Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat 2022–23 Departmental Plan

Ensuring that programs align with government priorities

TBS oversees how the federal government spends taxpayers’ money by reviewing government programs, spending proposals and spending authorities, and by reporting to Parliament and Canadians on government spending.

It does this by working with departments to ensure that proposals:

• align with Treasury Board policies and government priorities
• support value for money
• clearly explain the results that will be achieved and how they will be measured
• contain clear assessments of risk, including financial risk

TBS also sets the strategic direction for how departments are to report on their planned and actual spending and on their performance in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports and on GC InfoBase.^{Footnote 4}

In 2022–23, TBS will help ensure that the spending invested in government programs is helping achieve the government’s priorities by:

• supporting the government in advancing toward implementation of a comprehensive and continuous strategic policy review of government programs to examine how major programs and policies contribute to meeting the biggest challenges of our time, including achieving net‑zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, improving fairness and equality, and promoting quality of life and growth for everyone
• ensuring that government policy continues to be developed through an intersectional lens, reflects the needs and aspirations of Canadians, and supports the path to net‑zero by:
  • continuing to refine and strengthen the quality‑of‑life framework to ensure that the government achieves long-term outcomes that benefit people, and that progress toward those aims is rigorously reported
  • working with Environment and Climate Change Canada to apply a climate lens to ensure that climate adaptation and mitigation considerations are integrated throughout federal government decision-making
  • working with Women and Gender Equality Canada in the evaluation process of gender‑based analysis plus (GBA Plus) with the goal of enhancing the framing and parameters of this analytical tool and with particular attention to the intersectional analysis of race, indigeneity, rurality, disability and sexual identity, among other characteristics

TBS will also continue to work with departments to improve their proposals by providing them with guidance, training materials and other support so that proposals contain the information ministers need for decision‑making and to strengthen the credibility of their costing information.

Planned results for spending oversight

The following table shows, for spending oversight, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2022–23, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

The financial, human resources and performance information for TBS’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary spending for spending oversight

The following table shows, for spending oversight, budgetary spending for 2022–23, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for TBS’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources for spending oversight

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2022–23 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for TBS’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

1. Leading digital government transformation

The Government of Canada is committed to advancing digital government by improving people’s interactions with government.

In 2022–23, TBS will lead this transformation by working with departments to:

• leverage digital delivery approaches throughout the development of major projects
• update and replace outdated information technology (IT) systems, modernize the way government delivers benefits and services to Canadians, and promote the use of enterprise solutions, all of which will in turn help departments reduce their carbon footprints
• advance cybersecurity as a core component of digital government
• apply the Government of Canada Digital Standards and use more agile, open and user‑focused methods when designing services for Canadians
• apply internationally adopted accessibility standards when buying or developing information and communication technology systems
• make government websites easier to use, based on assessments of the degree to which users can complete the most common tasks on those websites
• continue to support the Canada School of Public Service’s Digital Academy in its efforts to help public servants gain the knowledge, skills and confidence they need for government in the digital age
• implement an enterprise approach to information and data stewardship

TBS will also accelerate and expand the use of the services of the Canadian Digital Service, with an aim of improving the digital experience for Canadians, including through increasing the number of digitally accessible government services and by continuing to:

• develop and scale a common set of products and services, like GC Notify and GC Forms, so that departments can quickly and easily deliver new or existing services online
• partner with departments to help them improve how they design, build and deliver their priority public services

As part of leading the digital government transformation, TBS will also work with departments to expand open data initiatives, make more data available digitally and improve access to information by:

• proposing amendments to the Directive on Open Government to reflect international best practices, particularly with regard to the goals of publishing with a purpose and government that is open by default
• continuing to:
  • lead efforts to give the Canadian public and the businesses community greater access to government data and information
  • coordinate the publishing of new datasets on the Open Government Portal, including those that Canadians specifically request
• making it easier for government institutions to publish open data and information on the Open Government Portal
• improving the ATIP Online Request Service and procuring modern request‑processing software to help institutions receive and process access to information and personal information requests
• completing the review of the Access to Information Act, which is looking at the access to information systems and processes, the legislative framework and the proactive publication process

If the government’s digital transformation is to succeed, the government’s systems and services need to be secure. In 2022–23, TBS will work with departments to:

• continue to build a trusted digital identity platform to support seamless service delivery to Canadians across the country by establishing an all‑of‑Canada approach to digital identity, in cooperation with the provinces and territories. The platform will be scalable and will allow different services inside and outside government to take advantage of a common identifier for Canadians. This platform will be supported by the strengthening of Treasury Board policy requirements for digital identity and digital credentials based on lessons learned from applying the Pan‑Canadian Trust Framework^{Footnote 6} to British Columbia and Alberta
• provide direction and supporting tools to strengthen departmental cybersecurity postures, including:
  • setting and monitoring compliance with the security expectations for a range of components essential to enterprise IT services, including government websites, email services and cloud services
  • updating the Government of Canada’s Cyber Security Event Management Plan based on lessons learned from cyberevents and tabletop exercises
  • establishing a methodology and tool that departments can use to evaluate progress on their cybersecurity maturity and that TBS can use to identify and manage enterprise cybersecurity risks
• apply cybersecurity requirements and appropriate risk‑based measures continuously to protect information systems and services

2. Setting the strategic direction for the management of assets and finances

The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring the sound stewardship of government assets and finances.

As part of fulfilling this commitment, TBS works to:

• put in place sound policies, standards and practices
• oversee performance and compliance across the government
• maintain and build professional communities

3. Leading the greening of government operations

The Government of Canada is committed to fighting climate change and to reducing the government’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

TBS is leading the greening of Government of Canada operations by supporting departments as they implement the Greening Government Strategy by working to:

• reduce their operational emissions and transition to net‑zero carbon and climate‑resilient operations
• reduce their environmental impacts beyond carbon, including impacts on waste, water and biodiversity

In 2022–23 and beyond, TBS will work with departments to, among other things:

• ensure that all new buildings and major building retrofits prioritize low‑carbon and climate resilience by minimizing the cost of GHG emissions over the full building life cycle
• purchase 100% clean electricity by 2022, where available, and by no later than 2025, by producing or purchasing renewable electricity
• minimize waste generation and water use
• retain and restore biodiversity where operational requirements permit
• electrify the entire federal fleet of light‑duty vehicles by 2030
• work with national safety and security fleet departments in developing plans to reduce their emissions and become net‑zero by 2050
• continue to design the Low-Carbon Fuel Procurement Program within the Greening Government Fund in order to procure low-carbon fuels for use in the federal domestic air and marine fleets starting in 2023–24
• understand the risks posed by climate change impacts and develop effective responses
• green their procurement, particularly for goods and services that have a high environmental impact over their full life cycles

In addition, TBS will ensure accountability for greening government by:

• continuing to publicly disclose the detailed environmental performance of government operations every year
• expanding the scope of its reporting to include waste diversion, water use, and adaptation planning

1. Supporting health and safety

In 2022–23, to support the health and safety of public servants and their communities, TBS will continue to contribute to the government’s response to the COVID‑19 pandemic by:

• ensuring vaccination across the public service and supporting Crown corporations and separate agencies to ensure that they enforce vaccination for their employees
• continuing to enhance the COVID‑19 Vaccination Attestation Tracking System (GC‑VATS) and to support the implementation of this system, which all public servants in the core public administration, including students and other temporary employees, use to indicate their COVID‑19 vaccination status
• directing and supporting departmental human resources systems leads in capturing and reporting on paid leave related to COVID‑19
• providing advice and guidance on human resources management, labour relations, occupational health and safety, and official languages matters relating to the pandemic
• ensuring the implementation and review of the Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• ensuring compliance with instructions from public health authorities

TBS will also support the health and safety of public servants more broadly by:

• continuing to take action to ensure that public service workplaces are free from sexual harassment and violence, as well as racism and all forms of hate
• providing guidance and resources to help federal organizations align their practices with the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, a set of voluntary guidelines, tools and resources for promoting mental health at work
• providing guidance and resources to help federal organizations implement organization‑specific objectives set out in the Federal Public Service Workplace Mental Health Strategy
• measuring, monitoring and reporting on the health and safety of federal workplaces, as well as on federal organizations’ compliance with their obligations, through mechanisms including the Management Accountability Framework, the Public Service Employee Survey and the Federal Workplace Mental Health Checklist
• continuing to take action to improve government whistleblower protections and supports, including exploring possible amendments to the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act

2. Creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce

In 2022–23, TBS will work with departments to ensure that they hire, retain and promote people with diverse talents by, among other things:

• working with the Privy Council Office to support departments in implementing the plans outlined in their responses to the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in the Public Service and ensuring the use of disaggregated data to track their progress
• continuing to build a whole-of-government approach for the improved collection, analysis, availability and publication of disaggregated data, with the support of Statistics Canada
• advancing a modernized senior leadership strategy for the public service that reinforces equity, diversity and inclusion in the leadership culture
• implementing programs that identify strong candidates from equity-seeking groups to support their career progression
• continuing to implement the Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada, including by ensuring progress toward hiring 5,000 new public servants with disabilities by 2025
• supporting the development of departmental accessibility plans that identify and remove barriers to inclusion of person with disabilities, as required by the Accessible Canada Act and its regulations
• continuing to advance the implementation of the Pay Equity Act across the public service
• supporting Employment and Social Development Canada’s efforts to accelerate the review of the Employment Equity Act, and ensure timely implementation of improvements
• developing a digital version of the GC Workplace Accessibility Passport to remove barriers faced by employees with disabilities

3. Strengthening and modernizing the public service

In 2022–23, TBS will work with the Privy Council Office, and in consultation with public sector unions, to strengthen and modernize the public service by, among other things:

• bringing forward a coherent and coordinated plan for the future of work in the public service, including developing flexible and equitable working arrangements
• continuing to work with innovators in people management across the public service to research and experiment with new ideas and practices, such as hybrid work models, in order to modernize and adapt workplaces to meet the needs of public servants after the pandemic and into the future
• developing a long-term, government-wide public service skills strategy to ensure that the public service has the capacity to support Canadians in an increasingly changing world

4. Promoting official languages

In 2022–23, TBS will continue to ensure that Canadians across the country can receive services from federal institutions in both official languages by, among other things:

• supporting the implementation of administrative measures outlined in English and French: Towards a Substantive Equality of Official Languages in Canada that are related to the public service
• contributing to the legislative process to reintroduce the proposed Act for the Substantive Equality of French and English and the Strengthening of the Official Languages Act
• supporting a bilingual work environment by reducing linguistic insecurity and by fostering access to inclusive second-language training that meets the needs of a variety of learners, including the needs of members of employment equity groups
• working with community stakeholders and federal institutions in Quebec to address gaps where members of the linguistic minority are under‑represented in the workforce of certain institutions
• proposing amendments to Treasury Board directives to help federal institutions implement new provisions to the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations

5. Bargaining in good faith

In 2022–23, TBS will work to maintain a respectful relationship with Canada’s public service and ensure that compensation packages are modern, competitive with those of other employers and fiscally sustainable, including by:

• negotiating with bargaining agents and seeking to reach collective agreements that are fair for employees and reasonable for Canadians, given the economic circumstances
• working collaboratively with bargaining agents to address obstacles to implementing government priorities such as planning for the future of work, simplifying pay administration and negotiating updated language in collective agreements
• engaging with public sector unions to nurture and maintain professional and collaborative relationships, and to proactively address enterprise-wide workplace issues

6. Resolving pay issues

TBS works with Public Services and Procurement Canada, Shared Services Canada and other partners to modernize and simplify human resources systems, processes, standards and controls.

In 2022–23, TBS will continue to take steps to resolve pay system issues by working with:

• Public Services and Procurement Canada
  • to resolve the backlog of pay issues resulting from the Phoenix pay system
  • to improve and modernize pension administration services
• Shared Services Canada
  • to design and test potential human resources management and pay systems to assess whether the systems will meet the needs of the Government of Canada
  • to make recommendations to the government on replacing both the Phoenix pay system and all human resources management systems currently in use

Planned results for employer

The following table shows, for employer, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2022–23, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

The financial, human resources and performance information for TBS’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary spending for employer

The following table shows, for employer, budgetary spending for 2022–23, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for TBS’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources for employer

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2022–23 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for TBS’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Leading a federal regulatory system that protects and advances the public interest, including sustainable economic growth

The Government of Canada is committed to continuing to lead regulatory reform efforts to improve transparency, reduce administrative burden and harmonize regulations that maintain high safety standards and improve the competitiveness of Canadian businesses.

To fulfill this commitment, in 2022–23, TBS will continue work to modernize the regulatory system, including by:

• continuing to adopt internationally recognized best practices in the areas of stakeholder engagement, regulatory impact analysis and regulatory review
• coordinating targeted reviews of regulatory requirements and practices to address issues that inhibit economic growth and innovation while continuing to support the health, safety and environmental protection objectives of the Government of Canada
• continuing to ensure that departments implement regulatory roadmaps^{Footnote 9} developed during the first and second rounds of targeted regulatory reviews and beginning a third round of reviews
• continuing to represent the Government of Canada in formal regulatory cooperation forums such as:
  • the Canada-U.S. Regulatory Cooperation Council
  • the Canada‑EU Regulatory Cooperation Forum
  • the Canada Free Trade Agreement Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table
• working with regulatory departments to identify and present issues that could be addressed through these forums
• supporting the second mandate of the External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness, a group of industry leaders, academics and consumer and civil society representatives, which advises the Treasury Board on key regulatory competitiveness and modernization issues
• sponsoring the next annual regulatory modernization bill to remove outdated legislative requirements that have a downstream impact on the federal regulatory environment; this exercise allows the government to modernize regulations and facilitate innovation by promoting an up‑to‑date regulatory environment that reflects current public policy and business realities, challenges and opportunities

The federal regulatory framework has been a critical part of the government’s response to the COVID‑19 pandemic. While emphasizing flexibility, ministerial authority and accountability, TBS will continue to:

• support a balanced, common‑sense approach to developing, applying and enforcing regulations in support of the government’s response to the crisis
• propose, through the Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill, legislative changes that are needed to promote business and regulatory competitiveness and contribute to the government’s response to the crisis
• take stock of the lessons learned during the pandemic to identify opportunities for system‑wide improvements, including those that foster agility, digitalization, iterative improvement, and greater regulatory alignment across jurisdictions

Planned results for regulatory oversight

The following table shows, for regulatory oversight, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2022–23, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

The financial, human resources and performance information for TBS’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary spending for regulatory oversight

The following table shows, for regulatory oversight, budgetary spending for 2022–23, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for TBS’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources for regulatory oversight

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2022–23 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for TBS’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

The following table shows information on spending for each of TBS’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2022–23 and other relevant fiscal years.

Expenditures increased by $256.5 million from 2019–20 to 2020–21. The increase is mainly for fulfilling the employer core responsibility and is attributable to Budget 2018 funding provided in 2019–20 for public service employer payments to meet price and volume fluctuations.

Forecast spending for 2021–22 is $9,056.2 million higher than actual spending for 2020–21. Most of this variance is in the employer core responsibility and relates to a one-time contribution of $7,805 million to the Public Service Pension Plan to address an actuarial shortfall, as well as additional funding announced in 2020–21 for the Public Service Insurance Plans and for the Public Service Disability Insurance Plan. The remainder of the variance is in the spending oversight core responsibility and relates to government-wide central vote funding that is held in TBS’s reference levels and that is expected to be transferred to departments by year‑end. TBS expects that spending for spending oversight in 2021–22 will be similar to that in previous years.