February 5, 2009
Ottawa – The Honourable Vic Toews, President of the Treasury Board, today tabled in the House of Commons 91 Departmental Performance Reports on behalf of federal departments and agencies. The President also tabled the 2007-08 Canada's Performance Report.
"Our Government is committed to providing better information to parliamentarians, and all Canadians, about the use of their hard-earned tax dollars," said Minister Toews.
"We have made improvements to the Departmental Performance Reports over the last few years, streamlining reporting to ensure the reports provide concise and meaningful information. These improvements are an integral part of sound management and responsible spending. They reflect our commitment to accountability and delivering results for Canadians," said Minister Toews.
Reporting to Parliament through Departmental Performance Reports, at the end of the fiscal year, is the primary means for federal departments and agencies to inform parliamentarians and Canadians of departmental performance based on plans and expected results articulated in the yearly departmental Reports on Plans and Priorities.
The federal government's overall contribution to Canada is outlined in the 2007-08 Canada's Performance Report. This report provides an overview of government spending in the areas of economic affairs, social affairs, international affairs and government affairs and identifies which organizations work in these areas. The on-line version of the report includes links to the 91 Departmental Performance Reports and other related program information.
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For more information, contact:
Christine Csversko
Director of Communications
Office of the President of the Treasury Board
(613) 957-2666
Robert Makichuk
Chief, Media Relations
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
(613) 957-2391
If there is a discrepancy between any printed version and the electronic version of this news release, the electronic version will prevail.
The President of the Treasury Board has tabled 91 performance reports in Parliament on behalf of departments and agencies of the Government of Canada.[1] Reporting to Parliament through Departmental Performance Reports is a primary means to inform parliamentarians and Canadians of departmental performance. The 2007-08 Departmental Performance Reports are based on the plans and expected results set out in the 2007-08 Reports on Plans and Priorities tabled on March 29, 2007.
The Government of Canada is continuing to implement its new expenditure management system that ensures parliamentarians receive better information to help them hold the government accountable. The commitment to provide better information to Parliament is reflected by the many improvements made to Departmental Performance Reports over the last few years. In particular, the government has:
- Increased the focus on the progress of organizations towards achieving their strategic outcomes by improving alignment between resources and results, and improving how information on results links to the organisation's plans and priorities;
- Reduced the reporting burden by introducing a streamlined reporting approach. The streamlined format encourages departments to hyperlink to additional details, allowing the documents to be more strategic;
- Issued an updated Performance Reporting: Good Practices Handbook as a practical resource on reporting standards for departments; and,
- Issued the 2007-08 Canada's Performance Report as a strategic overview of the Departmental Performance Reports.
The Estimates Process
The Government of Canada is committed to sound management and responsible spending of tax dollars and to increasing transparency and accountability. Consequently, parliamentary reporting has been improved to better meet the information needs of parliamentarians and better support them in their oversight of the use of public funds. It is important for parliamentarians – and by extension all Canadians – to understand what the government is doing, why it is doing it, and what results are being achieved.
That is why the government tables in Parliament a number of key documents that explain the government's objectives and then reports on progress against those stated aims. This is known as the Estimates process.
Each year, the government prepares Estimates in support of its request to Parliament for authority to spend public funds. They consist of three parts:
Part I – The Government Expense Plan provides an overview of federal spending and summarizes the relationship of the key elements of the Main Estimates to the current Expense Plan.
Part II – The Main Estimates identify the spending authorities (votes) and amounts at the departmental levels to be included in subsequent appropriation bills. In the normal cycle, Part I and II of the Estimates are tabled concurrently on or before March 1.
In addition, Supplementary Estimates can be tabled during the fiscal year in support of an Appropriation Act seeking new spending authorities or adjustments to appropriations previously approved by Parliament.
Part III – Departmental Expenditure Plans are divided into two components:
1) Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPPs) are individual expenditure plans for each department and agency (excluding Crown corporations). They describe departmental priorities, expected results and the associated resource requirements covering a three-year period. These documents are normally tabled in the spring.
2) Departmental Performance Reports (DPRs) are individual department and agency accounts of accomplishments against plans and expected results set out in their Report on Plans and Priorities. Departmental Performance Reports provide information on how the department or agency is progressing towards its strategic goals – also known as strategic outcomes. The Departmental Performance Reports cover the most recently completed fiscal year and are normally tabled in the fall.
Canada's Performance Report is produced every year and serves as an overview of Departmental Performance Reports. It draws linkages between departmental resources and results detailed in the Departmental Performance Reports so that parliamentarians and Canadians get an accurate and concise assessment of the government's overall performance.
Clear reporting to Parliament on government performance in the delivery of programs is an important part of sound management. The government continues to seek ways to improve parliamentary reporting to allow Parliament to be in a better position to scrutinize spending and ensure accountability.
[1] The President of the Treasury Board tables these reports in Parliament, but each minister is responsible for the information in his or her own department's report. Crown corporations do not prepare Departmental Performance Reports; they report to Parliament separately by way of annual reports.
