At a glance: Departmental Evaluation Plan for Health Canada 2023-24 to 2027-28
The OAE Departmental Evaluation Plan for Health Canada describes the Program Evaluation Division's (PED) scheduled work for the five-year period from 2023-24 to 2027-28. The Plan was developed to meet Health Canada's commitments under the Policy on Results (2016), which requires that each department prepare a five-year plan, updated annually.
The projects included in this Evaluation Plan were selected to ensure full coverage of all Grants and Contributions spending over $5 million annually over a five-year period, and that prior commitments in Treasury Board (TB) submissions were met, as well as addressing the information needs of program management, coverage of program risks, and optimal use of resources. The Departmental Results Framework, program inventory, and performance information profiles developed by Health Canada have formed the basis for this plan.
With COVID-19 no longer being considered a global health emergency, Health Canada's (HC) work has shifted focus to its ongoing program activities. As such, the present Departmental Evaluation Plan (DEP) ensures that the Office of Audit and Evaluation (OAE) continues to meet its reporting commitments under the Financial Administration Act (FAA) and any Treasury Board (TB) submission commitments, while also addressing key risks and senior management and program management information needs. Given the importance of the COVID-19 response, the impact of the pandemic on HC activities will continue to be assessed in most evaluations included in the DEP.
Planning for evaluation
Over the next five years, OAE plans to conduct 33 evaluations that involve Health Canada: 22 will focus exclusively on Health Canada activities, and one evaluation will examine the activities of both Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The remaining ten projects are horizontal evaluations, three of which are led by Health Canada, and the remaining seven projects are led by other government departments or agencies. A yearly breakdown is provided in Table 1. Table 2 outlines the direct program spending (DPS) by core responsibility for all scheduled evaluations in the next five years.
| Lead | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Canada | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 22 |
| Health Canada and PHAC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Horizontal (HC-led) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Horizontal (OGD-led) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Total | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 33 |
| Program | Evaluations planned in the next five years | Fiscal year of approval | 2023-24 spending covered by evaluation ($)Footnote 1 | Rationale for not evaluating program or spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Responsibility | Health Care Systems ($2,952,723,918) | |||
| Responsive Health Care Systems ($2,424,412,014) |
Health Care Policy and Strategies Program | 2023-24 | $24,772,898 | N/A |
| Pan-Canadian Health Organizations | 2023-24 | $97,589,942 | N/A | |
| Territorial Health Investment Fund | 2023-24 | $0 | N/A | |
| COVID-19 Safe Restart Agreements Program | 2024-25 | $0 | N/A | |
| Blood Safety (OTDT) | 2025-26 | $4,587,500 | N/A | |
| Solutions Fund | 2026-27 | $0 | N/A | |
| Medical Assistance in Dying | 2026-27 | $1,132,042 | N/A | |
| Action Plan for Official Languages | 2027-28 | $0 | N/A | |
| Home and Community Care and Mental Health and Addiction Services Initiative | N/A | $ 1,802,653,713 | This initiative is a transfer of funds to the provinces. Furthermore, as per the various funding agreements, the provinces have committed to conducting evaluations to demonstrate the impact of this funding. | |
| Improving Affordable Access to Prescription Drugs Program | N/A | $ 10,700,000 | This is time limited funding (August 2021 to March 2025) and is funding transferred to PEI for an area that is under their jurisdiction and for which Health Canada has no decision-making role. | |
| National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases Program | N/A | $ 481,316,081 | The timing for the evaluation will be determined during the development of a future Departmental Evaluation Plan. | |
| Canada Health Act Administration | N/A | $ 1,659,838 | HC's activities have focused on the administration of the Act, such as monitoring for compliance. On an annual basis, the federal Minister of Health is required to report to Parliament on the administration and operation of the Canada Health Act, which provides good oversight on this activity. | |
| Healthy People & Communities ($339,253,435) |
Pan-Canadian Health Organizations | 2023-24 | $55,422,655 | N/A |
| Health Care Policy and Strategies Program | 2023-24 | $ 46,261,118 | N/A | |
| Canadian Thalidomide Survivors Support Program | 2024-25 | $14,995,107 | N/A | |
| Addressing Anti-Indigenous Racism in Health Care | 2025-26 | $9,300,000 | N/A | |
| Action Plan for Official Languages | 2027-28 | $38,818,752 | N/A | |
| Canada Dental Care Plan | N/A | $108,969,842 | The timing for the evaluation will be determined during the development of a future Departmental Evaluation Plan. | |
| Wellness Together Canada (WTC) | N/A | $65,485,961 | The timing for the evaluation will be determined during the development of a future Departmental Evaluation Plan. An external expert panel review of the WTC Portal was conducted in 2020-21. | |
| Quality Health Science, Data & Evidence $189,058,469 |
Pan-Canadian Health Organizations | 2023-24 | $107,624,479 | N/A |
| Health Care Policy and Strategies Program | 2023-24 | $43,599,326 | N/A | |
| Blood Research and Development Program | 2027-28 | $14,475,500 | N/A | |
| Canada Brain Research Fund Program | N/A | $ 23,359,164 | Program authorities are set to expire in 2025-26. This extension was secured during the most recent program evaluation conducted in 2021-22. | |
| Health Protection and Promotion ($737,245,846) | ||||
| Pharmaceutical Drugs ($63,375,859) |
Pharmaceutical Drugs Program – Human and Veterinary Drugs | 2023-24 | $62,514,494 | N/A |
| ROEB Occupational Health and Safety Program for Inspections and Other Field Activities | 2025-26 | $861,365 | N/A | |
| Biologics and Radiopharmaceutical Drugs ($41,245,162) |
Biologics and Radiopharmaceutical Drugs Program | 2024-25 | $41,245,162 | N/A |
| Medical Devices ($14,673,928) |
Medical Devices Program | 2025-26 | $14,673,928 | N/A |
| Natural Health Products ($18,379,851) |
Natural Health Products Program | 2026-27 | $18,379,851 | N/A |
| Food Safety and Nutrition ($63,220,033) | Food and Nutrition Program – Food Safety | 2024-25 | $58,177,147 | N/A |
| Food & Nutrition Program - Nutrition Policy | 2027-28 | $4,789,458 | N/A | |
| Impact Assessment and Regulatory Processes (IARP) Horizontal Initiative | 2027-28 | $253,428 | N/A | |
| Air Quality ($19,611,486) |
Addressing Air Pollution Horizontal Initiative | 2025-26 | $18,055,690 | N/A |
| Adapting to Impacts of Climate Change (Roll-up of Departmental evaluations) | 2026-27 | $1,555,796 | N/A | |
| Climate Change ($2,917,586) |
Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program | 2025-26 | $2,917,586 | N/A |
| Water Quality ($2,653,871) |
Chemicals Management Plan | 2023-24 | $2,653,871 | N/A |
| Health Impacts of Chemicals ($73,574,571) |
Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan: Phase IV | 2023-24 | $1,631,903 | N/A |
| Chemicals Management Plan | 2023-24 | $61,775,549 | N/A | |
| Genomics Research and Development Initiative | 2025-26 | $684,698 | N/A | |
| Horizontal Evaluation for Advancing a Circular Plastics Economy - led by ECCC | 2026-27 | $2,551,259 | N/A | |
| Impact Assessment and Regulatory Processes (IARP) Horizontal Initiative | 2027-28 | $6,119,098 | N/A | |
| Implementation of the Next Phase of the Oceans Protection Plan | N/A | $812,064 | The timing for the evaluation will be determined during the development of a future Departmental Evaluation Plan. | |
| Consumer Product Safety ($32,534,760) |
Consumer Product Safety Program | 2027-28 | $32,534,760 | N/A |
| Workplace Hazardous Products ($3,871,716) |
Workplace Hazardous Products Program | 2026-27 | $3,871,716 | N/A |
| Tobacco Control (including vaping) ($31,011,040) |
Health Portfolio's Tobacco and Vaping Activities | 2025-26 | $31,011,040 | N/A |
| Controlled Substances ($178,451,985) |
Horizontal Evaluation of the Canadian Drugs and Substance Strategy (including the overdose crisis in Canada) | 2027-28 | $178,451,985 | N/A |
| Cannabis ($102,533,126) |
Horizontal Evaluation of the Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis | 2027-28 | $102,533,126 | N/A |
| Radiation Protection ($19,362,796) |
Radiation Protection Activities | 2024-25 | $19,362,796 | N/A |
| Pesticides ($48,820,354) |
Pesticides Program | 2024-25 | $48,820,354 | N/A |
| Specialized Health Services and Internationally Protected Persons Program ($21,007,722) |
Specialized Health Services | N/A | $21,007,722 | No requirement to inform major policy or spending decisions. Low enterprise risk. |
Footnotes
- Footnote 1
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To obtain detailed estimates on program budgets, annual data for 2023-24 is presented. This financial data was extracted by the Chief Financial Officer Branch on April 3, 2023. As a result, these budget figures may not fully align with those contained in other corporate reporting documents such as the Departmental Plan, the Departmental Results Report, or the Three-Year Transfer Payment Program Plan.
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