2019-20 Departmental Results Report
Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
Original signed by
The Honourable David Lametti, P.C., Q.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Caroline Maynard
Information Commissioner of Canada
ISSN 2561-2697
December 7, 2020
Table of contents
- Commissioner’s message
- Results at a glance and operating context
- Results: what we achieved
- Analysis of trends in spending and human resources
- Additional information
- Appendix: definitions
Commissioner’s message
At the beginning of 2019–20, I laid out four clear priorities to guide my office’s work. I also set a goal to secure sufficient permanent resources for investigations into complaints under the Access to Information Act as part of a larger strategic and transformational approach to operations.
As this Department Results Report shows, my team and I were successful on all fronts—completing a large number of investigations and implementing substantial amendments to the Act. My office was also active in ensuring transparency in all its work and in fostering collaboration with institutions, all to facilitate investigations.
These results were made possible, in part, by temporary funding to hire more investigators to continue ongoing efforts to reduce the inventory of complaints.
At the same time, my team addressed the longstanding need for additional permanent resources to make it possible to keep up with the growing volume of complaints—which reached an all-time high this year—and carry out other aspects of my mandate. I was pleased to receive a favourable response from the Treasury Board to my request for permanent funding in August 2020.
Working with my senior management team, I also set the foundation for transforming how the Office of the Information Commissioner operates. In particular, a new strategic plan, which was developed with extensive employee input, sets new priorities and objectives for the next five years to ensure my office delivers results for Canadians.
With these building blocks in place, I am now determining how best to allocate the new resources and transform operations while continuing sound stewardship of public funds. As a result, my office will be able to continue to investigate complaints effectively and efficiently, and further reduce the number of complaints in the inventory. I will also participate in the government’s review of the Access to Information Act, which is taking place during 2020–21. In both regards, my goal is to make a significant contribution to government transparency in Canada.
Responsible transformation is also essential in the context of the pandemic. In mid-March 2020, my team moved seamlessly to working remotely. The switch accelerated the move to all-electronic investigations and required my office to develop other creative ways to work and communicate with complainants and institutions. These preparations have positioned my office to handle the challenges ahead.
Results at a glance and operating context
Two primary factors affected operations at the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) in 2019–20.
The first was the passage of Bill C-58 (An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts) in June 2019. The second factor was the record number of new complaints the OIC received over the year.
The OIC carried out its work in this context guided by four priorities:
Addressing the inventory: The OIC hired additional term investigators and consultants for the year with temporary funding provided under Budget 2019. Investigative teams were organized to investigate specific types of complaints and to work with portfolios of institutions. The responsibilities of the Registry, which the Commissioner had set up in 2018–19 to receive, register and manage complaints, were fine-tuned based on the first year’s experience. The OIC updated and tested a number of new tools to assist investigators.
Implementing Bill C-58: With new permanent funding to implement the amendments to the Access to Information Act, the OIC increased its capacity to implement the Commissioner’s new order-making power: she can now issue orders at the conclusion of investigations when she finds the complaints to be well founded. Likewise, the OIC expanded its publishing capacity, since the Commissioner may now publish reports of her investigations in English and French. This new capacity also supports the OIC’s increased proactive disclosure of information, such as briefing materials prepared for the Commissioner. Finally, the OIC implemented a process by which institutions can seek the Commissioner’s permission to decline to act on access requests, supported by epost Connect, a secure electronic communications and document-sharing platform.
Ensuring transparency: The OIC unveiled a completely revamped website in 2019–20. This refreshed and modern online presence makes it easy for complainants and institutions to find useful information on the Commissioner’s interpretations of the Act (including reports on systemic investigations and searchable summaries of notable investigations completed over the past decade) and guidance on procedures the OIC follows during investigations.
Fostering collaboration with institutions: The Commissioner met with deputy ministers and senior officials at five institutions over the year to gather and share best practices, learn more about the state of access operations in individual institutions, and communicate her concerns about whether and how institutions are fulfilling their obligations under the Act.
For more information on the OIC’s plans, priorities and results achieved, see the “Results: what we achieved” section of this report.
Total actual spending, 2019–20:
$14.4 million
Actual full-time equivalents,
2019–20: 94
Key results
- Completed a large number of investigations, which kept the increase in the size of the inventory of complaints to a minimum despite receiving a unprecedented number of new complaints
- Completed 800 investigations of complaints dating from before April 1, 2018, contributing to a 66-percent reduction in older files in the inventory over two years
- Moved to electronic investigations, which increased efficiency and made it possible for investigators to continue to work remotely later in the year and beyond once the pandemic closed the OIC office
Results: what we achieved
Core responsibility
Description: The Information Commissioner is the first level of independent review of government decisions relating to requests for access to information under the control of government institutions. The Access to Information Act requires the Commissioner to investigate all the complaints she receives.* The second level of independent review is performed by the Federal Court.
*With amendments to the Act that came into force in June 2019, the Commissioner may now refuse or cease to investigate complaints in limited circumstances.
Results
The OIC excelled in meeting the Commissioner’s four priorities for the year.
Addressing the inventory: The OIC completed an unprecedented number of investigations in 2019–20. This meant that, although the OIC also received a record number of new complaints, it kept the increase in the size of the inventory of complaints to a minimum.
This was possible thanks to the efforts of additional term investigators and consultants the OIC hired for the year with temporary funding provided through Budget 2019.
The OIC organized its investigations teams to be responsible for specific types of complaints and to work with portfolios of institutions. The duties of the Registry, which the Commissioner had set up in 2018–19 to receive, register and manage complaints, were fine-tuned based on the first year’s experience. The OIC also updated and tested a number of new tools to assist investigators.
Together these measures meant that the OIC was able to close 112 percent more complaints than in 2018–19 and limit the growth of the inventory to 6 percent, despite receiving 150 percent more new complaints. Among the investigations completed were 800 dating from prior to April 1, 2018, contributing to a 66 percent decrease in these older files over two years.
Implementing Bill C-58: Bill C-58 (An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts) received Royal Assent in June 2019. The Commissioner gained a number of new powers and responsibilities under the amendments. With new permanent funding to implement the amendments, the OIC increased its capacity such that the Commissioner can now issue orders at the conclusion of investigations, when she finds the complaints to be well founded. She can now also publish reports of her investigations in English and French. The increased publishing capacity also supports the OIC’s proactive disclosure of information, such as briefing materials prepared for the Commissioner. Finally, the OIC implemented a process by which institutions can seek the Commissioner’s permission to decline to act on access requests, supported by epost Connect, a secure electronic communications and document-sharing platform.
Ensuring transparency: The OIC unveiled a completely revamped website in 2019–20. This refreshed and modern online presence makes it easy for complainants and institutions to find useful information on the Commissioner’s interpretations of the Act (including reports on systemic investigations and searchable summaries of notable investigations completed over the past decade), guidance on procedures the OIC follows during investigations and other matters related to the Commissioner’s oversight role.
The OIC published new guidance documents in 2019–20 covering email management and applying for the Commissioner’s approval to decline to act on access requests.
In May 2019, the Commissioner moderated a panel at the Open Government Partnership Global Summit held in the National Capital Region on how removing restrictions on historical government records could improve access to those records, reduce the need to make access requests, and make the processing of historical national security records less complex. In February 2020, the OIC published a declassification strategy for national security and intelligence records authored by University of Ottawa professor and national security expert Wesley Wark, who had served as rapporteur for the Commissioner’s panel.
Fostering collaboration with institutions: The Commissioner met with deputy ministers and senior officials at five institutions over the year (Transport Canada, the Department of Justice Canada, National Defence, Library and Archives Canada, and the Privy Council Office). The purpose of these meetings was to gather and share best practices, learn more about the state of access operations in individual institutions, and communicate the Commissioner’s concerns about whether and how institutions are fulfilling their obligations under the Act.
The Commissioner spoke at the annual meeting of federal access to information and privacy practitioners, held during Right to Know Week in September 2019. She also discussed the importance of access to information during a January 2020 presentation to staff at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. This institution receives roughly two thirds of all access requests across government each year.
Together, these activities combined to produce a very successful year, with the OIC continuing to make a significant contribution to government transparency. The OIC also continued to pursue permanent funding to augment its investigative capacity for inventory reduction. The resulting stability would lead to efficiency and better position the OIC to respond effectively should the elevated volume of complaints continue.
In March 2020, the OIC began to get a sense of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic would have on investigations. Institutions started to inform the OIC that, given their limited capacity for remote work, they might not be able to meet dates they had previously committed to for responding to complainants or the OIC. The OIC also reminded institutions that they must continue to properly document their decisions as well as their decision-making processes.
The OIC will be updating its performance indicators and targets in 2020–21 to allow it to better measure its performance and the results it achieves for Canadians.
Gender-based analysis plus
The investigations the OIC completes contribute directly to government transparency and—since complaints can focus on topics such as residential schools and First Nations, gender and transgender issues, gender-based analysis-plus, women, Indigenous women, discrimination and harassment—to advancing inclusiveness in Canada.
Experimentation
Over the course of 2019–20, the OIC implemented and began to work with epost Connect, a secure electronic platform to facilitate communication and information sharing between complainants, institutions and the OIC when institutions apply for permission to decline to respond to access requests. Based on lessons learned from this experience, the OIC will develop and take advantage of other tools to make its processes more efficient and aid its interactions with complainants and institutions.
Results achieved
|
Departmental results |
Performance indicators |
Target |
Date to achieve target |
2017–18 |
2018–19 Actual results |
2019–20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Canadians receive timely resolution of complaints about how federal institutions process access to information requests |
Median turnaround time for administrative cases* |
90 days |
March 31, 2020 |
39 days |
22 days |
48 days (Calculated for the 28 percent of administrative complaints not closed by the OIC Registry) |
|
Median turnaround time for refusal cases* |
9 months (270 days) |
March 31, 2020 |
203 days |
190 days |
180 days |
|
|
Institutions meet their obligations under the Access to Information Act and adopt measures to address institutional and systemic issues affecting access to information |
Percentage of recommendations from investigations of complaints that are adopted |
95 percent |
March 31, 2020 |
99 percent |
39 percent |
N/A** |
|
Percentage of recommendations from systemic |
80 percent |
March 31, 2020 |
The President of the Treasury Board accepted all recom-mendations resulting from the one systemic investigation completed in 2017–18. |
There were no systemic investiga-tions completed in 2018–19. |
The Minister of Defence agreed with spirit of all recommendations resulting from the one systemic investigation completed in 2019–20. |
*From the date complaints are assigned to an investigator
**Since the coming into force of Bill C-58, the Commissioner has the power to order institutions to release information. This, in combination with changes in internal processes related to reporting on investigations, makes it impossible to provide accurate information on the 2019–20 results in this category.
Budgetary financial resources (dollars)
|
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
8,828,677 |
8,828,677 |
11,074,689 |
9,976,641 |
1,147,964 |
Human resources (full-time equivalents)
|
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
|---|---|---|
|
71 |
66 |
–5 |
The OIC hired new investigators and other program staff in 2019–20, but was unable to engage the planned 71 FTEs. Other hiring, covered by temporary funding, involved arranging for consultants through Temporary Help Services.
Financial, human resources and performance information for the OIC’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.
Internal Services
Description
Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the distinct service categories that support program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model. The service categories are Acquisition Management Services, Financial Management Services, Human Resources Management Services, Information Management Services, Information Technology Services, Material Management Services, Management and Oversight Services, Communication Services and Real Property Management Services.
Results
The OIC’s internal services teams supported the program in meeting the Commissioner’s priorities, in particular securing permanent annual funding to implement the Commissioner’s new powers and responsibilities, and temporary funding for inventory reduction.
The hiring of investigators with the new funding required significant support from the Human Resources team, in terms of staffing actions and other processes, over the course of 2019–20. The team also resolved a number of Phoenix-related pay problems.
Toward the end of 2019–20, the OIC began the process to request permanent funding for its ongoing inventory reduction activities. Securing such resources would allow the OIC to augment and stabilize its investigative capacity on a permanent basis and thus increase efficiency.
The OIC moved to electronic investigations in 2019–20, which contributed to inventory reduction efforts. Among other important contributions, the IM/IT team developed policies and procedures, and obtained equipment, for converting paper records to digital ones, and began work to integrate new investigation reports with the OIC’s case management system. The IT team worked with the program to implement epost Connect, a secure electronic communications and document-sharing platform to facilitate communication between the OIC and institutions and requesters to support a new process required under Bill C-58.
When the OIC had to close its office in mid-March 2020 due to the pandemic, the IT team provided exemplary service such that all employees could, in a matter of days, work from home with access to the OIC network. Investigators were able to continue their work, but were hindered by the shutdown of access operations in many institutions. Corporate functions were facilitated by the prompt implementation of electronic document delivery and electronic signatures. At the close of the fiscal year, the OIC began planning for selective access to the otherwise closed office for critical services and for new tools to facilitate remote work.
Over the year, the OIC had set priorities for investments in information management and information technology applications and infrastructure to transform operations in line with government direction and to enhance network and information security. Together, these will also help the OIC function efficiently and effectively as the pandemic continues.
The OIC carried out its planned threat risk and vulnerability assessments in 2019–20 to help ensure the OIC’s security measures are robust and aligned with emerging threats. The OIC also finalized its new Departmental Security Plan and updated its Business Continuity Plan, as part of ongoing work to reduce operational risks.
With extensive employee input, the OIC developed a new strategic plan for the next five years, supported by a new governance structure.
Employees were also actively involved in developing the OIC’s new intranet, which will be launched in 2020–21.
Budgetary financial resources (dollars)
|
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2,637,136 |
2,637,136 |
4,884,167 |
4,399,906 |
1,762,770 |
Human resources (full-time equivalents)
|
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
|---|---|---|
|
22 |
28 |
6 |
The increase in resources for internal services was required to keep up with the ongoing workload and to carry out projects to meet the organization’s key priorities and corporate obligations.
Analysis of trends in spending and human resources
Actual expenditures
Spending trend
Text version
|
Fiscal year |
Statutory |
Voted |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2017–18 |
1,120,946 |
12,507,692 |
13,628,638 |
|
2018–19 |
1,134,443 |
13,317,275 |
14,451,718 |
|
2019–20 |
1,229,844 |
13,146,703 |
14,376,547 |
|
2020–21 |
1,426,763 |
11,641,325 |
13,068,088 |
|
2021–22 |
1,426,510 |
11,637,305 |
13,063,815 |
|
2022–23 |
1,427,831 |
11,646,231 |
13,074,062 |
The above figure illustrates the OIC’s voted and statutory spending each year from 2017–18 to 2022–23.
The OIC spent $14.4 million in 2019–20 to carry out its program and meet its strategic outcome. The vast majority of the OIC’s spending (70 percent) is for salaries and associated employee costs. The Commissioner is committed to ensuring that the OIC uses its financial resources in the most strategic and responsible manner to continue to improve service delivery and ensure that investigations and other activities aimed at enhancing government openness and transparency have the most impact.
The OIC received $3.4 million in temporary funding in 2016–17 in order to reduce the number of complaints in the inventory. The OIC spent $2.9 million of this funding that year. The remaining $0.5 million was re-profiled to 2017–18 and spent during that year. The OIC received $2.9 million in temporary funding for 2018–19, also for inventory reduction. In 2019–20, the OIC received $1.3 million in permanent annual funding to implement the Commissioner’s new powers and responsibilities, and $2.6 million in temporary funding for inventory reduction.
For 2020–21 and beyond, the spending graph does not include the additional permanent funding the OIC has requested to continue to augment its investigative capacity for inventory reduction.
Budgetary performance summary for core responsibility and Internal Services (dollars)
|
Core responsibility and Internal Services |
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
2020–21 |
2021–22 |
2019–20 |
2017–18 Actual spending (authorities used) |
2018–19 Actual spending (authorities used) |
2019–20 Actual spending (authorities used) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Government transparency |
8,828,677 |
8,828,677 |
9,931,748 |
9,928,499 |
11,074,689 |
9,906,179 |
10,190,225 |
9,976,641 |
|
Budget Implementation vote – unallocated authorities |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
459,147 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Subtotal |
8,828,677 |
8,828,677 |
9,931,748 |
9,928,499 |
11,533,836 |
9,906,179 |
10,190,225 |
9,976,641 |
|
Internal Services |
2,637,136 |
2,637,136 |
3,136,340 |
3,135,316 |
4,884,167 |
3,722,459 |
4,261,493 |
4,399,906 |
|
Total |
11,465,813 |
11,465,813 |
13,068,088 |
13,063,815 |
16,418,003 |
13,628,638 |
14,451,718 |
14,376,547 |
Actual human resources
Human resources summary for core responsibility and Internal Services
|
Core responsibility and Internal Services |
2017–18 |
2018–19 |
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
2020–21 |
2021–22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Government transparency |
61 |
57 |
71 |
66 |
86 |
86 |
|
Internal Services |
22 |
27 |
22 |
28 |
22 |
22 |
|
Total |
83 |
84 |
93 |
94 |
108 |
108 |
Expenditures by vote
For information on the OIC’s organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2019–2020.
Government of Canada spending and activities
Information on the alignment of the OIC’s spending with the Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available in GC InfoBase.
Financial statements and financial statements highlights
Financial statements
The OIC’s financial statements (audited) for the year ended March 31, 2020, are available on the OIC website.
Financial statement highlights
Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2020 (dollars)
|
Financial information |
2019–20 |
2019–20 |
2018–19 |
Difference (2019–20 Actual results minus 2019–20 Planned results) |
Difference (2019–20 Actual results minus 2018–19 Actual results) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total expenses |
13,488,970 |
16,520,511 |
15,837,644 |
3,031,541 |
682,867 |
|
Total revenues |
– |
989 |
– |
989 |
989 |
|
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers |
13,488,970 |
16,519,522 |
15,837,644 |
3,030,552 |
681,878 |
The actual net cost of operations in 2019–20 was higher than planned due to the OIC’s securing additional funding after that year’s initial figures were published.
The actual net cost of operations in 2019–20 was higher than in 2018–19 mostly due to the OIC’s securing more funding that, in turn, resulted in increased spending for salaries (but offset by a reduction in costs for outsourced services).
Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) as of March 31, 2020 (dollars)
|
Financial information |
2019–20 |
2018–19 |
Difference (2019–20 minus 2018–19) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Total net liabilities |
2,469,394 |
2,711,056 |
–241,662 |
|
Total net financial assets |
2,113,728 |
2,364,343 |
–250,615 |
|
Departmental net debt |
355,666 |
346,713 |
8,953 |
|
Total non-financial assets |
2,029,891 |
2,345,276 |
–315,385 |
|
Departmental net financial position |
1,674,225 |
1,998,563 |
–324,338 |
Total net liabilities for 2019–10 were $2.5 million, a decrease of $0.2 million from 2018–19. This decrease is mainly due to a drop in the year-end accounts payable as a result of the OIC continuing to improve its processes and internal controls for timely processing and accounting of transactions throughout the year. The decrease in accounts payable was partially offset by an increase in salaries payable because of underpayments through Phoenix and an increase in unused vacation at year-end. The decrease in non-financial assets largely resulted from the amortization of tangible capital assets.
Additional information
Organizational profile
Appropriate minister: Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Commissioner: Caroline Maynard, Information Commissioner of Canada
Ministerial portfolio: Department of Justice Canada
Enabling instrument[s]: Access to Information Act (RSC, 1985, C-1)
Year of incorporation / commencement:1983
Other: For administrative purposes, the Minister of Justice is responsible for submitting the organization’s Departmental Plan and Departmental Results Report.
Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on the OIC’s website.
Reporting framework
The OIC’s Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2019–20 are shown below.
Text version
Core Responsibility: Government Transparency
Departmental Results Framework
Departmental Result: Canadians receive timely resolution of complaints about how federal institutions process access to information requests
- Indicator: Median turnaround time for administrative cases
- Indicator: Median turnaround time for refusal cases
Departmental Result: Institutions meet their obligations under the Access to Information Act and adopt measures to address institutional and systemic issues affecting access to information
- Indicator: Percentage of recommendations from systemic investigations that are adopted
- Indicator: Percentage of recommendations from systemic investigations that are adopted
Program Inventory
Compliance with access to information obligations.
Internal services
Supporting information on the program inventory
Financial, human resources and performance information for the OIC’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.
Supplementary information tables
The following supplementary information tables are available on the OIC’s website:
Federal tax expenditures
The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.
This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs. The tax measures presented in this report are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.
Organizational contact information
France Labine
Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Services, Strategic Planning
and Transformation Services
Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
30 Victoria Street
Gatineau QC K1A 1H3
Tel.: 819-994-8181
Fax: 819-994-1768
Email: france.labine@ci-oic.gc.ca
Website: www.oic-ci.gc.ca
Appendix: definitions
appropriation (crédit)
Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.
core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.
Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3‑year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.
departmental priority (priorité)
A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.
departmental result (résultat ministériel)
A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.
departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.
departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.
Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.
experimentation (expérimentation)
The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works, for whom and in what circumstances. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.
full‑time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person‑year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full‑time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.
gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])
An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.
government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2019–20 Departmental Results Report, those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2019 Speech from the Throne, namely: Fighting climate change; Strengthening the Middle Class; Walking the road of reconciliation; Keeping Canadians safe and healthy; and Positioning Canada for success in an uncertain world.
horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative where two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.
non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.
performance (rendement)
What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.
performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.
performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)
The process of communicating evidence‑based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.
plan (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.
planned spending (dépenses prévues)
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.
A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.
program (programme)
Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.
program inventory (répertoire des programmes)
Identifies all the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.
result (résultat)
A consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.
statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.
target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.
voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.