Response to parliamentary committees and external audits

Response to the eleventh report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts, entitled Request for Government Response to the 70th Report from the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session

The committee requested a comprehensive response to the committee’s previous report on the Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG’s) 2019 audit on Call Centres. The OAG had concluded that “callers had difficulty getting through to agents at federal government call centres.” ^{Footnote 1}

The committee’s previous report had two recommendations for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS):

• Recommendation 4

  TBS should provide the Committee with a report outlining what progress has been made with regard to clarifying direction on call centre services and lead departments and agencies so that A) service standards follow Treasury Board policies; and B) service standards are published and performance results are transparent, consistent, and verified to confirm accuracy.

• Recommendation 5

  TBS should provide the Committee with a report outlining what progress has been made with regard to integrating call centres as part of its government-wide approach to client services.

In its response, the government stated that it agreed with these recommendations.

With respect to recommendation 4, the government explained that the Policy on Service and Digital and the Directive on Service and Digital, which came into force on April 1, 2020, provides direction to organizations on service standards for services provided by call centres and through other delivery channels. It also requires them to regularly review their service standards.

With respect to recommendation 5, the government indicated that TBS continues to work with Shared Services Canada on the integration and modernization of call centres as part of its government‑wide approach to client services.

Response to the fifteenth report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts, entitled Public Accounts of Canada 2020

The committee studied the Public Accounts of Canada 2020 and noted that, “[f]or the 22nd straight fiscal year, the OAG [had] ‘provided the Government of Canada with an unmodified audit opinion on its…consolidated financial statements.”^{Footnote 2}

The committee recommended that TBS, in consultation with the OAG, the committee and other interested parties, study potential changes to the Public Accounts of Canada to make them more user-friendly and accessible while ensuring a high degree of transparency and accountability from the Government of Canada.

In its response, the government agreed with the recommendation and said that it would begin consultations on potential changes to the Public Accounts of Canada.

Response to the sixteenth report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts, entitled Oversight of Government of Canada Advertising

The committee examined the findings of the 2019 report on Oversight of Government of Canada Advertising. The committee’s report had four recommendations for TBS:

• Recommendation 1

  That…[TBS] provide [the Committee] with a report assessing the effectiveness of the new $250,000 campaign threshold for triggering an external review at helping to ensure non‑partisanship in Government of Canada advertising.

• Recommendation 2

  That…[TBS] provide [the Committee] with a report outlining its progress with regard to ensuring that Ad Standards documents the rationale in its assessments of government advertising campaigns against all non‑partisanship review criteria.

• Recommendation 4

  That…[TBS] provide [the Committee] with an assessment of A) its monitoring of reviews of government advertising campaigns; and B) whether Ad Standards is thoroughly and consistently applying all non-partisanship advertising review criteria in its reviews.

• Recommendation 5

  That…[TBS] provide [the Committee] with a report on the piloted public complaint process regarding partisanship in Government of Canada advertising.

In its response, the government accepted the recommendations for TBS:

In response to recommendation 1, TBS undertook an analysis of the threshold and determined that a $250,000 threshold would capture a minimum of 80% of advertising expenditures, and, in doing so, would capture government priorities and campaigns with significant audience size, as well as greatest risk.

In response to recommendation 2, TBS put in place a new Advertising Submission and Review Form, which allows Ads Standards to better document the rationale of its findings. Also, TBS publishes key information about each of Ad Standards’ findings on Canada.ca.

In response to recommendation 4, TBS provided information regarding its internal monitoring process and assessments of Ad Standards.

In response to recommendation 5, TBS indicated it had not received any complaints through its pilot complaints process.

Response to audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (including audits conducted by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

Report 1, Implementing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, 2021 Spring Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

This audit focused on whether Employment and Social Development Canada and selected organizations (including TBS):

• were implementing a national approach for achieving the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• had made progress toward achieving selected national targets that would result in more inclusive and sustainable outcomes for Canadians

TBS received two recommendations. Its response is in the list of recommendations in the report.

Report 1, Procuring Complex Information Technology Solutions, 2021 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada

This audit focused on whether the federal organizations responsible for procuring the three complex information technology (IT) initiatives that the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) audited were on track to support the achievement of business outcomes and to uphold the government’s commitment to fairness, openness, and transparency in procurement.

TBS received two recommendations. Its response is in the list of recommendations in the report.

Response to audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

There were no audits in 2021–22 requiring a response.