Secretary Transition 2022 - Briefing Book 1: Overview

Responsibilities and key accountabilities

The responsibilities assigned to the President as Chair of the Treasury Board are implicitly inseparable from the Treasury Board’s mandate: the management, expenditure and employer responsibilities that fall to the Treasury Board are also the President’s own responsibilities and form the basis for their key accountabilities. Appendix A provides further information about the legislative mandate and responsibilities of the Treasury Board and the President.

Specific responsibilities assigned directly to the President include:

• coordinating the activities of the Secretary, Comptroller General, Chief Human Resources Officer and the Chief Information Officer of Canada and delegating responsibility to the Secretary or other officials accordingly
• recommending external members of departmental audit committees
• establishing the form and tabling of the Public Accounts
• publishing a consolidated quarterly report on Crown corporations
• receiving and tabling a wide range of reports under legislation or Treasury Board policies

The Treasury Board may delegate to the President (in addition to other officials) any of the powers or functions it is authorized to exercise under any Act of Parliament or by any order made by the Governor in Council. The Treasury Board may make the delegation subject to terms and conditions it considers appropriate. In turn, the Financial Administration Act provides that such delegated powers can be further delegated. Any sub-delegation is subject to the terms and conditions of the original delegation.

Other statutes assign specific authorities to either the President or the Treasury Board. For example, the President has the authority to:

• establish policies and forms with respect to the administration of the Access to Information Actand thePrivacy Act
• administer components of the Official Languages Act
• administer components of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act

The Treasury Board’s authority to act as the employer for the core public administration is established under various statutes. As the Chair of the Treasury Board, the President supports the Treasury Board’s employer responsibilities. Legislation gives the Treasury Board the authority to:

• engage in collective bargaining under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act
• make rules respecting deployments, probation, and promotion under the Public Service Employment Act
• set pay levels for Canadian Armed Forces members under the National Defence Act

Legislative portfolio

The President maintains overall responsibility for the statutes within their legislative portfolio. Should the government decide to amend these statutes, the President would be responsible for sponsoring any bills introduced in the House of Commons and tabling any required Government Response. Appendix B contains a list of statutes that fall under the President’s legislative portfolio.

Ministerial portfolio^{Footnote 5}

The President is the Minister responsible for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Canada School of Public Service. The Canada School of Public Service provides a common, standardized curriculum to support the learning and development of public servants.

Operating at arm’s length and reporting to Parliament through the President of the Treasury Board are the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada and the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada.

Financial management and administrative policy

1. General
   • The Financial Administration Act provides that the Treasury Board may act for the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada on a number of items, including general administrative policy in the federal public administration, the organization of the federal public administration, financial management and the review of departmental spending plans and programs. The Act also provides for various powers of delegation.
   • The Financial Administration Act also provides important rules for the financial administration of the Government of Canada, the establishment and maintenance of the accounts of Canada and the control of Crown corporations. A variety of other statutes also grant authorities to the Treasury Board on financial matters such as presenting financial statements to the Auditor General for audit and approving rates of remuneration, travel expenses and other allowances.
   • The Appropriation Acts implement the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates. They are approved by the Treasury Board and tabled in the House of Commons by the President.
2. Management of assets
   • The Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act provides for the authorization and regulation of the acquisition, administration, and disposition of real property by or on behalf of the Crown. Under that Act, the Treasury Board is given authority to establish financial or other limits, restrictions or requirements respecting any real property transaction or class of transactions. Policies have been adopted ensuring proper stewardship of Crown property and maximization of value for any property acquired or disposed. Although the Act has delegated full authority to Ministers to complete most transactions, certain transactions are subject to Cabinet approval (Governor in Council) on the recommendation of the Treasury Board. The President acts as the Minister responsible for this Act.
3. Access to information and privacy
   • The Access to Information Act provides a right of access to records under the control of government institutions, requires a range of institutions to proactively publish specified information and establishes the Office of the Information Commissioner. The President is one of the Ministers designated by the Governor in Council for the purposes of the Act. As such, the President is responsible for:
     • initiating a review of the Act every 5 years
     • providing direction and guidance (e.g. through administrative policies) to government institutions regarding the operation of the Act and for reviewing the management of records under the control of government institutions to ensure compliance with the Act
     • publishing the following annually:
       • a list containing the names of government institutions, their responsibilities and the classes of records kept by them
       • a summary report of statistics on institutional compliance with the Act
   • The Privacy Act establishes rules to protect personal information held by government institutions, provides individuals with a right to access and correct their personal information that is held by government institutions and establishes the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. The President is the Minister designated by the Governor in Council for the purposes of certain provisions of the Act. As such, the President is responsible for:
     • providing direction and guidance (e.g. through administrative policies) to government institutions regarding the operation of the Act
     • reviewing the use of personal information banks and for reviewing the management of such banks to ensure compliance with the Act
     • publishing annually an index of:
       • personal information banks, including the names of government institutions controlling the banks and the purposes for which the personal information was collected
       • classes of personal information that are not contained in personal information banks
4. Official languages
   • The Treasury Board is responsible for the general direction and coordination of the policies and programs relating to the implementation of Part IV (Communications with and Services to the Public), Part V (Language of Work) and Part VI (Participation of English-Speaking and French-Speaking Canadians) of the Official Languages Act within all federal institutions, except:
     • the Senate
     • the House of Commons
     • the Library of Parliament
     • the Office of the Senate Ethics Officer
     • the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
     • the Parliamentary Protective Services
     • the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer
   • The President must submit an annual report to Parliament concerning the implementation of these programs. The President may also be designated by the Governor in Council to undertake public consultations on proposed regulations.
5. Auditor General
   • The Auditor General Act establishes the position of Auditor General, who is responsible for verifying the accuracy of the government’s financial statements and providing Parliament with independent information, assurance, and advice regarding the stewardship of public funds. With respect to the Auditor General, the President:
     • Tables the Public Accounts of Canada in the fall, which contain the Auditor General’s opinion on the government’s financial statements. The Auditor General also issues a Commentary on the Financial Audits which includes the observations from the financial statement audit.
     • Leads the Government of Canada’s public response to performance audits conducted by the Auditor General, which determine whether the government is appropriately managing its activities and resources. The findings of performance audits are summarized in the Auditor General’s reports, which are generally tabled in Parliament twice per year (spring and fall). Prior to tabling, the Auditor General typically offers to meet with the President to provide an overview of the audits implicating the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. The President briefs Cabinet on the findings of the Auditor General’s performance audits and discusses communications strategies. If an audit implicates the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the President will also issue a specific response relating to its findings.
     • Receives copies of the Auditor General’s special examinations, which determine whether Crown corporations are managed efficiently and effectively, and whether their assets are reasonably safeguarded. Special examinations must be conducted at least once every 10 years for each Crown corporation and the results are generally tabled in Parliament annually as part of the Auditor General’s spring reports.
6. Red tape reduction
   • The Red Tape Reduction Act provides that the President may establish policies or issue directives respecting the way the One-for-One Rule is applied. The One-for-One Rule requires federal government regulators to offset the cost increases of administrative burdens on businesses and remove one regulation for every new regulation added that imposes an administrative burden. The President is also responsible for publishing a report each year and causing a review of the Act to be conducted five years after its coming into force. A review of the Act is currently underway. The Regulations provide that the Treasury Board may exempt a regulation from the One-for-One Rule in certain circumstances.
7. Service Fees Act
   • The Service Fees Act requires responsible authorities, before certain fees are fixed, to develop fee proposals for consultation and to table them in Parliament. It also requires that performance standards and procedures for refunding certain fees be established in accordance with Treasury Board policies or directives. It adjusts certain fees on an annual basis in accordance with the Consumer Price Index. Furthermore, it requires responsible authorities to table a report on their fees in Parliament in accordance with Treasury Board policies and directives. Finally, the President is required to publish a report that consolidates the information set out in the reports tabled in Parliament.

Human resources management

1. General
   • The Treasury Board acts as the Employer for the core public administration and as such, the Financial Administration Act gives it general responsibility for the organization of the public service and personnel management within the public administration, including the determination of the terms and conditions of employment of persons employed in it. It further allows the Treasury Board to delegate to the Chief Human Resource Officer any of its powers and functions—other than its power to make regulations—in relation to human resources management, official languages, employment equity, values and ethics and its authorities under the Public Service Employment Act.
   • The Financial Administration Act also provides direct authority for certain aspects of personnel management in the hands of deputy heads, subject to policies and directives of the Treasury Board. Deputy head responsibilities include determining learning and developmental requirements, providing awards and setting standards of discipline and imposing penalties (up to and including termination) and the termination or demotion of employees for unsatisfactory performance or other non-disciplinary reasons. 
2. Staffing
   • The Public Service Employment Act provides for the appointment of public servants in the public service and other related matters.
   • Under the Act, staffing in the public service is based on the core values of merit, excellence, non-partisanship, representativeness and the ability to serve members of the public with integrity in the official language of their choice. The Act defines merit, attributes certain functions directly to the employer and creates arrangements for staffing recourse. The Public Service Commission conducts investigations and audits on matters within its jurisdiction.
   • The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board is responsible for the resolution of staffing complaints related to internal appointments and layoffs in the federal public service.
3. Labour relations
   • The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act establishes a labour relations regime within the public service, provides for the negotiation of collective agreements with unions representing public servants and establishes a grievance process for public servants. The Act provides for a labour relations regime based on cooperation and consultation between the employer and bargaining agents, notably by requiring labour-management consultation committees, enabling co-development of workplace improvements and enhancing reconciliation. The Act also establishes an essential services regime whereby, although the employer determines the level at which services are to be provided during a strike, an essential services agreement must be entered between the employer and the bargaining agent prior to the bargaining agent being in a strike position. The Act provides for the establishment of informal conflict resolution within departments and for comprehensive grievance provisions.
   • The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act was amended in 2017 to include a new collective bargaining and labour relations regime for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
   • The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board is responsible for administering the collective bargaining and grievance adjudication systems in the federal public service.
4. Employment equity
   • The Employment Equity Act aims to ensure that members of designated groups (women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities) are equitably represented in both the federal public service and the federally-regulated private sector (which includes airlines, interprovincial rail, ship or ferry operations, radio broadcasting stations and banks). While the Minister of Labour is the responsible minister, the Act specifies that the Treasury Board and the Public Service Commission are responsible for carrying out obligations in the Act, as employer. Moreover, the Treasury Board plays an important role in the implementation of the Act for the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service. The President is responsible for tabling in Parliament an annual report on the state of employment equity in the public service.
5. Disclosure of wrongdoing and reprisal protection
   • The Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act establishes a regime to enable public servants to make disclosures of information that they believe could show that a wrongdoing has occurred in relation to the public sector. The regime includes access to the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner. The Act also provides protection from reprisal to public servants who have made a disclosure under the Act.
   • The Treasury Board, as required by the Act, has created a code of conduct for the public sector. The Treasury Board is also responsible for approving the procedures for handling disclosures that must be set up by certain public sector organizations that are excluded from the Act (the Canadian Armed Forces, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Communications Security Establishment).
   • Under the Act, the President is responsible for:
     • promoting ethical practices in the public sector, fostering a positive environment for making disclosures and disseminating information about the Act and its processes
     • tabling annually in each House of Parliament a report prepared by the Chief Human Resources Officer that provides an overview of activities regarding certain disclosures made under the Act
6. Health and safety
   • Part II of the Canada Labour Code creates a regime of requirements and recourse to prevent work-related accidents and sickness that is applicable to employers and employees subject to federal jurisdiction. The Treasury Board is currently the largest employer subject to Part II of the Code. 
7. Pensions
   • The Treasury Board and the President have responsibilities in relation to a number of legislated pension plans.
   • The President is the responsible Minister for:
     • the Public Service Superannuation Act, which provides pension benefits to public service employees and their survivors; it is compulsory for all members of the public service (including some Crown Agencies and Crown corporations) and provides a defined benefit plan based on years of pensionable service and salary
     • the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act, which provides pension benefits to Senators and Members of the House of Commons and their survivors
     • the Diplomatic Service (Special) Superannuation Act, an act to provide superannuation benefits for senior appointees of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development serving outside of Canada
     • certain sections of the Public Pensions Reporting Act, which require the Chief Actuary to conduct actuarial reviews and issue valuation reports in respect of prescribed pension plans
     • the Public Service Pension Adjustment Act, which provides a framework to adjust for persons in receipt of more than one public service pension
     • the Special Retirement Arrangements Act, which authorizes the establishment of retirement compensation arrangements
     • the Supplementary Retirement Benefits Act, which provides for pension indexing
     • the Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act, which establishes the Public Sector Pension Investment Board; since March 31, 2000, contributions made by the government and employees are invested in securities markets under the Public Service Superannuation Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act and the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act plans
   • The Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, Defence Services Pension Continuation Act, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Continuation Act provide pension benefits to all Canadian Armed Forces personnel, to members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and their survivors and to retired officers of the military/Royal Canadian Mounted Police who were part of the old Defence Services Pension Act and Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act and their survivors. The Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness are responsible for each of their respective plans. However, the President is accountable to Parliament for funding and financial policies for these plans and thus has a shared responsibility.
8. Pay Equity Act
   • The Pay Equity Act came into force on August 31, 2021. The Act creates a proactive pay equity regime that applies to the federal public service as well as to federally regulated businesses in Canada. The Act requires employers to establish and maintain a pay equity plan and to identify and correct differences in compensation between predominantly male and predominantly female job classes where the work performed is of equal value. Under the Act, the Treasury Board of Canada is the employer for the core public administration, the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and will be responsible for developing and maintaining the pay equity plans for these workplaces. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat may be called on to provide guidance to separate agencies in the establishment of their plans.

Government ethics and lobbying

1. Conflict of Interest Act
   • The Conflict of Interest Act establishes ethical rules for public office holders to protect the integrity of government decision-making. The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner administers the Act by reviewing confidential reports submitted to their Office, investigating possible contraventions of the Act and tabling reports to Parliament. Although the Act does not assign any specific legislative responsibilities to the President, the Act falls under the President’s legislative portfolio.
2. Lobbying Act
   • The Lobbying Act establishes the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying and provides for the appointment of the Commissioner of Lobbying. The Commissioner of Lobbying is mandated to establish and maintain the registry of lobbyists, which includes information about all registered lobbyists as well as their activities. Although the Act does not assign any specific legislative responsibilities to the President, the Act falls under the President’s legislative portfolio.

Role 1: Expenditure manager

• The Treasury Board decisions on new and existing funds play a role in determining the amount of money departments can spend and how they can spend it

• The Treasury Board also plays a central role in how the government plans and reports its spending (“the business of supply”)

  • This includes approving departmental requests for funds to be included in the Estimates for spending approval from Parliament
  • Statutory authorities are those that Parliament has approved through existing legislation. This spending is included in the Estimates for information only

Top 3 major statutory spending items
Main Estimates 2021-22

Top 3 major non-statutory spending items
Main Estimates 2021-22

Source: GC InfoBase, TBS-Expenditure Management Sector. Note: total may not add up due to rounding.

Role 2: Management board

Treasury Board policies and decisions have a significant impact on how the government is managed. The majority of proposals reviewed by the Treasury Board fall within the following categories:

Role 2: Management board and Treasury Board policy suite

In addition to assets, procurement and transfer payments, Treasury Board policies cover other areas of government:

Through its policy suite (31 policies), the Treasury Board has a number of levers to promote management excellence and strong stewardship

Role 3: Employer

The Treasury Board, as the employer, has an overarching responsibility for the human resources management and financial compensation of the core public administration, which comprises about 245,000 federal public service employees

As Employer, The Treasury Board is responsible for:

• overseeing negotiation and authorization for approval of 28 collective agreements, with 17 different bargaining agents
• determining terms and conditions of employment, including pensions and benefits
• setting compensation and terms and conditions of employment for unrepresented employees such as executives
• setting policy direction on people management and official languages issues, such as employment equity and learning

Role 4: Regulatory oversight

The Treasury Board (Part B) is responsible for considering Governor in Council matters: regulations and non-appointment orders in council

The framework to enable a future-ready workforce…

Text version

A 3-layered circular diagram which includes an outer circle (representing four future of work imperatives), an inner circle (representing the three areas of focus for Beyond2020) and the centre (titled Culture, Change Management, Mindsets & Behaviors).

The outer circle is divided into 4 equal sections, highlighting the future of work imperatives:

• Talent & Inclusion: the Public Service is skilled, diverse, inclusive, accessible, and human-centric.
• Flexible Work Models: the Public Service is flexible and has a distributed workforce by default.
• Human Resources & Data: the Public Service leverages Human Resources systems and data to support strategic decision-making.
• Organization of Work: Public Service organizes work in a way that drives outcomes, and compensates work in a way that is equitable and drives employer competitiveness.

The inner circle highlights the 3 areas of focus for Beyond2020

• Agile
• Inclusive
• Equipped.

The diagram includes a note highlighting that the framework to enable a future-ready workforce needs to be sustainable and scalable.

Making it real: from a vision to a plan^{Footnote 6} with an ambitious agenda

Where we fit in the digital landscape

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There are four layers to the way in which the government provides services to Canadians: Business layer, Information layer, Application layer and Technology layer. There are also overarching policy, security and accessibility lenses through which we enable digital. Each organization plays a different but important role in realizing our objectives.

How we deliver: strategic direction and priorities

The Office of the Chief Information Officer sets out enterprise digital transformation objectives and priorities through strategic planning and governance activities:

• Setting the strategic operational and policy direction for Government of Canada for information technology, information management and data, open government, service, digital accessibility and supporting enterprise planning and reporting, through the Digital Operations Strategic Plan.
• Establishing priorities for enterprise shared services and the enablement of digital government transformation.
• Establishing and supporting enterprise governance for decision making.
• Working with partners and stakeholders to advance priorities.
• Facilitating innovation and experimentation in service design and delivery, information, data, information technology and cyber security.

Key Priorities:  Enterprise Information Technology Strategy and investment plan, 5th National Action Plan on Open Government and Open Government Strategy.

How we deliver: legislation and policy

The Office of the Chief Information Officer supports the administration, development, oversight and implementation of  key legislation and administrative policies for the Government of Canada:

• Administration and performance oversight of legislation and policies related to access to information and privacy across the federal government, and the mainstreaming of open government and transparency.
• Development, management, and performance oversight of whole of government administrative policies (Service and Digital, Government Security).
• Establishes a consistent enterprise-wide cyber security posture and enabling the secure and trusted delivery of Government of Canada programs and services to Canadians.
• Supporting the adoption of the Government of Canada’s Digital Standards.

Key priorities: Access to Information Review, Privacy Act modernization, enterprise information technology standards, new accessibility standard for information and communications technology, new standard on systems that manage information and data, security screening modernization.

How we deliver: overview of legislation and policy

Text version

This image depicts the organization of the legislation, policies, directives, and TBS corporate documents that govern how OCIO operates. Beginning at the top of the chart, the foundational legislation from which all TBS policies and directives derive from are listed: the Financial Administration Act, the Access to Information Act, and the Privacy Act. The graphic then depicts the key policies that stem from these pieces of legislation, as well as the directives that apply to each policy. Finally, the bottom row of the graphic shows the most recent TBS corporate documents, the Departmental Plan (2021-2022) and the Departmental Results Report (2019-2020).

*The Policy on the Planning and Management of Investments is held by the Office of the Comptroller General.

How we deliver: oversight and enablement

The Office of the Chief Information Officer supports the successful implementation of major transformation initiatives through digital investment oversight and digital enablement initiatives and activities:

• Provides expert advice to support the Deputy Minister Committees on Core Services and Enterprise Priorities and Planning as well as establishing and deploying a team dedicated directly to four of the largest digitally-enabled departmental transformation initiatives.
• Exercises oversight of the management of digitally-enabled projects and programs, information technology, enterprise architecture, enterprise data management.
• Establishing guidance to support innovative practices and technologies, including open-source and open-standard applications, and agile application development.
• Working with departments to review and endorse digital initiatives, projects and investments, and review results.

Key priorities: Mature governance structures for digital programs, ePayroll, addressing technology risk and funding sustainability.

How we deliver: platforms and services

The Office of the Chief Information Officer acts as a business owner, and also delivers platforms and services to departments and agencies, as well as to Canadians to support its mandate:

• Provides strategic leadership and oversight of digital integration by ensuring the appropriate digital platforms are in place to facilitate both internal public service operations as well as service delivery to Canadians.
• Acts as an open and digital incubator – adopting product management practices and facilitating innovation on enterprise digital platforms related to open government and open data, information management, digital collaboration, system interoperability and service delivery.
• Providing enterprise digital platforms to enable open government and services to enable access to information and access to personal information.

Key priorities: Proof of vaccination credentials, advancing a Government of Canada digital identity, Rapid Testing Attestation System, Access to Information Online System and Open Data platform.

How we deliver: building communities

The Office of the Chief Information Officer provides leadership and direction to functional communities across the Government of Canada to support workforce capacity and capability:

• Supporting recruitment, development and recognition of digital leaders and talent that is representative of the diversity of Canada.
• Supporting training and professionalization.
• Provide policy advice and guidance, interpretation and support.

These include:

• Computer Systems community:  about 20,000 employees.
• Other ‘digital’ employees: about 10,000 employees.
• Access to information and privacy:  3,000-4,000 employees.
• Security: about 1,000 employees.
• Service and open data/government communities.

Key Priorities: Mature the Chief Information Officer/Heads of Information Technology community, establish a community development office for access to information and privacy professionals, establish a community for chief data officers.

Office of Public Service Accessibility’s Launch

• The Government of Canada has put greater emphasis on implementing anti-racism, equity, accessibility and inclusion initiatives in recent years.
• The Office of Public Service Accessibility was established in 2018 (and renewed for 2021-2024) to prepare the public service to meet or exceed the requirements of the Accessible Canada Act (ACA).
• The Accessible Canada Act (2019) and regulations aim to create a barrier-free Canada for persons with disabilities by January 1, 2040.
• The Office of Public Service Accessibility supports the President of Treasury Board and the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion in removing barriers to accessibility and disability inclusion in the federal public service, and in the hiring of 5,000 new public servants with disabilities by 2025.

Environmental Analysis: Current State

Employees with disabilities:

• The Public Service’s core administration employs over 200,000 people across Canada, and 5.2% of these employees identify themselves as having a disability.
• People with disabilities are the only equity group currently underrepresented in the public service workforce. Despite 9% workforce availability in Canada, people with disabilities only represent 5.2% of the core public service workforce.

Barriers facing employees with disabilities:

• physical barriers in the workplace
• technological barriers in the use of platforms and tools
• knowledge gaps in how to procure goods & services in an accessible manner and how to design programs and services accessibly from the start
• behavioural and attitudinal barriers in how to serve Canadians in a barrier-free manner and how to nurture diverse and inclusive teams

As the largest employer and service provider in Canada, the federal public service can make a significant difference in the identification, prevention and removal of barriers for people with disabilities.

The Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service

Progress & Next Steps

There has been progress on accessibility since 2019, but impact will take time to fully realize.

The Office of Public Service Accessibility’s Key Partners & Stakeholders

The Office of Public Service Accessibility works closely with:

• Key departments involved in public service management and/or diversity, inclusion and accessibility:
  • Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
  • Public Service Commission (PSC)
  • Shared Services Canada (SSC)
  • Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)
  • Canada School of Public Service (CSPS)
  • Privy Council Office (PCO)
  • Statistics Canada
• At Treasury Board of Canada, this includes close collaboration with:
  • Office of the Human Resource Officer (OCHRO)
  • Office of Chief Information Officer (OCIO)
  • Office of Comptroller General of Canada (OCG)
• Other partners:
  • Departments and agencies preparing for the Accessible Canada Act
  • Employee networks and communities of practice
  • External accessibility experts in Canada or abroad

Public Service Accessibility
Board of Management and Renewal – November 2021

Nothing Without Us – The Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service (2019):

• Co-developed with persons with disabilities, employee networks, Persons with Disabilities Chairs & Champions (PwDCCC).
• Serves as roadmap to help make the public service lead by example in accessibility, focusing on 5 goals:

  1 Improve recruitment, retention, and promotion of persons with disabilities

  2 Enhance the accessibility of the built environment

  3 Make information & commun-ications technology usable by all

  4 Equip public servants to design & deliver accessible programs & services

  5 Build an accessibility confident public service

Employees with disabilities in the public service:

• Are underrepresented in the public service (5.2% of employees in the Core Public Administration identified as having a disability in FY2019-20, below the 9% workforce availability).
• Report higher rates of work-related stress, harassment, and discrimination in Public Service Employee Survey 2019-20.

Example of barriers:

• Physical barriers in the workplace
• Technological barriers (platforms & tools)
• Knowledge & skills gaps in the Government of Canada (from procurement to design of programs/services)
• Behavioural & attitudinal barriers (in how to serve Canadians in a barrier-free manner, and how to build and nurture diverse and inclusive teams)

Accessible Canada Act (2019):

• Aims to create barrier-free Canada for persons with disabilities by January 2040.
• Focus on identifying, preventing and removing barriers with input from persons with disabilities.
• Applies to all federally-regulated sectors.
• First proposed regulation will require federal organizations to publish accessibility plans by December 31, 2022.

Key Milestones (2019-2021):

• Governance established (Deputy Minister, Assistant Deputy Minister, technical working groups)
• Key initiatives launched (Workplace Fund, Inventories, Internship)
• Ongoing co-design of key projects (GC Workplace Accessibility Passport)
• New tools and guidance released regularly (find it on Accessibility Hub)
• Ongoing work to build competency, sustain momentum and report on progress
• (Engagement and learning events, annual reports)

Current challenges & opportunities:

• Slower progress in improving accommodations and reaching goal of hiring 5,000 employees by 2025.
• Truly embedding accessibility upfront in new GC systems & approaches (return to workplace, HR-Pay).
• Building accessibility confidence in all functional communities.
• Harmonizing definitions, tracking, and reporting on the impact of our accessibility efforts.

New accessibility resources to support departments & agencies:

• Progress update 2021 (release on December 3)
• Accessibility Hub updates (“one-stop” approach)
• Self-Assessment Tool for organizations
• “Bootcamps” for Accessibility Plans

Lessons learned and strategic linkages across portfolios:

• Enterprise-level (governance) is helping drive progress, but ownership, leadership, action also required at organizational-level.
• Transition from the “what” to the “how” is required to remove specific roadblocks in key areas (workplace accommodations).
• Allyship and intersectionality are growing – opportunity to move from Diversity & Inclusion to IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility).
• Need for timely and streamlined disaggregated data. Tracking progress, for example in hiring, can be complex (different platforms, systems, reporting requirements).

The Team

• 80% of employees are from outside federal government
  • Hiring from companies like Shopify, Google, and Mozilla
  • Recruiting global talent (United States, United Kingdom, France, etc.)
• 80% of staff are on tours of service (e.g., term, interchange)
  • As the Canadian Digital Service transitions to an ongoing organization, many employees will be offered indeterminate positions
• Employees are located across Canada based on where talent is, including Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto, and Montreal
  • Over 50% of employees live and work outside of Ottawa
  • Pre-COVID‑19 tools and practices in place for distributed teams
• The Canadian Digital Service maintains a unique brand and public communications to the Treasury Board Secretariat, directly contributing to successful talent acquisition

Platform Example 1: GC Notify

• Provides notifications by email or text message to update people about their service status or to provide other important information
• Can prevent people from needing to contact a call centre or filing Access to Information requests to receive basic information about their services
• This service is mature and growing; as of November 2021, it has provided over 22.2 million messages on behalf of over 173 services across 36 departments
• GC Notify is “self-serve ” to use for departmental service teams, meaning it can scale rapidly without needing to add new employees to the Canadian Digital Service
• GC Notify is used extensively to help departments communicate essential information to people in Canada during the pandemic; for example, Health Canada used Notify to send email updates to over 6 million subscribers

Platform example 2: GC Forms

• Allows departments to build simple, modern, mobile-friendly web forms for use in their services, providing an accessible alternative to existing PDFs and paper/fax processes which are cumbersome for Canadians
• Research has shown that many government forms are difficult to understand, take months to create, and their data is difficult to use by departments
• GC Forms will make it easier for a department to:
  • Quickly build a form that is easy for the user to understand and fill in, and
  • Integrate into their own systems without costly and error-prone data entry, making services more efficient to offer
• This service is in early development; as of November 2021, 8 government forms are using this prototype platform

Overview: Partnerships

The Canadian Digital Service Partnerships engages with Government of Canada departments and agencies, to help them change how they design and deliver services. It offers four services based on lessons learned from the last few years, that can meet departments where they are and address different types of problems:

Partnership example 1: COVID Benefits Finder

• Goal: Help Canadians find COVID-related benefits and supports that they may be eligible for
• Launched in May 2020, the COVID Benefits Finder has helped over 2 million Canadians navigate and understand the new social programs that were created to protect their well-being during the pandemic
• Although the new benefits were unfamiliar to Canadians, 70% of visitors found the services that they were looking for, and 40% used the tool to apply right away
• The service is live and was developed in partnership with Service Canada

Partnership example 2: Explorations

• Goal: Provide recommendations and a roadmap of next steps based on digital best practices tailored to a service’s current operating reality
• The Canadian Digital Service has completed 4 explorations over the past year:
  • Service Canada Temporary Foreign Worker Program: provided design and technical recommendations on how to improve the way temporary foreign workers can report abuses and unsafe working conditions
  • Natural Resources Canada CanmetENERGY: provided recommendations on how to upgrade the tools energy advisors and builders use to deliver cost-effective, net-zero new and retrofitted homes
  • Natural Resources Canada Flood Mapping: provided recommendations on how to improve access to critical flood risk data for residents, builders, homebuyers, and emergency planning and preparedness organizations
  • Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada refugee information needs: provided recommendations on how to improve refugee resettlement information services to meet newcomers’ needs

Partnership example 3: Consulting services

• Goal: Provide departments with time-limited advice, drawing from multidisciplinary expertise
• The Canadian Digital Service started piloting consulting services in January 2021 and has worked with over 45 services across 30 different departments
  • Health Canada: Advice on how to relay complex information about the approved COVID‑19 vaccines in a simple and accessible manner
  • Global Affairs Canada: Advice on the feasibility of creating an app vs building upon existing similar tools, including partner negotiation strategies, costing, and meeting the Government of Canada Digital Standards
  • Shared Services Canada: Technical support for the team managing the migration to cloud for contact centre infrastructure that supports all government call centres

The next year at the Canadian Digital Service

• We’re transitioning from a quasi-pilot program to an ongoing-funded organization in government and recruiting a new Chief Executive Officer (Assistant Deputy Minister)
  • Package will be shared for green light to launch the search process
• We’re testing our new Partnerships Consulting to offer it more fully, and deploying our first Embedded Teams
  • We’re also looking at how we can more directly help departments recruit digital service professionals
• We’re continuing to scale Platform work and beginning to build new tools to support service teams across government, including a modern design system
  • Due to high demand, we’re looking to offer platform services for use by provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, [This information has been redacted]

Management Team

Nick Xenos

Executive Director

Key activities:

• Leads and coordinates the implementation of the Greening Government Strategy and the Policy on Green Procurement, including by:

  • providing strategic advice, practical guidance and tools to departments for net-zero, climate-resilient and green real property, fleet, and procurement
  • convening interdepartmental working groups and external stakeholder communities of practices to share expertise, successes, and best practices
• Tracks and publicly discloses greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reductions for federal operations
• Administers:
  • the Greening Government Fund (approx. $5M/year) to fund projects in departments that reduce emissions
  • the new Low-Carbon Fuel Procurement Program ($228M/8 years starting in 2023-24) to support the purchase of low-carbon fuels for government marine and aircraft

Partners and stakeholders:

• Collaborates with, guides and, directs federal departments to green their operations with a focus on 27 major federal emitters 
• Works with provinces, territories, industry and non-governmental organizations on amplifying greening efforts across the country

Expenditure Strategies and Estimates Division - Key activities

Key activities:

• Preparing Estimates and supply, and related public reporting and guidance on Treasury Board authorities
• Tracking, and reporting on, the progress of funding decisions through the supply process (e.g. to support Budget-Estimates Alignment)
• Supporting work on the Budget forecast and implementation, with the Department of Finance and Privy Council Office
• Supporting the Minister at Committee appearances

Partners and stakeholders:

• Treasury Board Secretariat Program Sectors; Office of the Comptroller General; Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer; and Corporate Services Sector
• Department of Finance and Privy Council Office
• Parliamentary Budget Officer
• Chief Financial Officers in departments and agencies and their teams

Expenditure Analysis and Compensation Planning Division - Key activities

Key activities:

• Developing compensation analyses and cost projections in support of collective bargaining and compensation policy development
• Conducting pay equity research and analysis
• Ensuring timely/transparent online reporting of Public Accounts, Departmental Results, government-wide financial and people management data

Partners and stakeholders:

• Treasury Board Secretariat Program Sectors; Office of the Comptroller General; Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer; Employee Relations and Total Compensation
• Department of Finance and Privy Council Office
• Offices of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Chief Actuary

Results Division - Key activities

Key activities:

• Guiding and supporting departments in managing for results through:
  • Exercising challenge function on Treasury Board Submissions
  • Annual review of Departmental Evaluation Plans
  • Setting requirements for reporting programs’ gender and diversity impacts (Canadian Gender Budgeting Act)
• Managing the publication of Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports
• Assessing performance in the Results ‘Area of Management’
• Designing frameworks and processes for spending reviews

Partners and stakeholders:

• Treasury Board Secretariat Program Sectors and Policy Centres, Privy Council Office, Department of Finance, Statistics Canada, Women and Gender Equality
• Evaluation and performance measurement communities, program managers, corporate reporting units, policy designers

Key Activities: Regulatory Policy and Cooperation Division

Key activities:

• Leads policy development and management of regulatory policy issues (Cabinet Directive on Regulation, policies and guidance)
• Leads Canadian participation in international and federal-provincial-territorial regulatory cooperation fora
• Coordinates regulatory reviews aimed at identifying novel regulatory approaches to support economic growth and innovation
• Leads Centre for Regulatory Innovation that promotes a whole-of-government approach to regulatory experimentation
• Supports the External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness

Partners and stakeholders:

• Regulatory cooperation:
  • Federal, provincial and territorial regulatory departments and agencies
  • United States Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
  • The European Commission
• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
• Industry and consumer associations - Business Council of Canada, Canadian Federation. of Independent Business, Chamber of Commerce
• Community of Federal Regulators

Key Activities: Governor-in-Council Operations

Key activities:

• Performs a challenge function on regulatory proposals and provides analysis to support Treasury Board Ministers
• Provides guidance and support to regulatory departments and agencies as they develop regulatory proposals
• Centre of Regulatory Expertise also provides:
  • expertise in analytical requirements of regulatory proposals, such as cost-benefit analysis, the small business lens, and the one-for-one rule
  • training and support to regulators on analytical requirements
  • monitoring and reporting of elements of the regulatory system (e.g., one-for-one rule, Administrative Burden Baseline, forward regulatory plans)

Partners and stakeholders:

• Privy Council Office in managing the procedural aspects of Governor-in-Council decision-making
• Justice Canada in ensuring coherence between legal instruments and policy objectives
• Federal regulatory departments and agencies
• Industry and consumer associations

Portfolio of Organizations

Portfolio of Organizations

Portfolio of Organizations

Portfolio of Organizations

Who we are: Corporate Services Sector

Karen Cahill

Assistant Secretary
Chief Financial Officer Corporate Services Sector

What we do: Business lines – Corporate Services Sector

Financial Management

• Annual business and investment planning
• Estimates and Cabinet documents, including Treasury Board submissions
• Financial advisory services and corporate reporting
• Accounting services and management practices
• Corporate accounting and internal controls

Information Management and Technology

• Develop and support 124 software applications that are used by Canadians, other government departments, and internally to the Treasury Board Secretariat
• Provide Information Technology stewardship, security, governance, oversight and change management (enterprise architecture Information Technology planning and reporting, project and portfolio management)
• Ensure sound operational support for Treasury Board Secretariat cloud operations, Information Technology help desk service, and information management

Corporate Administration and Security

• Facilities management and asset management
• Mail and distribution services
• Security services and emergency management
• Procurement and contracting
• Translation and editing services

Claims Office

• Phoenix-related damages claims processing

Key activities: Corporate Services Sector

Key activities

• Works with the Human Resources Division to ensure a seamless transition to a hybrid workplace
• Leads departmental business planning, budgeting and forecasting, and accounting services
• Provides financial review of departmental Cabinet documents
• Leads the process for the development of Treasury Board Secretariat-led submissions and co-leads the process for the development of federal budget proposals for the department
• Ensures efficient operation of existing 100% cloud-based departmental information management / information technology systems, including GC enterprise applications accessed by other government departments, public institutions and the public
• Works with business partners on 15 concurrent departmental IT projects and manages 124 applications
• Delivers evergreen computer equipment and digital tools to employees and provides Information Technology help desk service
• Provides facilities management services to employees at 90 Elgin, 219 Laurier and 45 Sacre Coeur
• Coordinates security and emergency management planning and processes requests for security clearances
• Provides procurement and contracting services, and proactive disclosure of contracts over $10,000
• Coordinates translation and provides editing services to meet official languages requirements for delivery of documents
• Coordinates and provides guidance to departments for claims related to Phoenix

Partners and stakeholders

• Public Services and Procurement Canada, Shared Services Canada, sectors within the Treasury Board Secretariat

Hot Issues: Corporate Services Sector

Who we are: Human Resources Division

Management Team

Doreen Gagnon

Assistant Deputy Minister, Human Resources Division

Caroline Thouin

Senior Director, HR Operations and Executive Group Services

Nancie Cantin

Senior Director Corporate Programs and Human Resources Transformation

Lianna Ferran

Ombud and Director Office of the Ombud

Davor Dacic

Senior Advisor, HR Analytics, Research & Experimentation

What we do: Business lines – Human Resources Division

Office of the Ombudsman, Ethics and Conflict Resolution

• Provides guidance and a safe place for employees to raise concerns, informally manage workplace conflict, disclose wrongdoing, and manage ethical concerns

Corporate Programs, Innovation and Transformation

• Provides department-wide guidance and services in support accessibility, diversity and inclusion, official languages, talent acquisition strategies, Human Resources planning, corporate classification and renewal, professional learning, wellness, occupational health and safety and employee engagement and outreach to support co-creation initiatives.

Human Resources Operations and EX Services

• Operational staffing, classification, Centre of Expertise in labour relations; administers talent management, employee recognition, and succession planning; compensation, and management of Peoplesoft (Human Resources information system)

Human Resources Analytics, Research & Experimentation

• Supports decision making and Human Resources transformation initiatives through data analytics, research, design thinking, behavioural insight; supports Beyond 2020 plan through experimentation in the development of new tools, processes and potential digital initiatives that and supports horizontal Human Resources priorities.

Key activities: Human Resources Division

Key activities:

Providing services, guidance, and tools to address:

• Re-integration and optimized hybrid workplace and long-term future of work for the Treasury Board Secretariat
• Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility
• Official Languages
• Harassment and violence in the workplace (Bill C-65)
• Leadership Development and Performance and Talent Management
• Recruitment
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Wellness
• Phoenix
• PeopleSoft Implementation/My GCHR Integration

Partners – supported by HRD :

• Champions at the Assistant Deputy Minister level - advocate for files
• Designated Officials - have an accountability rooted in law or policy
• Employee Networks and Communities (ENCs) – strong engagement with Employee Networks and Communities in the co- creation of initiative in support of mandated priorities

Stakeholders:

• Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer - provides central agency direction for people management
• Office of Public Service Accessibility - provides central agency direction for accessibility
• Public Services and Procurement Canada - administers GoC compensation

Hot Issues: Human Resources Division

Who we are: Internal Audit and Evaluation Bureau

Natalie Lalonde

Director General Internal Audit and Evaluation

What we do: Business lines – Internal Audit & Evaluation

Internal Audit

• Provides independent and objective assessments of the effectiveness of Treasury Board Secretariat risk management, governance and control processes using a risk- based approach, with a focus on added-value
• Conducts fraud-related administrative investigations for Treasury Board Secretariat, as required

Evaluation

• Provides neutral assessment of departmental program relevance and performance to support management’s priorities

Key activities: Internal Audit and Evaluation

Key activities:

• Implements integrated audit and evaluation plan, including internal audits, evaluations, reviews, lessons learned, advisory/consultation services and targeted research and monitors management action plans to address recommendations
• Secretariat for the Audit Committee and the Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee
• Reviews Cabinet documents to ensure future and past evaluation, performance measurement and audit requirements are present and accurate
• Supports sectors in refreshing logic models and related indicators, as part of maintaining performance information profiles

Partners and stakeholders:

• Deputy Heads of the department
• Sectors within the Treasury Board Secretariat
• Treasury Board Secretariat Audit Committee Members (external committee)
• Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee Members (internal committee)

Hot Issues: Internal Audit and Evaluation Bureau

Who we are: Legal Services

François Nadeau

Executive Director and Senior General Counsel
Department of Justice

What we do: Business lines – Legal Services

Government Operations and Public Management Law Group

• Provides advisory services in support to the Treasury Board submission process, policy development, regulation-making and legislative drafting, and assists key sectors such as the Office of the Comptroller General, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the Canadian Digital Service, Program Sectors, etc.

Labour and Employment Law Group

• Provides labour and employment litigation services on behalf of Treasury Board and separate employers before federal courts and tribunals
• Provides advisory services to the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer on collective bargaining, discipline, pay equity, and policy making, including litigation support on Treasury Board Secretariat-led class actions

Centre for Labour and Employment Law

• Provides advisory services to all departments and agencies on a cost- recovery basis, including training to the Human Resources community

Key activities: Advisory and Litigation Services

Key activities:

• Advisory services to all Treasury Board Secretariat sectors on labour and employment, access to information and privacy, official languages, procurement, real property, grants and contributions, Crown corporations, digital government, policy development, legislative and regulatory drafting
• Litigation services to all agencies and departments before the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal, the Canada Industrial Relations Board, the Federal Court, and the Federal Court of Appeal
• Legal expertise at Justice in specific areas, such as: Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, Public Service Employment Act, Financial Administration Act, Appropriation Acts, Service Fees Act, Access to Information Act, Privacy Act, Official Languages Act, Lobbying Act, pensions and benefits

Partners and stakeholders:

• Treasury Board Secretariat – all sectors
• Department of Justice – National Litigation Sector, centres of expertise, legal services units of other government departments, legislative and regulatory drafters
• All government departments and agencies – advisory and litigation services
• Courts and tribunals (essential services during the COVID‑19 pandemic)
• Bargaining agents and private sector law firms

Hot Issues: Legal Services

Who we are: Priorities and Planning

Mallika Nanduri Bhatt

Assistant Secretary Priorities and Planning

What we do: Business lines – Priorities and Planning

Policy, Planning and Performance

Enables departments to deliver more effective and efficient programs and services in accordance with modern management practices, and supports Treasury Board Secretariat accountability to Parliament and Canadians

• Supports the Treasury Board Secretariat’s core responsibility for providing leadership on administrative policy for the Government of Canada, including liaison to small departments and agencies
• Acts as the steward for the Treasury Board Policy Suite and the Management Accountability Framework
• Provides advice and support on Lobbying Act and Conflict of Interest Act
• Supports accountability to Parliament and Canadians by coordinating departmental plans and reports, and acting as the Treasury Board Secretariat’s departmental liaison to the Office of the Auditor General

Strategic Policy and Priorities Integration

Provides integrated, forward-thinking advice, and helps develop and deliver products for senior management to advance departmental priorities

• Leads and supports sectors in long-term horizontal initiatives (e.g., medium-term planning, budget, transition advice, results and delivery)
• Provides “surge support” for emerging priority initiatives in sectors across the Treasury Board Secretariat
• Supports experimentation across the Government of Canada, including through capacity building, functional leadership, and community support

Crown Corporation Centre of Expertise

Provides advice, guidance and expertise on Crown corporation matters from a horizontal perspective

• Supports the challenge function on Crown corporation corporate plans, budgets, and Treasury Board submissions from a horizontal perspective

Canada’s Free Agent Program

Together with three other departments, co-manages a talent program supporting employee mobility and simplifying hiring practices for managers across the public service needing time-limited staff

Treasury Board Secretariat Committees Secretariat

Provides the secretariat function for the department’s formal governance Committees

• Acts as secretariat for the Public Service Management Advisory Committee (PSMAC) and provides strategic advice and briefing materials to the co-chairs

Hot Issues: Priorities and Planning

Who we are: Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs

Kelly Acton

Assistant Secretary Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs

What we do: Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs

Communications

• Communications and Federal Identity Policy Centre
• Digital Transformation Office (Canada.ca)
• Strategic & Internal Communications
• Public & Parliamentary Affairs
• Digital Services (web, social media & multimedia)

Ministerial Services

• Departmental Access to Information and Privacy Office
• Ministerial Correspondence and Briefing Unit
• Treasury Board Submission Centre
• Cabinet Affairs

Key activities: Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs

Key activities:

• Support the President as chair of the Treasury Board and provide related agenda management, logistical support, process guidance working closely with Program Sectors, Expenditure Management Sector other central agencies
• Support the President in Parliament, in Cabinet, and in communicating with Canadians, working with partners across the Treasury Board Secretariat
• Support Secretary, Associate, Chief Human Resources Office, Chief Information Officer, Comptroller General, Deputy Minister of the Office of Public Service Accessibility & Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Digital Service in Government of Canada-wide communications activities and lead on key horizontal communications
• Provide policy centre leadership & guidance for communications across government, including the Canada.ca web presence and related products & services
• Manage Treasury Board Secretariat’s digital communications services and presences (web, social media & multimedia) including 13 social media accounts on 5 platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn
• Coordinate and provide expertise to all Treasury Board Secretariat Sectors as part of the administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Partners and stakeholders:

• Daily interaction with the President’s Office on many fronts
• Guidance and coordination with other government departments; extensive work with the Privy Council Office

Hot Issues: Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs