Archived: Departmental Results Report 2019 to 2020, Department of Environment

From the Minister

Jonathan Wilkinson

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P. Minister of Environment and Climate Change

As Minister of Environment and Climate Change, I am pleased to present the 2019-20 Departmental Results Report for Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

Let me begin by acknowledging that at the end of the 2019-2020 fiscal year the world was facing a global pandemic and most of ECCC’s employees suddenly found themselves teleworking. Although some plans were delayed and timelines altered, the agility of our employees and management allowed our work to continue. Like most Canadians, they rose to the challenge, and look forward to applying themselves during the recovery period.

Addressing climate change and its impacts remains the defining challenge of our time. As a result of the continued implementation of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (PCF), Canada’s 2019 annual greenhouse gas emissions projections show a continuation of the stable downward trend established the previous year, with Canada’s emissions in 2030 now projected to be 227 million tonnes (Mt) lower than projected prior to the adoption and implementation of Canada’s climate plan. We are committed to continue taking ambitious action on climate change that will enable us to meet and exceed Canada’s 2030 emission reduction target. It is also my priority to lead government-wide efforts to develop a plan to set Canada on a path to achieve a prosperous net-zero emissions future by 2050.

Under the PCF, ECCC together with the Department of Finance ensured that a price on carbon pollution was in effect in every jurisdiction. In those jurisdictions subject to the federal fuel charge, approximately 90% of proceeds are returned directly to individuals and households through Climate Action Incentive payments on their tax returns. The remainder of revenues will be used to support small- and medium-sized businesses, municipalities, universities, colleges, schools, hospitals, not-for-profit organizations and Indigenous peoples.

In 2019-20, ECCC established targets for Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV)—10% of new light-duty vehicle sales per year by 2025, rising to 100% by 2040. The Government of Canada supported this goal by a commitment of $700 million to provide incentives to encourage consumers and businesses to transition to ZEVs and to expand the network of ZEV charging and refuelling stations.

Under the Low Carbon Economy Fund, ECCC supported provincial and territorial actions via the up to $1.4 billion Leadership Fund, and also leveraged Canadian ingenuity to reduce emissions and generate clean growth through the approximately $500 million Challenge Fund. We also launched the up to $218 million Climate Action Incentive Fund to encourage small and medium-sized businesses and schools to undertake projects to decrease energy usage, save money, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Our ongoing partnerships and dialogue with the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Métis National Council continue to be vital to informing the development of climate change policy, as well as programs and projects that impact Indigenous peoples.

ECCC continued to lead Canada’s involvement in the Global Commission on Adaptation, contributed to its September 2019 flagship report, and co-led the Commission’s nature-based solutions action track. We also played a pivotal role in advancing the rapid phase-out of unabated coal-fired electricity, at home and abroad, by co-leading the Powering Past Coal Alliance with our United Kingdom partners.

To assist with long term planning in the face of climate change, the department launched ClimateData.ca, a website providing Canadians with accessible climate change information, data, resources and tools. To help Canadians respond to extreme weather events such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, ice storms and blizzards, ECCC continued upgrading its nationwide weather monitoring system by installing seven new state-of-the-art radars across Canada.

ECCC’s Canadian Hurricane Centre provided information to protect the health and safety of Canadians during significant weather events, including Hurricane Dorian in 2019 where there was no loss of life. The department is also modernizing Canada’s water monitoring services, which included improvements to over 200 hydrometric monitoring stations and infrastructure sites in 2019-20, to provide more timely and accurate information on water levels and flows. This will help ensure that all levels of government, business and Canadians are prepared in the event of flooding, drought or any other water-related disasters.

ECCC made significant progress to protect and conserve 25% of Canada’s terrestrial lands and inland waters by 2025, working toward 30% by 2030, through the $1.3 billion Nature Legacy initiative. As part of ECCC’s Canada Nature Fund, the department helped advance 68 projects working to create protected areas on provincial/territorial and Indigenous lands across Canada. ECCC also invested $100 million over four years to help secure and protect over 200,000 hectares of ecologically sensitive private lands by 2023.

We continued to support Indigenous conservation initiatives under three distinct programs: Inuit Guardians, First Nations Guardians and Métis Guardians. In April 2019, we hosted an inaugural Nature Champions Summit in Montréal with leaders from government, Indigenous organizations, business, foundations, and non-governmental organizations to chart a path toward protecting the world’s nature.

We also began implementation of the Pan-Canadian Approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada to focus protection and recovery efforts on priority places, species and sectors and threats of concern in collaboration with provinces and territories, Indigenous peoples, and stakeholders. Indigenous partnerships for species at risk were also advanced, supporting the urgent need to act to recover Boreal and Southern Mountain caribou and other species and through projects to build capacity for conservation leadership on Indigenous lands.

Following Canada’s championing of the 2018 Ocean Plastics Charter, in January 2020 we released the Draft Assessment of Plastic Pollution and worked with environment ministers across the country to implement the Canada-wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste. In leveraging public and private capital, we supported the Canadian Plastics Innovation Challenge and awarded $3.6 million to Canadian innovators and businesses to pursue solutions to plastic waste in targeted sectors, as part of a $19 million dollar government-wide challenge in prototype development. Another $1.85 million was provided to organizations for education and awareness-raising, community pilots that prevent and remove plastic pollution, and industry-specific initiatives to start the transition to a circular plastics economy.

We continued to provide environmental data and expertise in ocean modelling, oil spill behaviour, and other scientific advice to support Canada’s $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan. We also committed $1.06 million over three years for 10 new projects under the Great Lakes Protection Initiative to help restore water quality and ecosystem health in the Great Lakes, and took action to protect and restore other important freshwater resources, including the Lake Winnipeg Basin and the St. Lawrence River Basin.

We protected Canadians’ health, safety, and environment through the administration and enforcement of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act, and the Migratory Birds Convention Act. In collaboration with Health Canada, we continued to implement the Chemicals Management Plan, conducting ecological risk assessments on substances used in Canada. We also strengthened regulations and developed tools to improve and protect air quality, including the Multi-Sector Air Pollutants Regulations and the Contaminated Fuels Regulations. We continued our work in international fora to reduce transboundary air pollution.

On June 19, 2019, I tabled the 2019-2022 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy in Parliament, which establishes the Government’s environmental sustainability priorities, goals and targets, and actions to achieve them. On December 1, 2020, amendments to the Federal Sustainable Development Act will come into force and make Government-wide decision-making related to sustainable development more transparent and accountable to Parliament.

I invite you to read the ECCC 2019-202 Departmental Results Report to learn more about the contributions ECCC is making to improve the environment, prosperity, and health of all Canadians. As Minister, I look forward to building on these important accomplishments in the years to come.

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Results at a glance and operating context

In 2019–20 Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) took actions on key environmental priorities to deliver on Government of Canada commitments to Canadians concerning climate change, pollution and harmful substances, species at risk, and conservation of lands and water. Through science, regulation, and partnership with Indigenous peoples, provincial and territorial governments and a diverse range of stakeholders, ECCC made significant progress on these priorities in Canada and globally.

Taking action on clean growth and climate change

Climate change and its impacts remained a top priority in 2019-20 for ECCC and the Government of Canada as the significant impacts and costs of climate change persist across the country and globally. ECCC continued to lead and coordinate Government-wide implementation of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (PCF), developed in consultation with provinces, territories and with the engagement of Indigenous peoples and Canadians, with a focus on achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

In 2019-20, ECCC:

Preventing and managing pollution

ECCC continued to address plastic waste as a priority, implemented the Chemicals Management Plan, and prevented risks to freshwater resources and air quality.

Following through on Canada’s championing of the 2018 Ocean Plastics Charter at the G7 Leaders’ Summit, the Government released in January 2020 the Draft Science Assessment of Plastic Pollution and worked with environment ministers across the country to implement a Canada-wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste.

The Department also:

In June 19, 2019, the Minister tabled the 2019-2022 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy in Parliament, setting the Government’s environmental sustainability priorities, goals and targets, and actions to achieve them. The Act to Amend the Federal Sustainable Development Act came into force on December 1, 2020, making Government-wide decision-making related to sustainable development more transparent and subject to accountability to Parliament.

Internationally, ECCC continued to demonstrate leadership in international fora to reduce transboundary air pollution, notably under the Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement and the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution.

Conserving nature

ECCC continued to make significant progress to protect and conserve 25% of Canada’s terrestrial lands and inland waters by 2025, working toward 30% by 2030, through the $1.3 billion Nature Legacy initiative announced in Budget 2018, including its $500 million Canada Nature Fund matched by partners’ investments. Through the Nature Legacy, ECCC helped advance protection efforts in 68 communities across Canada, with the goal of building a network of protected and conserved areas and natural ecosystems in every province and territory. The Canada Nature Fund invested $100 million over four years in the Natural Heritage Conservation Program—delivered by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and its partners—to help secure and protect at least 200,000 hectares of ecologically sensitive private lands.

ECCC also:

Throughout 2019-20, ECCC continued ongoing collaboration and discussions with Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Ministers and Deputy Ministers, as well as Indigenous peoples and other partners, on shared conservation, wildlife and biodiversity priorities including: enhancing area-based conservation in Canada for 2020 and beyond; implementation of the Pan-Canadian Approach to Enhancing Species at Risk Conservation; strengthening collaboration to address wildlife health; and helping shape Canada’s approach to the negotiation of a post-2020 global biodiversity agenda.  Canada is playing a leadership role in the international post-2020 process, serving as co-chair of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity working group that is leading development of the new global biodiversity framework.

On the international front, ECCC hosted (April 2019) global leaders from government, Indigenous organizations, business, foundations, and non-governmental organizations for an inaugural Nature Champions Summit in Montréal to kick off a year-long push to chart a path toward protecting the world’s nature. ECCC was also closely involved in the ratification of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and its parallel Environmental Cooperation Agreement (ECA). This included supporting interdepartmental efforts to advance the legislative process and develop an environmental assessment of the Agreement.

Predicting weather and environmental conditions

To enable Canadians to plan for extreme weather events, ECCC continued it program of expanding and upgrading its nationwide weather monitoring system by installing seven new state-of-the-art radars across Canada. The Department also launched ClimateData.ca, a website that provides engineers, public health professionals, urban planners and others with user-friendly climate change information, data, resources and tools for longer-term planning.

The following table depicts the department’s total actual spending for 2019–20, as well as the total actual full-time equivalents for 2019–20. For more information on the Department’s spending and human resources, please consult the Analysis of trends in spending and human resources section on page 37.

What funds were used?*

(2019–20 actual spending)

$1,545,664,621

Who was involved?*

(2019–20 actual Full-Time Equivalents [FTEs])

7,413

* Figures refer to total actual 2019–20 departmental spending and FTE, and not only the selected achievements highlighted above.

For more information on Environment and Climate Change Canada’s plans, priorities and results achieved, see the “Results: what we achieved” section of this report.

Results: what we achieved

Core Responsibilities

Taking Action on Clean Growth and Climate Change

Description

Through engagement with other federal departments and agencies, provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples, and other stakeholders, and external experts, the Department will support and coordinate the implementation of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (PCF); work to reduce Canadian greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; drive clean growth; develop regulatory instruments; support businesses and Canadians to adapt and become more resilient to climate change; and contribute to international climate change actions to increase global benefits.

Results

Implementing the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change

Climate change remains a fundamental challenge for Canada and the world, with significant impacts to the environment, economy and social well-being. In light of this, the Government of Canada remains committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), building Canada’s resilience to climate change, and enabling clean growth by working to fully implement the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (PCF). The science is clear, global emissions must reach carbon neutrality by 2050 to limit warming to 1.5°C.

In 2019-20, the Government committed to exceeding Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction target and achieving net zero emissions by 2050, and continued to make great progress in implementing the PCF. For example, 2019 projections show a widespread decline in projected emissions across the economy, reflecting the breadth and depth of the PCF. Policies and measures now in place under the PCF, including those introduced in 2019, are projected to reduce emissions by 227 million tonnes in 2030Footnote 1 .

Key achievements in 2019-20 include:

Advisory Council on Climate Action

The Advisory Council on Climate Action submitted its final report to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Minister of Finance (May 2019). The report sets out recommended steps for the federal government to reduce carbon pollution in the transportation sector and the building sector. Together these sectors account for over one third of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. The Council identified ways to strengthen market demand for building retrofits, to help ensure zero-emission vehicles are available to Canadians, and to encourage electrification beyond the passenger vehicle sector.

The Government of Canada launched initiatives to seek advice from experts to inform future climate policies, including:

In addition, ECCC provided advice and guidance to federal departments and agencies to support whole-of-government resilience to climate impacts through the identification and evaluation of risks, and the development of actions to address those risks. The Department also collaborated with provinces and territories through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment to advance work on adaptation, including projects on climate change risk assessment, natural infrastructure, and adaptation indicators.

Reducing short-lived climate pollutants

ECCC continued to implement Canada’s Strategy on Short-lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs). These potent GHGs and air pollutants, including black carbon, methane and ground-level ozone, play an important role in climate warming. A range of actions on SLCPs (and on other GHGs), including science and mitigation, have been taken in order to meet the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. Black carbon is of particular significance in the Arctic due to its additional warming effect when deposited onto snow or ice.

Partnering with Indigenous peoples

ECCC continued its partnership and constructive dialogue with each of the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Métis National Council. These partnerships are vital to the successful implementation of the PCF, as each of these bilateral tables informs the design of programs and projects that impact Indigenous peoples. The Department also continued to lead the Government of Canada’s inter-departmental efforts to improve Indigenous peoples’ participation in the implementation of the PCF.

ECCC committed $340,000 to support Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), a non-profit organization that represents 65,000 Inuit, in implementing the National Inuit Climate Change Strategy. The four-year strategy will see ITK work with governments to deliver climate action by and for Indigenous and northern residents. The initiative will address issues related to: knowledge and capacity building; health, well-being and the environment; food system security; infrastructure resilience and adaptation; and energy independence. Inuit have lived off the land for millennia and the wildlife and environment around them are central to their culture, well-being, and economy. Climate change is causing permafrost to thaw, sea ice to disappear, and threatening animals on which the Inuit rely. The North is warming at three times the global rate and as the impacts of climate change continue to threaten Indigenous ways of life, it is increasingly essential to mitigate climate change and build resilience in the North.

Engaging Youth in Clean Technology

ECCC provided 900 internship opportunities in 2019–20 through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy.Footnote 2 The internship program supports jobs in clean-technology sectors for recent post-secondary graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The program includes specific opportunities for Indigenous graduates, graduates from rural and remote areas, and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

Reducing GHG Emissions

ECCC published the conclusions of Canada’s annual greenhouse gas emissions projections in December 2019. The analysis shows that in 2030, Canada’s emissions are projected to be 227 million tonnes (Mt) below what was projected in 2015. This historic level of emissions reductions is the result of policies and measures announced and in place as of 2019. The Government of Canada also committed to developing a plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and to set legally binding, five-year emissions reduction milestones, based on the advice of experts and consultations with Canadians.

Innovating in environmental support

ECCC is one of twenty federal departments that have committed a total of $100 million to support Canada’s small business innovators and entrepreneurs through Innovative Solutions Canada. This program uses the Government of Canada’s purchasing power to help companies scale up and grow their businesses while addressing environmental challenges at the same time. Announcements under the initiative in 2019-20 include funding to initiatives in the agriculture sector that reduce the negative environmental impacts of agricultural practices.

Phasing out coal-fired electricity

Coal is one of the most significant sources of carbon emissions and air pollution in the world. Coal-fired electricity has significant adverse environmental and health impacts. Approximately 40% of the world’s (and 10% of Canada’s) electricity comes from burning coal. In recognition of these impacts, the United Nations Secretary General has called for no new coal plants by 2020, and Canada is phasing out traditional coal-fired power by 2030 with a just and fair transition for workers and communities.

Canada is also working to advance coal phase-out internationally through its leadership in the Powering Past Coal Alliance. In 2019-20, seventeen new governments and organizations joined the PPCA, bringing the total to 97 members. Alliance members commit to phasing out coal-fired electricity in a sustainable and economically inclusive way, while providing appropriate support for workers and communities.

Federal Carbon Pollution Pricing System

In October 2018, the Government announced details of its carbon pollution pricing system. This included details on jurisdictions in which the system would be applied, as well as initial details on how direct proceeds would be returned to the jurisdictions in which they are collected. In provinces that have either requested the federal system or have not proposed a system that meets the federal standard (currently Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan), approximately 90% of direct proceeds from the fuel charge are returned directly to individuals and households through Climate Action Incentive payments on their tax returns. The remainder of revenues are used to support small- and medium-sized businesses, municipalities, universities, colleges, schools, hospitals, not-for-profit organizations and Indigenous peoples.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change finalized the regulations for putting a price on carbon pollution for industry (June 2019). Under the Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS), industrial facilities that emit 50,000 tonnes or more per year pay a price on carbon pollution starting at $20 per tonne in 2019, rising by $10 each year to $50 per tonne in 2022. Facilities emitting 10,000 tonnes or more in certain sectors can apply to participate voluntarily in the OBPS.

Addressing climate change adaptation and resilience in Canada

In 2019-20, ECCC provided advice and guidance to federal departments and agencies to increase their institutional resilience to climate change. Initiatives included developing guidance on climate change risk assessment and adaptation planning. The Department undertook work to develop an adaptation plan that addresses risks identified in the department’s climate change risk assessment. 

The Department engaged with provincial and territorial counterparts under the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment to advance three collaborative programs: guidance for conducting climate change risk assessments to build jurisdictions’ skills; a natural infrastructure terminology framework to build awareness about types of natural infrastructure and their benefits and opportunities; and a program to develop adaptation indicators aimed at improving methods for measuring and monitoring adaptation efforts, including through PCF reporting. 

Low Carbon Economy Fund

The Low Carbon Economy Fund is comprised of two components: the up to $1.4 billion Leadership Fund that supports provincial and territorial actions (see next section); and the Challenge Fund, consisting of an approximately $450 million Champions Stream and a $50 million Partnerships Stream (see side bar).

The Low Carbon Economy Challenge Fund supports projects that will leverage Canadian ingenuity to reduce emissions and generate clean growth. Among the projects launched or announced in 2019-20, highlights include:

Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund at work

Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund

Approximately $500 million is available through the Low Carbon Economy Challenge. This portion of the Fund provides funding to all provinces and territories, municipalities, Indigenous communities and organizations, businesses, and not-for-profit organizations. The Challenge will leverage Canadian innovation across the country by funding projects to reduce emissions and generate clean growth.

The Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund provides up to $1.4 billion to provinces and territories to deliver on their commitments to reduce carbon pollution and contribute to meeting Canada’s 2030 climate target.

The Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund provides funding to the provinces and territories (see side bar), including the following for 2019-20:

Regulations to Reduce GHGs and Short-Lived Climate Pollutants

In 2019-20, ECCC moved the regulatory agenda forward on a number of fronts. The Department published: 

In addition, the Department led the advancement of the mid-term evaluation of Canada’s light-duty vehicle GHG regulations and continued to implement and administer regulations related to GHG emissions from the electricity, oil and gas, and transportation sectors.

Putting Science and Knowledge to Work

Advancing Climate Change Science in Canada is a joint initiative of ECCC, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and Health Canada. In July 2019, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change announced $4.7 million to fund nine climate change research projects focused on advancing knowledge of the role forests play in climate change, accelerating innovation in energy efficient cooling technologies, and improving our understanding of how carbon interacts with our forests, wetlands, and oceans.

In collaboration with Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Canadian university experts, ECCC released Canada’s Changing Climate Report in April 2019 to provide the first in-depth, stand-alone assessment of how and why Canada’s climate has changed, and what changes are projected for the future. The assessment confirms that Canada’s climate has warmed in response to global emissions of carbon dioxide from human activity and will continue to do so. The effects of widespread warming are already evident in many parts of Canada and are projected to intensify in the near future. A warmer climate will make extreme hot temperatures more frequent and more intense, contribute to increased drought and wildfire risks, reduce the extent and duration of snow and ice cover, increase permafrost warming and thawing, change annual and seasonal precipitation amounts, increase precipitation extremes, and cause sea levels to rise. It will also impact seasonal freshwater availability, with an increased risk of water supply shortages in summer.

In 2019, ECCC launched ClimateData.ca, a new climate change information portal that provides detailed climate data and information to consider climate change and its risks in decision-making. The site was developed by the Computer Research Institute of Montréal in collaboration with Ouranos, the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, the Prairie Climate Centre, and Habitat Seven, with support from the Canadian Centre for Climate Services (CCCS). It is part of the CCCS collaborative approach to providing climate data and information to Canadians to support the incorporation of climate change into planning and decision-making. In addition, CCCS invested in enhanced regional climate service expert capacity in the Prairie provinces through a contribution of $1.95 million (over three years) to create a new Prairie climate expert network organization to be formally launched in the fall of 2020. The new organization will deliver regionally tailored climate information, data, and tools to meet the growing demand for climate services in support of climate change adaptation.

Funding action and change on climate: Climate Action Fund and Climate Action Incentive Fund

Canada’s Climate Action Fund provides up to $3 million per yearto support projects delivered by students, youth, Indigenous peoples and organizations, not-for-profit organizations, small and medium-sized enterprises, and research and educational institutions. The Fund supports projects that increase engagement or build capacity for action on climate change.

Among the dozens of initiatives funded in 2019-20, the Climate Action Fund provided:

As part of the PCF, in 2019-20 ECCC launched two streams of the Climate Action Incentive Fund to deliver up to $218 million over two years to encourage small- and medium-sized businesses and schools to undertake projects to decrease energy usage, save money, and reduce GHG emissions. Funds will be distributed across Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Investing in women’s leadership

Canada is investing in women’s leadership to address climate change by helping to train Francophone women negotiators from Africa to influence international climate discussions. In 2019, ECCC supported a workshop under the Canada-France Climate and Environment Partnership, building on the momentum of the previous year’s workshop where Canada and France provided training for 23 Francophone women climate negotiators from sub-Saharan Africa.

International Agreements and Actions

At the May 2019 G7 environment ministers’ meeting in Metz, France, ministers agreed that protecting nature, addressing plastic pollution, and tackling climate change while addressing inequality, promoting sustainable growth, and creating good jobs, are critical to a healthy planet. Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring an equitable and inclusive transition to a clean economy for all citizens. In support of this principle, Canada’s Minister highlighted Canada’s Task Force on Just Transition for coal workers and communities, as well as Canada’s approach to putting a price on carbon pollution and returning the revenues to families. G7 environment ministers adopted the Metz Charter on Biodiversity, which recognizes the global movement to protect nature and builds on the Montréal Nature Champions Summit call to action.

ECCC led Canada’s engagement in the Global Commission on Adaptation, demonstrating international leadership on climate change adaptation. Canada is one of 23 convening countries and one of five funders of the Global Commission, a two-year initiative to raise the profile of adaptation and mobilize solutions. During the Commission’s first year (October 2018 to October 2019), Canada contributed to the creation of the flagship report and the call to action Adapt Now: A Global Call for Leadership on Climate Resilience. The report reached up to 155 million viewers on social media around the world, representing the largest single adaptation-focused social media moment to date. In the summer of 2019, Canada, working alongside Mexico, assumed a leadership role of the Commission’s nature-based solutions action track for the Commission’s Year of Action (2019-20). The two countries launched the action track in December 2019 at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Madrid (COP25) and initiated a series of activities and events that aim to increase understanding, address barriers for implementation, and bring together key actors on the topic of nature-based solutions for adaptation.

ECCC organized two domestic events on nature-based solutions at Adaptation Canada 2020 (February 2020) and the Assembly of First Nations National Climate Gathering (March 2020), which increased domestic awareness of Canada’s role in the Global Commission on Adaptation. The nature-based solutions action track demonstrates Canada’s leadership in adaptation and nature-based solutions internationally. The achievements of the Commission’s Year of Action and the nature-based solutions action track will be profiled at a Climate Adaptation Summit hosted by the Netherlands in January 2021.

Also at COP25, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change announced a contribution of $5 million to support the World Bank’s Partnership for Market Implementation. The partnership will assist developing countries to design, pilot, and implement carbon pricing tools that work for them. The initiative is part of Canada’s climate finance commitment of delivering $2.65 billion to developing countries for climate action. Canada’s climate finance is expected to result in enhanced resilience for the poorest and most vulnerable people, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and the leveraging of important amounts of co-financing for climate action in developing countries, especially from the private sector. Recognizing that private finance is essential to meet our objectives under the Paris Agreement, Canada’s climate finance also supports the collective climate finance goal to mobilize $100 billion USD per year by 2020 from a variety of public and private financial sources in donor countries to help achieve the shared goals of the Paris Agreement.

Results achieved
Departmental Results: Canadian greenhouse gas and short-lived climate pollutant emissions are reduced
Departmental result indicator Target Date to achieve target 2019–20 Actual result 2018–19 Actual result 2017–18 Actual result
GHG emissions from light duty vehicles 21.1% improvement in performance for manufacturer model year 2017 reporting relative to 2011 model year March 2020
[2018 Model year reporting]
17% improvement [2017 model year] 16% improvement [2016 model year]

18% improvement

[2015 model year reporting]Footnote 3

GHG emissions from heavy duty vehicles

Percentage improvement in GHG emissions performance for manufacturer model year 2018–2020 reporting relative to the 2010 model year:

  • 13%: heavy-duty pick-up trucks and vans
  • 11%: Combination Tractors
  • 5%: Vocational vehicles
December 2020
  • 12.2%: heavy-duty pick-up trucks and vans
  • 19.1%: Combination Tractors
  • 8.5%: Vocational vehicles

[2018 model year]

Results not yet available. The performance results for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 model year fleet will be available in the 2020-21 reporting cycle. This is a new indicator. Results are not available for this year.
Black carbon emissions, as reported in Canada’s Black Carbon Emissions Inventory 10.5 Kt reduction by 2025 (Equivalent to 25% decrease from a baseline of national emissions of 42 Kt in 2013) 2025 37Kt (15% reduction from baseline) 36Kt (17% reduction from baseline) 36 Kt [18% reduction from baseline]
HFC emissions 10% reduction in consumption relative to calculated Canadian HFC baseline of 18,008,795 tonnes of CO2eFootnote 4 2019 13.76% below baseline, in 2019 Results not yet available. Results expected to be available in April 2020, following the submission of the National Inventory Report for the 2019 calendar year. This is a new indicator. Results are not available for this year.
Reduced methane emissions from the oil and gas sector Annual decrease towards a 40–45% reduction, relative to 2012 levels 2025 Results not yet available. Emission reductions will be estimated in late 2020 based on compliance actions. This is a new indicator. Results are not available for this year.
Emissions reductions are being achieved under the Clean Fuel Standard building on the Renewable Fuels Regulations 30 Mt annual GHG emissions reduction in 2030 relative to 2016 levels 2030 Results not yet available. Draft regulations for the liquids class are to be published in 2020, with those for gaseous and solid classes to come in 2021. This is a new indicator. Results are not available for this year.
Percentage of coal-fired electricity generation units meeting their regulated GHG emissions intensity performance requirement 100% Annual in December Results not yet available. Complete reporting will be available in 2021-22.Footnote 5  Results not yet available. Although the date to achieve this target is identified as December 2019, the department will only be in a position to validate the results after the publication of the 2018-19 Departmental Results Report. This is a new indicator. Results are not available for this year.
Carbon pollution pricing systems are in place in Canada 13 Provinces and Territories have in place a price on carbon pollution that meets the benchmark or federal system applies July 2019

As of March 31, 2019, all 10 provinces had in place carbon pollution pricing that aligns with the federal benchmark (either a provincial system or the federal backstop).

The federal backstop applied in Nunavut and Yukon beginning July 1, 2019. The Northwest Territories' carbon pollution pricing system came into force on September 1, 2019.

As of March 31, 2019, all 10 provinces had in place carbon pollution pricing systems that aligned with the benchmark or the federal system. With the implementation of the federal carbon pollution pricing system, there will be a price on carbon pollution in every jurisdiction in Canada in 2019.
GHG emissions from ECCC operations 40% GHG emissions reduction relative to 21,549Footnote 6  tonnes of CO2e
in 2005-06Footnote 7 
2031 35.2% 31% 24.6%
Departmental Results: Indigenous peoples are engaged in clean growth and climate change
Departmental result indicator Target Date to achieve target 2019–20
Actual result
2018–19
Actual result
2017–18
Actual result
Co-development of indicators with Indigenous peoples to ensure they are engaged in the implementation of the PCF, through three distinct senior-level joint tables with First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation. These indicators are developed by the target date [i.e. March 31, 2019]. March 31, 2019 In 2019-20, ECCC held a number of meetings of the senior-level bilateral tables with First Nations and the Métis. These meetings led to productive discussions on issues related to clean growth and climate change that matter most to the Indigenous groups, including carbon pollution pricing and the administration of federal programming. Results not yet available. A new date to achieve this target is being established in consultation with Indigenous partners.Footnote 8  This is a new indicator. Results are not available for this year.
Departmental Results: Canada contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing climate resilience globally
Departmental result indicator Target Date to achieve target 2019–20
Actual result
2018–19
Actual result
2017–18
Actual result
Canada’s public sector investments leverage private sector climate finance Ratio of private sector finance leveraged by Canada’s public sector investments, of at least 1 to 0.5 March 31st of each year Results are not yet available.

0.48 in 2017 and 2018

Canada mobilised CAD$19.2M in private climate finance, from public funding of CAD$39.9M as part of its climate finance commitment

This is a new indicator. Results are not available for this year.
GHG reductions resulting from international initiatives funded by Canada Higher cumulative reductions from year to year, from the 2018–19 baseline, reaching a minimum reduction of 200 Mt of GHGs. Long term cumulative indicator Results are not yet available. An estimated cumulative reduction of 175.7 Mt of GHGs is expected from Canada’s $2.65B funding by 2018-19. An estimated reduction of 24.8 Mt of GHGs is expected from funds delivered so far.
Cumulative number of people in developing countries who benefited from Canada’s adaptation finance Higher cumulative number of people in each consecutive year, reaching at least 10M people by 2030. 2030 Results are not yet available. A cumulative estimate of 4,593,285 people will have increased their resilience by 2018-19 as a result of Canada’s $2.65B funding. An estimated 650,000 people with increased resilience are expected from funds delivered so far.
Departmental Results: Canadian communities, economies and ecosystems are more resilient
Departmental result indicator Target Date to achieve target 2019–20
Actual result
2018–19
Actual result
2017–18
Actual result
Number of individuals, businesses, and governments accessing climate services and using that information to inform decision-making Increase from baseline March 31, 2021 180,390 visits where users accessing climate services during 2019-20 Results not yet available. The baseline will be established when the Canadian Centre for Climate Services (CCCS) has been functioning for one full year. The CCCS became operational in October 2018, thus baseline will be set in 2019-20. This is a new indicator. Results are not available for this year.
Budgetary Financial Resources [dollars]*
2019–20
Main Estimates
2019–20
Planned spending
2019–20
Total authorities
available for use
2019–20
Actual spending
[authorities used]
2019–20
Difference
[actual minus planned]
704,736,084 704,736,084 704,798,752 391,473,954 -313,262,130**

* All figures, throughout the document, are net of respendable revenues.
** The actual spending for 2019-20 is lower than the 2019-20 Planned Spending, mainly due to a realignment of funds to future years to reflect when spending is expected for the Low Carbon Economy Fund.

Human Resources [Full-Time Equivalents—FTEs]*
2019–20 Planned FTEs 2019–20 Actual FTES 2019–20 Difference
[actual minus planned]
539 593 54

* Totals may differ within and between tables due to the rounding of figures. The FTE numbers, throughout the document, include students.

Preventing and Managing Pollution

Description

Collaborate with provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples and others to develop and administer environmental standards, guidelines, regulations and risk management instruments to reduce releases and monitor levels of contaminants in air, water and soil, and promote and enforce compliance with environmental laws and regulations.

Results

Reducing plastic pollution in oceans

About eight million tonnes of plastic pollution enter the world’s oceans each year. This is equivalent to dumping one garbage truckload of plastic into the ocean every minute. Canada is a leader in the global movement toward reducing plastic pollution through the Ocean Plastics Charter, investing at home to advance solutions, assisting developing countries in tackling this problem, and supporting advancements in oceans science.

Moving to zero plastic waste—in Canada and globally

Addressing plastic pollution remains a priority for the Government of Canada and for countries around the world. Reducing plastic pollution and investing in Canadian innovation are part of the Government of Canada’s overall plan to protect the environment and build a stronger economy and healthier communities.

As a champion of the international effort to reduce plastic pollution, Canada introduced the Ocean Plastics Charter at the Leaders’ Summit it hosted during its 2018 G7 presidency. The Charter is annexed to the Charlevoix Blueprint on Healthy Oceans, Seas and Resilient Coastal Communities, and identifies actions and targets for endorsers to address plastic waste and pollution. In support of commitments under the Charter, Canada is investing $100 million to clean up plastic waste on shorelines, better manage existing plastic resources, and help developing countries prevent plastic waste from entering the oceans.

In Canada, ECCC collaborated with provinces and territories through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment [CCME] to develop a Canada-wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste, approved in principle by federal, provincial, and territorial environment ministers in November 2018. The comprehensive Strategy takes a life-cycle approach to plastic waste and proposes a framework to keep plastics in the economy and out of the environment.

To implement the Strategy, federal, provincial and territorial governments released the first of two phases of the Canada-wide Action Plan on Zero Plastic Waste in June 2019. The Phase 1 Action Plan identifies government actions to improve the plastics economy and increase value recovery. This includes achieving consistent extended producer responsibility programs, which place responsibility on companies that manufacture plastic products or sell items with plastic packaging to manage the collection and recycling of these products at their end-of-life. It also includes a roadmap to address single-use and disposable plastics, support for recycling infrastructure and innovation in plastics manufacturing, and tools for green procurement practices. Phase 2, coming in 2020, will identify actions to: improve consumer, business and institutional awareness; reduce waste and pollution from aquatic activities; advance science; capture and clean-up debris in the environment; and contribute to global action.

With over $100 million in dedicated funding, the federal government supports the scale-up and growth of Canada’s innovators and entrepreneurs by acting as a first customer for innovation. Twenty participating federal departments and agencies—including Environment and Climate Change Canada—have set aside funding to support the creation of innovative solutions by Canadian small businesses. The Canadian Plastics Innovation Challenge dedicated nearly $19 million to support Canadian innovative solutions that address food packaging, construction waste, and the separation of plastics for recycling, among other challenges, as a means of moving Canada toward a zero plastic waste future.

Canada also dedicated $1.85 million to support education and awareness-raising projects, pilot community solutions to prevent and remove plastic pollution, and to support sector-specific opportunities to build a circular plastics economy. Canada is also dedicating over $8 million to prevent and retrieve lost fishing and aquaculture gear and help fish harvesters access new gear technologies, thus making the country a world leader in this area.

To further address plastic pollution, the Government of Canada released the Draft Science Assessment of Plastic Pollution (January 2020), which sheds light on the extent of the plastic pollution problem in Canada. The Assessment confirms that larger plastic items like bags and straws can physically harm animals and negatively affect their habitat. It highlights the negative impacts of microplastic pollution on animals and the environment, and the uncertainties regarding their potential effects on humans, for which more research will be supported. Moreover, it will help inform the Government’s actions and policies in support of its commitment to ban harmful single-use plastics, including by developing new regulations and other measures. The Government is also investing in science to address priority research gaps. Canada’s Plastics Science Agenda and Plastics Science for a Cleaner Future establish a path forward for Canada’s investments in research to better understand and address the impacts of plastic pollution.

Canada participates in global efforts to reduce plastic pollution. Work includes implementing Canada’s obligations under several binding international agreements that help prevent waste and litter (e.g., Basel Convention, MARPOL, London Convention/Protocol) and participating in global campaigns, such as the United Nations Clean Seas Campaign and the Global Ghost Gear Initiative. Canada works with international partners, including the G7, G20 and various bodies under the United Nations, to strengthen policy, advance research, and exchange information and best practices. For example, Canada is working with Mexico and the United States through the Commission for Environmental Cooperation to bring together communities and decision makers to build local solutions and raise awareness of marine litter in North America.

At the December 2019 Conference of the Parties [COP25] in Madrid, Spain, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change welcomed Chile, Rwanda, Finland and the Finnish innovation fund, Sitra, as the latest among the 25 governments and over 60 businesses and organizations globally that have endorsed the Ocean Plastics Charter. The Charter aligns with the circular economy approach—a sustainable model that keeps resources in use for as long as possible, extracts the maximum value from them while in use, and then recovers and regenerates products and materials at the end of each service life.

Canada launched preparations to host the World Circular Economy Forum 2021 (WCEF). Postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19, the WCEF 2021 is co-organized by the Government of Canada and the Finnish innovation fund, Sitra. The first North American edition of the global forum will be held in Toronto on September 13-15, 2021, and focus on cross-cutting issues and topics central to economic recovery and the circular shift, including the key actions and systemic changes needed to create the conditions for a thriving global circular economy.

Protecting Canada’s Oceans

Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan is a $1.5 billion action plan to build a world-leading marine safety system and strengthen Canada’s stewardship of the country’s oceans and coasts. Led by Transport Canada, ECCC is a key partner in this national approach, together with the Canadian Coast Guard and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In 2019-20, the Department continued to contribute weather and environmental data, as well as expertise in ocean modelling, oil spill behaviour, and other scientific advice, to support improved prevention, emergency planning, and response to oil spills.

Eco-Action Community Engagement

Through the EcoAction Community Funding Program, ECCC engaged people in local communities to take part in protecting their environment by diverting and reducing harmful substances, restoring aquatic habitat, and taking action to conserve freshwater resources. For example, in 2019 ECCC committed some $95,000 for plastics reduction in Northwestern Ontario and the Lake Superior Basin.

EcoAction projects are established to: protect, stabilize, or improve over 5,000 hectares of shoreline; reduce or divert close to 50,000 kilograms of harmful waste; and reduce water consumption by close to 10 million litres. Since 1995, EcoAction has approved close to $118 million in funding for 3,184 projects that engage Canadians in direct environmental activities. For every dollar received through EcoAction, $2.41 is contributed by other funding partners.

The Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program is a federal food safety program jointly administered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Aimed at minimizing the health risks associated with the consumption of contaminated bivalve molluscan shellfish, such as mussels, oysters and clams, the Program implements controls to verify that only shellfish that meet food safety and quality standards reach domestic and international markets. In 2019–20, the Program conducted a pilot project with commercial, Indigenous and recreational harvesters in three provinces to evaluate options for greater involvement of non-Government of Canada parties in program delivery, while maintaining food safety objectives.

Protecting and Conserving Fresh Water

Canada is home to one fifth of the world’s fresh water. The federal government continued to take action to protect this precious resource, together with its partners in provincial, territorial, municipal governments, environmental organizations, and First Nations and Métis communities. Healthier lakes mean economic growth, more recreational opportunities, and healthy, sustainable ecosystems.

Among the largest freshwater lakes in Canada and the world, the Great Lakes are a natural wonder and a treasured shared resource that provides jobs, trade, and fresh water for tens of millions of Canadians and Americans. In June 2019, the Governments of Canada and the United States released the 2019 Progress Report of the Parties, which documents progress made by both nations between 2017 and 2019 in implementing the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to address priorities in the basin, such as the clean-up of Areas of Concern on both sides of the border and reducing nutrient loadings to the lakes. The Progress Report supported discussions on threats to water quality and ecosystem health at the 2019 Great Lakes Public Forum in Milwaukee.

Restoring Hamilton Harbour

ECCC continued to collaborate with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Stelco, Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority, City of Hamilton, City of Burlington, and Halton Region to clean up a Great Lakes Area of Concern. Work continued on dredging and containing contaminated sediments within a six-hectare, double walled engineered containment facility. The eight-year project is scheduled for completion in 2022. Once completed, the site will be turned over to the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority, which will maintain the facility in perpetuity and use the site as valuable port lands.

A new draft Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health (COA) was released for a 60-day public comment period in the summer of 2019. The purpose of the Agreement is to coordinate federal and provincial actions to restore, protect, and conserve water quality and ecosystem health, and to deliver on commitments under the Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The draft Agreement addresses the full suite of issues covered by the 2014 COA, such as nuisance algae, invasive species and climate resilience, as well as emerging issues of concern, such as excess road salt application and plastic pollution. A final agreement is expected in 2020.

In support of these agreements, in August 2019 ECCC committed $1.06 million over three years for 10 new projects under the Great Lakes Protection Initiative to help restore water quality and ecosystem health in Canadian Great Lakes Areas of Concern. The Department also continued to assess and enhance the resilience of the Great Lakes coastal wetlands, evaluate and identify “at risk” nearshore waters, and clean up Great Lakes Areas of Concern, including Hamilton Harbour (see sidebar).

ECCC took action to protect and restore other important freshwater resources across Canada, including action in:

Enforcing Canada’s Environmental Laws and Regulations

ECCC is committed to protecting Canadians’ health, safety, and environment, including by enforcing laws that protect Canada’s air, water, and natural environment. The Department is responsible for the administration and enforcement of several important statutes, including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA, 1999), pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act, and the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994. Enforcement actions in 2019 include several important cases, such as:

Offenders are added to the Environmental-Offender Registry. Fines imposed as penalties under environmental legislation are credited to the Environmental Damages Fund (EDF). The EDF helps ensure that environmental good follows environmental harm by supporting projects in Canadian communities with measurable outcomes. Monies paid to the EDF are invested in projects that focus on environmental restoration, environmental quality improvement, research and development, and education and awareness. In 2019-20, more than $2.4 million from the Fund was used to support 22 community-based environmental restoration projects across Canada. The unprecedented fine of $196.5 million was received in the EDF and work began on developing a strategy to expend the fine beginning in 2020-21.

Protecting Canadians and the environment from harmful substances

ECCC continued to implement the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP). In collaboration with Health Canada, the Department conducts ecological risk assessments on substances used in Canada, including the assessment of approximately 400 new substances entering the market each year. To date, ECCC and Health Canada have completed the systematic review of some 3,894 of 4,363 existing priority substances, with 457 deemed to be toxic under CEPA 1999. Ongoing work also includes systematic CMP air and precipitation monitoring and surveillance activities in the Great Lakes Basin, the Arctic and other national sites in support of risk assessment and management activities.

An evaluation of the CMP completed in January 2020 determined that the Program had made progress in all functional activity areas. It recommended that mechanisms for stakeholder engagement be revitalized and that performance measurement be improved to facilitate program management, decision making, and meaningful reporting to the public.

Cleaning up federal contaminated sites

In July 2019 the Government of Canada announced Phase IV of the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP), extending the program until 2035 with federal funding of $1.2 billion for the period 2020 to 2025. Phase IV will support the assessment and remediation of federal sites across the country, and reflects recommendations from the 2018 Horizontal Evaluation of the FCSAP for expanded eligibility criteria to improve program efficiency.

In 2019-20, ECCC assessed seven sites and conducted remediation activities at 11 sites for which the Department is responsible. Across all 13 FCSAP custodians, remediation of 23 sites was completed, assessment activities took place at 97 sites, and remediation activities were conducted at 388 sites. In collaboration with other expert support departments, ECCC also conducted 47 site classification reviews to confirm eligibility for funding, reviewed 33 technical documents from federal custodians, developed 9 guidance documents, and delivered 6 training sessions to support custodian departments in managing their contaminated sites.

An important remediation was completed in 2019 – the Middle Harbour Remediation Project, in Victoria, British Columbia. A total of 3,000 tonnes of contaminated sediment were removed from Victoria Harbour, and 75,000 tonnes of contaminated soil (52 barge loads) were removed from Laurel Point Park. An agreement-in-principle would transfer ownership of Laurel Point Park from the federal government to the City of Victoria, so that the area can continue to be enjoyed by residents and tourists for generations to come.

Improving Air Quality

ECCC’s ongoing Air Quality Program continued to focus on domestic and international work to improve the quality of ambient air and reduce the adverse effects of outdoor and indoor air pollution on human health and the environment. The Program helps to inform Canadians of the health risks of outdoor and indoor air pollution and encourages personal actions to reduce these risks.

In 2019-20, ECCC continued to collaborate with provinces through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) to implement Canada’s Air Quality Management System (AQMS), which includes the Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS). These standards drive local air quality improvements, industrial emissions requirements, provincial air zones, and interprovincial airsheds, and from the basis of reporting to Canadians. Ongoing collaboration through the CCME also resulted in the Government of Canada publishing new, more stringent CAAQS for ground-level ozone to be met in 2025, and to advancing the review of existing CAAQS for fine particulate matter, following which an updated standard will be established, if warranted. It also led to development of a new National Air Pollutant Surveillance Memoranda of Understanding with provinces and territories. To support improved air quality, ECCC established new and expanded capacity to test for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in commercial products, with enhanced emissions testing completed for passenger cars, trucks, and other vehicles and engines.

The Department also continued to develop, implement and maintain the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), which reached 1.38 million individuals sensitive to the health effects of air pollution in 2019-20. ECCC also continued to report on air quality and emissions, including in Canada’s Air Pollutant Emissions Inventory, the State of the Air Report, and to meet international reporting obligations.

Internationally, ECCC continued to participate and demonstrate leadership in environmental stewardship in international fora to reduce transboundary air pollution, notably under the Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP)—in particular, the LRTAP’s Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone (Gothenburg Protocol).

Strengthening Air Pollutants Regulations

ECCC continued to develop, amend, implement and administer legislation, regulations and tools to reduce air pollution from a number of industrial sectors. In particular, the Multi-Sector Air Pollutants Regulations include mandatory limits on emissions from equipment used in many industrial sectors, as well as cement facilities. The Department also published the Contaminated Fuels Regulations, which restrict the import and export of contaminated fuel and, updated ambient air quality guidelines.

Federal Sustainable Development Strategy

Public consultations on the 2019-2022 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy closed on April 2, 2019. ECCC heard from Canadians across the country, including governments, Indigenous organizations, non-governmental organizations, academics, businesses, and individuals, as well the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development and the Minister’s Sustainable Development Advisory Council. The Minister tabled the 2019-2022 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy in Parliament (June 19, 2019). This strategy sets out the Government of Canada’s environmental sustainability priorities, establishes goals and targets, and identifies actions to achieve them.

In 2019-20, ECCC updated 32 environmental indicators. Environmental indicators are the primary instrument to measure progress of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) and to report to Canadians on the state of the environment. The Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators program provides data and information to track Canada’s performance on issues including climate change, air quality, water quality and availability, and protecting nature which are all reflected in the FSDS.

The Act to Amend the Federal Sustainable Development Act came into force on December 1, 2020. It makes decision-making related to sustainable development more transparent and subject to accountability to Parliament. More than 90 federal departments and agencies (up from 27) will be required to report on their sustainable development activities, further supporting a whole-of-government approach to sustainable development policy within the Government of Canada.

Commitment to Experimentation: Sentencing Recommendations

ECCC concluded a five-year initiative to strengthen sentencing recommendations with the goal of reducing harm to the environment. Under the initiative, ECCC increased the disincentive for breaking environmental laws, as reflected by increased overall fine amounts of at least 10% under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 (CEPA 1999) and the Fisheries Act.

In 2019-20, total average fine amounts were up 1517% over the five-year annual average prior to the initiative (2012–13 to 2016–17). In 2019-20, the average fine amount was $233,000. The drastic jump in average fine amounts is the result of a single case in which $196.5 million in fines and penalties were issued. If this outlier is excluded from the calculation, average fines would still be up approximately 115%.The severity of cases continued to vary in 2019 and will likely continue to vary from year to year.

As a result of this initiative, the use of court orders continued to increase, compelling companies to make investments and change processes to decrease or stop releases of harmful substances into the environment. Moreover, sentencing recommendations are now better articulated based on case law, and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada has continued to support increased sentencing recommendations due to their success. A formal Sentencing Guideline (developed and disseminated by ECCC in 2018–19) is now being adopted by other federal agencies.

Commitment to Experimentation: Applying Behavioural Insights within the Regulatory Lifecycle

In 2019-20, ECCC continued to explore ways of using behavioural insights (BI) to improve awareness and understanding of regulatory requirements among regulated communities. Using an experimental approach, the Department compared compliance rates for companies who received pre-filled and blank reply forms when reporting under the Products Containing Mercury Regulations. The results show that companies receiving a form prefilled with their name and address replied at a rate twice that of those who received a blank form. These results demonstrate the potential for ECCC to tailor its support to industry and further increase compliance with regulations. In 2019-20, ECCC finalized a guidance document to support programs in applying BI to regulatory activities. Moving forward, ECCC will continue to utilize BI interventions in the regulatory cycle.

Results achieved
Departmental Results: Canadians have clean air
Departmental result indicator Target Date to achieve target 2019–20
Actual result
2018–19
Actual result
2017–18
Actual result
Percentage of Canadians living in areas where air quality standards are achieved 85% 2030 75% for the  2015-17 data period. 77% for the 2014–16 data period (most recent available).Footnote 9 70% for the 2013-15 data period.
Departmental Results: Canadians have clean water
Departmental result indicator Target Date to achieve target 2019–20
Actual result
2018–19
Actual result
2017–18
Actual result
Percentage of wastewater systems where effluent quality standards are achieved 100%  2040 74% 73%Footnote 10  76%
Departmental Results: The Canadian environment is protected from harmful substances
Departmental result indicator Target Date to achieve target 2019–20
Actual result
2018–19
Actual result
2017–18
Actual result
Number of substances assessed, identified as toxic, and for which control measures were put in place All substances assessed as toxic have a control measure in place March 31, 2021

Not available.

This indicator is being retired and replaced with a new indicatorFootnote 11 .

First results for the new indicator will be reported in the next fiscal year.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)
2019–20
Main Estimates
2019–20
Planned spending
2019–20
Total authorities
available for use
2019–20
Actual spending
(authorities used)
2019–20
Difference
(actual minus planned)
345,273,615 345,273,615 392,005,708 370,747,565 25,473,950*

* The actual spending for 2019-20 is higher than the 2019-20 Planned Spending, mainly due to new funding for Youth Employment and Skills Strategy and National Zero Waste Plastic Strategy, increase spending related to Carbon Pricing and compensation allocations from TBS related to the new collective agreements. This is offset by a decrease spending related to Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan.

Human Resources (FTEs)
2019–20 Planned FTEs 2019–20 Actual FTES 2019–20 Difference
(actual minus planned)
2,060 2,293 233

Conserving Nature

Description

Protect and recover species at risk and their critical habitat; conserve and protect healthy populations of migratory birds; engage and enable provinces and territories, Indigenous peoples, stakeholders, and the public to increase protected areas and contribute to conservation and stewardship activities; expand and manage the Department’s protected areas; and collaborate with domestic and international partners to advance the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development.

Results

Habitat Stewardship Program

Since its inception in 2000, the Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) has supported over 3,000 projects nationwide through more than $201 million in funding, which has been at least matched by funding recipients. In 2019–2020, ECCC announced HSP funding of $114,600 over two years for two conservation projects in the Eastern Townships of Québec. One project is implementing beneficial management practices for the Spring Salamander, listed as a Threatened Species under the Species at Risk Act. The other is assisting in the conservation of three Endangered Species of bat. Both projects engage volunteer citizen scientists.

Nature Champions Summit 2019

In April of 2019, ECCC hosted global leaders from government, Indigenous organizations, business, foundations, and non-governmental organizations for an inaugural Nature Champions Summit in Montréal to kick off a year-long global push to chart an ambitious, shared path toward protecting the world’s nature. The Summit was an important milestone in preparation for a Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2020. At the Summit, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change highlighted progress toward establishing new national park reserves in Thaidene Nëné and the South Okanagan-Similkameen, and signaled Canada’s intention to establish new protected areas in Eastern James Bay and the Magdalen Islands in partnership with provinces, territories, and Indigenous peoples. Canada is playing a leadership role in the international post-2020 process, serving as co-chair of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity working group that is leading development of the new global biodiversity framework.

Nature Legacy

ECCC led the Government of Canada’s efforts to strengthen its commitment to nature and its goals to protect and conserve Canada’s ecosystems, landscapes and biodiversity. Canada made a historic investment of $1.3 billion over 5 years (Budget 2018) under Canada’s Nature Legacy, which provided $500 million, matched by partners, to establish the Canada Nature Fund. With this investment, ECCC built partnerships and progressed toward achieving Canada’s biodiversity targets for conserving land and inland waters, and advanced the protection and recovery of species at risk.

Conserving land and inland waters

The Department continued to work with partners through the Nature Legacy initiative and the Canada Nature Fund to protect and conserve 25% of Canada’s terrestrial lands and inland waters by 2025, working toward 30% by 2030. Through the Canada Nature Fund’s Target 1 Challenge initiative, ECCC helped to advance protected areas work in 68 communities across Canada. With the goal of building a well-connected network of protected and conserved areas and natural ecosystems in every province and territory across Canada, ECCC made important strides in 2019-20, including:

ECCC has also been working to establish new National Wildlife Areas. For example, the Department announced a collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Montréal Port Authority to designate a group of 27 St. Lawrence islands as a series of three National Wildlife Areas, totaling some 775 hectares and representing some of the last remaining natural islands in the area along an important flyway and habitat for certain migratory birds.

The Canada Nature Fund invested $100 million over four years in the Natural Heritage Conservation Program. The new Program is delivered by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and its partners, including Ducks Unlimited Canada, Wildlife Habitat Canada, and the Canadian Land Trusts Working Group, and provides assistance to these partners to secure and protect at least 200,000 hectares of ecologically sensitive private lands. The areas to be conserved are predominantly in southern Canada, where most biodiversity-rich areas are, and where most Canadian live.

Partnerships to protect caribou

A partnership agreement with the Government of British Columbia, the Saulteau First Nations, and the West Moberly First Nations is focused on three Central Group local population units of Southern Mountain Caribou within the Peace Region of British Columbia. The agreement includes commitments to habitat protection and conservation (such as creation of protected areas), recovery activities (such as maternal penning), and habitat restoration.

In addition, a bilateral agreement between Canada and the Government of British Columbia contains overarching commitments, measures and strategies, including herd planning, for the recovery of Southern Mountain Caribou in the province.

Transforming Species at Risk Conservation

ECCC, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, Indigenous peoples, and stakeholders, began implementing the Pan-Canadian Approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in CanadaFootnote 12. Actions to implement the Pan-Canadian Approach were supported by contributions under the Nature Legacy initiative’s Canada Nature Fund.

 For the six priority species, progress towards collaborative conservation action planning to advance stewardship approaches and priority actions was achieved through engagement with federal, provincial, and territorial governments, and other key partners and stakeholders.

On February 21, 2020, two conservation agreements were finalized for the Southern Mountain Caribou in British Columbia (see sidebar). Together, the agreements will advance the recovery of Southern Mountain Caribou, a Priority Species whose numbers are in serious decline. This iconic species is vital to Indigenous peoples in British Columbia. The agreements represent an historic collaboration between all levels of government, including Indigenous partners, to implement critical measures to support the species’ recovery.

To support the recovery of Boreal Caribou, conservation agreements were finalized with Saskatchewan, Yukon, the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation and the Gwich’in Tribal Council, Newfoundland and Labrador, Québec, and Cold Lake First Nations. Building on the agreement signed with the Northwest Territories in 2018-19, this brings the total number of conservation agreements for Boreal Caribou to six. Negotiations were also advanced for conservation agreements with Alberta, Manitoba, as well as with two First Nations. In addition, a proposed Amended Recovery Strategy for Boreal Caribou, which identifies critical habitat in northern Saskatchewan’s Boreal Shield range and updates population and habitat condition information for all ranges across the country, was released for public consultation.

Indigenous partnerships for species at risk

ECCC undertook projects with Indigenous partners to support urgent action to recover Boreal and Southern Mountain caribou, increase capacity for the collaborative management of Polar Bear, (including by leveraging Indigenous knowledge), enable leadership for species conservation through certified forest management and mapping, and stewarding and restoring species at risk and their habitat on Indigenous lands. A project with the Assembly of First Nations launched discussions among First Nations that will identify their regional priorities and opportunities for meaningful engagement in implementing the Pan-Canadian Approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada.

Across the 11 federal-provincial-territorial Priority Places, partners and stakeholders were engaged, governance frameworks were established, multi-species and ecosystem-based conservation action planning was advanced, and early actions were implemented to protect and recover species at risk and their habitat. A suite of 15 complementary Community-Nominated Priority Places was established through an open call for proposals to support multi-partner initiatives in priority places where there are opportunities to protect and recover species at risk and their habitat. Initiatives with the forest and agriculture Priority Sectors engaged partners and stakeholders to begin co-creation of conservation action plans to support positive outcomes for species at risk and sector sustainability.

ECCC advanced relationships with Indigenous peoples through projects (see sidebar) that enhanced their capacity to implement conservation measures for species at risk and their habitat, negotiate and implement conservation agreements for at-risk species, and support their meaningful participation in the implementation of the Species at Risk Act.

Indigenous Guardians Pilot Program

In 2019-20, the Government of Canada announced support for Indigenous conservation initiatives under three separate programs:

Species Management

Migratory Bird Monitoring

In June 2019, ECCC announced the opening of a new migratory bird monitoring station in the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area. The station will be leased to the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, a volunteer organization that conducts bird banding activities and teaches visitors about bird migration. Located along the shores of Lake Ontario, the National Wildlife Area is home to several species at risk, and is one of the busiest and most productive bird banding stations.

ECCC announced an investment of $10 million over two years to support the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, an international partnership which helps protect wetlands and migratory birds, including species at risk. The Department collaborates with various partners, such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Island Nature Trust, and the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation. This funding will enable partners to implement projects to secure and restore at least 10,000 hectares of wetlands, including habitats that are of the highest value for migratory birds.

ECCC, in collaboration with the North American Bird Conservation Initiative – Canada, released The State of Canada’s Birds 2019, a major report that synthesizes information from more than 50 years of monitoring data. The report highlights that investments have been made in conservation, and species (such as raptors and waterfowl) are doing well, but populations of other bird groups (such as grassland birds, aerial insectivores and shorebirds) are declining dramatically and conservation action is urgently needed to address the decline.

Enforcing Wildlife Protection

ECCC collaborated with the World Customs Organization in INTERPOL’s Operation Thunderball. This international enforcement effort aimed to crack down on wildlife crime, including smuggling, poaching, the destruction of habitats, and trafficking of protected species. The month-long operation in June 2019 involved 109 countries and resulted in the seizures of tens of thousands of protected plants, animals and associated products worldwide. During the operation in Canada, ECCC enforcement officers responded to over 100 complaints and tips received from the public concerning habitat and wildlife destruction. They also conducted dozens of inspections, enforcement activities and hunter checks, and led a series of border-crossing blitzes to look for evidence of illegal exports of Canadian species, as well as illegal imports of exotic species.

The Department maintained ongoing efforts to protect wildlife species and their habitat from actions by businesses and individuals. For example, in August 2019, enforcement officers stopped land clearing work at a 6.2 hectare residential development site in Québec, where 25 to 55 migratory bird nests were destroyed. The real estate company involved was ordered to pay into the Environmental Damages FundFootnote 13  and was placed on one year’s probation.

Ratification of the CUSMA/ECA

ECCC was closely involved in the ratification of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and its parallel Environmental Cooperation Agreement (ECA). This includes supporting interdepartmental efforts to advance the legislative process and develop an environmental assessment of the Agreement. 

The CUSMA Environment Chapter and its parallel ECA include commitments to pursue robust environmental protection, effectively enforce environmental laws, and promote transparency, accountability and public participation. The CUSMA also includes commitments that address a range of global challenges such as: Illegal wildlife trade and logging; fisheries management; protection of the marine environment and the ozone layer; sustainable forestry; and conservation of species at risk and biological diversity.

Global illegal trade in wildlife is estimated to be worth up to $20 billion USD per year and threatens many of the world’s most treasured wildlife species. ECCC’s enforcement officers conducted operations targeting the illegal import or export of such animals as European eel, salamanders, and turtles/tortoises. Illegal trade related to several species of reptiles, such as frog, snakes, and alligators, continued to be frequently observed, as such animals are prized in other cultures for their purported spiritual or medical benefits. ECCC collaborated with a range of partners to reduce such trade, including with the Canada Border Services Agency (October 2019), and to seize a large number of a protected species of leech that were being brought into the country without a permit. The importer pleaded guilty, was fined and prohibited from importing, exporting or processing any internationally protected species for one year.

Commitment to Experimentation: Multi-species planning tools for improved Species at Risk and Migratory Birds conservation outcomes

In 2019-20, ECCC continued to finalize the research hypotheses and analytical approach for a project aiming to strengthen the protection and conservation of several species in Canada’s Boreal forest. The experiment will attempt to determine those areas of the Boreal forest where conservation can be optimized for both caribou and migratory bird species, as well as those areas where this multi-species approach to conservation cannot be optimized. This work will result in geospatial / mapping products, as well as the development of a Decision Framework. Conservation actions that maximize benefits to more than one species promote biodiversity and are more cost-effective, which benefits all Canadians.

Results achieved
Departmental Results: Canada’s wildlife and habitat are conserved and protected
Departmental result indicator Target Date to achieve target 2019–20
Actual result
2018–19
Actual result
2017–18
Actual result
Percentage of migratory bird species that are within target population ranges 60% 2020 57% 58% Result is not available for this yearFootnote 14 .
Percentage of Canadian areas conserved as protected areas and other effective areas-based conservation measures Increase toward achievement of 17% from a baseline of 10.6% in 2015 (Terrestrial lands & inland waters) 2020 12.1% 11.8% 10.5%
Departmental Results: Canada’s species at risk are recovered
Departmental result indicator Target Date to achieve target 2019–20
Actual result
2018–19
Actual result
2017–18
Actual result
Percentage of species at risk for which changes in populations are consistent with recovery objectives 60% May 2025 41%Footnote 15  41% 43%
Departmental Results: Indigenous peoples are engaged in conservation
Departmental result indicator Target Date to achieve target 2019–20
Actual result
2018–19
Actual result
2017–18
Actual result
Percentage of Indigenous peoples engaged with ECCC who indicate that the engagement was meaningful 61% April of each year 69% 61% This is a new indicator. Results are not available for this year.
Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)
2019–20
Main Estimates
2019–20
Planned spending
2019–20
Total authorities
available for use
2019–20
Actual spending
(authorities used)
2019–20
Difference
(actual minus planned)
298,536,798 298,536,798 296,918,304 293,277,471 -5,259,327*

*The actual spending for 2019-20 is lower than the 2019-20 Planned Spending mainly due to a decrease spending related to Protecting Canada’s Nature, Parks & Wilds Spaces and Impact Assessment and Regulatory Regime Implementation.

Human Resources (FTEs)
2019–20 Planned FTEs 2019–20 Actual FTES 2019–20 Difference
(actual minus planned)
1,117 1,176 59

Predicting Weather and Environmental Conditions

Description

Monitor weather, water, air quality and climate conditions; provide forecasts, information and warnings to the Canadian public and targeted sectors through a range of service delivery options; conduct research; develop and maintain computer-based models for predicting weather and other environmental conditions; and collaborate and exchange data with other national meteorological services and with international organizations.

Results

Monitoring and Warning Activities of the Canadian Hurricane Centre

Providing Vital Data

ECC continued to deliver ice service information to the Canadian Coast Guard, as well as meteorological services and products to the Department of National Defence and NAV CANADA. These users depend on mission-critical weather and environmental information for their vital security, surveillance and emergency response operations year-round.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) works to help Canadians prepare for the annual hurricane season, and to provide information to help them protect their health and safety. To track storms that have the potential to affect Canada or its waters, meteorologists at ECCC’s CHC continued to work in close collaboration with the U.S.-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to map expected storm trajectories, predict their intensities, and issue warnings. In May 2019, the CHC reviewed the NOAA’s 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook that predicted between nine and 15 named storms, four to eight hurricanes, and two to four major hurricanes. The CHC used this information to increase awareness and share preparedness information from its partners with Canadians, to support their health and safety. For example, Hurricane Dorian was a major significant event in Canada in 2019, and there was no loss of life. The CHC monitored the Atlantic Ocean year-round for tropical or tropical-like cyclones that could pose a threat on Canadian land or in Canadian waters.

Upgrades to Weather Radars and Stations

In August 2019, ECCC announced the installation and operation of a new world-class weather radar near Bethune, Saskatchewan. The new radar provides communities and agricultural operations in and around Regina with access to more reliable and timely weather information to help them plan and adapt to a changing climate. Weather radars are the primary tool used by meteorologists to forecast short-term severe-weather events associated with thunderstorms, tornadoes, ice storms and blizzards. Equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and extended tornado-detection ranges, new radars will provide more frequent updates and give Canadians greater lead time to take shelter. ECCC is on track to replace 32 outdated radars with new state-of-the-art radars across the country by 2023. Of the twelve new radars installed to date, seven were installed in 2019–20.

ClimateData.ca launches

ECCC launched Canada’s newest climate data portal in June 2019. ClimateData.ca is a website that provides engineers, public health professionals, urban planners, mayors, and anyone else doing long-term planning, with user-friendly climate change information, data, resources and tools. As part of a suite of online data portals supported by the Canadian Centre for Climate Services, ClimateData.ca was developed by the Computer Research Institute of Montréal in collaboration with Ouranos, the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, the Prairie Climate Centre, and Habitat Seven. Climatedata.ca is also supported by ECCC’s weather prediction program’s data production and dissemination. The Canadian Centre for Meteorological and Environmental Prediction has mission critical 24/7 data dissemination platforms for both static data files (MSC Datamart) and geospatial web services (MSC GeoMet), which provide weather, water, and climate data to climatedata.ca and the general public. Climatedata.ca users can explore, visualize and download climate data and information tailored to their specific needs, including through an interactive map that shows how the climate is changing in specific locations.

Modernizing nationwide water monitoring

In Budget 2018, the Department received an $89.7 million investment over five years to modernize Canada’s water monitoring services. The funds will support ongoing work with provinces and territories to generate more timely and accurate information on water flows and water levels across Canada’s rivers and lakes. It will also help strengthen the National Hydrological Service’s professional engineering and technical capacity, and allow for the modernization of the national hydrometric network’s stations and infrastructure. To date, infrastructure improvements have occurred at over 200 sites, over 30 innovation test sites have been established, and some 39 technical and engineering positions have been staffed. The improvements will support the continuous collection and dissemination of data on water flow and water levels across the country.

In addition, ECCC continued its co-management relationships with international water boards and committees, as outlined in an International Joint Commission (IJC) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and other interprovincial MOUs. ECCC staff continued to carry out the orders of the IJC on an operational basis, and to provide engineering and technical support for specialized reference studies and task forces. ECCC provides data and technical, engineering and communication support to IJC boards and committees. Accomplishments in 2019-2020 included support to Great Lakes water boards through record-high water level conditions, and work on the Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Study and the Souris River Board Study. Inter-provincial board activities focused on indigenous engagement in the Lake of the Woods basin and on retrospective analysis of recent Ottawa River floods.

WeatherCAN Application

In February 2019, ECCC launched its first mobile app for live weather information, which was downloaded over one million times in its first year of availability. WeatherCAN provides easy-to-understand weather observations and forecasts for virtually every community in Canada, and its unique message centre is used to provide backgrounders and contextual information about weather and climate. Several upgrades were made to the app during the year and more are planned as the user base grows. The app is proving to be a catalyst for the modernization of weather service delivery at ECCC.

High Performance Computing environment upgrade

In January 2020, teams from ECCC and Shared Services Canada (SSC) successfully completed a high performance computing (HPC) upgrade that resulted in a major increase in computational power. The upgrade involved replacing one machine by another, without interrupting the Meteorological Service of Canada’s 24/7 activities. For Canadians, the performance upgrade will mean more localized weather forecasts, as well as more accurate extended weather forecasts. Since the July 2019 implementation, ECCC’s global model has been ranked among the world’s top three models for coverage over North America.

Commitment to Experimentation: Upper Air Renewal II

ECCC continued its work to find innovative and sustainable ways to improve the weather warnings and forecasts that Canadians rely on for a range of health, safety and economic decisions.  Early analysis of work in Canada and internationally indicates that these new technologies have the potential to improve weather forecasts and warnings. In 2019-20, the Department continued to investigate and test new technologies for gathering weather data high in the atmosphere, including through the use of a new Doppler Wind LiDAR deployed to a test site. ECCC will pursue technologies determined to be beneficial, and investigate opportunities to integrate them into existing monitoring networks to complement the Department’s existing upper air data.

Results achieved
Departmental Results: Canadians use authoritative weather and related information to make decisions about their health and safety
Departmental result indicator Target Date to achieve target 2019–20
Actual result
2018–19
Actual result
2017–18
Actual result
Index of the timeliness and accuracy of severe weather warnings on a scale of 0 to 10 7.9 December 2018

8.8

(three-year rolling average 2017-2019)

8.6

(three-year rolling average 2016-18)

 8.4Footnote 16 

(three year rolling average 2015–17)

Percentage of Canadians that use ECCC information to address water-related impacts on health, safety, economy and environment 80% 2018–19 73% 70.5%Footnote 17  This is a new indicator. Results are not available for this year.
Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)
2019–20
Main Estimates
2019–20
Planned spending
2019–20
Total authorities
available for use
2019–20
Actual spending
(authorities used)
2019–20
Difference
(actual minus planned)
247,030,038 247,030,038 1,174,406 260,270,783 13,240,745*

*The actual spending for 2019-20 is higher than the 2019-20 Planned Spending, mainly due to new funding related to Strong Artic and Northern Communities, for the Eureka Runway project. This is offset by a decrease related to the Revitalization of Canada’s Weather Services.

Human Resources (FTEs)
2019–20 Planned FTEs 2019–20 Actual FTES 2019–20 Difference
(actual minus planned)
1,544 1,706 162

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Program Inventory is available in the GC’s InfoBase.

Internal Services

Description

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

Results

ECCC’s Internal Services continued to focus on delivering results in support of departmental and government-wide priorities in 2019-20.

Swift and decisive action: COVID-19

The health and safety of the environment, of Canadians and of ECCC employees have always been top priorities for ECCC, and were the driving considerations in the Department’s March 16, 2020 decision to encourage as many of its employees as possible to work remotely. ECCC seized this opportunity to improve telework and implement strategies to bolster its digital transformation with cloud-based collaboration tools. As the impact of COVID-19 increased across the country, this allowed ECCC to continue unabated in its support of evolving federal and provincial public health decisions and to ensure employee safety by adopting alternative ways of delivering the important ECCC services upon which all Canadians rely.

The Department took action to reduce emissions from its operations, buildings and other assets to support government-wide goals to reduce emissions, grow a clean economy, and contribute to a zero plastic waste environment. For example, ECCC commenced waste audits at priority ECCC-occupied facilities. The preliminary audit information on current waste diversion performance is informing departmental actions for achieving Government of Canada waste diversion targets.

ECCC expanded the vehicle telematics project to include all Departmental vehicles. While significant progress was made in implementing this project in 2019-20, COVID-19 has caused delayed vehicle enrollment given the limited access to buildings and vehicles. The Department is now able to monitor fleet data and generate reports and analysis on enrolled vehicles.

ECCC continues to expand and implement its Digital Strategy by increasing digital services to Canadian citizens and businesses. The Department began implementing new technologies in the ECCC workplace, and the Department is enhancing collaboration with key partners and stakeholder, including Indigenous groups, other areas of government, private businesses, international partners, and Canadian citizens. The Department continued to provide flexibility for employees to work smarter and more efficiently whether in the field, from a remote office, or on the road. For instance, the Department has developed a few proofs of concept in the area of enforcement, research and human resources and will continue to explore the viability of these new technologies by carefully identifying the criteria to be used to determine needs for program integrity, emerging technologies and ongoing maintenance costs.

The Department’s Internal Services supported some key ECCC initiatives in 2019-20, including:

ECCC continued its ongoing work to implement GCDocs, a leading-edge information management system. GCDocs is being rolled out across the federal government to greatly enhance the capacity of departments and agencies to create, collect and preserve information of business value. The system supports a range of information, including protected documents, and facilitates collaboration amongst users to easily share, organize, evaluate, identify and dispose of information.

During the year, ECCC continued to implement the Grants and Contributions Enterprise Management System (GCEMS) – the Department’s online portal to receive and manage applications to environmental funding programs. This year, additional improvements were implemented to improve Canadians’ experience using GCEMS and to better enable ECCC funding program officers to administer and manage funding applications and agreements.

In order to implement elements of the Accessible Canada Act, in November 2019 ECCC launched a single window of services for accessibility at work and duty to accommodate requests. ECCC continued its efforts to make its buildings accessible with push buttons, availability of messages in braille, and lighting to accommodate light sensitivities.

The Department continued to focus on creating and maintaining a respectful workplace culture and to support the health and safety of its employees. Through its Leadership Council on Diversity & Inclusion and associated Diversity & Inclusion working group, ECCC implemented its Diversity & Inclusion and Employment Equity Strategy. Related initiatives, such as the Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Strategy, were also implemented, and the Department’s Inuit Employment Plan is being finalized. ECCC remains actively engaged with stakeholders on these issues through various fora.

To support employee health and safety, the Department established baseline measures of ECCC’s work environment on 13 psychosocial factors. Analysis of the data will inform prioritization of activities and strategies to address those factors that require continued attention in the workplace.

ECCC prioritized training and development of staff in 2019-20. For example, the Department continued to offer Indigenous awareness and cross-cultural training and learning opportunities. Conducted in collaboration with its internal Indigenous Awareness Advisory Committee and ECCC Indigenous Employees Network, this work will contribute to a better understanding of the rich history and cultures of Indigenous peoples in Canada.

The Department is committed to ensuring that ongoing workplace improvement is based on concrete evidence, such as that collected through annual employee surveys. ECCC’s 2019 Public Service Employee Survey results indicate that the Department continues to be an employer of choice and outlines areas for continuous refinement of the Department’s people management practices to improve results for the Public Service and Canadians.

The Department also invested considerable effort in keeping employees informed of developments related to government-wide pay challenges. A change management strategy was developed that included updates to ECCC’s Pay and Leave Guide, as well as communications with key stakeholder groups and the introduction of self-service tools. As a result, the level of awareness for timelines, documentation, and proactive steps to avoid pay issues has improved significantly.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)
2019–20
Main Estimates
2019–20
Planned spending
2019–20
Total authorities
available for use
2019–20
Actual spending
(authorities used)
2019–20
Difference
(actual minus planned)
206,173,082 206,173,082 230,141,205 229,894,848 23,721,766*

*The actual spending for 2019-20 is higher than the 2019-20 Planned Spending, mainly due to internal reallocation of resources between programs and compensation allocations from TBS related to the new collective agreements.

Human Resources (FTEs)
2019–20 Planned FTEs 2019–20 Actual FTES 2019–20 Difference
(actual minus planned)
1,488 1,645 157

Analysis of trends in spending and human resources

Actual expenditures

Departmental spending trend graph

The following chart depicts the departmental spending trend over a six-year period. For fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, the amounts shown represent the actual expenditures as reported in the Public Accounts. For fiscal year 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, the planned spending represents the planned budgetary and statutory expenditures as presented in the 2020-21 Departmental Plan.

Departmental Spending Trend
Figure 1 - long description 
Departmental spending trend (dollars)
- 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23
Statutory 84 788 958 90 130 600 97 912 019 204 979 643 94 292 557 91 530 136
Voted 1 080 017 909 1 303 224 092 1 447 752 601 1 777 959 379 1 520 795 982 1 139 217 263
Total 1 164 806 867 1 393 354 692 1 545 664 620 1 982 939 022 1 615 088 539 1 230 747 399

Environment and Climate Change Canada's actual spending for 2019–20 was $1,545.7 million, a year-over-year increase of $152.3 million (11%) from the 2018–19 actual spending. This increase is mainly due to activities related to temporary initiatives such as: Protecting Canada’s Nature, Parks & Wilds Spaces, the Low Carbon Economy Fund, the revitalization of meteorological services, the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan, and Strong Artic and Northern Communities.

See the 2018–19 Departmental Results Report (DRR) for additional details on year-over-year actual spending variances between 2017–18 and 2018–19.

For 2020–21 to 2022–23, the figures represent total planned spending for the fiscal year, which reflects approved funding by Treasury Board, at the time of the 2020–21 Departmental Plan, to support the department’s core responsibilities. Planned spending from 2020–21 to 2022–23 is declining, mainly as a result of a reduced funding profile for major initiatives such as the Low Carbon Economy Fund, as well as sunsetting programs, including the following major initiatives sunsetting in 2021–22:

Several other major initiatives will also sunset in 2022–23, including:

Funding requests for sunsetting initiatives are subject to government decisions and will be reflected in future Budget exercises and Estimates documents.

Statutory authorities from 2020–21 to 2022–23 are declining, due to the sunsetting of the Climate Action Incentive Fund.

See the 2020–21 Departmental Plan (DP) for additional details on year-over-year planned spending variances between 2020–21 and 2022–23.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)
Program inventory 2019-20
Main estimates
2019-20
Planned spending
2019-20
Total authorities available for use
2019-20
Actual spending (authorities used)
2019-20
Difference (actual spending minus planned spending)
Taking Action on Clean Growth and Climate Change 704,736,084 704,736,084 704,798,752 391,473,954 -313,262,130
Preventing and Managing Pollution 345,273,615 345,273,615 392,005,708 370,747,565 25,473,950
Conserving Nature 298,536,798 298,536,798 296,918,304 293,277,471 -5,259,327
Predicting Weather and Environmental Conditions 247,030,038 247,030,038 272,348,272 260,270,783 13,240,745
Budget Implementation vote – unallocated authorities Not applicable Not applicable 1,174,406 Not applicable Not applicable
Subtotal 1,595,576,535 1,595,576,535 1,667,245,442 1,315,769,773 -279,806,762
Internal Services 206,173,083 206,173,082 230,141,205 229,894,848 23,721,766
Total 1,801,749,618 1,801,749,617 1,897,386,647 1,545,664,621 -256,084,996

The overall $256.0 million decrease between the 2019-20 Planned Spending of $1,801.7 million and the 2019-20 actual spending of 1,545.7 million is mainly due to the following variances in funding:

Budgetary performance summary for Core Responsibilities and Internal Services (dollars)
Core responsibilities and Internal Services 2019-20 Main estimates 2019-20 Planned spending 2020-21 Planned spending 2021-22 Planned spending 2019-20 Total authorities available for use 2019-20 Actual spending (authorities used) 218-19 Actual spending (authorities used) 2017-18 Actual spending (authorities used)
Taking action on Clean Growth and Climate Change 704,736,084 704,736,084 845,293,508 476,831,653 704,798,752 391,473,954 341,084,047 166,288,974
Preventing and Managing Pollution 345,273,615 345,273,615 360,417,473 348,032,295 392,005,708 370,747,565 348,236,529 351,755,596
Conserving Nature 298,536,798 298,536,798 319,257,213 323,167,470 296,918,304 293,277,471 242,306,745 196,910,240
Predicting Weather and Environmental Conditions 247,030,038 247,030,038 255,482,742 266,446,427 272,348,272 260,270,783 237,877,381 222,002,775
Budget Implementation vote – unallocated authorities Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable 1,174,406 Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable
Subtotal 1,595,576,535 1,595,576,535 1,780,450,936 1,414,477,845 1,667,245,442 1,315,769,773 1,169,504,702 936,957,585
Internal Services 206,173,082 206,173,082 202,522,526 200,610,694 230,141,205 229,894,848 223,849,990 227,849,282
Total 1,801,749,617 1,801,749,617 1,982,973,462 1,615,088,539 1,897,386,647 1,545,664,621 1,393,354,692 1,164,806,867

The 2019-20 planned spending figures in the Departmental Results Report reflect those that had been published in the 2019-20 DP. It was tabled in Parliament prior to Budget 2019 and therefore, does not reflect new funding announced in the Budget.

The 2019-20 Total authorities available for use includes all items approved through the Estimates processes for fiscal year 2019-20. The overall variance of $95.7 million between the 2019-20 Total authorities available for use ($1,897.4 million) and the 2019-20 planned spending ($1,801.7 million) is mainly attributed to the Operating and Capital Budget Carry Forwards, as well as an increase in authorities due to Budget 2018 and 2019 announcements related to the following initiatives:

The overall $351.7 million variance between the 2019-20 Total authorities available for use ($1,897.4 million) and 2019-20 actual spending ($1,545.7 million) is mostly explained by the following:

The overall $152.3 million increase between the 2018-19 actual spending of $1,393.4 million and the 2019-20 actual spending of $1,545.7 million is mainly due to the following variances in funding:

2019–20 Budgetary actual gross spending summary (dollars)
Core responsibilities and Internal Services 2019–20
Actual gross spending
2019–20
Actual gross spending for specified purpose accounts
2019–20
Actual revenues netted against expenditures
2019–20
Actual net spending (authorities used)
Taking action on Clean Growth and Climate Change 391,473,954 0 0 391,473,954
Preventing and Managing Pollution 389,962,968 0 19,215,403 370,747,565
Conserving Nature 297,411,195 0 4,133,724 293,277,471
Predicting Weather and Environmental Conditions 313,512,621 0 53,241,838 260,270,783
Subtotal 1,392,360,738 0 76,590,965 1,315,769,773
Internal Services 231,047,040 0 1,152,192 229,894,848
Total 1,623,407,778 0 77,743,157 1,545,664,621

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s major sources of revenues netted against expenditures are the following:  

Actual human resources

Human resources summary for Core Responsibilities and Internal Services (full-time equivalents - FTEs)
Core responsibilities and Internal Services 2017–18
Actual full-time equivalents
2018–19
Actual full-time equivalents
2019–20
Planned full-time equivalents
2019–20
Actual full-time equivalents
2020–21
Planned full-time equivalents
2021–22
Planned full-time equivalents
Taking action on Clean Growth and Climate Change 797 509 539 593 580 572
Preventing and Managing Pollution 1,734 2,196 2,060 2,293 2,218 2,067
Conserving Nature 956 1,027 1,117 1,176 1,205 1,206
Predicting Weather and Environmental Conditions 1,567 1,627 1,544 1,706 1,617 1,613
Subtotal 5,054 5,359 5,260 5,768 5,620 5,458
Internal Services 1,476 1,584 1,488 1,645 1,524 1,507
Total 6,530 6,943 6,748 7,413 7,144 6,965

Expenditures by vote

For information on Environment and Climate Change Canada’s organizational votes and statutory expenditures, please consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2019-20

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of Environment Can Climate Change Canada’s spending with the Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available in the GC InfoBase.

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

The Environment and Climate Change Canada’s financial Statements unaudited for the year ended March 31, 2020, are available on ECCC's transparency page.

Financial statements highlights

Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2020 (dollars)
Financial information 2019-20 Planned results 2019-20 Actual 2018-19 Actual (restated) Difference
(2019-20 actual minus 2019-20 planned)
Difference
(2019-20 actual minus 2018-19 actual)
Total expenses 1,956,066,422 1,713,994,950 1,569,016,958 -242,071,472 144,977,992
Total revenues 107,997,941 294,980,773 95,482,215 186,982,832 199,498,558
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 1,848,068,481 1,419,014,177 1,473,534,743 -429,054,3040 -54,520,566

The Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Future-Oriented Statement of Operation 2019-20 are available on ECCC’s transparency page.

Expenses by Core Responsibilities

Total departmental expenses by Core Responsibilities amounted to $1,714.0 million for 2019-20 ($1,569.0 million for 2018-19). The increase of $145.0 million or 9.2 percent in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s expenses is mainly attributable to:

offset by:

Figure 2 - long description 

Expenses by core responsibility

  • Taking action on clean growth and climate change $399.4 million or 23.3%
  • Preventing and managing pollution $427.6 million or 25.0%
  • Conserving nature $312.7 million or 18.2%
  • Predicting weather and environmental conditions $292.1 million or 17.0%
  • Internal services $282.3 million or 16.5%
  • Total: $1,714.0 million

See Note 16 of the Departmental Financial Statements for further breakdown of expenditures – Segmented information by Standard Objects and Core Responsibilities.

Revenues by type

Total revenues amounted to $295.0 million for 2019-20 ($95.5 million for 2018-19). This amount excludes $8.8 million earned on behalf of Government. Revenues at Environment and Climate Change Canada come from sales of goods and information products and services of a non-regulatory nature. Major revenue items include for example: Oil Sands monitoring activities, Ocean disposal permit applications, Hydrometric services, Ocean disposal monitoring fees and Weather and environmental services.

The increase in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s revenues is mainly attributable to a $196.5M fine to Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft after they pled guilty to 60 charges for offences under environmental legislation.

Condensed statement of financial position (unaudited) as at March 31, 2020 (dollars)
Financial information 2019-20 2018-19
(restated)
Difference
(2019-20 minus 2018-19)
Total net liabilities 804,183,189 756,622,281 47,560,908
Total net financial assets 446,231,788 436,491,014 9,740,774
Departmental net debt 357,951,401 320,131,267 37,820,134
Total non-financial assets 506,463,335 453,006,012 53,457,323
Departmental net financial position 148,511,934 132,874,745 15,637,189

Liabilities by type

Total liabilities were $804.2 million at the end of 2019-20. This represents an increase of $47.6 million or 6.3 percent from the previous year’s total liabilities of $756.6 million. The accounts payable and accrued liabilities ($454.4 million) and the environmental liabilities ($206.0 million) are the largest components of liabilities in 2019-20 and represent 82.1 percent of the total liabilities. 

The increase in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s total net liabilities valuation is mainly attributable to:

Figure 3 - long description 

Liabilities

  • Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $454.4 million or 56.5%
  • Vacation pay and compensatory leave $51.4 million or 6.4%
  • Deferred revenue $35.5 million or 4.4%
  • Lease obligation for tangible capital assets $7.4 million or 0.9%
  • Employee future benefits $27.3 million or 3.4%
  • Environmental liabilities $206.0 million or 25.6%
  • Provision for contingent liabilities $22.3 million or 2.8%
  • Other liabilities $.1 million or .0%
  • Total: $804.2 million

See Notes 4 to 8 and Notes 12 and 13 of the Departmental Financial Statements for more details – Accounts payable and accrued liabilities; Environmental liabilities; Deferred revenue; Lease obligation for tangible capital assets; Employee future benefits; Contractual obligations and contractual rights; Contingent liabilities and contingent assets.

Assets by type

Total net financial assets ($446.2 million) and non-financial assets ($506.5 million), together valued at $952.7 million, have increased by $63.2 million or 7.1 percent in 2019-20.  The tangible capital assets continue to represent the largest component of assets at $481.5 million (50.5 percent of total assets) in 2019-20.

The increase in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s total net assets valuation is mainly attributable to:

Figure 4 - long description 

Assets

  • Due from Consolidated Revenue Fund $431.8 million or 45.3%
  • Accounts receivable and advances $14.4 million or 1.5%
  • Non-financial assets $506.5 million or 53.2%
  • Total : $952.7 million

See Notes 9 to 11 of the Departmental Financial Statements for more details – Accounts receivable and advances; Inventory; Tangible Capital Assets.

Additional information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister:
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P.

Institutional head:
T. Christine Hogan

Ministerial portfolio:
Environment and Climate Change Canada

Enabling instruments:      

Year of incorporation/commencement:
1971

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

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on Environment and Climate Change Canada’s website.

Reporting framework

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2019–20 are shown below.

Long description

Departmental results framework as per "TB Policy on Results"

Core Responsibilities / Minister’s Mandate Priorities

Core Responsibilities are the functions related to the ongoing departmental mandate. The items listed under each Core Responsibility are specific ministerial mandate commitments drawn from the Minister’s Mandate Letter, the Speech from the Throne and Budget 2016.

Departmental results and result indicators for each core responsibility / Minister's mandate priorities

By defining Results/outcomes and indicators, progress against Core Responsibilities will be monitored and updated through public reporting and departmental management

Take action on clean growth and climate change

Canadian greenhouse gas short-lived climate pollutant emissions are reduced

  • GHG emissions from light duty vehicles
  • GHG emissions from heavy duty vehicles
  • Black carbon emissions, as reported in Canada’s Black Carbon Emissions Inventory
  • HFC emissions
  • Reduced methane emissions from the oil and gas sector
  • Emissions reductions are being achieved under the Clean Fuel Standard building on the Renewable Fuels Regulations
  • Percentage of coal-fired electricity generation units meeting their regulated GHG emissions intensity performance requirement
  • Carbon pricing systems are in place in Canada
  • GHG emissions from ECCC operations

Indigenous Peoples are engaged in clean growth and climate change

  • Co-development of indicators with Indigenous Peoples to ensure they are engaged in the implementation of the PCF, through three distinct senior-level joint tables with First Nations, Inuit, and the Métis Nation.

Canada contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing climate resilience globally

  • Canada’s public sector investments leverage private sector climate finance
  • GHG reductions resulting from international initiatives funded by Canada
  • Number of people in developing countries who benefitted from Canada’s adaptation funds

Canadian communities, economies, and ecosystems are more resilient

  • Number of individuals, businesses, and governments accessing climate services and using that information to inform decision making

Preventing and Managing Pollution

Canadians have clean air

  • Percentage of Canadians living in areas where air quality standards are achieved

Canadians have clean water

  • Percentage of wastewater systems where effluent quality standards are achieved

The Canadian environment is protected from harmful substances

  • Number of substances assessed, identified as toxic, and for which control measures were put in place

Conserving Nature

Canada’s wildlife and habitat are conserved and protected

  • Percentage of migratory bird species that are within target population ranges
  • Percentage of Canadian areas conserved as protected areas and other effective areas-based conservation measures

Canada’s species at risk are recovered

  • Percentage of species at risk for which changes in populations are consistent with recovery objective

Indigenous Peoples are engaged in conservation

  • Percentage of Indigenous Peoples engaged with ECCC who indicate that the engagement was meaningful

Predicting Weather and Environmental Conditions

Canadians use authoritative weather and related information to make decisions about their health and safety

  • Index of the timeliness and accuracy of severe weather warnings on a scale of 0 to 10
  • Percentage of Canadians that use ECCC information to address water-related impacts on health, safety, economy and environment

Program Inventory

Provides an overview of how the Department’s Programs are organized to achieve the Departmental Results

Take action on clean growth and climate change

  • Clean Growth and Climate Change Mitigation
  • International Climate Change Action
  • Climate Change Adaptation

Preventing and Managing Pollution

  • Air Quality
  • Water Quality and Ecosystems Partnerships
  • Community Eco-Action
  • Substances and Waste Management
  • Compliance Promotion and Enforcement - Pollution

Conserving Nature

  • Species at Risk
  • Biodiversity Policy and Partnerships
  • Migratory Birds and other Wildlife
  • Environmental Assessment
  • Habitat Conservation and Protection
  • Compliance Promotion and Enforcement - Wildlife

Predicting Weather and Environmental Conditions

  • Weather and Environmental Observations, Forecasts and Warnings
  • Hydrological Services

Supporting information on Program Inventory

Financial, human resources and performance information for Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on Environment and Climate Change Canada’s website.

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs. The tax measures presented in this report are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Organizational contact information

Environment and Climate Change Canada
Inquiry Centre
Tel.: 1-800-668-6767 (in Canada only) or 819-938-3860
Email: ec.enviroinfo.ec@canada.ca

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)
Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.
Core Responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a Core Responsibility are reflected in one or more related Departmental Results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.
Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a three-year period. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.
Departmental Result (résultat ministériel)
A Departmental Result represents the change or changes that the 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)
Consists of the department’s Core Responsibilities, Departmental Results and Departmental Result Indicators.
Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
A report on an appropriated department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.
experimentation (expérimentation)
Activities that seek to explore, test and compare the effects and impacts of policies, interventions and approaches, to inform evidence-based decision-making, by learning what works and what does not.
full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. Full-time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.
gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])
An analytical process used to help identify the potential impacts of policies, Programs and services on diverse groups of women, men and gender differences. We all have multiple identity factors that intersect to make us who we are; GBA+ considers many other identity factors, such as race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.
government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2018–19 Departmental Results Report, those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2015 Speech from the Throne, namely: Growth for the Middle Class; Open and Transparent Government; A Clean Environment and a Strong Economy; Diversity is Canada’s Strength; and Security and Opportunity.
horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative where two or more departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.
non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.
performance (rendement)
What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.
performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.
performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)
The process of communicating evidence-based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.
plan (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.
planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in 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.

priority (priorité)
A plan or project that an organization has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired Strategic Outcome(s) or Departmental Results.
program (programme)
Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.
result (résultat)
An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.
statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.
Strategic Outcome (résultat stratégique)
A long-term and enduring benefit to Canadians that is linked to the organization’s mandate, vision and core functions.
target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.
voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The Vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.

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