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2021 Minister’s Transition Book 2: Core responsibility 4—Government-wide support

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GCSurplus and seized property

In this section

Mandate

Public Services and Procurement Canada is mandated under the Surplus Crown Assets Act and the Seized Property Management Act to manage and divest of assets that are either surplus to Crown operations or seized and subsequently forfeited to the Crown as the result of a criminal or regulatory process. This mandate is carried out by 2 programs within the Specialized Services Sector:

Net revenues from both these programs are paid to other government departments, provinces and to the Receiver General for Canada, depending on applicable legislation and regulations. Revenues to the Crown, net of program operating costs, range from $65 million to $75 million per year. The programs employ approximately 130 employees and operate 9 warehouses across Canada.

Key activities

Surplus assets

The sector receives moveable assets primarily from departments and agencies who no longer have operational requirements for them. Most assets are divested through a public online auction site providing a convenient, fair and transparent opportunity for Canadians to access federal surplus assets. Surplus controlled goods, such as military equipment, are sold via a restricted access website.

Cost-free transfers among departments are administered in order to reduce acquisition costs overall for the Crown. Donations are also administered when in the best interest of the Crown and subject to the approval of the originating custodian department.

Seized assets

The sector provides services related to the management of seized or restrained property. It also provides advice to police agencies and prosecutors on the value of target assets and the estimated costs of managing an asset if seized.

The sector receives real property and moveable assets that have been seized by law enforcement, typically as offences related property or proceeds of crime. The assets are dealt with in accordance with applicable judicial or regulatory decision-making processes. Many assets, such as goods that are forfeited at ports of entry, can be disposed of in relatively short order, while other assets may need to be managed for significant durations while legal proceedings take place.

Activities related to seized assets include work on government-wide anti-money laundering initiatives, including contributions to virtual currency policies, protocols and procedures and managing other classes of sensitive and risky assets.

Partners and stakeholders

Federal departments and agencies that generate surplus assets are the primary clients of GCSurplus. Increasingly, provinces, municipalities and Crown corporations are also leveraging this service as open-bidding produces superior results in asset divestiture.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada Border Services Agency, Ontario Provincial Police, and Health Canada are some of the largest client organizations that send seized assets to the Seized Property Management Directorate. These law enforcement agencies are relieved of the burden of managing assets and are better able to focus on their own mandates and priorities.

Key considerations

Both programs are funded entirely through cost recovery. Revenues are generated from the sale of assets and shared with client departments and jurisdictions. This creates dependencies on external partners for revenue generation. This risk has proven to be manageable but events such as the pandemic have presented challenges.

Primary operating risks for the programs include security and employee safety while addressing assets, particularly those seized assets in relation to a criminal offence.

Government of Canada publications

In this section

Mandate

The Receiver General and Pensions Branch of Public Services and Procurement Canada has 2 broad responsibilities covering Government of Canada (GC) publications:

Key activities

The Canada Gazette, available in electronic format only, is published in 3 parts (Part I, Part II and Part III) in accordance with deadlines prescribed in the Statutory Instruments Regulations. The Canada Gazette represents a key step in Canada’s regulatory process by serving as a platform to publish proposed regulations and facilitate consultation with the public. Its website is host to a new online regulatory commenting feature, a requirement of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. Launched in April 2021 and currently in a 1-year pilot phase, this feature enables interested parties to submit and view comments on proposed regulations online. This initiative is a collaboration between Public Services and Procurement Canada and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

The Publications and Depository Services Directorate is responsible for printing and distributing the annual statutes of Canada. It acquires, catalogues and provides access to electronic Government of Canada publications through an online catalogue. In a weekly report, known as the Weekly Acquisitions List, it consolidates all publications added to the catalogue in a given week. Further, it provides guidance to federal institutions on meeting their publishing requirements as per the Treasury Board’s procedures for publishing.

Partners and stakeholders

The Canada Gazette is a mandatory service, and its clients include government departments and agencies, as well as the private sector. Its key partners include the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Privy Council Office, and the Department of Justice.

The Publications and Depository Services Directorate has multiple partners and stakeholders: the Library community, academics, government departments and agencies, researchers, and law libraries and courts.

Current status

The Canada Gazette is subject to the Service Fees Act. Consultations on the new proposed publishing rates will occur this fall. Ministerial approval of the rates will be requested in winter 2022, prior to tabling in parliament.

A significant opportunity exists for the department to offer modern, digitally enabled services Canadians have come to expect, keep up with industry practices and continue to meet its obligations for regulatory transparency under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. The department is currently undergoing a digital transformation and reviewing its procedures, publishing outputs and frequency, as well as the services it offers to its clients.

The 2020 edition of the annual statutes will be printed and distributed in the fall of 2021. Work on the 2021 edition of the annual statutes will continue during the spring of 2022. Due to a legal requirement, the annual statutes continue to be printed in paper format in a limited number.

Advertising and public opinion research

Mandate

The Receiver General and Pension Branch of Public Services and Procurement Canada is responsible for delivering important government information to Canadians and providing services and advice to departments to improve the delivery of select communications activities through: 

Key activities

Expenditures on advertising and decisions regarding the specific placement of advertisements are the responsibility of individual departments.

Advertising Services Directorate provides oversight to the contracting of advertising services that are issued by the Communications Procurement Directorate in Acquisitions Branch. It reviews media plans and creative materials for policy compliance including the Official Languages Act and the Directive for Non-Partisan Advertising. It also provides training to the Government of Canada advertising community and manages the advertising agency of record contract (Cossette Media) responsible for media planning and buying. Further, it manages the Advertising Management Information System (AdMIS) where departments record their advertising activities and expenditures. The directorate is responsible for the reporting of advertising expenditures in the annual report on advertising.

Public Opinion Research Directorate coordinates and advises client departments and agencies on public opinion research studies that are issued by the Communications Procurement Directorate, Acquisitions Branch. It oversees a community of practice to support government-wide capacity building and manages the Research Information Management System to track research studies and reports on Government of Canada public opinion research activities in its annual report on public opinion research. In 2020 to 2021, the advisory services unit coordinated approximately $15.5 million in contracted research of behalf of departmental clients, including a range of research in support of COVID-19.

Partners and stakeholders

Public Services and Procurement Canada works closely with the Privy Council Office, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, federal departments and industry to improve operations and to keep pace with constant change in the industry as it pertains to both advertising and public opinion research.

Translation Bureau overview

Modernization of the Translation Bureau’s operations

Mandate

As a centre of excellence in linguistic services, the Translation Bureau has the mandate to provide quality linguistic services to the Government of Canada and the Parliament of Canada. The Translation Bureau supports the Government of Canada’s efforts to communicate with Canadians in the official language of their choice, and also provides services in Indigenous and foreign languages, American sign language, and langue des signes québécoise (Quebec sign language).

The Translation Bureau has been operating as a Special Operating Agency since 1995 and delivering its operations mainly on a cost-recovery basis. The use of the Translation Bureau’s services by government organizations are optional. Departments and agencies are not required to use its services and can seek the services from the private sector. The services provided to parliament (House of Commons and Senate) are funded from parliamentary votes.

Key activities

The linguistic services industry is evolving to use new technologies that enable language professionals to increase the volume that they can translate and to shift their focus to post-editing and revision.

Modernizing operations

The Translation Bureau continues to modernize its operations by implementing a business model focused on quality, technology and personalized cost-effective services. In doing so, it strives to further strengthen its position as the Government of Canada’s centre of excellence for linguistic services.

Investing in technologies

In 2020 to 2021, the Translation Bureau began the implementation of GClingua—a techno-linguistic platform to perform and manage the Government of Canada’s end-to-end translation and interpretation services, processes and activities in an integrated way.

Experimenting with artificial intelligence

The Translation Bureau has been experimenting with various artificial intelligence tools. Artificial intelligence can be very efficient for automating sorting, making predictions, applying clear and consistent parameters and processing massive amounts of data. The Translation Bureau continues to leverage technological advances to equip its language professionals to best serve its clients.

Training employees

In response to the changing landscape of linguistic services, the Translation Bureau is also re-tooling and retraining its employees. It is engaging unions and Treasury Board’s Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer in these efforts.

It is expected that the pandemic’s impacts will have a lasting effect on the language services industry and the way in which clients consume linguistic services. The Translation Bureau will continue to invest in technolinguistic tools, seek opportunities to experiment with artificial intelligence, and work closely with partners and stakeholders.

Partners and stakeholders

The Translation Bureau continues to engage and consult with the language service provider industry, other federal departments and agencies, international organizations, professional associations, academia, and unions.

Research

The Translation Bureau collaborates with the National Research Council of Canada on identifying and developing technological solutions. It has also developed a test protocol to gather feedback from professional translators on the quality of outputs from neural machine translation, a form of artificial intelligence. This experimentation will serve as the foundation for an informed and agile approach to an artificial intelligence procurement plan in 2021 to 2022.

Education

In order to train the language specialists of the future, post-secondary institutions need to make a significant shift in how they are teaching translation, by broadening their curricula. In this context, the Translation Bureau helps to support the integration of emerging linguistic technologies. In addition, the Translation Bureau hosts an annual industry day and a day of dialog with educational institutions to strengthen its relationships with the language industry and universities and gather their comments and suggestions.

Key considerations

The Translation Bureau will need to remain highly nimble to be able to adapt quickly enough to the changing landscape of its clients’ needs and advances in language technology.

Distance interpretation and working conditions

Mandate

As a centre of excellence in linguistic services, the Translation Bureau provides interpretation services of parliamentary and government proceedings for in-person and virtual meetings. It has 73 staff interpreters—63 official languages interpreters, 4 foreign language interpreters, and 6 sign language interpreters. It also works with hundreds of freelance interpreters to respond to the demand in various languages, including approximately 100 Indigenous language service providers.

The technical facilities required for interpretation are the responsibility of clients and not of the Translation Bureau.

Key activities

Interpreting requires very specific technical conditions to be performed safely, particularly with respect to sound quality. For decades, these conditions have been well-established and met according to time-tested international standards. However, the pandemic has completely redefined the working conditions for interpreters.

Interpreters’ health and safety

Since the pivot to virtual meetings, interpreters have increasingly reported health and safety incidents related to sound quality, such as tinnitus, headaches, hyperacusis and extreme fatigue.

The health and safety of interpreters, whether they are employees or freelancers, is a priority for the Translation Bureau. Even before the start of the pandemic, the Translation Bureau had begun to take measures to protect the health and safety of interpreters at meetings. These measures have been strengthened since virtual sessions became the norm. In order to take into account the increased effort required to interpret virtual sessions, the Translation Bureau has reduced working hours for interpreters assigned to virtual meetings without reducing their compensation. Currently, interpreters provide an average of 3 hours of interpretation per day. The Translation Bureau has also increased the number of interpreters per session to allow for more breaks. At all times, interpreters are being instructed to interrupt services if working conditions jeopardize their health.

To further protect health and safety, research projects with the National Research Council, the University of Geneva, and renowned audiologists in Canada and abroad are being pursued. In partnership with the University of Ottawa, a hearing protection program for staff interpreters is also being developed.

Partners and stakeholders

Parliament and federal departments

The Translation Bureau works closely with the administration of the House of Commons and the Senate, and federal departments and agencies to raise awareness among clients of the technical requirements to provide a safe working environment for interpreters and to provide for quality interpretation.

Professional network

The Translation Bureau’s approach is aligned with international best practices as it is part of the global Heads of Interpreting Services network and follows guidance and best practices for institutions. The Translation Bureau is in fact seen as a leader in the field.

The Translation Bureau works collaboratively with representatives of the Canadian Region of the International Association of Conference Interpreters and with the Canadian Association of Professional Employees; representing freelance and staff interpreters, respectively.

Key considerations

The challenges faced by interpreters have received media attention, highlighting concerns over the health and safety of Translation Bureau interpreters. This has led the Translation Bureau to appear before 2 parliamentary committees, the Standing Committee on Official Languages, and the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs—to respond to inquiries and concerns related to the health and safety of interpreters.

Capacity remains another challenge. The pool of qualified interpreters is currently in shortage on a global scale and has been exacerbated during the pandemic. The Translation Bureau hires all new graduates from master of conference interpreting programs in Canada, holds accreditation exams annually, and has been partnering with the University of Ottawa and York University to provide adjunct professors. The Translation Bureau also recruits from abroad, when possible.

A new open contract for interpretation in official languages came into effect in July 2021. The needs of clients, the views of stakeholders, and the most up-to-date research and best practices related to distance interpretation have been taken into consideration in the development of this new contract.

The Translation Bureau continues to work with clients to prioritize optimal use of resources and meet the needs of parliament and government departments.

Security and oversight services

In this section

Integrity regime

Mandate

Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Departmental Oversight Branch centrally administers the government-wide integrity regime for procurement and real property transactions. Under this regime, unethical suppliers may be determined to be ineligible or suspended from conducting business with the Government of Canada.

Key activities

Corporate wrongdoing imposes significant economic, political and social costs. More specifically, it undermines fair competition and constitutes a barrier to economic growth. In this context, all governments have an obligation to protect and safeguard the use of public funds, to ensure strong stewardship and transparency, and to uphold public trust in government procurement and contracting. To achieve these ends, the Government of Canada has a framework of laws, regulations, policies and programs in place to detect and prevent improper and unethical business practices.

Introduced in 2015, the Integrity Regime is a rules-based system that is designed to help ensure that the Government of Canada conducts business with ethical suppliers in Canada and abroad. The central component of the regime is the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy, which determines when and how a supplier may be declared ineligible or suspended from doing business with the government.

Under the policy, a supplier may be declared ineligible to be awarded a contract or real property agreement for 10 years if convicted, in the last 3 years, of certain offences in Canada or in other countries. This can be reduced by 5 years if the supplier demonstrates that they have cooperated with law enforcement authorities or addressed the causes of their misconduct. If charged with a listed offence, a supplier may be suspended from doing business with the federal government for up to 18 months; and if a supplier poses a significant risk, the suspension period may be extended, pending final disposition of the charges.

The regime applies to all federal departments and agencies listed in schedule I, I.1 and II of the Financial Administration Act and can be adopted by other federal entities (such as Crown corporations) on a voluntary basis. In 2020 to 2021, Public Services and Procurement Canada conducted over 25,000 integrity verification requests on approximately 468,000 individual names on behalf of federal organizations, to confirm whether a supplier was ineligible or suspended from conducting business with the federal government. Over 99% of these verifications were completed by the department within the program’s 4-hour client service standard.

All determinations of ineligibility or suspension are undertaken pursuant to the process set out in the policy and are rendered by the registrar of ineligibility and suspension, an assistant deputy minister-level position within the department. The names of ineligible or suspended suppliers are published on the departmental website. Currently, 1 supplier has entered into an administrative agreement with the department in lieu of ineligibility (Hickey Construction Limited), and 3 suppliers have been rendered ineligible (Les Entreprises Chatel Inc., R.M. Belanger Limited, and Guaranteed Industries Limited). The deputy minister is informed of all determinations of ineligibility and suspension by the registrar.

In 2017, after 2 years of operations, the department initiated a comprehensive review of the regime to determine whether it was achieving its intended objectives and whether enhancements would be required to address gaps and shortcomings. Following this review, in fall 2017, the government undertook a national consultation on “Expanding Canada’s Toolkit to Address Corporate Wrongdoing”, which included potential enhancements to the Integrity Regime. The results of this consultation were reported publicly in February 2018. Following an announcement of planned enhancements to the regime, the department sought comments and feedback on the text of a draft revised policy that reflected the proposed modifications in fall 2018.

Subsequent to this consultation, public discourse increased regarding corporate wrongdoing and governments’ responses to this type of misconduct. As a result, the government announced that it was taking additional time to consider elements of the regime and the feedback received to date.

Partners and stakeholders

The registrar applies the policy in partnership with federal government departments and Crown corporations that have signed memoranda of understanding with Public Services and Procurement Canada. The registrar partners with provincial and territorial governments on policy development and best practices related to the regime.

Key stakeholders include federal, provincial and territorial governments, the general supplier community, industry associations, chambers of commerce, policy groups, procurement and debarment professionals, as well as foreign governments and international bodies (for example, the World Bank).

Key considerations

Given the evolving and complex nature of supply chains, a modern, effective integrity regime will continue to be a key tool in Canada’s efforts to combat improper and unethical business practices.

Fairness Monitoring Program

Mandate

The Fairness Monitoring Program is part of the Government of Canada’s strong framework to support accountability and integrity in departmental activities, such as procurement and real property transactions. It was initiated in 2005 to provide departments, suppliers, parliament and Canadians with independent assurance that Public Services and Procurement Canada conducts such activities in a fair, open and transparent manner.

Fairness monitoring is recognized as an important measure in smart and collaborative procurement. Operating on a partial cost-recovery basis, the program procures the services of independent third-party fairness monitors to observe departmental activities and provide an impartial opinion on their fairness, openness and transparency. The program issues and administers the contracts, manages close to 100 projects, and carries out all program activities. Approximately 30 new fairness monitoring call-ups are issued each year.

Key activities

Key activities of the Fairness Monitoring Program are carried out under the departmental Policy on Fairness Monitoring. As per policy, certain activities require a mandatory risk-based assessment to determine if fairness monitoring coverage is warranted. Operational branches carrying out the activities are responsible for initiating the fairness monitoring assessment. Services are usually provided for high dollar value, highly sensitive and complex activities but branch heads can always request services according to a specific context, where enhanced monitoring may be required.

The program conducts an analysis and develops recommendations for decision by the assistant deputy minister of the Departmental Oversight Branch, when fairness monitoring coverage is warranted. Recommendations are developed for the deputy minister when it is not warranted. After obtaining approval for warranted activities, the program proceeds with engaging third-party fairness monitors using the current fairness monitoring services standing offer, which includes 5 qualified firms.

Monitoring the fairness of a procurement process to identify potential deficiencies is distinct from other measures in that it provides real-time oversight to address the issues while the process is ongoing. During the fairness monitoring engagement, the majority of fairness, openness or transparency issues are resolved between the fairness monitor and the contracting authority. Any unresolved issues are brought to the attention of the program, which addresses the potential deficiency. There is a mechanism in place to escalate the issue if necessary. The deputy minister renders a final decision regarding the department’s response to an unresolved fairness deficiency. This key feature of the program avoids costly after-the-fact resolutions. Since the program’s inception in 2005, over 260 fairness monitoring engagements have been completed.

The program is currently monitoring approximately 100 procurements including many high profile, sensitive initiatives. Examples include:

Each fairness monitoring engagement concludes with a fairness monitor final report that provides an attestation regarding the fairness, openness and transparency of the monitored activity. The department makes all fairness monitor final reports available to the public on its website, subject to limitations on disclosure under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Partners and stakeholders

Operational branches

The program jointly analyzes departmental activities with operational branches to develop a recommendation to proceed with fairness monitoring coverage. The program collaborates closely with contracting authorities from different branches within the department, mainly from the Acquisitions Program and regional offices. Many of the procurements are undertaken for client departments, such as the Department of National Defence, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Veterans Affairs Canada, and Employment and Social Development Canada. The program also has a memorandum of understanding with the Canada Revenue Agency to provide fairness monitoring services.

Fairness monitoring firms

The integrity of the program is dependent on the engagement of credible, independent and impartial third party professionals to observe select departmental activities and to provide their attestations regarding the fairness of these activities. They are accountable for their opinions in the face of public scrutiny.

Controlled Goods Program

Mandate

The Controlled Goods Program was established in 2001 to regain the Canadian exemption under the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which provides for the licence-free transfer of controlled defence articles between Canada and the US This exemption maintains privileged access for Canadian industries to the US defence market and benefits registrants in the program, including small and medium-sized businesses in Canadian aerospace, defence and security. Under the authority of the Defence Production Act and Controlled Goods Regulations, the program ensures that controlled goods are safeguarded while in the custody of the private sector. Controlled goods are primarily goods, including some components and technical data that have military or national security significance (for example, specific large calibre weapons, bombs and fighter jets). The Controlled Goods Program regulates the examination, possession or transfer of controlled goods within Canada, and contributes to Canada’s national security framework. Currently, there are approximately 4,000 individuals and organizations registered in the program.

Key activities

The program undertakes a client-focused delivery approach to ensure that controlled goods are safeguarded within Canada. Examples of these key activities include:

Registration

Assesses individuals and organizations intending to examine, possess or transfer controlled goods within Canada and issues registration certificates

Exemptions

Assesses temporary workers, international students and foreign visitors intending to examine, possess or transfer controlled goods within Canada and issues exemption certificates

Inspections

Conducts inspections of program registrants to ensure that the conditions of registration are met and maintained

Investigations

Investigates non-compliance with the Defence Production Act and Controlled Goods Regulations, such as security breaches

Education and outreach

Delivers client services through communication products, training and client service support

Strategic policy

Oversees the planning and development of policy and strategic initiatives, and regulatory affairs on behalf of the program

Partners and stakeholders

Internal partners

Similar to the Controlled Goods Program, the Contract Security Program contributes to the federal government procurement process, and also resides in the Oversight Branch of the department. For contracts with controlled goods, a valid registration in the Controlled Goods Program is required. Security requirements pertaining to both programs are included in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s security requirements checklist and verified by the department’s Acquisitions Branch, when issuing contracts. Requiring companies to meet controlled goods related security requirements enables the Controlled Goods Program to ensure that the Government of Canada’s controlled goods are safeguarded while in the custody of the private sector.

External partners

Global Affairs Canada updates its Export Control List on an annual basis to meet the Government of Canada’s commitments to multilateral export control regimes. Since the Controlled Goods List is partially based on the Export Control List, these updates ensure that the Controlled Goods Program is informed of items that may also need to be domestically controlled.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police conducts record checks on program applicants to determine if the applicants have been convicted of a criminal offence. It also assesses their involvement or association with criminal organizations and identifies potential vulnerabilities on high-risk behaviours. These checks are part of the program’s security assessment process. Serious cases with the potential unauthorized transfer of controlled goods are referred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The Department of National Defence is the largest procurer of controlled goods and related services within the Government of Canada. As such, it relies on the Controlled Goods Program to ensure that suppliers have undergone rigorous security assessments in advance of entering into contracts. This ensures that the Canadian Armed Forces are equipped to conduct their operations and that controlled goods are safeguarded within Canada.

In addition, the US Department of State partnered with Public Services and Procurement Canada to safeguard certain “defence articles” within Canada. Through the exchange of information, this relationship and the integrity of the Controlled Goods Program ensure that the Canadian aerospace, defence and security industries’ privileged access to the US defence market is maintained.

Stakeholders

The programs’ Industry Engagement Committee is a forum for the department and representatives from the Canadian aerospace, defence and security industries to discuss the impacts of policy and regulatory issues on industry. Core members include the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries and the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada. As appropriate, industry may also provide recommendations on matters pertaining to the program, the Defence Production Act and Controlled Goods Regulations.

Key considerations

Registration backlogs

High volumes of registration applications and the COVID-19 pandemic have led to longer application processing times and, as a result, the Controlled Goods Program has been unable to meet its target service standards. Nevertheless, the backlog of pending registration applications has been reduced by approximately 50% since the beginning of the pandemic as a result of new hires and a realignment of resources. Internal processes have also been streamlined to reduce processing times. The program is expected to meet its target service standards well before the end of fiscal year.

Contract security program

Mandate

The Contract Security Program has been in place since 1941 and provides contract security services for approximately 90% of Government of Canada contracts with security requirements. The program also provides security services for foreign government contracts with security requirements that are awarded to Canadian industry. Over the course of the past 5 years, the program has security screened and qualified more than 14,000 new companies as potential suppliers of goods and services to the Government of Canada. It has also screened over half a million personnel seeking to work on contracts that require access to sensitive government information, assets or secure worksites. The program operates on a cost recovery basis, deriving the majority of its funding from memoranda of understanding with 50 to 60 client departments and agencies.

Public Services and Procurement Canada is authorized to administer contract security services by the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act. The program operating authority, however, is derived from the terms of the Policy on Government Security and its accompanying standards and directives. The program applies the Policy on Government Security requirements to contracts for goods and services managed by Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Key activities

Public Services and Procurement Canada is a lead security agency and internal enterprise service organization for security in procurement. The Contract Security Program facilitates this role by providing advice and guidance to federal departments on security in procurement and by providing its essential contract security services in an effective and timely manner.

The Contract Security Program continues to improve its service delivery model and is currently refining its security screening process. Moving forward, the program will only register suppliers that are participating in a federal government procurement process and facilitate personnel security screening requests that are associated with an active contract with security requirements. This re-focusing of government efforts and resources will significantly improve service standards by applying finite security screening resources exclusively in support of government procurement activities.

Partners and stakeholders

Government departments: Clients

The Contract Security Program provides its services, including advice and guidance, to federal government departments when the department is the contracting authority on contracts that contain security requirements. Where client departments have the authority to award a contract under their own delegation, they can choose to make use of Contract Security Program services or manage security aspects of the contract on their own.

Government departments: Partners

The Contract Security Program engages and collaborates with the federal government’s security and intelligence community, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, to enhance its processes and share information on security in procurement.

Industry stakeholders

The Contract Security Program enables industry to participate in sensitive federal government contracts in Canada and abroad. The program provides advice and guidance to industry on security in procurement to ensure the safeguarding of sensitive federal government information and assets while in the custody of private sector companies. It also has rigorous processes in place to ensure industry complies with contracting security requirements.

Foreign partners

The Contract Security Program serves as the government’s national authority for industrial security, and in this capacity, serves as Canada’s designated security authority for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This involves being an active participant within the international industrial security community by negotiating bilateral security instruments with foreign partners and participating in relevant international industrial security and privacy meetings.

Key considerations

The Contract Security Program operates in an ever-changing and rapidly evolving industrial security landscape with a supply chain that is increasingly globally dependent. Over the past few years, the program has seen a sharp increase in the complexity of files requiring additional assessment time. This has also increased requirements for a specialized workforce with the ability to analyze elements of risk that may be present in organizations contracted by the government. In this regard, the program’s ability to perform out of country verifications and assess the complexities associated with foreign ownership is particularly challenging. This can lead to processing delays, resulting in complaints from client departments and industry stakeholders.

Another key challenge is opening new international markets for Canadian industry while aligning the Canadian security screening process with foreign partners based on international best practices. This alignment would further increase the ability of Canadian industry to compete internationally and increase the overall supply to the Canadian market. The Contract Security Program’s International Industrial Security Directorate represents Canada on international industrial security working groups and works to develop bilateral agreements with selected countries and key trading partners.

Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada

In this section

Mandate

Public Services and Procurement Canada has policy and legal obligations to Indigenous people, including the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business, the Nunavut Directive, modern and historic treaties, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Indigenous Languages Act and various constitutional obligations.

As a common service provider, Public Services and Procurement Canada has an opportunity to lead and support other government departments in reconciliation efforts specifically related to its mandate in procurement, real property and translation and language services. Strategic advancements can also be made in these areas in the context of larger commitments related to:

Key activities

At the operational level, the department is engaged with Indigenous businesses, communities and governments. Key activities include:

Internally within Public Services and Procurement Canada, the department has established a dedicated directorate, the Reconciliation and Indigenous Engagement Directorate, to coordinate and build upon existing reconciliation activities with a view to developing the organization’s first reconciliation strategy to ensure all business lines engage with Indigenous partners in a well-coordinated and systematic way.

In addition, the department continues to educate all employees and to recruit, support and develop Indigenous employees. The department has established a network of declared Indigenous employees and allies called the Indigenous Circle of Employees, which provides a safe space for Indigenous employees to meet and discuss priorities, issues and opportunities, as well as to identify ways to advance reconciliation in the department.

Partners and stakeholders

The department continues to engage with Indigenous partners and clients at the operational level, primarily in regional offices. Key national partners include the national Indigenous organizations:

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, engagement with Indigenous partners on developing a reconciliation strategy has been challenging. However, the Reconciliation and Indigenous Engagement Technical Working Group, represented by members from the department’s branches and regions, continues to advise on the development of the reconciliation strategy, develop and align policies and guidelines, and share information on current activities related to engagement with Indigenous partners.

Key considerations

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge for the department to engage with Indigenous partners. Nevertheless, engagement remains essential to meeting our duty to consult obligations and increasing Indigenous participation in procurement.

The United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Bill C-15, an act respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, convey new obligations for the department, including the legal obligation to engage with Indigenous peoples when the department undertakes initiatives that could affect Indigenous interests. A significant number of departmental operations and initiatives, including those done on behalf of client departments, could be interpreted as affecting Indigenous interests. Work is underway to develop a full, integrated understanding of how it meets existing legal, policy and political commitments to Indigenous peoples, including appropriate funding mechanisms, guidance, training, and policy instruments to meet the department’s duty to consult.

As a large department and as a common service provider to other federal government departments, identifying existing and new challenges and proposing solutions will take some time and effort. The department is proceeding with an environmental scan to identify these challenges and propose solutions for a department-specific implementation plan in this context.

Accessibility

In this section

Overview

The Accessible Canada Act, which came into force on July 11, 2019, aims to ensure a barrier-free Canada and represents Canada’s most significant disability rights legislation in over 30 years. It is intended to transform how we address accessibility in areas under federal jurisdiction. It is complemented by the Public Service Accessibility Strategy, which adopts a “Nothing Without Us” motto. This motto advocates for persons with disabilities to be at the centre of approaches to advance accessibility, while identifying priorities and actions to position the federal public service as the most accessible and inclusive in the world. The first series of regulations to enable the act are anticipated to come into effect by the end of 2021. Thereafter, departments will have 1 year to develop and publish their 3-year accessibility plans, required by the act, for 2023 to 2025.

Mandate

The Accessibility Strategy for the public service of Canada identifies Public Services and Procurement Canada as the lead for enhancing the accessibility of the federal built environment. The desired end state is for clients and employees of the Government of Canada to have barrier-free access and use of the federally owned and leased built environment. Under this strategy, the department is committed to:

Key activities

Public Services and Procurement Canada has many initiatives that have been implemented. Some are currently being planned to enhance accessibility for public servants and Canadians with disabilities. This work is positioning the department to become an employer of choice through the provision of an accessible built environment and accessible workplaces. Other provisions include the development of accessible procurement tools and practices as well as the further expansion of accessible technology and communication services. To demonstrate its commitment to accessibility, the department launched an interim Accessibility Plan in September 2020 to promote an accessible culture and move the department towards universal accessibility and inclusion for its employees, for other government departments and for the Canadian public.

As a common service provider, and in support of the Public Service Accessibility Strategy, the department is uniquely placed to assist with implementation of the act and become a leader in accessibility for the Government of Canada. Two areas of focus are the built environment and procurement.

Built environment

Overseeing the planning and delivery of technical accessibility assessments in consultation with persons with disabilities:

Finalizing the Universal Accessibility Action Plan for the Parliamentary Precinct:

Conducting research and pilot initiatives to improve accessibility in the built environment:

Undertaking base-building accessibility improvements:

Engaging and soliciting feedback from building users:

Procurement

The Accessible Procurement Resource Centre was launched in 2018 to help federal departments and agencies integrate accessibility criteria into their procurement requirements for goods and services. The centre exists as a first point of contact for both departmental procurement officers and federal departments when it comes to accessible government procurement. The centre also seeks to prevent and remove accessibility barriers within the procurement process and to increase the number of suppliers with disabilities doing business with the Government of Canada.

This past year the centre initiated a commodity review and market maturity assessment to gather information about solutions available in the market to reduce barriers for persons with disabilities. A marketplace analysis was also conducted on the characteristics of businesses owned or led by persons with disabilities in Canada, including the types of business, their geographic location, and their size. This analysis represents a first of its kind in Canada and serves as an important milestone to develop commodity-specific guidance to clients across the federal public service.

Partners and stakeholders

Accessibility Office

The department’s Accessibility Office was created in September 2018 to oversee efforts to make the department a more accessible and inclusive workplace. The office will develop the department’s Accessibility Plan. It works closely with persons with disabilities across the department and with external stakeholders.

Persons with Disabilities Network

The network provides a forum for employees with disabilities to raise concerns to management and enables employees to discuss issues pertaining to awareness, accommodation, recruitment and retention in a respectful environment. The network ensures that the community is engaged and that the “Nothing Without Us” motto is respected.

Office of Public Service Accessibility—Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Networks and Organizations representing disability groups

Networks and organizations representing various disability groups are also stakeholders. Consultation with the following private sector organizations is central to this initiative as they assist the public service in reaching its objective to further research efforts, and develop and deliver innovative pilot projects that incorporate the user experience:

Real property contractor (Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions)

Departmental program areas and internal services

Translation Bureau

The Translation Bureau provides services, such as official languages translation and interpretation services, sign language (American Sign Language and Langue des signes québécoise) interpretation, as well as French and English transliteration (speech reading).

Science and Parliamentary Infrastructure Branch

The branch works to modernize buildings and grounds throughout the Parliamentary Precinct to make the site more accessible, family friendly and welcoming to the public.

Real Property Services

The branch leads the accessible government-built environment initiative and provides functional direction on federal infrastructure projects.

Procurement Branch

The branch manages the Accessible Procurement Resource Centre and develops guidelines and training material to consider accessibility criteria early in the purchasing process.

Human Resources Branch

The Human Resources Accessibility Service Centre is responsible for accessibility services and initiatives, including staffing, onboarding, and employment equity and diversity.

Digital Services Branch

The branch implements digital design and procurement processes, increasing access to accessible technologies while building capacity with the Digital Accessibility Strategy.

Key considerations

Consulting persons with disabilities early and often is the cornerstone of the proposed regulations enabling the Accessible Canada Act and the work of departments in the development of their 3-year accessibility plans. While COVID-19 has had an impact on more traditional forms of in-person engagement, the department will continue to leverage innovative approaches to consultation, including virtual focus groups, surveys, and a mechanism for individuals to share anonymous feedback, as avenues to facilitate meaningful and robust consultation.

With the pandemic persisting, public health restrictions still in place, and users working remotely across the country, the schedule and delivery of technical accessibility assessments have been impacted. In time, the easing of restrictions will facilitate the delivery of assessments in departmental regional offices as public health regulations permit on-site work.

Self-identification of disabilities is not yet common practice, partly due to the fear of stigmatization. Engagement efforts are underway to provide a safe space for employees to share feedback and to promote an ongoing dialogue.

Greening government

In this section

Mandate

The Government of Canada is working towards ensuring that Canada is a global leader in government operations that are net-zero, resilient and green. Public Services and Procurement Canada is advancing work on a number of fronts to support the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat in the implementation of the whole-of-government Greening Government Strategy, which aims to transition to net-zero carbon and climate-resilient operations.

Key activities

To help green government operations and fight climate change, the department continues to take steps to reduce its carbon footprint including establishing clean energy contracts with provinces, adopting measures to reduce plastic waste in government buildings, supporting the conversion of government fleets to zero-emission vehicles, and aiming for net-zero carbon operations.

In alignment with the Government of Canada's sustainable economic recovery agenda, the department engages with clients and industry on the broader inclusion of environmental criteria in procurements, and seeks to provide clients with opportunities to reduce their environmental footprint. As of March 31, 2021, 42.6% of the department’s standing offers and supply arrangements included green goods and services that have a reduced environmental impact. Public Services and Procurement Canada also increased the availability of green vehicles on its standing offers in 2020 to 2021 for regular and executive fleets by 10% and 43%, respectively. Moreover, work is underway to measure indirect emissions from procurements (that is, emissions embedded in supply chains).

Public Services and Procurement Canada also continues to progress towards a carbon neutral portfolio by 2050, with aspirations to reach this by 2030. To that end, the department is not only implementing various clean technologies in building operations but also incorporating greenhouse gas emissions reduction into departmental decision-making. Of note, the department has been able to utilize clean electricity in 91.4% of the Crown-owned building portfolio in 2020 to 2021, which is up 11.4% from the starting point of 80% in 2018 to 2019.

As well, the department committed to showcasing the Parliamentary Precinct as a model of sustainability by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Parliamentary Precinct by 80% by 2030 (from the 2005 levels). As of March 31, 2020, the precinct reduced its emissions by just over 60% but is on track to meeting its 2030 target. In 2020 to 2021, the department also completed a climate change vulnerability assessment of the Parliamentary Precinct and developed a strategy in concert with the Energy Savings Acquisition Plan to define a way forward on a carbon neutral precinct.

Additional key activities to advance sustainability, climate resiliency, and the green agenda for federal real property and infrastructure assets include the following:

Partners and stakeholders

The department is working with Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat officials on several initiatives to drive progress towards greening the government’s operations. For instance, respective teams are collaborating on the establishment of the first set of mandatory requirements under the Policy on Green Procurement to incentivize major suppliers to audit, disclose and set targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce embodied carbon in cement.

Public Services and Procurement Canada consults with industry stakeholders, as applicable. For example, the department is consulting with the industry to establish procurement instruments for electric buses and electric medium and heavy trucks. As well, the department will further explore market availability of charging equipment for use in its real property portfolio.

Key considerations

As Public Services and Procurement Canada advances its green agenda, there remains certain challenges with regards to the:

Moving forward, as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the move to more flexible work arrangements provides tremendous potential to decrease emissions. For example, assuming that 50% of federal public servants in the National Capital Region telework 4 days a week in the future, the emissions reductions associated with decreased commuting could significantly contribute to the net zero carbon emissions target for government operations by 2050.

Portfolio organizations

In this section

Governor in Council appointments

Mandate

Appointments to federal public organizations are made by the governor in council which refers to the Governor General acting on the advice of the Privy Council, as represented by Cabinet. The Minister of Public Services and Procurement makes recommendations to Cabinet for the federal institutions related to the minister’s mandate. This responsibility stems from legislation, namely the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act, the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Act, the Federal Public Sector and Labour Relations Act, and the Canada Post Corporation Act.

Currently, there are over 90 governor in council appointments that fall under the minister’s purview. These include, among others, the appointment of presidents and chief executive officers, chairpersons and members of the boards of directors of entities within the Minister’s portfolio, and the Procurement Ombudsman. The current appointment practice follows a transparent, merit-based process that aims to attract qualified candidates who reflect Canada’s diversity in terms of linguistic capacity and regional representation. The process places an equal emphasis on the representation of women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minority groups.

Key activities

The current approach to filling appointments includes the following steps:

The following list provides an overview of the current status of portfolio appointments

Canada Post Corporation
Canada Lands Company Limited
Defence Construction Canada
National Capital Commission
Payments in Lieu of Taxes Dispute Advisory Panel
Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board
Public interest commissions

The minister is also responsible for establishing, at the request of the chairperson of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, Public interest commissions, to resolve collective bargain impasses. Section 167 (1) of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act provides that upon receiving a request from the chairperson of the board, the minister must appoint the recommended nominees representing each of the parties “without delay”

Procurement Ombudsman

The Procurement Ombudsman was appointed in 2018 and his term will expire in April 2023

Partners and stakeholders

Appointment processes are undertaken by departmental officials, working closely with the Minister’s Office, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Privy Council Office. In some instances, portfolio entities are involved in the selection process, as is the case when the head of a tribunal or the chair of a Crown corporation participates in the interview process to recruit a board member or a chief executive officer.

Key considerations

The main challenge for governor in council appointments is to ensure that vacancies do not affect quorum and, consequently, the entities’ ability to carry out their mandate. Addressing this challenge involves close monitoring of the situation in all of the portfolio entities. Forward planning is equally important since an appointment process can take from 8 to 12 months. Additionally, positions that require specific skills and technical qualifications can make it more challenging to meet regional representation or to ensure a diversity representation.

Canada Post Corporation

Mandate

The Canada Post Corporation became a Crown corporation in 1981 and has 3 subsidiaries:

The Canada Post Group of Companies, consisting of Canada Post and its 3 subsidiaries, has annual revenues exceeding $9 billion and employs approximately 70,000 people across the country.

The Canada Post Corporation Act mandates the establishment and operation of a financially self-sustaining postal service for all Canadians with the exclusive privilege to collect, transmit and deliver letters up to 500 grams (gm) within Canada. Ministerial responsibility for the Canada Post Corporation was transferred to the portfolio of the Minister of Public Services and Procurement from the Minister of Transport in November 2015.

The Canada Post Corporation reports to Parliament through the Minister of Public Services and Procurement. It is arm’s length with respect to operations, but it takes policy direction from the Minister in terms of its priorities. The minister is accountable for providing guidance and oversight to ensure that the overall direction and performance of the corporation aligns with the government’s policies and objectives. This is normally communicated via an annual letter of expectation.

Key activities

In 2020, the Group of Companies delivered 6.4 billion pieces of mail, parcels, and messages to over 16.7 million address in urban, rural, and remote locations across Canada.

Canada Post is the largest segment of the Group of Companies with revenue of $6.9 billion in 2020. Canada Post is the country’s postal administration, serving every address in Canada. Its core services include delivery of letters, bills, statements, invoices, parcels, direct marketing products and periodicals.

Purolator Holdings Ltd., 91% owned by Canada Post, is Canada’s leading integrated freight and parcels solutions provider with revenue of $2.2 billion in 2020.

SCI Group Inc., 100% owned by the Group of Companies, is one of Canada’s largest providers of supply chain solutions with revenue of $329 million in 2020.

Innovapost Inc., 99% owned by the Group of Companies, is a shared services organization, providing company specific information systems and information technology services exclusive to the Canada Post Group of Companies.

Partners and stakeholders

Canada Post works closely with its sole shareholder, the Government of Canada. It receives $22.2 million in annual appropriations for 2 programs on behalf of the Government of Canada:

Canada Post’s unions are key stakeholders; they are a voice for employees and act as bargaining representatives during negotiations. They include:

Key considerations

The legislation requires the Canada Post Corporation to operate on a self-sustaining financial basis, but the corporation has been experiencing financial challenges as a result of declining mail volumes which have resulted in a reduction of 60% in the annual number of pieces delivered per address since 2006. The financial challenges have been further exacerbated by the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic which has increased costs to protect employee health and safety. The pandemic has also negatively impacted Canada Post’s Lettermail and direct marketing business lines. In 2020, Canada Post reported a before tax loss of $779 million.

Canada Lands Company Limited

Mandate

Canada Lands Company Limited is an agent federal Crown corporation, created in 1956. Its mandate is to ensure the commercially oriented, orderly disposition of surplus strategic real properties, optimize financial and community value, and the holding of certain properties. It purchases strategic surplus properties from federal departments and agencies at fair market value and then improves, manages or sells them to generate optimal benefits for its shareholder, the Government of Canada, and local communities. The company defines optimal benefit to include both non-financial and financial results.

Key activities

Canada Lands Company Limited is a shell corporation that has 3 subsidiaries:

In addition, Canada Lands Company Limited has a number of large development projects across Canada, including:

Partners and stakeholders

The company works with local municipalities, relevant stakeholders and partners in various infrastructure projects across the country. For example, it facilitates the provision of affordable housing units in its projects through partnerships with the federal lands initiative (a part of the National Housing Strategy), Public Services and Procurement Canada, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Canada Lands Company strives to maintain strong partnerships with Indigenous peoples. As of 2020, it has entered into agreements of various forms with 12 First Nations covering projects on 7 properties in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Halifax.

Key considerations

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada Lands Company Limited’s attractions division was closed for almost the entire 2020 to 2021 fiscal year. As a result, it generated less revenues than forecasted. In addition, the company provided over $5 million in rent relief to tenants through the Canadian Emergency Rent Subsidy Program.

Defence Construction Canada

Mandate

Defence Construction Canada is a Crown corporation that procures goods and services for defence projects. Its mandate is to meet the infrastructure, real property and environmental needs of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces by advising on, collaboratively planning, procuring and managing defence contracts.

Key activities

Defence Construction Canada’s work covers a broad range of activities, from project planning to building decommissioning. The corporation’s service delivery resources are organized among the following 5 service lines:

Activities in which Defence Construction Canada is engaged include:

It is self-financing, operating on a cost recovery basis, and now delivering approximately $1 billion in project work annually.

Some of its most noteworthy projects include:

Defence Construction Canada is taking actions to support business opportunities and economic benefits for Indigenous peoples. In 2020 to 2021, the corporation awarded $19.2 million in contracts to Indigenous-owned businesses. Defence Construction Canada is also developing an Indigenous Peoples Recruitment and Retention Strategy that will include an Indigenous student recruitment program.

Partners and stakeholders

Under the Defence Production Act, the corporation is restricted to providing services to and for the Minister of National Defence, Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces.

Key considerations

Like many players in the construction industry, Defence Construction Canada has also experienced supply chain slowdowns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this challenge it will continue to monitor supplier stability and take mitigating measures that encourage competition, as the pool of small and medium sized companies that can bid on its contracts may be reduced following mergers or as a result of other pandemic-related pressures on the construction industry.

National Capital Commission

Mandate

The National Capital Commission (NCC) is a federal Crown corporation created by Canada’s Parliament in 1959 under the National Capital Act. It is the long-term planner and principal steward of significant public places, and a partner in the development, conservation and improvement of Canada’s National Capital Region.

Key activities

The National Capital Commission is the main federal urban planner in Canada’s capital region. In this role, the commission works in collaboration with stakeholders to set the long-term planning direction for federal lands, identifies and manages lands of national interest, approves design and land use changes involving federal lands in the capital region, and facilitates federal involvement in transportation planning.

In its stewardship and protection role, the commission manages and develops federal lands and assets, such as the official residences, in the capital region and manages the public places that are unique to Canada’s symbolic, natural and cultural heritage. It owns and manages 11% of all land in the capital region with a total replacement value of $1.7 billion, including:

Partners and stakeholders

The commission works closely with a number of key partners:

Key considerations

In June 2021, the commission released its Official Residences Asset Condition Report which highlighted that a one-time injection of $175 million is needed to close the deferred maintenance gap, plus a permanent funding increase of $26.1 million per year, for official residences. The official home of the Prime Minister of Canada, 24 Sussex, was evaluated as being in “critical” condition.

The Gatineau Park Master Plan (2021) outlines conservation and planning goals for Gatineau Park. The park, Canada’s second most-visited, does not have the same legal protections as other national parks under the Parks Canada Act. The Master Plan calls for legislative protections for Gatineau Park that specify its protected status, an update to the technical description of the park’s boundaries, and to clarify the powers of the managers of Gatineau Park.

The NCC is consulting with stakeholders and the public in developing a Long-Term Interprovincial Crossing Plan that will confirm the vision, policies, and infrastructure priorities for sustainable interprovincial travel in the NCR for the 2050 planning horizon. The sixth interprovincial crossing refresh summary report, released in June 2020, focused on technical elements of a potential sixth interprovincial crossing but did not recommend a preferred corridor.

Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board

Mandate

The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board is an independent quasi-judicial statutory tribunal created by the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act, which came into force on November 1, 2014. The board is responsible for administering the collective bargaining and grievance adjudication systems in the federal public service and of employees of parliament.

In addition to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Act, the board’s activities are guided by the Public Service Employment Act, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Accessible Canada Act, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, and the Canada Labour Code, Part II.

Key activities

The board provides 2 main services:

In 2019 to 2020, the board closed 1,826 cases under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act, 485 under the Public Service Employment Act, and held 154 grievance mediations, 165 hearings and 7 public interest commissions.

The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act establishes the board’s composition as follows:

The current Chairperson, Ms. Edith Bramwell, was appointed by the governor in council in 2021. After consultation with employers and bargaining agents, the chairperson recommends potential board members to the minister, usually consisting of an equal number of representatives from the employer and the employee groups.

Partners and stakeholders

The board serves approximately 280,000 federal public service employees under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act and by numerous collective agreements. It also serves employers, bargaining agents, ranked members and reservists of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and parliamentary and Senate employees.

The board also works closely with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal as some of the issues the 2 organizations deal with sometimes overlap.

Key considerations

The board has been dealing with an increased workload over the past few years due to pay-related grievances arising from the federal Phoenix pay system. Recent legislative changes expanding its authority to hear matters related to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Accessible Canada Act has further increased the workload.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also adversely affected the board’s ability to manage its caseload, as it had to adopt alternative ways of conduct business.

A number of governor-in-council appointment processes will rapidly need to be re-launched to ensure the board’s quorum, stability and direction:

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