Sustainable Bases, Information Technology Systems and Infrastructure

Description

Develop and manage modern, operational and sustainable bases and infrastructure. Contribute to the achievement of federal environmental targets.

Planning highlights

Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) bases and wings are at the centre of military life across Canada and abroad. They are essential to supporting our sailors, soldiers, and aviators to ensure the CAF is ready to successfully conduct and support operations when called upon by the Canadian government. Bases and wings are home to operational and support units and many serve as training facilities. They provide essential support services that enable personnel to meet their occupational and training needs, to support defence activities and to sustain military operations. Support services vary across bases, but may include operational, emergency, logistical, technical support, information technology, safety, environmental, and administration and personnel services, such as food and accommodation services.

We are committed to supporting the CAF with modern, efficient, resilient, environmentally sustainable and functional infrastructure in which our personnel can train and operate. Providing our military personnel with the facilities and tools they need to perform their work is one of our foremost priorities.

The Defence Team will continue to modernize the defence real property portfolio to support military readiness, ensure efficient and effective use of military resources, and reduce our environmental footprint. Reducing environmental impacts leads to a leaner, more affordable real property portfolio, and decreases long-term costs. The Defence Real Property Portfolio Strategy will provide a new vision, guiding principles, and key initiatives to align the portfolio with operational requirements in an affordable, efficient and sustainable way.

Department of National Defence (DND)/CAF information technology systems are essential in delivering timely, trusted and secure information to decision makers. Through its Cyber Security Engineering Program, DND will provide secure and resilient enterprise-level system solutions to respond to the evolving cyber threat environment. Through its Command, Control, Communications, Computer and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) engineering and integration program, DND will provide enterprise-level information technology system solutions to advance Allied communication capabilities, support the integration of Joint Targeting systems, improve the resilience of the DND/CAF Command and Control (C2) infrastructure and help propel DND/CAF forward with modern technologies.

The department will work continuously with Shared Services Canada to improve the sustainability of the information technology systems that Shared Services Canada manages for the Government of Canada. This includes core networking infrastructure, telecommunications, networking, collaboration, mobile services, and data centre reliability.

The department will implement a Future Information Capabilities Framework. Specifically, DND/CAF will:

• Establish an effective approach in the identification of information capability and cyber-related research and development priorities;
• Engage broadly with Pan-DND/CAF stakeholder community in an effort to mitigate risks; and
• Maximize impact and ensure the relevance of research and development activities, which will support the development of future cyber capabilities.

The Future Information Capabilities Framework will include the establishment of a new departmental Future Information Capability Science and Technology Steering Committee. It will identify and prioritize Science and Technology (S&T) gaps in information capabilities, which include information management and information technology, cyber, communication information systems, Command and Control information system and future information management and information technology issues. This Steering Committee will also:

• Review and advise on the quality and fit-for-purpose of science, technology and innovation products delivered to Defence;
• Champion the exploitation of S&T deliverables; and
• Promote alignment and cooperation with other government departments in this realm with the intention to add Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) to the scope as resources become available.

The department will heighten its focus on information security in order to protect departmental information, including information residing in cloud-based and classified infrastructure, as well as to protect information exchanged with industry. Additionally, we will continue to deliver on our vision to transition DND/CAF to a more seamless, automated and digital workplace that leverages modern, cloud-based technologies to effectively enable adaptive and sustained dispersed operations.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)

The Defence Team will continue to apply a GBA+ to inform the development and management of modern, operational, and sustainable bases and infrastructure in order to respond to the needs of a diverse Defence Team. The modernization of bases and infrastructure includes ensuring that physical spaces are effectively designed to be accessible, safe and inclusive for all Defence Team members. To do this, GBA+ requirements will continue to be integrated into planning processes and technical guidance.

United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

In support of the Government of Canada's commitment to green its operations, DND/CAF have launched the new Defence Energy and Environment Strategy (DEES) for 2020–23. This renewed DEES outlines how we will implement Government of Canada commitments under the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, and the Greening Government Strategy. The strategy also acknowledges international agreements such as the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development. Building on our environmental commitments in Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada's Defence Policy (SSE), the DEES outlines our plan to improve our energy efficiency and improve environmental performance across Defence activities.

The implementation of the DEES 2020-23 focuses on four key goals:

• Improving Energy Efficiency: As the largest user of energy and the single largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the federal government, the DND/CAF has a key role in helping the Government of Canada reach its net-zero emission targets. Defence will play a leadership role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its infrastructure and commercial light-duty vehicle fleets, where feasible, with a commitment to reduce these emissions by 40% (below 2005 levels) by 2025 – that's five years ahead of schedule. Defence is also in the planning phase to achieve the new federal target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050;
• Green Procurement: Defence understands the importance of green procurement and will further integrate environmental criteria into value-for-money purchasing decisions when selecting construction materials, equipment, and operations. This includes supporting the green economy by favouring low-carbon materials and green technologies;
• Sustainable Real Property: Defence will continue to leverage the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan to remediate contaminated sites and reduce our environmental liabilities related to real property. In addition, Defence will carefully manage hazardous substances throughout their lifecycle. Conservation of natural resources will be part of decision-making to support reducing the environmental impact of Defence operations; and
• Adapting to Climate Change: Defence will assess the impacts of climate change to better understand potential impacts on DND/CAF by 2023. Results will be used to support decision-making on mitigation plans.

Experimentation

Additional defence-related experimentation activities are outlined in this report under Core Responsibility 4 – Future Force Design.

Key Corporate Risk(s)

There are many risks associated with the Sustainable Bases, Information Technology Systems and Infrastructure Core Responsibility. Two of the Key Corporate Risks are articulated below:

Physical Environment – There is a risk that changes to the physical environment of Canada and the world will impact the type, frequency and conduct of DND/CAF activities.

Infrastructure Procurement – There is a risk that DND/CAF may have difficulty procuring/building infrastructure at the right level to support operations.

The risks above can affect the department's ability to achieve the Departmental Results of the Sustainable Bases, Information Technology Systems and Infrastructure Core Responsibility.

As the Defence Departmental Results Framework reflects a chain of delivery from conceiving of the required armed forces, to developing them and then executing operations, the activities to mitigate the risks of the Sustainable Bases, Information Technology Systems and Infrastructure Core Responsibility can also be found in other Core Responsibilities which deliver building blocks that enable the results of Sustainable Bases, Information Technology Systems and Infrastructure.

Departmental Result 6.1 – Naval, Army and Air Force Bases enable military operations and defence activities

• In FY 2021-22, two performance indicators will be used as measures of the effective delivery of food services and the availability of single quarters' accommodation on CAF bases and wings. Both indicators speak to the ability of bases and wings to effectively deliver basic services in a way that enables the bases and wings to optimize support to CAF needs. Additional emphasis will be placed on promoting the National Standardized Cycle Menu and offering healthy and vegetarian choices at CAF dining facilities to maintain personnel's optimal health to meet the physical and mental demands of CAF operations, training and support.  
• The Canadian Army (CA), 21 bases and training establishments are centres of military life across Canada. They not only support CA personnel and force generation, but also CAF operations, Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and other DND/CAF personnel and their activities. During FY 2021-22, the CA will continue to report on the performance indicators of the effective delivery of food services and single quarters' accommodation and begin the indicator analysis of Wi-Fi services, welfare/personnel support program services coordination, foreign military training, and reduction of contracting abnormalities. All indicators speak to the ability of bases to effectively deliver basic services in a way to optimize support to CAF needs.

For more information, refer to the following webpages:

• Naval bases
• Army bases
• Air Force wings

Back to top

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2017–18 Actual results	2018–19 Actual results	2019–20 Actual results
6.1 Naval, Army and Air Force Bases enable military operations and defence activities	% of single quarters accommodations that can be used*	At least 90%	31 March 2022	Not Available New indicator as of 2020-21	Not Available New indicator as of 2020-21	Not Available New indicator as of 2020-21
	% deviation of average daily meal cost from the standard allowance*	15% or less	31 March 2022	Not Available New indicator as of 2020-21	Not Available New indicator as of 2020-21	Not Available New indicator as of 2020-21

Notes:

• * Previous years' results are not available. These are new indicators first introduced in FY 2020-21.
• Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces' Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Departmental Result 6.2 – Defence infrastructure is well-managed throughout its lifecycle

In FY 2021-22 DND/CAF will:

• Implement low-complexity housing investment plans to ensure DND's residential housing portfolio is suitable, properly maintained, its overall condition is improved, and it meets the needs of CAF personnel and their families, with the aim of providing safe and accessible accommodation, based on CAF requirements;
• Improve infrastructure on bases and wings, including required off-base/wing office space and housing for CAF personnel and their families;
• Continue to divest underused or obsolete buildings making Defence more efficient, while accelerating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;
• Continue to transform defence real property and portfolio management by implementing the Defence Real Property Portfolio Strategy to ensure that the infrastructure portfolio is accessible, resilient, affordable and sustainable; and
• Explore ways to partner with the private sector through performance-based contractual agreements, in consultation with employees, stakeholders, local communities and public sector unions. In addition, we will work with other levels of government and our allies to explore best practices to achieve better infrastructure management for Defence.

For more information, consult the Investing in Infrastructure and Infrastructure Projects webpage.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2017–18 Actual results	2018–19 Actual results	2019–20 Actual results
6.2 Defence infrastructure is well-managed throughout its lifecycle	% of infrastructure in suitable condition	At least 80%	31 March 2022	86.22%	66%	64%
	% of maintenance and repair investment in relation to the infrastructure portfolio value	At least 2%*	31 March 2022	1.1%	1.05%	1.01%
	% of the total real property value that is identified as surplus	2% or less	31 March 2022	0.6%	0.82%	2.59%

Notes:

• * This value reflects Treasury Board's Guide to Management of Real Property rule of thumb for annual level of maintenance and repair investment in infrastructure portfolios.
• Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces' Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Departmental Result 6.3 – Defence activities are carried out in a safe and environmentally responsible manner

DND/CAF will continue to implement the DEES 2020-23, consistent with SSE, which includes:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from real property and commercial fleet by 40% (from 2005 levels) by 2025;
• Investing in Energy Performance Contracts, which see energy services companies finance energy retrofit projects at bases and get paid back with the savings in DND's energy costs;
• Continuing to transition the commercial vehicle fleet to hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric;
• Ensuring all new construction meets the Silver Leadership in Energy and Environment Design standard or equivalent in energy and environmental design; and
• Seeking out opportunities to purchase clean power from regional grids and renewable sources as it becomes available, and supporting investments in clean technology and green infrastructure projects to reduce carbon emissions.

For more information, refer to the Greening Defence webpage.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2017–18 Actual results	2018–19 Actual results	2019–20 Actual results
6.3 Defence activities are carried out in a safe and environmentally responsible manner	% of greenhouse gas emissions reduction relative to a 2005 baseline	At least 40%	31 March 2030	31%	32%	31.3%
	% of light-duty vehicle fleet that is hybrid, plug-in hybrid and/or electric	At least 30%	31 March 2022	19%	27%	33%
	% of reduction in contaminated sites liability based on the closing liability of the previous year	At least 7%	31 March 2022	19.4%	19.8%	16.5%

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces' Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary financial resources

2021–22 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates)	2021–22 Planned spending	2022–23 Planned spending	2023–24 Planned spending
3,829,653,614	3,829,653,614	3,899,491,700	3,952,624,573

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces' Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources

2021–22 Planned full-time equivalents	2022–23 Planned full-time equivalents	2023–24 Planned full-time equivalents
16,493	16,519	16,578

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces' Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Back to top