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Appearance Before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) - May 11, 2021

On this page

  1. Auditor General of Canada Audit Report: March 2021
  2. Overview of the Committee (PACP)
  3. TBS’s role with Investing in Canada Plan
  4. TBS Policy Suite Reset
  5. The Policy on Transfer Payments: overview
  6. The Management Accountability Framework

1. Auditor General of Canada Audit Report: March 2021

In this section

[Redacted: The content of this section is published material and can be viewed at
Report 9—Investing in Canada Plan (oag-bvg.gc.ca)]

Report 9: Investing in Canada Plan – recommendation / key findings

Issue

The Auditor General tabled a performance audit report on the Investing in Canada Plan on March 25, 2021.

Key facts

Response

Background

Objective of this audit: This audit focused on whether Infrastructure Canada and key entities could demonstrate that the Plan is meeting its objectives and whether they were providing complete, reliable and timely reporting about the Plan to Canadians.

In particular, the audit focused on Infrastructure Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Indigenous Services Canada, as they account for most of the Plan’s commitment.

Findings: Overall, the Office of the Auditor General found that Infrastructure Canada, as lead department for oversight and implementation, was unable to provide adequate public reporting on the Plan’s overall progress. This was due to the following reasons:

Furthermore, funds were not spent as quickly as planned, putting at risk the Plan’s ability to meet its objectives.

Recommendations: The report makes a single recommendation to Infrastructure Canada as the lead and sole respondent while referencing “federal partners” and “central agencies.”

Recommendation (paragraph 53)

To improve monitoring, tracking, and reporting on progress toward the Investing in Canada Plan’s objectives, Infrastructure Canada should work with its federal partners in the Plan and with central agencies to determine:

Infrastructure Canada’s response

Agreed. Infrastructure Canada will continue to engage with its federal partners in the Plan and central agencies to:

As part of its ongoing commitment to provide consistent, comprehensive and easy to understand public reporting on the Plan, Infrastructure Canada will engage with its delivery partners on data automation for public progress reporting, building on lessons learned from existing horizontal automated reporting processes.

Implications for TBS

TBS’s role with respect to the Management Action Plan for this audit will be established in consultation with Infrastructure Canada and reflect TBS’s responsibilities in providing guidance and support to departments on managing and reporting on horizontal initiatives.Footnote 1

As the Plan lead, Infrastructure Canada collects plan information from all federal partner organizations for reporting and this is captured in Infrastructure Canada’s departmental plan and Departmental Results Report.

More broadly, TBS works closely with departments to ensure that federal expenditures and programming respect Treasury Board policies, Cabinet decisions, and funding decisions, and to bring program proposals before the Treasury Board Cabinet Committee.

In supporting departments in maintaining effective oversight of their expenditures, specific TBS policy and guidance is available to departments on managing and reporting on their programming, including that of a horizontal nature.

TBS policies sourced in Report 9: Investing in Canada Plan

Criteria 1: Infrastructure Canada has a horizontal reporting framework that includes clear and measurable targets, and is tracking and reporting accurate and timely results against the expected results of the Investing in Canada Plan.

Criteria 2: Infrastructure Canada has a horizontal reporting framework that provides complete, reliable, and timely information to Canadians.

Criteria 3: Selected Infrastructure Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and Indigenous Services Canada programs are aligned with the objectives of the Investing in Canada Plan, and the organizations are tracking, measuring, and reporting complete, timely, and accurate results to support the achievement of the plan’s objectives.

Criteria 4: The horizontal governance structure for the Investing in Canada Plan ensures accountability and complete, reliable, and timely reporting.

*The Auditor General also referred to several archived and rescinded TBS policies, including:

2. Overview of the Committee (PACP)

In this section

Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP)

Mandate of the Committee

When the Speaker tables a report by the Auditor General in the House of Commons, it is automatically referred to the Public Accounts Committee. The Committee selects the chapters of the report it wants to study and calls the Auditor General and senior public servants from the audited organizations to appear before it to respond to the Office of the Auditor General’s findings. The Committee also reviews the federal government’s consolidated financial statements – the Public Accounts of Canada – and examines financial and/or accounting shortcomings raised by the Auditor General. At the conclusion of a study, the Committee may present a report to the House of Commons that includes recommendations to the government for improvements in administrative and financial practices and controls of federal departments and agencies.

Government policy, and the extent to which policy objectives are achieved, are generally not examined by the Public Accounts Committee. Instead, the Committee focuses on government administration – the economy and efficiency of program delivery as well as the adherence to government policies, directives and standards. The Committee seeks to hold the government to account for effective public administration and due regard for public funds.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3) of the House of Commons, the mandate of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts is to review and report on:

The Committee also:

Other responsibilities:

Committee members

Chair
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail–Eagle Creek PACP Member and Chair since October 2020
Vice-Chair
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph PACP Member and Vice-Chair since February 2020
Maxime Blanchette-Joncas Bloc Québécois Rimouski-Neigette–Témiscouata–Les Basques PACP Member and Vice-Chair since February 2020
Public Accounts Critic
Members
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic–L’Érable PACP Member since October 2020
TBS Critic
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland–Peterborough South PACP Member since October 2020
National Revenue Critic
Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation PACP Member since October 2020
Matthew Green New Democratic Party Hamilton Centre PACP Member since February 2020
TBS Critic
Kody Blois Liberal Kings–Hants PACP Member since February 2020
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull–Alymer PACP Member since May 2019
Parliamentary Secretary TBS and Digital Government
Francesco Sorbara Liberal Vaughan–Woodbridge PACP Member since February 2020
Jean Yip Liberal Scarborough–Agincourt PACP Member since January 2018

Spring 2021 Reports of the Office of the Auditor General

Meeting summaries

Tuesday, April 13, 2021: In a briefing with the Auditor General on the reports tabled on March 25, 2021, she raised concerns from her report regarding the Investing in Canada Plan. Infrastructure Canada was unable to present a full picture of results achieved and progress made under the Plan and was not reporting on legacy programs against expected results, which amounted to almost half of total funding.

Questioning during the briefing primarily focused on the Investing in Canada Plan, with Committee members expressing concerns over the Auditor General’s finding that Infrastructure Canada did not provide clear and complete reporting, as well as on challenges to coordination and the exchange of information between different orders of government.

The Auditor General also indicated her office had received $25 million in increased funding, which has allowed it to hire 100 new staff. She said this would improve their ability to conduct audits.

Conservative
Liberal
Bloc Québécois
New Democratic Party

Other relevant parliamentary activity

TBS-related Committee meetings

Meeting summaries

43rd Parliament

Tuesday, March 9, 2021: The Secretary appeared alongside the Comptroller General and one of Privy Council Office’s Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for one hour to discuss the Report on the Message from the Auditor General in the 2018 Spring Reports (public service culture). Questioning focused on how the public service’s accountability regime has improved; the future of the public service in terms of working from home and technology modernizations in better serving the public; the plans to avoid another Phoenix pay system failure; and concrete steps on how the government plans to address diversity and inclusion issues alongside the class action lawsuit.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021: the Secretary of the Treasury Board appeared alongside the Deputy Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada and the Office of the Auditor General on Report 4: Oversight of Government of Canada Advertising, of the 2019 Spring Reports

Tuesday, January 26, 2021: The Comptroller General appeared along with the Deputy Minister of Finance and the Auditor General on the Public Accounts of Canada 2020.

Interest in TBS /MDGO Portfolio

Conservative
Liberal
Bloc Québécois
New Democratic Party

Other relevant parliamentary activity

Kelly Block (Saskatchewan: Carlton Trail–Eagle Creek): Conservative (Chair)

Kelly Block
  • Elected as the Member of Parliament in 2015 for Carlton Trail–Eagle Creek, previously for Saskatoon–Rosetown–Biggar from 2008 to 2015.
  • Served as vice-chair on the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 42nd Parliament.
  • Member of the Liaison Standing Committee.
  • Previous member of the Standing Committee of Government Operations and Estimates in the 43rd and 41st Parliament, the Standing Committee of Finance in the 40th Parliament.
  • Served as the Opposition critic for Public Services and Procurement Canada (appointed by Andrew Scheer).
  • Prior to her election, Mrs. Block served two terms as the first female mayor of Waldheim, Saskatchewan, as chairperson of the Gabriel Springs Health District, and was awarded the Maclean’s Parliamentarian of the Year – Rising Star – Award in June 2010.

Lloyd Longfield (Ontario: Guelph): Liberal (First Vice-Chair)

Lloyd Longfield
  • Elected as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Guelph in 2015.
  • Former member of the Public Accounts Committee (PACP) in the 43rd Parliament and is a standing Member of the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee (ENVI).
  • Former Executive Director of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, and former business executive.

Maxime Blanchette-Joncas (Quebec: Rimouski-Neigette–Témiscouata–Les Basques): Bloc Québécois (Second Vice-Chair)

Maxime Blanchette-Joncas
  • Elected as the Member of Parliament for Rimouski-Neigette–Témiscouata–Les Basques in the 2019 federal election.
  • Bloc Québécois (BQ) Critic for Public Accounts.
  • Preceded in his riding by Guy Caron who served as the leader of the NDP from 2017 to 2019.
  • Business Administration graduate from the University of Quebec in Rimouski and former administrative officer at the Business Development Bank of Canada.
  • Was regional president of the Youth Forum of the Bloc Québécois.

Luc Berthold (Mégantic–L’Érable): Conservative member

Luc Berthold
  • Elected as the Member of Parliament for Mégantic–L’Érable in 2015.
  • Critic for Treasury Board.
  • Previously the Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.
  • Prior to his election, Mr. Berthold was Nathalie Normandeau’s Political Assistant, and communications advisor for the Leader of the Official Opposition in 1999, the Interim Director of communications for Quebec’s Liberal Party in 2006, and worked as a speaker, coach and gave leadership training sessions.

Philip Lawrence (Northumberland–Peterborough South): Conservative member

Philip Lawrence
  • Elected as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Northumberland–Peterborough South in the 2019 federal election.
  • Shadow Minister of National Revenue.
  • Former member of Standing Committee of Justice and Human Rights.
  • Prior to his election, Mr. Lawrence received his BA from Brock University in Political Science, he attended Osgoode Hall Law School and the Schulich School of business to obtain his law degree and MBA and volunteered at the Financial Planning Standards Council.

Len Webber (Calgary Confederation): Conservative member

Len Webber
  • Elected as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Calgary Confederation in 2015.
  • Former Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Health in the 42nd Parliament.
  • Previously a member on the Standing Committee on Health, the Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada of the Standing Committee on Health and the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Committee on Health.
  • Prior to his election, Mr. Webber was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the constituency of Calgary-Foothills from 2004 to 2014, worked as an apprentice electrician and managed his own contracting company for 10 years, and served as vice president and director of the Webber Academy, a private, non-profit school in southwest Calgary for children from junior kindergarten to Grade 12 founded by his father.

Matthew Green (Ontario: Hamilton Centre): NDP member

Matthew Green
  • Elected as the Member of Parliament for Hamilton Centre in the 2019 federal election in the riding formerly held by NDP MP David Christopherson.
  • NDP Critic for National Revenue / Canada Revenue Agency, Public Services and Procurement.
  • Former Councillor for the City of Hamilton (2014 to 2018).
  • Member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP), the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO), and the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.
  • Member of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association and the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas.

Kody Blois (Kings-Hants): Liberal member

Kody Blois
  • Elected as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Kings–Hants in the 2019 federal election, in the riding formerly held by former TBS President Scott Brison.
  • Current member of the Standing Committee for Agriculture and Agri-Food, and the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.
  • Former member of the Standing Committee for Agriculture and Agri-Food, and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
  • Blois completed degrees in commerce, law, and public administration, which sparked his interest in serving his community.

Greg Fergus (Hull–Aylmer), Liberal member: Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government

Greg Fergus
  • Elected as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Hull–Aylmer in 2015.
  • Member of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
  • Former member of the Standing Committee on Finance, and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
  • Current and former Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government. Former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
  • Former National Director of the Liberal Party of Canada and former political staffer in various ministerial offices.

Francesco Sorbara (Vaughan–Woodbridge): Liberal member

Francesco Sorbara
  • Elected as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Vaughan–Woodbridge in 2015.
  • Member of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
  • Former member of the Standing Committee on Finance, as well as the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Committee on Finance, and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
  • Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue.
  • Sorbara is a chartered financial analyst and worked in the global financial markets for nearly 20 years in both Canada and the United States for Scotiabank, JPMorgan Chase, and global credit rating agency DBRS.

Jean Yip (Scarborough–Agincourt): Liberal member

Jean Yip
  • First elected in a by-election on December 11, 2017, as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Scarborough–Agincourt. Elected in 2019 as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Scarborough–Agincourt.
  • Current member of the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations.
  • Former member of the Public Accounts Committee, and the Government Operations and Estimates Committee.

3. TBS’s role with Investing in Canada Plan

In this section

Issue

The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) provides guidance on governance structures and results reporting frameworks for all officially designated Horizontal Initiatives in the federal government, including the Investing in Canada Plan. While the Office of the Auditor General did not raise any concerns about TBS’s guidance, the lead department, Infrastructure Canada and TBS have already engaged in addressing the reporting deficiencies identified in the audit, as reflected in the Management Action Plan.

Key facts

Response

Background

The following are the core elements set out in the Guide to Departments on the Management and Reporting of Horizontal Initiatives:

  1. Governance: facilitating sound, coordinated management of the initiative
  2. Horizontal Initiative Framework: mapping out activities, resources and results
  3. Progress reporting: communicating what is achieved and what is spent or not spent

1. Governance

Implicated departments are required to set up, at a minimum, a senior-level Horizontal Initiative Oversight Committee that is responsible for:

The lead department is required to convene and support this Committee.

2. Horizontal Initiative Framework

The Horizontal Initiative Framework should aim to facilitate the following:

Horizontal initiatives are required to conduct ongoing collection and monitoring of performance data, including measures that help assess progress toward the achievement of its shared outcome(s).

3. Progress reporting

Progress reports should facilitate early detection of horizontal issues and be understandable to the target audience. They should include:

Summary information on horizontal initiatives is provided to Parliament and Canadians through Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports of the lead department based on a consolidation of inputs from all participating departments.

For reference

The link below is Infrastructure Canada’s Horizontal Initiatives Supplementary Information Table from its 2019–20 Departmental Results Report (tabled December 7, 2020). “Investing in Canada” is the only horizontal initiative listed in the table.

4. TBS Policy Suite Reset

In this section

Issue

The Auditor General tabled a performance audit report on the Investing in Canada Plan on March 25, 2021. Though it did not raise any concerns about TBS’s guidance, the Office of the Auditor General cited the Treasury Board policy suite as part of its evaluation criteria.

Key facts

Cumulatively, these reviews have reduced the number of Treasury Board policies from 196 to 31.

Response

Background

5. The Policy on Transfer Payments: overview

In this section

Issue

Appearance of the Secretary before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) on the Auditor General’s 2021 Report 9: Investing in Canada Plan, which referenced the Policy on Transfer Payments.

Key facts

Response

Background

The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) works with departments to ensure federal expenditures and programming respect Treasury Board policies, Cabinet decisions, and funding decisions. This includes supporting departments in the development of Treasury Board submissions and providing advice with respect to compliance with the Policy on Transfer Payments.

The Office of the Auditor General’s audit of the Investing in Canada Plan was undertaken in response to a motion adopted by the House of Commons on January 29, 2020. It was made public on March 25, 2021, as part of the Office of the Auditor General’s 2021 Spring Reports.

Announced in Budgets 2016 and 2017, the Investing in Canada Plan encompasses more than $180 billion of federal infrastructure investment over 12 years (2016–2028) and is being delivered by 21 federal departments and agencies through over 80 programs, with reporting coordinated by Infrastructure Canada. The Office of the Auditor General focused on Infrastructure Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation programming, which together account for 83% of Investing in Canada Plan funding.

The Office of the Auditor General Audit objectives were to determine whether Infrastructure Canada and key entities can demonstrate that the Investing in Canada Plan (the Plan) is meeting its objectives and that they are providing complete, reliable and timely reporting against the Plan to Canadians. Guidance and support on the reporting of this horizontal initiative falls under the Results division of the Expenditure Management Sector within TBS.

With respect to supporting the Office of the Auditor General in completing the audit of Investing in Canada Plan, all requests for information were coordinated through the Office of the Auditor General Liaison function that sits within the Priorities and Planning unit of TBS. The majority of Office of the Auditor General questions were responded to by program sector given the support role of the policy centre in the review of Treasury Board submissions, in particular the Terms and Conditions as required under the Policy on Transfer Payments.

Departments and Treasury Board each have oversight responsibilities. Ministers and deputy heads (who function as accounting officers as designated by the Financial Administration Act) oversee policy application within their departments. Treasury Board, with the assistance of TBS, oversees policy application government-wide. The government has a compliance framework that consists of:

For the Policy on Transfer Payments, deputy heads are responsible for monitoring compliance with Treasury Board–approved policies through periodic audits and assessments. TBS is responsible for monitoring departmental compliance and recommending corrective action. Departmental managers are responsible for the management and delivery of transfer payments supported by the Directive on Transfer Payments, which provides the operational requirements to support sound stewardship, integrity, transparency and accountability – in a manner that is sensitive to risk.

6. The Management Accountability Framework

In this section

Issue

The Management Accountability Framework is a key mechanism used by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) to monitor the management performance of federal departments and agencies. The 2020–21 Management Accountability Framework exercise was modified in the context of COVID‑19.

Key facts

Response

Background

Established in 2003, the Management Accountability Framework sets out expectations for sound public sector management, supports the management accountability of deputy heads and seeks to improve management practices across departments. Annually, over 60 federal organizations participate in the Management Accountability Framework exercise which assesses their organization’s practices and performance, and highlights management strengths and opportunities for improvement.

This is achieved through the assessment of departmental performance against a detailed set of questionnaires that evaluate specific performance metrics in six Areas of Management: Financial Management, People Management, Information Management and Information Technology/Service Management, Results Management, Security Management and the Management of Assets and Acquired Services. Departments and agencies are required to respond to each question and provide evidence to substantiate their response. Following the submission of the departmental responses, TBS experts review the information provided, assess the results (against targets where established), and draft analysis and conclusions for inclusion in the Departmental Reports.

The Departmental Reports provide deputy heads with findings about the management strengths and areas for improvement within their organization. The reports also give deputy heads information to benchmark their performance against other departments. In addition, the Management Accountability Framework results are used as input by the Privy Council Office in the annual deputy minister performance assessments.

This year the Management Accountability Framework exercise was modified to assess a streamlined set of management practices and understand how management functions adapted during the COVID‑19 pandemic. In particular, the total number of questions was reduced by approximately 60% (44 questions in 2020–21 compared to 105 in 2019–20) and the information on how departments adapted was largely collected through interviews with Chief financial officers, chief information officers and heads of human resources.

Departmental reporting is in progress. A government-wide report which will provide insight on enterprise-wide adaptations to management practices during the COVID‑19 pandemic; observations about TBS’s role in enabling the response to the pandemic; and capture best practices, innovations, and lessons learned should be available by June 2021.

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