Results of 2020-2021 Organizational Reporting (ADAI – Annex D)

Presentation to Meeting of the Commission (MOC)

December 14, 2021

Objectives

• To provide an overview of the organizational reporting results stemming from Annex D of the Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument (ADAI) for year 5, the 2020-2021 reporting cycle.
• To seek views and direction on the overall conclusions and observations for this cycle’s reporting.

Background

The Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument (ADAI) Annex D requires deputy heads to report yearly on the following areas:

• Exceptions to the national area of selection (NAOS).
• Results of organizational cyclical assessments.
• Any internal investigations, if undertaken in a given year.
• Use of the Public Service Official Languages Exclusion Approval Order (PSOLEAO) and the Public Service Official Languages Appointment Regulations (PSOLAR).

For the 2020-21 cycle, the following elements were added as reporting items for organisations:

• The use of the exemption of the requirement to use the PSC’s second language evaluation tests when assessing second language proficiency in the context of COVID-19 (measure 1).
• The use of the extended validity period for second language evaluation (SLE) in the context of COVID-19 (measure 2).
• Data on non-imperative appointments to monitor the effect on merit with regard to official languages.

Exceptions to National Area of Selection

Context:

• In 2008, the PSC implemented a national area of selection (NAOS) for jobs open to the public, with a provision that DHs request an exception to this requirement from the PSC, on a case-by-case basis.
• In April 2016, the revised Appointment Policy maintained NAOS and gave DHs the authority to approve exceptions.
• The PSC therefore started asking DHs to report annually on the use of this new discretion.
• In 2020-21, DH exceptions to NAOS accounted for 6.9% of all external advertised processes (190/2754)

Table 1 – Exceptions to National Area of Selection

Exceptions Approved by Fiscal Year	Number of Organizations	Number of Exceptions (Processes)	Number of Appointments in Fiscal Year 16-17	Number of Appointments in Fiscal Year 17-18	Number of Appointments in Fiscal Year 18-19	Number of Appointments in Fiscal Year 19-20	Number of Appointments in Fiscal Year 20-21
2016-2017	8	17	18	31	5	0	0
2017-2018	6	43		17	13	2	0
2018-2019	10	67			89	60	4
2019-2020	11	105				151	85
2020-2021	12	190					1292

The use of DH exceptions doubled in 2020-21 (6.9% of all external advertised processes in 2020-21 versus 3.1% of all external advertised processes in 2019-20).

• 33.6% of exceptions were in the prairies, mainly due to positions in RCMP (65%) for clerical positions in rural areas, where there is limited housing, entry-level telecommunications.
• ESDC, Stats Can, and RCMP accounted for 88.4% of exceptions

Main reasons for exceptions were:

• Rural areas (35.2%)
• Special events (32.6%)
• COVID (26.8%)

Other reasons included:

Sufficient pool of candidates; difficulty recruiting & retaining; Relocation cost; other mechanism unsuccessful

Analysis:

• While there is a significant year-over-year increase in exceptions, they are mainly attributable to COVID and unique events (Census and Federal Election).
• RCMP continues to account for a large portion of the overall exceptions. They developed a framework in 2018 to ensure they are used appropriately.

Follow-up:

A decrease occurred as a result of the February 2020 discussions with three organizations who were using the NAOS exception for a large proportion of their externally advertised processes:

• Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (0 exceptions for 3 external job ads)
• Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada (no external job ads)
• Public Prosecution Service of Canada (4 exceptions out of 22 external job ads)

Results of Internal Investigations

As per the ADAI, DHs must report to the PSC on the results of any internal investigations undertaken during the fiscal year, into an error, an omission or improper conduct that affected the selection of the person appointed or proposed for appointment.

For each investigation completed, the PSC asks DHs to report on the following items:

• Group and level of the position to be staffed;
• Whether the matter was founded or unfounded;
• A brief description of the conclusion of the investigation; and
• The corrective action taken to remedy the deficiencies in the appointment process.

While organizations can conduct internal investigations under PSEA s. 15(3), they can also ask the PSC, as per PSEA, s. 67(2), to conduct investigations on their behalf. The DH remains responsible to approve the investigation report and order the corrective actions.

In 2020-2021, Shared Services Canada is the only organization that reported completing 1 internal investigation under subsection 15(3) of the PSEA. This investigation was founded.

The PSC completed 7 investigations under subsection 67(2) of the PSEA at the request of 3 DHs :

• Department of National Defence (3), Indigenous Services Canada (Formerly Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (2) and Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (2)
• 2 of these investigations were founded based on errors and omissions

These results are detailed in the next table.

Table 2 – Results of Internal Investigations

Year	Number of organizations that completed 15(3) investigations	Internal Investigations completed Subsection 15(3)	Number of organizations for which subsection 67(2) investigations were completed	PSC Investigations completed for DH Subsection 67(2)
2017-2018	2	2	3	5
2018-2019	1	4	2	2
2019-2020	1	3	5	6
2020-2021	1	1	3	7

Next Steps

The Investigation directorate will:

• Continue to partner with organizations through outreach activities to help organizations determine if the staffing-related issue falls within their jurisdiction;
• Continue to support our departmental liaisons through targeted training, annual liaison meeting and ongoing collaboration.

Results of the Staffing and Non-Partisanship Survey conducted in May 2021 will provide more information on the extent to which public servants are aware of recourse mechanisms and the reasons underlining their use or lack thereof.

Official Languages

Use of the PSOLEAO and the PSOLAR

There are 3 situations in the Public Service Official Languages Exclusion Approval Order (PSOLEAO) where employees may be excluded from meeting the required level of proficiency in their second official language, following non-imperative appointments. When the individual:

1. Submits an agreement to become bilingual;
2. Is eligible for an immediate annuity; or
3. Is excluded for medical reasons.

DHs must report on the 2 exclusions. As the PSC is responsible for approving exclusions for medical reasons, there is no need for organizations to report on the 3rd item.

• Exclusions that are not compliant with the PSOLEAO and PSOLAR do not respect merit with regard to official language proficiency.

In 2020-2021, 48 of the 76 organizations reported using the PSOLEAO and PSOLAR.

A total of 18 cases were non-compliant in 10 organizations:

• 14 cases are due to extensions that were not approved (or deployment to another position that did not occur) prior to the end of the initial 2-year exemption period (11 cases are now resolved).
• 3 cases are over the maximum 4-year period of the agreement to become bilingual (3 cases now resolved).
• 1 case is a irrevocable resignation for a retirement when eligible for an immediate annuity that did not take place at the end of the 2 year-period (outstanding).

Table 3 – Official Languages

FY	Number of organizations	Number of non-compliant cases
2016-17	6	6
2017-18	3	4
2018-19	6	6
2019-20	12	17
2020-21	10	18

Next Steps

The Policy Division and Staffing Support Division will:

• Continue working in collaboration with organizations to resolve the non-compliant cases.
• Remind organizations that an extension must be approved prior to the end of the initial 2-year exemption period.

Results on the Two Temporary Policy Measures for SLE

In response to the pandemic, the PSC implemented two temporary measures for second official language evaluation (SLE) in March 2020:

• Measure 1: Exemption from the requirement to use PSC SLE tests, and the use of alternate tests by departments and agencies
• Measure 2: Extension of the validity period of expired SLE results. For all appointments over 12 months, results must be confirmed by PSC tests within 24 months of the appointment.

The PSC asked organizations to provide data on employees appointed or deployed using measures 1 and 2 and for measure 2, how many will need to have their SLE results confirmed with the PSC tests within 24 months of their appointments.

Analysis

As of March 31, 2021:

4611 employees were appointed or deployed with the use of measure 1.

3209 employees were appointed or deployed with the use of measure 2.

• 2040 employees will need to confirm the SLE results for either reading, writing and oral interaction or a combination of these tests.

Next Steps

• The Policy division will continue to monitor the use of the temporary measures which have been extended until March 31, 2022.
• The Personnel Psychology Center will continue building capacity to meet the needs of organizations that will require employees to confirm their SLE results.

The PSC’s Transition Measure (Deficit Reduction Action Plan (DRAP))

Between 2012-2015, the PSC implemented a transition measure for alternating employees and for employees with a surplus or lay-off priority entitlement:

• SLE results that were expired were deemed valid, subject to confirmation within 12 months of the alternation or priority appointment.
• This measure was used 501 times.

As of March 31, 2021, there was 4 outstanding cases:

• 1 case was non-compliant (now resolved).
• The remaining 3 cases are on extended leave and the calculation of the 12-month period suspended.

Next Steps

• The Policy Division and Staffing Support Division will continue monitoring outstanding cases until they are all resolved.

Results on Non-imperative Appointments

It has been 5 years since the PSC last asked organizations to report on non-imperative appointments. For 2020-21, the PSC asked organizations to report all non-imperative appointments by group and level and type of appointment processes.

This information allows for the PSC to monitor the impact of various initiatives on the use of non-imperative appointments (e.g. hiring of 5000 persons with a disability, increase the number of bilingual government offices).

A total of 445 non-imperative appointments were made (18 EX, 427 non-EX) which is a significant increase compared to previous data collected over the past 10 years.

313 (70%) of non-imperative appointments were made via a non-advertised appointment process.

• 236 (75%) of non-imperative appointments were made through an internal non-advertised appointment process and 77 (25%) via an external non-advertised.

208 (47%) of all non-imperative appointments occurred in 5 organizations.

EC-07 is the group and level with the most non-imperative appointments.

Table 4 – Number of non-imperative appointments

FY	Number of non-imperative appointments
2011-12	243
2012-13	145
2013-14	126
2014-15	100
2015-20	5 yrs with no data
2020-21	445

Next Steps

The PSC will continue monitoring trends on non-imperative appointments and sharing data with OCHRO’s Official Languages Centre of Expertise.

Details in Appendix 1

Cyclical Assessment Reporting

Requirements

• As part of ADAI reporting requirements, organizations must submit the results of their cyclical assessment every 5 years, at a minimum.
• The 5-year deadline for most organizations to submit at least 1 cyclical assessment was May 1st, 2021; this deadline was extended to October 1st, 2021.

Statistics (as of November 25, 2021)

• Since 2016, the PSC received 70 reports from 66 different organizations.
• 60 organizations whose 5-year deadline was October 1, 2021 were expected to report before the deadline. 48 were conducting their own standard cyclical assessment report and 12 were differing to the PSC for assistance via pilot with Audit.
• There are 7 reports still outstanding, including 5 standard cyclical assessments and 2 from the PSC Cyclical Assessment Pilot Project. Those reports are expected by end of December 2021.

Next Steps

• The Staffing Support Division will continue to analyze cyclical assessment reports and provide feedback to organizations as they are received.
• A summary of this analysis will be presented to MOC in March 2022.  

Moving Forward

• Prepare for next reporting cycle 2021-2022 :
• A review of templates is underway.
• Communications to clients and Heads of HR, including the revised templates in support of the 2021-22 cycle, is planned in early 2022.
• Next official Call-Out to DHs is planned for March 2022.

Appendix 1 –Non-Imperative Appointments