Public Services and Procurement Canada: 2021 to 2022 Supplementary Estimates (C): Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates—March 4, 2022

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2021 to 2022 Supplementary Estimates (C) overview

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is seeking a net increase of $155 million through Supplementary Estimates (C), increasing its available funding from $5.23 billion to $5.39 billion net of revenues.

Voted appropriations: $157.8 million increase

Planning activities to support capital projects

$32.9 million for 2021 to 2022 to pursue the planning and delivery of critical infrastructure projects.

Purpose of funding

• The funding is sourced from the previous year’s unused funds which resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic’s health and safety responses hampering contractor’s operations and causing delays
• The funding will enable PSPC to support pre-planning for capital, fit-up and non-capital specific expenditures of projects from the long-term capital fund
• To assist PSPC in the delivery of critical infrastructure projects such as the Alexandra Bridge Interprovincial Crossings^{Footnote 1} and Alternate Fuel Source^{Footnote 2}, Place du Portage^{Footnote 3}, and programs such as Accessibility^{Footnote 4} and Zero Plastic Waste^{Footnote 5}
• Pre-planning includes activities such as:
  • feasibility studies
  • detailed assessment of the building condition
  • options analysis
  • investigations (for example, soil condition, municipal infrastructure)
  • consulting support
  • pre-tender contracting work
  • statement of requirements
  • pre-design activities

e-Procurement solution

$21.6 million for 2021 to 2022 to continue supporting the e-procurement solution (EPS) project. The EPS is a modern, cloud-based solution that will move federal procurement online and change the way government and suppliers interact to buy and sell goods and services.

Purpose of funding

• This funding is sourced from the previous year’s unused funds which resulted from delays due to COVID-19 and challenges related to system integration of the departmental financial system SAP to the EPS cloud solution, thereby impacting milestone schedules
• The funding will be used to continue supporting EPS, an important initiative to modernize the government’s procurement function in support of PSPC’s legislated mandate to provide procurement services
• The deployment of this modern, cloud-based solution will permit more accessible and less burdensome procurement practices, thereby facilitating business between suppliers

Long-Term Vision and Plan of the Parliamentary Precinct

$18.1 million in 2021 to 2022 to support the Long Term Vision and Plan (LTVP) of the Parliamentary Precinct’s projects and program, as announced in Budget 2017.

Purpose of funding

• The funding will enable PSPC to support pre-planning and non-capital specific expenditures of LTVP projects, including ongoing planning activities for the redevelopment of block 2 and the Indigenous Peoples Space, as well as the restoration and modernization of block 1. This funding will continue to support the creation of a secure, accessible, sustainable and integrated parliamentary campus
• To successfully deliver on LTVP projects, pre-planning activities are important to ensure the efficient use of resources and the attainment of project timelines
• Pre-planning includes activities such as:
  • feasibility studies
  • options analysis
  • investigations (for example, soil condition, municipal infrastructure)
  • consulting support
  • pre-tender contracting work
  • statement of requirements
  • pre-design activities

Critical operating pressures related to the pandemic (Budget 2021) (COVID-19)

$17.4 million in 2021 to 2022 to continue supporting the Government of Canada’s evolving pandemic response.

Purpose of funding

• As announced in Budget 2021, funding will support PSPC’s ongoing leadership role in the pandemic response. The COVID-19 response has generated pressures within PSPC in areas such as procurement, communications, human resources support and shared travel services, among others, and funding is required to ensure the maintenance of PSPC’s program integrity in these areas

Eliminating the backlog of pay problems (Budget 2021)

$17.3 million for 2021 to 2022 to support pay stabilization and eliminate the backlog of pay transactions for the Government of Canada.

Purpose of funding

• Funding is required to maintain capacity to accelerate backlog elimination by maintaining the Backlog Reduction Strategy approach to close backlog cases, renewing a key pay processing memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Correctional Services Canada, and implementing an overtime complement, as announced in Budget 2021

Government’s pay system

$15.4 million for 2021 to 2022 to continue delivering and stabilizing pay for the Government of Canada.

Purpose of funding

• This funding is sourced from prior years’ unused funds mainly due to delays in deliverables for technology and information technology (IT) support
• [Redacted]

Leveraging procurement opportunities and modernizing the workforce (Budget 2021)

$10.5 million in 2021 to 2022 to leverage procurement opportunities and modernize its workforce, as announced in Budget 2021.

Purpose of funding

• The funding will support the continued modernization of procurement and increased inclusivity in procurement through the creation of opportunities for specific communities by diversifying the federal supplier base. Some key initiatives include social procurement, accessible procurement, Indigenous procurement, procurement outreach and engagement with under-represented suppliers and vendor performance management
• Funding will ensure sufficient workforce capacity to deliver procurements in serving federal departments and agencies as their central purchasing agent

Accommodation costs related to pension administration

$9.9 million in 2021 to 2022 to Public Services and Procurement Canada for accommodation costs for employees who provide pension services relating to the Public Service, Canadian Forces, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Reserve Force pension plans.

Purpose of funding

• PSPC provides accommodation services to employees who administer the pension funds. The funding will be used to cover accommodation costs incurred for these employees
• As per Treasury Board Secretariat guidelines, the accommodation cost is established at 13% of the approved salary resources
• Accommodation revenues collected from the pension funds are deposited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF)
• PSPC accesses these accommodations revenues once a year through the supplementary estimates process
• Deposits in the CRF are subject to annual review as part of the pension administration audit

Government translation and interpretation services (Budget 2021)

$9 million for translation and interpretation services, as announced in Budget 2021.

Purpose of funding

• The funding will respond to a higher volume of translation and interpretation requests while continuing to support a remote working environment due to COVID-19. This will ensure that parliamentarians and Canadians receive timely translation and interpretation services in both official languages as well as in Indigenous and sign languages

Better equip our coast guard and military (Budget 2021)

$2.8 million in 2021 to 2022 to support defence and marine procurement as well as the Cost and Profit Assurance Program (CPAP), as announced in Budget 2021.

Purpose of funding

• Defence and Marine Procurement:
  • funding of $2.0 million for 2021 to 2022 will ensure PSPC’s efficient procurement of equipment and ships in support of Canada’s defence policy: Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE)), and the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS)
• Cost and Profit Assurance Program:
  • funding of $0.8 million for 2021 to 2022 will provide for 6 new staff who will conduct a higher volume of audits of high-value, complex contracts through enhanced cost profit analysis, thereby directly impacting the Government of Canada’s actions in sustaining its defence policy
  • the continued audit and oversight of defence contracts enhances defence procurement efficiency and lowers costs, enabling the Government of Canada to negotiate better contracts
  • the CPAP therefore ensures that procurement costs and government expenditures on defence are fair, transparent, and reasonable by performing assurance engagements early in the contracting process for both the Government of Canada and foreign governments

Increases in non-discretionary expenses associated with Crown-owned buildings and leased space

$2.4 million in 2021 to 2022 to protect for inflation (price) and variation in the number of public servants requiring accommodations (volume).

Purpose of funding

• Under the price and volume protection, PSPC’s funding is automatically reduced when accommodation costs are reduced such as when power and space savings occur due to data centre closures
• In 2021 to 2022, PSPC is receiving funds to be transferred to Shared Services Canada for reduced accommodation requirements as a result of data centre consolidations. The $2.4 million represents savings of power ($0.9 million) and space ($1.5 million) as a result of closing data centres. Of this amount $1.7 million will be transferred to Shared Services Canada
• The $0.7 million in net funding in 2021 to 2022 represents decommissioning costs related to data centre closures paid by PSPC

Government advertising programs (horizontal item)

$0.5 million in 2021 to 2022 via a special purpose allotment entitled “advertising initiatives”, for funding related to government advertising programs.

Purpose of funding

• Funding will allow PSPC to communicate with Canadians on emerging issues by running advertising for urgent and unforeseen issues on behalf of, and in collaboration with, other Government of Canada departments. Projects to be supported from this fund will be approved by the Privy Council Office (PCO)
• The funds are for unforeseen requirements and may not be used. However, if accessed, the source of funds will be from the central advertising fund managed by the PCO. The funding includes estimated production and media costs

Translation Bureau Revolving Fund

$21.1 million to update the Translation Bureau Revolving Fund’s financial situation for fiscal year 2021 to 2022.

Revolving funds (RF) operate through the charging of revenues, similar to a private business without fiscal year limitation. Revolving funds have access to a line of credit known also as a drawdown authority.

The Translation Bureau RF provides linguistic services ranging from translation to interpretation services on an optional basis to federal departments. Established in 1934, the Translation Bureau operates under the Translation Bureau Act and became a revolving fund in 1995.

Purpose of funding

• To update the Translation Bureau Revolving Fund’s financial situation for fiscal year 2021 à 2022 (from a planned deficit of $3.3 million to $24.4 million) as a result of additional investments in GClingua and higher salary expenditures due to collective agreement payments as well as lower attrition
• The planned deficits will be covered by the RF accumulated surplus and the drawdown authority

Employee benefit plans

$10.4 million in statutory appropriations for contribution to the employee benefit plans.

The employee benefit plans (EBP) includes cost to the government for the employer’s matching contributions and payments to the Public Service Superannuation Plan, the Canada and Quebec pension plans, death benefits, and the employment insurance accounts.

EBP applicable on salary relating to:

• critical operating pressures related to the pandemic $3.9M
• government’s pay system and eliminating the backlog of pay problems $3.7M
• leveraging procurement opportunities and modernizing the workforce $2.1M
• better equip our coast guard and military $0.7M

Greenhouse gas emissions

$0.4 million transfer from the Treasury Board Secretariat to various organizations: to support projects which will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in federal government operations, thereby furthering the government’s mandate to implement GHG-reducing measures with an objective of net-zero emissions in the future.

Purpose of funding

• To develop science-based methodologies to quantify GHG emissions generated along the life-cycle of goods and services procured by the Government of Canada
• The methodologies will be used to assess the carbon footprint associated with 3 procurement categories:
  • light-duty vehicles
  • professional services
  • office furniture

Financial community developmental programs and the inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility initiative

($0.008 million) transfer to the Treasury Board Secretariat for financial community developmental programs and the inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) initiative.

Purpose of funding

• To support and deliver enhanced and continuous development programs. TBS will also lead the financial management community on the IDEA initiative which has become a priority for the public service

Law enforcement record checks

($0.3 million) transfer to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for law enforcement record checks (LERCs) conducted by the RCMP.

Purpose of funding

• This funding will enable the RCMP to process a maximum of 700 LERCs per year for fiscal 2021 to 2022
• LERCs allow to flag whether the subject has a criminal record or is/has been subject to a police investigation and are used for:
  • the security assessment of Canadian industry individuals who are seeking registration under the Controlled Goods Program (CGP) for the purpose of legally accessing controlled goods
  • the security assessment under PSPC-Industrial Security Sector’s (ISS) applicant or personnel security screening program for those entrusted with sensitive information and assets

Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board

($0.6 million) transfer to the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board related to the implementation and support of a hub management office as part of the Laboratories Canada initiative.

Purpose of funding

• This funding will support activities for the first phase of the federal science and technology (S&T) laboratory renewal announced in Budget 2018
• For the implementation and support of the Transportation, Safety and Technology Science (TSTS) hub management office

Data centre consolidations

($1.7 million) transfer to Shared Services Canada to reimburse for reduced accommodation requirements as a result of data centre consolidations.

Purpose of funding

• Under an agreement with SSC, PSPC transfers to SSC the amount for power and space savings achieved from the closure of data centres, less the identified decommissioning costs PSPC has forecasted it will incur for fiscal year 2021 to 2022

National Capital Commission relocation

($32.0 million) transfer to the National Capital Commission (NCC) for the fit-up costs of new modernized office space and its relocation to 80 Elgin Street, Ottawa.

Purpose of funding

• This transfer will allow the NCC to fit-up 80 Elgin street, Ottawa and PSPC to secure the following swing spaces to advance the redevelopment of block 1 and block 2 as per the Long Term Vision and Plan in support of the parliamentary campus strategy
  • 40 Elgin street, Ottawa
  • 100 Sparks street, Ottawa
  • 30 Metcalfe street, Ottawa

Document navigation for "Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates: March 4, 2022"

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