Transition 2025 Briefing Book

1. General

The Financial Administration Act provides that the Treasury Board may act for the King’s Privy Council for Canada in specified areas, including general administrative policy in the federal public administration, the organization of the federal public administration, financial management, and the review of departmental spending plans and programs. The Act also provides for various powers of delegation.

The Financial Administration Act also provides important rules for the financial administration of the Government of Canada, the establishment and maintenance of the accounts of Canada and the control of Crown corporations. A variety of other statutes also grant authorities to the Treasury Board on financial matters such as presenting financial statements to the Auditor General for audit and approving rates of remuneration, travel expenses and other allowances.

The appropriation acts implement the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates. They are approved by the Treasury Board and tabled in the House of Commons by the President.

2. Management of assets

The Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act provides for the authorization and regulation of the acquisition, administration, and disposition of real property by or on behalf of the Crown. Under that Act, the Treasury Board is given authority to establish financial or other limits, restrictions or requirements respecting any real property transaction or class of transactions. Policies have been adopted ensuring proper stewardship of Crown property and maximization of value for any property acquired or disposed. Although the Act has delegated full authority to ministers to complete most transactions, certain transactions are subject to Cabinet approval (Governor in Council) on the recommendation of the Treasury Board. The President acts as the minister responsible for this Act.

3. Access to information and privacy

The Access to Information Act provides a right of access to records under the control of government institutions, requires a range of institutions to proactively publish specified information, and establishes the Office of the Information Commissioner. The President is one of the ministers designated by the Governor in Council for the purposes of the Act. As such, the President is responsible for:

• initiating a review of the Act every five years
• providing direction and guidance (for example, through administrative policies) to government institutions regarding the operation of the Act and for reviewing the management of records under the control of government institutions to ensure compliance with the Act
• publishing the following annually
  • a list containing the names of government institutions, their responsibilities and the classes of records kept by them
  • a summary report of statistics on institutional compliance with the Act

The Privacy Act establishes rules to protect personal information held by government institutions, provides individuals with a right to access and correct their personal information that is held by government institutions, and establishes the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. The President is the minister designated by the Governor in Council for the purposes of certain provisions of the Act. As such, the President is responsible for:

• providing direction and guidance (for example, through administrative policies) to government institutions regarding the operation of the Act
• reviewing the use of personal information banks and for reviewing the management of such banks to ensure compliance with the Act
• publishing annually an index of:
  • personal information banks, including the names of government institutions controlling the banks and the purposes for which the personal information was collected
  • classes of personal information that are not contained in personal information banks

4. Official languages

The President is responsible for exercising leadership within the Government of Canada in relation to the implementation of the Official Languages Act and, in consultation with the other ministers of the Crown, for coordinating the implementation of the Act and ensuring good governance of the Act.

The Treasury Board is responsible for the general direction and coordination of the policies and programs relating to the implementation of Part IV (Communications with and Services to the Public), Part V (Language of Work) and Part VI (Participation of English-Speaking and French-Speaking Canadians), subsection 41(5) (Positive Measures) and paragraph 41(7)(a.1) (Inclusion of linguistic clauses in agreements with provincial or territorial governments) of the Official Languages Act within all federal institutions except:

• the Senate
• the House of Commons
• the Library of Parliament
• the Office of the Senate Ethics Officer
• the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
• the Parliamentary Protective Service
• the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer

The President must submit an annual report to Parliament concerning the implementation of these programs. The President may also be designated by the Governor in Council to undertake public consultations on proposed regulations.

The Act was amended and received royal assent on June 20, 2023.

These amendments strengthen the roles and responsibilities of the Treasury Board and its President:

• the President of the Treasury Board is now the Minister responsible for providing leadership within the Government of Canada in regard to the implementation, coordination and good governance of the Act
• Treasury Board is now required to monitor and verify compliance with official languages policies, directives and regulations
• Treasury Board is required to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of federal policies and programs relating to official languages

Treasury Board’s functions have also been expanded to include monitoring the compliance of measures taken by federal institutions to implement commitments made under Part VII of the Act.

5. Auditor General

The Auditor General Act establishes the position of Auditor General, who is responsible for verifying the accuracy of the government’s financial statements and providing Parliament with independent information, assurance and advice regarding the stewardship of public funds. With respect to the Auditor General, the President:

• Tables the Public Accounts of Canada in the fall, which contain the Auditor General’s opinion on the government’s financial statements. The Auditor General also issues a Commentary on the Financial Audits, which includes the observations from the financial statement audit.
• Contributes to the Government of Canada’s public response to performance audits conducted by the Auditor General, which determine whether the government is appropriately managing its activities and resources. The findings of performance audits are summarized in the Auditor General’s reports, which are generally tabled in Parliament twice per year (spring and fall). Prior to tabling, the Auditor General typically offers to meet with the President to provide an overview of the audits implicating TBS. The President leads the briefing of Cabinet on the findings of the Auditor General’s performance audits and, with the implicated ministers, discusses communications strategies. If an audit implicates TBS, the President will also issue a specific response relating to its findings.
• Receives copies of the Auditor General’s special examinations, which determine whether Crown corporations are managed efficiently and effectively, and whether their assets are reasonably safeguarded. Special examinations must be conducted at least once every 10 years for each Crown corporation, and the results are generally tabled in Parliament annually as part of the Auditor General’s spring reports.

6. Red tape reduction

The Red Tape Reduction Act provides that the President may establish policies or issue directives respecting the way the One-for-One Rule is applied. The One-for-One Rule requires federal government regulators to offset the cost increases of administrative burdens on businesses and remove one regulation for every new regulation added that imposes an administrative burden. The President is also responsible for publishing a report each year. The regulations provide that the Treasury Board may exempt a regulation from the One-for-One Rule in certain circumstances.

7. Service Fees Act

The Service Fees Act requires responsible authorities, before certain fees are fixed, to develop fee proposals for consultation and to table them in Parliament. It also requires that performance standards and procedures for refunding certain fees be established in accordance with Treasury Board policies or directives. It adjusts certain fees on an annual basis in accordance with the Consumer Price Index. Furthermore, it requires responsible authorities to table a report on their fees in Parliament in accordance with Treasury Board policies and directives. Finally, the President is required to publish a report that consolidates the information set out in the reports tabled in Parliament.

1. General

The Treasury Board acts as the Employer for the core public administration and, as such, the Financial Administration Act gives it general responsibility for the organization of the public service and personnel management within the public administration, including the determination of the terms and conditions of employment of persons employed in it. It further allows the Treasury Board to delegate to the Chief Human Resource Officer any of its powers and functions – other than its power to make regulations – in relation to human resources management, official languages, employment equity, values and ethics and its authorities under the Public Service Employment Act.

The Financial Administration Act also provides direct authority for certain aspects of personnel management in the hands of deputy heads, subject to policies and directives of the Treasury Board. Deputy head responsibilities include determining learning and developmental requirements, providing for awards and setting standards of discipline and imposing penalties (up to and including termination) and the termination or demotion of employees for unsatisfactory performance or other non-disciplinary reasons.

2. Staffing

The Public Service Employment Act provides for the appointment of public servants in the public service and other related matters.

Under the Act, staffing in the public service is based on the core values of merit, excellence, non-partisanship, representativeness and the ability to serve members of the public with integrity in the official language of their choice. The Act defines merit, assigns certain functions directly to the employer and creates arrangements for staffing recourse. The Public Service Commission of Canada has the authority to make appointments, and this authority can be delegated to deputy heads. The Commission can also conduct investigations and audits on matters within its jurisdiction.

The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board is responsible for the resolution of staffing complaints related to internal appointments and layoffs in the federal public service.

3. Labour relations

The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act establishes a labour relations regime within the public service, provides for the negotiation of collective agreements with unions representing public servants and establishes a grievance process for public servants. The Act provides for a labour relations regime based on cooperation and consultation between the employer and bargaining agents, notably by requiring labour-management consultation committees, enabling co-development of workplace improvements and enhancing collaboration. The Act also establishes an essential services regime whereby, although the employer determines the level at which services are to be provided during a strike, an essential services agreement must be entered between the employer and the bargaining agent prior to the bargaining agent being in a strike position. The Act provides for the establishment of informal conflict resolution system within departments and for comprehensive grievance resolution provisions.

The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act was amended in 2017 to include a new collective bargaining and labour relations regime for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board is responsible for administering the collective bargaining and grievance adjudication systems in the federal public service.

4. Employment equity

The Employment Equity Act aims to ensure that members of designated groups (women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities) are equitably represented in both the federal public service and the federally regulated private sector (which includes airlines, interprovincial rail, ship or ferry operations, radio broadcasting stations and banks). While the Minister of Labour is the responsible minister, the Act specifies that the Treasury Board and the Public Service Commission of Canada are responsible for carrying out obligations in the Act, as employer. Moreover, the Treasury Board plays an important role in the implementation of the Act for the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The President is responsible for tabling in Parliament an annual report on the state of employment equity in the public service.

5. Disclosure of wrongdoing and reprisal protection

The Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act establishes a regime to enable public servants to make disclosures of information that they believe could show that a wrongdoing has occurred in relation to the public sector. The regime includes access to the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner. The Act also provides protection from reprisal to public servants who have made a protected disclosure or have cooperated in an investigation into a disclosure under the Act.

The Treasury Board, as required by the Act, has created a code of conduct for the public sector. The Treasury Board is also responsible for approving the procedures for handling disclosures that must be set up by certain public sector organizations that are excluded from the Act (the Canadian Armed Forces, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Communications Security Establishment Canada).

Under the Act, the President is responsible for:

• promoting ethical practices in the public sector, fostering a positive environment for making disclosures of wrongdoing by disseminating information about the Act, its purposes and its processes
• tabling annually in each House of Parliament a report prepared by the Chief Human Resources Officer that provides an overview of activities regarding certain disclosures made under the Act

6. Health and safety

Part II of the Canada Labour Code creates a regime of requirements and recourse to prevent work-related accidents and illness that is applicable to employers and employees subject to federal jurisdiction. The Treasury Board is currently the largest employer subject to Part II of the Code. The Treasury Board is also subject to Part IV of the Code, which establishes an administrative monetary penalty regime for violations of Part II of the Code.

7. Pensions

The Treasury Board and the President have responsibilities in relation to a number of legislated pension plans.

The President is the responsible minister for:

• the Public Service Superannuation Act, which provides pension benefits to public service employees and their survivors; it is compulsory for all members of the public service (including some Crown agencies and Crown corporations) and provides a defined benefit plan based on years of pensionable service and salary
• the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act, which provides pension benefits to Senators and Members of the House of Commons and their survivors
• the Diplomatic Service (Special) Superannuation Act, an Act to provide superannuation benefits for senior appointees of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development serving outside of Canada
• certain sections of the Public Pensions Reporting Act, which require the Chief Actuary to conduct actuarial reviews and issue valuation reports in respect of prescribed pension plans
• the Public Service Pension Adjustment Act, which provides a framework to adjust for persons in receipt of more than one public service pension
• the Special Retirement Arrangements Act, which authorizes the establishment of retirement compensation arrangements
• the Supplementary Retirement Benefits Act, which provides for pension indexing
• the Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act, which establishes the Public Sector Pension Investment Board; since March 31, 2000, contributions made by the government and employees are invested in securities markets under the Public Service Superannuation Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act andthe Canadian Forces Superannuation Act plans

The Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, Defence Services Pension Continuation Act, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Continuation Act provide pension benefits to all Canadian Armed Forces personnel, to members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and their survivors, and to retired officers of the military or Royal Canadian Mounted Police who were part of the old Defence Services Pension Act and Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act and their survivors. The Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness are responsible for each of their respective plans. However, the President is accountable to Parliament for funding and financial policies for these plans and thus has a shared responsibility.

8. Pay equity

The Pay Equity Act came into force on August 31, 2021. The Act creates a proactive pay equity regime that applies to the federal public service as well as to federally regulated businesses in Canada. The Act requires employers to establish and maintain a pay equity plan and to identify and correct differences in compensation between predominantly male and predominantly female job classes where the work performed is of equal value. Under the Act, the Treasury Board of Canada is the employer for the core public administration, the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and will be responsible for developing and maintaining the pay equity plans for these workplaces. TBS may be called on to provide guidance to separate agencies in the establishment of their plans.

1. Conflict of Interest Act

The Conflict of Interest Act establishes ethical rules for public office holders to protect the integrity of government decision-making. The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner administers the Act by reviewing confidential reports submitted to their Office, investigating possible contraventions of the Act and tabling reports to Parliament. Although the Act does not assign any specific legislative responsibilities to the President, the Act falls under the President’s legislative portfolio.

2. Lobbying Act

The Lobbying Act establishes the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying and provides for the appointment of the Commissioner of Lobbying. The Commissioner of Lobbying is mandated to establish and maintain the registry of lobbyists, which includes information about all registered lobbyists as well as their activities. Although the Act does not assign any specific legislative responsibilities to the President, the Act falls under the President’s legislative portfolio.