Health Canada’s Remission Policy for Missed Service Standards

On this page

1. Effective date
2. Application
3. Purpose
4. Responsibilities
5. Health Canada remission policy
6. Requirements for subordinate remission policies
7. Optional policy considerations
8. Role of the fee payer
9. References
10. Contacts

1. Effective date

• 1.1 Health Canada’s (HC) Remission Policy for Missed Service Standards is effective as of April 1, 2021.
• 1.2 This policy applies to a request for service or application received by HC on or after April 1, 2021.

2. Application

• 2.1 This policy applies only to fees administered by HC that are subject to the Service Fees Act (SFA).
• 2.2 This policy applies to the reimbursement to a fee-payer of the portion of a fee paid in respect of a service, use of facility, or right or privilege for which the department determines the service standard was not met.
• 2.3 This policy does not apply to fees that have a legislative exemption to the SFA.
• 2.4 This policy does not apply to fees that are exempt from the SFA, pursuant to section 3.2 and 22 of the SFA.

3. Purpose

• 3.1 This policy is pursuant to the requirements of section 4.2.4 of Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s (TBS) Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities (the Directive) for fees subject to the SFA. Fees that are subject to remissions under this policy must also ensure compliance with the SFA and the Directive.  It is recommended that programs subject to this policy refer to TBS guidance and Departmental guidance specific to remissions.

4. Responsibilities

• 4.1 HC Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
  Responsible to ensure that a departmental policy and procedures for granting remissions to fee-payers are established and adhered to.  Refer to section 4.2.4 of the Directive for the specific responsibilities regarding remissions outlined for CFOs.
  •  4.1.1 The CFO is responsible for reviewing all subordinate remission policies to ensure alignment with this policy.
• 4.2 HC Assistant Deputy Ministers
  Responsible for developing and approving subordinate remission policies for all fees subject to the SFA, and which have associated service standards.

5. Health Canada (HC) remission policy

• 5.1 All program areas with fees subject to the SFA associated with outward-facing service standards will implement a subordinate remission policy (or policies) that adheres to the requirements outlined in section 6 of this Policy, as of April 1, 2021. 
• 5.2 Program areas may also include as an option additional policy requirements such as, but not limited to, those outlined in section 7 of this policy provided they do not conflict with the policy requirements outlined in Section 6.

6. Requirements for subordinate remission policies

The following requirements apply to the development of all subordinate remission policies 

• 6.1 Publication: HC will publically communicate its subordinate remission policies.
• 6.2 Interest: Interest will not be applied or paid for remissions made.
• 6.3 Notification: When a service standard in relation to a fee is not met and the fee-payer is eligible for a remission, HC will undertake a reasonable effort to locate and notify the fee-payer.
• 6.4 Remission refusal by a fee-payer: Fee-payers may refuse to accept remissions, in which case the department will note it, account for it and report in accordance with TBS requirements.
• 6.5 Issuance: Subject to reasonable effort under 6.3, HC must remit before July 1 of the following fiscal year in which the service standard was missed.
• 6.6 Periodical review: HC will periodically review its subordinate remission policies in conjunction with the review of its associated service standards.
• 6.7 Circumstances beyond the department’s control: Remissions will not be issued for service standards that were missed due to circumstances outside of the department’s control, such as acts of nature that require the removal of personnel or prevent personnel from accessing their workplace (e.g. floods, power failures, etc.); or disruptions that prevent the delivery of services.
• 6.8 Maximum amount: Subordinate remission policies will specify the maximum percentage of the fee that is eligible for remission, up to a maximum of 25% of the total amount of the fee.
• 6.9 Calculation: Subordinate remission policies will specify how remissions will be calculated as it relates to a portion of the missed service standard.  For example, a binary remission policy will remit the eligible maximum amount once the service standard is missed (i.e. all or nothing) whereas, a proportional remission policy will remit an amount proportional to the degree by which the service standard was not met, up to the eligible maximum amount. For example, if a service standard is missed by 1% to 30%, then payers would receive a 5% remission; if it is missed by 31% to 50%, then payers would receive a 10% remission; etc.

7. Optional policy considerations

Programs may include, on an optional basis, additional policy requirements to its subordinate remission policies to support program objectives and/or operations. For example: 

• Minimum threshold to remit: Subordinate remission policies may impose stricter rules about the minimum threshold for not meeting the service standard before the fee payer is eligible for a remission (e.g. HC will only remit when the service standard is missed by 10%).
• Stop-the-clock: Subordinate remission policies may impose “stop-the-clock” conditions that specify the circumstances under which the measurement by which the service standard and remission is tracked is paused (e.g. when HC is not held responsible for missing information, incomplete forms).
• Rounding remissions: Subordinate remission policies may specify that remissions amounts will be rounded to the nearest dollar.
• Impact on fee-payer: Subordinate remission policies may recognize and reflect the impact on fee-payers when service standards are not met and provide additional considerations for the issuance of remissions.

8. Role of the fee payer

• 8.1. HC relies on fee payers to notify program officials of any changes in contact and/or billing information to ensure timely service delivery and the issuance of remissions.

9. References

• 9.1 Service Fees Act
• 9.2 Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities
• 9.3 Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Guidance on Remission (forthcoming)
• 9.4 Low-value Amounts Regulations (under the Financial Administration Act)

10. Contacts

• 10.1 The office of primary interest for this Policy is the Cost Recovery and Investment Planning Directorate, Chief Financial Officer Branch. For questions regarding this policy, contact cfobcostrecovery-recouvrementdescoutsdgdpf@hc-sc.gc.ca.
• 10.2 For details on HC subordinate remission policies, contact the HC program official responsible for the regulatory area in which you wish to inquire about, such as drugs and medical devices, pesticides, and hazardous materials.