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ARCHIVED - Treasury Board Real Property Administration Policy


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1. Effective date

This present document contains the policy as revised June 15, 2000. It replaces the version of this policy dated November 15, 1993.

2. Policy objective

To ensure that real property is administered by the department or agency responsible for the government program that the real property supports.

Note: For interpretation of this policy in the Province of Quebec, "real property" means "immovable" within the meaning of civil law of the Province of Quebec and includes the rights of a lessee in respect of such an immovable.

3. Policy statement

It is government policy that

  • the appropriate program department administer real property; and
  • the total real property a department administers is limited to that required to directly support its programs.

4. Application

The policy applies to all departments within the meaning of section 2 of the Financial Administration Act unless specific acts or regulations override it. Policy requirement 5.3 applies to Crown corporations within the meaning of subsection 83(1) of the Financial Administration Act.

5. Policy requirements

5.1 A department shall seek administration of real property, through acquisition or transfer, only when the property is required for the purposes of the department's programs.

5.2 Departments must conduct regular reviews of the real property they administer and be able to link it to their program requirements and confirm that their current use of it is appropriate.

5.3 Departments and Crown corporations must maintain accurate records of the real property they administer, which includes recording certain information in the Directory of Federal Real Property (DFRP). Details on the DFRP appear in the appendix to this policy.

5.4 Departments that no longer require particular real property for their program delivery must dispose of it by sale or transfer.

6. Responsibilities

6.1 Custodian departments are those that administer real property to deliver their programs. They are responsible for developing and using strategic plans to relate their real property to program delivery, for reporting the required real property information to the DFRP, and for providing an annual completeness and accuracy certification.

6.2 Crown corporations within the meaning of subsection 83(1) of the Financial Administration Act are responsible for reporting the required real property information to the DFRP, and for providing an annual completeness and accuracy certification.

6.3 The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is the designated custodian of federal real property that supports diplomatic and consular purposes outside Canada.

6.4 Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) is the designated custodian of general purpose office facilities provided on an obligatory basis to departments and agencies as listed in section 2 of the Financial Administration Act and other real property that does not otherwise have a natural program organization, such as the parliamentary precinct, certain common-use facilities and miscellaneous infrastructures.

6.5 The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (the Secretariat) will monitor and advise the Treasury Board on the real property administered by departments and, if necessary, will arbitrate transfers between custodian departments. The Secretariat is also responsible for co-ordinating the core database and maintaining the related systems in respect of the DFRP.

7. Monitoring

The Secretariat will determine how effective this policy is, find out how it is applied in departments, and decide whether it needs to be revised. It will do this by contacting departments, consulting with the Treasury Board Advisory Committee on Real Property, and studying audits and reviews conducted by departments or the Auditor General of Canada. The Treasury Board Guide to the Monitoring of Real Property Management provides information so departments can monitor and assess policy implementation.

8. References

8.1 Authority

This policy is issued pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, subsections 7(1), 9(1.1), 9(2), and 149(1).

8.2 Treasury Board publications

Treasury Board Guide to the Monitoring of Real Property Management

Treasury Board Real Property Glossary

DFRP Input Guide

9. Enquiries

Please direct enquiries about this policy to your departmental headquarters. For interpretation of this policy, departmental headquarters should contact:

Real Property and Materiel Policy Directorate
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
L'Esplanade Laurier
140 O'Connor Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0G5
Telephone: (613) 941-7173
Facsimile: (613) 957-2405
E-mail: rpmpd@tbs-sct.gc.ca

Please direct enquiries about the DFRP to:

Registrar, DFRP
Real Property and Materiel Policy Directorate
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
L'Esplanade Laurier
140 O'Connor Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0G5
Telephone: (613) 957-2510
Facsimile: (613) 957-2405
E-mail: rpmpd@tbs-sct.gc.ca


Appendix - Directory of Federal Real Property

1. Purpose

The Directory of Federal Real Property (DFRP) is the central record of the real property holdings of the Government of Canada. Custodian departments and Crown corporations maintain records with additional information. These records together provide a basis for accountability to the Treasury Board, Cabinet, Parliament, and the general public for federal real property.

2. Requirements

Departments and Crown corporations must report all real property they administer, including real property owned by the Crown or leased or licensed for one year or more, to the DFRP. The Executive Director, Real Property and Materiel Policy Directorate (RPMPD), may authorize modified reporting for Crown corporations on a case-by-case basis.

In reporting information to the DFRP departments and Crown corporations must

  • refer to the DFRP Input Guide for instructions regarding content and input methods;
  • hold the "mandatory" and "required" information fields in their internal real property information systems;
  • relate the DFRP number to their internal numbering systems; and
  • annually certify the completeness and accuracy of information provided.