Raison d’être, operating context and key risks
From: Employment and Social Development Canada
Official title: 2018–2019 Departmental plan - Supplementary information - Annex 1.1: Raison d’être, operating context and key risks
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Raison d’être, mandate and role
Raison d’être
The mission of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), including the Labour Program and Service Canada, is to build a stronger and more inclusive Canada, to support Canadians in helping them live productive and rewarding lives and improving Canadians’ quality of life.
Mandate and role
ESDC delivers programs and services to each and every Canadian throughout their lives in a significant capacity. ESDC fulfills its’ mission by mission by:
- developing policies that ensure Canadians can use their talents, skills and resources to participate in learning, work and their community
- delivering programs that help Canadians move through life’s transitions, from school to work, from one job to another, from unemployment to employment, from the workforce to retirement
- providing income support to seniors, families with children and those unemployed due to job loss, illness or caregiving responsibilities
- helping Canadians with distinct needs such as Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, homeless people, travelers and recent immigrants
- ensuring labour relations stability by providing mediation services
- promoting a fair and healthy workplace by enforcing minimum working conditions, promoting decent work and employment equity, and fostering respect for international labour standards; and
- delivering programs and services on behalf of other departments and agencies
Operating context: Conditions affecting our work
Each day, the Government of Canada interacts with millions of Canadians by delivering services that play important roles in their lives. They expect high-quality, easy-to-access, simple and secure services that are responsive to their needs, whether they are offered online, through call centres, or in person. As the face of the Government of Canada services for many Canadians, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is playing an important role in the advancement of government-wide service initiatives.
As part of the commitment to provide Canadians access to high-quality and timely services, the Department is working hard to be responsive to current and emerging client needs, provide secure and easy-to-use digital services and collaborate with stakeholders to offer a suite of integrated programs and services. There is also a need to mature data governance to support the protection and security of personal and/or sensitive information, and to also invest in infrastructure that will protect and secure data for use.
In terms of policies, ESDC is moving forward economic and social policies and programs to increase Canadians’ economic and social security while supporting and improving the well-being of families, children, seniors, workers, indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities. In this context, the Department aims at providing opportunities for Canadians to gain the skills and experience needed to obtain good quality jobs while supporting families, workers and seniors to have the appropriate financial security and the quality of life they deserve.
Key risks: things that could affect our ability to achieve our plans and results
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) faces a wide variety of risks due to its extensive mandate and responsibility for designing and delivering a broad span of programs and services to Canadians. In its mission to build a stronger and more inclusive Canada, to support Canadians in helping them live productive and rewarding lives, and improving Canadians' quality of life, ESDC maintains awareness of potential risks associated with the changing service delivery landscape, demographic changes within ESDC and Canadian society, protection of private information, cyber-security, and the need to build and acquire relevant competencies in a rapidly changing work environment. As one of the largest service delivery organizations in the Federal Government, ESDC is actively managing risks which could impact the Canadian public.
Progress continues to be made on reducing risk levels for key corporate risks through an active enterprise risk management approach. This approach includes ongoing risk updates and discussions with senior management; continuous scanning of internal and external trends driving risks; aligning risk management with departmental goals; and basing risk assessments on evidence. These are all key components of a regime designed to control risks which may harm ESDC’s ability to effectively respond to the needs of Canadians.
The Department will continue to mature its enterprise risk management regime in 2018–19 and beyond. ESDC will measure the effectiveness of risk controls; develop a better understanding of risks associated with major ESDC programs such as the Employment Insurance and Old Age Security Programs; and pilot a new risk tool to help analyze risk information. All of these activities will be undertaken in 2018–19 to help make ESDC a leader in risk management within the federal government.
| Risks | Risk response strategy | Link to Core Responsibilities | Link to mandate letter commitmentsFootnote 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
There is a risk that ESDC will not meet Canadians’ rising expectations of receiving government services in an easy-to-access, timely, accurate and efficient manner. |
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This risk is cross-cutting and has horizontal implications which affect all core responsibilities and departmental priorities. |
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There is a risk that the Department will not be able to effectively deliver on the current Government’s agenda and the Department’s transformational initiatives while also delivering ongoing services. |
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This risk is cross-cutting and has horizontal implications which affect all core responsibilities and departmental priorities. |
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There is a risk that the personal and sensitive information held by ESDC data may be inadvertently or inappropriately collected, used, safeguarded, disclosed, retained, and/or disposed of by employees or third parties. |
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This risk is cross-cutting and has horizontal implications which affect all core responsibilities and departmental priorities. |
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There is a risk specific to individual projects that they may not deliver on time, within scope and on budget, or deliver on their intended benefits. |
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This risk is cross-cutting and has horizontal implications which affect all core responsibilities and departmental priorities. |
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There is a risk that the Department will not be able to sustain a sufficient workforce or attract skilled employees with the appropriate competencies to meet current and future organizational needs. |
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This risk is cross-cutting and has horizontal implications which affect all core responsibilities and departmental priorities. |
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