Departmental plan for fiscal year 2023 to 2024

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Departmental plan for fiscal year 2023 to 2024 [PDF - 1.06 MB]

Large print, braille, MP3 (audio), e-text and DAISY formats are available on demand by ordering online or calling 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232). If you use a teletypewriter (TTY), call 1-800-926-9105.

From the Ministers

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is proud to present the 2023 to 2024 Departmental Plan.

In the wake of the Department’s extraordinary work to address the pandemic challenges of the past three years, it is more important than ever that we remain focused on helping prepare Canadians to succeed in today’s challenging labour market and delivering the critical programs and services that help improve the standard of living and quality of life for all Canadians.

The job market is changing, making it essential for Canada’s Employment Insurance (EI) program to better adapt to the needs of workers and employers. Consultations with Canadians and lessons learned from the pandemic will help us continue to modernize the EI system.

ESDC is the largest federal service delivery organization in Canada, and the programs and services we deliver are essential and make a difference in the lives of Canadians. Canadians expect high-quality, easy-to-access, simple and secure services, whether offered online, through call centres or in person. Our systems and approaches must be modern, resilient, secure and reliable, so that Canadians can access these programs and services regardless of where they live. Over the past 10 months, Service Canada has made significant strides in restoring access for Canadians to timely and efficient passport services. Since reaching a peak in August 2022, the backlog of passport applications has been virtually eliminated. This year, we will look into every possible option, including new technology, to improve delivery of services to clients, especially for passport services.

Creating a diverse, inclusive and efficient labour market will capitalize on different skill sets, address labour shortages and foster creativity. Through programs such as the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities, the Skills for Success Program, the Women’s Employment Readiness pilot program and the Canada Service Corps, we will help Canadians get the skills, training and opportunities they need to find and keep good jobs.

We know pursuing a post-secondary education can add financial pressure on families. Starting April 1, 2023, we will permanently eliminate interest on all federal student and apprentice loans.

To promote equality and diversity, and help identify and eliminate barriers to employment opportunities in federally regulated workplaces, we will continue our work to modernize the Employment Equity Act and advance new pay transparency measures that will shine a light on pay gaps experienced by women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. To improve working conditions in the transportation sector, we’re addressing driver misclassification, which can deny employees important rights, benefits and protections. We’re also moving forward on prohibiting the use of replacement workers. We recently wrapped up consultations and will introduce legislation by the end of 2023.

Workers deserve to feel protected, safe and respected. This year, we ratified International Labour Organization Convention 190, the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019, the first-ever global treaty to help end violence and harassment in the workplace. This, along with other measures, such as ensuring access to menstrual products and ensuring that mental health is taken as seriously as physical health, will help make workplaces safer and more welcoming for everyone.

To help foreign workers better understand and exercise their rights while living in Canada, we will launch the Migrant Worker Support Program through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. In addition, to address the health human resource crisis, the Foreign Credential Recognition Program will assist thousands of internationally trained health care professionals to have their credentials recognized and find work in their fields.

Everyone has a right to participate fully in their society, which is why actions under Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan will continue to advance. Through the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities, we will implement Canada’s Employment Strategy for Persons with Disabilities. As well, the Disability Inclusion Business Council will begin to design and set up a self-governed independent business network to prioritize accessibility and disability inclusion in the workplace. To support financial security, stakeholders will continue to be engaged on the design of the proposed Canada Disability Benefit.

Making life more affordable for all Canadians remains a priority. Through targeted support measures, we will help families cope with the increasing costs of everyday items, such as rising prices at the checkout counter. As we continue to implement a Canada-wide early learning and child care system and reduce fees toward an average of $10 a day, we will provide jobs for workers, many of whom are women, thereby enabling parents, particularly mothers, to reach their full economic potential. We recognize and value the professional early childhood educators who make this system possible. That is why Canada-wide agreements include investments directed toward improving conditions for those working in the regulated child care system. We will also continue collaborating with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation governments and organizations to support Indigenous-led early learning and child care programs and services across the country. Additionally, we will continue our engagement with provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous partners and stakeholders to explore the development of a national school food policy.

To better serve those most in need and to address inequalities, we will focus on innovative approaches. We will work to enhance the capacity of social purpose organizations through funding programs such as the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative, the New Horizons for Seniors Program and the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy. We have also asked the National Seniors Council to serve as an expert panel to provide advice to the federal government on ways to further support older Canadians to age at home.

This summer, Canada will deliver its second Voluntary National Review on the progress made toward implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Our programs and policies will continue to support the Sustainable Development Goals and to address today’s social, economic and environmental challenges to build stronger, safer and more inclusive communities that leave no one behind.

With uncertainty about what the future may have in store, one thing is certain: we will continue to focus on ensuring that Canadians have the supports they need when they need it the most.

Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough

Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould

Minister of Labour, Seamus O’Regan Jr.

Minister of Seniors, Kamal Khera

Plans at a glance

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will help build a stronger and more inclusive Canada. We will continue to focus on programs and planned activities that help Canadians live productive and rewarding lives and improve Canadian’s standard of living. A few examples of this work are listed below.

The department will make sure it supports Canadians as they, and the country, recover from the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes making the labour force more inclusive, so all Canadians can take part. It also includes supports for Canadians who are making hard economic choices as they face high levels of inflation and a labour market that requires a greater range and higher level of skill. Investments in technology will continue as clients’ expectations to access services and supports through digital services continues to grow. Furthermore, programs, such as the Passport Program, will be modernized to improve the delivery of services to clients.

The department will continue to work with the provinces and territories to reduce child care

fees towards an average of $10-a-day and to create 250,000 new regulated child care spaces by March 2026.

Accessible and inclusive communities will be supported through the production of alternate format reading materials. Social Development Partnerships Program - Disability funding will result in the creation of approximately 4,000 new alternate format documents, improving access to reading materials for persons with print disabilities.

Student loan forgiveness will increase for family doctors and nurses who are working in eligible underserved rural and/or remote communities. Nurses may qualify for up to $30,000 in loan forgiveness and doctors up to $60,000 starting this year.

This year, the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program will aim to serve at least 40,000 new Indigenous participants and support at least 16,500 Indigenous people find employment. This work will be done using Indigenous-led solutions and self-determination practices through a distinctions-based approach to meet the specific needs of First Nations, Métis and Inuit participants as well as urban and non-affiliated Indigenous people. This supports the department’s ongoing efforts to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program will reduce the administrative burden for trusted repeat employers to hire temporary foreign workers so they can quickly bring in workers to fill short-term labour market gaps. The department will also work to improve the quality, timeliness and reach of inspections to ensure the health and safety of foreign workers as well as continue efforts to rebuild the program’s compliance regime.

Among other contributions, the Age Well at Home initiative will help to provide practical services to low-income or otherwise vulnerable seniors. It will also help seniors navigate and access additional services.

The department will address the misclassification of employees in the road transportation industry to protect Canadian truck drivers in precarious work. This will improve work conditions for thousands of workers including newcomers and racialized Canadians.

This year, the department will continue its delivery of programs and services to each and every Canadian throughout their lives in a significant way.

Operating context

The COVID-19 pandemic is less likely to impact the department’s operations in fiscal year 2023 to 2024 than in previous years. Even so, new challenges will shape the economy and labour market.

In June 2022, inflation reached a 40-year high and by November 2022 the national inflation rate had slowed to 6.8% (year-over-year change). These high levels of inflation are being influenced by domestic and global factors. These factors include labour shortages in Canada, the Russia-Ukraine war, and global supply chain issues resulting in higher prices for energy, food and other goods. While wages increased during this period, their growth has not kept pace with inflation. This has left most households with lower purchasing power. The higher costs of basic necessities, particularly housing, coupled with the phasing-out of pandemic relief supports, are likely to put upward pressure on poverty rates. The Bank of Canada has been increasing its interest rate to counter inflation. These interest rate increases are putting more pressure on household finances, as the cost of borrowing has gone up. In October 2022, the Bank of Canada restated that it expects inflation to decline to around 3% in late 2023.

The Canadian economy has experienced a strong recovery. Real gross domestic product (GDP) surpassed pre-pandemic levels earlier than expected, and grew faster than that of other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Group of Seven countries in the second quarter of 2022 before slowing to grow at a similar rate in the third quarter of 2022. GDP growth is expected to slow in Canada and around the world in the last quarter of 2022 as well as in 2023. In addition, the risk of recession has risen.

The Canadian labour market has emerged strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic. Employment surpassed pre-pandemic levels and the unemployment rate reached record low levels. Nevertheless, labour market trends that existed before the pandemic continue to impact the economy and Canadians. In recent years, the population has been getting older. There are currently more individuals 65 and over than children under 15 in Canada. With the population aging, the participation rate is still below pre-pandemic levels.

Employers in Canada are facing difficulties filling job vacancies. The number of job vacancies was near-record high at 960,000 in the third quarter of 2022. At that time, there were only 1.1 unemployed persons for every job vacancy, compared to 2.3 in the first quarter of 2020, prior to COVID-19. This indicates that there were fewer unemployed persons available to fill job vacancies. Due in part to a shrinking pool of unemployed workers, employers faced significant hiring challenges leading to a higher number of occupations in shortage. Some of the labour shortages may be temporary. Others are likely a result of factors such as aging population, new technologies and consumer behaviour changes. These factors will continue to put pressure on the labour market in the long-term.

The pool of workers with extensive job-related knowledge and experience will continue to shrink as older workers retire. To reduce labour market pressures, it will be important to integrate new entrants in the Canadian labour market. This includes new immigrants and youth graduating from the Canadian education system. Increasing the labour market participation of underrepresented groups, such as women, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and Indigenous Peoples, is vital to address future labour market needs and for economic growth. It is also important to encourage experienced workers to remain active in the labour market longer.

The labour market will likely continue to require higher levels and greater range of skills. There is also the need for new skill sets to tackle items such as the transition to an economy with net-zero carbon emissions to fight climate change. These challenges, combined with the need for inclusive and sustainable economic growth, are informing the department’s priorities and planned results for fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Canadians who rely on online interactions with the government has increased. Clients’ expectations for timely, accessible and high-quality digital services will continue to grow, which will lead to further investments in technology and increase the importance of online delivery. Canadians expect their government to be both efficient and also effective in delivering its services and meeting its own service standards. Reducing wait times, minimizing backlogs and increasing processing speeds will remain central to service improvements. The department has already made significant investments and tangible progress has been achieved in addressing technical debt and modernizing Information Technology (IT) legacy infrastructure, which will improve our service performance. This trend will continue.

Apart from the high expectation for enhanced clients online experience and efficient delivery, the challenge of ensuring that all Canadians have access to government programs will still shape the service environment. Canadians need to be able to access these programs regardless of their ability or means to transact online. This will require us to increase our understanding of specific challenges and service barriers that prevent marginalized and underserved populations from receiving the benefits to which they are entitled. Timely and efficient access to accurate information, benefits and supports have a tangible impact on the lives of Canadians, particularly those who are now making hard economic choices.

Also, as demonstrated by the swift implementation of new measures to support Canadians in need during the pandemic and when responding to elevated demand for Passports following a rapid withdrawal of public health restrictions, the need for flexibility, creativity, and innovation in delivering government services will remain as high as ever.

Given this context, and with pandemic-related lessons in mind, the department will focus its efforts on 3 areas:

technical debt elimination and continued investment in service transformation
seamless digital service experience for clients
reaching all Canadians, including the marginalized and underserved, by improving access to benefits to which they are entitled

Service Excellence Highlights

1. Modernizing IT and addressing technical debt

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians have increasingly engaged with the government online. Now more than ever, they need secure, high quality, and accessible digital services. The department continues to leverage digital technologies to improve the delivery of its programs and services. This requires addressing the issue of technical debt and modernizing and replacing IT ageing infrastructure. In the fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will take several steps to advance IT modernization:

continue to transform its Information Technology (IT) systems through the Benefits Delivery Modernization Programme. This includes improved readiness of the Common Benefits Delivery platform toenable a modern, standardized, robust and secure foundation for the delivery of benefits to Canadians
continue to migrate the first benefit, Old Age Security, onto the new Common Benefits Delivery Platform. This new platform will eventually replace the current ageing systems. In future phases of the Benefits Delivery Modernization Programme, the platform will be expanded to include additional benefits, including Employment Insurance and the Canada Pension Plan
modernize the technology used to deliver teletypewriter (TTY) services to clients. These changes will improve citizens' experience by increasing the number of calls that the department can receive at the same time. It will also increase the number of call centre officers to address clients’ needs
continue to expand Digital Identity Projects. These projects will provide citizens with immediate and secure access to online services and programs. A key example of this work is the new Trusted Digital Identity Agreement which will allow individuals with Quebec digital (provincial) identities to have access to the department’s service offerings such as Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security, and Canada Student Financial Assistance
continue to explore the evolution of the systems required to efficiently and effectively support ESDC’s management of Grants and Contributions programming with a client-centered approach
continue to implement its Network Modernization initiatives and recovery solutions to address technical debt and modernize its systems and infrastructure. This will also improve network performance and reduce the risk to service delivery caused by aging IT

Fall Economic Statement 2022

Proposed investments from the Fall Economic Statement, released in November 2022, also support service excellence:

Proposed funding of $1.02 billion to Service Canada to process Employment Insurance and Old Age Security claims faster while reducing the Employment Insurance claims backlog. An additional $574 million is proposed to reduce Employment Insurance and Old Age Security call centre wait times
Proposed funding of $495 million over 6 years to support Old Age Security and Employment Insurance Operations

2. Improving the client service experience and outcomes, supported by increasingly seamless digital services.

Improvements in the quality of services offered to Canadians will continue to be one of the department’s highest priorities. The service delivery landscape is evolving, thus it is essential that we keep abreast of client needs and the latest service preferences. Client service experience matters – it impacts the achievement of program objectives and enhances trust in government. Canadians expect services to be responsive, secure, digitally enabled, and accessible through many service channels. The department will continue to improve service design and delivery by utilizing client feedback. Examples of the work that will improve client service experience are:

ensuring consistent quality of service design and delivery by collecting client’s feedback:

Service Canada Labs will allow citizens and those using our services to interact with prototypes before they become live services Feedback from these interactions will improve product and service delivery
independent professionals from across the government will review Service Canada’s digital services to ensure they meet the Government of Canada Design Standards and deliver value to clients
the department will monitor and analyse data and user feedback to improve the quality of clients’ and employees’ web and digital experience. The feedback will be used to inform changes to online programs that are served by My Service Canada Account (MSCA) and My Business Account

understanding clients’ needs and improving services:

by examining the registration and authentication process used to access My Service Canada Account (MSCA). This work will lead to the implementation of data-driven and measurable improvements so that more individuals are able to access their services through MSCA
the Life Journey Program will help map the end-to-end user experience of their interaction with Service Canada during major life events
a community partnership pilot will be established to reach diverse research participants who can inform the design of accessible and inclusive services. This will lead to the development of a common Service Canada Design System focused on meeting the needs of vulnerable users. Recognizing the need to design with accessibility from the start, this pilot will work to provide consistent digital experiences for all clients

providing authenticated clients on the new My Service Canada Account (MSCA) with the opportunity to test out a ‘beta’ version of the MSCA that has a personalized landing page. This new service, known as the Service Canada Hub(SCH) has a new dashboard that will make it easier for clients to manage their benefits and information. This will be the first step in replacing what clients see when accessing Service Canada through MSCA Account. The beta version of SCH will allow for testing of early assumptions on how clients will engage with the digital channel in the future
making improvements to the Hosted Contact Centre Solution. The post call survey will invite callers to voluntarily complete a survey on the automated system once they have completed their call. Virtual hold will allow callers to request that the telephone system calls them back once a call centre officer is available. This removes the need for clients to wait on the phone to speak with a client service officer
examining and implementing every possible option to expedite the intake and processing of passport applications, including modernizing the program, to help Canadians get their passports in a timely way. This will ensure the department maintains its service standards and keeps pace with increased demand
collaborating with the Northwest Territories on implementing Vital Events Linkages. This initiative provides a secure and timely digital exchange of client vital statistics information between the Social Insurance Number (SIN) program and Vital Statistic Agencies in the provinces and territories. Implementation will start by enabling the sharing of regular death notifications from the territory. Next, the newborn registration service will allow parents to bundle the birth registration of their baby with an application for a SIN. Finally, birth certificate information collected in SIN applications will be validated in real time. Through the sharing of timely and accurate birth and death information, fully established vital events linkages with all provinces and territories will foster enhanced, streamlined, and secure service delivery to Canadians across all jurisdictions, while also reducing administrative burden to those provincial and territorial partners

3. Reaching all Canadians

Improving access to services and benefits for all eligible Canadians will continue to be a priority. More than ever, the department is also committed to increasing its understanding of service barriers that prevent marginalized and underserved Canadians from receiving the benefits to which they are entitled. These most vulnerable clients, including children, low-income seniors, families, and Indigenous communities, are often not aware of available benefits. They have also traditionally faced the most challenges in accessing government services. Over the next year, the department will work on reducing barriers to accessing essential supports and increasing benefit uptake for eligible Canadians by:

continuing to deliver the Reaching All Canadians initiative:

working with the Canada Revenue Agency and Statistics Canada to gain insights into hard-to-reach populations and gaps in benefit uptake
expanding its collaboration with community organizations that are positioned to identify and refer hard-to-reach Canadians to Service Canada for support
implementing the Accessibility Plan for Client Service. This plan proposes 17 measures to be put in place between 2023 and 2025. The measures are aimed at improving the accessibility of service delivery channels (in-person, online, phone) for persons with disabilities

improving access to information for underserved populations:

the Find Support Service will provide information about benefits relevant to a client’s situation. This will help service providers assist vulnerable populations access the services and benefits to which they are entitled
Estimate Eligibility is an anonymous, self-serve tool. It can be used by Canadian citizens navigating a life event. For example, the death of a partner or retirement. It provides a personalized estimate of the financial support a user may be entitled to depending on their circumstances. Initially this tool will be released for Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement

continue to improve access to grants and contributions programs for all Canadians through the following initiatives:

in 2023 to 2024, the multi-year Grants and Contributions Applicants Client Experience Research project will allow the department to measure client satisfaction and strengthen program design and service delivery based on client feedback
simplify and streamline the grants and contribution application process
improve navigation, design and content of the department’s grants and contribution funding web page. The department will improve the user-experience by enhancing its analytical tools. This will allow the department to better anticipate and manage workload and resources across program delivery

continue implementation of the Youth Digital Gateway (YDG) project to provide youth with information, services, and other supports to help them find a job, build their skills, go to school, participate in training, and serve their communities. The YDG will also support the broader youth ecosystem, including youth-serving organizations that deliver programming funded by the Government of Canada
expanding the Secure Portal for Verified Partners to stakeholders at the provincial and federal levels who support vulnerable populations in Canada. The portal provides a secure and timely channel for verified users, for example provincial and territorial Public Trustees, to request SIN confirmations, new first-time SINs, and relevant Social Insurance Register information for individuals under their care

Service Canada Regional Service Delivery

Service Canada Regions Service Delivery actively supports the delivery of key government commitments by responding to the needs of citizens in the areas they serve. Through partnerships with the provinces, territories, municipalities, and communities, regional offices deliver a wide array of essential services at hundreds of Service Canada Centres across the country. Service Canada regional offices will continue to expand outreach efforts that take into account clients' evolving needs. This year, Service Canada will pursue the following initiatives in each region:

Western Canada and Territories

Open the first Passport Operations Centre located in the west. This facility will increase the capacity to process passport applications and ensure business continuity
Collaborate with Inuit peoples, communities and partners in Nunavut through participation in a co-developed virtual Nunavut Labour Market Forum. The region will work in partnership with the Government of Nunavut, federal funding programs agreement holders and industry representatives. This will help to increase Inuit participation in government employment, reduce competition among service providers situated in Nunavut and streamline employment funding for Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) and Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care (IELCC) Programs
Deliver outreach services in partnership with Indigenous communities, other government departments and community partners. This will help to identify gaps in service and increase uptake in federal benefits for Indigenous, remote and rural communities

Ontario Region

Passport services will be incorporated into the Toronto North York Flagship Service Centre, expanding the existing suite of Flagship Service offerings. The Flagship Client Service Experience will utilize technologies to create a more inclusive environment for both clients and employees. Roving Officers who are equipped with tablets, roving carts and two-way radio headsets will provide clients with the full suite of services without being restricted to a traditional workstation
Additional expedited passport services at Service Canada Centre locations will be assessed for further expansion. These additional points of service will improve client access to passport services for Canadians in both rural and remote areas
The region will increase automation and aim for first contact resolution. For example, clients will be able to upload documents to expedite processing for Employment Insurance claims

Quebec Region

Improve and facilitate access to programs and services for people facing barriers. Region-wide projects will be launched to support liaison and partnership activities and strengthen the relationships with provincial, municipal, community and Indigenous partners through information sharing, meetings, etc.
In partnership with Indigenous community organizations, various pilot projects will be launched to address the needs of Indigenous people in urban settings. For example, the Montreal urban area will have mobile clinics jointly set up with other federal departments and provincial governments, aiming to break down barriers and improve access to services and benefits.
To support Indigenous communities and partners, the region will collaborate with innovation labs to co‑develop solutions that will improve access to services, programs and benefits based on the specific needs and aspirations of Indigenous partners.

Atlantic Region

The Charlottetown Service Canada Centre will be converted to a full Passport Office by January 2024. The services provided will include urgent and express service, and passport printing. This will ensure residents of Prince Edward Island have the same access to passport services as all other provinces
The region will continue to inspect employers’ compliance to protect the health and safety of temporary foreign workers. Onsite visits will be done in the region, and virtual inspections will be done both inside and outside the region. Additionally, inspections will target industry areas that are more at risk of non-compliance
Official language accessibility for stakeholders, communities and organizations will be increased. Bilingual capacity will be increased through hiring and second language training

**Figure 1: Service Canada in-person service network, as of November 30, 2022**

Core responsibilities: planned results and resources

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

Social Development

Description

Increase inclusion and opportunities for participation of Canadians in their communities.

Planning highlights

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will undertake the following activities to advance this core responsibility.

Affordability of early learning and child care is increased

The department will continue to work with the provinces and territories to increase access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care. The program will continue to support work to reduce child care fees towards an average of $10-a-day and to create 250,000 new regulated child care spaces by March 2026.

The department will support the work of the newly established National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care, which was announced by the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development on November 24, 2022. This Council brings together a committed and diverse group of 16 members, including academics and advocates, practitioners and caregivers. The Council will serve as a forum for consultations on issues and challenges facing the early learning and child care sector and will provide third-party expert advice to the Government of Canada.

The department will also continue to support communities and organizations exploring innovative approaches to help improve the life outcomes of children through projects funded by the Early Learning and Child Care Innovation Program. These projects explore, test and develop new approaches that aim to improve the quality, accessibility, affordability, inclusivity and flexibility of early learning and child care programs and services. Data and research initiatives, including the development of a data and research strategy specific to early learning and child care, will also continue.

Finally, the department will work to implement the Budget 2022 commitment to create an Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund. This fund is for provinces and territories to make additional child care investments to support the implementation of a Canada-wide early learning and child care system.

Guided by the co-developed Indigenous ELCC Framework, the department will continue to collaborate with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation governments and organizations. This will support Indigenous-led Early Learning and Child Care (IELCC) programs and services delivered in communities across the country. Under the IELCC Initiative, Indigenous partners make decisions on their priorities each year. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, many partners will continue to offer wraparound supports, including literacy, nutrition, health and parenting support, to ensure Indigenous families receive holistic and integrated services. Indigenous governance of the initiative will continue to be strengthened through capacity funding. The department will continue to support safe and healthy facilities by providing funds for repairs and renovations. New infrastructure funding will help to build new centres and replace old ones where needed. In addition, the department will support Indigenous-led quality improvement projects. These projects will develop and promote best practices or innovative models to strengthen the quality of IELCC programs and services in communities. For example, designing of governance models to support Indigenous-led early learning and child care decision-making and designing new ways to measure results and success.

Barriers to accessibility for persons with disabilities are removed

The department will continue to implement the Accessible Canada Act (the Act). It will work on development of accessibility regulations in the area of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), further enabling persons with disabilities to participate in Canada’s digital economy.

The Federal Data and Measurement Strategy for Accessibility will help the department to measure its progress in implementing the Act. The strategy will include a framework to measure the department’s performance in identifying, removing and preventing barriers to accessibility across three priority areas: employment, ICT, and transportation.

Projects in the accessibility services sector will be funded to further enhance accessibility and inclusion. For example, this could be a project to increase the overall number of professional sign language interpreters and translators in Canada.

The department will also continue efforts to shift the culture from ‘accessibility as an add-on’ to ‘inclusive from the start’. This will be done by supporting inclusively-designed solutions in communities and workplaces so everyone, including persons with disabilities, can participate. Efforts include celebrations and awareness campaigns under National AccessAbility Week, for example the annual Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion.

The department will continue to remove barriers faced by persons with disabilities by implementing the Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), released on October 7, 2022. The plan contains actions to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in Canada and is organized under four pillars:

financial security
employment
accessible and inclusive communities
modern approach to disability

To support financial security, stakeholders will be engaged on the design of the proposed Canada Disability Benefit. Stakeholders to be consulted include Canadians with disabilities, National Disability organizations, Provincial and Territorial governments, First Nations, Metis and Inuit representatives, and Modern Treaty holders.

The department will support accessible and inclusive communities by producing alternate format reading materials. The Social Development Partnerships Program - Disability is continuing to provide funding to the Centre for Equitable Library Access and National Network for Equitable Library Service. This will result in the creation of about 4,000 new alternate format documents, improving access to reading materials for persons with print disabilities. In addition, in spring 2023, the department will continue to work with Statistics Canada on administering an accessible print materials survey. The survey will help the department to better understand the needs and challenges faced by persons who require written documents in alternate formats such as Braille, e-books, audiobooks, or large print. The department will also hold roundtable discussions with stakeholders such as the Centre for Equitable Library Access and the National Network for Equitable Library Service, persons with print disabilities, and industry leaders in accessible technology.

The department will also, through the Enabling Accessibility Fund, increase accessibility in communities and workplaces in 2023 to 2024 by funding youth-led projects, mid-sized projects, and additional small projects from the small projects 2022 inventory.

Poverty is reduced

The department will continue its work to reduce poverty by implementing Opportunity for All: Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy. This includes:

supporting the National Advisory Council on Poverty in the development of an annual report on poverty to be tabled in Parliament, in providing advice to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development on poverty reduction, and in continuing a national dialogue with Canadians on poverty
addressing key gaps in poverty measurement in Canada and measuring progress towards the strategy’s poverty reduction targets
working with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis to better understand poverty among Indigenous populations in Canada

The department will develop a National School Food Policy, informed by engagement with provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous partners, stakeholders and Canadians. Once developed, the policy will encourage additional collaboration, coordination and investment, so that more children have access to nutritious food in school.

Capacity to address social issues is enhanced

The department will continue to enhance the capacity of social purpose organizations, including charities, not-for-profit organizations, co-operatives and for-profit social enterprises, to address social issues. The Social Development Partnership Program – Disability will continue to fund projects that improve the social inclusion of persons with disabilities. For example, projects that develop understanding and capacity among community-based partners, and leaders in the health care, finance, justice, and social service sectors, about how to identify, arrange for, and deliver supports for people with intellectual disabilities.

The Social Development Partnership Program – Children and Families will continue to fund projects that improve the financial wellbeing of low-income adults and the social inclusion and wellbeing of vulnerable children and youth who are at risk of social isolation.

The Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative (SBCCI) will continue to increase social inclusion, reduce systemic barriers, and strengthen social cohesion within Canadian society. Specifically, the department will:

promote inclusiveness by working closely with the SBCCI’s National Funders to support the long-term sustainability of community-based organizations
work with the SBCCI’s External Reference Group to implement the SBCCI. The External Reference Group is made up of seven members of African descent from the not-for-profit, education, public and private sectors
establish the National Institute for People of African Descent to inform policy and program development from a Black-centric perspective. An announcement regarding the implementation of the Institute could be made in fiscal year 2022 to 2023. The selected organization will then begin work to establish the Institute.

The department will continue to provide funding to community-based organizations through the New Horizons for Seniors Program. With this funding, organizations will help seniors improve their quality of life and their feeling of inclusion in society. This includes activities that support active living and social participation among seniors. Collaboration amongst organizations to address the needs of seniors in their communities will also be supported.

The department will support the National Seniors Council (NSC), which will serve as the expert panel to examine measures, including a potential aging at home benefit that could further support older Canadians to age at home. The objectives of the Expert Panel – Supporting Aging at Home project are to identify existing measures as well as international best practices that help seniors age at home; identify the factors that prevent seniors from aging at home and assess the areas of greatest needs to help identify domains of actions; and identify and assess current and potential new measures that could address the areas of greatest need to support aging in place. The final report containing advice for ministerial consideration is scheduled to be delivered to Minister Khera and Minister Duclos in September 2023.

The Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy will continue to support not for profit organizations and communities. The Investment Readiness Program has been extended into 2023 to 2024 to provide continued to support social purpose organizations (SPOs). This support helps SPOs develop the skills and capacities needed to access social finance. Access to social finance will allow the SPOs to address pressing social and environmental issues, to benefit Canadians. This year investment from the Social Finance Fund start to reach SPOs, helping them innovate and scale-up their social impact.

The department will continue to advance the rights, wellbeing and social inclusion of people of African descent as part of Canada’s commitment towards the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (2015 to 2024).

Following a competitive selection process for the Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund, one national Black-led and Black-serving organization will be selected by the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion and provided with an endowment of $199,476,227 for a minimum duration of 10 years. The recipient of the endowment fund will be responsible for investing and managing the assets of the fund, and will use the income generated to issue grants to Black community organizations. The endowment Fund will begin its operations in 2023.

The department will continue to lead Canada’s implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This includes developing Canada’s second Voluntary National Review to the United Nations. The review will highlight Canada’s progress in advancing the 2030 Agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Funding Program will support projects across Canada to advance the SDGs. The department will also ensure that Canada’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda reflects Indigenous perspectives and contributes to reconciliation through ongoing engagement protocol agreements with the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Métis National Council. The department will also continue to engage with the whole of Canadian society to build awareness of and promote the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.

Services to Canadians

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will continue improving services to Canadians under this core responsibility.

Through the Age Well at Home initiative,selected organizations will receive financial support for local projects that provide practical services such as meal preparation, housekeeping, yard work and transportation to low-income or otherwise vulnerable seniors. The organizations will also help seniors navigate and access additional services provided by other local organizations. In addition, the initiative will support regional or national projects to expand existing services that have already demonstrated results in helping seniors stay in their homes.

In support of the Accessible Canada Act, the department will continue its efforts to simplify and update the language used in grants and contribution program web pages. It will also continue to consult persons with disabilities to inform new programs and program updates.

Gender-based analysis plus

As part of the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care (IELCC) Initiative, the department will work with First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners to identify disaggregated data that could be collected to create new program indicators. The program indicators would allow for a better understanding of results achieved by the IELCC initiative.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA plus) will continue to inform implementation of the Accessible Canada Act (the Act). For example, when developing a framework for national accessibility action, the department will consider that many individuals with disabilities also identify with other groups. These groups could include Indigenous peoples, visible minorities, and/or 2SLGBTQI+. Multiple and diverse intersecting identity factors can shape the experiences and perspectives of persons with disabilities. Additionally, efforts to increase sign language interpretation and translation capacity will focus on increasing the number of Black, Indigenous and deaf interpreters.

Data is being collected from Social Development Partnerships Program – Disability (SDPP-D) funded projects to conduct GBA plus analysis. At the end of fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will have access to 4 years of data from 28 national disability organizations. This data will be used to identify gaps and challenges faced by these organizations in delivering programs. Analysis will be used to inform program improvements. The department expects to report on these findings in 2024 to 2025.

The Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) will use GBA plus analysis to inform an intersectional approach to serve populations experiencing disability. This means that it will take into account the fact that an individual may identify with more than one social identity. To support the intersectional approach, the department is engaging with National Indigenous Organizations and holders of Modern Treaty and Self-Government Agreements. This is to ensure the specific concerns of Indigenous populations are addressed in a culturally appropriate manner and meet all necessary modern treaty obligations and commitments. The department also reviews government proposals to ensure that the perspectives and needs of persons with disabilities are fully integrated into policies, programs, and initiatives.

The Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy uses GBA plus to ensure that it supports Social Purpose Organisations (SPOs) that are led by, and serve, equity deserving populations. The department will work collaboratively with social finance wholesalers to track investments that advance gender equality and social equity. Further, the department is working to collect disaggregated data on the leadership of, and the population served, by the organizations applying for the Investment Readiness Program. The program will also collect data on the populations the social finance intermediaries and SPOs serve. This will enable the program to monitor and ensure that funds reach a diversity of organizations and populations.

The organization selected to administer the Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund will be required to apply a GBA plus lens when making funding decisions. This is to ensure that the fund meets the needs of Black communities. The department will collect data from the endowment fund including the number of funded projects broken down by gender, ability, region, province or territory, and official language. In addition, it will also collect data on the number of Black women, girls and members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community served by funded projects.

The National Advisory Council on Poverty takes an inclusive and intersectional approach to its stakeholder engagement and when conducting information and data analysis. This work informs the Council’s annual report and recommendations. Specifically, the Council examines the relationships between poverty, equity, gender diversity, racialized populations other social, economic and demographic variables.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will contribute to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals through the following programs:

End poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1)- The proposed Canada Disability Benefit would reduce poverty and support the financial security of working-age persons with disabilities. It would also contribute to SDG 10 (reduce inequality within and among countries). Working-age Canadians with disabilities experience poverty at twice the rate of working-age Canadians without disabilities. Among that population, some sub-populations are at particular risk of poverty. This includes people with severe and very severe disabilities, women, Indigenous Peoples, visible minorities, and people living alone.

Quality education (SDG 4) –The Early Learning and Child Care and Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care programs will ensure that families Canada-wide have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive early learning and child care no matter where they live.

Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) - The Accessible Canada Act (the Act) will lead to the identification and removal of barriers to employment, particularly for persons with disabilities. The Act also contributes to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). Over time, the Act will lead to the removal of barriers in areas such as employment, Information Communication Technologies, and transportation.

The Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy supports social purpose organizations so that they can innovate, grow, and access flexible financing opportunities. The strategy also contributes to SDG 10 (reduce inequality within and among countries) by benefitting diverse groups of people. It also supports SDG 17 (Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development) by promoting effective partnerships between social purpose organizations, private organizations, and public institutions.

Peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16) - The Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund is led by Black Canadians for Black Canadian communities. This helps to increase the autonomy of Black Canadian communities to respond to the challenges they face, including combatting anti-Black racism.

The initiatives listed above all support Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda crosscutting objective of leaving no one behind by advancing gender equality, empowering women and girls, and advancing diversity and inclusion.

Innovation

The department is continuing its innovative approach to distribute funding under the Accessible Canada Partnerships stream. Phase 1 will identify projects that demonstrate positive outcomes. To move to Phase 2, successful projects will need to submit plans to expand their reach and to sustain activities in the long term, after federal funding ends. Plans may include expanding and/or adapting project activities to benefit more persons with disabilities and/or within other communities, as well as incorporating activities in new or additional settings (e.g., workplace and educational settings) to maximize the scale of investments. A committee, made up of persons with disabilities, will be established to review the outcomes of Phase 1. Results of this review will help inform the identification of promising projects for funding for Phase 2.

Planned results for Social Development

The following shows, for Social Development, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2023 to 2024, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Departmental result 1 of 4: 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 persons with disabilities, the engagement of seniors and support for children and families.

Departmental result indicator: newly developed partnerships as a percentage of all partnerships developed by recipient organizations to address a range of social issues such as the social inclusion of persons with disabilities, children and families and other vulnerable populations.

Target: at least 35%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: result to be achieved in the future.

2020 to 2021 actual result: result to be achieved in the future.

2021 to 2022 actual result: result to be achieved in the future.

Departmental result 2 of 4: barriers to accessibility for persons with disabilities are removed.

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

Target: 322 (see note 1 below).

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 376.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 386.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 1,290 (see note 2 below).

Departmental result 3 of 4: affordability of early learning and child care is increased.

Departmental result indicator: average child care fees for regulated early learning and child care spaces.

Target: average fee of $10-a-day (see note 3 below).

Date to achieve target: March 2026.

2019 to 2020 actual result: not applicable.

2020 to 2021 actual result: not applicable.

2021 to 2022 actual result: not yet available (see note 4 below).

Departmental result 4 of 4: clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs (see note 5 below).

Departmental result indicator: number of targets that are being met for the published service standards of Social Development programs.

Target: 3 out of 3.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 1 out of 1.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 1 out of 1.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 2 out of 3 (see note 6 below).

Notes

The target was lowered from 870 (2022 to 2023) to 322 (2023 to 2024) due to Budget 2021 funding sunsetting in 2022 to 2023. As such, the program does not have any funding in addition to its base funding of $20.65M (Gs&Cs), which limits the number of projects the program is able to fund.
Under the EAF program, ESDC funded 1,290 projects, more than 3 times the number of projects it supported in 2020 to 2021. The program funded more projects than projected due to the $100 million in additional funding received through Budget 2021.
In Budget 2021, the commitment was made to establish a new Canada-wide early learning and child care system, with a goal that families in Canada have access to regulated early learning and child care for an average cost of $10-a-day, which resulted in new agreements with provinces and territories covering 2021 to 2022 to 2025 to 2026. This indicator and associated target reflect this commitment and related agreements.
Compilation of results across the country are based on annual reports provided by provinces and territories in the fall of the following fiscal year. Due to the timing of agreements with provinces and territories, there will be no results available for 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021. However, results for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 will become available in the future.
Service standards are published on www.canada.ca.
Notification of funding is the only service standard not met.

The financial, human resources and performance information for the Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary spending for Social Development

The following table shows, for Social Development, budgetary spending for 2023 to 2024, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 1: planned budgetary spending for Social Development**
Categories	Main Estimates 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2024 to 2025	Planned spending 2025 to 2026
Planned Gross Spending	6,905,105,617	6,905,105,617	7,778,688,635	8,475,529,775
less: Planned Spending in Specified Purpose Accounts	0	0	0	0
less: Planned Revenues netted against expenditures	0	0	0	0
Planned Net Spending	6,905,105,617	6,905,105,617	7,778,688,635	8,475,529,775
Notes: The increase in planned spending is mainly explained by investments to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system with provinces and territories. Please refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources for Social Development

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023 to 2024 and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 2: planned human resources spending for Social Development**
2023–24 planned full-time equivalents	2024–25 planned full-time equivalents	2025–26 planned full-time equivalents
511	488	435

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on 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 2023 to 2024, the department will undertake the following activities to advance this core responsibility.

Seniors have income support for retirement

The department will ensure that seniors have income support for retirement through the Old Age Security (OAS)program. Benefits under the OAS program include:

the OAS pension, paid to all persons aged 65 or over who meet the residence requirements
the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for low-income OAS pensioners
Allowances for low-income Canadians aged 60 to 64 who are the spouses or common-law partners of GIS recipients, or who are widows or widowers

The department will also ensure that eligible seniors receive income support for retirement from the contributory Canada Pension Plan (CPP). This year the federal government will work with provincial partners to conduct the 2022 to 2024 Triennial Review of the Canada Pension Plan. The review will examine the Plan’s fiscal state and the benefits it provides to Canadians. The review is done to make sure that the Plan is sustainable over the long term and that the benefits it provides continue to meet the needs of Canadians. The review will conclude with a statement of the financial health of the Plan, and may include recommendations to improve the Canada Pension Plan.

Persons with disabilities and their families have financial support

The department will ensure eligible contributors with disabilities and their families have financial support through the Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPPD) Program. This program will improve how it helps Canadians with disabilities by:

working with internal and external partners to advance program objectives and improve the client experience.
continuing to make changes to improve the client appeal process at the Social Security Tribunal. This will make the process more efficient, effective and client centred.
expanding the quality assurance program beyond initial decisions, so that other file types, such as reconsideration decisions and terminal illness applications, are reviewed. This will help ensure that medical decisions are appropriate and consistent for CPPD applicants.
promoting modernization of the CPPD program through experimentation so that it responds to the needs of Canadians with severe and prolonged disabilities. For example, CPPD is designing a Return to Work Pilot project that will test improved supports for beneficiaries in their attempts to return to work.

Services to Canadians

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will strive to ensure that clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs.

Since January 1, 2019, Canadians have contributed more to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). This change, known as the CPP enhancement, will provide today’s workers and the seniors of tomorrow with higher benefits and greater financial stability. The department successfully paid Canadians the first enhanced portion of their CPP benefits in fiscal year 2022 to 2023. This fiscal year, the department will continue to prepare for the second enhanced portion of the CPP that will come into effect in 2024.

The department will migrate Old Age Security (OAS) to the new Benefits Delivery Modernization platform. This will simplify the experiences of everyone who engages with the OAS program. This includes seniors that receive benefits and employees who administer them. The migration of the OAS to the new platform will be done through several releases over the next 2 fiscal years. The first release, planned for fiscal year 2023 to 2024, will include a new case management system. It will provide employees with new tools to support Foreign Benefit recipients in obtaining pension income from international jurisdictions.

An online self-serve OAS benefits estimator will be launched in 2023. This tool will help estimate how much money beneficiaries could get from OAS, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, Allowance and Allowance for the Survivor. It is anticipated that this tool will increase the number of people applying for and receiving these benefits by making them more aware of available supports.

Gender-based analysis plus

Although beneficiaries of the Old Age Security pension are gender-balanced, slightly more women (59%) than men (41%) benefit from the Guaranteed Income Supplement. The portion of women (86%) who benefit from the allowances is noticeably higher than men (14%).

There are some noted gender differences in the benefits men and women receive from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). For example, slightly more women (52%) than men (48%) receive a CPP retirement pension. Even so, the average monthly pension for men ($731) is higher than that of women ($536). This reflects that men have, historically, had higher earnings during their working years. However, there are considerably more women (80%) receiving the CPP survivor’s pension than men (20%), reflecting the differences in life expectancy. Given this information, all potential options considered during the Canada Pension Plan’s 2022 to 2024 Triennial Review will be examined through a lens of Gender-based analysis plus. Elements such as gender, household income level, past labour force attachment, family status and widowhood will be considered. This will ensure that all options put forward for the Canada Pension Plan promote gender equality, diversity and inclusiveness.

The department uses Gender based analysis plus to understand the socio-demographic make-up of individuals who are using the Registered Disability Savings program. This includes information on beneficiaries’ age, sex, official language, place of residence (urban or rural) and province/territory. This information is used to determine if and how efforts to raise awareness of this program could be strengthened through the following activities:

delivering information sessions to an expanded audience
sending information letters to a more diverse group of eligible persons with disabilities
identifying program improvements to benefit hard-to-reach populations by creating linkages with other datasets

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will contribute to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the following programs:

End poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1) - The Canada Disability Savings Program (CDSP) will continue to support the long-term financial security of eligible persons with disabilities. The CDSP encourages long-term savings through the provision of federal disability savings incentives, namely the Canada Disability Savings Bond, and the Canada Disability Savings Grant.

In addition, the Old Age Security program and the Guaranteed Income Supplement will help to reduce the number of seniors with low income.

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (SDG 5)– The Guaranteed Income Supplement provides a monthly payment to low-income Old Age Security pensioners. The Allowances provide benefits to low-incomes 60- to 64-year-old individuals who are either the spouse or common-law partner of a GIS recipient, or who are a widow/widower. Women are more likely to meet the eligibility criteria for these supports therefore, as a result, the benefits help more women than men.

All of the examples above support Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda crosscutting objective of leaving no one behind by advancing gender equality, empowering women and girls, and advancing diversity and inclusion.

Innovation

The Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPPD) program’s existing suite of return-to-work (RTW) supports, which includes a 3-month work trial and vocational rehabilitation supports, are intended to facilitate the labour market transition of beneficiaries who wish to attempt a return to work. Ongoing analysis of best practices, consultations with stakeholders and CPPD outcomes identified opportunities that might be more successful in supporting our clients. As a result, CPPD is designing a new pilot. The project will gather information about, and then identify, the best combination of work transition supports for CPPD beneficiaries who have the potential to return to work.

Planned results for Pensions and Benefits

The following shows, for Pensions and Benefits, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2023 to 2024, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Departmental result 1 of 3: seniors have income support for retirement.

Departmental result indicator: percentage of seniors living in poverty.

Target: at most 6.1%.

Date to achieve target: December 2030.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 5.6% (2018).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 5.4% (2019).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 3.1% (2020).

Departmental result indicator: percentage of seniors receiving the Old Age Security Pension at age 65 and over in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors aged 65 and over (OAS pension take-up rate).

Target: at least 94%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 97.2% (2017).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 97.1% (2018).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 96.8% (2019).

Departmental result indicator: percentage of seniors receiving the Old Age Security pension at age 70 and over in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors aged 70 and over (OAS pension take-up rate 70+).

Target: at least 97%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 99% (2017).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 99% (2018).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 99% (2019).

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

Target: at least 90%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 91.1% (2017).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 91.2% (2018).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 92.2% (2019).

Departmental result indicator: percentage of Canada Pension Plan contributors aged 70+ receiving retirement benefits.

Target: at least 99%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 99% (2017).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 99% (2018).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 99%.

Departmental result 2 of 3: persons 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: at least 66%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 65% (2018).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 65% (2019).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 65% (2020).

Departmental result indicator: percentage of Canadians approved for the Disability Tax Credit who have a Registered Disability Savings Plan to encourage private savings (see note 1 below).

Target: 35%.

Date to achieve target: December 2023.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 35% (2020) (see note 2 below).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 35% (2021) (see note 2 below).

2021 to 2022 actual result: not yet available (2022).

Departmental result indicator: percentage of Registered Disability Savings Plan beneficiaries that have been issued a grant and/or a bond to assist them and their families to save for their long-term financial security (see note 3 below).

Target: at least 77%.

Date to achieve target: December 2023.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 84% (2019).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 80% (2020).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 78% (2021).

Departmental result 3 of 3: clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs (see note 4 below).

Departmental result indicator: number of targets that are being met for the published service standards of Pensions and Benefits programs.

Target: 10 out of 10.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 5 out of 10.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 5 out of 10.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 5 out of 10.

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

Target: at least 90%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 97%.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 98%.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 95.9%.

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

Target: at least 80%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 54%.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 61%.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 87.2%.

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

Target: at least 90%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 91%.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 91%.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 89.5%.

Notes

This indicator refers to the Registered Disability Savings Plan take up rate among individuals who are aged 0 to 49 years.
The calendar years listed for this indicator’s results do not align with the same fiscal year in previous reports because data are provided on a calendar year basis. Once the data become available, results are updated and reported under the fiscal year which they most closely align with.
This indicator specifically refers to beneficiaries who are aged 0 to 49 years.
Service standards are published on www.canada.ca.

The financial, human resources and performance information for the Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary spending for Pensions and Benefits

The following table shows, for Pensions and Benefits, budgetary spending for 2023 to 2024, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 3: planned budgetary spending for Pensions and Benefits**
Categories	Main Estimates 2023–2024	Planned spending 2023–2024	Planned spending 2024–2025	Planned spending 2025–2026
Planned Gross Spending	78,300,964,798	140,587,342,781	149,258,869,253	157,879,606,510
less: Planned Spending in Specified Purpose Accounts	0	62,286,377,983	66,037,578,657	69,783,792,910
less: Planned Revenues netted against expenditures	310,569,907	310,569,907	282,750,843	277,198,220
Planned Net Spending	77,990,394,891	77,990,394,891	82,938,539,753	87,818,615,380
Notes: The increase in planned spending is mainly attributable to an increase to Old Age Security pension, to Guaranteed Income Supplement statutory payments and to Canada Pension Plan benefits, mainly explained by an expected increased number of beneficiaries due to the aging population. Please refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources for Pensions and Benefits

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023 to 2024 and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 4: planned human resources spending for Pensions and Benefits**
2023–24 planned full-time equivalents	2024–25 planned full-time equivalents	2025–26 planned full-time equivalents
7,075	6,679	5,744
Note: The decrease in planned full-time equivalents is mainly the result of the sunsetting of temporary resources provided to address Old Age Security workload capacity and Benefits Delivery Modernization (Old Age Security implementation).

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

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.

Planning highlights

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will undertake the following activities to advance this core responsibility.

Students, including those from low- and middle-income families, are provided with federally funded supports to help them participate in post-secondary education (PSE)

The department will increase awareness of Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP) and the Canada Learning Bond (CLB). It will work with community organizations across the country to test approaches to help families with low income, youth, and Indigenous peoples open an RESP, and access the CLB. Furthermore, it will work with post-secondary partners so that more adult beneficiaries are aware of these supports.

The department will continue to explore ways to increase access to the CLB for hard-to-reach populations, including low-income individuals, Indigenous peoples, recent immigrants and refugees, rural inhabitants, people with disabilities and non-official language speakers. This will help to address recommendations from the Auditor General’s Report.

The Supports for Student Learning Program (SSLP) helps Canadian youth who are facing barriers to learning. The SSLP funds organizations that help the most underserved students succeed in school, finish high school and transition to post-secondary education so they can gain skills and experience needed in the labour market. For example, this includes Indigenous students, racialized students, students with disabilities, students from low-income households and students identifying as 2SLGBTQ+.

Student borrowers are able to repay their federal student debt

The department will increase federal student loan forgiveness for family doctors and nurses who are working in eligible underserved rural and/or remote communities. Nurses may qualify for up to $30,000 in loan forgiveness and doctors up to $60,000 starting in the fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

Fall Economic Statement 2022

Proposed investments from the Fall Economic Statement, released in November 2022, also support this core responsibility:

all Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans will be made permanently interest-free, including those currently being repaid, beginning on April 1, 2023. This change has an estimated cost of $2.7 billion over five years and $556.3 million ongoing
$250 million over ﬁve years, starting in 2023 to 2024, to help Canadians thrive in a changing global economy. Specific measures include:

the Sustainable Jobs Training Centre to help workers upgrade or develop new skills for jobs in the low-carbon economy
a new sustainable jobs stream under the Union Training and Innovation Program to support the development of green skills training for skilled trades professionals
the Sustainable Jobs Secretariat to provide up-to-date information on federal programs, funding, and services as Canada works to build a low-carbon economy with opportunities for everyone

$60 million over three years, starting in 2023 to 2024, to create new supplemental supports to existing federal and provincial or territorial programming
a two-year funding extension of the Supports for Student Learning Program representing $28 million in incremental funding in 2023 to 2024 and $20 million in 2024 to 2025 for continued federal investments in after-school supports and to address barriers to education
$301.4 million over two years, starting in 2023 to 2024, through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program, to provide wraparound supports and job placements to young people facing employment barriers
$400.5 million over two years, starting in 2023 to 2024, to Canada Summer Jobs to support a total of approximately 70,000 annual summer job placements

Canadians access education, training and lifelong learning supports to gain the skills and work experience they need

The Canada Service Corps (CSC) will be piloting new ways of engaging youth through the provision of micro-grants. For example, youth who have previously completed a service opportunity with CSC will be eligible for a micro-grant to scale up their project. Another example includes piloting of a micro-grant diversity stream which is intended to give youth access to leaders and mentors who may have similar lived experiences.

This year the Skills for Success Program is expected to manage nearly 100 projects. This will create approximately 30,000 training opportunities for Canadians, improving their foundational and transferable skills. The Women’s Employment Readiness (WER) Pilot Program, reported under the Skills for Success Program, funds organizations to provide and test pre-employment and skills development supports for women facing multiple barriers. It also tests models to improve workplace inclusivity. Some key barriers to gender equality in the labour market include the unbalanced sharing of family responsibilities and associated challenges in workplace, social norms related to gender roles, and discrimination in the workplace. By the end of fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the 25 projects funded under the pilot program are expected to be completed, serving up to 5,000 women over the two-year period (2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024). Results of the pilot will be used to inform systemic changes to skills and employment programming to better serve women facing multiple barriers.

The department funds the Future Skills Centre, an independent innovation and applied research centre. The Centre prototypes, tests, and evaluates innovative approaches to skills assessment and development. It is anticipated that over 25,000 participants in approximately 140 projects spanning over 20 industries will directly benefit from the Centre’s work in 2023 to 2024. In addition, over 70% of the Centre’s funding supports underrepresented groups including women, racialized groups, Indigenous Peoples, and persons with disabilities.

The Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program will fund projects that deliver industry-driven activities such as training and reskilling workers, and helping employers retain and attract a skilled and diverse workforce. This year, the program aims to connect up to 30,000 Canadians with the training they need to access good jobs. It will also support equity-deserving groups by promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce and providing wraparound supports as needed to those facing barriers to participation. The program will help address workforce needs across many sectors including, but not limited to: agri-food, construction, health, information and communication technologies, manufacturing, natural resources and environment, tourism, and transportation.

The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy provides a framework for federal apprenticeship initiatives that support a skilled, inclusive, certified, and productive trades workforce. It builds on the success of measures such as the Union Training and Innovation Program, the Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness Program, the Apprenticeship Grants, and the Apprenticeship Service which support apprentices, employers, tradespeople and individuals. It is expected that 38,500 individuals will participate in skills training activities this year.

The Red Seal Program will complete the development of 6 interprovincial standards and 35 examinations in 2023 to 2024. These will support labour mobility, harmonization of apprenticeship training, and consistent tools for certification in the trades.

Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market

The Skills and Partnership Fund will work with Indigenous partners to test new approaches to investment coordination, priority setting and project/partnership development. It will also support sustainable employment. This will help ensure projects funded to provide skills training meet the needs of Indigenous communities and employers. In addition, this year the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program will aim to serve at least 40,000 new Indigenous participants and support at least 16,500 Indigenous people find employment. The distinctions-based program supports Indigenous communities by addressing their needs in culturally relevant ways through Indigenous-led solutions and self-determination practices. This demonstrates the department’s commitment to advance reconciliation by strengthening our relationships with Indigenous peoples.

The department will prepare a final report on the First Nations Labour Market Information Survey and Skills Inventory Pilot. The report will examine the impacts of the pilot and inform next steps to improve and address long standing gaps in labour market information in First Nations communities. In addition, through the Engagement Protocol Agreements, the department will fund national Indigenous partners to act as interlocutors with the federal government. This activity will support engagement, research and policy development with First Nations, Inuit and Métis leadership and communities on priorities in fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

These are examples of the programs and initiatives that contribute to the department’s efforts to advance reconciliation, support the self-determination of Indigenous peoples, and reduce skills and employment gaps between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous Canadians.

The Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities will support implementation of Canada’s Employment Strategy for Canadians with Disabilities. The program aims to provide 6,100 persons with disabilities with employment supports to help them find and keep jobs. The program will also help persons with disabilities advance in their careers and help employers create inclusive, accessible and welcoming workplaces for persons with disabilities. Training will also be provided to those with or without disabilities who are in occupations that support persons with disabilities such as sign language interpreters.

The Disability Inclusion Business Council was established as part of the Employment Strategy for Persons with Disabilities and is helping to make Canadian workplaces more inclusive for persons with disabilities. It is CEO-led and composed of business leaders at the forefront of disability inclusivity. This year, the Council will design and set up a self-governed Independent Business Network. It will also provide advice and recommendations to the Minister on workplace inclusivity.

This year, the Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP) will help up to 11,000 internationally trained health care professionals per year get their credentials recognized and find work in their field. By scaling up existing projects and implementing new ones, the FCRP will support the labour market integration of skilled newcomers and help to address the health human resource crisis.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program will increase protections for workers and strengthen requirements and regulations to improve housing and working conditions. It will also reduce the administrative burden for trusted repeat employers to hire temporary foreign workers. This will help employers quickly bring in workers to fill short-term labour market gaps. In addition, the department will work to improve the quality, timeliness and reach of inspections and continue efforts to rebuild the compliance regime in ways that further increase protections for temporary foreign workers.

Budget 2022 funding will support processing of an increased number of Labour Market Impact Assessment applications. Efforts to modernize application processing will continue this year. Starting in April 2023 employers will be required to submit their Labour Market Impact Assessment applications electronically. This will result in faster processing. Additionally, public-facing service standards will be introduced for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to improve program accountability and predictability for employers.

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

The department is finalizing its plan to modernize the Employment Insurance (EI) system for the 21st century. It will build a stronger and more inclusive system that covers all workers. The development of a comprehensive, long-term plan for the modernization of the EI program is being informed by what was heard during the Employment Insurance consultations, along with lessons learned from the pandemic. The department consulted Canadians in 2021 and 2022 to hear their views on a modernized Employment Insurance program. Two “What We Heard” reports, outlining feedback received in the two phases of consultations, have been published online. Once finalized, the EI modernization plan will be publicly released.

Services to Canadians

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will continue improving services to Canadians under this core responsibility.

To make the recourse process for EI more responsive to the needs of Canadians, the department will continue its work on developing the EI Board of Appeal (BOA). The BOA will follow a tripartite decision-making model for first level EI appeals. Decisions will be made by regionally dispersed panels composed of three members. One member will represent workers, one will represent employers, and the third member will be a government appointed chair. This model will help to ensure appeals are reviewed by both worker and employer communities served by the BOA.

Gender-based analysis plus

The Canada Education Saving Program currently collects data on the sex (male or female) of its beneficiaries. The program will now start to collect data on gender instead of sex. This will include the option for beneficiaries to select a third non-binary gender. The department is aiming to implement this change in late 2023.

The Improving Gender and Diversity Outcomes in Skills Programs initiative will continue to increase the availability of disaggregated demographic data from the department’s skills and employment programs. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will:

commission research projects to inform policy and program development. The research will identify gaps and areas for improvement to enhance outcomes for Indigenous people and equity-seeking groups in the labour market
continue to standardize the application of Gender-based analysis plus across the department’s skills and employment programs. This will result in consistent demographic data being collected from participants across skills programs. This will make it easier to compare and analyze across programs
link data from the Opportunity Fund for Persons with Disabilities program, and the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy to Statistics Canada’s Social Data Linkage Environment. This will allow for a more holistic development and evaluation of these programs

Finalize the Gender-based analysis plus maturity model to improve the application of Gender-based analysis plus within the department’s skills and employment programs. This model will inform future changes to programs and lead to inclusive policy development and program design

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is exploring opportunities to collect and integrate more robust Gender-based analysis plus data into program monitoring and reporting, as there are power imbalances between workers and employers, and these imbalances are often increased for temporary foreign workers. These workers have temporary status in the country and are often subject to demographic variables that further their vulnerabilities, such as age, race and low language fluency and literacy levels. To explore this, the department will launch a survey of temporary foreign workers to evaluate how effective the new Migrant Worker Support Program is in helping workers to better understand and exercise their rights while in Canada. This survey will collect demographic data, such as gender, geographic location, language, and nationality, the analysis of which will support program monitoring and reporting.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will contribute to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the following programs:

Quality Education (SDG 4) – As part of the Supports for Student Learning Program (SSLP), the Global Skills Opportunity (also known as the Outbound Student Mobility Pilot) will allow approximately 7,000 college and undergraduate university students, in particular underrepresented (i.e. students from low-income families, students with disabilities and Indigenous students) to participate in virtual and in-person study or work abroad experiences. This will help students develop skills, intercultural competencies, and international networks to support their transition to the labour market.

In 2023 to 2024, Canada Service Corps (CSC) recipient organizations must aim to engage at least 50% Indigenous and underserved youth in their programming. The CSC will also test its new diversity micro-grant stream. This stream requires that at least 50% of the leadership of funded organizations identify as the population that they are serving. This will give youth access to leaders and mentors with similar lived experiences

Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) - The Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program provides Indigenous participants with assistance to support their long-term career goals. In addition, wraparound supports, such as child care and transportation expenses, can be provided to support the participation of women and persons with disabilities. This program also supports SDG 1 (end poverty in all its form everywhere), SDG 4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all) and SDG 10 (reduce inequality within and among countries). It also supports Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda cross-cutting objective of advancing reconciliation with Indigenous people.

The Skills for Success (SFS) Program funds organizations that provide training opportunities and resources for adult Canadians to improve their foundational and transferable skills. This includes reading, numeracy, digital and adaptability skills. It also supports Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda the cross-cutting objective of leaving no one behind by improving labour market access for Canadians.

The Opportunities for Person with Disabilities Program (OF) will provide skills and pre-employability training, self-employment activities, and job placements for 6,100 persons with disabilities this year. It will also provide clients with wraparound supports, such as transportation, child care, and mental health assistance, and other supports to clients experiencing barriers. This helps persons with disabilities find and retain employment and advance in their careers. In addition, the OF supports employers in making their workplaces more inclusive and accessible for person with disabilities.

The Student Work Placement Program will support the creation of 40,000 work-integrated learning opportunities for students enrolled in any post-secondary education program. The program helps post-secondary students develop work ready skills, employers to hire and develop talent, and post-secondary institutions to keep pace with changing on-the-job expectations.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program has launched the Migrant Worker Support Program, which will fund 11 organizations to help migrant workers better understand and exercise their rights while living in Canada. The program is also working to improve inspections to ensure a focus on increased quality, timeliness and reach to protect the health and safety of temporary foreign workers.

Innovation

The Canada Student Financial Assistance (CSFA) Program will conduct an experiment to test the impact of virtual training modules, using a randomized control trial methodology. The modules will be designed to improve the financial literacy of student financial assistance applicants and borrowers. The department will use findings from this work to determine if the training helps applicants and borrowers meet their financial obligations. The department will then determine if financial literacy training should be provided for all students seeking CSFA Program supports.

The Community Workforce Development Program will continue to test innovative, place-based approaches to community economic development. This will be done through workforce planning and skills training that address priorities of regional and national significance. The program is a pilot with activities in all provinces and territories to assess its effectiveness in different labour markets. Evidence gathered will inform programs and whole-of-government priorities. This includes, for example, de-carbonization and supporting a “just transition” for workers so that they are prepared to work in transforming sectors like energy. This year, the program aims to support skills training and work placements for approximately 750 jobseekers and workers

Planned results for Learning, Skills Development and Employment

The following shows, for Learning, Skills Development and Employment, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2023 to 2024, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Departmental result 1 of 6: Canadians access education, training, and lifelong learning supports to gain the skills and work experience they need.

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 transfers.

Target: not available (see note 1 below).

Date to achieve target: not applicable.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 266,893 (2018 to 2019) (see note 2 below).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 267,490 (2019 to 2020) (see note 2 below).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 278,995 (2020 to 2021) (see note 2 below).

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

Target: not available (see note 1 below).

Date to achieve target: not applicable.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 824,976 (2018 to 2019) (see note 2 below).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 804,070 (2019 to 2020) (see note 2 below).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 607,149 (2020 to 2021) (see note 2 below).

Departmental result indicator: employment or returns to school following training/supports through federally administered programs.

Target: 58,430 (see note 3 below).

Date to achieve target: March 31, 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 106,980.

2020 to 2021 actual result: : 95,617.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 163,174.

Departmental result indicator: number of Canadians receiving training and/or employment supports through federally administered programs.

Target: 234,441 (see note 4 below).

Date to achieve target: March 31, 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 157,591.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 151,130.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 252,360.

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

Target: 0.5% decrease to 0.5% increase.

Date to achieve target: December 2023.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 5% increase (2019).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 1% decrease (2020).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 5.7% increase (2021).

Departmental result indicator: percentage of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 24 that are enrolled in university or college.

Target: at least 45.8%.

Date to achieve target: December 2023.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 43.9% (2019).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 44.6% (2020).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 45.2% (2021).

Departmental result 2 of 6: Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market.

Departmental result indicator: difference in the employment rate between Indigenous peoples (First Nations status and non-status, Inuit and Métis) and non-Indigenous peoples (see note 5 below).

Target: at most 15.6 percentage points.

Date to achieve target: March 31, 2027.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 14.1 percentage points (Census 2021).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 14.1 percentage points (Census 2021).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 14.1 percentage points (Census 2021).

Departmental result indicator: difference in the employment rate between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities (see note 5 below).

Target: at most 25.2 percentage points.

Date to achieve target: March 31, 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 20.8 percentage points (2017 Canadian Survey of Disability).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 20.8 percentage points (2017 Canadian Survey of Disability).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 20.8 percentage points (2017 Canadian Survey of Disability).

Departmental result indicator: difference in the employment rate between women and men (see note 5 below).

Target: at most 5.6 percentage points.

Date to achieve target: March 31, 2027.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 6.1 percentage points (Census 2021) (see note 6 and 7 below).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 6.1 percentage points (Census 2021) (see note 6 and 7 below).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 6.1 percentage points (Census 2021) (see note 6 and 7 below).

Departmental result indicator: difference in the employment rate gap between visible minority group members and the non-visible minority population (see note 5 below).

Target: at most 6 percentage points.

Date to achieve target: March 31, 2027.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 4.6 percentage points (Census 2021) (see note 7 below).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 4.6 percentage points (Census 2021) (see note 7 below).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 4.6 percentage points (Census 2021) (see note 7 below).

Departmental result 3 of 6: Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions such as job loss, illness, or maternity/ parental leave.

Departmental result indicator: beneficiary to Unemployed Contributor ratio (B/UC ratio).

Target: 64.3%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 64.4% (2018 to 2019).

2020 to 2021 actual result: not available (2019 to 2020) (see note 8 below).

2021 to 2022 actual result: not available (2020 to 2021) (see note 9 below).

Departmental result 4 of 6: students, including those from low and middle-income families, are provided with federally funded supports to help them participate in post-secondary education (PSE).

Departmental result indicator: percentage of low- and middle-income Canadian young adults participating in Post-Secondary Education.

Target: at least 50% (2020) (see note 10 below).

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 52.0% (2016).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 50.1% (2017).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 50.1% (2018).

Departmental result indicator: percentage of children under 18 who were eligible for the Canada Learning Bond and/or the additional amount of the Canada Education Savings Grant and were provided with any of those benefits in the current year.

Target: at least 30%.

Date to achieve target: December 2023.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 28.5% (2017).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 31.2% (2018).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 32.3% (2019).

Departmental result indicator 5 of 6: student borrowers are able to repay their federal student debt.

Departmental result indicator: the percentage of loans in repayment that are paid each year.

Target: at least 11 % (see note 11 below).

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 10.7% (2019 to 2020).

2020 to 2021 actual result: 11.9% (2020 to 2021).

2021 to 2022 actual result: 15.8% (2021 to 2022).

Departmental result 6 of 6: clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs (see note 12 below).

Departmental result indicator: number of targets that are being met for the published service standards of Learning, Skills Development and Employment programs.

Target: 25 out of 25.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 13 out of 23.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 17 out of 23.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 19 out of 25.

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

Target: at least 80%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 80.0%.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 88.8%.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 85.4%.

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

Target: at least 80%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 76%.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 88.7%.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 83.7%.

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

Target: 99%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 100%.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 99%.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 100%.

Departmental result indicator: percentage of registrations to My Service Canada Account through Trusted Digital Identities in participating provinces/territories.

Target: 6%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual result: 1.1%.

2020 to 2021 actual result: 5.7%.

2021 to 2022 actual result: 6.3%.

Notes

Provincially and territorially delivered programs set their own annual targets.
The results are for both Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs) and Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs). As there is a 1-year lag in data availability, the results shown reflect the previous years’ result.
The target includes the expected number of participants in the following federally administered programs; Canadian Workforce Development Program (CWDP) 75; Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program (ISET) 20,000; Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities (OF-PwD) 3,355; Skills for Success (SFS) 6,000; Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) 29,000 (which includes Employment Skills Development - Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program (ESD-YESS) 4,000, Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) 25,000). The Skills and Partnership Fund is not included in the target, but results will be provided for the performance indicator’s actual results.
The target includes the expected number of participants from the following federally administered programs: Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy (CAS) 38,500; Community Workforce Development Program (CWDP) 750; Future Skills (FS) 58,091; Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program (ISET) 40,000; Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities (OF-PwD) 6,100; Skills for Success (SFS) 32,000 (this target includes 2,000 from the Women’s Employment Readiness Pilot Program); Sectoral Workforce Solutions Programs (SWSP) 30,000; and Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) 29,000, (which includes Employment Skills Development -Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (ESD-YESS) 4,000 and Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) 25,000). The Skills and Partnership Fund is not included in the target, but results will be provided for the performance indicator’s actual results.
There are many factors that can affect employment rates in any specific group, and/or affect groups differently. ESDC programming cannot be considered solely responsible for changes to the employment rate gaps.
The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected employment among women compared with men in the labour market.
The 2021 to 2022 Departmental Result Report erroneously reflected results using Labour Force Survey, instead of Census data.
This indicator relies on data from the annual EI Coverage Survey (EICS). Because the Canadian Emergency Response Benefits replaced EI regular benefits for most of 2020, the 2020 EICS did not collect data on EI regular benefits. Consequently, no results are available to be reported for 2019 to 2020.
Results will be available by April 2023 and will be available in future reporting.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, participation in PSE may be lower than expected in 2020.
Starting in fiscal year 2023 to 2024, there will be a one-year lag in reporting for this indicator due to data availability.
Service standards are published on www.canada.ca .

The financial, human resources and performance information for the Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase .

Planned budgetary spending for Learning, Skills Development and Employment

The following table shows, for Learning, Skills Development and Employment budgetary spending for 2023 to 2024, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 5: planned budgetary spending for Learning, Skills Development and Employment**
Categories	Main Estimates 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2024 to 2025	Planned spending 2025 to 2026
Planned Gross Spending	9,664,784,109	33,117,307,286	31,596,974,367	31,639,214,296
less: Planned Spending in Specified Purpose Accounts	0	23,452,523,177	23,946,077,177	24,638,107,777
less: Planned Revenues netted against expenditures	1,391,454,034	1,391,454,034	1,194,573,452	882,694,577
Planned Net Spending	8,273,330,075	8,273,330,075	6,456,323,738	6,118,411,942
Notes: The decrease in planned spending is mainly explained by the sunsetting of temporary resources announced in Budget 2021, for the comprehensive training strategy to drive recovery, as well as the expiration of the doubling Canada Student Grants, announced in Budget 2021 and set to expire in the fiscal year 2023 to 2024. Please refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase .

Planned human resources for Learning, Skills Development and Employment

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023 to 2024 and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 6: planned human resources spending for Learning, Skills Development and Employment**
2023 to 2024 planned full-time equivalents	2024 to 2025 planned full-time equivalents	2025 to 2026 planned full-time equivalents
16,182	14,379	9,720
Note: The decrease in planned full-time equivalents is mainly due to the sunsetting of temporary resources provided to address the Employment Insurance processing and call centre workload. It is also due to the sunsetting of resources for grant and contribution programs such as the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy and Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on 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 2023 to 2024, the department will undertake the following activities to advance this core responsibility.

Workplaces are safe and healthy

The department will make amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. These changes will require federally regulated employers to provide menstrual products in workplaces for their employees. The Provision of Menstrual Products in Workplaces regulatory initiative aims to reduce physical and psychological health risks in the workplace that are associated with a lack of access to menstrual products. This initiative will provide all workers in federally regulated public and private sectors who menstruate, regardless of gender, with access to menstrual products. This supports the Government of Canada’s continued efforts for building a safe, inclusive and equitable workplace for all. It is expected that these new regulations will be in place by early 2024.

The department will also make amendments to the Canada Labour Code so that mental health is recognized as a specific element of occupational health and safety.

The department will continue to strengthen harassment and violence prevention measures in federally regulated workplaces. This will be done by periodically reviewing and updating Interpretations, Policies and Guidelines titled “Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention” and completing a full review of the Work Place Harassment and Violence Regulations in 2026.

Work conditions are fair and inclusive

The department will develop options for renewing and improving the Employment Equity Act (the Act). The options will be based on the recommendations from the Independent Task Force on the Modernization of the Act and will further identify and eliminate barriers to employment opportunities faced by the four designated equity groups: women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of racialized (visible) minorities.

Amendments to the Canada Labour Code will be proposed to provide job protections to ‘gig’ workers, including workers employed by digital platforms. Gig workers are workers who enter into short-term contracts to complete specific and often one-off tasks. The proposed changes to the Code would recognize these workers as employees, providing them with full entitlements unless their employer can demonstrate that a worker is a true independent contractor. The department will also work with other federal organizations to ensure better benefits and supports for these workers.

The department will continue development of a right-to-disconnect policy and take other actions needed to support employees’ right to disconnect. This work is based on the recommendations made by the Right to Disconnect Advisory Committee in February 2022.

The department will continue to address the misclassification of employees in the road transportation industry. It has been common for employers to avoid classifying their drivers as employees, and as a result these workers do not have access to the standards and benefits that they would normally be entitled to. The department will continue work to identify and take action against employers who misclassify employees, which will improve the conditions of truck drivers in precarious work. The misclassification of employees can be enforced with orders, administrative monetary penalties and prosecutions requiring the employers to restore employee rights and entitlements. This would improve work conditions for thousands of workers including newcomers and racialized Canadians.

A new pay transparency website will be launched in late 2023 to report information on wage gaps. Pay gaps reporting raises awareness of difference in pay experienced by women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. Reporting on this website will support employers in meeting pay transparency reporting requirements.

The department will implement the Pay Equity Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations to support enforcement of the Pay Equity Act (the Act). The objective of the regulations in development is to establish a system of administrative monetary penalties to deter non-compliance with the Act. The Act requires federally regulated employers with 10 or more employees to proactively examine their compensation practices to determine whether there is a difference in compensation between positions that are mostly held by women and those mostly held by men that are deemed to be of equal value. The coming into force is expected by mid-2024.

The department will implement Phase II of the Exemptions from and Modifications to Hours of Work Regulations. These regulations affect the rail, air, banking, broadcasting and telecommunications sectors which require continuous operations, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The regulations will provide employers with the scheduling flexibility needed in these sectors.

Regulations to provide clarity about how employers must provide compensation for employees that are required to appear at hearings of the Canada Industrial Relations Board will also be published.

To strengthen benefit programs for federally regulated employees who are injured at work, the department will continue to improve service delivery to claimants. This includes developing client focused communication tools and negotiating and implementing enhanced service agreements with provincial workers’ compensation boards.

The department negotiates and implements Labour chapters in Canada’s free trade agreements. These labour chapters include provisions to uphold labour protections, including addressing forced labour and child labour. The department also funds capacity building to assist partner countries in meeting these obligations. For example, Canada is funding a $2.4 million project that seeks to increase protection against child and forced labour in the agricultural sector of Mexico.

Fall Economic Statement 2022

Proposed investments from the Fall Economic Statement, released in November 2022, also support this core responsibility: 
$26.3 million over 5 years starting in fiscal year 2023 to 2024, to increase enforcement capacity to restore the rights and protections of misclassified workers in the road transportation industry

Labour relations are cooperative

The department will continue to support cooperative workplace relations by offering joint training workshops and mediating discussions between parties during the collective bargaining process. The department will appoint mediators and conciliators to provide training via workshops and facilitated discussions and to support collective bargaining negotiations. New training programs will continue to be developed to support these activities. In addition, the department will work to make virtual training available.

By the end of 2023, the department will introduce legislation to prohibit the use of replacement workers, when a unionized employer in a federally regulated industry has locked out employees or when the employees are in a strike.

Services to Canadians

The department will ensure clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services. It will develop a plan for web renewal and a strategy for service transformation. These activities are aimed at developing modern digital services to better meet clients’ needs.

Gender-based analysis plus

Canada will soon be the first country to publish pay gaps that go beyond gender. In 2023, the department will publish pay gaps in federally regulated workplaces for the four designated groups covered under the Employment Equity Act– women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. Federally regulated workplaces include banking, communications and transportation among others. In addition, a new website will be launched to provide the public with user-friendly information on representation rates and pay gaps that affect the four designated groups. Publishing the results will help to raise awareness about this issue.

Activities to renew and modernize the Employment Equity Act (the Act) will benefit the four designated groups identified in the Act. Other groups such as 2SLGBTQI+ communities, racialized groups, as well as workers who identity with multiple groups experiencing socioeconomic disadvantages will also benefit. The renewed Act would provide workers from these groups with more equitable access to employment opportunities by removing discriminatory barriers.

Addressing employee misclassification will lead to improved working conditions for truck drivers. The majority of truck drivers are men (97%), individuals between the age of 30 and 60 (80%), and low-education individuals (70%). Immigrants, racialized persons and members of official language minority communities are also at risk of employee misclassification. Addressing employee misclassification will improve working conditions in the road transportation sector, and could attract more diverse groups of people, including more women, to the trucking profession.

Requiring that menstrual products be accessible to all employees, regardless of gender, in federally regulated sectors will positively impact employees who menstruate. This includes cisgender women, non-binary individuals, transgender men and intersex people. Employees who menstruate are a diverse group and identity, socio-economic status, culture and personal preferences may influence how an individual manages their period. The proposed amendments to Occupational Health and Safety Regulations are expected to have a positive impact on employees who face socio-economic constraints. This will help employees who experience financial barriers in purchasing menstrual products and have reported missing work due to lack of products. Ensuring products are accessible to all employees could also address gender and socioeconomic discrimination in the workplace.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will contribute to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the following programs:

Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all (SDG 8) - the Work Place Harassment and Violence Fund supports projects that provide culturally sensitive Work Place harassment and violence prevention tools and resources to First Nations communities and individuals. It also supports projects that provide tools, training and resources to respond effectively to harassment and violence associated with domestic violence and sexual violence. This initiative also supports SDG 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls) and supports Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda cross-cutting objectives:

leaving no one behind by advancing gender equality, empowering women and girls, and advancing diversity and inclusion
advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples by working in partnership to support Indigenous voices, views, and traditional knowledge and highlighting the accomplishments of Indigenous partners

Addressing employee misclassification in the federally regulated road transportation sector will increase the number of Canadians that have access to quality jobs. It also supports SDG 16 (Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels) through the enforcement of laws that protect employee rights and entitlements.

The department has a number of ongoing projects to help partner countries comply with international labour standards. This includes a project in Jordan to create a more inclusive and fair working environment in the Jordanian garment sector. The main beneficiaries of this project are workers in the Jordanian garment industry, particularly women, migrant workers, and workers with disabilities. Workers will benefit directly from the project through reduced discrimination, better access to support systems and better reporting mechanisms. There will also be indirect benefits through better representation within the trade union, leading to increased responsiveness for workers’ concerns.

The department will advance legislation to eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains. It will also support the Canada Border Services Agency to prohibit the importation of goods produced in whole or in part by forced labour under the Customs Tariff.

Innovation

The department will continue to use a behavioural insight approach to determine if proactive communications can improve employers’ compliance with federal labour standards. It is testing whether sending a letter with information and tips to employers improves their compliance with federal labour standards. Data on incoming complaints the year after the letter was sent are being used to assess whether the letter results in fewer complaints. Statistical methods will be used to compare the number of complaints between a group of employers who received the letter and a group of employers who did not receive the letter. Results of this experiment are expected in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. If successful, the Labour Program could scale up activities to proactively inform employers of their obligations, helping to prevent labour standards complaints from their employees.

The feasibility of using quantitative text-as-data analysis will be examined. Quantitative text-as data analysis uses statistical methods to automate the processing of large amounts of text. The analysis will be done to examine archived hazardous substance investigation reports undertaken under the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. This analysis could allow the department to extract information on occupational illness risks and patterns from the reports to support future prevention activities.

Planned results for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

The following shows, for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2023 to 2024, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Departmental result 1 of 4: 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.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 12.6.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 2.0.

2021 to 2022 actual results: 5.0 (see note 1 below).

Departmental result 2 of 4: 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%.

Date to achieve target: September 2023.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 73%.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 74%.

2021 to 2022 actual results: 74%.

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

Target: at most 3.0.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 2.9 (2017 to 2020).

2020 to 2021 actual results: 2.6 (2018 to 2021)

2021 to 2022 actual results: 2.7 (2019 to 2022)

Departmental result 3 of 4: 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 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 93%.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 96%.

2021 to 2022 actual results: 99%.

Departmental result 4 of 4: clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs (see note 2 below).

Departmental result indicator: number of targets that are being met for the published service standards of Working Conditions and Workplace Relations programs.

Target: 4 out of 4.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 4 out of 4.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 3 out of 4.

2021 to 2022 actual results: 3 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: 80%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 83%.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 73%.

2021 to 2022 actual results: 82.9%.

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

Target: 75%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 80%.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 69%.

2021 to 2022 actual results: 72% (see note 3 below).

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: 100%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 100%.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 100%.

2021 to 2022 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 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 98%.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 89%.

2021 to 2022 actual results: 97.8%.

Notes

Violations are typically identified during the course of proactive inspections in workplaces, which have been greatly reduced in fiscal year 2021 to 2022 due to the pandemic.
Service standards are published on www.canada.ca.
Approximately half of all Labour Affairs Officers in the field are new employees who have less than 2 years experience. Unjust dismissal complaints require experienced officers to conduct alternate dispute resolution services. As officers gain experience, the result will improve and the targets will be met.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary spending for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

The following shows, for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations budgetary spending for 2023 to 2024, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 7: planned budgetary spending for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations**
Categories	Main Estimates 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2024 to 2025	Planned spending 2025 to 2026
Planned Gross Spending	182,949,731	182,949,731	182,649,463	174,712,699
less: Planned Spending in Specified Purpose Accounts	0	0	0	0
less: Planned Revenues netted against expenditures	900,000	900,000	900,000	900,000
Planned Net Spending	182,049,731	182,049,731	181,749,463	173,812,699
Note: The decrease in planned spending is mainly explained by the sunsetting of temporary resources for the implementation of the labour chapter of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. Please refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023 to 2024 and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 8: planned human resources for Working Conditions and Workplace Relations**
2023 to 2024 planned full-time equivalents	2024 to 2025 planned full-time equivalents	2025 to 2026 planned full-time equivalents
821	817	796

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Information Delivery and Services for Other Government 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.

Planning highlights

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will undertake the following activities to advance this core responsibility.

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

Citizen Service Network

The department will continue to provide high quality services and general program information to Canadians. This will be done in-person, at Service Canada Centres (SCCs), and SCC - Passport Service sites through the eService channel and at Scheduled Outreach sites. This year the department will:

prepare to offer bilingual services at approximately 69 additional SCCs to comply with amendments to the Official Languages regulations. This will bring the total number of bilingual SCCs from 138 to an estimated 207 in 2024.

These offices will be identified in early 2023, and the department will have one year to comply with the new Official Language Regulations.

promote the availability of Video Remote Interpretation services in all SCCs. This service connects the client with a sign language interpreter through video
adjust health and safety measures in SCCs, SCC-Passport Service sites and Scheduled Outreach Sites as public health guidance evolves
improve the accessibility of service delivery channels (in-person, online, phone) for persons with disabilities by implementing the ESDC Accessibility Plan

As of November 3, 2022, there were 317 SCCs and 21 SCC – Passport Service sites. In total, 138 offices were designated bilingual. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of SCCs, all 317 SCCs and 21 SCC-Passport Service sites have reopened with enhanced health and safety measures in place. In addition, Scheduled Outreach Sites are continuously re-opening to expand the reach of in-person services in rural and remote areas. The number of SCC – Passport Service sites is lower than the previous year’s because some have been consolidated with SCCs.

Expansion of the Reaching All Canadians initiatives will continue across the country. For example, the department will collaborate with the United Way’s 211 telephone service. The 211 service connects callers with a variety of community and social resources. Callers can now be transferred directly to a Service Canada Officer in the Outreach Support Centre (OSC).

The department’s Community Outreach and Liaison Service provides clients, who may not otherwise be able to connect with Service Canada at an in person point of service, with a flexible service response by offering them access to programs, services and benefits to clients within their communities.

This year the department will:

develop strong working relationships with community partners to create an integrated network with organizations that can be trusted by hard-to- reach segments of the population and help underserved populations access the department’s programs and services through the Service Referral Initiative.
help clients complete applications and obtain required documents to access programs and benefits
provide a rapid response to employers and workers that may be affected by a fluctuating labour market and communities facing emergency situations. The Community Outreach and Liaison Service will provide onsite or virtual support to community organizations, employers and clients in these situations.

Telephone General Enquiries Program

The department will continue to deliver the general enquiries telephone program. This program is provided through the 1 800 O-Canada service and the Customized Information Services. The department will ensure that clients are provided with accurate information, low wait times to speak with an agent, and equivalent service in their official language of choice. This includes helping Canadians access pandemic recovery support information.

The department will maintain its pre-pandemic service standard for wait times and quality, despite high demand for all its services. More specifically 1 800 O-Canada will aim to:

answer 80% of calls received within 18 seconds
achieve a minimum rating of 85% completeness, relevancy and accuracy of information provided during calls (as measured through the quality monitoring program)

Government of Canada Digital Presence

The department will continue to maintain online services and provide up to date and mobile-friendly access to government information and services on Canada.ca. This will ensure that online services are accessible, reliable, and secure. This year, the department will:

roll out a new Canada.ca service to Government of Canada organizations. This service will allow organizations to pilot A/B testing experiments and provide tailored online experience based on visitors’ geographic location
deliver up-to-date information through the Canada.ca platform, Social Media Account Management system and the Government of Canada digital newsroom. These services are used by over 80 departments to provide information to Canadians
expand analysis and reporting capabilities within the Social Media Account Management system. Government of Canada organizations can use these tools to improve their ability to reach Canadians

Canadians can obtain a passport within Canada in a timely manner

The department will continue to modernize the Passport Program in collaboration with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). As part of the Passport Modernization initiative, the department will:

continue to address the inventory of passport applications that resulted from an increased demand after the removal of pandemic-related travel restrictions
increase the number of sites for passport application data entry and passport renewal processing, and introduce a 10 day pick up service standards at 13 new Service Canada Centres
provide Canadians with access to passport services closer to where they live and work. This will be done by expanding the availability of passport services at Scheduled Outreach Sites

In partnership with IRCC, the department will deploy a modern, secure IT solution. This will allow the Passport Program to operate effectively through the post-COVID impacts and the 10-year passport renewal surge beginning in 2023. Activities include:

replacing the current passport issuing system with a new national system that will be implemented across the Service Canada network. The new system is currently in the pilot stage. It will automate the passport renewal process and provide a platform for future passport digital services to Canadians
introducing new passport booklets. This will help to maintain the Canadian passport’s reputation as a universally trusted, secure and accepted travel document. This work is part of the ePassport Next Generation initiative.
implementing new Passport Digital Services. This will allow Canadians to submit passport applications online. New tools, including a digital and accessible self-serve tools and the Passport Status Check, will allow clients to check their application status online.

Service Delivery Partnerships program

The department will continue to work with federal, provincial, territorial, municipal and Indigenous stakeholders through the Service Delivery Partnerships program. It will also establish new partnerships to ensure that benefits and services are being delivered to more beneficiaries. This will include, but is not limited to, the following partnerships:

IRCC on the administration of the Passport Program, the collection and transmission of biometric enrolments, and delivery of the Canada Ukraine Transitional Assistance Initiative.
Veterans Affairs Canada to support administrative functions for the delivery of programs and services to Veterans
the Province of Alberta on the Coal Workforce Transition Program by processing applications and payments to assist workers who involuntarily lost their jobs due to the closing of one or more of the specified coal-fired power plants or mines. This will help workers transition to re-employment, retirement or help them relocate

Services to Canadians

The department will improve client feedback questionnaires to better support continuous service improvement. It will also increase the department’s ability to analyze the feedback along with annual Client Experience Surveyresults. Improvements include a new feedback questionnaire for the in-person channel and the ability to track the service experience of specific Gender based analysis Plus client groups.

The Office for Client Satisfaction will continue to collect feedback from clients on challenges and barriers they experience when accessing services. Feedback from external stakeholders on the ESDC Accessibility Plan will be collected. This feedback will inform implementation of the plan and any future versions of the plan. This work also aligns with requirements of the Accessible Canada Act.

Gender-based analysis plus

The department will develop a process to include persons with disabilities in the design or redesign of programs and services as part of the Accessibility Plan for Client Service. This plan will help to reduce or remove barriers that could otherwise limit access to services.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the following programs:

Industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9) - The Passport Modernization Initiative will deliver a new digital platform to automate processes and foster a paperless environment, reducing impacts on the environment. ePassport Next Generation will help maintain the reputation of the Canadian passport as a universally trusted and accepted travel document by including enhanced secure features and innovative technology.

Innovation

Video-chat is a technology that connects a client in a Service Canada Centrewith a Citizen Service Officer remotely through videoconference. Technological and service improvements will be explored in order to reinstate video chat services in select Service Canada Centres to lower client wait times in busy offices. The department will also explore whether video chat can be leveraged to provide equal service to official language minorities and increase its in-person bilingual service capacity.

The department is also experimenting with using Optical Character Recognition / Robotic Process automation (OCR/RPA) technologies in the Integrated Retrieval Information System. The OCR/RPA initiative is being used to automate data extraction and data entry into Passport systems, reducing the number of manual tasks for employees. This will make processes more efficient, saving time, cost and resources.

Planned results for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments

The following shows, for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2023–24, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Departmental results 1 of 2: clients receive high quality, timely and accurate government information and services that meet their needs (see note 1 below).

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

Target: at least 85%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 91%.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 89%.

2021 to 2022 actual results: 85%.

Departmental results indicator: percentage of clients served in person who received assistance within 25 minutes.

Target: at least 80%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 84%.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 95%.

2021 to 2022 actual results: 95%.

Departmental results indicator: number of program services that meet their service standard targets.

Target: exactly 5 out of 5.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 4 out of 5.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 1 of 5.

2021 to 2022 actual results: 2 out of 5 (see note 2 and 3 below).

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

Departmental results indicator: percentage of travel documents and other passport services processed within standards.

Target: at least 90%.

Date to achieve target: March 2024.

2019 to 2020 actual results: 100%.

2020 to 2021 actual results: 80% (see note 4 below).

2021 to 2022 actual results: 77% (see note 5 below).

Notes

Service standards are published on www.canada.ca.
This indicator combines results for five service standards, of which three relate to passport services, one to Canada.ca and one to 1 800 O-Canada. The 1 800 O-Canada service standard was not met (i.e. 76% instead of 80% of the calls were answered in 18 seconds) due to the exceptional increase in call volumes and handle times experienced by callers during the pandemic. There was a passport surge during the latter part of the 2021 to 2022 fiscal year with the relaxing of travel restrictions. As a result, only one of three service standards related to passport were met.
This result was updated to 2 out of 5 after the submission date of the 2021 to 2022 Departmental Results Report. The result appearing in this document is the most up to date.
Due to the pandemic, passport services were significantly reduced during fiscal year 2020 to 2021. Consequently, these services were only provided to those who required it.
Due to pandemic health and safety measures, Service Canada operated at a reduced capacity in all offices and processing centres. During the last part of the 2021 to 2022 fiscal year, with the relaxing of travel restrictions, passport services experienced a surge of activity. This negatively impacted the department’s ability to meet its service standards.

The financial, human resources and performance information for the Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary spending for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments

The following table shows, for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments budgetary spending for 2023 to 2024, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 9: planned budgetary spending for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments**
Categories	Main Estimates 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2024 to 2025	Planned spending 2025 to 2026
Planned Gross Spending	416,220,770	416,220,770	410,123,252	369,577,240
less: Planned Spending in Specified Purpose Accounts	0	0	0	0
less: Planned Revenues netted against expenditures	0	0	0	0
Planned Net Spending	416,220,770	416,220,770	410,123,252	369,577,240
Notes: The decrease in planned spending is mainly due to passport activities returning to normal following an increase of passport applications in 2023 because of the first 10-year passports introduced in 2013 expiring in 2023. It is also attributable to the ending of agreements related to the Canada-Ukraine Transitional Assistance and the Firearms Buyback Program. Please refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023 to 2024 and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 10: planned human resources for Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments**
2023–2024 planned full-time equivalents	2024–2025 planned full-time equivalents	2025–2026 planned full-time equivalents
3,730	3,719	3,266
Note: The decrease in planned full-time equivalent is mainly due to passport activities returning to normal following an increase of passport applications in 2023 because of the first 10-year passports introduced in 2013, expiring in 2023. It is also attributable to the ending of agreements related to the Canada-Ukraine Transitional Assistance and the Firearms Buyback Program.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase

Internal services: planned results

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:

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 2023 to 2024, the department will continue to advance initiatives under the following categories of internal services

Management and oversight services

Access to information

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will continue to promote openness and transparency. This will be done by:

processing a high number of Access to Information and Privacy requests according to the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act
making efficient use of National Headquarters ATIP resources, as well as regional ATIP resources, so that deadlines for Access to Information and Privacy requests are met
providing employees with resources and training to increase knowledge of access to information and privacy legislation and associated requirements
leveraging technology, systems and tools to modernize and consolidate request management software solutions for Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) processing

Privacy

The department will continue to protect the privacy rights of Canadians by:

exercising a privacy management discipline across the work of the department
integrating privacy into the department’s current and emerging activities and initiatives including the Benefits Delivery Modernization programme and Future of Work projects
continuing to support the Data Strategy by ensuring that the use of personal information complies with federal privacy law and policies
continuing to implement policies, processes, and training activities that ensure the responsible collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information

Data strategy

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will use its renewed Data Strategy to promote:

evidence-based decision-making
responsible and ethical management
use of data and analytics

The strategy implementation will include:

continuing development of the data analytical infrastructure tools and supports needed to store, manage, share and use data securely
implementing ESDC’s Data Literacy program to improve competencies that support evidence-based decision making and the shift to a data-enabled culture
strengthening processes and accountability for the management and use of data. This includes solidifying the department’s data stewardship network, refreshing the data governance framework and putting a data governance office in place

The department will continue to collaborate internally and with other government departments and agencies to publicly share more data to fill key data gaps. These efforts will improve the department’s understanding of clients, including at-risk Canadians, as well as the impacts of programs and services.

Evaluation services

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will continue improving evaluations services by:

continuing to collaborate within the department to provide timely and relevant evaluation evidence to inform decision makers
incorporating best practices and innovative methods into evaluation activities. This will allow the department to better measure the impacts of its programs, inform Gender Based Analysis Plus and improve the sharing of evaluation results
supporting reconciliation by working with Indigenous communities to evaluate, through a co-developed model, programs for Indigenous peoples and communities

Innovation

In 2023 to 2024, the department will do the following to support its ongoing commitment to innovation:

apply key principles from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Declaration on Public Sector Innovation in the development of the ESDC Innovation Lab’s strategic plan for 2023 to 2026. As part of this plan, the Lab will continue to work on projects, provide advisory services, employee-led innovation funding opportunities and a department-wide innovation network. This work will support transformation of the department’s services, programs, and policies to better meet the needs and expectations of Canadians
facilitate networking, collaboration and knowledge exchange in innovation across the department. This will be done through a department-wide Innovation Network and Lab Notes, the Lab’s newsletter. Presentations of best practices from department’s Innovation Fund and Innovation Network to other governmental departments will occur on an ongoing basis

Security

In order to protect the department’s information, assets and persons from risks from outside and within the organization, the department will focus on the following:

ensure safety for our employees and our clients visiting in-persons service centres
strengthen employee security awareness and training
respond to recommendations from a 2022 to 2023 review of the National Emergency Operations Centre so that responses to events involving both the physical and virtual workplaces are improved
implement an application that combines all departmental business continuity and emergency management information. This will ensure more coordinated and timely responses to security incidents and minimize impacts to the department’s services

Financial management services

The department is committed to strengthening project management and investment planning to ensure that resources are directed toward delivering results. In 2023 to 2024, the department will continue to mature its:

investment portfolio management practice and reporting
benefits and risk management services
project, programme, and portfolio management culture

It will also work to enhance:

oversight and decision-making through the support of an independent external advisor and training of committee members
project performance through project renewal, stabilization, and monitoring

Information management services

The department will work to evolve modern, reliable, and secure Information Management (IM) foundations in support of services for Canadians by:

implementing the enterprise-wide Information Strategy 2023 to 2025 to support the department’s delivery of a progressively more digital platform while ensuring the strategic and integrated management of both information and data assets
building on business partnerships and past successes, the Digital Workplace Taskforce will support key corporate priorities through 2023 to 2024. This includes digital signature and security screening where possible
continuing to strengthen how it manages sensitive information by adopting Government of Canada Secret Infrastructure (GCSI). Beginning fall 2022 and continuing into the next few years, GCSI will be available across the department. This will increase productivity by streamlining processes when collaborating with other Government of Canada departments and will incorporate the latest information management best practices
enhancing enterprise information management controls via Microsoft365 to focus on automating processes, improving governance policies, and applying rules affecting the retention and disposition of information of business value
continuing to strengthen its security posture by augmenting its cyber security operation capabilities. This is to ensure the department is prepared to detect and defend against cyber security threats and is better positioned to respond to cyber incidents and events

Information Technology Services

Through fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will continue to enhance service sustainability by implementing a more agile and mature Information Technology (IT) environment. These improvements will help modernize public-facing and internal services.

The department will continue to deliver on IT upgrade projects that modernize systems that support programs and services such as Pensions, Employment Insurance, Passport, and Grants and Contributions. This will provide Canadians with an enhanced client experience through digital channels.

The department is increasingly focusing on cloud services to provide solutions and innovative services to Canadians. Building on its Cloud Adoption Strategy, the department will continue to augment its capacity for program and service delivery using cloud solutions.

The department’s IT Accessibility Office will continue to raise awareness about accessibility with the department’s employees. It will provide adaptive technology, accessible solutions and expertise to employees. In addition, it will provide advice in the development or procurement of accessible Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) solutions. The IT Accessibility Office will support the implementation of the department’s accessibility plan.

The department will continue to improve network performance, security, availability, and reliability. It will do this by replacing and modernizing aging network infrastructure and monitoring technology. This initiative will enhance digital service delivery, collaboration and information sharing across the government and with citizens, external businesses, stakeholders and partners.

The department will continue to address outstanding technical debt by sustaining and improving application portfolio health. This will ensure that IT solutions are kept up to date and remain agile so that Canadians continue to receive timely support and benefits they are entitled to.

Human resources management services

The department will continue to support a healthy workplace and a diverse workforce. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024 the department will focus on:

supporting the implementation of the common hybrid work model, including:

continuing to implement the ESDC Workplace Mental Health and Well-being Action Plan
updating and strengthening the Occupational Health and Safety Program
implementing a National Workforce Framework to:

improve the quality of services and results for Canadians through an increasingly inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, and skills across Canada
leverage the flexibility of hybrid work to provide employees with a workplace that is effective, supportive and inclusive

modernizing the department’s human resource systems to recruit and retain skilled talent to meet business needs, including:

developing the ESDC Talent Management Framework
enhancing the onboarding experience of new employees to support a sense of belonging

creating a more diverse, inclusive, and accessible workplace by:

conducting an Employment System Review to identify and remove systemic barriers
expanding workplace accommodation advisory services
implementing the ESDC Accessibility Plan to identify, eliminate and prevent barriers to accessibility
continuing to implement the 2020 to 2024 Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan
advancing mentorship and sponsorship programs for Black executives, Indigenous executives and executives with disabilities

continuing to offer learning opportunities to employees on diversity and inclusion, including Indigenous reconciliation, accessibility, and data literacy
implementing strategies to increase awareness and understanding of human resources and compensation processes to increase timeliness and accuracy of employees’ pay

Real Property Management Services

The department will continue to modernize its workplace to be more flexible, accessible and inclusive. The department will align real property to the post-pandemic reality and common hybrid work model set out by Treasury Board. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department will:

develop plans to align real property space to needs and usage
continue to advance workplace modernization efforts for a total of 6,000 work points by March 2024
develop plans to modernize all remaining real property space

Planning for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses

The department developed an Indigenous procurement strategy that is being shared with all business groups. This strategy helps business groups support the requirement to allocate the target percentage of their assigned budgets (5%) to Indigenous spending. Tools, training and information (including the Indigenous Business Directory) are provided on how to successfully meet this target. Additionally, specific categories of goods and services that can be provided by Indigenous businesses have been identified. This allows for procurement specialists to suggest a strategy that involves Indigenous businesses when requests for purchases are received. The department has already developed set-aside contracts with Indigenous businesses for some of its larger capacity-on-demand tools. Further commodity-based strategies are being explored and will be implemented as the program matures.

Historical data for the past 2 years was used to forecast awarded contract value for 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024. An analysis of contracts previously awarded to Indigenous vendors was performed to determine target Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Businesses (PSIB) percentages.

**Table 11: procurement Strategy for Indigenous Businesses**
5% reporting field description	2021 to 2022 actual % achieved	2022 to 2023 forecasted % target	2023 to 2024 planned % target
Total percentage of contracts with Indigenous businesses	5.6%	4%	5%

Planned budgetary spending for Internal Services

The following table shows, for internal services, budgetary spending for 2023 to 2024, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 12: planned budgetary spending for Internal Services**
Categories	Main Estimates 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2024 to 2025	Planned spending 2025 to 2026
Planned Gross Spending	1,081,901,580	1,081,901,580	1,011,569,673	940,175,587
less: Planned Spending in Specified Purpose Accounts	0	0	0	0
less: Planned Revenues netted against expenditures	696,691,726	696,691,726	684,009,552	642,460,802
Planned Net Spending	385,209,854	385,209,854	327,560,121	297,714,785
Notes: The decrease in planned spending is mainly due to the sunsetting of funding for the corporate costs associated with various initiatives such as Employment Insurance processing and call centre workload and Old Age Security. Please refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

Planned human resources for Internal Services

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to carry out its internal services for 2023 to 2024 and for each of the next 2 fiscal years.

**Table 13: planned human resources for Internal Services**
2023–2024 planned full-time equivalents	2024–2025 planned full-time equivalents	2025–2026 planned full-time equivalents
5,333	5,103	4,693
Note: The decrease in planned full-time equivalents is mostly due to the sunsetting of funding for the corporate costs associated with various initiatives such as Employment Insurance processing and call centre workload and Old Age Security workload.

Overall Risks and Mitigation Strategies

To help ensure that Canadians receive high quality, timely, efficient and accessible delivery of government programs and services, the department must consider key risks. If key risks occur, there would be a significant effect on the timeliness and quality of the programs and services the department delivers to the public.

These key risks and their mitigation strategies are briefly described below.

Information technology (IT) systems

IT systems play a crucial role in supporting service delivery to Canadians and to employees. Past decisions to defer maintenance and updates have increased the risk of systems failure and reduced the ESDC’s ability to innovate. Systems failure would negatively affect the department’s ability to continue to deliver programs and services to Canadians.

Deferred maintenance and upgrades mean that aging equipment and applications are not able to support planned future requirements. The difference between the technology we have now and what we require is called technical debt.

The department relies heavily on third parties, including Shared Services Canada, expert consultants, and commercial vendors, to maintain and operate its IT systems. The risks created by aging systems and the complexity of working with third parties are amplified by the speed and amount of change. The department must fix aging systems as it prepares to transition to more modern ones, all while delivering programs and services to Canadians without interruptions.

To mitigate the risk of technical debt affecting the delivery of services, the department put a technical debt remediation initiative into place, which is planned to continue until at least 2026. This initiative is working to update the hardware, software and replace the ESDC network used to deliver the department’s services and programs and to transition to an evergreen life cycle approach.

Cyber security

There is a risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information held by the department. The risk of unauthorized access can increase by using systems and tools that are not up-to-date or that are not fully mature.

Successful cyber-attacks can:

hold the department’s data for ransom
deny the use of the department’s systems to employees and the public
decrease the department’s ability to meet privacy commitments
increase the department’s liability
lead to a fraudulent use of sensitive information
result in a loss of public confidence

As cyber-attacks become increasingly sophisticated, the department must remain extremely vigilant in managing this risk. The department’s Cybersecurity Operations Centre monitors these risks. If an incident occurs, there are formal business resumption plans that come into effect.

A key measure to prevent cyber-attacks is working to strengthen controls over Identity and Access Management for the department. To maintain the trust of Canadians, the department is ensuring its systems are delivering reliable and secure access to programs and services by:

introducing a simple and secure sign-on portal where the identity and eligibility of Canadians can be safely and quickly verified
enabling information sharing across service channels
using upfront controls to deter suspicious activity

The department uses a lifecycle approach to security risk management. Part of this cycle is to design security features into systems as they are developed and replaced.

Departmental employees play a key role in safeguarding information. To play their role effectively, employees need to have a clear understanding of their information management responsibilities and clear direction on processes and procedures.

Data for decision making

To deliver its mandate, the department collects information about Canadians. The department uses this data to deliver programs and services, measure its performance, and identify trends and opportunities for improvement. This includes using data to better understand and serve our clients, including those who are more difficult to reach and are at greatest risk of being underserved. The risks below must be balanced in order to meet these objectives.

There is a risk that the data needed for policy analysis and to report back on the outcomes of programs and services may not be readily available. With the help of modern tools, large quantities of data can be analyzed to help answer questions about how well the department serves specific communities, if that data is available.

Much of the data is held by other levels of government and requires specific agreements in order to access it. Organizations need to work in partnership to explore available data to better serve clients with specific needs and who may be hard to reach.

To mitigate these risks, the department developed a data strategy to identify data needs and availability, provide guidance and tools to help employees manage data, and effectively deliver and improve services and programs.

Workforce Management and Employee Wellness

The pandemic resulted in a monumental shift in where and how employees work. This includes how they interact with the public as well as with each other. There is a risk that the organization will not be able to balances service excellence and business needs with employee needs and expectations.

The department is focused on being responsive to the needs of Canadians while incorporating, where possible, the flexibilities of the common hybrid work model. It is putting in place several measures to engage and support employees and managers regardless of where they work. The new Centre of Expertise for Optimizing Employee Potential provides an accessible, flexible and modernized approach to providing accommodations to employees.

The department also continues to develop a variety of learning opportunities to help employees maintain physical and emotional well-being, embrace change and adapt to new and evolving environments. These learning opportunities must also support the continual development of tools for managers to support their staff and themselves.

Service disruptions

In common with other public facing organizations, the department faces challenges arising from the economy, public health uncertainty and climate change. For example:

there is a risk that the department may be unable to respond quickly to disruptive events and new demands affecting service delivery standards
recessions typically lead to an increase in unemployment which will put more stress on the department as it delivers Employment Insurance benefits
public health uncertainty is increasing the difficulty of finding employees who are willing to provide in-person service to the public. Unfilled in-person positions create a risk of longer wait times for the Department’s services
catastrophic weather events are increasing in both severity and frequency. The department needs to be prepared to respond quickly to these events and to maintain service to Canadians

The department has business continuity plans and business resumption plans to cover most situations. These plans are reviewed regularly to ensure they remain up-to-date and effective. Other key mitigation includes streamlining of procedures, automated processing, modernizing technology, transitioning from paper to paperless processing, increased recruitment and specialized training. The department will also continue to work with partner organizations to resolve service backlogs.

Planning and priority setting

The department’s priorities are influenced by three main factors: the need to deliver the programs and services assigned to it by legislation, the need to respond to the Ministers’ mandate letters, and the need to make improvements to serve the public better.

The department faces both opportunities and challenges in finding the best way to allocate limited financial and human resources to accomplish desired outcomes. There is a constant need to assure that strategic outcomes and business objectives are clearly defined to help management assign the right resources to the right priorities.

Strategic planning and assumptions must reflect and balance short, medium and long-term objectives while being aligned with the departmental mandate. The planning must be proactive and dynamic to address and identify potential gaps. The Department must also be nimble and be able to reassess priorities in the face of disruptive events.

The department has created a Service Performance Measurement Centre of Expertise that will integrate service performance measurement across the department for a more strategic approach to measure objectives and outcomes. The department’s investment plan also addresses how financial and human resources are allocated to address departmental projects.

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of the department’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2023 to 2024 with actual spending for the current year and the previous year.

**Table 14: Financial resources (dollars)**
Categories	Main Estimates 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2023 to 2024	Planned spending 2024 to 2025	Planned spending 2025 to 2026
Planned Gross Spending	96,551,926,605	185,853,181,237	194,359,811,401	204,258,600,740
less: Planned Spending in Specified Purpose Accounts	0	89,301,254,632	94,104,592,592	99,201,685,320
less: Planned Revenues netted against expenditures	2,399,615,667	2,399,615,667	2,162,233,847	1,803,253,599
Planned Net Spending	94,152,310,938	94,152,310,938	98,092,984,962	103,253,661,821
Note: Please refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

Planned spending

For fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the department’s planned expenditures on programs and services total $185.9 billion. Of that amount, $167.7 billion will directly benefit Canadians through statutory transfer payment programs. These include Employment Insurance (EI), the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), Canada Student Grants and Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans, the Canada Education Savings Program and the Canada Disability Savings Program.

The following graphic illustrates the breakdown of expenditures:

Chart, pie chart Description automatically generated — **Figure 2: breakdown of expenditures for fiscal year 2023 to 2024 – consolidated total: $185,853.2 M**

Graphical user interface, text, application, email Description automatically generated — **Figure 3: detailed view of expenditures for fiscal year 2023 to 2024:**

Departmental spending 2020 to 2021 to 2025 to 2026

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

Chart, bar chart Description automatically generated — **Figure 4: departmental spending trend graph 2020 to 2021 to 2025 to 2026**

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

The following table shows information on spending for each of Employment and Social Development Canada’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2023 to 2024 and other relevant fiscal years. This first table

shows the gross amounts, while the second table shows the net amounts.

**Table 15: planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services —gross (dollars)**
Core responsibilities and internal services	Actual expenditures 2020 to 2021	Actual expenditures 2021 to 2022	Forecast 2022 to 2023	Main Estimates 2023 to 2024	Planned Spending 2023 to 2024	Planned Spending 2024 to 2025	Planned Spending 2025 to 2026
Core Responsibility 1: Social Development	2,572,173,843	4,463,385,712	6,279,922,610	6,905,105,617	6,905,105,617	7,778,688,635	8,475,529,775
Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits	113,654,967,403	116,883,878,441	128,999,912,407	78,300,964,798	140,587,342,781	149,258,869,253	157,879,606,510
Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment	132,401,445,738	67,279,306,958	35,207,345,891	9,664,784,109	33,117,307,286	31,596,974,367	31,639,214,296
Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations	175,405,872	158,283,303	187,213,081	182,949,731	182,949,731	182,649,463	174,712,699
Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments	238,479,502	283,787,168	274,866,693	416,220,770	416,220,770	410,123,252	369,577,240
Subtotal	249,042,472,358	189,068,641,582	170,949,260,682	95,470,025,025	181,208,926,185	189,227,304,970	198,538,640,520
Internal Services	1,098,016,943	1,310,935,981	1,306,685,173	1,081,901,580	1,081,901,580	1,011,569,673	940,175,587
Other Costs*	2,164,304,558	2,628,540,530	3,089,617,069	0	3,562,353,472	4,120,936,758	4,779,784,633
Revenues netted against expenditures	0	0	0	(2,399,615,667)	0	0	0
Total Gross Planned Spending	252,304,793,859	193,008,118,093	175,345,562,924	94,152,310,938	185,853,181,237	194,359,811,401	204,258,600,740
Notes: *Other costs include 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. Please refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

**Table 16: planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services —net (dollars)**
Core responsibilities and internal services	Actual expenditures 2020 to 2021	Actual expenditures 2021 to 2022	Forecast 2022 to 2023	Main Estimates 2023 to 2024	Planned Spending 2023 to 2024	Planned Spending 2024 to 2025	Planned Spending 2025 to 2026
Core Responsibility 1: Social Development	2,572,173,843	4,463,385,712	6,279,922,610	6,905,105,617	6,905,105,617	7,778,688,635	8,475,529,775
Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits	62,012,618,473	63,494,075,466	71,133,753,188	77,990,394,891	77,990,394,891	82,938,539,753	87,818,615,380
Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment	97,302,612,153	26,940,441,609	10,534,371,979	8,273,330,075	8,273,330,075	6,456,323,738	6,118,411,942
Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations	174,698,277	157,383,303	185,413,081	182,049,731	182,049,731	181,749,463	173,812,699
Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments	238,479,502	283,787,168	274,866,693	416,220,770	416,220,770	410,123,252	369,577,240
Subtotal	162,300,582,248	95,339,073,258	88,408,327,551	93,767,101,084	93,767,101,084	97,765,424,841	102,955,947,036
Internal Services	336,724,368	445,791,056	449,368,264	385,209,854	385,209,854	327,560,121	297,714,785
Total Net Planned Spending	162,637,306,616	95,784,864,314	88,857,695,815	94,152,310,938	94,152,310,938	98,092,984,962	103,253,661,821
Note: Please refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

The following table reconciles gross planned spending with net planned spending for 2023 to 2024.

**Table 17: 2023 to 2024 budgetary gross and net planned spending summary (dollars)**
Core responsibilities and internal services	Planned gross planned spending	Less: Planned gross spending in specified purpose accounts	Less: Planned revenues netted against expenditures	Planned net spending
Core Responsibility 1: Social Development	6,905,105,617	0	0	6,905,105,617
Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits	140,587,342,781	62,286,377,983	310,569,907	77,990,394,891
Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment	33,117,307,286	23,452,523,177	1,391,454,034	8,273,330,075
Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations	182,949,731	0	900,000	182,049,731
Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments	416,220,770	0	0	416,220,770
Subtotal	181,208,926,185	85,738,901,160	1,702,923,941	93,767,101,084
Internal Services	1,081,901,580	0	696,691,726	385,209,854
Other Costs*	3,562,353,472	3,562,353,472	0	0
Total	185,853,181,237	89,301,254,632	2,399,615,667	94,152,310,938
Note: 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. Please refer to the department's Financial Framework for a complete description of the departmental financial profile, including an explanation of gross planned spending.

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 four main sources of funds:

appropriated funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund
the Employment Insurance (EI) Operating Account
the Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
other government departments and Crown corporations

Planned expenditures related to the EI Operating Account and the CPP, as well as 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.

EI and 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 CPP 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 Quebec, which operates its own comprehensive pension plan.

Administrative costs incurred by the department in the delivery of programs related to EI and CPP 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 such as passport services.

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.

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
CPP (in gross planned spending only for CPP benefits and related administrative costs)

Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment

Consolidated Revenue Fund
EI Operating Account (in gross planned spending only for EI benefits and related administrative costs)

Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

Consolidated Revenue Fund
Crown corporation and other departments (in gross actual 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
CPP (in gross planned spending only for CPP administrative costs)
EI Operating Account (in gross planned spending only for EI administrative costs)

Financial highlights

The department expects an overall increase of $18.4 billion in gross spending from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026. This can be explained mainly by yearly increases to CPP and Old Age Security (OAS) benefits.

To summarize the overall funding increase over the planning years:

planned OAS benefits, including Guaranteed Income Supplement and Allowances, are expected to reach $86.6 billion in fiscal year 2025 to 2026, which represents an increase of $10.0 billion from the 2023 to 2024 planned spending of $76.6 billion. This variance is mainly explained by an increased number of beneficiaries due to the aging population and an increase in benefits, resulting from the indexation, using higher forecasted inflation rate.
planned CPP benefits are estimated at $69.8 billion in fiscal year 2025 to 2026, an increase of $7.5 billion from the 2023 to 2024 planned spending of $62.3 billion, mainly attributed to wage and inflation assumptions. It is also associated with a higher number of beneficiaries due to the aging population and planned increases in the average monthly benefits.
an increase of $1.6 billion for Early Learning and Child Care transfer payments, due to investments intended to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system with provinces and territories.
EI benefits are also expected to increase by $1.2 billion from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 based on the latest update of the premium and benefit model.

a net increase of $0.5 billion for the CPP and EI administration costs.

As offset to these increases are some decreases from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 that contribute to the variance. This includes the following:

a decrease of $1.3 billion in grants and contributions planned spending mostly due to the sunsetting of temporary resources associated with Budget 2021 measures to support the COVID-19 recovery plan.
a decrease of $0.7 billion to other statutory planned spending mainly explained by the end of temporary COVID-19 measures.
a decrease of $0.4 billion in net operating planned spending mostly due to the sunsetting of temporary funding for EI processing and call centre workload, OAS workload and administrative costs associated with COVID-19 measures.

Planned human resources

The following table shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for each of Employment and Social Development Canada’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2023–24 and the other relevant years.

**Table 18: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (full-time equivalents)**
Core responsibilities and internal services	Actual for 2020 to 2021	Actual for 2021 to 2022	Forecast for 2022 to 2023	Planned for 2023 to 2024	Planned for 2024 to 2025	Planned for 2025 to 2026
Core Responsibility 1: Social Development	538	622	597	511	488	435
Core Responsibility 2: Pensions and Benefits	6,159	6,829	7,236	7,075	6,679	5,744
Core Responsibility 3: Learning, Skills Development and Employment	13,895	15,930	16,699	16,182	14,379	9,720
Core Responsibility 4: Working Conditions and Workplace Relations	763	853	834	821	817	796
Core Responsibility 5: Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments	1,708	2,236	2,301	3,730	3,719	3,266
Subtotal	23,063	26,470	27,667	28,319	26,082	19,961
Internal services	5,233	5,943	5,568	5,333	5,103	4,693
Total	28,296	32,413	33,235	33,652	31,185	24,654

The overall decrease of 8,998 full-time equivalents (FTEs) from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 is mainly explained by the following:

a decrease of 1,331 FTEs as a result of a reduction in temporary resources provided to address OAS workload capacity and Benefits Delivery Modernization (OAS implementation).
a decrease of 6,462 FTEs mainly due to the sunsetting of temporary resources provided to address the EI processing and call centre workload. It is also due to the sunsetting of resources for grants and contributions programs such as the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
a decrease of 464 FTEs as a result of passport activities returning to normal following an increase of passport applications in 2023 because of the first 10-year passports introduced in 2013 expiring in 2023. It is also attributable to the ending of agreements related to the Canada-Ukraine Transitional Assistance and the Firearms Buyback Program.
a decrease of 640 FTEs mainly related to the sunsetting of funding for the corporate costs associated with various initiatives such as EI processing and call centre workload and OAS workload.
an additional decrease of 101 FTEs due to the sunsetting of temporary resources associated with social development initiatives such as Early Learning and Child Care, Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative and Age Well at Home Initiative under the New Horizons for Senior Program, as well as other initiatives under the Labour program.

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 Employment and Social Development Canada’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2023–24 Main Estimates

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The Consolidated Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations provides a general overview of department’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 the department and all inter-organizational balances and transactions have been eliminated. However, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is excluded from the department's reporting entity because changes to the CPP require the agreement of two thirds of the provinces and therefore, the CPP is not controlled by ESDC.

A more detailed Consolidated Future-Oriented 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 Canada’s website.

**Table 19: Consolidated Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations for the year ending March 31, 2024 (dollars)**
Financial Information	2022 to 2023 Forecast Results	2023 to 2024 Planned Results	Difference (2023 to 2024 Planned Results minus 2022 to 2023 Forecast Results)
Total expenses	115,710,025,220	120,839,217,538	5,129,192,318
Total revenues	27,434,173,405	28,762,236,594	1,328,063,189
Net cost of operations	88,275,851,815	92,076,980,944	3,801,129,129

The increase of $3,801.1 million in the 2023 to 2024 planned results of the net cost of operations, when compared to the 2022 to 2023 forecast results, is primarily driven by:

an increase of $6,795.1 million in Pensions and Benefits expenses mainly due to an increase in the number of Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement beneficiaries resulting from an aging population and an increase in benefits from indexation
a decrease of $2,185.5 million in Learning, Skills Development and Employment expenses mainly due to the conclusion of the temporary measure doubling the value of Canada Student Grants for the period of August 2020 to July 2023
an increase of $1,082.0 million in Employment Insurance revenues mainly due to projected future growth in employment coupled with increases in earnings and maximum insurable earnings

Statutory annual reports

Employment Insurance Act, Part II

Activities conducted under Part II of the EI Act help individuals in Canada prepare for, find and maintain employment. Activities under EI Part II include programs and services delivered by provinces and territories under Labour Market Development Agreements, programs under pan-Canadian activities, and functions of the National Employment Service.

EI Part II can support longer-term interventions focused on providing skills training or work experience required to regain employment. Under the Labour Market Development Agreements, provinces and territories can provide more intensive interventions such as training courses or wage subsidies to eligible individuals.

Part II of the EI Act also enables less intensive services and more indirect activities such as employment assistance services, research and innovation, and partnerships. Under the Labour Market Development Agreements, provinces and territories deliver less intensive and/or indirect measures at regional and local levels, while the department retains responsibility for pan-Canadian delivery of Labour Market Partnerships and Research and Innovation.

More detailed information on EI Part II is available on the department’s website and in Chapter 3 of the annual EI Monitoring and Assessment Report made available online to the general public.

2023 to 2024 Employment Insurance Part II Expenditure Plan (Notional as of January 31, 2023 and pending concurrence by the Minister of Finance and formal Treasury Board approval.)

For fiscal year 2023 to 2024, the total Employment Insurance (EI) Part II expenditure authority of $2.131 billion represents approximately 0.26% of total estimated insurable earnings of $805 billion in 2023 to 2024. This represents a lower level of expenditure than the 0.8% ceiling imposed under the EI Act, which is estimated at $6.441 for 2023 to 2024.

Table 20: 2023 to 2024 Allocations*
Province or territory	Base funding	Re-investment	Sub-total	Top Up	Total plan
Newfoundland and Labrador	50,157,234	73,086,000	123,243,234	0	123,243,234
Nova Scotia	44,511,795	30,348,000	74,859,795	0	74,859,795
New Brunswick	43,747,182	42,116,000	85,863,182	0	85,863,182
Prince Edward Island	12,423,126	10,022,000	22,445,126	0	22,445,126
Quebec	291,892,982	248,071,000	539,963,982	0	539,963,982
Ontario	397,071,091	184,097,000	581,168,091	0	581,168,091
Manitoba	33,930,193	10,233,000	44,163,193	0	44,163,193
Saskatchewan	28,313,033	9,862,000	38,175,033	0	38,175,033
Alberta	119,563,268	35,921,000	155,484,268	0	155,484,268
Nunavut	1,636,986	954,000	2,590,986	0	2,590,986
Northwest Territories	1,209,162	1,552,000	2,761,162	0	2,761,162
British Columbia	123,648,128	151,732,000	275,380,128	0	275,380,128
Yukon	1,895,819	2,006,000	3,901,819	0	3,901,819
Total	1,150,000,000	800,000,000	1,950,000,000	0	1,950,000,000
Pan-Canadian Activities**	121,031,877	0	121,031,877	30,410,000	151,441,877
Funds available for Employment Benefits and Support Measures	1,271,031,877	800,000,000	2,071,031,877	30,410,000	2,101,441,877

Notes:

* Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDA) Allocations are draft and currently under review, and are subject to change

**The amount for Pan-Canadian Activities includes the ongoing envelope of $150,867,575 minus the permanent conversion to operating of $24,317,698 and $5,518,000 for which a temporary conversion of Employment Insurance Part II Pan-Canadian program funds to operating funds is being sought for 2023 to 2024 to fund the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform. The amount for Pan-Canadian Responsibilities also includes $30.41 million for the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training program

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister(s):

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough

The Honourable Karina Gould

The Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr.

The Honourable Kamal Khera

Institutional head:

Jean-François Tremblay, Deputy Minister

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

Information on Employment and Social Development Canada’s raison d’être, mandate and role is available on the Employment and Social Development Canada’s website.

Information on Employment and Social Development Canada’s mandate letter commitments is available in the Ministers’ mandate letters.

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on Employment and Social Development Canada’s website.

Reporting framework

Employment and Social Development Canada’s approved departmental results framework and program inventory for 2023 to 2024 are as follows.

Core Responsibility 1: social development

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

Departmental Result 1 of 4: 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 persons with disabilities, the engagement of seniors and support for children and families.

Indicator: newly developed partnerships as a percentage of all partnerships developed by recipient organizations to address a range of social issues such as the social inclusion of persons with disabilities, children and families and other vulnerable populations.

Departmental Result 2 of 4: barriers to accessibility for persons with disabilities are removed.

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

Departmental Result 3 of 4: affordability of early learning and child care is increased.

Indicator: average child care fees for regulated early learning and child care spaces.

Departmental Result 4 of 4: clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs.

Indicator: number of targets that are being met for the published service standards of Social Development programs.

Program Inventory

Accessible Canada Initiative
Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund
Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime
Early Learning and Child Care
Enabling Accessibility Fund
Indigenous Early Learning Child Care Transformation Initiative
New Horizons for Seniors Program
Social Development Partnerships Program
Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy
Strategic Engagement and Research Program
Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program

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:

percentage of seniors living in poverty
percentage of seniors receiving the Old Age Security Pension at age 65 and over in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors aged 65 and over (OAS pension take-up rate)
percentage of seniors receiving the Old Age Security pension at age 70 and over in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors aged 70 and over (OAS pension take-up rate 70+)
percentage of seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement in relation to the estimated total number of eligible seniors
percentage of Canada Pension Plan contributors aged 70+ receiving retirement benefits

Departmental Result 2 of 3: persons with disabilities and their families have financial support.

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
percentage of Canadians approved for the Disability Tax Credit who have a Registered Disability Savings Plan to encourage private savings
percentage of Registered Disability Savings Plan beneficiaries that have been issued 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 targets that are being met for the published service standards of Pensions and Benefits programs
percentage of Canada Pension Plan retirement benefits paid within the first month of entitlement
percentage of decisions on applications for a Canada Pension Plan disability benefit within 120 calendar days
percentage of Old Age Security basic benefits paid within the first month of entitlement

Program Inventory

Canada Disability Savings Program
Canada Pension Plan
Old Age Security

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

Indicator:

employment or returns to school following provincially or territorially delivered skills training and/or employment services supported by Government of Canada funding transfers
number of Canadians receiving provincially or territorially delivered skills training and/or employment services supported by Government of Canada funding transfers
employment or returns to school following training/supports through federally administered programs
number of Canadians receiving training and/or employment supports through federally administered programs
percentage change in Canadians aged 25 to 64 enrolled in university or college
percentage of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 24 that are enrolled in university or college

Departmental Result 2 of 6: Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market.

Indicator:

difference in the employment rate between Indigenous peoples (First Nations status and non-status, Inuit and Métis) and non-Indigenous peoples
difference in the employment rate between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities
difference in the employment rate between women and men
difference in the employment rate gap between visible minority group members and the non-visible minority population

Departmental Result 3 of 6: Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions such as job loss, illness, or maternity/parental leave.

Indicator: beneficiary to Unemployed Contributor ratio (B/UC ratio).

Departmental Result 4 of 6: students, including those from low- and middle-income families, are provided with federally funded supports to help them participate in post-secondary education (PSE).

Indicator:

percentage of low- and middle-income Canadian young adults participating in Post-Secondary Education
percentage of children under 18 who were eligible for the Canada Learning Bond and/or the additional amount of the Canada Education Savings Grant and were provided with any of those benefits in the current year

Departmental Result 5 of 6: student borrowers are able to repay their federal student debt.

Indicator: the percentage of loans in repayment that are paid each year.

Departmental Result 6 of 6: clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs.

Indicator:

number of targets that are being met for the published service standards of Learning, Skills Development and Employment programs
Percentage of Employment Insurance benefit payments or non-benefit notifications issued within 28 days of filing
percentage of Employment Insurance requests for reconsideration reviewed within 30 days of filing
percentage of Social Insurance Numbers applied for through the Newborn Registration Service issued within 10 business days
percentage of registrations to My Service Canada Account through Trusted Digital Identities in participating provinces/territories.

Program Inventory

Canada Apprenticeship Strategy
Canada Education Savings Program
Canada Emergency Response Benefit
Canada Recovery Benefits
Canada Service Corps
Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprentice Loans
Community Workforce Development Program
Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit
Employment Insurance
Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities
Foreign Credential Recognition Program
Future Skills
Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program
Job Bank
Labour Market Development Agreements
Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program
Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship (Red Seal Program)
Skills and Partnership Fund
Skills for Success
Student Work Placement Program
Supports for Student Learning
Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Workforce Development Agreements
Youth Employment and Skills Strategy

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:

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
three-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 targets that are being met for the published service standards of Working Conditions and Workplace Relations programs.
percentage of occupational health and safety cases each fiscal year that are finalized within 120 days (excluding prosecutions, appeals, and technical surveys)
percentage of unjust dismissal complaints that are finalized within 180 days
percentage of conciliators assigned under the Canada Labour Code within 15 calendar days of receiving requests that are compliant with Canada Industrial Relations Regulations
percentage of initial Wage Earner Protection Program payments and non-payment notifications issued within 35 calendar days

Program Inventory:

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

Core Responsibility 5: information delivery and services 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:

1 800 O-Canada information completeness, relevancy and accuracy assessment
Percentage of clients served in person who received assistance within 25 minutes
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

Citizen Service Network
Government of Canada Internet Presence
Government of Canada Telephone General Enquiries Services
Passport
Service Delivery Partnerships

Changes to the approved reporting framework since 2022–23

Core Responsibility 1: social development

Changes 1 of 4: departmental result removed.

Departmental Results Framework 2022 to 2023: homelessness is prevented and reduced.

Changes 2 of 4: departmental result and indicator re-worded.

Departmental Results Framework 2022 to 2023: access to early learning and childcare 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 Results Framework 2023 to 2024: affordability of early learning and child care is increased.

Indicator: average child care fees for regulated early learning and child care spaces.

Changes 3 of 4: program added.

Departmental Results Framework 2023 to 2024: Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund.

Changes 4 of 4: program removed.

Departmental Results Framework 2022 to 2023: Reaching Home.

Core Responsibility 3: learning, skills development and employment.

Changes 1 of 5: program added.

Departmental Results Framework 2023 to 2024: Canada apprenticeship strategy.

Changes 2 of 5: program added.

Departmental Results Framework 2023 to 2024: Canada worker lockdown benefit.

Changes 3 of 5: program removed.

Departmental Results Framework 2022 to 2023: apprenticeship grants.

Changes 4 of 5: program removed.

Departmental Results Framework 2022 to 2023: apprenticeship service.

Changes 5 of 5: program removed.

Departmental Results Framework 2022 to 2023: union training and innovation program.

Supporting information on the program inventory

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

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on Employment and Social Development Canada's website:

Federal tax expenditures

Employment and Social Development Canada’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. 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 plus.

Organizational contact information

Mailing address

Portage IV

140 Promenade du Portage

Gatineau QC K1A 0J9

Telephone: 1-800-622-6232

TTY: 1-800-622-6232

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

Website(s): Employment and Social Development Canada

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 one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A document that sets out a department’s priorities, programs, expected results and associated resource requirements, covering a three‑year period beginning with the year indicated in the title of the report. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A change that a department seeks to influence. 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 performance in a fiscal year against its plans, priorities and expected results set out in its Departmental Plan for that year. Departmental Results Reports are usually tabled in Parliament each fall.

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 Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography, language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2023–24 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the Government’s agenda in the 2021 Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fighter harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation and fighting for a secure, just, and equitable world.

high impact innovation (innovation à impact élevé)

High impact innovation varies per organizational context. In some cases, it could mean trying something significantly new or different from the status quo. In other cases, it might mean making incremental improvements that relate to a high-spending area or addressing problems faced by a significant number of Canadians or public servants.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative in which two 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 compared to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

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 a department and that focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

An inventory of a department’s programs that describes how resources are organized to carry out the department’s core responsibilities and achieve its planned 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.

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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Date modified:: 2023-04-17

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Departmental plan for fiscal year 2023 to 2024

On this page

Alternate formats

From the Ministers

Plans at a glance

Operating context

Core responsibilities: planned results and resources

Social Development

Pensions and Benefits

Learning, Skills Development and Employment

Working Conditions and Workplace Relations

Information Delivery and Services for Other Government Departments

Internal services: planned results

Overall Risks and Mitigation Strategies

Planned spending and human resources

Planned spending

ESDC’s financial framework

Planned human resources

Estimates by vote

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

Statutory annual reports

Corporate information

Organizational profile

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

Reporting framework

Supporting information on the program inventory

Supplementary information tables

Federal tax expenditures

Organizational contact information

Appendix: definitions

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