National Film Board of Canada – 2021–2022 – Departmental Plan
The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Canadian Heritage
© National Film Board of Canada, 2020
Cat. No. NF1-4E-PDF
ISSN 2371-6479
From the Minister
As Minister of Canadian Heritage, I am pleased to present the 2021‒2022 Departmental Plan for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The worldwide health crisis has had a major impact on us as people and as a society. It has affected every part of our economy. It is with this reality in mind that the organizations in the Canadian Heritage Portfolio, including the NFB, are preparing to carry out their respective mandates. There are countless challenges in this changing environment, but I know these organizations are redoubling their efforts to support the Canadian arts, culture, heritage and communications sectors.
The NFB has been documenting significant moments in Canada’s history for eight decades, and the COVID-19 crisis is no exception. In response to the crisis, the NFB is producing a series about life during the pandemic, while taking steps to make its audiovisual works more easily accessible to audiences online.
With the launch of its 2020–2023 Strategic Plan, the NFB is further advancing its goals of creation and innovation as Canada’s public producer and distributor. The objectives outlined in the plan include strengthening the NFB’s leading role in storytelling, ensuring that the voices of Canadian creators are readily found and heard, and producing innovative works that foster discussion and encourage learning. Renewing its relationship with creators, forging closer connections with its audiences and ensuring the spread of their works, and of Canada, internationally will remain among the NFB’s top priorities. And while its programming has long been a testament to Canadian cultural and linguistic diversity, the NFB has also pledged to further its diversity and inclusion commitments and objectives, to ensure they’re embedded in all aspects of organizational life in the coming years.
I encourage you to read this plan and learn more about the NFB’s activities and priorities in the coming year. As you will see, this organization is committed to serving the Government of Canada’s objectives in supporting our two official languages and numerous Indigenous languages as well as striving for an equitable, inclusive society whose strength is in its diversity.
The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
From the Commissioner
The year 2020 has seen massive changes resulting not only from the COVID-19 pandemic, but also from environmental crises and from the important demands of Indigenous people and underrepresented groups—and there is no doubt that Canada, like the rest of the world, will emerge from this year transformed. At the NFB, we want to help ensure these changes are positive and constructive, and that they engage our sense of civic duty and contribute to our collective well-being. Our 2020-2023 Strategic Plan, entitled “New Ways of Storytelling for New Ways of Seeing”, outlines how the NFB aims to be the best possible forum for the expression of all aspects of these changes, and thus help Canadians to better understand one another so that we can better invent our future together. For the NFB to achieve these goals, the perspective of our artists and the expertise of our employees will be equally essential.
In terms of creation, our first objective in the coming year will be to enable as many viewpoints as possible to be expressed and as many voices as possible to be heard. We will pursue this objective without faltering in our responsibilities toward Canada’s Indigenous, linguistic, racialized and underrepresented communities. While continuing to pursue our goal of gender parity, at the start of the year we will be announcing firm commitments to diversity and inclusion and launching our next three-year Indigenous Action Plan with the goal of redefining our relationships with Canada’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.
In terms of distribution, we will be emphasizing greater proximity to our audiences, to better connect them with NFB works that relate to their areas of interest. By continuously refining our distribution and marketing strategies and applying better research tools, we will reach wider audiences, spark new discussions and encourage debate about the issues that matter most to Canadians.
To support all these goals, we will be implementing our new 2021–2025 Technology Plan, which is designed to provide the NFB’s employees, production teams, creators and experts with the best possible tools to operate in an environment that is constantly changing but full of potential.
Yet another important objective is to provide NFB staff with a workplace that is not only inspiring but also diverse, inclusive, respectful and free of any form of harassment and systemic racism. This is more than just a goal—it is a duty.
Lastly, in the coming year, in co-operation with our partners in the industry, we will establish discussion and consultation mechanisms to foster regular, constructive dialogue with the creative communities.
We intend to be, more than ever before, one of the world’s greatest creative laboratories—an incubator for talent and an agent for change in the lives of Canadians.
Claude Joli-Coeur
Government Film Commissioner and
Chairperson of the National Film Board of Canada
Plans at a glance
Operationalize the NFB’s 2020–2023 Strategic Plan by producing yearly action plans for each of its divisions.
Renew the NFB’s approach to programming and enrich its experience of creation
- Launch the National Programming Group, in order to have a shared vision of trends and a global perspective on projects.
- Offer a true “NFB experience” by promoting a lively and inclusive creative environment.
- Produce works that reflect original perspectives on Canadian realities, renew the NFB’s relationship with Indigenous people, support the vitality of official-language minority communities, and maintain gender equality, while establishing firm and very high targets for racial equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Maintain the NFB’s leadership in experimentation and innovation.
- Support emerging Canadian filmmakers by offering them a practical and professional creative experience.
Improve accessibility and discoverability of NFB content on digital platforms
- Reach more Canadians, foster greater proximity with NFB audiences, and better connect them to NFB works based on their interests.
- Increase access to NFB productions and visibility on various online platforms, including social media.
- Put in place a business-intelligence initiative to help the NFB gain more insight into its audiences’ consumption habits and areas of interest in order to improve its potential to engage with them.
- Launch two new modules for Ocean School, the NFB’s online educational experience about the world of ocean and science.
- Roll out the NFB’s new educational offer: the Media School – Digital Storytelling online learning program and the pilot phase of the Indigenous Voices and Reconciliation learning program.
Become a vector for change in diversity and inclusion
- Implement diversity and inclusion commitments and objectives that seek to create lasting change and an equitable and inclusive workplace, including the creation of a senior position that reports directly to the Commissioner and is responsible for implementing equity and anti-racist practices.
- Continue to work with the Indigenous Advisory Committee to draft a new three-year Indigenous Action Plan. An internal liaison position for Indigenous affairs will be created to forge closer ties with Indigenous communities and to seek advice on issues related to production and distribution at the NFB.
Promote a healthy work environment that supports employee wellness, and provide new training on the NFB’s revised Policy on the Prevention and Resolution of Workplace Harassment and Violence.
Begin the implementation of the NFB’s 2021–2025 Technology Plan to meet the technological challenges of a constantly evolving work environment and allow the organization to achieve its strategic objectives for the creation and distribution of audiovisual works.
For more information on the National Film Board of Canada’s plans, priorities and planned results, see the “Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks” section of this report.
Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks
This section contains detailed information on the department’s planned results and resources for each of its core responsibilities. It also contains information on key risks related to achieving those results.
Audiovisual Programming and Production
Description
The National Film Board’s mandate is to create relevant and innovative audiovisual content that interprets Canada and its diversity to Canadians and people around the world. The National Film Board works with filmmakers and artists from every region of Canada to produce exceptional documentaries, animated films, and interactive/immersive works rooted in Canadian experiences and realities. The National Film Board has long been a champion of technological and film innovation, both nationally and internationally. The National Film Board seeks to reflect the perspectives and experiences of communities that are systematically under-represented in the media and to develop innovative new storytelling forms and approaches.
Planning highlights
The year 2021–2022 will be marked by a spirit of openness and renewal in the areas of programming and audiovisual creation. The restructuring of the Creation and Innovation Division—bringing together all the studios in the English and French programs—will allow for improvements to the way expertise is shared and to best practices in the fields of documentary, auteur animation, and interactive and immersive production. The new Director General, Julie Roy, will bring vision and renewed leadership to the division as the organization’s new three-year Strategic Plan is being implemented.
Renewing our approach to programming and enriching our experience of creation
One of the priorities of the 2020–2023 Strategic Plan is to ensure programming is cohesive, integrated, and responsive. To this end, the recently launched Strategic Programming Forums and the soon-to-be-launched National Programming Group will draw on the participation of key actors, both internal and external to the NFB, in order to have a shared vision of trends and a global perspective on projects. The NFB’s outstanding reputation as a creative space that’s unique in the world rests in part on providing the highest quality professional supervision and support. These will be strengthened through a unifying initiative centred on the role of creators at the NFB. In the wake of comments made by members of the independent film community during the Commissioner’s 2020 cross-Canada tour, the organization wishes to provide a true “NFB experience,” promoting a lively and inclusive creative environment.
In addition to its commitments to gender parity, renewing its relationships with Indigenous people, and supporting the vitality of official-language minority communities, the NFB will set very high targets for racial equity, diversity, and inclusion, to ensure better representation of the great diversity of voices that form the wealth of our country.
Producing works that offer original perspectives on Canadian realities, while creating a powerful bond of engagement with the Canadian public
From St. John’s to Vancouver, the NFB’s 10 studios will work with talented creators to produce titles reflecting the many cultures and perspectives that together make up Canada. Over the next year, a number of projects expressing crucial points of view will be launched. These include the feature-length documentary Nin Auass, an intimate portrait of early childhood in a number of Indigenous communities, from director Kim O’Bomsawin; Kimmapiiyiptssini, by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, which looks at the opioid crisis in the Blood Tribe in Alberta; and the feature documentary We Are Family, directed by Marie Clements and co-written by Niall McNeill, a professional artist with Down Syndrome, which explores the artistic collaboration between Clements and McNeill from different perspectives, and explores the bond between them.
Two feature documentaries directed by renowned filmmakers will examine, each in their own unique way, our connections with memory and with traditional media. Colour of Ink, by Brian D. Johnson, tells the story of ink by following Jason Logan, something of a contemporary alchemist, who gathers pigments from unlikely places. Meanwhile, the highly personal essay Au-delà du papier, by Oana Suteu Khintirian, turns to the repercussions of the disappearance of paper on personal and collective memory.
The NFB will continue to support emerging Canadian creators in documentary, animation, and new media, by offering them a practical and professional creative experience. Over the coming year, the NFB will produce the film Loca, by Véronique Paquette, a filmmaker who came out of a special edition of the Cinéaste recherché(e) competition aimed at emerging female animation filmmakers. This experimental film uses new technologies and explores the creative uses of artificial intelligence. In addition, a new edition of the English Animation Studio’s Hothouse competition, targeted at emerging animation filmmakers, will be launched next year; its format remains to be determined.
Maintaining the NFB’s leadership in experimentation and innovation
The NFB is a unique creative place, one that allows artists from anywhere in the country to exercise their talents through the production of bold and innovative works. In 2021–2022, two particularly notable productions will explore technology and diverse formats. In the era of omnipresent artificial intelligence, the NFB will offer a foray into the world of AI with Sandra Rodriguez’s Chomsky vs. Chomsky, which looks at the possibilities, limits, and downsides of this technology. Also worth noting is Wayfinder, a poetic and playful web experience that blurs the lines between video game, animated short, and digital installation. This work by Matt DesLauriers will allow audience members to contemplate their relationship with the environment through a character who explores the Canadian wilderness.
Intensify strategic partnerships to support production and engage audiences
The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for the audiovisual industry, both in Canada and globally. The extraordinary circumstances of lockdowns, travel restrictions, and social distancing have affected some projects, including Traces, an artistic installation that was to have been shown at the Canadian pavilion as part of Expo 2020. Created in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, this immersive work was conceived by Kanva in collaboration with creator Étienne Paquette, with the goal of raising awareness on the subject of ecosystem degradation caused by climate change. The Expo has been postponed for a year, and is now slated to run from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022. This large-scale installation will remain part of the Canadian pavilion’s cultural program and its visitor experience.
Finally, Second souffle, the third work created as part of the partnership between the NFB and Space for Life, will wrap up production in 2021–2022. This immersive interactive work conceived by Mélanie Crespin and Alexandre Burton will be shown as part of the Pathway to Phytotechnologies, a high-profile project of the Montreal Botanical Garden.
Gender-based analysis plus
The NFB aims to give a voice to communities that are systematically underrepresented in the media landscape, both in front of and behind the camera, such as women filmmakers, Indigenous peoples, official-language minority communities, ethnocultural communities, sexual minorities (LGBTQ2) and people living with disabilities. The NFB’s programming bears witness to Canadian diversity and contributes to the country’s social cohesion.
Over the course of the last few years, the NFB has put in place additional standards to support gender parity and official-language minority communities, and to redefine its relationship with Indigenous people. This year will bring firm diversity and inclusion commitments. It goes without saying that GBA+ will form an integral part of these measures.
United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The NFB subscribes to the principles and goals of the United Nations’ Agenda for Sustainable Development. As a public producer and distributor, the NFB helps to promote social harmony in Canada. The goal of the institution is to give a voice to communities that are systematically underrepresented in the media landscape and to deal with subjects that resonate strongly with Canadian society. As a public organization, the NFB also believes that, through its works, it can act as a catalyst for change and contribute to the pursuit of the common good and the wellbeing of society (SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). Through its works, the NFB explores issues that impact the entire planet, such as global warming, which is addressed in some modules of its production Ocean School (SDG 13: Climate Change).
Over the last few years, the NFB has laid the foundation for new approaches and made firm commitments to highlight the country’s great diversity and promote gender equality and a greater range of perspectives (SDG 5: Gender Equality). As part of its commitment to redefine its relationship with Indigenous people, the NFB will launch a new three-year term for its Indigenous Action Plan, which is inspired by best practices in production, distribution and organizational change (SDG 16). This year, the NFB will also launch its Diversity and Inclusion Plan, aimed at fighting systemic racism, ensuring greater visibility for racialized groups, and better reflecting the richness and diversity of Canadian society (SDG 16).
Experimentation
The NFB is known as one of the world’s great creative laboratories, and it will continue to experiment with new technologies and push the boundaries of innovation. The experimental work Telekinesium, by filmmaker Nicolas Brault, will begin production in 2021–2022. The work, which will be installed in an as-yet-to-be-determined public space, offers a telekinetic experience, allowing users to manipulate objects using only their thoughts. This project presents technical challenges and involves the participation of experts in neuroscience, as it uses the latest medical technologies in the service of creative expression.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFB quickly took steps to limit the pandemic’s effects on production activities and to ensure that filmmakers and technical teams could continue to safely work remotely. To that end, some elements of the Technology Development Plan were introduced ahead of schedule, in order to continue to produce content at a distance. Filmmakers and technical staff were able to virtually connect with online editing programs, thereby successfully creating, producing, and launching short films made during the lockdown. Having put these new methods of distance collaboration to the test, the NFB will continue to experiment with them in 2021–2022, producing works in longer formats, such as medium-length and feature-length films.
Key risk(s)
For several years, the main concern of the NFB’s key stakeholders—Canadian creators and filmmakers, and the independent filmmaking community in general—has been a steady decrease in production budgets. The current context, in which all Canadian cultural industry stakeholders are facing the economic impacts and uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, could exacerbate the risk that the NFB’s Audiovisual Programming and Production budget allocation may not meet the expectations of creators and filmmakers. The NFB is mitigating the risk of negative stakeholder reactions with an active stakeholder-engagement strategy and a renewed approach to enhancing creators’ experience in the workplace.
Other COVID-19 pressures include the adoption of an organization-wide teleworking policy to ensure the health and safety of employees and creators. This has resulted in additional expenses related to the implementation of optimal technological tools for the creation and distribution of audiovisual content at a distance. The NFB is mitigating the risk of exacerbating its existing financial pressures by reallocating the small amount of savings obtained as a result of travel restrictions (for instance, cancelled festivals).
| Departmental Results | Departmental result indicator | Target | Date to achieve target | 2017–18 actual results |
2018–19 actual results |
2019–20 actual results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The National Film Board works reflect pan-Canadian perspectives | Percentage of works directed by filmmakers and artists from Quebec | 32%–45% | March 31, 2022 | 55% | 44% | 49% |
| Percentage of works directed by filmmakers and artists from Ontario | 14%–21% | March 31, 2022 | 12% | 18% | 16% | |
| Percentage of works directed by filmmakers and artists from the Atlantic region | 11%-17% | March 31, 2022 | 9% | 10% | 8% | |
| Percentage of works directed by filmmakers and artists from the Canadian Prairies, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories | 8%-15% | March 31, 2022 | 10% | 10% | 10% | |
| Percentage of works directed by filmmakers and artists from British Columbia and the Yukon | 11%-21% | March 31, 2022 | 14% | 18% | 17% | |
| The National Film Board is a global centre of excellence in audiovisual production | Number of awards won at festivals/award ceremonies | 100 | March 31, 2022 | 154 | 124 | 123 |
| The NFB supports Canadian industry talent and cultural diversity | Percentage of completed productions directed by emerging filmmakers and artists | 25% | March 31, 2022 | 40% | 31% | 51% |
| Percentage of completed productions directed by Indigenous filmmakers and artists | 15% | March 31, 2022 | 14% | 10% | 19% | |
| Percentage of completed productions directed by women | 50% | March 31, 2022 | 42% | 34% | 51% |
Financial, human resources and performance information for the NFB’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.
| 2021–22 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates) | 2021–22 planned spending |
2022–23 planned spending |
2023–24 planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35,025,096 | 35,025,096 | 35,096,499 | 35,096,499 |
Main Estimates and Planned Spending include adjustments for statutory salary revisions as confirmed in the Annual Reference Level Update.
Financial, human resources and performance information for the NFB’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.
| 2021–22 planned full-time equivalents |
2022–23 planned full-time equivalents |
2023–24 planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|
| 152 | 152 | 152 |
Planned human resources reflect the implementation of a new organizational structure in order to adopt a national vision and programming framework.
Financial, human resources and performance information for the NFB’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.
Content Accessibility and Audience Engagement
Description
The National Film Board strives to ensure that Canadians from all regions have access to its works across a range of formats. Understanding audiences and their consumption habits, making content available on a variety of platforms, and calling attention to National Film Board productions are thus intrinsic to the organization’s mandate. The National Film Board has a rich collection of over 13,000 titles that constitutes an essential component of Canada’s cultural heritage. Preserving these works for the enjoyment of Canadians and people around the world, both today and in the future, falls under the mandate conferred to the National Film Board under the National Film Act.
Planning highlights
Reinventing how the NFB markets, presents and distributes its works
As outlined in its new Strategic Plan, the NFB intends to build on the successes of previous years and reach more Canadians, foster greater proximity with its audiences, and better connect them to NFB works based on their interests. A continual review of its distribution and marketing strategies will enhance the NFB’s ability to engage with audiences and see to it that they can find NFB works online more easily and rapidly. Ultimately, the organization wants to ensure that the films it produces reach a greater number of viewers, generate discussion, and encourage debate on issues of importance to Canadians.
In 2021–2022, the NFB will continue to use a variety of distribution channels, including traditional avenues such as festivals, theatres, television broadcasts, schools, public screenings, and community screenings, to spark dialogue and connect with Canadians. It will continue to harness the potential of new digital platforms and technologies to increase its audiences online, while enriching its content on NFB.ca, its flagship online space and preferred point of access to the NFB collection.
Improve accessibility and discoverability of NFB content on digital platforms
The accessibility and discoverability of its works is a central concern for the NFB. In 2021–2022, the organization will work to increase access to its productions and improve discoverability on digital platforms, where more and more Canadians are consuming their audiovisual content. It will seek to augment its presence and visibility on various online platforms, including social media.
To get closer to the public, the NFB needs to better understand its diverse audiences and, in turn, meet them where they are. In 2021–2022, the NFB will put in place different strategies to develop its data-gathering capacity, one of them being the implementation of an innovative business-intelligence initiative to improve its potential to engage with its audiences, by gaining more insight into their consumption habits and areas of interest.
The NFB’s new educational offer: a learning destination for Canadians
Over the last few years, the NFB has been reimagining how it provides its educational content, placing the learner at the centre of the process while promoting critical thinking and global citizenship. NFB Education offers accessible resources—developed in consultation with Canadian educators—to both the education community and students and parents.
In 2021–2022, Ocean School, NFB’s interactive and immersive online educational experience about the world of ocean science and culture, will be releasing two new modules: The Harvest, on salmon and herring and their roles as keystone cultural species, and Biodiversity, on the importance of biodiversity and its relationship to climate change. In addition, the NFB will focus on growing the impact and reach of the Ocean School project throughout North America.
In 2021–2022, the NFB will also be rolling out Media School – Digital Storytelling, a new online learning program for students and teachers who want an introduction to creating relevant, engaged media productions. In addition, the NFB will be launching the pilot phase of the Indigenous Voices and Reconciliation learning program, which provides an Indigenous perspective on Indigenous history and culture. This resource will give students the knowledge, tools and critical-thinking skills they need to understand the history and contemporary experience of Indigenous cultures and peoples in Canada. Both online programs were originally planned for 2020–2021.
Conservation and preservation
The NFB completed the digitization of its active collection in time for the relocation of its conservation room in November 2019. As this target has been fully met, in 2021–2022 the NFB will develop a new indicator to measure this departmental result, drawing from the objectives of its new strategic plan.
In 2021–2022, the NFB will continue to digitize and restore the works in its inactive collection so that they are preserved and accessible to future generations. It will also review more than 14,000 reels of archival footage that bear witness to over a century of Canadian history. It will begin to develop a digitization plan of this material based on its heritage value and its level of physical degradation. This footage is an important resource, not only for NFB audiovisual productions, but also for private-sector film and TV productions, and even for educational uses.
Gender-based analysis plus
The NFB fulfills this core responsibility by distributing audiovisual works that reflect the diverse realities and perspectives of Canadians, particularly those who are underrepresented in the media landscape, including Indigenous peoples, women, people with disabilities, racialized and diverse cultural groups, and the LGBTQ2 community, thereby ensuring these important Canadian stories are seen and heard. Diversity of expression and inclusion are among the institution’s top priorities. Over the years, the NFB has made specific commitments to support gender parity and official-language minority communities, and to redefine its relationship with Indigenous peoples. The gender-based analysis plus process is integral to the NFB’s mandate, and a starting point in carrying out initiatives designed to make Canadian content accessible and discoverable from anywhere in Canada.
United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
As an institution of the Government of Canada, the NFB supports the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The NFB’s audiovisual collection offers insight into the diversity and vitality of Canadian culture and explores a range of topics, including global challenges such as poverty and inequality, climate change, and peace and justice. Through this core responsibility, the NFB intends to reach more Canadians in 2021–2022, foster proximity with its audiences, and raise awareness of its collection, allowing Canadians of all backgrounds to better understand each other and share their points of view. Accordingly, many of the NFB activities planned for 2021–2022 are meant to raise awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (specifically, SDGs 1 through 16).
The NFB believes that, through dialogue and through engagement with its audiovisual works, it can act as a catalyst for change, and contribute to the pursuit of the common good and the wellbeing of society (SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
The NFB’s Strategic Plan reiterates its commitments to create lasting change with regard to diversity and inclusion and gender equity (SDG 5: Gender Equality), and to redefine the NFB’s relationship with Indigenous people (SDG 16).
As a trusted resource for Canada’s educators, the NFB provides Canadian schools with educational resources in both official languages that help promote media literacy and global citizenship (SDG 4: Quality Education). In projects like Ocean School, an innovative, inquiry-based online learning experience designed for students and educators, learners are immersed in the world of ocean science and culture and challenged to explore the impact of climate change on biodiversity. Through this project, the NFB supports SDG 13: Climate Action, as it encourages youth to take positive actions to improve Canadian oceans and their interconnected systems in order to bring about environmental and societal change.
Experimentation
As a public distributor, the NFB often experiments with distribution strategies in new media landscapes where no business models exist. In 2021–2022, the NFB will continue to distribute works in innovative and emerging formats such as virtual and augmented reality, fulldome, and dynamic film, on the specialized platforms that support these formats. It will also explore the revenue potential of new distribution channels, such as location-based entertainment (in which public venues host virtual experiences, allowing users to physically interact with their environment), digital sales for platforms supporting virtual reality, and app stores.
Key risk(s)
In 2020–2021, the COVID lockdowns resulted in a 31.6% decrease in NFB distribution revenue. Hence, the NFB may not be able to fulfill its content-accessibility and audience-engagement activities and objectives in 2021–2022, given that the restrictions associated with the pandemic are ongoing, leading to cancelled theatrical releases and industry events, and fewer sales opportunities. Making content accessible online more easily and rapidly will partially mitigate this risk (see abovementioned distribution strategies in Planning Highlights).
| Departmental result | Departmental result indicator | Target | Date to achieve target | 2017–18 actual result |
2018–19 actual result |
2019–20 actual result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The NFB works are accessible on digital platforms | Number of titles offered online | 5,000 | March 31, 2022 | 4,182 | 4,368 | 4,888 |
| The NFB works are viewed around the world | Number of views of NFB works | 70,500,000 | March 31, 2022 | 68,053,296 | 73,711,564 | 81,335,869 |
| Percentage of Canadians who confirm having watched a NFB production in the last year | 20% | March 31, 2022 | 20% | 20% | 20% | |
| The NFB forges relationships with its online audiences | Number of interactions between the NFB and its online audiences | 10,000,000 | March 31, 2022 | Not available (First year of results available in 2018-19) |
12,501,527 | 12,273,296 |
| The NFB works are conserved and their longevity assured for future generations. | Percentage of digitized works in the active collection | 99.9% | March 31, 2022 | 92% | 99.9% | 99.9% |
| Percentage of digitized works in the total collection | 83% | March 31, 2022 | 66% | 73% | 79% |
Financial, human resources and performance information for the NFB’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.
| 2021–22 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates) |
2021–22 planned spending |
2022–23 planned spending |
2023–24 planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20,935,568 | 20,935,568 | 21,011,502 | 21,011,502 |
Main Estimates and Planned Spending include adjustments for statutory salary revisions as confirmed in the Annual Reference Level Update.
Financial, human resources and performance information for the NFB’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.
| 2021–22 planned full-time equivalents |
2022–23 planned full-time equivalents |
2023–24 planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|
| 164 | 164 | 164 |
Planned human resources reflect the implementation of a new organizational structure that centralizes technological expertise in order to advance the development of digital platforms.
Financial, human resources and performance information for the NFB’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.
Internal Services: planned results
Description
Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of Programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct services that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. These services are:
- Management and Oversight Services
- Communications Services
- Legal Services
- Human Resources Management Services
- Financial Management Services
- Information Management Services
- Information Technology Services
- Real Property Management Services
- Materiel Management Services
- Acquisition Management Services
Planning highlights
New Ways of Storytelling for New Ways of Seeing
The NFB’s 2020–2023 Strategic Plan envisions the organization as a focal point for the creative expression of the profound societal transformations occurring in Canada and the rest of the world. Guided by the two strategic pillars and seven commitments outlined in the plan, the NFB will ensure that the works it produces and distributes represent as many voices as possible, and are seen by as many Canadians as possible—to help us better understand each other and better shape our shared future. Over the next three years, the NFB will craft new ways of storytelling for new ways of seeing to address the changes transforming the nation. In 2021–2022, the organization intends to operationalize the plan by producing yearly action plans for each of its divisions, with concrete measures to achieve intended results.
A vector for change in diversity and inclusion
Diversity and inclusion are the driving forces of the organization’s renewal. In 2020–2021, to address the systemic racism that has long been present in Canada’s cultural institutions, including the NFB, the organization articulated a set of diversity and inclusion commitments and objectives that seek to create lasting change and an equitable and inclusive workplace, one that’s free of racism and discrimination directed at racialized, Indigenous and minority groups. Over the course of 2021–2022, the organization will begin carrying out these commitments, including the creation of a senior position that reports directly to the Commissioner and is responsible for implementing equity and anti-racist practices. It will put in place recruitment measures to ensure that by March 31, 2023, NFB staff (particularly management) fully reflect Canadian society, prioritizing employment of BIPOC and LGBTQ2 individuals and people from underrepresented groups. In addition, the NFB will be providing resources and training in 2021–2022 to ensure that all employees learn about the history and currency of racism in our society.
The NFB will continue its work with the Indigenous Advisory Committee in 2021–2022, drafting a new three-year Indigenous Action Plan to address Indigenous creators’ longstanding concerns about systemic inequities in the existing Canadian production landscape. An internal liaison position for Indigenous affairs will be created to forge closer ties with Indigenous communities and advise on issues related to production and distribution at the NFB. The organization will also continue to meet its gender-parity commitments and collaborate with official-language minority communities while promoting linguistic duality.
Transformation of HR management practices
In order to support this organizational transformation, the NFB will be revamping its HR management practices, and particularly its employee-performance management process, to align employee objectives with organizational priorities. Performance evaluations will take into account behaviours associated with the organization’s core values, as defined in the new strategic plan. These values will be embodied in staff’s day-to-day activities and guiding decisions.
Employee wellness and a healthy work environment
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on staff, both personally and professionally. To promote a healthy work environment that supports employee wellness, in 2020 the NFB’s Workplace Quality of Life and Mental Health Committee began to implement measures based on the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, which was developed in collaboration with the Mental Health Commission of Canada. In 2021–2022, the NFB will continue to implement recommendations made with regard to the 14 workplace psychosocial factors proposed in the National Standard, such as psychological and social support, organizational culture, clear leadership and expectations, psychological demands, and growth and development.
To foster a workplace culture that’s free of harassment and violence, the NFB will update its Policy on the Prevention and Resolution of Workplace Harassment and Violence by January 1, 2021, following the passing of Bill C-65 (an act to amend provisions related to harassment and violence in the Canada Labour Code). Training will be provided to all NFB managers and employees throughout 2021–2022; any additional training that may be required will be determined in collaboration with union representatives, as well as health and safety committees and representatives.
Technology Plan
The pandemic led to the transformation of work practices and accelerated various technology trends. For the NFB, the implementation of its new 2021-2025 Technology Plan is now even more urgent. The plan seeks to meet the technological challenges of a constantly evolving work environment and allow the organization to achieve its strategic objectives for the creation and distribution of audiovisual works. Over the next five years, the NFB will implement innovative technologies (software, network capacity and online storage) to expand the possibilities for collaboration in a virtual work environment with the creator community in Canada and internationally. It will also facilitate remote collaboration between teams at the NFB and support synergy and cohesion within its production, marketing and distribution departments. The NFB will continue its transition to a cloud-based infrastructure and update its various centres and studios throughout Canada, which currently work with unequal and often obsolete technologies.
In 2021–2022, following the implementation of a high-speed network link connecting the NFB’s production studio in Toronto, the conservation room and NFB headquarters, the organization will connect to a fourth creation hub, in Vancouver, providing access to the resources of each and to audiovisual content and virtual production tools. The NFB will also upgrade network access and production equipment at two of its other studios.
| 2021–22 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates) | 2021–22 planned spending |
2022–23 planned spending |
2023–24 planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9,620,848 | 9,620,848 | 9,634,202 | 9,632,967 |
Main Estimates and Planned Spending include adjustments for statutory salary revisions as confirmed in the Annual Reference Level Update.
| 2021–22 planned full-time equivalents |
2022–23 planned full-time equivalents |
2023–24 planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|
| 66 | 66 | 66 |
Planned human resources reflect stabilization of efforts following the implementation of the new SAP financial and material resource management system and the Montreal headquarters’ move.
Spending and human resources
This section provides an overview of the department’s planned spending and human resources for the next three consecutive fiscal years and compares planned spending for the upcoming year with the current and previous years’ actual spending.
Planned spending
Departmental spending 2018–19 to 2023–24
The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory) spending over time.
Text description
Long Description for the Departmental spending trend graph
| Fiscal year | Total | Statutory | Voted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | 70,931,000 | 0 | 70,931,000 |
| 2019-2020 | 71,471,000 | 0 | 71,471,000 |
| 2020-2021 | 69,631,000 | 0 | 69,631,000 |
| 2021-2022 | 65,582,000 | 0 | 65,582,000 |
| 2022-2023 | 65,742,000 | 0 | 65,742,000 |
| 2023-2024 | 65,741,000 | 0 | 65,741,000 |
Planned human resources
The following table shows actual, forecast and planned full-time equivalents (FTEs) for each core responsibility in the NFB’s departmental results framework and to Internal Services for the years relevant to the current planning year.
| Core Responsibilities and Internal Services | 2018–19 actual full-time equivalents |
2019–20 actual full-time equivalents |
2020–21 forecast full-time equivalents |
2021–22 planned full-time equivalents |
2022–23 planned full-time equivalents |
2023–24 planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audiovisual Production and Programming | 154 | 156 | 154 | 152 | 152 | 152 |
| Content Accessibility and Audience Engagement | 170 | 164 | 167 | 164 | 164 | 164 |
| Subtotal | 324 | 320 | 321 | 316 | 316 | 316 |
| Internal Services | 75 | 74 | 67 | 66 | 66 | 66 |
| Total | 399 | 394 | 388 | 382 | 382 | 382 |
Additional resources required for internal services for 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 were allocated to several initiatives:
- coordinating the NFB’s organizational transformation;
- implementing the new SAP financial and material resource management system and integrating satellite information systems;
- completing the NFB headquarters move in the fall of 2019 and winter 2020; and
- following the implementation of the new SAP financial and material resource management system, improving administrative and operational processes to meet audiovisual industry practices while complying with government policies and directives.
Planned human resources reflect the implementation of a new organizational structure that adopts a national vision and programming framework and centralizes technological expertise in order to advance the development of digital platforms.
Estimates by vote
Information on the NFB’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2021–22 Main Estimates.
Future-oriented Condensed statement of operations
The future oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of the NFB’s operations for 2020–21 to 2021–22.
The amounts for forecast and planned results in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The amounts for forecast and planned spending presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.
A more detailed future oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on the NFB’s website.
| Financial information | 2020–21 forecast results |
2021–22 planned results |
Difference (2021–22 planned results minus 2020–21 forecast results) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses | 77,098,000 | 72,817,000 | (4,281,000) |
| Total revenues | 4,160,000 | 3,750,000 | (410,000) |
| Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers | 72,938,000 | 69,067,000 | (3,871,000) |
Planned operating expenses in 2021–22 are estimated at $72,817,000 and are lower than expenses forecasted for 2020–21 ($77,098,000). This reduction is mainly driven by funding for critical operating requirements received in 2020-21 in the amount of $4,740,000. The variation in revenues is due to a decrease in known partnership agreements to date, as well as a decrease in audiovisual products linked to the television and consumer markets. The net cost of operations therefore decreased by $3,871,000 between 2020–21 and 2021–22.
Corporate information
Organizational profile
Appropriate Minister: The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, P.C., M.P., Minister of Canadian Heritage
Institutional Head: Claude Joli-Coeur, Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Film Board
Ministerial Portfolio: Canadian Heritage
Enabling Instrument: National Film Act, R.S.C., c. N-8
Year of Incorporation / Commencement: 1939
Other: The NFB Board of Trustees is composed of eight members: the Government Film Commissioner, who acts as the Board’s chairperson, the Executive Director of Telefilm Canada (ex-officio member) and six other members appointed by the Governor in Council. With the exception of the Commissioner and Executive Director of Telefilm Canada, Board members serve three-year terms. The Board’s primary role is to define the NFB’s broad strategic directions and monitor its results. It approves its strategic plans and budgets, among other items.
Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on the NFB’s website.
For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the “Minister’s mandate letter”.
Operating context
Information on the operating context is available on the NFB’s website.
Reporting framework
The NFB’s approved departmental results framework and program inventory for 2020–21 are as follows.
Text description
Long description for the “Reporting framework”
| DEPARTMENTAL RESULTS FRAMEWORK | Core Responsability 1: Audiovisual programming and production | Core Responsability 2: Content accessibility and audience engagement | INTERNAL SERVICES | ||
| Departmental Result: The NFB works reflect pan-Canadian perspectives | Indicator: Percentage of works directed by filmmakers and artists from Quebec | Departmental Result: The NFB works are accessible on digital platforms | Indicator: Number of titles offered online | ||
| Indicator: Percentage of works directed by filmmakers and artists from Ontario | |||||
| Indicator: Percentage of works directed by filmmakers and artists from the Atlantic region | Departmental Result: The NFB works are viewed around the world | Indicator: Number of views of NFB works | |||
| Indicator: Percentage of works directed by filmmakers and artists from the Canadian Prairies, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories | Indicator: Percentage of Canadians who confirm having watched a NFB production in the last year | ||||
| Indicator: Percentage of works directed by filmmakers and artists from British Columbia and the Yukon | Departmental Result: The NFB forges relationships with its online audiences | Indicator: Number of interactions between the NFB and its online audiences | |||
| Departmental Result: The NFB is a global centre of excellence in audiovisual production | Indicator: Number of awards won at festivals/awards ceremonies | ||||
| Departmental Result: The NFB supports Canadian industry talent and cultural diversity | Indicator: Percentage of completed productions directed by emerging filmmakers and artists | Departmental Result: The NFB works are conserved and their longevity assured for future generations | Indicator: Percentage of digitized works in the active collection | ||
| Indicator: Percentage of completed productions directed by Indigenous filmmakers and artists | Indicator: Percentage of digitized works in the total collection | ||||
| Indicator: Percentage of completed productions directed by women | |||||
| PROGRAM INVENTORY | Program: Audiovisual programming and production | Program: Distribution of works and audience engagement | |||
| Program: Promotion of works and NFB outreach | |||||
| Program: Preservation, conservation and digitization of works | |||||
Supporting information on the program inventory
Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to the National Film Board of Canada’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.
Supplementary information tables
The following supplementary information tables are available on the NFB’s website:
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
- Gender-based analysis plus
Federal tax expenditures
The NFB’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures that relate to its planned results for 2021–22.
Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance, and the Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government-wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis. The tax measures presented in this report are solely the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.
Organizational contact information
National Film Board of Canada
1501 De Bleury Street
Montreal, QC H3A 0H3
Telephone: 514-594-8531
Email: reports@onf-nfb.gc.ca
Websites
www.nfb.ca
https://www.canada.ca/en/national-film-board.html
Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/nfb.ca
http://www.twitter.com/thenfb/
https://vimeo.com/thenfb
https://www.youtube.com/user/nfb
https://www.instagram.com/onf_nfb/
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 a department over a 3-year period. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.
departmental priority (priorité ministérielle)
A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Departmental priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.
departmental result (résultat ministériel)
A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.
departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a departmental result.
departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
A framework that consists of the department’s core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.
Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.
experimentation (expérimentation)
The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare, the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works and what doesn’t. Experimentation is related to, but distinct form innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.
full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. Full time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.
gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])
An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.
government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2021–22 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities refers to those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2020 Speech from the Throne, namely: Protecting Canadians from COVID-19; Helping Canadians through the pandemic; Building back better – a resiliency agenda for the middle class; The Canada we’re fighting for.
horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative in which two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.
non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.
performance (rendement)
What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.
performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.
performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)
The process of communicating evidence-based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision-making, accountability and transparency.
plan (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.
planned spending (dépenses prévues)
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.
A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.
program (programme)
Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.
program inventory (répertoire des programmes)
Identifies all of the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.
result (résultat)
An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.
statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.
strategic outcome (résultat stratégique)
A long-term and enduring benefit to Canadians that is linked to the organization’s mandate, vision and core functions.
target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.
voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.