. An award will be given to the innovator that comes up with the best solution

Planned results for Learning, Skills Development and Employment

Departmental result: Canadians access education, training, and life-long learning supports to gain the skills and work experience they need

Departmental result indicator: Number of Canadians receiving training and/or employment supports through federally administered programs1

Target: Not available2

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 136,237

2017 to 2018 actual results: 140,771

2018 to 2019 actual results: 148,228

Departmental result indicator: Number of Canadians receiving provincially or territorially delivered skills training and/or employment services supported by Government of Canada funding transfers3

Target: Not applicable4

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 734,309

2017 to 2018 actual results: 695,911

2018 to 2019 actual results: Not available5

Departmental result indicator: Employment or returns to school following training/supports through federally administered programs6

Target: Not available7

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 107,615

2017 to 2018 actual results: 110,536

2018 to 2019 actual results: 117,6988

Departmental result indicator: Employment or returns to school following provincially or territorially delivered skills training and/or employment services supported by Government of Canada funding transfers9

Target: Not applicable4

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 187,172

2017 to 2018 actual results: 177,335

2018 to 2019 actual results: Not available10

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Canadians aged 18 to 24 that are enrolled in university or college

Target: Not applicable11

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 42%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 43%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 44%

Departmental result indicator: Percentage change in Canadians aged 25 to 64 enrolled in university or college

Target: Not applicable12

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 2% decrease

2017 to 2018 actual results: 1% decrease

2018 to 2019 actual results: 3% increase

Departmental result: More students from low- and middle- income families access and participate in post-secondary education

Departmental result indicator: Proportion of low- and middle-income Canadian young adults participating in post-secondary education

Target: 53%13

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 52% (2014)13

2017 to 2018 actual results: 52% (2015)13

2018 to 2019 actual results: Not available (2016)14

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of beneficiaries with a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) withdrawal that have ever received an additional amount of Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and/or Canada Learning Bond, which are available only to children from low- and middle-income families, as compared to the total population of beneficiaries with an RESP withdrawal

Target: 28%

Date to achieve target: December 31, 2020

2016 to 2017 actual results: 21% (2016)

2017 to 2018 actual results: 23% (2017)

2018 to 2019 actual results: 25% (2018)

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of full-time students (all ages) who used federal student financial assistance to help finance their participation in post-secondary education

Target: Not applicable15

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 52%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 57%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 60%

Departmental result: Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market16

Departmental result indicator: Employment rate for Canadians among those 15 to 64 years of age17

Target: Not applicable18

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 72.8%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 73.6%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 74.0%

Departmental result indicator: Employment rate for Indigenous people off reserve among those 15 to 64 years of age17

Target: Not applicable18

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 61.5%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 62.8%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 62.7%

Departmental result indicator: Employment rate for Indigenous people on reserve among those 15 to 64 years of age

Target: Not applicable18

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: Not available

2017 to 2018 actual results: 38.6% (Census 2016)19

2018 to 2019 actual results: Not available

Departmental result indicator: Employment rate for recent immigrants among those 15 years of age and over

Target: Not applicable18

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 58.4%20

2017 to 2018 actual results: 59.3%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 60.3%

Departmental result indicator: Employment rate for persons with disabilities among those 25 to 64 years of age21

Target: Not applicable18

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: Not available

2017 to 2018 actual results: 59.3% (Canadian Survey on Disability 2017)

2018 to 2019 actual results: Not available

Departmental result indicator: Employment rate for youth among those 15 to 24 years of age

Target: Not applicable18

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 55.6%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 56.7%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 56.4%

Departmental result indicator: Employment rate for women17

Target: Not applicable18

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 69.9%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 70.7%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 71.1%

Departmental result indicator: Employment rate for older Canadians among those 55 years and over

Target: Not applicable18

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 35.5%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 35.9%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 35.9%

Departmental result indicator: Employment rate for lone parents among those 15 years of age and over

Target: Not applicable18

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 71.1% (2016)

2017 to 2018 actual results: 72.9% (2017)

2018 to 2019 actual results: 73.3% (2018)

Departmental result indicator: Unemployment-to-job vacancies ratio22

Target: Not applicable18

Date to achieve target: Not applicable

2016 to 2017 actual results: 3.3

2017 to 2018 actual results: 2.5

2018 to 2019 actual results: 2.1

Departmental result: Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions such as job loss, illness, or maternity/parental leave

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of workers losing their job in the previous year that were eligible for Employment Insurance23

Target: 85.7%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 85.4% (2016)

2017 to 2018 actual results: 84.3% (2017)

2018 to 2019 actual results: 87.4% (2018)

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Employment Insurance claimants finding employment before the end of their benefit entitlement

Target: 66.7%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 65.5%24

2017 to 2018 actual results: 66.3%

2018 to 2019 actual results: Not available25

Departmental result: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs26

Departmental result indicator: Number of service standard targets for Learning, Skills Development and Employment program priority services, as defined by the Government of Canada’s Policy on Service, that are being met27

Target: 21 out of 2328

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: Not available

2017 to 2018 actual results: Not available

2018 to 2019 actual results: 1629

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Employment Insurance benefit payments or non-benefit notifications issued within 28 days of filing

Target: 80%30

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 83%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 82%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 80%

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Employment Insurance requests for reconsideration reviewed within 30 days of filing

Target: 80%31

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 60%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 67%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 71%

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Social Insurance Numbers applied for through the Newborn Registration Service issued within 10 business days

Target: 95%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 100%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 100%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 100%

Notes:

Contextual indicators are used by the department to monitor overall social trends and inform policy development. Specific outcomes are not actively targeted in the areas measured by these indicators.

  1. The target includes participants under the following federally delivered programs: Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities (OF-PwD) 4,800; Student Work Placement Program (SWP) 15,000; Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) 9,200 (which includes Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program (YESSP) 8,000, Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) (target not available at time of publication), and Goal Getters (GG) 1,200; Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program (ISET) (target not available at time of publication); and Skills and Partnership Fund (SPF) (no annual target; target of 16,000 participants served is available for the total project life from 2017 to 2021). The consolidated target number for federally delivered programs will be available in early 2020. The results include participants under the following federally delivered programs: OF-PwD; SWP (program launched in fiscal year 2017 to 2018, hence, the SWP results are included for the 2018 to 2019 fiscal year, only); YESS (which includes YESSP, CSJ, and GG); ISET; and SPF.
  2. To be established in early 2020.
  3. These P/T delivered program results are for Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs). LMDAs results for the 2018 to 2019 fiscal year will be available in Spring 2020 with the release of the 2018 to 2019 Employment Insurance Monitoring Assessment Report. The results do not include Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs), as they are not available. More data about WDAs client outcomes will become available once a new Performance Measurement Strategy gets implemented in April 2020.
  4. Provincially and territorially delivered programs set their own annual targets.
  5. Results will be available in Spring 2020 with the release of Employment Insurance Monitoring Assessment Report
  6. The target includes the number of participants returning to work or to school under the following federally delivered programs: OF-PwD 2,980; SWP 15,000; YESS 5,680 (which includes YESSP 4,480, CSJ (target not available at time of publication); and GG 1,200); ISET (target not available at time of publication); and SPF (no annual target; target of 8,000 clients who obtain employment following service intervention(s) is available for the total project life from 2017 to 2021). The consolidated target number for federally delivered programs will be available in early 2020. Results include the number of participants returning to work or to school under the following federally delivered programs: OF-PwD; SWP (program launched in fiscal year 2017 to 2018, hence, the SWP results are included for the 2018 to 2019 fiscal year, only); YESS (YESSP, CSJ, and GG); ISET; and SPF.
  7. To be established in early 2020
  8. The result for fiscal year 2018 to 2019 previously reported in the 2018 to 2019 Departmental Results Report as 115,155 did not include SWP. The result for 2018 to 2019 was updated in the current Departmental Plan to 117,698 with inclusion of SWP.
  9. The P/T delivered program results are for the LMDAs but do not include WDAs. The results include returns to work only. LMDAs results for fiscal year 2018 to 2019 will be available in Spring 2020 with the release of the 2018 to 2019 Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report. The results do not include WDAs, as they are not available. More data about WDAs client outcomes will become available once a new Performance Measurement Strategy gets implemented in April 2020.
  10. Results will be available in Spring 2020 with the release of the 2018 to 2019 Employment Insurance Monitoring Assessment Report
  11. This contextual indicator is meant to measure aspects of demand for post-secondary education. It is based on ESDC internal calculations using annualized data from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey (LFS).
  12. This contextual indicator is meant to capture interest in life-long learning. It is based on ESDC internal calculations to annualize data from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey (LFS).
  13. There is a 3-year lag in data availability.
  14. Not available as there is a 3-year lag in availability of data.
  15. This contextual indicator measures aspects of the demand for federal student financial assistance. It is based on internal calculations from the Canada Student Loans Program’s Administrative Database and the Canada Student Loans Program’s Actuarial Report.
  16. This contextual indicator reflects the employment rate for a particular group, which is the number of employed persons in that group expressed as a percentage of the total population of that group. These rates are based on internal calculations using Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey data, unless noted otherwise. The monthly LFS data are averaged over 12 consecutive months to match the Department’s annual reporting cycle, unless noted otherwise.
  17. Departmental Results Report 2018 to 2019 used age group 15 plus, whereas this plan uses age group 15-64.
  18. Contextual indicator, target not applicable.
  19. The most recent data available at the time of publication is from the 2016 Census. This survey is administered once in 5 years. The next result will be available after the release of Census 2021. Employment rate previously reported in the Departmental Plan 2019 to 2020 as 41.4% included employment rate for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous living on reserve. Current Departmental Plan shows on-reserve employment rate of 38.6% for only Indigenous people living on reserve.
  20. The result for fiscal year 2016 to 2017 was previously reported in the 2018 to 2019 Departmental Results Report as 58.2%. This result for fiscal year 2015 to 2016 was carried over as the result for the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year. The correct result for the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year is 58.4%.
  21. Employment rate for persons with disabilities was calculated using the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability. This survey is administered every 5 years and is not available for each year.
  22. Based on internal ESDC calculations using the Labour Force Survey (Statistics Canada) unemployment levels for workers aged 15 to 64 and the job vacancy levels from Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (Statistics Canada).
  23. As per data included in the annual EI Coverage Survey.
  24. The preliminary result for fiscal year 2016 to 2017 was reported in the 2018 to 2019 Departmental Results Report as 65.1%. Based on the new data available, the result is 65.5%.
  25. Fiscal year 2018 to 2019 result will be available in April 2020.
  26. Service standards are published on www.canada.ca.
  27. Service standard refers to grants and contributions program payments that are processed within the prescribed timeframe
  28. 21 out of 23 program priority services are expected to meet the service standard target in fiscal year 2020 to 2021. The service standards related to EI benefit payments or non-benefit notifications are issued within 28 days of filing (80% of the time), and, EI calls are answered by an agent within 10 minutes (80% of the time), are expected to meet the service standard targets by March 2023.
  29. ESDC/Service Canada must make strategic choices in the services it delivers to use its resources to provide the best services possible, and meet its service standards, with particular priority given to starting payment of benefits to clients as quickly as possible.
  30. The department expects to meet this target by March 2023.
  31. This target was 70% in previous years and was increased to 80% for fiscal year 2020 to 2021.
Table 5: Planned budgetary financial resources for Learning, Skills Development and Employment
Item Main Estimates 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2021 to 2022 Planned spending 2022 to 2023
Planned gross spending 7,134,644,947 28,487,016,224 29,632,393,590 30,410,473,940
Less: planned spending in specified purpose accounts 0 21,352,371,277 22,598,045,877 23,355,877,077
Less: planned revenues netted against expenditures 871,516,398 871,516,398 824,996,909 813,489,666
Planned net spending 6,263,128,549 6,263,128,549 6,209,350,804 6,241,107,197
  • Note: Refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.
Table 6: Planned human resources for Learning, Skills Development and Employment
Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2022 to 2023
10,263 9,654 9,477

Financial, human resources and performance information for ESDC’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

Description

Promotes safe, healthy, fair and inclusive work conditions and cooperative workplace relations.

Planning highlights

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department, through the Labour Program, will undertake the following initiatives in support of safe and healthy workplaces:

  • support changes to the Canada Labour Code by:
    • introducing regulations to protect employees in federally regulated workplaces and Parliament Hill from harassment and violence
    • developing regulatory amendments to establish an Administrative Monetary Penalties regime. This will complement existing compliance tools to help non-compliant employers meet the requirements of the Code
  • raise awareness by:
    • communicating the new occupational health and safety and labour standards requirements by developing guidance materials for employers, conducting educational sessions, and providing information online
  • enhance health and safety standards by:
    • updating regulations on health and safety standards and creating new requirements under the Code about hazardous substances and confined spaces. This will include defining confined spaces and how to make modifications to those spaces to mitigate the risk of injury

The Labour Program will ensure working conditions are fair and inclusive, via the following regulatory development initiatives:

  • develop modification or exemption regulations about recently introduced new hours of work and break provisions
  • support the coming into force of legislation by developing regulations that modernize the Code, including improving employees’ eligibility for labour standards and employees work-life balance
  • introduce regulations to protect workers in unpaid internships and establish new labour standards protections for educational internships. This will help make sure that unpaid interns who are part of an educational program have protections, such as maximum hours of work, weekly days of rest and general holidays
  • support the coming into force of the new Pay Equity Act and associated regulations. Once in force, the new regime will direct employers in federally regulated workplaces to make sure that women and men in their workplaces receive equal pay for work of equal value
  • develop education and guidance materials to support workplace parties in meeting their obligations under the Pay Equity Act
  • update the Wage Earner Protection Program regulations to:
    • expand the program to include Canadians employed by foreign companies operating in Canada and who enter a bankruptcy or receivership process overseas
    • update the way that trustees’ fees and expenses are paid to make sure that workers can still access the program even if there are not many assets remaining in an insolvent estate
  • develop amendments to the Employment Equity Act and the Employment Equity Regulations that would introduce pay transparency measures to raise awareness of wage gaps in the federally regulated private sector
  • on the international level, the Labour Program will continue to assist partner countries in improving respect for international labour standards through multilateral initiatives and through the negotiation and implementation of labour provisions of free trade agreements such as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement

The Labour Program will also introduce initiatives to support cooperative workplace relations by offering joint training workshops and mediating discussions between parties bargaining in a dispute. The department will appoint mediators and conciliators to provide training via workshops and facilitated discussions and to support negotiations.

Services to Canadians

The Labour Program will also ensure clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services and will work towards reducing the time it takes to respond to complaints about labour standards and occupational health and safety. This will be done, in part, by using the new Integrated Labour System, which will make information sharing easier.

Gender-based analysis plus

The initiatives under the Labour Program contribute to the Economic Participation and Prosperity as well as the Gender-Based Violence and Access to Justice pillars of the Gender Results Framework by ensuring that federally regulated workplaces and work conditions are safe, healthy, fair and inclusive.

United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

ESDC’s planned activities will continue to support Canada’s efforts to address the UN 2030 Agenda for SDGs. The Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund, amendments to the Canada Labour Code and the Employment Equity Act and its regulations, and the Wage Earner Protection Program contribute towards:

  • achieving gender equality (SDG 5)
  • promoting inclusive and sustained economic growth, productive employment and decent work for all (SDG 8)
  • reducing inequality within and among countries (SDG 10)

Transforming and improving service delivery to Canadians supports SDG 16 in terms of developing effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels.

Experimentation

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, ESDC’s Labour Program will experiment with user-centric approaches and predictive analytics. This will ensure that operational, program and policy areas better serve Canadians.

Planned results for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

Departmental result: Workplaces are safe and healthy

Departmental result indicator: Number of health and safety violations identified under the Canada Labour Code (Part II) per 1,000 federally regulated employees

Target: 9 or less1

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 7.6

2017 to 2018 actual results: 9.6

2018 to 2019 actual results: 11.1

Departmental result: Work Conditions are fair and inclusive

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of Legislated Employment Equity Program employers whose representation equals or surpasses Canadian labour market availability for 2+ designated groups or who demonstrated progress towards representation since the previous reporting period

Target: 65%2

Date to achieve target: September 1st, 2020

2016 to 2017 actual results: Not available

2017 to 2018 actual results: 63%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 68%

Departmental result indicator: 3-year average number of founded violations identified under Part III of the Canada Labour Code per 1,000 federally regulated employees

Target: 3 or less1

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 2.5 (2014 to 2017)

2017 to 2018 actual results: 2.6 (2015 to 2018)

2018 to 2019 actual results: 2.9 (2016 to 2019)

Departmental result: Labour relations are cooperative

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of labour disputes settled under the Canada Labour Code (Part 1) without work stoppages, where parties were assisted by Labour Program officers

Target: 95%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 97%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 94%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 97%

Departmental result: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs3

Departmental result indicator: Number of service standard targets for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations program priority services, as defined by the Government of Canada’s Policy on Service, that are being met

Target: 4 out of 4

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: Not available

2017 to 2018 actual results: Not available

2018 to 2019 actual results: 2 out of 4

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of occupational health and safety cases each fiscal year that are finalized within 120 days (excluding prosecutions, appeals, and technical surveys)

Target: 70%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 75%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 80%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 79%

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of unjust dismissal complaints that are finalized within 180 days

Target: 75%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 68%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 70%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 73%

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of conciliators assigned under the Canada Labour Code within 15 calendar days of receiving requests that are compliant with Canada Industrial Relations Regulations

Target: 96%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 100%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 100%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 100%

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of initial Wage Earner Protection Program payments and non-payment notifications issued within 35 calendar days

Target: 80%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 99%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 97%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 73%4

Notes:

  1. As a result of changes to legislation, particularly due to compliance and enforcement, this indicator will fluctuate and most likely increase over the short term as the program improves its service delivery and is able to reach a larger number of employers.
  2. The Labour Program contributes to this target by supporting the efforts of federally regulated private-sector employers in achieving progress towards creating equitable workplaces.
  3. Service standards are published on www.canada.ca.
  4. Fiscal year 2018 to 2019 saw the highest ever number of Wage Earner Protection Program recipients since the inception of the program in 2008. Until February 2019, year-to-date results exceeded the target. However, between January and March 2019, the program received the equivalent number of applications typically received annually due to several large bankruptcies/receiverships, including Sears Canada. As a result, approximately 10,000 applications from former Sears Canada workers were processed within the fiscal year, creating a massive spike in demand for application processing, which ultimately impacted the annual Wage Earner Protection Program service standard. 73% of initial payments and non-payment notifications were issued within service standards. The program ensured that payments remained as timely as possible, despite the unprecedented volume of applications.
Table 7: Planned budgetary financial resources for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations
Item Main Estimates 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2021 to 2022 Planned spending 2022 to 2023
Planned gross spending 306,797,291 306,797,291 308,138,072 305,990,571
Less: planned spending in specified purpose accounts 0 0 0 0
Less: planned revenues netted against expenditures 125,900,000 125,900,000 125,900,000 125,900,000
Planned net spending 180,897,291 180,897,291 182,238,072 180,090,571
  • Note: Refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.
Table 8: Planned human resources for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations
Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2022 to 2023
782 780 778

Financial, human resources and performance information for ESDC’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments

Description

Provides information to the public on the programs of the Government of Canada, and provides services on behalf of government departments and other partners.

Planning highlights

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will undertake the following initiatives to advance this core responsibility.

The department will improve access to in-person service and provide Canadians with quality information via:

  • the development of an outreach framework that will describe a consistent, outcomes-focused service that identifies gaps and ensures Canadians who face barriers receive the services and benefits they need
  • continuing to engage and visit all northern, remote and on-reserve Indigenous communities to ensure that Indigenous people can access the full range of federal social benefits to which they are entitled
  • continuing the work of the ESDC Centre of Expertise (CoE) for Accessible Client Service in improving the quality of the department’s services, particularly for persons with disabilities. The department is working toward a better understanding of the barriers faced by Canadians accessing our services

The department will continue improving the Passport Program, via the Passport Program Modernization Initiative, which is laying the foundation for a more modern and secure passport program to improve services across Canada and to Canadians abroad.

Services to Canadians

Through fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will provide high quality, timely and accurate government information by:

  • ensuring wide availability of the Canada.ca window into the Government of Canada’s information and digital services, including the provision of support and guidance on major federal digital campaigns
  • ensuring that the telephone general enquiries program (1 800 O-Canada) continues to provide accurate information and accessible services to Canadians. This includes those served through various customized information services
  • providing ongoing support to departments that are managing their social media accounts through the Social Media Account Management Service

In this fiscal year, the department will also provide clients with high quality, timely and accurate government services that meet their needs by:

  • publishing wait-times in real time for the 1 800 O-Canada service on Canada.ca to help Canadians decide when is best time for them to call
  • continuing to support veterans and their families through the delivery of information and services for Veterans Affairs Canada programs, as well as ensuring efficient referrals to Veterans Affairs Canada employees when required
  • advancing Biometrics Initiatives in support of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada – by collecting biometric data (digital photograph and fingerprints) from foreign nationals applying for renewal of temporary visas or permanent resident cards at Service Canada locations
  • improving the client experience by continuing to collect information, including the Client Experience Survey. This will allow Service Canada to identify client needs, and assess the impact of changes in service delivery

United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

ESDC’s planned activities under its Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments core responsibility support Canada’s efforts to address the UN 2030 Agenda for SDGs. Transforming and improving service delivery to Canadians supports SDG 16 in terms of developing effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels, and SDG 17, in terms of encouraging and promoting effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships.

Planned results for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments

Departmental result: Clients receive high quality, timely and accurate government information and services that meet their needs

Departmental result indicator: 1 800 O-Canada information completeness, relevancy and accuracy assessment

Target: 85%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 92%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 94%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 93%

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of clients served in person who received assistance within 25 minutes

Target: 80%

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 81%

2017 to 2018 actual results: 79%

2018 to 2019 actual results: 85%

Departmental result indicator: Number of program services that meet their service standard targets1

Target: 52

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 5 out of 5

2017 to 2018 actual results: 5 out of 5

2018 to 2019 actual results: 4 out of 5

Departmental result: Canadians can obtain a passport within Canada in a timely manner

Departmental result indicator: Percentage of travel documents and other passport services processed within standards

Target: 90%3

Date to achieve target: March 2021

2016 to 2017 actual results: 100%4

2017 to 2018 actual results: 100%4

2018 to 2019 actual results: 100%4

Notes:

  1. This indicator provides information on the extent to which service standards for priority services are being met by the department. The indicator identifies the priority services that are published on Canada.ca and are related to this core responsibility.
  2. Target is to meet 5 of a possible 5 priority service standards for Information Delivery and Services for other departments' programs.
  3. This target is part of a Memorandum of Understanding between the department and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
  4. The data has been rounded to the nearest full number, in this case 100%.
Table 9: Planned budgetary financial resources for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments
Item Main Estimates 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2021 to 2022 Planned spending 2022 to 2023
Planned gross spending 260,513,398 260,513,398 249,094,389 243,877,587
Less: planned spending in specified purpose accounts 0 0 0 0
Less: planned revenues netted against expenditures 0 0 0 0
Planned net spending 260,513,398 260,513,398 249,094,389 243,877,587
Table 10: Planned human resources for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments
Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2022 to 2023
2,513 2,411 2,377

Financial, human resources and performance information for ESDC’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Internal Services: planned results

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct services that support program delivery in the organization, regardless of the internal services delivery model in a department. These services are:

  • Management and Oversight Services
  • Communications Services
  • Legal Services
  • Human Resources Management Services
  • Financial Management Services
  • Information Management Services
  • Information Technology Services
  • Real Property Management Services
  • Materiel Management Services
  • Acquisition Management Services

Planning highlights

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will support management excellence and accountability as a part of Management and Oversight Services through:

  • supporting privacy legislation and policy modernization initiatives
  • strengthening the department’s privacy management functions and service transformation activities

The department will continue to pursue its commitment to foster a healthy, productive and inclusive workplace environment by:

  • carrying out year 3 of the 2018 to 2021 Workplace Mental Health Action Plan and develop the 2020 to 2023 Values and Ethics Action Plan
  • supporting the Public Service Accessibility Strategy within the department and developing the 2020 to 2023 Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan
  • continuing to implement ESDC Workplace Modernization to encourage a mobility- enabled workplace that allows for non-assigned seating and activity-based work

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will attract and develop talent to prepare for future organizational needs through:

  • putting into place a new 3-year Recruitment Action Plan and pursuing innovative practices to reduce time to staff positions
  • implementing an improved ESDC Talent Strategy
  • developing and carrying out a 3-year plan to deliver ESDC’s learning priorities and a Learning Services delivery model
  • continuing to carry out the Executive Integrated Workforce Management Approach

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will promote openness and transparency by:

  • continuing to support amendments to the Access to Information Act and training employees to increase knowledge of access to information requirements
  • using technology, systems and tools to continue improving access to information processing timelines

In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department, as part of its Data Strategy, will improve the use of data via:

  • experimentation under the Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the development of the second version of the Data Strategy
  • exploration of new ways of using data to improve evidence-based decision-making and improve service delivery
  • the continued sharing of ESDC’S data with the public through Open Government and Open Data initiatives and encouraging the use of this data in community events
  • the continued development of recruitment, retention and data literacy approaches to ensure that employees have the skills and tools needed to collect and use data

The department is also working towards developing and implementing a modern and secure information technology (IT) infrastructure that enables efficient and timely availability of information. Through fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department will:

  • improve digital services by accepting electronic submissions of documents through the GCNet Wide Area Network, a new call-center technology platform. The department will also implement a document upload solution
  • modernize its benefits payments IT systems to ensure continued benefits delivery that meets the evolving service needs of Canadians
  • implement the Information Management (IM) Strategy and Roadmap to improve processing of physical records and the use of IM technology for information handling
  • ensure employees have the tools to work in a modernized operating environment. ESDC will accomplish this by evaluating new technologies that reduce risks and increase business value
  • continue to mature its application portfolio management processes to guide IM/IT investments
  • provide technology solutions for employees with disabilities through the Accessibility Centre of Excellence

The department will promote a safe working environment for its employees by enhancing its security program and fostering a strong security culture via the following initiatives:

  • development of a comprehensive Security Policy Framework and a Compliance Framework to support a strong security program
  • delivery of an effective emergency management program to safeguard ESDC’s employees and services to Canadians. This program will address threats by integrating available technology and industry best practices, including functional tests of systems and procedures
  • development of a department-wide training and education strategy to promote a culture of security throughout the department

The department is committed to strengthening and modernizing project management and investment planning to deliver results by:

  • developing a business model that aligns planning, portfolio management, risk management and benefit management
  • designing a reporting mechanism for investment portfolio and investment risk management
  • developing and implementing an Assistant Deputy Minister risk review process at ESDC’s Major Project and Investment Board
Table 11: Planned budgetary financial resources for Internal Services
Item Main Estimates 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2021 to 2022 Planned spending 2022 to 2023
Planned gross spending 908,717,800 908,717,800 881,519,360 871,419,571
Less: planned spending in specified purpose accounts 0 0 0 0
Less: planned revenues netted against expenditures 605,545,391 605,545,391 584,562,821 581,662,547
Planned net spending 303,172,409 303,172,409 296,956,539 289,757,024
  • Note: Refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.
Table 12: Planned human resources for Internal Services
Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 Planned full-time equivalents for fiscal year 2022 to 2023
4,745 4,552 4,501

Spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of the department’s planned spending and human resources for the next 3 consecutive fiscal years, and compares planned spending for the upcoming year with the current and previous years’ actual spending.

Table 13: Planned spending
Item Main Estimates 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2021 to 2022 Planned spending 2022 to 2023
Planned gross spending 70,516,129,454 146,689,002,752 153,872,402,789 161,382,681,533
Less: planned spending in specified purpose accounts 0 76,172,873,298 80,322,455,135 84,139,326,304
Less: planned revenues netted against expenditures 1,874,384,066 1,874,384,066 1,725,244,416 1,702,686,311
Planned net spending 68,641,745,454 68,641,745,388 71,824,703,238 75,540,668,918
  • Note: Refer to ESDC’s Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

For fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the department has gross planned expenditures on programs and services of $146.7 billion. Of that amount, $138.5 billion directly benefit Canadians through statutory transfer payment programs such as Employment Insurance, the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, the Canada Student Loans Program and Canada Apprentice Loans, the Canada Education Savings Program and the Canada Disability Savings Program.

Figure 2: Planned spending for fiscal year 2020 to 2021, by spending category
Figure 2: Planned spending for fiscal year 2020 to 2021, by spending category
Text description of figure 2

Text description of pie chart: This pie chart shows a breakdown of planned spending for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 and the percentage that each spending category represents.

  • Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, and Allowances: $59,527.7 M or 40.6%
  • Canada Pension Plan: $52,946.9 M or 36.1%
  • Employment Insurance: $21,337.9 M or 14.5%
  • Canada Student Loans, and other statutory payments: $4,696.4 M or 3.2%
  • Gross operating expenditures: $3,285.1 M or 2.2%
  • Voted grants and contributions: $3,021.4 M or 2.1%
  • Other: $1,873.6 M or 1.3%

Consolidated total: $146,689.0 million

Figure 3: Gross expenditures and statutory transfer payments for fiscal year 2020 to 2021
Figure 3: Gross expenditures and statutoru gtransfer payments for fiscal year 2020 to 2021
Text description of figure 3

Text description: This table shows gross expenditures planned for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 under budgetary items, as well as under statutory transfer payments, in millions of dollars.

Budgetary

Net operating costs: $1,410.7 M

  • Note: This amount includes:
    • $803.3 million in net voted operating expenditures
    • $243.1 million in contributions to employee benefit plans
    • $233.4 million for delivery service to the public on behalf of partners under the Department of Employment and Social Development Act
    • $86.5 million in statutory administrative fees related to Canada Student Loans and Apprentice Loans
    • $44.0 million in net expenditures for Federal Workers' Compensation
    • $0.4 million for other items

Recoveries: $1,874.4 M, which include the following:

  • Canada Pension Plan: $370.4 M
  • Employment Insurance Operating Account: $1,378.4 M
  • Workers' Compensation: $124.7 M
  • Government Employee Compensation Act: $0.9 M

Gross operating costs: $3,285.1 M

Voted grants and contributions: $3,021.4 M

Total gross expenditures: $6,306.5 M

Other - Workers' Compensation and EI/CPP charges and recoveries: $1,873.6 M

Statutory transfer payments

Grants and Contributions: $64,209.6 M, which include the following:

  • Old Age Security: $44,966.1 M
  • Guaranteed Income Supplement: $13,921.6 M
  • Allowance: $640.0 M
  • Other statutory payments: 4,681.9 M, comprised of the following:
    • Canada Student Loans Program and Canada Apprentice Loans: $2,579.0 M
    • Canada Education Savings Grant: $980.0 M
    • Canada Disability Savings Grant: $879.5 M
    • Canada Learning Bond: $194.0 M
    • Wage Earner Protection Program: $49.3 M
    • Universal Child Care Benefit: $0.1 M

Canada Pension Plan Benefits: $52,946.9 M

Employment Insurance Benefits: $21,337.9 M, which include:

  • Part I benefits: $18,883.0 M
  • Part II benefits: $2,454.9M

Other Specified Purpose Accounts: $14.5 M [Note: This amount includes payments related to the Government Annuities Account and the Civil Service Insurance Fund.]

Total Statutory Transfer Payments: $138,508.9 M

2020 to 2021 planned gross spending summary

The following table reconciles gross planned spending with net planned spending for fiscal year 2020 to 2021.

Table 14: Fiscal year 2020 to 2021 Budgetary planned gross spending summary (dollars)
Core Responsibilities and Internal Service 2020 to 2021 planned gross spending Less: 2020 to 2021 planned gross spending in specified purpose accounts Less: 2020 to 2021 planned revenues netted against expenditures 2020 to 2021 planned net spending
Core Responsibility 1: Social Development 953,560,319 0 0 953,560,319
Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits 113,898,809,509 52,946,913,810 271,422,277 60,680,473,422
Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment 28,487,016,224 21,352,371,277 871,516,398 6,263,128,549
Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations 306,797,291 0 125,900,000 180,897,291
Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments 260,513,398 0 0 260,513,398
Subtotal 143,906,696,741 74,299,285,087 1,268,838,675 68,338,572,979
Internal Services 908,717,800 0 605,545,391 303,172,409
Other costs* 1,873,588,211 1,873,588,211 0 0
Total 146,689,002,752 76,172,873,298 1,874,384,066 68,641,745,388
  • Note: Refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including explanation of gross planned spending.
  • * Other costs include administrative costs of other government departments charged to the Employment Insurance Operating Account and the Canada Pension Plan. They also include Employment Insurance doubtful accounts and recoveries from other government departments.

ESDC’s Financial Framework

The department has a complex financial structure, with various funding mechanisms used to deliver its mandate. The department is financed by 4 main sources of funds:

  • appropriated funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF)
  • the Employment Insurance Operating Account
  • the Canada Pension Plan
  • Crown corporations and other government departments for the administration of the Government Employee Compensation Act 

Planned expenditures related to the Employment Insurance Operating Account and the Canada Pension Plan and planned expenditures that are recovered from Crown corporations and other government departments for the administration of the Government Employee Compensation Act are excluded from ESDC’s Main and Supplementary Estimates and net planned spending because they are not voted by Parliament.

Employment Insurance (EI) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits and related administrative costs are charged against revenues earmarked in separate specified purpose accounts. The EI program provides financial support and other assistance to eligible workers and is entirely financed by contributions from employees and employers. The Canada Pension Plan is an income security plan which is funded by the contributions of employees, employers, and self-employed persons and by the revenue earned on plan investments. It provides partial income protection in the case of the retirement, disability or death of a contributor to virtually all employed and self-employed persons in Canada, excluding Québec which operates its own comprehensive pension plan, the Quebec Pension Plan. Administrative costs incurred by the department in the delivery of programs related to Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan are charged to their respective specified purpose accounts and reported as revenues netted against expenditures under the department.

The Department of Employment and Social Development Act was amended in June 2018 to broaden the department’s mandate to include service delivery to the public with a view to improve services to Canadians. The department now has the legislative authority to deliver services to the public for partners on a cost-recovery basis as well as to deliver select services for the Government of Canada. As a result, departmental costs related to the delivery of programs and services on behalf of other government departments, such as passport services, which were reported in previous years as revenues netted against ESDC’s expenditures, will now be reported under a new statutory authority.

In addition, departmental costs related to the delivery of programs and services on behalf of other government departments for the administration of the Government Employee Compensation Act is also reported as revenues netted against ESDC’s expenditures.

These items are included in the department’s gross planned spending to provide readers with the full cost to government of the department’s programs and services and present a complete picture of the resources managed by ESDC to deliver its mandate, even if these expenditures are ultimately recorded under separate legal entities.

The sources of funds, including specified purpose accounts, for each of the department’s core responsibilities are as follows:

  • Core Responsibility 1: Social Development
    • Consolidated Revenue Fund
  • Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits
    • Consolidated Revenue Fund
    • Canada Pension Plan (in gross planned spending only for Canada Pension Plan benefits and related administrative costs)
  • Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment
    • Consolidated Revenue Fund
    • Employment Insurance Operating Account (in gross planned spending only for Employment Insurance benefits and related administrative costs)
  • Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations
    • Consolidated Revenue Fund
    • Crown corporation and other departments (in gross planned spending only for the administration of the Government Employee Compensation Act)
  • Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments
    • Consolidated Revenue Fund
    • Revenues from partners using legislative cost-recovery authority to deliver programs and services on their behalf
  • Internal Services
    • Consolidated Revenue Fund
    • Canada Pension Plan (in gross planned spending only for Canada Pension Plan administrative costs)
    • Employment Insurance Operating Account (in gross planned spending only for Employment Insurance administrative costs)

Financial Highlights

The overall gross increase in spending of $14.7 billion from fiscal year 2020 to 2021 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 can mainly be explained by increases to Canada Pension Plan benefits, Old Age Security payments and Employment Insurance benefits.

Planned CPP benefits are at $58.9 billion in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, an increase of $6 billion from the 2020 to 2021 planned spending of $52.9 billion, mainly attributed to wage and inflation assumptions. Old Age Security benefits, including Guaranteed Income Supplement and Allowances, are expected to reach $66.6 billion in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, which represents an increase of $7.1 billion from the 2020 to 2021 planned spending of $59.5 billion. Annual increases are associated with a higher number of beneficiaries due to the aging population and planned increases in the average monthly benefits.

Employment Insurance benefits fluctuate every year mainly due to changes in the average unemployment rate. Employment Insurance benefits and measures are expected to reach $23.3 billion in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, representing an increase of $2.0 billion from the 2020 to 2021 planned expenditures of $21.3 billion. More specifically, Employment Insurance benefits for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 are expected to increase by $1.4 billion (8.2 percent) from the 2019 to 2020 period. This is due to expected increases in both regular and special benefits, and the number of beneficiaries, as well as the new Canada Training Benefit.

Increases to other statutory planned spending account for $0.2 billion.

Those increases are offset by a decrease of $0.3 billion in voted grants and contributions mainly explained by the sunsetting of funding for Early Learning and Child Care as well as a decrease to net operating planned spending ($0.3 billion).

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and Internal Services (dollars)

The following table shows actual, forecast and planned spending for each of ESDC’s core responsibilities and to Internal Services for the years relevant to the current planning year.

Table 15: Budgetary Planning Summary - Gross (dollars)
Core Responsibilities and Internal Services Actual expenditures 2017 to 2018* Actual expenditures 2018 to 2019 Forecast 2019 to 2020 Main Estimates 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2021 to 2022 Planned spending 2022 to 2023
Core Responsibility 1: Social Development 695,357,869 716,719,128 854,873,315 953,560,319 953,560,319 603,256,887 651,982,293
Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits 96,051,202,359 100,963,229,259 107,712,976,399 60,951,895,699 113,898,809,509 120,348,679,461 127,051,513,062
Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment 26,086,783,929 25,597,959,995 27,441,333,094 7,134,644,947 28,487,016,224 29,632,393,590 30,410,473,940
Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations 262,029,434 320,589,879 314,092,167 306,797,291 306,797,291 308,138,072 305,990,571
Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments 228,253,902 203,136,512 225,074,106 260,513,398 260,513,398 249,094,389 243,877,587
Subtotal 123,323,627,493 127,801,634,773 136,548,349,081 69,607,411,654 143,906,696,741 151,141,562,399 158,663,837,453
Internal Services 925,244,173 897,483,438 959,307,429 908,717,800 908,717,800 881,519,360 871,419,571
Other costs** 1,380,064,755 1,564,951,081 1,864,508,049 0 1,873,588,211 1,849,321,030 1,847,424,509
Revenues netted against expenditures 0 0 0 (1,874,384,066) 0 0 0
Total gross planned spending 125,628,936,421 130,264,069,292 139,372,164,559 68,641,745,388 146,689,002,752 153,872,402,789 161,382,681,533
  • Notes: Refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including explanation of gross planned spending.
  • * For comparative purposes, 2017 to 2018 actual expenditures have been restated according to the new Departmental Results Framework approved in 2018 to 2019.
  • ** Other costs included administrative costs of other government departments charged to the Employment Insurance Operation Account and the Canada Pension Plan. They also include Employment Insurance doubtful accounts and recoveries from other government departments.
Table 16: Budgetary Planning Summary - Net (dollars)
Core Responsibilities and Internal Services Actual expenditures 2017 to 2018* Actual expenditures 2018 to 2019 Forecast 2019 to 2020 Main Estimates 2020 to 2021 Planned Spending 2020 to 2021 Planned Spending 2021 to 2022 Planned Spending 2022 to 2023
Core Responsibility 1: Social Development 695,357,869 716,719,128 854,873,315 953,560,319 953,560,319 603,256,887 651,982,293
Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits 51,362,618,315 54,181,915,121 57,329,196,020 60,680,473,422 60,680,473,422 64,283,806,547 67,933,854,246
Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment 5,416,434,813 5,773,734,933 6,497,773,078 6,263,128,549 6,263,128,549 6,209,350,804 6,241,107,197
Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations 126,251,634 175,398,724 188,192,167 180,897,291 180,897,291 182,238,072 180,090,571
Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments 78,751,918 74,870,918 225,074,106 260,513,398 260,513,398 249,094,389 243,877,587
Subtotal 57,679,414,549 60,922,638,824 65,095,108,686 68,338,572,979 68,338,572,979 71,527,746,699 75,250,911,894
Internal Services 291,833,073 279,511,995 330,043,740 303,172,409 303,172,409 296,956,539 289,757,024
Total net planned spending 57,971,247,622 61,202,150,819 65,425,152,426 68,641,745,388 68,641,745,388 71,824,703,238 75,540,668,918
  • Refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile.
  • * For comparative purposes, 2017 to 2018 actual expenditures have been restated according to the new Departmental Results Framework approved in 2018 to2019.

Departmental spending for fiscal year 2017 to 2018 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory) spending over time.

Figure 4: Departmental spending trend from fiscal year 2017 to 2018 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023
Figure 4: Departmental spending trend from fiscal year 2017 to 2018 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023
Text description of figure 4

This bar chart illustrates the actual statutory and voted spending for fiscal years 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019, those forecasted for fiscal year 2019 to 2020, and those planned for fiscal years 2020 to 2021, 2021 to 2022, and 2022 to 2023.

Actual spending for fiscal year 2017 to 2018 - statutory: $54,607,489,480

Actual spending for fiscal year 2017 to 2018 - voted: $3,363,758,142

Total actual spending for fiscal year 2017 to 2018: $57,971,247,622

Actual spending for fiscal year 2018 to 2019 - statutory: $57,984,027,949

Actual spending for fiscal year 2018 to 2019 - voted: $3,218,122,870

Total actual spending for fiscal year 2018 to 2019: $61,202,150,819

Forecasted spending for fiscal year 2019 to 2020 - statutory: $61,330,739,288

Forecasted spending for fiscal year 2019 to 2020 - voted: $4,094,413,138

Total forecasted spending for fiscal year 2019 to 2020: $65,425,152,426

Planned spending for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 - statutory: $64,817,042,155

Planned spending for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 - voted: $3,824,703,233

Total planned spending for fiscal year 2020 to 2021: $68,641,745,388

Planned spending for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 - statutory: $68,363,332,748

Planned spending for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 - voted: $3,461,370,490

Total planned spending for fiscal year 2021 to 2022: $71,824,703,238

Planned spending for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 - statutory: $72,081,966,061

Planned spending for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 - voted: $3,458,702,857

Total planned spending for fiscal year 2022 to 2023: $75,540,668,918

Table 17: Departmental Spending Trend: Total Net Consolidated Expenditures (dollars)
Actual spending 2017 to 2018 Actual spending 2018 to 2019 Forecast 2019 to 2020 Planned spending 2020 to 2021 Planned spending 2021 to 2022 Planned spending 2022 to 2023
Statutory 54,607,489,480 57,984,027,949 61,330,739,288 64,817,042,155 68,363,332,748 72,081,966,061
Voted * 3,363,758,142 3,218,122,870 4,094,413,138 3,824,703,233 3,461,370,490 3,458,702,857
Total 57,971,247,622 61,202,150,819 65,425,152,426 68,641,745,388 71,824,703,238 75,540,668,918
  • * Voted expenditures include debt write-offs in 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020.

Planned human resources

The following table shows actual, forecast and planned full-time equivalents (FTEs) for each core responsibility in ESDC’s Departmental Results Framework and for Internal Services for the years relevant to the current planning year.

Table 18: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and Internal Services
Core Responsibilities and Internal Services Actual 2017 to 2018 Actual 2018 to 2019 Forecast 2019 to 2020 Planned 2020 to 2021 Planned 2021 to 2022 Planned 2022 to 2023
Core Responsibility 1: Social Development 349 382 586 559 544 541
Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits 5,076 5,333 5,714 5,530 4,357 3,776
Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment 10,600 10,779 11,288 10,263 9,654 9,477
Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations 651 668 800 782 780 778
Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments 2,316 2,036 2,507 2,513 2,411 2,377
Subtotal 18,992 19,198 20,895 19,647 17,746 16,949
Internal Services 4,114 4,598 4,728 4,745 4,552 4,501
Total 23,106 23,796 25,623 24,392 22,298 21,450

The overall decrease of 2,942 full-time equivalents (FTEs) from fiscal year 2020 to 2021 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 is mainly explained by the following items:

  • Social Development: the decrease of 18 full-time equivalents is mainly due to temporary resources for the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy
  • Pensions and Benefits: the decrease of 1,754 full-time equivalents is a result of a reduction in temporary resources provided to address Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan workload issues
  • Learning, Skills Development and Employment: the reduction of 786 full-time equivalents is mainly related to temporary resources for EI specialized call centre accessibility, fair and efficient income security benefits, the Temporary Foreign Workers Program and Canada Service Corps
  • Working Conditions and Workplace Relations: the decrease of 4 full-time equivalents is a result of a decrease in temporary resources for the Labour - Modernization of Federal Labour Standards
  • Information Delivery and Services to Other Departments: the decrease of 136 full-time equivalents is due to a decrease in temporary resources provided for the Department of Employment and Social Development Act and the enhanced Indigenous community outreach activities
  • Internal Services: the decrease of 244 full-time equivalents is mainly a result of the decrease of temporary resources associated with Canada Pension Plan workload issues, the Social Security Tribunal and the EI specialized call centre accessibility

Due to timing issues, not all of the department’s funding is reflected in the Departmental Plan. Funding is expected to be renewed through other financial allocations that would keep temporary resources in place.

Estimates by vote

Information on ESDC’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2020 to 2021 Main Estimates.

Condensed future-oriented statement of operations

The Consolidated Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations provides a general overview of ESDC’s operations. The forecast of financial information on expenses and revenues is prepared on an accrual accounting basis to strengthen accountability and to improve transparency and financial management.

Because the Consolidated Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations is prepared on an accrual accounting basis, and the forecast and planned spending amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan are prepared on an expenditure basis, amounts may differ.

The Consolidated Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations includes the transactions of the Employment Insurance Operating (EIO) Account, a consolidated specified purpose account which includes revenues credited and expenses charged under the Employment Insurance Act. The accounts of the EIO Account have been consolidated with those of ESDC and all inter-organizational balances and transactions have been eliminated. However, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is excluded from the ESDC's reporting entity because changes to CPP require the agreement of 2 thirds of participating provinces and it is therefore not controlled by the Government.

A more detailed Consolidated Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on Employment and Social Development’s website.

Table 19: Condensed future‑oriented statement of operations for the year ending March 31, 2021 (dollars)
Financial information 2019 to 2020 forecast results 2020 to 2021 planned results Difference (2020 to 2021 planned results minus 2019 to 2020 forecast results)
Total expenses 88,248,665,348 92,857,176,050 4,608,510,702
Total revenues 23,930,955,495 23,932,414,426 1,458,931
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 64,317,709,853 68,924,761,624 4,607,051,771

The increase of $4,607.1 million in the 2020 to 2021 planned results of the net cost of operations, when compared to the 2019 to 2020 forecast results was driven by a significant increase in expenses of $4,608.5 million, explained by the following:

  • an increase of $3,310.2 million in Pensions and Benefits expenses mainly due to the projected increase in the eligible population of the Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits
  • an increase of $1,239.2 million in Learning, Skills Development and Employment expenses—which includes Employment Insurance benefits—mainly due to an expected increase in the average weekly regular benefit rate, as well as the Budget 2019 changes such as the new training benefit

Statutory Annual Reports

Employment Insurance Part II

Part II of the Employment Insurance Act requires the federal government to work in concert with provinces and territories to put in place Employment Benefits and Support Measures or similar programs and services to help Canadians integrate into the labour market.

Since provinces and territories are best placed to determine the mix of employment programming best suited to meet their local and regional labour market needs, Employment Benefits and Support Measures are delivered under bilateral transfer agreements between Canada and the provinces and territories called the Labour Market Development Agreements.

Employment Benefits and Support Measures are comprised of 5 employment benefit programs — Skills Development, Targeted Wage Subsidies, Self-Employment, Job Creation Partnerships, and Targeted Earnings Supplements — and 3 support measures — Employment Assistance Services, Labour Market Partnerships, which includes Employer Sponsored Training, and Research and Innovation.

More detailed information on Employment Insurance Part II is available on the department’s website.

Financial Data

For fiscal year 2020 to 2021, the total Employment Insurance Part II expenditure authority of $2.479 billion represents 0.38% of the total estimated insurable earnings figure of $646.1 billion. This represents a lower level of expenditures than the 0.8% ceiling imposed under the Employment Insurance Act, which is estimated at $5.169 billion in fiscal year 2020 to 2021. The amount of reinvestment reached maturity at $800 million in fiscal year 2000 to 2001.

Table 20: 2020 to 2021 Employment Insurance Part II Expenditure Plan (Notional as of January 27, 2020 and pending concurrence by the Minister of Finance and formal Treasury Board approval)
Base Re-Investment Budget 2017* Total Plan
Newfoundland and Labrador 54,193,214 73,086,000 14,138,744 141,417,958
Nova Scotia 46,971,262 30,348,000 13,713,957 91,033,219
New Brunswick 46,601,639 42,116,000 13,857,715 102,575,354
Prince Edward Island 13,766,477 10,022,000 3,271,633 27,060,110
Quebec 310,498,969 248,071,000 89,014,501 647,584,470
Ontario 384,743,713 184,097,000 115,243,945 684,084,658
Manitoba 33,610,661 10,233,000 11,782,244 55,625,905
Saskatchewan 27,892,979 9,862,000 10,594,404 48,349,383
Alberta 104,569,600 35,921,000 42,295,428 182,786,028
Nunavut 1,741,523 954,000 471,834 3,167,357
Northwest Territories 1,309,564 1,552,000 454,750 3,316,314
British Columbia 122,161,674 151,732,000 34,825,928 308,719,602
Yukon 1,938,725 2,006,000 334,917 4,279,642
1,150,000,000 800,000,000 350,000,000 2,300,000,000
Pan-Canadian Responsibilities** 154,869,877
Funds available for Employment Benefits and Support Measures 1,271,031,877 800,000,000 378,320,000 2,454,869,877
  • *Additional funding for the Labour Market Development Agreements announced in Budget 2017 of $350 million for 2020 to 2021. Budget 2017 announced an additional investment in the LMDAs of $1.8 billion over 6 years, which began in fiscal year 2017 to 2018. In fiscal year 2020 to 2021, provinces and territories will receive an additional $350 million to help Canadians prepare for, find, advance in, and keep good jobs.
  • **The amount for Pan-Canadian Responsibilities includes the ongoing envelope of $150,867,575 minus the permanent conversion to operating of $24,317,698. The amount for Pan-Canadian Responsibilities also includes $28.32 million for the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training program and $5.518 million for which a permanent conversion of Employment Insurance Part II Pan-Canadian program funds to operating funds is being sought to fund the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform on an on-going basis.

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister(s)

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough
The Honourable Ahmed Hussen
The Honourable Filomena Tassi
The Honourable Deb Schulte

Institutional head

Graham Flack, Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development

Ministerial portfolio

Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion

Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Minister of Labour

Minister of Seniors

Enabling instrument(s)

Department of Employment and Social Development Act (S.C. 2005, c. 34); additional information on acts and regulations can be found on the Employment and Social Development Canada website.

Year of incorporation / commencement

2005

Other

For more information on the department’s role, please visit the Employment and Social Development Canada website.

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on the ESDC’s website.

For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Ministers' mandate letters.

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on ESDC's website.

Reporting framework

ESDC’s approved Departmental Results Framework and program inventory for fiscal year 2020 to 2021 are as follows.

Core responsibility 1: Social Development

Description: Increase inclusion and opportunities for participation of Canadians in their communities

Departmental result 1 of 5: Homelessness is prevented and reduced

Indicator: Reduction in the estimated number of shelter users who are chronically homeless

Departmental result 2 of 5: Not-for-profit organizations, communities, and other groups have an enhanced capacity to address a range of social issues such as the social inclusion of people with disabilities, the engagement of seniors and support for children and families

Indicator: For every dollar invested through the Social Development Partnerships Program, amount leveraged/invested by non-federal partners

Departmental result 3 of 5: Barriers to accessibility for people with disabilities are removed

Indicator: Number of community spaces and workplaces that are more accessible due to Enabling Accessibility Fund funding

Departmental result 4 of 5: Access to early learning and child care is increased

Indicator: Number of children in regulated child care spaces and/or early learning programs and number of children receiving subsidies or other financial supports

Departmental result 5 of 5: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

Indicator: Service standard target for Social Development program priority service, as defined by the Government of Canada’s Policy on Service, was met

Program inventory:

  • Reaching Home
  • Social Development Partnerships Program
  • New Horizons for Seniors
  • Enabling Accessibility Fund
  • Early Learning and Child Care
  • Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Transformation Initiative
  • Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime
  • Accessible Canada Initiative
  • Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program
  • Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy

Core responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits

Description: Assist Canadians in maintaining income for retirement, and provide financial benefits to survivors, people with disabilities and their families

Departmental result 1 of 3: Seniors have income support for retirement

Indicator 1 of 4: Percentage of seniors receiving the Old Age Security pension in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors

Indicator 2 of 4: Percentage of seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors

Indicator 3 of 4: Percentage of Canada Pension Plan contributors aged 70+ receiving retirement benefits

Indicator 4 of 4: Percentage of seniors living in poverty

Departmental result 2 of 3: People with disabilities and their families have financial support

Indicator 1 of 3: Percentage of Canada Pension Plan contributors who have contributory eligibility for Canada Pension Plan disability benefits and therefore have access to financial support in the event of a severe and prolonged disability

Indicator 2 of 3: Percentage of Canadians eligible for the Disability Tax Credit who have a Registered Disability Savings Plan to encourage private savings

Indicator 3 of 3: Percentage of Registered Disability Savings Plan beneficiaries that have received a grant and/or a bond to assist them and their families to save for their long-term financial security

Departmental result 3 of 3: Clients receive high-quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

Indicator: Number of service standard targets for Pensions and Benefits program priority services, as defined by the Government of Canada’s Policy on Service, that are being met

Key measure 1 of 3: Percentage of Canada Pension Plan retirement benefits paid within the first month of entitlement

Key measure 2 of 3: Percentage of decisions on applications for a Canada Pension Plan disability benefit issued within 120 calendar days

Key measure 3 of 3: Percentage of Old Age Security basic benefits paid within the first month of entitlement

Program inventory:

  • Old Age Security
  • Canada Disability Savings Program
  • Canada Pension Plan

Core responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development, and Employment

Description: Help Canadians access post-secondary education, obtain the skills and training needed to participate in a changing labour market and provide supports to those who are temporarily unemployed

Departmental result 1 of 5: Canadians access education, training and lifelong learning supports to gain the skills and work experience they need

Indicator 1 of 6: Number of Canadians receiving training and/or employment supports through federally administered programs

Indicator 2 of 6: Number of Canadians receiving provincially and territorially delivered skills training and employment services supported by Government of Canada funding transfers

Indicator 3 of 6: Employment or returns to school following training/supports through federally administered programs

Indicator 4 of 6: Employment or returns to school following provincially and territorially delivered skills training and employment services supported by Government of Canada funding transfers

Indicator 5 of 6: Percentage of Canadians aged 18 to 24 that are enrolled in university or college

Indicator 6 of 6: Percentage change in Canadians aged 25 to 64 enrolled in university or college

Departmental result 2 of 5: Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market

Indicator 1 of 10: Employment rate for Canadians

Indicator 2 of 10: Employment rate for Indigenous people off reserve

Indicator 3 of 10: Employment rate for Indigenous people on reserve

Indicator 4 of 10: Employment rate for recent immigrants

Indicator 5 of 10: Employment rate for persons with disabilities

Indicator 6 of 10: Employment rate for youth

Indicator 7 of 10: Employment rate for women

Indicator 8 of 10: Employment rate for older Canadians

Indicator 9 of 10: Employment rate for lone parents

Indicator 10 of 10: Unemployment-to-job vacancies (ratio)

Departmental result 3 of 5: Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions such as job loss, illness, or maternity/parental leave

Indicator 1 of 2: Percentage of workers losing their job in the previous year that were eligible for Employment Insurance, as measured by the percentage of insured unemployed workers that qualify for Employment Insurance

Indicator 2 of 2: Percentage of Employment Insurance claimants finding employment before the end of their benefit entitlement, as measured by the proportion of Employment Insurance regular benefits claimants who do not use all their benefit entitlement

Departmental result 4 of 5: More students from low- and middle-income families access and participate in post-secondary education

Indicator 1 of 3: Proportion of low- and middle-income Canadian young adults participating in post-secondary education

Indicator 2 of 3: Percentage of beneficiaries with a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) withdrawal that have ever received an additional amount of Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and/or Canada Learning Bond, which are available only to children from low- and middle-income families, as compared to the total population of beneficiaries

Indicator 3 of 3: Percentage of full-time students (all ages) who used federal student financial assistance to help finance their participation in post-secondary education

Departmental result 5 of 5: Clients receive high-quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

Indicator: Number of service standard targets for Learning, Skills Development and Employment program priority services, as defined by the Government of Canada’s policy on Service, that are being met

Key measure 1 of 3: Percentage of Employment Insurance benefit payments or non-benefit notifications issued within 28 days of filing

Key measure 2 of 3: Percentage of Employment Insurance requests for reconsideration reviewed within 30 days of filing

Key measure 3 of 3: Percentage of Social Insurance Numbers applied for through the Newborn Registration Service issued within 10 business days

Program inventory:

  • Employment Insurance
  • Labour Market Development Agreements
  • Workforce Development Agreements
  • Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
  • Job Bank
  • Youth Skills and Employment Strategy
  • Skills and Partnership Fund
  • Literacy and Essential Skills
  • Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program
  • Student Work Placement Program
  • Union Training and Innovation Program
  • Sectoral Initiatives Program
  • Foreign Credential Recognition Program
  • Temporary Foreign Worker Program
  • Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities
  • Canada Student Loans Program and Canada Apprentice Loans
  • Canada Education Savings Program
  • Apprenticeship Grants
  • Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship (Red Seal Program)
  • Canada Service Corps
  • Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness Program
  • Future Skills
  • Support for Student Learning

Core responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

Description: Promotes safe, healthy, fair and inclusive work conditions and cooperative workplace relations

Departmental result 1 of 4: Workplaces are safe and healthy

Indicator: Number of health and safety violations identified under the Canada Labour Code (Part II) per 1,000 federally regulated employees

Departmental result 2 of 4: Work conditions are fair and inclusive

Indicator 1 of 2: Percentage of legislated Employment Equity Program employers whose representation equals or surpasses Canadian labour market availability for 2+ designated groups or who demonstrated progress towards representation since the previous reporting period

Indicator 2 of 2: 3-year average number of founded violations identified under Part III of the Canada Labour Code per 1,000 federally regulated employees

Departmental result 3 of 4: Labour relations are cooperative

Indicator: Percentage of labour disputes settled under the Canada Labour Code (Part I) without work stoppages, where parties were assisted by Labour Program officers

Departmental result 4 of 4: Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

Indicator: Number of service standard targets for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations program priority services, as defined by the Government of Canada’s Policy on Service, that are being met

Key measure 1 of 4: Percentage of occupational health and safety cases each fiscal year that are finalized within 120 days (excluding prosecutions, appeals, and technical surveys)

Key measure 2 of 4: Percentage of unjust dismissal complaints that are finalized within 180 days

Key measure 3 of 4: Percentage of conciliators assigned under the Canada Labour Code within 15 calendar days of receiving requests that are compliant with Canada Industrial Relations Regulations

Key measure 4 of 4: Percentage of initial Wage Earner Protection Program payments and non-payment notifications issued within 35 calendar days

Program inventory:

  • Labour Relations
  • Federal Workers’ Compensation
  • Occupational Health and Safety
  • Workplace Equity
  • Labour Standards
  • Wage Earner Protection Program
  • International Labour Affairs

Core responsibility 5: Information and Service Delivery for Other Departments

Description: Provide information to the public on the programs of the Government of Canada and the department, and provide services on behalf of other government departments

Departmental result 1 of 2: Clients receive high quality, timely and accurate government information and services that meet their needs

Indicator 1 of 3: 1 800 O-Canada information completeness, relevancy and accuracy assessment

Indicator 2 of 3: Percentage of clients served in person who received assistance within 25 minutes

Indicator 3 of 3: Number of program services that meet their service standard targets

Departmental result 2 of 2: Canadians can obtain a passport within Canada in a timely manner

Indicator: Percentage of travel documents and other passport services processed within standards

Program inventory:

  • Government of Canada Telephone General Enquiries Services
  • Government of Canada Internet Presence
  • In-Person Points of Service
  • Passport
  • Other Government Department Programs

Changes to the approved reporting framework since fiscal year 2019 to 2020

ESDC’s 2020 to 2021 Departmental Results Framework has changed very little from fiscal year 2019 to 2020. 1 program has been added under the Social Development core responsibility (Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy) and 1 program has been added under the Learning, Skills Development and Employment core responsibility (Support for Student Learning).

Supporting information on the program inventory

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to ESDC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on ESDC’s website:

Federal tax expenditures

ESDC’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures that relate to its planned results for fiscal year 2020 to 2021.

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance, and the Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government-wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis. The tax measures presented in this report are solely the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Organizational contact information

Head Office

140 Promenade du Portage, Phase IV Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0J9

Canada

Telephone: 1-800-622-6232

Toll-free: 1-800-622-6232

Website: www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development.html

Email: NC-SPR-PSR-CPMD-DPMG-GD@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)
Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.
core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in 1 or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.
Departmental Plan (Plan ministériel)
A report on the plans and expected performance of a department over a 3‑year period. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.
departmental priority (priorité ministérielle)
A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Departmental priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.
departmental result (résultat ministériel)
A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.
departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a departmental result.
Departmental Results Framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
A framework that consists of the department’s core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.
Departmental Results Report (Rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.
experimentation (expérimentation)
The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare, the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works and what doesn’t. Experimentation is related to, but distinct form innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.
full‑time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person‑year charge against a departmental budget. Full‑time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.
gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])
An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.
government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2020–21 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities refers to those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2015 Speech from the Throne, namely: Growth for the Middle Class; Open and Transparent Government; A Clean Environment and a Strong Economy; Diversity is Canada's Strength; and Security and Opportunity.
horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative in which 2 or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.
non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.
performance (rendement)
What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.
performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.
performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)
The process of communicating evidence‑based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision-making, accountability and transparency.
plan (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.
planned spending (dépenses prévues)
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.
program (programme)
Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.
program inventory (répertoire des programmes)
Identifies all of the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.
result (résultat)
An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.
statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.
strategic outcome (résultat stratégique)
A long-term and enduring benefit to Canadians that is linked to the organization’s mandate, vision and core functions.
target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.
voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.

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