President of the Treasury Board appearance before the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance (NFFN) – Main Estimates 2023-24 – May 2023

Background

• The President of the Treasury Board tabled the Main Estimates 2023-24 in the House of Commons on February 15, 2023 (and in the Senate on February 16, 2023).
• The estimates are referred to various House of Commons standing committees, including to OGGO for TBS. In the Senate they are referred to NFFN.
• House committees may examine and amend the estimates and report back to the House until May 31^st. After that deadline, committees may conduct ‘subject matter’ studies, but can no longer amend the estimates. There is no deadline for NFFN’s study, and they cannot amend the estimates.
• NFFN has invited the President and TBS officials to appear on May 3, from 6:45 to 8:45PM.
• Note that TBS officials has previously appeared at NFFN on this subject as part of a multi-departmental panel on March 21.
• The OGGO and NFFN appearances are in person, with the President and supporting officials appearing in the room.

Day of – Scenario (NFFN)

• The meeting is expected to begin at 6:45PM. The President is scheduled to attend for the first hour (6:45 to 7:45PM) along with TBS officials, and officials will remain for an additional hour of questioning (7:45 to 8:45PM).

Briefing Binder

• A binder has been prepared in anticipation of the appearance, which the President’s office and supporting witnesses received on April 21, 2023. The binder provides an overview of the key government-wide items included in the Estimates, including spending focused on Indigenous peoples, National Defense, and skills development. The binder also includes material on key issues such as financial transparency, values and ethics, and digital government.

Supporting Officials

• Annie Boudreau, Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
• Karen Cahill, Assistant Secretary and Chief Financial Officer Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
• Monia Lahaie, Assistant Comptroller General, Financial Management Sector Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
• Samantha Tattersall, Assistant Comptroller General, Acquired Services and Assets Sector Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
• Mireille Laroche, Assistant Deputy Minister, People and Culture, Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
• Jean-François Fleury, Assistant Deputy Minister, Research, Planning and Renewal Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
• Stephen Burt, Chief Data Officer and Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Performance Sector Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
• Rod Greenough, Executive Director, Expenditure Strategies and Estimates Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (second hour)

Other Relevant Information

• OGGO’s study on federal government consulting contracts awarded to McKinsey & Company is ongoing The President of the Treasury Board and officials appeared on February 8, 2023. The committee also heard testimony from the Ministers of PSPC (February 6), IRCC (February 15) and Public Safety (March 6). The Committee has expressed frustration at the quality of documents received in response to their production of papers motion on this subject, outlining issues such as missing documents, multiple redactions and the quality of translation. A motion was moved and subsequently defeated to report a breach of privilege to the House. PSPIB is providing the Committee with documents in 3 batches, Batch 1 was submitted in March.
  • TBS has similarly responded to the Committee with contracting information with McKinsey & Company reported to the Office of the Comptroller General and the audit reports on McKinsey & Company reported to the Office of the Comptroller General.
• OGGO met on March 8, 2023 to hear from the President of the Treasury Board and officials on Supplementary Estimates (C), 2022-23. They have held three meetings in total, also hearing from the Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement as well as officials from both departments.
• OGGO has extended its study on both Diversity in Procurement, and on Outsourcing of Contracts. The outsourcing study heard from TBS and PSPC officials on October 3, and from public service unions on October 24. The unions were very critical of government outsourcing during their appearance. The Diversity in Procurement began with a single meeting in October and is now in a holding pattern.
• OGGO has also begun its study on Bill C-290, An Act to amend the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. The Committee has heard from the sponsor, MP Jean-Denis Garon (BQ) and other relevant stakeholders. They are expected to consider clause-by-clause the week of May 8.
• NFFN has held three meetings on Main Estimates 2023-24, TBS officials appeared as part of a panel with officials from Transport Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada on March 21, 2023. The PBO appeared on April 18, 2023 and emphasized the need to align the Budget and the Main Estimates. He was also critical of the timing of the tabling of the Departmental Results Reports.
• NFFN has begun a multi-year study about the estimates and other financial matters. TBS officials appeared on February 8, 2023. The Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Auditor General are among other witnesses who have appeared on this study.
• Both committees remain concerned with the level of transparency and accountability from the government as it relates to the procurement process and the tablings of financial documents (such as the Public Accounts).

Issue

Main Estimates, 2023–24 present a total of $432.9 billion in budgetary spending, which reflects $198.2 billion to be voted and $234.8 billion in forecast statutory expenditures.

Response

• Main Estimates and related documents provide insight into how the government proposes to allocate taxpayers’ money and help ensure spending is transparent and accountable to parliamentarians and Canadians.
• These 2023-24 Main Estimates present the government’s ongoing commitment to meeting Canadians’ priorities, including investing in Indigenous communities, national defense, and skills development.
• The Estimates also include information on statutory spending amounts that support initiatives such as elderly benefits and health care.

If pressed:

• As the Main Estimates need to be tabled on or by March 1, emerging priorities and items announced in Budget 2023 will be included in future Estimates documents.

Background

Main Estimates, 2022–23 present a total of $432.9 billion in budgetary spending, which reflects $198.2 billion to be voted and $234.8 billion in forecast statutory expenditures. Transfer payments to other levels of government, individuals and other organizations account for most of the planned spending ($261.4 billion, 60.4%). This is followed by government operating and capital costs ($133.7 billion, 30.9%) and interest payments on the public debt ($37.8 billion, 8.7%).

The largest increases in budgetary expenditures (in comparison to the 2022–23 Main Estimates) are for:

• the Department of Finance ($18.3 billion increase) including
  • $14.2 billion increase in interest on unmatured debt, reflecting higher debt levels and higher interest rate expectations on market debt as noted in the 2022 Economic and Fiscal Update;
  • $4.2 billion increase in the Canada Health Transfer reflecting the 9.3% GDP-based escalator being applied to the 2022-23 level;
  • $2 billion increase in Fiscal Equalization reflecting the 9.3% GDP-based escalator being applied to the 2022-23 level; and
  • A $1.6 billion decrease in payments to the Canada Infrastructure Bank, to carry out the activities outlined in its corporate plan.
• the Department of Employment and Social Development ($6.7 billion increase), reflecting
  • $8.2 billion increase for the OAS pension and to the Guaranteed Income Supplement related to an expected increased number of pensioners, and expected increases to average monthly amounts paid, resulting mainly from the indexation of benefits and the 10 percent increase to the OAS pension for seniors aged 75 years and over in effect since July 2022; and
  • $1.3 billion decrease to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprentice Loans, mainly due to the temporary COVID-19 measure doubling all grant amounts, which ends on July 31, 2023.
• The Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs ($3.3 billion increase) relating primarily to settlement agreements.

Voted spending will be authorized through two appropriation bills. The first, Interim Supply, was approved by Parliament in March and provided $89.7 billion in order to cover spending until the end of June 2023. The second, Full Supply, will be introduced in June for the balance ($108.7 billion) of funding presented in the Main Estimates.

Due to the need to table Main Estimates on or by March 1, emerging priorities and items announced in Budget 2023 will be included in future Estimates documents.

Issue

On March 3rd, 2023 the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released his report on the 2023-24 Main Estimates. The report provides an overview of planned spending, with particular focus on elderly benefits, the Canada Health Transfer, and Professional and Special Services. The PBO also observed that the Departmental Plans (DPs) had not yet been tabled for the 2023-24 Main Estimates, thus, in its opinion, limiting meaningful analysis.

The PBO has also raised the following issues, which are addressed in the cards in brackets:

1. Having a fixed date for the federal budget (addressed in the Estimates Reform card)
2. Including budget measures in the Main Estimates (addressed in the Estimates Reform card)
3. Tabling the Departmental Plans in conjunction with the Main Estimates (addressed in the Estimates Reform card)
4. Tabling the Public Accounts and Departmental Results Reports by September 30 (addressed in the background section of this card)
5. Use of contractors (addressed in the Procurement Review card)

Response

• I appreciate the important work of the Parliamentary Budget Office and welcome the analysis of government expenditures.
• As for professional and special services forecasts, I would remind the committee that Budget 2023 is proposing reducing consulting and other professional services, and travel by roughly 15 per cent. This will result in savings of $7.1 billion over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $1.7 billion ongoing.

Background

Overall, the PBO is not critical of the content of 2023-24 Main Estimates but observed the lack of information from the Departmental Plans and in the Departmental Results Reports undermines Parliamentarians ability to scrutinize spending requests. The report also highlights spending on professional and special services, noting that spending on management consulting has increased significantly since 2015-16.

Issue

Spending related to Indigenous Canadians and their communities.

Response

• As part of our ongoing journey toward reconciliation, the Government of Canada is committed to making the necessary investments in Indigenous communities.
• These Main Estimates include funding for priorities to positively impact Indigenous quality of life in areas such as health, education, and economic development.
• The Main Estimates also include funding related to settlements for day schools, land claims and self-government agreements.

Background

The Department of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) has the largest requirements in terms of voted funding in the Main Estimates ($39.5 billion), and the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs is the fourth largest ($9.1 billion).

Indigenous-related spending has increased significantly over the past several years.

Issue

Budget 2023 announced a number of new spending measures and provided an updated outlook on the economy and deficit forecast.

Response

• Budget 2023 includes a number of new spending and taxation initiatives such as enhancing health services, implementing the new Canadian Dental Care Plan, investing in the clean economy, and providing relief for low-income Canadians through the Grocery Rebate and GST credit.
• Due to the timing of the Budget, these measures were not reflected in the 2023–24 Main Estimates. Many will appear in Supplementary Estimates documents in 2023–24 to seek approval for spending authority.
• Estimates documents do not reflect tax credits or payments legislated through the Income Tax Act.

Background

Budget 2023 announced a number of new spending and taxation measures, including:

• $198.3 billion to reduce backlogs, expand access to family health services and ensure provinces and territories can provide high quality and timely health care. This includes $46.2 billion in new funding to provinces and territories through new Canada Health Transfer measures, as well as tailored bilateral agreements to meet the needs of each province and territory, personal support worker wage support, and a Territorial Health Investment Fund.
• $13 billion over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $4.4 billion ongoing, to implement the new Canadian Dental Care Plan. The plan will provide dental coverage for uninsured Canadians with annual family income of less than $90,000, with no co-pays for those with family incomes under $70,000. The plan would begin providing coverage by the end of 2023 and will be administered by Health Canada, with support from a third-party benefits administrator.
• Investment tax credits to encourage investing in the clean economy: $7.4 billion for clean electricity, $5.6 billion for clean hydrogen and $4.5 billion for clean technology manufacturing (amounts over 5 years, beginning in 2023–24).
• An additional $4 billion, over seven years, starting in 2024-25, to implement a co-developed Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.
• $2.8 billion as part of the Gottfriedson Band Class settlement to establish a trust to support healing, wellness, education, heritage, language and commemoration activities.
• $2.5 billion for a Grocery Rebate to deliver targeted inflation relief for 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians and families, with up to $467 for eligible couples with two children; $234 for single Canadians without children; and $225 for seniors, on average. The rebate will be delivered through the Goods and Services Tax Credit.
• An additional loan of $2.4 billion to Ukraine, which will be provided via the IMF Administered Account.

Due to the timing of the Budget, these measures were not reflected in the 2023–24 Main Estimates, but many will appear in Supplementary Estimates documents in 2023–24. Estimates documents do not reflect tax credits or payments legislated through the Income Tax Act.

Issue

Main Estimates, 2023–24 reflects major transfers to individuals, provinces and territories, as projected in the 2022 Fall Economic Statement.

Response

• Transfer payments represent a large part of the Government of Canada’s spending. The tangible results of transfer payments touch the lives of Canadians and others every day in all sectors of society.
• Transfer payments include grants, contributions and other transfer payments, including those made to other orders of government, international organizations and Indigenous peoples.
• Major transfers to persons consist of elderly benefits, Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, and the Canada Child Benefit.
• Major transfers to other levels of government are expected to increase over the forecast horizon due to changes in a number of factors, including demographics, inflation and economic growth.
• Examples of these include The Canada Health Transfer (CHT) and the Canada Social Transfer (CST), which support specific policy areas such as health care, post-secondary education, social services, and childcare.

Background

As the Main Estimates were tabled in advance of Budget 2023, they reflect projections from the 2022 Fall Economic Statement. The Budget 2023 projections will be included in 2023–24 Supplementary Estimates.

Issue

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat priorities in its 2023–24 Departmental Plan

Response

• The Government of Canada is committed to delivering its plans and priorities in a manner that is open, transparent and accountable to Canadians and Parliament.
• The Departmental Plans set out the objectives and expected results for departments and how they will use tax dollars to achieve these results throughout the year.
• As part of 2023–24 priorities, TBS will:
  • modernize IT systems and the delivery of government benefits and services
  • address issues raised in the review of the access to information regime and make more government data available to the public
  • work with departments to eliminate racism in the public service
  • help ensure that Canadians across the country receive services in both official languages
  • study ways to reduce the regulatory burden on individuals, organizations and businesses, while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians and the environment
• TBS will report on its progress and achievements through its Departmental Results Report after the end of the fiscal year.

Background

TBS’s 2023–24 Departmental Plan outlines $8.93 billion in total planned spending and sets out five priority areas for the department’s 2,123 total full-time equivalents.

Issue (CSS)

What is contributing to the $7.2 million net decrease in Vote 1, Program expenditures, in TBS’s 2023–24 Main Estimates?

Response

• The decrease in Vote 1, Program Expenditures can mainly be attributed to the sunsetting of different funding streams, including the implementation of the Policy on Covid-19 Vaccination.
• The decrease of approximately $32 million in sunsetted funds is offset by an increase in Program Expenditures for new initiatives of some $22 million, and transfers of about $3 million, for a net decrease of about $7 million.
• Additional funding is designated for initiatives like $10.9 million to advance clean fuels markets (Budget 2021), which will allow TBS to continue implementation of the Low-Carbon Fuel Procurement Program.
• Another example is $5.1 million for the Office of the Chief Information Officer to support the governance and oversight of digital initiatives.

If pressed on sunsetting programs:

• When funding is time-limited, it is referred to as a “sunsetting” program. In the case of HR to Pay, previous funding allocations sunset at the end of 2022–23, and therefore the Main Estimates reflects a reduction. Budget 2023 identified new funding of $11.4M in 2023–24 for TBS HR-to-Pay initiatives. TBS will seek TB approval to include this amount in a future Supplementary Estimates in 2023–24.

Background

TBS is seeking parliamentary approval for Vote 1, Program expenditures authorities of $312.8 million in the 2023–24 Main Estimates. The net decrease of $7.2 million when compared to last year’s Main Estimates is explained as follows:

1. A decrease of $32.2 million related to the sunsetting of funds, as follows:
   • -$19.0 million for Phoenix stabilization and HR-to-Pay initiatives.
   • -$4.5 million for the implementation of the Policy on Covid-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
   • -$4.0 million for delivering on the Government’s Diversity and Inclusion Agenda for the Public Service.
   • -$3.8 million for advancing Core Public Administration Job Classification, and Program and Administrative Services (PA) Group Modernization.
   • -$0.9 million to support the modernization of the Official Languages Act.
2. An increase of $21.9 million related to the following initiatives:
   • $10.9 million to advance clean fuels markets in Canada (Budget 2021). This funding will allow TBS to implement the Low Carbon Fuel Procurement Program, which will offset the higher fuel procurement costs for low-carbon intensity liquid fuels for federal air and marine fleet operations.
   • $5.1 million for the Office of the Chief Information Officer to support the governance and oversight of digital initiatives.
   • $2.7 million for the extension of Targeted Regulatory Reviews and External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness.
   • $1.6 million to enhance the oversight of the Benefits Delivery Modernization program.
   • $0.7 million for the development of a new inclusive language training framework for the federal public service.
   • $0.6 million for the review of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (Budget 2022).
   • $0.4 million to oversee the implementation of an ePayroll solution.
3. An increase of $3.4 million related to transfers from/to other government departments.
4. A net decrease of $0.4 million related to various existing initiatives.

Issue

What is contributing to the $216.3 million net increase in Vote 20, Public Service Insurance, in TBS’s 2023–24 Main Estimates?

Response

• The Vote 20, Public Service Insurance provides for payment of the employer’s share of contributions and premiums required under the various health, dental, and disability insurance plans sponsored by the Government of Canada.
• In the 2023–24 Main Estimates TBS is seeking parliamentary approval for TBS Vote 20, Public Service Insurance authorities, for a total of $3.4 billion.
• The public service group insurance benefit plans form part of the government’s total compensation package for public service employees. These include health and dental care benefits, disability insurance and life insurances.
• The $216.3 million net increase in Vote 20 is mainly explained by funds required for the Public Service Insurance plans—$159.4 million, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Life and Disability Insurance Plan—$56.8 million.
• This is resulting from regular price and volume fluctuations for all cost drivers under Public Service Insurance, including increases in the number of public servants, increases in salary, and increases in the cost and utilization of health and dental services.

Background

TBS is seeking parliamentary approval for TBS Vote 20, Public Service Insurance authorities of $3,412.1 million in the 2023–24 Main Estimates. The net increase of $216.3 million when compared to last year’s Main Estimates is mainly explained as follows:

• $159.4 million related to the requirements for the Public Service Insurance plans.
• $56.8 million for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Life and Disability Insurance Plan.

Overall, this results in a net Vote 20 increase of $216.3 million in 2023–24.

Issue

Changes made to Estimates and other financial reporting to increase transparency and respond to recommendations and addressing the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s request for a fixed budget date that falls before the tabling of the Main Estimates.

Response

• The Government of Canada is committed to making it easier for parliamentarians and Canadians to hold the government to account for its spending plans and decisions.
• Ongoing changes have been made to address comments received from parliamentarians, to increase transparency of financial information and to make Estimates documents easier to understand.
• The government continues to welcome feedback on its documents and processes.

If pressed on a set date for the Budget, or tabling the Budget before the Main Estimates or concurrently:

• Setting a specific date for presenting the Budget or introducing the Budget and the Main Estimates concurrently would unnecessarily restrict the Government’s flexibility to respond to unplanned or evolving situations.
• It is important to note that many new spending requirements for initiatives announced in the Budget would not be sufficiently developed in time for inclusion in the Main Estimates.
• A pilot project to align the federal budget and the Estimates was undertaken in 2017. Ultimately, the pilot was not extended, and the system reverted to the current standing orders and process.
• We are open to further suggestions on how to enhance the estimates process and look forward to recommendations that may come from the Senate finance committee’s study, which is currently underway.

Background

In 2012 and in 2019, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) released reports on Estimates and supply processes.

In response, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) made ongoing changes to products and processes, including:

• Tagging items in Supplementary Estimates which stem from a federal budget;
• Development and ongoing expansion of GC InfoBase, an online searchable database;
• Expanding financial data in Departmental Plans and tabling them very soon after Main Estimates; and
• Providing a reconciliation of Estimates to the latest federal budget or fiscal update.

On March 29, 2022, the Senate Committee on National Finance (NFFN) passed a motion so that the Committee be authorized to conduct a three-year study of the federal estimates process and other finance issues and to submit a final report no later than April 14, 2024. The committee began the study with an appearance by the Auditor General on October 4, 2022. The Committee has also since heard from the Parliamentary Budget Officer and officials from TBS.

TBS also conducted pilot projects on aligning Main Estimates with the federal budget and on purpose-based votes.

On aligning Main Estimates and the federal budget:

• In 2017, provisional changes to House of Commons Standing Orders allowed for Main Estimates to be tabled in the House of Commons by April 16.
• This two-year change allowed for the tabling of an Interim Estimates and a delayed tabling of Main Estimates. Budget implementation votes were then used to include planned spending from the latest federal budget in the Main Estimates.
• This mechanism allowed for complete alignment and reconciliation of the accrual-based Budget with the cash-based Estimates. In response to feedback, the second year of this pilot saw separate votes for each budget measure, and these amounts were included in departmental plans.
• The use of Budget implementation votes also reduced the delay for departments to obtain Parliamentary authority for new spending, by securing the appropriation before the Treasury Board approved departmental submissions. Monthly online reporting ensured transparency on timing of Treasury Board approvals and the release of funds.
• Departments appreciated the flexibility in the timelines for obtaining Treasury Board approvals and having fewer new approvals to risk-manage through the fiscal year. However, there were mixed reviews of the Budget implementation votes.
• Many Parliamentarians perceived a reduced opportunity to influence or exert control over government spending – which greatly outweighed any process efficiencies the government achieved. One of the concerns with the Budget implementation votes was that parliament was being asked to approve amounts before the Treasury Board.
• The provisions were not re-introduced in the 43^rd Parliament, so the system reverted to the current standing orders and process.
• It is not possible to have any budget items approved by Treasury Board before the budget is tabled. Budget announcements can require external consultation before detailed implementation plans can be drawn up and Treasury Board submissions prepared. In addition, the budget can respond to recent developments, for which there is insufficient advance notice to prepare a full TB submission. Lastly there is the issue of budget secrecy, where decisions are closely held until the tabling of the budget.

On the Department of Transport purpose-based vote pilot:

• The Department of Transport also undertook a pilot project on purpose-based grant and contribution votes beginning in 2016–17, whereby it had three separate votes for grants and contributions. The votes were based on the departmental Program Alignment Architecture.
• That pilot ended in 2020–21. Transport has returned to a single vote for all of its grants and contributions programs.
• Transport Canada experienced some challenges in managing its transfer payment programs over the three separate votes. Flexibility to reallocate grant and contribution funding to departmental priorities was limited.
• The pilot has demonstrated that there were risks and costs to the expansion of the pilot to other votes and other departments.
• Additionally, according to Transport Canada, the pilot vote structure has not necessarily strengthened forecasting scrutiny, nor ensured greater expenditure transparency.

On fixing a date for the federal budget:

• OGGO reports in 2012 and 2019 recommended tabling the budget and the main estimates concurrently. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has also recommended this.
• In response to both OGGO reports, the Government disagreed with the recommendation as it would unnecessarily restrict the Government’s flexibility in responding to global and domestic imperatives.
• In his April 13, 2023 report on Budget 2023, the Parliamentary Budget reiterated his request for the Main Estimates to be tabled following the federal budget to include related investments.

On setting or amending dates for the tabling of Public Accounts and Departmental Results Reports:

• Recent reports by the Parliamentary Budget Officer have recommended requiring publication of the Public Accounts and the Departmental Results Reports no later than September 30^th, and tabling of the Departmental Plans at the same time as Main Estimates.
• The Standing Committee on Public Accounts recommended in their report on the Public Accounts of Canada 2021 that the tabling date be changed to October 15.
• Parliament does receive information on actual expenditures prior to tabling of Public Accounts and the Departmental Results Reports (DRRs). The Fiscal Monitor for March 31 is released on the last Friday in May and provides preliminary financial results which include the majority of actual spending for the fiscal year.
• The government will consider the PAC report and the steps required to ensure the Public Accounts can be tabled by October 15 which may be feasible. Consultations will be held with the Receiver General of Canada, the Office of the Auditor General, and the CFO Community to assess how timelines can be amended to facilitate this target tabling date. Consideration will be required in relation to election years as the current requirement is that Parliament must be in session to table to the Public Accounts.
• Recent federal elections (2019 and 2021) took place in the fall and resulted in the later tabling of Public Accounts and DRRs. The 2018-19 DRRs would normally have been tabled in fall 2019 but were ultimately tabled on February 26, 2020. The 2020-21 DRRs would normally have been tabled in fall 2021 but were ultimately tabled on February 1, 2022. In these cases, the time needed for new ministers to review and approve the reports for their portfolios is compressed and have a consequence on the timing for tabling.

On tabling of Departmental Plans and alignment with Main Estimates:

• Departmental Plans fully reflect the funding requirements presented in Main Estimates for those departments.
• The government continues to ensure that both the Departmental Plans and the Main Estimates are tabled in a timely manner to ensure parliamentarians have the information they need on the government’s plans for the upcoming fiscal year.
• The Departmental Plans 2023–24 were tabled on March 9, and the Main Estimates 2023-24 were tabled on February 15, 2023.

Issue

In the 2023–24 Main Estimates, $8.6 billion in requirements is presented for Treasury Board central votes. This is an increase of approximately $1.1 billion.

Response

• Central votes support Treasury Board in its roles as the expenditure manager, employer and general manager for the Government of Canada.
• Together, these central votes make up the vast majority ($8.6 billion) of the funding shown in Main Estimates under Treasury Board Secretariat.
• Some of these central votes are used to reimburse organizations for costs such as those associated with contingencies; government-wide Initiatives; maternity/parental allowances; or compensation changes related to collective bargaining agreements.
• Other central votes are used to facilitate departments carrying forward funds into the next fiscal year in order to pay for projects that have been delayed.
• The opening balances of these central votes and descriptions of each vote are found in a new online annex.

Background

To support the Treasury Board in performing its statutory responsibilities for managing the government’s financial, human and materiel resources, a number of central votes (numbered 5 through 35) are required:

Issue

Budget 2023 delivers a refocusing of government spending to continue to serve Canadians most effectively, expanding on the Strategic Policy Review announced in Budget 2022.

Response

• Budget 2023 expands on the Government of Canada’s prior commitments to refocus government spending and proposes savings and reallocations in four areas:
  • Reducing spending on consulting, other professional services, and travel by roughly 15 per cent of planned 2023-24 discretionary spending in these areas.
    • This will result in savings of $7.1 billion over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $1.7 billion ongoing.
    • The government will place particular focus on management consulting.
  • Phase in a roughly 3 per cent reduction of eligible spending by departments and agencies by 2026-27.
    • This will reduce government spending by $7.0 billion over four years, starting in 2024-25, and $2.4 billion ongoing.
  • Work with federal Crown corporations to ensure they achieve comparable spending reductions
    • This would account for an estimated $1.3 billion over four years starting in 2024-25, and $450 million ongoing.
  • Budget 2023 also proposes to reduce previously announced funding that remains unallocated or is no longer required, or to delay it where the pace of implementation is slower than originally envisioned.
    • This will result in savings of $6.4 billion over six years, starting in 2022-23.
• Furthermore, the government continues to move forward on program effectiveness reviews, Budget 2023 confirms that first review will examine skills training and youth programming.
  • This review will determine, by Budget 2024, whether improvements can be made to help more Canadians develop the skills and receive the work experience they need to have successful careers.
• The Treasury Board Secretariat is currently planning how to implement these measures across government departments. Details will become available as our work progresses.

Background

Budget 2023 proposes three measures to Refocus Government Spending:

• Reduce spending on consulting, other professional services, and travel
• Phase in a roughly 3 per cent reduction of eligible spending by departments and agencies by 2026-27.
• Work with federal Crown corporations to ensure they achieve comparable spending reductions

In total, these proposals represent savings of $15.4 billion over the next five years and $4.5 billion ongoing.

Budget 2023 also proposes to reduce previously announced funding that remains unallocated or is no longer required, or to delay it where the pace of implementation is slower than originally envisioned. This will result in savings of $6.4 billion over six years, starting in 2022-23.

Budget 2023 also announces the introduction of cross-government program effectiveness reviews, to be led by the President of the Treasury Board. These reviews are important if government programs are to deliver their intended results for Canadians. The first review will examine skills training and youth programming, to determine, by Budget 2024, whether improvements can be made to help more Canadians develop the skills and receive the work experience they need to have successful careers.

The Government of Canada already requires major programs to be evaluated regularly – at least every five years – to verify that taxpayer dollars are being used effectively and that government programs are delivering intended results.

Issue

On December 15, 2022, deputy heads across the core public administration, were asked to comply with the Direction on prescribed presence in the workplace. Organizations that had not already implemented the direction were to plan a phased introduction beginning January 16, 2023, with full implementation by March 31, 2023.

Response

• The federal government has adopted a hybrid work model to ensure a consistent experience for employees and those they serve across the country.
• This new work model allows federal public servants the flexibility to telework 2 or 3 days a week. While this is the new standard requirement for the federal public service, certain functions within organizations may be allowed to continue working remotely, based on a limited set of circumstances, such as where a relevant business case demonstrates a measurable increase in efficiency for the delivery of an operation or a specific function.
• It is important that we continue to learn from our experience and strengthen our understanding of hybrid work in the public service. As such, TBS has reached out to departments to gather information on their implementation of the common hybrid work model.

If asked about extensions or exceptions already granted:

• In line with the direction, we have granted time-limited extensions to give certain departments the opportunity to assess and validate a full-time telework approach for specific functions within their organization.
• Exceptions can also be granted for specific IT functions subject to recruitment and retention challenges, which are present across Canada in both private and public sectors, following direction from the Chief Information Officer of Canada.

Background

The Prime Minister in his December 2021 mandate letter to the President of the Treasury Board requested that she, “Work with the Clerk of the Privy Council, and in consultation with public sector unions, to strengthen and modernize the Public Service for the twenty-first century by: Bringing forward a coherent and coordinated plan for the future of work within the Public Service, including developing flexible and equitable working arrangements.”

TBS is addressing this Mandate Letter Commitment in part by addressing Employer-led policies to enable hybrid as a component of “flexible and equitable working arrangements”. Per the President of the Treasury Board, “hybrid is here to stay”. Additional measures to address how TBS, PCO, and the Central Service Providers (PSPC, SSC, PSC) will enable the Future of Work are being defined and will serve as the basis for future consultations. It is paramount that the Future of Work envisioned for the Public Service enables departments to fulfill their mandates, including improved service delivery for Canadians.

The COVID-19 crisis resulted in an abrupt shift to remote working arrangements for public servants in all jurisdictions as Canadians made every effort to stay home and practice physical distancing. The public service responded quickly to implement unprecedented programs to support Canadians and to support our employees, but also to ensure ongoing operations and the continued delivery of key programs and services to Canadians.

In November 2021, updated Health Canada’s Public Service Occupational Health Program (PSOHP) guidance allowed departments and agencies to begin gradually increasing occupancy and planning for re-entry into their workplaces.

On December 16, 2021, in response to the COVID-19 Omicron variant, departments and agencies were asked to pause any planned increases to building occupancy.

On February 28, 2022, PSOHP updated the occupational health guidance allowing departments and agencies to resume their planning to gradually increase building occupancy. And on May 12, 2022, the guidance was further updated to advise that departments and agencies could return to full building occupancy.

In June 2022, the Clerk of the Privy Council outlined her expectations for a hybrid workforce and encouraged departments to experiment with models. Following this, departments and agencies tested different options to learn how a hybrid work model can best support our core purpose: serving Canadians.

As a follow-up to the Clerk’s message, in August 2022, the Chief Human Resources Officer requested information from organizations on their hybrid testing to-date. The information collected showed that most public servants were operating under a wide variety of hybrid models and there was a need for consistency in how hybrid work is applied.

As such, the federal public service is adopting a common hybrid work model that will see employees work on site at least 2–3 days each week, or 40–60% of their regular schedule. The Direction on prescribed presence in the workplace was published on December 15, 2022. To allow departments and employees to smoothly transition to a common hybrid model, a phased introduction began on January 16, 2023, with full implementation by March 31, 2023.

Over the next year, organizations that were granted an extension to the implementation timeline will collect further data to demonstrate the value in terms of service to Canadians for an ongoing exception from the hybrid work model.

In addition, exceptions have been granted by the Chief Information Officer for Canada for specific IT functions subject to recruitment and retention challenges, which are present across Canada in both private and public sectors. These exceptions will be reviewed twice annually to refine the approach.

OCHRO continues to develop a plan for the future of work within the Public Service, which is not only about hybrid work, but a future-oriented plan to transform the public service. TBS and OCHRO are working to modernize people management practices including the common hybrid work model, but also talent management, skills and inclusion, how we organize work, and being digital and data driven.

Issue

The government’s negotiation of new collective agreements and the potential for labour disruption impacting service to Canadians

Response

• We are currently negotiating with 26 out of 28 bargaining units across the core public administration. Negotiations at many of these tables are moving towards positive results, and we have already signed an agreement with one bargaining agent that includes wage increases of more than 10% over four years.
• The PSAC and the Government are currently in mediated negotiations with the goal of reaching agreements for four of its groups (specifically the TC, EB, SV, and PA groups).
• The recent Public Interest Commission Reports offer a clear path forward, provided that the parties return to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.
• We remain committed to reaching agreements with all bargaining agents that are fair to employees, mindful of today’s economic and fiscal context, and reasonable for Canadians.

If asked about service disruptions:

• The Government recognizes and respects that if an agreement is not reached, public servants have the right to strike.
• In the event of labour disruption, certain services to Canadians may be delayed or unavailable. The Government is committed to being transparent with Canadians about impacts to services, should they happen, and will provide information on its website to help the public identify potential impacts to services.

Background

To date, twenty-six (26) of the twenty-eight (28) bargaining units in the core public administration have served notice to bargain for the 2021-2022 round of collective bargaining. Eighteen (18) of these groups have opted for arbitration as their dispute resolution process, while eight (8) groups have chosen conciliation/strike.

Issue

The Government of Canada approved retroactive base pay increases for executives and certain other senior levels on April 14, 2022. Performance pay for 2021–22 related to the Performance Management Program for Executives in the core public administration is approved and awarded during fiscal year 2022–23.

Response

• Performance pay is an important part of executives’ compensation that helps deliver results for Canadians and supports the attraction and retention of talent.
• Performance pay must be re-earned every year and executives who do not meet performance expectations or cannot be assessed are not eligible for performance pay.
• Performance commitments for executives are based on performance measures specific to each executive’s role and responsibilities. Executives must deliver on these commitments while embodying the Key Leadership Competencies and the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector.
• The Government of Canada regularly reviews its compensation practices to ensure it positions itself to attract and retain talent within a competitive Canadian labour market.
• Incentive plans that reward executives for the delivery of expected results are common among Canadian private and public sector organizations.

If asked about performance pay being revoked:

• Executives whose performance does not meet expectations or cannot be assessed are not eligible for performance pay. Retroactive revisions of performance pay are also possible and determined by deputy heads and managed at the individual department level.

If asked about Performance Pay and linkages to objectives in Departmental Plans:

• Departmental plans set out broad, high-level targets for departments while performance targets for individual employees are set using specific criteria, which include management excellence and corporate objectives.

Background

Issue

In early 2021, the Government of Canada announced its priorities to promote diversity and inclusion in the public service. Further commitments were highlighted in the December 2021 Mandate Letter to the President of the Treasury Board.

Response

• The Government of Canada continues efforts on many fronts to create a federal public service that sees our differences as our strength and fosters a deep sense of belonging among all public servants.
• The government has launched several initiatives, developed with equity‑seeking employee networks, to support departments in improving diversity and inclusion.
  • For example, the Mentorship Plus Program pairs members of under-represented groups with executives, enhancing traditional mentorship and providing more equitable access to career development opportunities for all public servants. To date, 52 departments and agencies are taking part in the Mentorship Plus program across the federal public service.
  • The Mosaic Leadership Development Program addresses key issues of under-representation in EX positions, which is one of the hardest barriers to overcome for under-represented groups. The first cohort saw the successful graduation of 38 diverse participants who are ready to join the executive ranks.
• We continue to support the implementation of the Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service and assist departments and agencies in meeting their requirements under the Accessible Canada Act.
• In addition to these efforts, the government has provided significant funding to create a Mental Health Fund for Black public servants and establish dedicated career development programs, including to prepare Black public service leaders for executive positions.
• Funding will also allow TBS to advance a restorative engagement program to empower employees who have suffered harassment and discrimination, and to drive cultural change in the public service.  
  • It supports a review of the processes for addressing current and historical complaints of harassment, violence, and discrimination.

Background

In the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, the Government announced funding for the Centre on Diversity and Inclusion (CDI). CDI’s resources support the evolving diversity and inclusion agenda in the public service.

In January 2021, the Clerk of the Privy Council launched a Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service to all Deputy Ministers, Heads of Separate Agencies, and Heads of Federal Agencies – calling on them to take deliberate actions to address systemic racism and make the public service more diverse and inclusive.

Important progress in the past year have been made with the release of unprecedented levels of disaggregated enterprise data that provide first-ever views into the composition of 21 employment equity subgroups, including Black, Métis and Inuit employees, as well as employees with a hearing impairment or mobility challenges. This kind of data responds to requests by stakeholders to enable more granular analysis and is a foundation for better evidence-based decision-making. Data is publicly available on Canada.ca.

The 2021-22 Employment Equity Annual Report shows that the representation of visible minorities, Indigenous peoples and women exceeds their workforce availability. The report shows the need to continue working on increasing representation of persons with disabilities overall and to increase the representation of Indigenous peoples at the executive level. The Treasury Board Secretariat continues to encourage departments and agencies to meet or exceed their workforce availability as a means of continuously increasing representation of employment equity groups in the public service workforce over time.

As of March 2022, 168 executive employees self-identified as Black out of a total of 7,200 which represented 2.3% of the executive population. Black employees’ representation in the core public service population continues to grow.

OCHRO is also modernizing its self-identification questionnaire by modernizing the language, ensuring everyone sees themselves, and is moving it online to a Treasury Board Application, making it convenient, portable and safe.

We are modernizing the self-identification questionnaire for public servants to allow the core public administration to measure the representation of more equity-seeking groups. Through the modernized self-identification questionnaire, the public service will be able to measure representation of equity-seeking groups over and above current employment equity groups. Launch is planned for Fall 2023.

To help users easily access and analyze numbers, an online interactive data visualization tool has been launched. This business intelligence tool allows users to manipulate fields and parameters easily while accessing and visualizing human resources demographic and employment equity data on the core public administration.

After almost 3 years of operation, CDI produced concrete results. Several enterprise-wide initiatives have been put in place, co-developed with equity-seeking employee networks, to address specific barriers. Examples include:

• The launch of the Mentorship Plus Program, which includes a sponsorship component that pairs members of under-represented groups with executives, enhancing traditional mentorship, thus providing more equitable access to career development opportunities for all public servants.
  • To date, there are 52 departments and agencies taking part in the Mentorship Plus program across the Federal Public Service.
• The launch of the Mosaic Leadership Development Program, intended to address key issues of under-representation in EX positions, which is one of the hardest barriers to overcome for under-represented groups. The first cohort saw the successful graduation of 38 diverse participants.
• Following modifications of the nomination criteria in 2020 to support cohort diversity, representation of all EE groups has increased in the Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP). Representation in cohorts launched in 2022-23 was:
  • EX Cohort: 9% for Indigenous People, 48% for Visible Minorities and 12% for Persons with Disabilities.
  • ADM Cohort: 12% for Indigenous People, 40% for Visible Minorities and 4% for Persons with Disabilities.
• Talent Enablement Strategies were co-developed in partnership with Black and Indigenous executive networks, to increase representation in senior leadership roles. Those Strategies are being implemented through concrete actions, such as visibility initiatives highlighting Black and Indigenous executive talent.
• An assessment framework of the Talent Enablement Strategies is in development and will allow for quantitative and qualitative reporting of progress achieved.
• Inclusive talent renewal and succession planning activities are being conducted to enhance diverse representation of Assistant Deputy Ministers.
• The Inclusion Stewards Initiative Pilot facilitates the identification and mitigation of unconscious bias in the context of talent management for the Assistant Deputy Minister community and provides guidance and tools for departments to enable them to implement this initiative in their talent management or other HR processes.
• A dedicated Federal Speakers’ Forum on Lived Experience, which combines the services of the former Federal Speakers’ Forum on Diversity and Inclusion and Federal Speakers’ Bureau on Mental Health. It serves as a platform for public servants to share lived experiences related to mental health, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion.
• Launch of the Maturity Model on Diversity and Inclusion self-assessment tool to support organizations in understanding their maturity in five dimensions of diversity and inclusion.

OCHRO has also worked closely with the department of Labour to support the Task Force on the Review of the Employment Equity Act.

The Government of Canada has amended the Public Service Employment Act to address systemic barriers for equity-seeking groups. Theseamendments received Royal Assent on June 29, 2021 and reaffirm the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce and strengthen provisions to address potential bias and barriers in staffing processes.

In Budget 2021, the Office of Public Service Accessibility was renewed for three years to help the federal public service meet the requirements of the Accessible Canada Act. The Government of Canada continues to implement Nothing Without Us: An Accessibility Strategy for the Federal Public Service.

The Government of Canada remains committed to hiring 5,000 net new employees with disabilities by 2025 to help improve the representation of employees with disabilities at all levels of the federal public service.

The GC Workplace Accessibility Passport streamlines accommodation process, and documents an agreement on the tools and support measures needed. This year, the tool has been expanded to support employees with disabilities across over 40 departments and agencies.

In 2019, the government established an Anti-Racism Secretariat at Canadian Heritage, which has developed an Anti-Racism Strategy for all of Canada. Multiple commitments in the strategy that apply to the public service are geared to ensure that public service leads the charge as a model employer in promoting inclusion.

Budget 2023 proposes to provide $45.9 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) to create a Mental Health Fund for Black public servants and establish dedicated career development programs, including to prepare Black public service leaders for executive positions.

Budget 2023 also proposes to provide $6.9 million over two years, starting in 2023-24, to TBS to advance a restorative engagement program to empower employees who have suffered harassment and discrimination, and to drive cultural change in the public service. Of this amount, $1.7 million would be sourced from existing departmental resources. Funding will also support a review of the processes for addressing current and historical complaints of harassment, violence, and discrimination.

This work complements other measures taken to address systemic racism and barriers in the public service. These include the amendments to the Public Service Employment Act and initiatives such as Mentorship Plus, the Mosaic Leadership Development Program, and the publication of disaggregated data for multiple sub-groups, including Black employees, which give organizations a clear picture of the makeup of their workforce.

Issue

The government is committed to modernizing the Official Languages Act (OLA). The Treasury Board Secretariat has key responsibilities under the Act with respect to bilingualism in the public service, and communications and provision of services to the public.

Response

• The government is committed to promoting official languages and ensuring that the Official Languages Act reflects our changing society.
• Bill C-13 includes enhancements to address the challenges facing the French language and the concerns of official language minority communities and will further improve our ability to serve Canadians in the official language of their choice.
• As part of the modernization of official languages, the government has proposed a series of measures to strengthen the bilingual capacity of the public service. This includes the development of a new second language training framework and the revision of second language requirements for bilingual supervisory positions in designated bilingual regions.

On the role of TBS:

• The Treasury Board Secretariat is responsible for the overall direction and coordination of Government of Canada policies and programs and for the application of parts 4, 5 and 6 of the OLA as follows:
  • Communications with and services to the public;
  • Language of work in federal institutions;
  • Participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians in the federal public service.
• Treasury Board will also continue to ensure that language of work rights are respected in the federal public service.

Background

The Official Languages Act (Act) is a quasi-constitutional act that aims to:

• Ensure respect for English and French, their equality of status, and equal rights and privileges as to their use in federal institutions;
• Support the development of English and French linguistic minority communities;
• Advance the equality of status and use of English and French.

The last major revision of the Act took place in 1988. Canada’s social, demographic and technological realities have changed considerably since then, and the Act must be adapted to Canada’s current situation.

a. Damages

b. Overpayments

c. NextGen HR and Pay initiative

Issue

The Government filed a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit which seeks damages on behalf of current and former Black public servants, as well as any Black individuals who have applied for positions in federal government departments and agencies, dating back to 1970. The Government is taking continued steps to address issues related to harassment and systemic discrimination in its institutions.

Response

• The Government of Canada is working to create a diverse and inclusive public service, free from racism, harassment and discrimination.
• Budget 2023 proposes to provide $45.9 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) to create a Mental Health Fund for Black public servants and establish dedicated career development programs, including to prepare Black public service leaders for executive positions.
• Budget 2023 proposes to provide $6.9 million over two years, starting in 2023-24, to TBS to advance a restorative engagement program to empower employees who have suffered harassment and discrimination, and to drive cultural change in the public service.
  • Funding will also support a review of the processes for addressing current and historical complaints of harassment, violence, and discrimination.

If pressed on the class action:

• There are existing processes to deal with complaints or grievances related to harassment and discrimination in the public service and the Government’s response to the Thompson class action is consistent with the existing legal framework for complaints of this nature.

Background

The Attorney General of Canada is engaged in several employment-related discrimination and harassment class actions on behalf of a number of departments and agencies.

The broadest, largest, and most high-profile of these cases is Thompson et al v. HMK. This proposed class action seeks damages on behalf of current and former Black public servants and any Black individuals who have applied for jobs in the federal public service dating back to 1970 but were not successful due to their race.

The plaintiff group in the proposed Thompson class action sent a letter to the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) setting out various allegations with respect to ongoing systemic anti-Black harassment and discrimination in the federal public service. Canada has not been advised of any advancements in this area.

The certification hearing in Thompson is scheduled to be heard in Federal Court in October 2023.

Issue

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the population of the federal public service has grown by over 35,000 employees.

Response

• The Government of Canada is committed to delivering quality services, programs and policies for Canadians.
• That is why, we have set an ambitious agenda to address and advance important priorities, including climate change, reconciliation, inclusion and innovation.
• Deputy heads of federal organizations are responsible for building an appropriate workforce to fulfill their respective mandates. The size and composition of the public service fluctuates according to evolving priorities and needs.
• While the size of the federal public service has grown in recent years, relative to the Canadian population it remains comparable to the level it was in 2010.
• In addition, over the past decade, the percentage of government expenditures dedicated to personnel costs as a percentage of total government expenditures has generally remained the same.

Background

The size of the Public Service fluctuates in response to government priorities and program requirements, as well as increases in program funding in federal budgets.

The federal public service represented 0.86% of the Canadian population in 2022 and was 0.83% in 2010.

Managing hiring, talent and departures within organizations is the responsibility of deputy heads.

The mandates and activities of federal departments and agencies are as diverse as the people they serve. Deputy ministers each have the authority to determine their human resource needs at the departmental level.

Since 2011, the ratio of personnel expenditures as a percentage of total government expenditures by fiscal year has been relatively consistent ranging from a low of 11.7% in 2021 to a high of 17.1% in 2013. For fiscal year 2022 the ratio was 15.6%.

Issue

Certain Indigenous groups and stakeholder groups have called for, at various times, recognition of support for the use of Indigenous languages in the public service, and exemptions from official language requirements for Indigenous employees.

Response

• We recognize that speaking an Indigenous language is an asset to the government.
• The Government of Canada continues to work in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to support their efforts to reclaim, revitalize, maintain, and strengthen Indigenous languages in Canada.
• In particular, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is participating in interdepartmental working groups with Indigenous employee networks and various stakeholders to examine the use of Indigenous languages by public servants in the delivery of services to Canadians.
• In line with our commitment to create an inclusive workplace for all, discussions are underway regarding specific challenges that Indigenous employees may face in meeting official language requirements.
• TBS is also working on an inclusive language training framework that is effective, flexible, accessible, and learner driven.

If pressed on bilingualism bonus and indigenous language training:

• The Government of Canada currently provides all non-executive staff in bilingual positions who meet the language requirements of their position a bilingualism bonus as specified in the Bilingualism Bonus Directive. While we are looking for ways to support Indigenous languages, there is no plan to extend bonuses to languages other than French and English.

Background

The Government of Canada is committed to achieving reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and building a renewed relationship based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership. Reconciliation includes ensuring Indigenous public servants are represented, including in senior leadership positions, and that a deep sense of inclusion is fostered to support them.

The Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) is mandated to work with First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation to implement the Indigenous Languages Act and ensure it is supported financially to preserve, promote and revitalize Indigenous languages in Canada. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Office of the Chief Human Resources Office (TBS-OCHRO) is engaged in activities to support Indigenous employees in the Federal Public Service.

The 2017 Many Voices, One Mind: a Pathway to Reconciliation report, which has been adopted as the government-wide strategy to achieve a workplace where Indigenous people seeking and living a public service career are welcomed, respected, supported, and fully included in all facets of Public Service life, asserted that “official language requirements can be a barrier to the advancement for Indigenous employees.”

TBS-OCHRO are participating in working groups to better understand and identify ways to address these challenges while creating a more inclusive workplace for Indigenous employees. The working groups aim to identify opportunities to address Indigenous representation in the workplace, as well as official languages barriers to employment and advancement of Indigenous employees, including challenges associated with learning a second official language.

The three working groups are the following:

• The Joint Committee on the Use of Indigenous Languages in the Federal Public Service is a joint employer-union committee mandated to examine the use of Indigenous languages in the public service, Indigenous language skills in the performance of employee duties, and considering the advantages that Indigenous language speakers bring to the public service. The committee is responsible to deliver a report on the results of two questionnaires sent to 25 participating organizations. The Joint Report on the use of Indigenous languages in the federal public service is expected to be released in March 2023.
• The Working Group on the Incentivization of Inuktut in the Federal Public Service in Nunavut is co-chaired by TBS-OCHRO and the Pilimmakasaivik Centre (CanNor), and is comprised of representatives from CanNor, TBS/OCHRO, the RCMP, Service Canada, Public Prosecution Service of Canada, and representatives from the Government of Nunavut (ad hoc), mandated to examine the use of Inuktut in Nunavut and propose options for its recognition and incentivization in the federal public service, and to support the Government of Canada’s efforts to meet obligations of article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement to increase Inuit participation in government employment to a representative level. TBS-OCHRO is leading this working group with the Pilimmaksaivik Federal Centre of Excellence for Inuit Employment in Nunavut, and Service Canada and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada are also members of this group.
• The Working Group for Amendments to the Official Language Requirements for Indigenous Employees is facilitated by the Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion, and comprised of representatives from TBS-OCHRO, the Indigenous Federal Employee Network (IFEN), the Indigenous Executive Network (IEXN) and the Public Service Commission. Its mandate is to explore policy changes and other approaches to address barriers to career advancement for Indigenous employees posed by official languages requirements. As an example, Employment and Social Development Canada is running a pilot project to assist Indigenous public servants acquire French. As part of developing a second language training framework, TBS-OCHRO is considering what type of adapted language training should be offered on a permanent basis to Indigenous learners.

Drivers include:

• The 2017 Many Voices, One Mind: a Pathway to Reconciliation report, which has been adopted as the government-wide strategy to achieve a workplace where Indigenous people seeking and living a Public Service career are welcomed, respected, supported, and fully included in all facets of Public Service life, asserted that “official language requirements can be a barrier to the advancement for Indigenous employees.”
• The Clerk’s Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service.
• During the last round of collective bargaining negotiations which concluded in October 2020, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) tabled proposals regarding an Indigenous language allowance. While the proposals were not accepted, the parties agreed to incorporate a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up the Joint Committee on the use of Indigenous languages in the Program and Administrative Services (PA) and Education and Library Science (EB) collective agreements.
• The Indigenous Languages Act (the Act) aims to support the efforts of Indigenous Peoples to reclaim, revitalize, maintain, and strengthen Indigenous languages in Canada, and recognizes that the rights of Indigenous Peoples under Section 35 of the Constitution Act include rights related to Indigenous languages. The Act also contains provisions relating to federal institutions providing access to services in Indigenous languages by way of agreements or regulations if the institution has the capacity to do so and there is sufficient demand for access to those services in that language.
• The Government of Canada has a specific legal obligation under Article 23 increase Inuit participation in government employment in Nunavut to a representative level. A federal whole-of-government Inuit Employment Plan was developed to identify actions that would advance Inuit representation in the federal public service in Nunavut. These included removing HR barriers, the use and recognition of Inuktut in federal workplaces, and exploring the effectiveness of incentives for the use of Inuktut in the workplace.

Issue

In December 2021, the President’s mandate letter included a commitment to continue to take action to improve the government’s whistleblower protections and supports. On June 16, 2022, Private Member’s Bill C-290, An Act to amend the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act was introduced. On November 29, 2022, the President announced the review of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA).

Response

• The government is committed to promoting a positive, respectful, and safe public sector culture that is grounded in values and ethics, and where public servants feel safe to disclose wrongdoing.
• Budget 2022 provided $2.4 million over five years, starting this year, to launch a review of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act.
• In November 2022, I announced the establishment of the PSDPA Review Task Force, that will recommend amendments to the PSDPA, and changes to the administration and operation of the disclosure regime focused on the protection of individuals involved in disclosing wrongdoing from acts of reprisal.
• The Task Force is composed of people who bring significant experience and diverse expertise in the field and the review is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete. The Task Force members have held meetings on March 16^th and April 11^th and have discussed the Terms of Reference of the Task Force, possible themes to be examined, media coverage of the PSDPA, data on activity under the PSDPA and lines of research to be pursued.
• I look forward to receiving the Task Force’s report and their recommendations for improvements to the Act.

If questioned on the government’s abstention on C-290:

• Ourgovernment would like to allow the Task Force to complete its work before moving ahead with amendments to the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. This will ensure that the changes are based on the most current and comprehensive analysis available.
• The Task Force will conduct wide consultations and invite input from a range of stakeholders to ensure a variety of experiences related to the federal whistleblower regime are considered. The Task Force will also consider the report issued by this Committee (OGGO) in 2017, as well as reports from the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner and other stakeholders.
• As of February 15, 2023, Bill C-290 passed Second Reading in the House of Commons and has been referred to OGGO for study and consideration.
• The Government of Canada is committed to continuing to work to make meaningful improvements to the federal disclosure process and to promoting a positive and respectful public service culture grounded in values and ethics.

Background

In June 2017, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates tabled its report on their independent review of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. The report contained 15 recommendations covering issues such as the definition of terms, training, protection of whistleblowers, research, and assessments.

In October 2017, the government committed to implement improvements to the administration and operation of the internal disclosure process and to protection from acts of reprisal but not legislative amendments.

On February 17, 2021, the Government Operations Committee adopted a motion to readopt the 2017 report and request a government response. Since Parliament was dissolved prior to a government response being tabled, there was no longer a requirement for a response.

In December 2021, the President’s mandate letter included a commitment to continue to take action to improve the government’s whistleblower protections and supports. This includes exploring possible amendments to the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act.

OCHRO is leading the implementation of activities in support of these commitments. A number of actions to foster an environment where public servants feel safe and protected to come forward with a disclosure have been taken, including:

• conducting outreach and education activities to inform public servants about the disclosure of wrongdoing process and protection against acts of reprisal;
• taking steps to address harassment and violence in the workplace, including providing guidance to deputy heads, managers, departmental advisors and public servants on what constitutes harassment as well as how to prevent and resolve harassment in the workplace; and
• completing implementation of the Policy Suite Reset for the Policy on People Management and the Policy on the Management of Executives, which set the foundation for the ongoing adaptation of policies to better support an ethical workplace culture in which public servants feel safe to come forward without fear of reprisal.

In addition, we have kept a pulse on this issue by:

• monitoring departmental activities via the Management Accountability Framework as it relates to people management; and
• monitoring public servant sentiment via the annual Public Service Employee Survey.

In June 2022, Private Members Bill (PMB) C-290, An Act to Amend the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, was introduced in Parliament, to expand the application of the Act to additional categories of individuals, allowing that a protected disclosure be made to any officer within the portion of the public sector in which the public servant is employed, the extension of the period during which a reprisal complaint may be filed and to add a duty to provide support to public servants. As of February 15, 2023, Bill C-290 passed Second Reading in the House of Commons and has been referred to OGGO for consideration, which may begin in May.

On October 20, 2022, we tabled the Annual Report on the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, showing that in 2021-2022, public sector organizations received more enquiries and more allegations of wrongdoing than in any of the previous five years. In that year, 194 public servants made 178 internal disclosures containing 381 allegations of wrongdoing, a significantly higher number than the average 235 of the previous five years. This includes:

• 50% serious breach of conduct
• 19% gross mismanagement in the public sector
• 8% misuse of public funds

We announced the establishment of the PSDPA Task Force in November 2022. It is composed of people who bring significant experience and diverse expertise within the field, including academics, individuals with expertise in other Canadian jurisdictions, Senior Officers for Internal Disclosure, and bargaining agent representatives. The Task Force began its work in January 2023, with the review expected to take approximately 12 to 18 months to complete.

The Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer is developing a project plan for research and stakeholder consultations with the budget allocation of $2.4 million over five years received in Budget 2022.

This review will build on the work that OGGO undertook five years ago and the recommendations from the 2017 report with research on the latest developments in whistleblowing in other jurisdictions and current input from stakeholders, including views expressed during Parliamentary consideration of Bill C-290 An Act to amend the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, introduced by Bloc Québécois MP Jean-Denis Garon.

Issue

What are the mandate commitments for the President of the Treasury Board and how are they being advanced?

Response

• As President of the Treasury Board, I am committed to providing ongoing leadership to help advance the government’s agenda and ensure that the government continues to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.
• My mandate commitments span a wide range of government priorities, including fighting climate change, enhancing digital services for Canadians, and strengthening the competitiveness of Canadian businesses.
• These commitments are grounded in the government goals to improve services and deliver results for Canadians.
• Other recent announcements that further my mandate commitments include:
  • launching the Government of Canada’s Digital Ambition
  • enhanced reporting on initiatives for greening government and reducing the government’s carbon footprint
  • amending the Directive on the Management of Procurement to reinforce expectations around federal procurement activities
• Budget 2023 also included support to advance TBS priorities, such as:
  • Resources to establish a Mental Health Fund for Black public servants and dedicated career development programs;
  • Funding to address workplace harassment, discrimination, and violence; and
  • cross-government program effectiveness reviews, the first examining skills training and youth programming.

Background

The Prime Minister’s letter of December 16, 2021 contains over 30 commitments for which the President of the Treasury Board is responsible in whole or in part, spanning areas such as:

• Equity, diversity, inclusion in the federal public service;
• Digital government;
• Greening government;
• Government procurement;
• Strengthening and modernizing the public service for the twenty-first century; and
• Regulatory Modernization.

The commitments include leading whole-of-government initiatives aimed at delivering improved services and results for Canadians, including:

• “Continuing leadership to update and replace outdated IT systems and modernize the way government delivers benefits and services to Canadians”
• “Supporting the Canadian Digital Service in accelerating and expanding the use of their services across government, with an aim of improving the digital experience for Canadians, including through increasing the number of digitally-accessible government services"
• “Working towards a common and secure approach for a trusted digital identity platform to support seamless service delivery to Canadians across the country”
• “Bringing forward a coherent and coordinated plan for the future of work within the Public Service, including developing flexible and equitable working arrangements.”
• “Continue leading our regulatory reform efforts in collaboration with your Cabinet colleagues to improve transparency, reduce administrative burden and lead our efforts to harmonize regulations that maintain high safety standards and improve the competitiveness of Canadian businesses.”
• “Ensure government policy continues to be developed through an intersectional lens, is reflective of the needs and aspirations of Canadians and supports our path to net-zero through:
  • Continuing to refine and strengthen the quality of life framework to ensure that we achieve long-term outcomes that benefit people, and that progress towards those aims is rigorously reported;
  • Working with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change on the application of a climate lens to ensure climate adaptation and mitigation considerations are integrated throughout federal government decision-making; and
  • Supporting the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth in the evaluation process of GBA Plus with the goal of enhancing the framing and parameters of this analytical tool and with particular attention to the intersectional analysis of race, indigeneity, rurality, disability and sexual identity, among other characteristics.”

Budget 2023 included support for key areas of Treasury Board responsibility, such as:

• 45.9 million over three years to create a Mental Health Fund for Black public servants and establish dedicated career development programs, including to prepare Black public service leaders for executive positions;
• $6.9 million over two years to address workplace harassment, discrimination, and violence; and
• $6 million over two years to guide departments on the transition to cloud technology. The introduction of cross-government program effectiveness reviews. The first review will examine skills training and youth programming, to determine, by Budget 2024, whether improvements can be made to help more Canadians develop the skills and receive the work experience they need to have successful careers.
• Budget 2023 also proposed to reduce spending on consulting, other professional services, and travel by roughly 15 per cent of planned 2023-24 discretionary spending in these areas. This will result in savings of $7.1 billion over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $1.7 billion ongoing.

Other recent policy actions related to the President of the Treasury Board’s mandate commitments include:

• the August 2022 launch of the Government of Canada’s Digital Ambition 2022, which provides a clear, long-term strategic vision for the Government of Canada to advance digital service delivery, cyber security, talent recruitment, and privacy;
• the November 2022 announcement of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act review task force, which will consider opportunities to enhance the federal disclosure process and strengthen protections and supports for public servants who come forward to disclose wrongdoing; and
• the February 2023 announcement of the new Treasury Board Standard on the Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Setting of Reduction Targets, which outlines that federal procurements over $25 million should incent suppliers to disclose their greenhouse gas emission and set reduction targets, along with the new Treasury Board Standard on Embodied Carbon in Construction, which will require the reporting and reduction of the embodied carbon footprint of all new major government construction projects, starting initially with concrete.
• Effective April 1, 2023, the Directive on the Management of Procurement was amended to reinforce expectations that federal procurement activities are conducted with ethically, socially, and environmentally responsible companies and require that all suppliers and their sub-contractors to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Procurement. In addition, departments will be required to implement measures for identifying, mitigating, and disclosing risks of human trafficking, forced or child labour, and other unethical business practices in their supply chains and including these considerations in their procurements.

Issue

The Government of Canada’s approach to cyber threats that pose a risk to government infrastructure and services, and the Government of Canada’s response to notable cyber incidents this past year.

Response

• The Government of Canada, like every other government and private sector organization in the world, faces ongoing and persistent cyber threats.
• The government has systems and tools in place to monitor, detect and investigate potential threats, and takes active measures to address and neutralize them.
• Together, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Shared Services Canada, and the Communications Security Establishment work with departments to ensure the government’s cyber security is strong and effective.
• The Government of Canada Cyber Security Event Management Plan (GC CSEMP) was recently updated to reflect lessons learned from cyber simulation exercises and recent cyber incidents.

Background

The Government works continuously to enhance cyber security in its services by preventing attacks through implementation of protective security measures, identifying cyber threats and vulnerabilities, and by preparing for and responding to all kinds of cyber incidents to better protect Canada and Canadians.

Budget 2022 provided $875.2 million over five years, beginning in 2022-23, and $238.2 million ongoing for additional measures to address the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape. These measures include:

• $263.9 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $96.5 million ongoing to enhance the Communications Security Establishment’s (CSE)abilities to launch cyber operations to prevent and defend against cyber attacks;
• $180.3 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $40.6 million ongoing to enhance CSE’s abilities to prevent and respond to cyber attacks on critical infrastructure;
• $178.7 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $39.5 million ongoing to expand cyber security protection for small departments, agencies, and Crown corporations; and,
• $252.3 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $61.7 million ongoing for CSE to make critical government systems more resilient to cyber incidents.

As part of the Fall Economic Statement 2022, the Government decided to provide $405.3 million over 6 years, starting in 2022-23, with $15.7 million in remaining amortization and $80.8 million ongoing to reinforce government cyber security, as follows:

• $205.1 million over 5 years, starting in 2023-24, with $15.7 million in remaining amortization and $40.9 million ongoing to support Shared Services Canada’s (SSC’s) security information and event management system.
• $15.7 million over 2 years, starting in 2022-23, to support cloud security at SSC.
• $167.8 million over 6 years, starting in 2022-23, with $37.1 million ongoing, including 102 incremental FTEs, for cyber security modernization. These resources should be used in part to modernize the Government of Canada’s approach to cyber security.
• $16.7 million over 6 years, starting in 2022-23, with $2.8 million ongoing to support the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s (TBS’s) associated efforts to reinforce government cyber security.

Departments and agencies have a responsibility to ensure that cyber security is managed within their organization. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), Shared Services Canada (SSC), and the CSE are the primary stakeholders with responsibility for ensuring the government’s cyber security posture is effective and able to respond to evolving threats. CSE, in concert with Public Safety, also provides support on cyber security from a national perspective. TBS provides strategic oversight of government cyber security event management to ensure effective coordination of major security events and support governmentwide decision-making. The Chief Information Officer of Canada sets Information Technology security policy, defines cyber security requirements, and executes decisions on the management of cyber security risks on behalf of the GC.

TBS maintains the GC Cyber Security Event Management Plan (GC CSEMP). The GC CSEMP is the whole-of-government incident response plan providing an operational framework which outlines the stakeholders and actions required to ensure that cyber security events are addressed in a consistent, coordinated, and timely fashion across the government. The plan is applicable to all departments subject to the Policy on Government Security. The GC CSEMP was recently updated in November 2022 to reflect significant lessons learned from cyber simulation exercises and recent cyber incidents which impacted the GC, since the last update in April 2020. To ensure that the GC CSEMP is up-to-date and effective, the plan is tested regularly and reviewed on an annual basis, and updated if changes are warranted. The most recent cyber simulation took place on February 15, 2023. An after-action report is currently being drafted and will influence updates to the next revision of the plan scheduled for the fall of the fall of this year.

In mid March 2023, Microsoft released a patch for a zero-day vulnerability impacting the Microsoft Outlook Client.

Given the widespread use of Microsoft Outlook in the GC, and the critical nature of this vulnerability, as well as the potential for exploitation, this vulnerability triggered a GC-wide response under the GC CSEMP. This coordinated approach to patching endpoints across the GC has resulted in the risk being mitigated.

Issue

On February 27, it was announced that the TikTok application would be blocked from use on all government-issued mobile devices for organizations subject to the Policy on Service and Digital.

Response

• The Government of Canada is committed to keeping government information secure. We regularly monitor our systems and take action to address risks.
• The Policy on Service and Digital governs the use of Government of Canada devices.
• As of March 1, the Tik Tok app was blocked from use and download on all government-issued mobile devices. A review of the application determined that it presents an unacceptable risk to privacy and security.
• The Government’s use and choice of digital tools are reviewed on an ongoing basis to address the ever-changing environment to ensure government that networks and data remain secure and protected.

Background

On February 27, the Chief Information Officer of Canada announced the direction that the use of the TikTok application would be blocked from use on Government of Canada devices for organizations subject to the Policy on Service and Digital.

The Policy on Service and Digital governs the use of Government of Canada devices and ensures that networks and data remain secure and protected. The Chief Information Officer of Canada has authority under the Policy on Service and Digital to put restrictions on tools that present a risk to Government of Canada assets and information.

On a mobile device, TikTok’s data collection methods include the ability to collect user contact lists, access calendars, scan hard drives including external ones, and geolocate devices, making those who have downloaded the application more vulnerable to surveillance and cyber-attacks.

Shared Services Canada (SSC), in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), took the necessary measures to remove and block the application on government devices for all organizations supported by SSC. On March 8, monitoring reports confirmed that all organizations subject to the Policy on Service and Digital took the necessary measures for the removal of the TikTok application.

Agencies and crown corporations outside the Policy on Service and Digital and SSC purview were also informed of TikTok’s removal and are strongly advised to consider implementing a common approach.

The Government of Canada’s use and choice of digital tools are reviewed on an ongoing basis to address the ever-changing risk environment and to ensure government networks and data remain secure and protected. The Government of Canada policy regarding acceptable network and device use sets out expectations for conducting government business and for limited and reasonable personal use. Appendix A: Examples of Acceptable Network and Device Use (Non-Exhaustive List) of the Directive on Service and Digital outlines a non-exhaustive list of acceptable personal use, including to search for information online and keep up-to-date with news and current events. Where necessary, safeguards are also in place to manage security risks and address unacceptable use (Appendix B: Examples of Unacceptable Network and Device Use (Non-Exhaustive List) of Directive on Service and Digital)

This action was taken as a prudent precaution. There is no information to suggest that government information has been compromised as a result of the blocked application.

Issue

With the conclusion of the Access to Information Review and the final report tabled in Parliament, key actions are being taken to improve how Canadians experience access to information (ATI) systems and processes.

Response

• Access to information is essential for our democracy and must reflect Canadians’ and Indigenous Peoples’ expectations for accessible, timely and trustworthy information.
• When conducting this review, the Government consulted broadly with Canadians, Indigenous Peoples, experts and key stakeholders.
• The resulting report will inform further work to help us create a stronger, more robust, and more reliable ATI system for all Canadians and Indigenous Peoples.
• Many of the most pressing challenges facing the ATI regime and the performance improvements that are required do not require legislative change to address.
• The Government is focused on improving performance in the ATI regime. To this end, the government has identified a series of key actions to address challenges across several areas, including providing enhanced guidance and adjustments to practices, building operational capacity and introducing processing tools and digital solutions to improve access to information for Canadians.
• For example, we are addressing irritants around length of time for department consultations through enhanced guidance issued last fall to departments to speed up these processes.
• Last spring, we launched the Access to Information and Privacy Development Office to help build operational capacity across government. A recent recruitment campaign led by the Office resulted in the placement of more than 60 candidates across government.
• Additionally, we recognize that technology will play a central role in helping us to be more responsive in addressing information requests. To that end, we launched a new version of the ATIP Online Portal allowing users to submit, track and receive requests from institutions securely and efficiently.
• Finally, TBS put in place contracts to allow departments to replace various processing software applications currently being used across government, many of which are outdated.
• We welcome the views of Parliament on the way forward, and of this Committee and their ongoing study of the issue.

Background

The review of the Access to Information Act (ATIA) was launched to offer an opportunity to have an open exchange on making ATI systems and processes more resilient. In December 2022, the President of Treasury Board submitted a report to Parliament and published an Indigenous-specific ‘What We Heard’ report on engagement undertaken as part of the review of access to information.

ETHI adopted a motion on May 16, 2022 to study access to information and privacy systems. The Committee has held 9 meetings on the subject hearing from the Information Commissioner twice, as well as officials from GAC, Public Safety, the RCMP and PCO. The Committee also heard from the President and TBS officials on April 18, 2023.

The report to Parliament was organized around three key strategic outcomes: 1) Improving Service to Canadians, 2) Enhancing Trust and Transparency and 3) Advancing Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. These strategic outcomes will inform further work to help the GC create a stronger, more robust, and more reliable ATI system for all Canadians and Indigenous Peoples.

Given the importance of this review, the Government consulted broadly with Canadians, Indigenous peoples, experts, and key stakeholders whose views and experiences will inform next steps. This public engagement process included a call for submissions, a user-experience survey, and thematic workshops. In a separate track of engagement, TBS has also been engaging with Indigenous groups and representatives to better accommodate their unique perspectives and specific needs relating to access to information.

The President of the Treasury Board invited National Indigenous Organizations (NIOs) and 36 Modern-Treaty and self-government holders to participate in the review. At the conclusion of the Review, TBS held bilateral discussions and received written submissions from several Indigenous groups and governments, as summarized in the Indigenous-specific What We Heard Report (WWHR). In the spirit of Government of Canada’s commitments to reconciliation and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, our engagement with Indigenous peoples remains ongoing.

As part of the review process and, as discussed in the report, TBS’s Internal Audit and Evaluation Bureau (IAEB) assessed the efficiency and effectiveness of proactive publication across the GC which includes disclosures related to information on contracts. The evaluation noted a need for institutions to be monitoring performance against their obligations and examining the use and usefulness of proactively published information. Leveraging the findings of the evaluation, the review did consider improvements to proactive publications as a whole and concluded that examining ways to engage with users to identify high demand and high value information, as well as developing improved accountability mechanisms would allow the Government of Canada to improve the quality of proactively published information.

While the first Review is concluded, the Government’s work to improve access to information continues. TBS officials have been continuously advancing initiatives targeting improvements to the ATI regime. These improvements target the three strategic outcomes outlined in the report to Parliament notably:

• Maintaining engagement with Indigenous organizations and governing bodies;
• Updating the TBS Manual for ATIP practitioners to guide and standardize ATIP community practices;
• Onboarding institutions that fall under the ATIA onto the ATIP Online portal, where requests can now be submitted to 228 institutions and organizations;
• Reviewing the approach to the annual statistical reporting required under the ATIA to better identify systemic issues; and
• Supporting the recruitment, retention, learning and networking of the ATIP community through the continued work of TBS’ ATIP Community Development Office.

Regular reviews will ensure Canada’s access to information regime stays in step with future advances to continue to provide open, accessible, and trustworthy information to Canadians in this digital age.

Issue

The OGGO Committee is currently undertaking a study of supplier diversity.

Response

• The Government of Canada is committed to helping more businesses from underrepresented groups get involved in federal procurement to build a more inclusive economy.
• Treasury Board procurement includes several provisions to support supplier diversity and remove barriers for suppliers.
• Our Policy also focuses on best value, which includes consideration for socioeconomic, Indigenous reconciliation, and environmental objectives, instead of only focussing on the best price.
• The Treasury Board Secretariat is also working closely with Public Services and Procurement Canada and Indigenous Services Canada to support the Government’s commitment to award a minimum of 5% of federal contracts to businesses managed and led by Indigenous Peoples by 2025.

Background

Supplier diversity and social procurement leverages government purchasing power towards socio-economic objectives such as enhancing market competition; job creation; economic and social benefits of procuring from small and medium enterprises (SMEs), local industry, social enterprises, and not-for-profit organizations; encouraging socially responsible business conduct; as well as advancing diversity and inclusion.

On February 1, 2022, OGGO agreed to conduct a study of diversity in procurement. To date, the Committee has held two meetings on this issue, hearing from officials from PSPC as well as representatives from; the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business; the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers; the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association; and the National Indigenous Economic Development Board.

Under the Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Procurement, it is expected that

procurements are managed in a manner that enables operational outcomes, demonstrates sound stewardship and best value. Best value considers not just the price, but also non-financial outcomes such as social, economic, Indigenous, and environmental returns.

The Directive on the Management of Procurement, which fully came into effect Spring 2022, also supports supplier diversity by setting expectations that departments:

• Leverage procurement to provide socio-economic and environmental benefits;
• Unbundle requirements so that instead of a large contract with a single supplier, contracts can be broken down into smaller pieces which allows for procurements to better align with the capacity of smaller and more diverse suppliers to respond.
• Before launching a procurement, engaging with industry early and conducting market analysis to gain deeper understanding of industry capacity, opportunities, and barriers. By doing so industry is engaged and the government has a better understanding of who has the capacity to deliver and concurrently allows those companies to understand what the government wants.
• Make contracts simpler and easier to understand, as well as limit the number of mandatory technical criteria. SMEs have identified the complexity of the procurement process and long complex technical requirements as barriers to participation as they increase the risk of mistakes in bidding (resulting in disqualification) and often gear the procurement to the large firms who have the capability to meet the governments demands.

In addition to the above Treasury Board Secretariat supports increasing indigenous procurement through specific initiatives:

• 5% Indigenous Procurement Target: in order to increase economic prosperity for Indigenous businesses, the Government of Canada has committed to award a minimum of 5% of the annual value of contracts to Indigenous businesses.
  • As of April 2022, the TB Directive on the Management of Procurement was updated to provide guidance on how to measure and report on progress towards the 5% target.
  • A phased approach has been developed for departments and agencies to meet the target by the end of Fiscal Year 2024-2025. As of now, 32 departments of Phase One are expected to meet the target in 2022-23. The remaining departments of Phases Two and Three are expected to meet the target in 2023-24 (20 departments) and 2024-25 (43 departments), respectively.
  • According to the 2023-24 Departmental Plans published on March 9, 2023, the majority of phase one departments forecast to meet or exceed the target for 2022-23. However, 4 departments indicated they are not forecasted to meet the minimum 5% target and will require meaningful, consistent effort to achieve the target in the future.
  • The 2022-23 Departmental Results Reports to be published in the fall will confirm these results.
• Nunavut Directive: In support of obligations under Article 24 of the Nunavut Agreement, TBS has established a Directive that aims to increase participation by Inuit firms in business opportunities to support the Nunavut Settlement Area (NSA) economy, improve Inuit firm capacity to compete for government contracts and leases in the NSA, and employ Inuit at a representative level in the NSA workforce.

In support of these measures, TBS worked with the Canada School of Public Service to deliver a mandatory training course on Indigenous Considerations in Procurement, which provides a common understanding of procuring from Indigenous businesses within the Government of Canada. All members of the procurement community were expected to complete this training by March 31, 2023. New employees are required to complete the course within 3 months of joining.

Issue

Joint TBS and PSPC procurement review of contracts with McKinsey & Company.

Response

• The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring procurements are conducted in a fair, open, and transparent manner and in accordance with policies, regulations, guidelines, trade agreements and procedures.
• At the Prime Minister’s request, the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Public Services and Procurement are undertaking a review of contracts awarded to McKinsey & Company.
• As a result, the Comptroller General of Canada asked all departments subject to the Directive on the Management of Procurement to identify related contracts and to undertake an internal audit of their contracts with McKinsey.
• Based on TBS’s preliminary observations of these publicly available audit results, there is no evidence of ethical breaches or political interference. However, there are indications that policy requirements and administrative procedures were not consistently followed.
• A more detailed review will fully assess if any changes or improvements might be required to strengthen policy areas, procurement practices and enhance guidance and training.
• The government committed to a final report by June 30, 2023, which will be publicly accessible.

Background

On January 11, 2023, the Prime Minister requested the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Public Services and Procurement to undertake a review of contracts awarded to McKinsey.

The Comptroller General (OCG) subsequently requested that all departments subject to the Directive on the Management of Procurement to identify contracts with McKinsey since January 1, 2011 and to undertake an internal audit of these contracts.

On February 15, 2023, ten departments identified having 36 contracts with McKinsey. This included CBSA, Finance Canada, DND, ESDC, IRCC, ISED, NRCan, PCO, PSPC and VAC. In addition, PSPC was the contracting authority for three contracts that two Crown Corporations (BDC and EDC) had with McKinsey for a total of 39 contracts valued of up to $117M.

For those organizations that have been the client department and/or contracting authority, the Comptroller General directed the Chief Audit Executives (CAEs) of these organizations to conduct a formal independent internal audit of the related procurement processes, with results to be reported to TBS by March 22, 2023. Nine out of the 10 departmental audits were subsequently provided to OGGO on March 23rd with the outstanding audit (PSPC) provided on March 28th.

The internal audit function is an independent and objective assurance activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations and is independent of departmental management. Internal audits are conducted by public servants subject to the TB Policy on Internal Audit and must be carried out in accordance with the IIA’s International Professional Practices Framework.

The objectives of the departmental audits were to examine if the integrity of the procurement process was maintained and complied with Treasury Board policy and departmental internal control frameworks.

The findings, conclusions, recommendations and management action plans from each internal audit were reviewed by the Departmental Audit Committee (DAC) from each department and approved by the Deputy Head. The majority of DAC members are external to government.

These audits will support TBS’s review of contracts awarded to McKinsey and will inform a final report that the President of the Treasury Board has committed to provide by June 30, 2023.