Transition 2023 Briefing Book

Treasury Board

The President of the Treasury Board chairs Treasury Board meetings and:

• acts as gatekeeper, deciding what is brought to the Treasury Board
• guides discussions to maintain focus on due diligence and impact
• plays a central role in Cabinet, bringing the Board’s focus on implementation and impact to Cabinet meetings

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

The President is responsible for TBS. TBS:

• establishes the management practices that dictate how finances, human resources and information technology operate across government
• approves the form and approach to tabling the Estimates in Parliament

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Portfolio

The President of the Treasury Board is the minister responsible for a portfolio of four organizations:

1. Canada School of Public Service
2. Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada
3. Public Sector Integrity Commissioner
4. Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Treasury Board

• Authority is derived from the Financial Administration Act
• Treasury Board ministers make the final decision on expenditures and regulations
• Sets the rules for the management of people, finances, technology and administration
• The Treasury Board is the Cabinet committee designated by the Prime Minister to make recommendations to the Governor General
  • This means it functions as the Governor in Council for regulations and most orders-in-council (the Privy Council Office is responsible for orders-in-council for senior appointments)
• Typically meets weekly while Parliament is in session

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Key responsibilities are to provide integrated advice to Treasury Board ministers in the management and administration of government, and to fulfill the statutory responsibilities of a central government agency.

To fulfill its mandate, TBS organizes its business and resources around four core responsibilities:

1. spending oversight
2. administrative leadership
3. employer
4. regulatory oversight

Spending oversight

• Providing due diligence before approving the use of new money that has been set aside in the Budget, including for major procurements, new programs and grants and contributions
• The government is responsible for over $454.8 billion^{Footnote 1} in planned budgetary expenditures, and the Treasury Board plays a central role in the government decision-making process.

Administrative leadership

• Establishing the rules set for people, information technology, expenditure management and regulations
• Reviewing spending plans on departmental initiatives and making decisions that affect services to Canadians

Employer

• Determining the terms and conditions of employment for the public service
• Approves collective agreements
• The federal public service is Canada’s largest employer; the core public administration, which the Treasury Board employs, has about 254,000 employees.^{Footnote 2}

Regulatory oversight

• Establishing regulations that impact the health, safety and security of Canadians, the economy, and the environment
• Over 50 government departments and agencies have regulatory responsibilities that impact the economy and lives of Canadians

Canada School of Public Service, departmental corporation

• Taki Sarantakis, President
• Reappointed July 2023
• Provides training and learning for the federal public administration
• Reports to Parliament through the President of the Treasury Board

Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada, Agent of Parliament (arm’s length)

• Nancy Bélanger, Commissioner
• Appointed December 2017
• Establishes and maintains the Registry of Lobbyists, the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct and conducts investigations
• Reports directly to Parliament on matters under the mandate
• Reports to Parliament through the President on accountability and budgetary matters

Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, Agent of Parliament (arm’s length)

• Harriet Solloway, Commissioner
• Appointed June 2023
• Provides an independent mechanism for public servants to disclose potential wrongdoing in the workplace
• Reports directly to Parliament on matters under the mandate
• Reports to Parliament through the President on accountability and budgetary matters

Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Crown corporation (arm’s length)

• Deborah K. Orida, President and Chief Executive Officer
• Appointed September 2022
• The Crown corporation is tasked with managing employer and employee contributions to public service pension plans
• Reports to Parliament through the President of the Treasury Board

Responsibilities and key accountabilities

The responsibilities assigned to the President as Chair of the Treasury Board are implicitly inseparable from the Treasury Board’s mandate: the management, expenditure and employer responsibilities that fall to the Treasury Board are also the President’s own responsibilities and form the basis for their key accountabilities. Appendix A provides further information about the legislative mandate and responsibilities of the Treasury Board and the President.

Specific responsibilities assigned directly to the President include:

• coordinating the activities of the Secretary, Comptroller General, Chief Human Resources Officer and the Chief Information Officer of Canada and delegating responsibility to the Secretary or other officials accordingly
• recommending external members of Departmental Audit Committees
• establishing the form and tabling of the Public Accounts
• publishing a consolidated quarterly report on Crown corporations
• receiving and tabling a wide range of reports under legislation or Treasury Board policies

The Treasury Board may delegate to the President (in addition to other officials) any of the powers or functions it is authorized to exercise under any Act of Parliament or by any order made by the Governor in Council. The Treasury Board may make the delegation subject to terms and conditions it considers appropriate. In turn, the Financial Administration Act provides that such delegated powers can be further delegated. Any sub-delegation is subject to the terms and conditions of the original delegation.

Other statutes assign specific authorities to either the President or the Treasury Board. For example, the President has the authority to:

• establish policies and forms with respect to the administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act
• coordinate the implementation of the Official Languages Act
• administer components of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act

The Treasury Board’s authority to act as the Employer for the core public administration is established under various statutes. As the Chair of the Treasury Board, the President supports the Treasury Board’s employer responsibilities. Legislation gives the Treasury Board the authority to:

• engage in collective bargaining under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act
• make rules respecting deployments, probation and promotion under the Public Service Employment Act
• set pay levels for Canadian Armed Forces members under the National Defence Act

Legislative portfolio

The President maintains overall responsibility for the statutes within their legislative portfolio.Should the government decide to amend these statutes, the President would be responsible for sponsoring any bills introduced in the House of Commons and tabling any required Government Response. Appendix Bcontains a list of statutes that fall under the President’s legislative portfolio.

Ministerial portfolio

The President is the minister responsible for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Canada School of Public Service. The Canada School of Public Service provides a common, standardized curriculum to support the learning and development of public servants.

Operating at arm’s length and reporting to Parliament through the President of the Treasury Board are the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada and the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada.

The President’s ministerial portfolio is subject to change based on ministerial or machinery decisions by a new government.

Financial management and administrative policy

Human resources management

Government ethics and lobbying

Part A: management board

Makes decisions about:

• funds (expenditure manager)
• authorities, rules and compliance (management board)
• people (employer)

Treasury Board responsibilities are delegated by the Financial Administration Act, which creates the Board’s public service support: Secretary, Comptroller General, Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Information Officer

Part B: Governor in Council

Since 2003, the Treasury Board has been designated as the Cabinet committee responsible for considering Governor in Council matters

Makes recommendations to the Governor General about:

• regulations
• most orders-in-council (that is, non-appointment orders-in-council)

In addition to the Financial Administration Act, over 20 other statutes establish the Treasury Board’s roles and authorities. Powers and responsibilities are also set out in regulations, orders-in-council, policies, guidelines and practices.

Cabinet focuses on the what

For example:

• helps formulate government agenda and set priorities and strategy (for example, parliamentary, communications)
• approves policy and legislative proposals
• manages government-wide issues and communications
• approves most Governor in Council appointments (judicial and non-judicial)
• reviews progress against certain major commitments

The Treasury Board focuses on the how

For example:

• ensures all initiatives respect the Financial Administration Act and Government of Canada policies
• ensures departmental implementation plans and resource requests are reasonable and likely to achieve identified results
• approves changes to departmental budgets via the Estimates process

Treasury Board lenses

• Alignment: Does the proposal align with the government’s policy goals?
• Design: How is the program or regulation designed?
• Value: Does the proposal represent good value?
• Risk: Are solid risk mitigation plans in place for the overall risks of the proposal?
• Implementation capacity: Does the proposal work within the department’s existing administrative capacity?
• Impact: Will it achieve outcomes? How will these be measured?

Part A

Part B

Due diligence

Submissions reviewed for:

• clarity, completeness and quality
• business case and value for money
• compliance with existing legal and policy requirements
• program operations and viability
• risk and mitigation
• design and implementation
• international alignment
• regulatory quality and adherence to the Cabinet Directive on Regulation

TBS provides advice

Treasury Board ministers receive materials in advance of the meeting that contain:

• sponsoring ministers’ signed submissions
• TBS’s advice
• regulatory proposals and order-in-council submissions

Cases are presented at the Treasury Board

Process:

• not all cases are formally presented or discussed
• TBS officials present the cases flagged for discussion
• members can ask for any case to be presented

TBS officials answer questions on any item.

Treasury Board ministers challenge and decide

For Part A, members either:

• approve as proposed
• approve with conditions
• defer the decision
• do not approve

For Part B, members:

• consider draft regulations for public comment (beginning of process)
• consider regulations for final approval (end of process)

Part B decisions are only to approve or not approve.

Senior management team

Graham Flack

Secretary of the Treasury Board

Dominique Blanchard

Associate Secretary

Tara Cosgrove

Chief of Staff to the Secretary

Program sectors

Jen O’Donoughue

International Affairs, Security and Justice

David Pecknam

Social and Cultural

Heather Sheehy

Government Operations

Anuradha Marisetti

Economic

Policy sectors

Annie Boudreau

Expenditure Management

Tina Green

Regulatory Affairs

Nick Xenos

Centre for Greening Government

Enabling functions

Mallika Nanduri Bhatt

Priorities and Planning

James Stott

Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs

Karen Cahill

Corporate Services

Doreen Gagnon

Human Resources

Manon LeBrun

Internal Audit and Evaluation

Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer

Jacqueline Bogden

Chief Human Resources Officer

Francis Trudel

Associate Chief Human Resources Officer

People and Culture

Mireille Laroche

Assistant Deputy Minister

Heidi Kutz

Associate Assistant Deputy Minister

Strategic Directions and Digital Solutions

Jean-François Fleury

Assistant Deputy Minister

Pankaj Sehgal

Associate Assistant Deputy Minister

Employee Relations and Total Compensation

Marie-Chantal Gérard

Assistant Deputy Minister

Carol Bidal

Associate Assistant Deputy Minister

Office of the Comptroller General

Roch Huppé

Comptroller General

Monia Lahaie

Financial Management

Mike Milito

Internal Audit

Samantha Tattersall

Acquired Services and Assets

Christine Walker

Financial Management Transformation

Office of the Chief Information Office

Catherine Luelo

Chief Information Officer of Canada

Paul N. Wagner

Deputy Chief Information Officer

Minh Doan

Chief Technology Officer

Stephen Burt

Chief Data Officer / Digital Policy and Performance

Mike MacDonald

Security Policy Modernization

Len Bastien

Senior Advisor to the Chief information Officer / Digital Community Development

Jessie Adcock

Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Digital Service

Office of Public Service Accessibility

Alfred MacLeod

Assistant Deputy Minister

Department of Justice Canada

François Nadeau

Legal Services

Key policies

• The Policy on People Management sets expectations for deputy heads and managers in the core public administration to create a high-performing workforce and a modern, healthy and respectful work environment.
• The Policy on the Management of Executives sets the expectations specific to the management of the executive cadre in the core public administration.
• Policies for Ministers’ Offices provides coherence and transparency for financial, personnel and administrative management.

Key policies

• The Policy on Financial Management, which provides key responsibilities for deputy heads, chief financial officers, and other senior managers in exercising effective financial management
• The Policy on Transfer Payments, which explains the roles and responsibilities for the delivery and management of transfer payment programs
• The Policy on the Planning and Management of Investments, which sets the direction for the planning and management of assets and acquired services to ensure that these activities provide value for money and demonstrate sound stewardship in program delivery
• The Policy on Internal Audit,which sets out the responsibilities for deputy heads, chief audit executives and departmental audit committees, in demonstrating responsible stewardship through sound risk management, control and governance processes

Key policies

• The Policy on Service and Digital serves as an integrated set of rules on how the Government of Canada manages service delivery, information and data, information technology and cyber security.
• The Policy on Government Security, which provides direction to manage government security in support of the trusted delivery of Government of Canada programs and services and the protection of information.

Expenditure Management Sector

The Expenditure Management Sector plays a central role in the planning and coordination of federal spending.

The Expenditure Management Sector supports the Treasury Board by:

• ensuring that Parliament has oversight and approval of how money is spent following the funding decision
• providing transparency in expenditures to Parliament and Canadians

The Expenditure Management sector is also responsible for refining and strengthening the Quality of Life Framework and advancing its implementation across government.

Program sectors

Program sectors are the interface with departments preparing proposals for the Treasury Board.

There are four program sectors:

1. Government Operations
2. Social and Cultural
3. Economic
4. International Affairs, Security and Justice

Program sectors support the Treasury Board by:

• reviewing Memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board submissions from federal organizations
• providing advice, guidance and support to federal organizations in their implementation and application of policies
• providing advice on and presenting proposals to Treasury Board ministers

Regulatory Affairs Sector

The Regulatory Affairs Sector establishes policies and strategies to support the federal regulatory system by:

• supporting and coordinating efforts to foster regulatory cooperation with key domestic and international partners
• leading horizontal regulatory modernization efforts
• undertaking targeted regulatory reviews

The Regulatory Affairs Sector supports the Treasury Board in its role as a Committee of the Privy Council by:

• providing advice on and presenting regulatory submissions and non-appointment orders-in-council to Treasury Board ministers

Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs

Manages and provides support for Treasury Board meetings, parliamentary affairs, Cabinet business and dealings with other government departments. It is also responsible for developing internal and external communications products and for the development of policies to oversee government communications, including advertising.

Human Resources

Provides human resources advice and services to TBS.

Departmental Legal Services

Provides legal advice to the Treasury Board and TBS.

Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer

Assists the Secretary of the Treasury Board in the internal administration of TBS, including in financial management, security, information management, information technology and facilities, and material management.

Internal Audit and Evaluation

Provides independent, objective assurance and evaluation services that are designed to improve the management of TBS’s programs and operations.

Priorities and Planning

Works with other sectors to ensure that departmental policy advice is coordinated and consistent. It also leads key activities supporting planning, government-wide management excellence as well as corporate governance and accountability within TBS.

2022–23 Public Service Employee Survey

Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer

The Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer supports Treasury Board in its role as the employer by driving excellence in people management and providing guidance to support consistency across the public service.

Deputy heads

Hold primary responsibility for human resources management within their organizations. This includes directing the administration of financial and human resources.

Privy Council Office

The Privy Council Office supports the Clerk as head of the public service, including directing public service–wide people management priorities.

Bargaining agents^{Footnote 7}

• Public Service Alliance of Canada: 129,000 members
• Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada: 44,000 members
• Canadian Association of Professional Employees: 21,000 members
• National Police Federation: 18,000 members
• Union of Canadian Correctional Officers: 6,000 members
• Association of Canadian Financial Officers: 6,000 members
• Association of Justice Counsel: 3,000 members
• Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers: 2,000 members
• Canadian Merchant Service Guild: 1,000 members
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: 1,000 members
• Other bargaining agents:^{Footnote 8} 3,000 members

Public Service Commission of Canada

Safeguards the integrity of the staffing system and the non-partisanship of the public service and manages the tools for public service recruitment

Public Services and Procurement Canada

Acts as the central purchasing agent, real property manager, treasurer, accountant, pay and pension administrator,^{Footnote 9} integrity adviser, and translation services for the public service^{Footnote 10}

Canada School of Public Service

Provides learning, training and professional development opportunities to public servants and helps deputy heads meet the learning needs of their organizations

Shared Services Canada

Responsible for delivering information technology and network services to partner organizations to support the delivery of federal programs and services

Pensions

The President is responsible for the public service pension plan pursuant to the Public Service Superannuation Act and reports to Parliament on behalf of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board. The President is also supported by the Public Service Pension Advisory Committee, comprised of employee, employer and retiree representatives.

TBS is responsible for policy and oversight of 17 Acts of Parliament, with 54 distinct sets of regulation, including enabling legislation, and a liaison function with the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, which has over $243 billion in net assets under management.

The Government of Canada also provides other pension plans, including those for the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, members of Parliament, senators, judges, the Governor General, lieutenant-governors and diplomats.

Benefits

The Treasury Board establishes or modifies the federal public service benefit plans pursuant to the Financial Administration Act 7.1(1). The President of the Treasury Board is responsible for the overall management of the benefit plans.

TBS is responsible for the operations, design, retendering and implementation of industry contracts, negotiations with bargaining agents or retirees, financial stewardship and the delivery of nine benefit plans that support the health and well-being of 3.5 million plan members. Five of these plans in the areas of health, dental and disability are the largest in Canada. Benefit expenditures of $3.8 billion annually account for more than 90% of TBS’s overall spending.

There is also a key oversight and management role for TBS of administrators and insurers for the largest contracts in the benefit plan industry.

Centre on Diversity and Inclusion

Playing a leadership role on innovative initiatives and the change management required to build a diverse and inclusive public service culture

Official Languages Centre of Excellence

Support the coordinated implementation of the Official Languages Act, establish certain policies and programs for its application, particularly with respect to language of service, language of work and participation of English- and French-speaking Canadians in federal institutions, and monitor compliance with these

Centre of expertise on mental health

Supporting federal organizations in implementing the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace; supports mental health and wellness champions, leaders and employees through the provision of expert advice, resources and tools

Senior leaders and talent

Providing leadership, programs and policies to support a purpose-led, accountable, impact- and results-driven, diverse and inclusive senior leadership cadre across the federal public service

Harassment, discrimination and violence prevention

Ensuring the public service is a workplace free from harassment, discrimination and violence; updating the policy framework on the prevention of harassment and violence to align with new legislative framework

Occupational health and safety

Providing direction to the various stakeholders regarding their respective duties and responsibilities under the Canada Labour Code and to make certain that the required measures are taken to ensure compliance

People Management Policy Suite

The Policy Suite consists of seven policies and 24 directives:

• the Policy on People Management (19 directives) sets expectations for the management of all core public administration employees, including executives
• the Policy on the Management of Executives (three directives) sets additional expectations specific to the management of executives
• the Policy on Official Languages (three directives) supports compliance with and implementation of the Official Languages Act and its regulations
• four other policies addressing specific issues^{Footnote 11}

The Policy Suite, with some exceptions,^{Footnote 12} was renewed in 2020 with a focus on enhancing governance, leadership, and performance measurement.

The Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer’s ministerial mandate letter commitments

1. Ensure vaccination across the public service
2. Ensure that public service workplaces are free from sexual harassment and violence, as well as racism and all forms of hate
3. Bargain in good faith with Canada’s public sector unions
4. Support departments in implementing the plans outlined in their responses to the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion
5. Ensure the use of disaggregated data to track the public service’s progress in implementing the plans outlined in their responses to the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion
6. Build a whole-of-government approach for the improved collection, analysis, availability and publication of disaggregated data
7. Create a Diversity Fellowship to mentor and sponsor diverse groups of public servants
8. Implement an action plan to increase representation in hiring, appointments and leadership development
9. Create a fellowship for 1,000 students and new graduates
10. Offer language training to post-secondary students to reduce barriers to public service recruitment
11. Hire 5,000 new public servants with disabilities by 2025
12. Offer language programs to racialized public service employees
13. Expand public service recruitment programs to international students and permanent residents
14. Help community organizations support students to enter the public service
15. Establish a mental health fund for Black public servants
16. Support career advancement, training, sponsorship and educational opportunities for Black public servants
17. Advance the implementation of the Pay Equity Act across the public service
18. Bring forward a coherent and coordinated plan for the future of work within the public service
19. Develop a long-term, government-wide Public Service Skills Strategy
20. Require Crown corporations to implement gender and diversity reporting, starting in 2022
21. Improve government whistleblower protections and supports, including exploring possible amendments to the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act
22. Ensure that Canadians across the country can receive services from federal institutions in both official languages
23. Implement measures outlined in the white paper, English and French: Towards a Substantive Equality of Official Languages in Canada that are related to the public service

Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it; subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can demonstrably be justified in a free and democratic society. Courts have determined that the “freedom of association” clause confers rights of collective bargaining, including benefit plans.

Financial Administration Act

Confers human resources management powers to the Treasury Board and/or deputy heads (organization of work, classification, discipline, termination of employment, terms and conditions of employment, establishment and modification of the public service benefit plan)

Public Service Employment Act

Sets out staffing rules, restrictions on political activities administered by the Public Service Commission of Canada

Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act

Governs collective bargaining and labour relations in the federal public service

Employment Equity Act

Establishes rules for employers to engage in proactive employment practices to increase the representation of four designated groups: women, people with disabilities, Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities

Canadian Human Rights Act

Prohibits federally regulated employers from discriminating based on the grounds listed in the Act. It also protects the right to pay equity by establishing that it is a discriminatory practice for an employer to establish differences in wages between male and female employees who perform work of equal value.

Accessible Canada Act

Provides for the development of accessibility standards and gives the government the authority to work with stakeholders and persons with disabilities to create new accessibility regulations that will apply to sectors within the federal jurisdiction

Pay Equity Act

As of August 31, 2021, will require Treasury Board and other federal employers and ministers’ offices to proactively review compensation and ensure that they are providing equal pay for work of equal value

Canada Labour Code, Part II

Sets out the Occupational Health and Safety regime, including Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations, strengthening Canada Labour Code provisions with a comprehensive approach that considers all forms of harassment and violence

Official Languages Act

Assigns responsibilities to Treasury Board and its President, regulations and policies on communications and services to the public, language of work in federal institutions and the participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians in federal institutions

Public Service Superannuation Act (and other pension legislation)

Sets out the terms and conditions for pension benefits to current and former federal public sector employees, and their survivors and dependants. Includes Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act of invested assets.

Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act

Establishes a secure and confidential process for disclosing serious wrongdoing in the workplace, as well as protection from acts of reprisal

Workforce demographics of the core public administration^{Footnote 16}

As of March 31, 2022, of the 254,309 employees in the core public administration, the majority (84%) are indeterminate (permanent employees). The remaining 16% are term (defined contract length), casual (temporary contracts limited to 90 working days) or students (full-time students hired through approved student programs). As of March 2022, the majority (51%) of employees work outside of the National Capital Region.

Over the last 20 years, the core public administration has observed relatively steady growth. Since 2000, the non-executive population has grown by 66% (to 247,439), though it is of note that within this population, knowledge workers grew by 141% (to 59,687).^{Footnote 17} Over this same period, the executive population has grown by 108% (to 6,870).

There are approximately 216,000 employees within the core public administration, who are represented by one of 17 bargaining agents who have negotiated 28 collective agreements.^{Footnote 18}

According to the report on employment equity in the public service of Canada for fiscal year 2021 to 2022, the make-up of the core public administration met or exceeded the workforce availability^{Footnote 19} targets for three of the four designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, members of visible minorities) defined by the Employment Equity Act.

Representation for persons with disabilities has stabilized after a six-year decline. However, representation for persons with disabilities has remained below the workforce availability targets. Workforce availability targets for persons with disabilities nearly doubled two years ago due to a broadening of the range of disability types considered in the 2016 Census.

Representation of the designated groups is not evenly distributed across classification groups and levels. For example, Indigenous peoples are under-represented in the executive group. The updated core public administration representation rates will be reported against the same workforce availability targets until the new workforce availability estimates based on Census 2021 become available (this typically occurs two years after the Census).

1) Setting total compensation

The Treasury Board establishes compensation for the federal public sector in an integrated manner to attract and retain employees to support the delivery of results for the people of Canada. This includes wages, salaries, current and future benefits, pension plan contributions, and other costs owed to employees as compensation (for example, Employer Canada Pension Plan or Québec Pension Plan and Employment Insurance contributions, paid leave).

TBS is responsible for establishing business requirements for the pay system, whereas Public Services and Procurement Canada is responsible for their implementation and for delivering pay services to government employees.

TBS supports the President of the Treasury Board in the oversight, management and administration of the public service pension plan and in the stewardship of other federal retirement programs, including the Members of Parliament pension plan.

As the employer, the Treasury Board has authorities through the Financial Administration Act, to organize work and to provide for the classification of positions and persons employed in the core public administration. The organization of work and the classification of positions are not negotiated. The classification system is divided into 29 occupational groups and the work is evaluated by 72 classification standards.

2) Establishing people management policies

The Treasury Board issues policies which provide direction to departments on public sector management, including the management of people. The Treasury Board Policy on People Management and the Policy on the Management of Executives are the two main policies that set out the expectations for the management of all core public administration employees and executives. TBS, through its Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, is responsible for supporting the implementation of these policies and works to ensure that deputy heads, managers and the human resources community are equipped with training, systems and tools to effectively implement the policies.

Updates were made to the Policy on People Management and the Policy on the Management of Executives, which came into force April 1, 2020, to enhance governance, leadership and performance measurement. These two policies are supported by 22 directives, which contain mandatory procedures and standards (for example, on classification, telework, mandatory learning, Interchange). These policies delegate authorities respectively to the President, the Secretary and the Chief Human Resources Officer, to issue, amend or rescind the supporting directives, provided the changes have no financial implications.

The President of the Treasury Board is also the sponsor of the Policies for Ministers’ Offices which provide the various financial, personnel and administrative rules and regulations under which ministers’ offices function. The policies also state that the Treasury Board provides ministers with budgets for exempt staff and operational needs of their offices. The policies were last updated in 2011.

3) The workplace

The Treasury Board is responsible for maintaining a workplace that is diverse, inclusive, free from harassment and violence, supportive of employees’ right to work in the official language of their choice and in which employees are guided by clear expectations for behaviour and shared values and ethics. The annual Public Service Employee Survey provides relevant data on the issues in the workplace such as job and organizational satisfaction, the level of trust and respect, as well as data on stress, mental health issues, harassment and discrimination.

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Mike MacDonald, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister
Security Policy Modernization: Focuses on action ready strategies and policy alignment

Len Bastien, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister
Digital Community Development: Responsible for recruiting, developing and retaining the talent needed for the demands and priorities of the Government of Canada

Employee snapshot^{Footnote 22}

• 565 full-time equivalents, which include 451 indeterminate full-time equivalents and 112 determinate full-time equivalents
• 70 full-time equivalents in planned staffing
• Breakdown by classification:
  • Administrative Services: 29%
  • Information Technology: 24%
  • Economics or Social Sciences: 34%
  • Executive: 13%

2023–24 budget by funding source^{Footnote 23}

• Ongoing: $57.1 million
• Temporary: $8.7 million
• External: $22.1 million

Digital Ambition priorities

• Strengthen the overall health of the application portfolio
• Strengthen Government of Canada digital transformation
• Improve the service experience of all clients
• Deploy modern and accessible workplace tools and devices
• Plan and govern for the sustainable and integrated management of service, data, IT, privacy and cyber security

Key priorities

• Government of Canada Cloud Adoption Strategy
• Government of Canada Cyber Security Event Management Plan (GC CSEMP)
• Application modernization
• Government of Canada Enterprise Architecture Review Board
• Government of Canada Technical Debt Strategy
• Government of Canada Enterprise Cyber Security Strategy

Digital Ambition priorities

• Maximize public value of data and information
• Build and use secure common solutions for digital service delivery
• Manage and use data and information as strategic assets

Key priorities

• 2023–2026 Data Strategy for the Federal Public Service
• Directive on Automated Decision-Making
• National Action Plans on Open Government
• Digital Credentials Program

Digital Ambition priorities

• Embed Government of Canada priorities into governing frameworks and policy
• Provide horizontal prioritization and portfolio management
• Streamline partner portfolios
• Establish an agile operating model
• Implement Government of Canada–wide architecture strategy and standards
• Provide modern, reliable and secure networks and infrastructure

Key priorities

• Government of Canada Digital Standards Playbook
• Improving the government’s access to information regime
• Government of Canada cyber security management guidelines

Digital Ambition priorities

• Drive a systemic culture shift across government to support a digital-first mindset
• Attract, retain and develop diverse digital talent

Key priorities

• Government of Canada Digital Talent Platform
• Government of Canada Digital Talent Strategy
• Government of Canada Onboarding
• Government of Canada Digital Skills Strategy

Digital is fundamentally about good service delivery

• Digital government is about using data and technology to support the efficient and effective implementation of government policies, programs and processes
• Digital transformation allows institutions to identify opportunities, create value and benefit from economies of scale.
• Advances in digital technologies are radically transforming the way Canadians live, work and interact. Canadians expect secure, seamless, user-centric digital services.
• Meeting expectations and delivering on government’s digital capabilities are critical to maintaining trust in Canada’s institutions.

Where we fit in the digital landscape

Figure 8 - Text version

Graphic showing how the government’s digital landscape involves key organizations that play roles in four separate layers:

1. the business layer
2. the information layer
3. the application layer
4. the technology layer

The business layer is overseen by the Digital Transformation Office and the Canadian Digital Service. The application and technology layers are overseen by Shared Services Canada.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Office of the Chief Information Officer, provides policies, standards, guidelines, oversight and enablement across the layers to provide security, privacy and accessibility.

The business layer involves how clients access services, how we provide services and how we work with service delivery partners.

The information layer involves how we use and manage information and data.

The application layer involves the applications that support service delivery and manage data.

The technology layer involves the infrastructure and platforms that enable service delivery and integration.

Digital landscape: other key federal partners

Digital change at scale requires actively engaging and working with key partners.

Figure 9 - Text version

Graphic showing how key federal partners effect digital change at scale. It features four principal areas:

1. government operations and services
2. economy
3. privacy and cyber security
4. data

The first three areas intersect with one another, and data intersects with all three other areas.

The area of government operations and services involves the following:

• Public Services and Procurement Canada oversees government applications (for example, human resources software) and is a common service provider (for example, real property manager)
• service delivery departments (for example, Employment and Social Development Canada; the Canada Revenue Agency; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) provide delivery of services that are critical to national economic and social well-being (for example, Benefits Delivery Modernization)

The area of privacy and cyber security involve the following:

• Public Safety Canada, which undertakes coordination and strategic policy-making on national cyber security matters
• the Department of Justice Canada, which is involved with Privacy Act reform

• the Communications Security Establishment and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, which act as the cyber security centre of expertise

The area of the economy involves Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, which is involved in the digital economy in Canada and is the lead for Canada’s Digital Charter.

The area of data involves:

• Statistics Canada for the collection, compilation, analysis and publication of statistical information
• Library and Archives Canada for data preservation

Note: This list is illustrative, not exhaustive.

The business layer: there is a large and complex service delivery and operational environment

78 departments and agencies report 1,848 services through their service inventories.

Figure 10 - Text version

Bar graph showing the top 10 services by transaction volume for 2021–22 across four service channels: telephone, online, in person and mail. The services are:

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) / Harmonized Services Tax (HST) credit payments (40.2 million transactions)
• provincial and territorial tax credit payments (39.9 million transactions)
• individual income tax returns (30.5 million transactions)
• traveller processing (23.4 million transactions)
• commercial processing (highway, air, rail, marine and postal) (21.9 million transactions)
• Canada Recovery Benefit (13.5 million) transactions
• provincial and territorial child benefit program payments (10.5 million transactions)
• financial literacy (9.8 million transactions)
• external credential management (8.6 million transactions)
• Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (8.5 million transactions)

The information and data layer: information and data holdings are significant but locked within institutional and program silos

Public servants develop and deliver programs and services and provide evidence-informed advice to decision-makers. These activities involve the production, use and management of data. As new technologies reshape the lives and work of people around the world, the volume of data continues to grow exponentially.

Ensuring that privacy is protected, and that data is used ethically, public trust increases in a public service that can manage, safeguard and use data.

The scope of enterprise data and information is broad:

• regulation, security and enforcement
• operations (for example, human resources, financial)
• services to Canadians, including businesses
• research, policies and programs

Canada’s regulatory and legislative landscape is complex. It defines the boundaries of data and information-sharing within the federal government, with other jurisdictions in Canada and abroad, and with Indigenous peoples.

Source: Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council: A Data Strategy Roadmap for the Federal Public Service

Source: 2023–2026 Data Strategy for the Federal Public Service

Applications and technology layer: the information technology ecosystem is large with increasing annual expenditures

• 50 networks
• 21 email systems
• 385 data centres
• 12,000 Government of Canada applications

Figure 11 - Text version

Bar graph showing Government of Canada information technology operating expenditures from the 2013–14 fiscal year to the 2021–22 fiscal year, in billions of dollars:

	Fiscal year 2013–14 ($)	Fiscal year 2014–15 ($)	Fiscal year 2015–16 ($)	Fiscal year 2016–17 ($)	Fiscal year 2017–18 ($)	Fiscal year 2018–19 ($)	Fiscal year 2019–20 ($)	Fiscal year 2020–21 ($)	Fiscal year 2021–22 ($)
Departments	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.7	4.0	4.4	4.9	5.7	5.9
Shared Services Canada	1.9	1.9	1.9	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.6	3.0	3.0

Figure 12 - Text version

Pie chart showing Government of Canada information technology operating expenditures by technology services groups in 2020–21, in millions of dollars:

• information technology applications: $2,639
• telecommunications and networks: $1,361
• production and operations computing: $1,202
• distributed computing: $1,188
• information technology program management: $722
• information technology security: $420

Note: Distributed computing expenditures represent expenditures for workstations and desktop and office productivity tools.

Shared Services Canada and the Office of the Chief Information Officer continue to make progress towards standardizing, integrating and modernizing networks, emails and data centre applications.

Source: 2021–22 department information technology expenditure reports, 46 partner departments and three client departments (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council).

Notes

Shared Services Canada expenditures include Shared Services Canada’s Vote Net Revenue (information technology services provided by Shared Services Canada to other departments).

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency have yet to submit their 2021–22 expenditures.

Applications and technology layer: there remains significant opportunity for modernization

• Business applications: 7,710
• Percentage of “healthy” applications: 38%

Figure 13 - Text version

Pie chart showing an assessment of aging information technology in four categories:

• attention required: 42%
• minimal or no attention required: 38% (this figure constitutes the Application Portfolio Health Indicator)
• not assessed: 12%
• immediate attention required: 8%

* Application Portfolio Health Indicator is the percentage of healthy applications in the Government of Canada where the health of the application is determined based on a department’s self-assessment of the application’s business value, technical condition, funding condition and criticality.

Notes

• Data is as of July 18, 2023, and filtered as being active or in production and included in the portfolio assessment.
• This assessment takes into account applications’ business value, criticality, funding condition, whether a business continuity plan is in place, and technical condition.
• The Application Portfolio Health Indicator is calculated by adding the number of applications that require no attention and the number of applications that require minimal attention and dividing that total by the number of all applications. The Application Portfolio Health Indicator is the percentage of healthy applications in the Government of Canada where the health of the application is determined based on a department’s self-assessment of the applications’ business value, technical condition, funding condition and criticality.
• Applications that were not assessed did not have enough attributes available to fully assess them.
• Mission-critical applications are applications that support the delivery of critical services. Critical services are services and activities that if disrupted would cause high or very high risk to the health, safety, security, economic well-being or continuity of government operations.

Figure 14 - Text version

Bar graph showing the Government of Canada Application Portfolio Health Indicator (APHI) from 2013 to 2022 and the APHI for mission-critical applications from 2018 to 2022.

Mission-critical applications are those applications that support the delivery of services that, if disrupted, would cause high or very high risk to the health, safety, security, economic well-being or continuity of government operations.

APHI for the Government of Canada:

• 2013: 21%
• 2014: 20%
• 2015: 18%
• 2016: 21%
• 2017: 28%
• 2018: 30%
• 2019: 35%
• 2020: 36%
• 2021: 35%
• 2022: 38%

APHI for mission-critical applications:

• 2018: 49%
• 2019: 51%
• 2020: 55%
• 2021: 55%
• 2022: 62%

Notes

• Approximately two thirds of Government of Canada business applications are calculated as being not healthy.
• Application portfolio health results show a slow progress in aging information technology since 2013.
• The Application Portfolio Health Indicator is the percentage of healthy applications in the GC where the health of the application is determined based on a department’s self-assessment of the application’s business value, technical condition, funding condition and criticality.

Figure 15 - Text version

Bar chart comparing the overall maturity of technology by cyber security pillar in 2022 and 2023.

Scores by pillar:

	2022	2023
Identify	2.3	2.4
Protect	2.3	2.5
Detect	2.1	2.3
Respond	2.0	2.2
Recover	2.1	2.2

Maturity scoring is as follows:

• Level 0: does not exist
• Level 1: partial
• Level 2: risk informed
• Level 3: repeatable
• Level 4: adaptive

Source: Government of Canada Application Portfolio Management as of July 18, 2023

How did we get here?

• Historically, federal institutions developed and implemented their programs and services and supporting operations independently of each other.
• This has resulted in siloed operations, data and technology, with each department developing its own approaches.
• In 2011, Shared Services Canada was created to integrate the Government of Canada information technology infrastructure and some of the information technology support services (email, telecommunications). It took over an aging patchwork of information technology systems that lacked interoperability.
• In 2019, the Chief Information Officer of Canada–led Enterprise Governance and Planning, along with policy changes, supported significant investments to modernize and enhance the government’s digital services.
• Shared Services Canada has made progress repairing and replacing critical hardware infrastructure, including decommissioning costly legacy data centres, implementing modern cross-government information technology solutions.
• In 2022, the Digital Ambition was introduced outlining four strategic pillars to transition the Government of Canada to a more digital government.

Decades of under-investments have resulted in the accrual of significant “technical debt” as information technology infrastructure ages faster than the pace of repairs or replacements.

Not only is it inherently costly to maintain, older infrastructure often performs poorly and can be more prone to service interruptions.

Digital enables horizontal integration

The cross-cutting nature of digital government is challenging vertical departmental structures and underscoring the importance of operating across mandates and organizations.

• Institutional mandates and authorities are vertical.
• To deliver on digital, we need to act horizontally and have the right mechanisms in place to drive behavioural change.

What are the challenges?

Many underlying challenges to the implementation of digital government result from, or are exacerbated by, siloed approaches to operations, data and technology:

1. Complex structural reality: The government has an outdated and complex information technology infrastructure that affects its ability to respond efficiently and effectively to the changing needs of Canadians. Services and the mechanisms to access services continue to be siloed and inconsistent. Some services are not accessible or secure, and user experiences vary greatly across government.
2. Shortage of talent and under-representation: The Government of Canada needs to represent the population of Canada while reducing systemic barriers to people trying to access government information and services, no matter where they live and how they identify. To build a diverse and inclusive workforce that helps the Government of Canada, it needs to better understand the needs of individuals and deliver quality, user-centric service.
3. Value-driven investment: Investment in technology and digital initiatives has continued to grow over the last decade; however, the highly decentralized nature of information technology investment management and decision-making in the Government of Canada creates high complexity. There is opportunity to provide both self-service and full-service means to support Canadians and be methodical about how we invest collectively to achieve efficiency of delivery.

What are some of the best practices to support digital government?

Leading digital governments across Canada and around the world have prioritized:

• developing the necessary common digital platforms and components needed across government to deliver services
• putting user needs over government needs and avoiding project surprises: relentlessly researching, developing and testing services with the people who will actually use them strengthening public trust as a result
• delivering service improvements to the public on an incremental and continuous basis (for example, daily not yearly)
• recruiting digital professionals and building capacity of public servants, and empowering them with tools and autonomy
• launching digital marketplaces to make it easier for private businesses to collaborate with government on service delivery

What are our key priorities for advancing the digital agenda?

The Digital Ambition, a three-year forward-facing strategic plan, contains four strategic themes that are supported by a set of government-wide priorities that focus on outcome-driven, action-oriented approaches that address the challenges of digital modernization.

“To enable delivery of government in the digital age for all Canadians. This will be done by providing modernized and accessible tools to support service delivery that expresses the best of Canada in the digital space.”

Theme 1: excellence in technology and operations

Individuals and businesses are satisfied with and trust Government of Canada services, which are reliable, secure, timely, accessible and easy to use from any device.

Theme 2: data-enabled digital services and programs

Departments make better data-driven decisions, operations are more effective and efficient, costs are lower, and duplication of effort is reduced.

Theme 3: action-ready digital strategy and policy

The Government of Canada’s major service delivery systems are easy to use and maintain, stable and reliable, secure, and adaptable.

Theme 4: structural evolution in funding, talent and culture

Government of Canada public servants are digitally enabled through cultural and operational shifts and work on modern, diverse and multidisciplinary teams to serve the public better.

Initiatives to support the key priorities

Here are some of the key initiatives that are within the four strategic themes of the Digital Ambition that will be pursued in order to achieve the priority goal of delivering government services efficiently and effectively:

• operations are safe, secure and reliable in an ever-evolving cyber-threat landscape
• delivering measurable progress on multi-year, foundational and transformational programs across government to modernize the technology and processes used to deliver our immigration, benefits programs (for example, Old Age Security, Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan) and our Government of Canada pay system
• delivering the foundational technology for “one front door” to create a consistent and personalized service experience and entry point for federal government service
• enabling solutions that support the transition from a highly analogue environment to one that leverages digital opportunities to support the outcomes of the Access to Information review
• driving a systemic shift in culture across government that continues to look at evolution of policy and programs with a digital-first mindset
• attracting, retaining and developing the Government of Canada’s digital talent to build a diverse community that reflects those we serve

Mandate

The Comptroller General is responsible for government-wide direction and leadership in the areas of financial management, management of assets and internal audit.

These comptrollership functions are the foundation of the delivery of programs and services to Canadians – departments and agencies count on our leadership, and these lenses embedded in decision-making at Treasury Board.

Management team

Financial Management Sector

Focused on strengthening government-wide financial management, oversight and reporting, and building capacity in specialized areas such as finance, accounting, costing, charging, and grants and contributions

Acquired Services and Assets Sector

Focused on strengthening the management of assets and acquired services through policies, advice and capacity-building functions for federal procurement, real property, materiel management, investment planning and project management communities

Internal Audit Sector

Focused on strengthening the internal audit function government-wide, which contributes to sound risk management, control and governance processes

Financial Management Transformation Sector

Focused on establishing strategic direction, policies and guidance for all Government of Canada financial management systems, including finance, procurement, real property, asset and materiel management, grants and contributions, investment and project management

Effective resource management controls are foundational to trust in government

The credibility of costing and other financial data, as well as adherence to Public Sector Accounting Standards in support of departmental financial reporting, is critical to the Government of Canada.

In 2021–22, over $24 billion in grants and contributions were spent through more than 800 transfer payment programs by over 50 departments with different mandates and results.

It underpins the assets and services we own and buy

The Government of Canada spends approximately $10 billion annually to administer the federal real property portfolio.

Approximately $21.3 billion in contracts and amendments were awarded in federal public procurement in 2019 to buy everything from military vehicles, vessels and equipment to software and systems.

It provides assurance on government practices and activities

Over 200 internal audit engagements are conducted annually across government, touching on a wide range of high-risk areas such as information technology security, human resources management, transformation, program design and so on.

Which is supported by diverse functional communities across government

Over 6,600 financial analysts and approximately 600 executives work in financial management across the government.

Over 14,000 people work in the real property and procurement community alone.

There are 44 chief audit executives and approximately 650 Internal Audit employees.

Setting the rules and direction for how departments manage their business

Without effective management of internal services – management and accounting of resources, management of projects and assets, procurement, transfer payments and management controls – government cannot effectively deliver programs and services.

Not only do we set the policies and establish delegation limits (for example, contracting and project limits) to ensure consistency across the enterprise, we continually engage, advise and guide departments in support of effective resource management.

Recognizing the impact of program delivery decisions on the Public Accounts, we work with departments to build capacity, find solutions and ensure credibility through Chief Financial Officer Attestation and other tools.

Given the reset of Treasury Board policies, we are working with both practitioners and newly appointed senior designated officials to provide guidance and tools to effectively manage their projects, assets, and procurements.

We provide deputy heads with assurance regarding the design and operation of the governance, risk management and control processes in their organizations.

Leading and developing the community

Engage deputy heads on the designation of chief financial officers and chief audit executives to ensure the right people with the right skills are placed in the right positions.

Develop our talent and support professionalization through government-wide recruitment and staffing, oversight of leadership programs, and development of training and learning, with a growing focus on inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility.

Work with professionals in departments to build capacity where there are identified needs (for example, costing, charging, transfer payments, real property management, financial systems, data analytics, assurance and internal audit functions).

Supporting Treasury Board in its management board role

Treasury Board submissions and the Chief Financial Officer Attestation should reflect our efforts of working with departments on their management frameworks.

In addition, we provide advice and analysis to support submissions (for example, advice on cost estimates, financial risks, accounting implications).

Optimize investment in departmental financial management systems

Support the establishment of various strategies to enable departmental financial systems to operate in a SaaS (software as a service) environment.

Financial management

• Overseeing Public Accounts
• Addressing key accounting issues and implementing accounting standards such as Indigenous reconciliation or litigation financial impacts, international assistance tools and more.
• Reviewing and challenging key costing initiatives (for example, National Shipbuilding Strategy, Benefits Delivery Modernization, and so on) and building costing capacity across the Government of Canada
• Supporting the effective delivery of Transfer Payment programs and building capacity of practitioners

Financial management transformation

• Policy and oversight of investments in comptrollership systems
• Support departments and central agencies with a robust and Government of Canada–wide strategy that maximizes investment in financial systems
• Digital Comptrollership Program function leverages digital advancements to:
  • standardize and manage data as a strategic asset
  • optimize planning, reporting and analytics in departments and Government of Canada–wide
  • simplify and automate processes
  • consolidate systems and reduce technical debt

Acquired services and assets

• Managing implementation of a relatively new suite of Treasury Board policies
• Supporting Treasury Board (via program sector) on the review of annual submissions related to procurement, projects, investment plans and real property
• With partners (Public Services and Procurement Canada and Indigenous Services Canada), increasing the diversity of bidders on Government of Canada contracts with focus on Indigenous procurement
• Supporting the effective management of real property through a centre of expertise
• Building the capacity of the procurement, materiel, real property and project management communities through recruitment and professional development

Internal audit

• Implementing a modern, renewed Vision for Internal Audit in response to the changing pace and complexity of the risk environment
• Performing internal audit work across the Government of Canada, focused on providing a range of independent internal audit services designed to add value and improve operations within departments and Regional Development Agencies
• Enhancing the role of internal audit to provide real-time advice and assurance in support of large transformation initiatives
• Leading recruitment of Departmental Audit Committee members

Mandate

• Co-develop, launch and advance the implementation of Nothing Without Us: An Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada.
• Provide advice and leadership to federal departments and agencies as they prepare to meet the requirements of the Accessible Canada Act.
• Launch and manage the Centralized Enabling Workplace Fund to invest in research, tools and innovation aimed at improving workplace accommodation practices and removing barriers that create a need for accommodation

Our senior management

Employees with disabilities

The public service’s core administration employs over 236,000 people across Canada, and 6.2% of these employees identify themselves as having a disability.

People with disabilities are the only equity group currently under-represented in the public service workforce. Despite 9.1% workforce availability in Canada, people with disabilities only represent 6.2% of the core public service workforce.

Barriers facing employees with disabilities

• Physical barriers in the workplace
• Technological barriers in the use of platforms and tools
• Knowledge gaps in how to procure goods and services in an accessible manner and how to design programs and services accessibly from the start
• Behavioural and attitudinal barriers in how to serve Canadians in a barrier-free manner and how to nurture diverse and inclusive teams

As the largest employer and service provider in Canada, the federal public service can make a significant difference in the identification, prevention and removal of barriers for people with disabilities.

Five strategy goals

1. Improve recruitment, retention and promotion of persons with disabilities
2. Enhance the accessibility of the built environment
3. Make information and communications technology usable by all
4. Equip public servants to design and deliver accessible programs and services
5. Build an accessibility confident public service

Other partners

• Departments and agencies preparing for the Accessible Canada Act
• Employee networks and communities of practice
• External accessibility experts in Canada or abroad

Leadership and governance in accessibility

• Continue to support deputy ministers responsible for specific elements of the strategy to make measurable progress.
• Focus on removing barriers and improving workplace accommodation practices by:
  • funding innovative pilots that support accessibility in public service such as the Lending Library (Shared Services Canada)
  • working with key functional communities (human resources, chief information officers, managers, real property) to build capacity in accessibility and disability inclusion
  • advancing the development of an accessible digital application for the Government of Canada Workplace Accessibility Passport

Strategic advice and measurement

• Launch tools and guidance to support departments in developing and implementing their accessibility plans and measuring progress.
• Identify trends, best practices and sharing lessons learned in accessibility with departments and agencies.
• Provide progress updates on the implementation of the strategy.

Outreach and engagement

• Deliver learning and engagement events, including sessions promoting the passport, to mobilize and equip key audiences to remove barriers and improve accessibility and disability inclusion.
• Increased engagement to ensure that accessibility and disability is embedded in broader diversity and inclusion efforts, working closely with other employment equity groups and allies.

Mandate

The mandate of the Centre for Greening Government is to provide leadership toward net-zero, climate-resilient and green Government of Canada operations.

Management team

Key activities

• Leads and coordinates the implementation of the Greening Government Strategy and the Policy on Green Procurement, including by:
  • providing strategic advice, practical guidance and tools to departments for net-zero, climate-resilient and green real property, fleet and procurement
  • convening interdepartmental working groups and external stakeholder communities of practices to share expertise, successes and best practices
• Tracks and publicly discloses greenhouse gas emissions reductions for federal operations
• Administers:
  • the Greening Government Fund (approximately $5 million per year) to fund projects in departments that reduce emissions
  • the Low-Carbon Fuel Procurement Program ($228 million over eight years starting in 2023–24) to support the purchase of low-carbon fuels for government marine and aircraft

Partners and stakeholders

• Collaborates with, guides and directs federal departmentsto green their operations with a focus on 27 major federal emitters
• Works with provinces, territories, industry and non-governmental organizations on amplifying greening efforts across the country

January to March 26

• Supplementary Estimates (C) (the last Estimates for 2023–24)
• Main Estimates for 2024–25 (tabling and interim supply)
• Departmental Plans for 2024–25
• Budget 2024

April 1: beginning of fiscal year

• The government starts the 2023–24 spending cycle

April 1 to June 23

• Supplementary Estimates (A), 2023–24
• Main Estimates, 2023–24 (approval and full supply)

September to December 10

• Supplementary Estimates (B), 2023–24
• Public Accounts for 2022–23
• Departmental Results Reports for 2022–23
• Fall Economic Statement 2023

The events and documents in the reporting cycle provide parliamentarians with the opportunity to review and make decisions on the use of public funds by the government.

Composition of budgetary authorities, 2023–24 in Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A)

Figure 20 - Text version

Bar graph showing the composition of budgetary authorities in the 2023–24 Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A).

Of statutory authorities:

• public debt charges totalled $38.6 billion
• transfers to other levels of government totalled $89.9 billion
• transfers to persons totalled $76.0 billion
• other statutory payments totalled $31.8 billion

Of voted authorities:

• capital budgets totalled $11.7 billion
• transfer payments totalled $88.2 billion
• operating budgets, Treasury Board central votes and payments to Crown corporations totalled $118.7 billion

Totals may not add due to rounding.

Total may not add up due to rounding.

Budgetary authorities versus nominal gross domestic product, 2001–02 to 2020–21

Source: Public Accounts and CANSIM (Canadian Socioeconomic information Management) Database 36‑10‑0104‑01

Figure 21 - Text version

Line graph showing that the growth in budgetary expenditure authorities was outpaced by the growth in nominal GDP from the 2001–02 fiscal year to the 2020–21 fiscal year. The result is that budgetary expenditure authorities were about 300% greater in 2020–21 than in 2001–02. (Source: Public Accounts and CANSIM table 36-10-0104-01)

Budgetary authorities (voted and statutory) versus nominal gross domestic product, 2015–16 to 2020–21

Figure 22 - Text version

Line graph showing that the growth in voted budgetary expenditure authorities since the 2015–16 fiscal year has been notably higher (at 74%) than growth in nominal GDP (at 17%), whereas statutory expenditure authorities increased 95% from the 2015–16 fiscal year to the 2020–21 fiscal year.

Finances, people, results

• A one-stop reference for the public and parliamentarians on government, finances, people and results data
• The web tool contains years’ worth of federal government data, bringing together information previously scattered across over 500 government reports such as the Public Accounts, Main Estimates and Departmental Plans
• The InfoBase is a key vehicle for displaying departmental results information under the Policy on Results, helping improve transparency to Parliament and Canadians
• Track spending by budget items and by implementing organization (for example, COVID-19 spending)

Within 15 days of the opening of a new Parliament

Governor General Special Warrants, authorized under section 30(1) of the Financial Administration Act, may be used to provide authority for payments when Parliament is dissolved for a general election. To be used, a minister must report that an expenditure is urgently required for the public good, and the President of the Treasury Board must report that there is no funding available through current appropriations to make the payment.

Within 15 days of the opening of a new Parliament, the President tables a Statement on the Use of Governor General Special Warrants, if any were issued.

October to December

The President could table a fall Supplementary Estimates soon after the new Parliament opens. Given this timing, these Estimates would likely be limited to items identified by organizations as urgently requiring supply.

The related supply bill would be introduced and voted by the House of Commons in early December. This would be followed by introduction in the Senate, where Royal Assent takes place upon approval. The Governor General would then issue a warrant (Financial Administration Act, section 28) to authorize organizations to draw funds specified in that appropriation act from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

February to early March

The President tables the final Supplementary Estimates for the current fiscal year and, by March 1, the Main Estimates for the upcoming fiscal year.

The President, Secretary and other officials are invited as witnesses before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, and/or the Senate Committee on National Finance.

Mid to late March

A supply bill for the Supplementary Estimates and an interim supply bill for the Main Estimates will be introduced in the House of Commons by the last allotted day of the supply period ending on March 26. Interim supply provides organizations with an advance on the funds requested in the Main Estimates to cover their needs from April 1, when the new fiscal year begins, until full supply for the Main Estimates is passed in June.

The supply bill follows the same pattern – introduction and passing in House of Commons, followed by the Senate, Royal Assent and issuance of a warrant.

March to May

Parliamentary standing committees consider individual department and agency Estimates. Ministers and officials are invited as witnesses.

The President and senior TBS officials testify at standing committees on TBS’s Estimates as well as the government-wide Estimates.

By May 31

House of Commons standing committees report, or are deemed to have reported, on individual departmental Estimates. The Committee of the Whole (the entire membership of the House of Commons sitting as a committee) may also study certain departmental Estimates, including one department selected by the Opposition.

By end of June

The House of Commons concludes debate on full supply, and the President introduces the full supply bill on the last allotted day of the supply period ending on June 23. Again, this is followed by introduction in the Senate, Royal Assent, and the issuance of a warrant to allow departments to draw funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Part A: management board

Makes decisions about:

• funds (expenditure manager)
• authorities, rules and compliance (management board)
• people (employer)

Treasury Board responsibilities are delegated by the Financial Administration Act, which creates the Board’s public service support: Secretary, Comptroller General, Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Information Officer.

Part B: Governor in Council

Since 2003, the Treasury Board has been designated as the Cabinet committee responsible for considering Governor in Council matters.

Treasury Board is responsible for making recommendations to the Governor General about most orders-in-council, including:

• regulations
• most orders-in-council (for example, non-appointment orders-in-council)

In addition to the Financial Administration Act, over 20 other statutes establish the Treasury Board’s roles and authorities. Powers and responsibilities are also set out in regulations, orders-in-council, policies, guidelines and practices.

1. Regulations: approximately 100 to 200 per year

• A form of law (subordinate legislation) made by Cabinet
• Submissions include a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement, legal text and a communications plan
• Examples include food and drug safety, environmental protection, and transportation safety
• In any given year, 20% to 30% of proposals are for Canada Gazette, Part I (prepublication consultation), and 70% to 80% are for Canada Gazette, Part II (final publication)

2. Orders-in-council: approximately 200 to 300 per year

• A legal decision
• Submission to the Treasury Board (Governor in Council) includes an order-in-council, an explanatory note and a communications plan (as applicable)
• Examples include authority to enter into an international agreement, tabling of budgetary estimates and release of supply, and bringing legislation into force

Most Governor in Council proposals are made public after approval.

Review and challenge function

• Review regulatory submissions to ensure that they are well designed and based on rigorous analysis
• Only proposals that meet the analytical and process requirements are supported
• Brief you and your staff in preparation for Treasury Board consideration of Governor in Council submissions

Oversight and reporting

• Provide central oversight and assess and report publicly on the government’s overall performance in delivering on regulatory reforms and on its regulatory policy framework

Regulatory cooperation

• Support Canada’s work with provincial, territorial and international partners to reduce unnecessary regulatory differences, harmonize or align regulations, and adopt international standards

Supporting policy leadership

• Provide analysis and advice on opportunities to strengthen Canada’s regulatory policy framework
• Provide guidance and tools to assist departments and agencies in preparing regulatory submissions

Legal framework

Policy framework

1. Supporting Treasury Board through review and challenge of regulatory submissions and orders-in-council

TBS reviews, applies due diligence and challenges regulatory submissions to the Treasury Board (Governor in Council) to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Cabinet Directive on Regulations. Similarly, TBS reviews and challenges orders-in-council submitted for Board approval. TBS officials brief the President and their staff and make recommendations to the Treasury Board regarding regulatory and order-in-council submissions.

From April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, 227 regulations were considered (67 for prepublication and 160 final), as well as 158 orders-in-council. These include proposals to add, remove and update regulations to address emerging technologies and new challenges to health, safety, security and the environment.

2. Central oversight of Canada’s regulatory system and regulatory policy framework

TBS provides central oversight, and it assesses and reports publicly on the government’s overall performance in delivering on recent regulatory reforms and on its regulatory policy framework.

TBS has also been leading whole-of-government efforts to review regulatory requirements and practices that hinder economic growth and innovation. Examples of this work include:

• establishing the Centre for Regulatory Innovation to help regulators respond to technological advances and leverage novel regulatory approaches
• leading the development of annual omnibus legislation to remove or update outdated or redundant requirements
• providing oversight of the Red Tape Reduction Act, which includes the One-for-One Rule that requires regulators to remove a regulation each time they introduce a new regulation that imposes new administrative burden on business

3. Regulatory cooperation

TBS works with other federal regulators, as well as provinces, territories and international partners, to reduce duplicative requirements and barriers between jurisdictions that impede trade or business investment.

TBS also works to promote good regulatory practices internationally through leadership roles in international forums such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and through the negotiation of good regulatory practices and regulatory cooperation provisions and chapters in trade agreements.

4. Supporting the federal regulatory community and supporting departments

TBS works closely with departments to support the regulatory community and help departments in the development of regulatory proposals. For example, TBS works with the Canada School of Public Service and the Community of Federal Regulators to provide training to regulators on regulations and cost-benefit analysis.

External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness

An External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness was established in 2019 to advise the Treasury Board on regulatory competitiveness. This first committee completed its term in 2021, having made a total of 44 recommendations to improve the regulatory system.

The External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness was renewed in October 2022 to advise Treasury Board by providing recommendations on how to promote and advance regulatory excellence and support the modernization of Canada’s regulatory system through innovation, competitiveness and economic growth.

The committee will:

• support the advancement of recovery initiatives and provide advice to TBS on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to make the regulatory system more flexible, adaptable and sustainable
• provide advice to TBS on the development of policy or guidance on stock reviews
• provide advice to TBS on updates to the Cabinet Directive on Regulation
• monitor the advancement of recommendations made by the previous committee and provide guidance on addressing the recommendations, for example, cumulative regulatory burden, competitiveness data, consultation and engagement

Coordinating targeted efforts to review regulations

Targeted Regulatory Reviews are exploring ways to reduce barriers to innovation, economic development and investment in the Canadian economy – while continuing to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians. Through the Regulatory Reviews, federal departments and agencies identify opportunities to make the regulatory framework more agile and responsive across key sectors and themes, including to support innovative technologies.

Two rounds of Regulatory Reviews have been completed to date, focused on:

Annual bill to facilitate regulatory amendments

Starting in 2019, the government committed to introduce an Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill (ARMB) to remove or update outdated or redundant legislative requirements that have downstream impacts on the federal regulatory environment. TBS is responsible for leading the development of the ARMB in collaboration with regulatory departments and agencies, the Department of Justice Canada, the Department of Finance Canada and the Privy Council Office.

The first ARMB included changes to 12 pieces of legislation and was included in the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1. The second ARMB (Bill-S6: An Act Respecting Regulatory Modernization) was tabled in March 2022 and completed Senate review and is currently at second reading in the House of Commons. A third ARMB is currently under development.

A public consultation on ideas for future iterations of the ARMB was launched in March 2023 and closed in June 2023. The consultation sought feedback on proposals relating to removing barriers to efficiency, overly restrictive legislation and unnecessary requirements. In addition, the consultation requested feedback on providing all regulators the authority to conduct regulatory sandboxes as well as incorporation by reference of internal documents on an ambulatory basis. Stakeholder feedback received is currently under assessment.

Promoting regulatory sandboxes

Stakeholders have advocated for the greater use of regulatory sandboxes and pilots in the design and application of regulations to be more agile and responsive to advances in technology and changes in the regulatory regime.

In response, TBS established the Centre for Regulatory Innovation to help regulators leverage novel approaches, including regulatory sandboxes, that encourage innovation but do not compromise consumer trust and confidence.

Regulatory sandboxes, specifically, are spaces created and controlled by regulators to test new products and new regulatory approaches (that may otherwise encounter barriers in the existing regulatory framework) prior to full marketization or implementation. Ultimately, the learnings from these sandboxes better equip regulators to ensure that their regulatory regime can remain up to date.

To date, the Centre has supported seven initiatives testing novel approaches across Transport Canada; Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; the Competition Bureau; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Standards Council of Canada; and Health Canada, through advisory support, as well as up to $1.4 million in funding support committed. The Centre is continuing to work with regulators to identify new opportunities for novel approaches – including and beyond sandboxes.

Additionally, the Centre also helps regulators build capacity to design and administer more competitive regulatory regimes. Since 2020, the Centre has administered approximately $12.5 million for 30 projects across 12 departments and agencies. This funding, originally set to sunset in March 2022, was renewed with an additional $6.2 million over three years and will now sunset in March 2025.

Advancing economic recovery through the Regulatory Cooperation Council

The Regulatory Cooperation Council is a bilateral forum that provides regulators and stakeholders from Canada and the United States with the opportunity to work together to address regulatory barriers to trade and investment. Its objective is to support economic growth and innovation, while protecting the health, safety, security and environment of our countries by identifying opportunities to align or remove duplicative or unnecessary regulatory burden on industry. The Regulatory Cooperation Council is jointly supported by TBS and the United States Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Over the past 10 years, the Regulatory Cooperation Council has facilitated the development of 31 bilateral work plans in areas related to health care, transportation, energy and agriculture, among others. In this respect, the Regulatory Cooperation Council has been key for the implementation of trade and industrial policy priorities by reducing regulatory duplication or misalignment between the jurisdictions. There is an opportunity to leverage the Regulatory Cooperation Council to address economic recovery priorities that jointly impact Canadian and American markets.

TBS continues to work with colleagues in the United States to discuss the future of the Regulatory Cooperation Council and opportunities for new work plans related to joint Canada-US priorities.

1. Financial management

Promotes proper use and accountability of public funds

2. Assets and acquired services

Assesses and sets the framework for the stewardship and value for money through life cycle management of assets and acquired services (for example, investment planning, procurement, real property, materiel and project management)

3. Service and digital

Establishes the framework for the management of service design and delivery, information and data, information technology, and cyber security in the digital era

4. Results, evaluation and internal audit

Measures performance and promotes public communication of information about results achieved and informs the oversight of public resources through the provision of advice and assurance to deputy heads for decision-making

5. Transfer payments

Guides how departments use transfer payments to advance government policy objectives. Transfer payments can range from statutory transfers such as Old Age Security to grants and contribution programs such as the New Horizons for Seniors Program.

6. Access to information and privacy

Sets rules for access to information in government records and the protection of privacy and personal information held by the government

7. Strategic communications

Sets rules for how the government communicates with the public (for example, advertising, social media, public opinion research and web publishing)

8. Government security

Establishes the framework for the protection of government operations and the people, information and assets that support them

9. Official languages

Promotes equality of English and French through communications and services

10. People management

Supports human resource management, including a healthy and respectful workplace, compensation, collective bargaining, pensions and benefits, values and ethics, performance and talent management, learning, and employee recourse

Policies strengthen government performance, results and reporting, and good governance and sound stewardship. This requires the policy suite to balance the need for minimum standards of management excellence while respecting the individual authorities and responsibilities of ministers and deputy heads.

Deputy heads hold the primary responsibility for ensuring that their departments follow the rules. In cases of non-compliance, deputy heads are responsible for taking corrective action and reporting non-compliance to TBS when appropriate.