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Section IV- PSC Supplementary Information

Organizational Information and Accountability

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent agency reporting to Parliament on matters under its jurisdiction. The Commission consists of a president and two (or more) part-time commissioners appointed for a maximum period of seven years. The president and the commissioners are appointed by the Governor in Council. The appointment of the president is made under the Great Seal after approval by the Senate and the House of Commons. The president's position is currently held by Maria Barrados and the two commissioner positions are held by Manon Vennat and David Zussman. The President is the Chief Executive Officer and is accountable to the Commission under the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA). She is also accountable to the Minister of Canadian Heritage for specific duties and responsibilities under the Financial Administration Act.

Five branches, headed by vice-presidents, support the President in her role as Chief Executive Officer and contribute to the achievement of the PSC's strategic outcome. An organization chart outlining the PSC's internal structure and accountability is presented below.

The Senior Vice-President, Policy carries out key policy development and oversight functions in support of the PSEA. The Senior Vice-President is accountable for: the interpretation, application and development of policies under the PSEA, including aspects related to equity and diversity and the political activities of public servants; negotiating, monitoring and evaluating deputy heads' exercise of their delegated staffing authorities and recommending corrective action as needed; managing the administration of priority entitlements; contributing to the future-oriented vision of the PSC as an independent agency and developing strategic policy frameworks; managing the development of the PSC's Annual Report and coordinating with central departments and agencies to achieve the full implementation of the PSEA.

The Vice-President, Audit, Evaluation and Studies conducts public service-wide independent audits, studies and evaluations to provide objective information, advice and assurance to Parliament, and ultimately Canadians, on the integrity of the appointment process, including the protection of merit and non-partisanship. In addition, the Vice-President, Audit, provides appointment data and analysis in support of the PSC's oversight role and to support the information needs of departments and agencies.

The Vice-President, Investigations conducts investigations and promotes the use of alternative dispute resolution methods and early intervention methods. The Vice-President is mandated to conduct several types of investigations related to external appointment processes; non-delegated internal appointment processes; allegations of politically influenced appointments and fraud; improper political activities and, at the request of deputy heads, investigations of delegated internal appointment processes. In addition, the Vice President, Investigations, conducts appeal hearings and investigations related to selection and staffing processes that were initiated under the old PSEA.

The Vice-President, Staffing and Assessment Services develops, implements and delivers recruitment, staffing and assessment systems, programs, services and products for use across the public service; provides recruitment services to all clients and staffing services to organizations (under both delegated and non-delegated authorities) requiring our services, or who have lost all or part of their delegation as a result of a PSC oversight activity and develops and implements service strategies, policies and structures.

The Vice-President, Corporate Management develops and monitors corporate management planning frameworks and policies related to the Management Accountability Framework, finance, human resources management, information technology, communications and other administrative and support services; provides central services and systems in support of all PSC programs, including the offices of the president and commissioners; and formulates and implements policies, plans, guidelines, standards, processes and procedures to support the decision-making process of the Commission.

Key Relationships

The Public Service Commission (PSC) works collaboratively with the following major organizations and stakeholders:

• Parliament, to which we are accountable for the overall integrity of the appointment system and the political neutrality of the public service, through regular and special reports, including those related to audit findings. The PSC also makes appearances before committees (for example, Commons committees on Government Operations and Estimates, Official Languages, Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethic and Senate committees on National Finance and Human Rights) and has direct communication with Members of Parliament, when required. Additionally, we maintain our capacity to independently interpret and exercise our powers in the best interests of Canadians.
• The Clerk of the Privy Council, who is the head of the public service and with whom we provide support in strengthening and renewing the public service.
• Canada Public Service Agency, whose mandate is to coordinate the overall implementation of the new Public Service Modernization Act and the people component of the Management Accountability Framework.
• Canada School of Public Service, which is the common learning service provider for the public service of Canada and with whom we consult in providing departments and agencies support and learning tools.
• Other organizations supporting Parliament, who also assist Parliament through independent audits and oversight and with which the PSC exchanges information on roles, responsibilities and issues concerning the support of Parliament.
• Human Resources Management Advisory Committee, with which we discuss emerging issues and major initiatives, and review policy coherence and inter-organizational alignment of priorities and resources.
• Public Service Commission Advisory Council, where we participate in regular meetings with departments/agencies and bargaining agents to discuss issues and receive advice related to the PSC's responsibilities under the new Public Service Employment Act
• Advisory Committee on the Public Service, who will advise the Prime Minister and the Clerk of the Privy Council on matters related to the future development and renewal of the public service.
• Hiring managers and human resources specialists, who, together with the PSC, are responsible for creating a modernized human resources management system for the benefit of Canadians.
• Human Resources Council, which works in partnership with departmental human resources (HR) organizations, central agencies and the PSC in identifying and addressing HR management concerns and interests.
• Academics and external experts, to develop effective and innovative practices under the Appointment Framework, to strengthen the PSC's approach to oversight, and to develop a new regime for the political activities of public servants.
• International organizations and merit protection agencies across Canada and in other countries, to exchange information on key developments and best practices.
• Public service employees, who receive support managing their careers and applying for positions, and Canadians, to whom the PSC provides access to a wide range of challenging public service employment opportunities.

Table 1: Comparison of Planned to Actual Spending and Full-Time Equivalents ($ thousands)

	Actual 2004-05	Actual 2005-06	2006-2007: Main Estimates	2006-2007: Planned Spending	2006-2007: Total Budget Authorities	2006-2007: Total Actual (Note 1)
Program Activity 1: Appointment Integrity and Political Neutrality	39,349	45,212	47,821	41,519	41,986	40,355
Program Activity 2: Recruitment and Assessment Services	52,518	58,775	58,196	63,275	65,834	58,521
Total	91,867	103,987	106,017	104,794	107,820	98,876
Less: Non-respendable revenues (Note 1)	4,786	4,795	-	-	-	34
Plus: Cost of services received without charge	17,587	16,909	n/a	14,712	n/a	16,264
Total PSC spending	104,668	116,101	106,017	119,506	107,820	115,106
Full-time equivalents	942	932	n/a	1,026	1,038	932

Note 1: In 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, actual revenues were attributable to the Assessment and Counselling Services and Products. In 2006-2007, the PSC had authority to respend the revenues from this sub-activity. Consequently, these are reflected in the Program Activity 2 figure of $58,521K. The actual non-respendable revenues in 2006-2007 are primarily attributable to miscellaneous revenues.

Table 2: Resources by Program Activity (2006-2007) ($ thousands)

	Budgetary - Operating	Budgetary - Total: gross budgetary expenditures	Budgetary - Less: re-spendable revenue	Budgetary - Total: net budgetary expenditures
Appointment Integrity and Political Neutrality
Main estimates	47,821	47,821		47,821
Planned spending	41,519	41,519		41,519
Total budget authorities	41,986	41,986		41,986
Actual spending	40,355	40,355		40,355
Recruitment and Assessment Services
Main estimates	64,196	64,196	6,000	58,196
Planned spending	69,275	69,275	6,000	63,275
Total budget authorities	71,834	71,834	6,000	65,834
Actual spending	64,998	64,998	6,477	58,521
Total
Main estimates	112,017	112,017	6,000	106,017
Planned spending	110,794	110,794	6,000	104,794
Total budget authorities	113,820	113,820	6,000	107,820
Actual spending	105,353	105,353	6,477	98,876
Other Revenues and Expenditures
Less : Non-respendable revenues (Note 1)
Actual spending				34
Plus: Cost of services provided by other departments
Main estimates				n/a
Planned spending				14,712
Total budget authorities				n/a
Actual spending				16,264
Net cost of the program
Main estimates				106,017
Planned spending				119,506
Total budget authorities				107,820
Actual spending				115,106

Note 1: Consists of miscellaneous revenues.

Table 3: Voted and Statutory Items - 2006-2007 ($ thousands)

Vote or Statutory Item	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Budget Authorities	Actual
95	Program expenditures	92,949	91,499	96,448	87,504
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	13,068	13,295	11,370	11,370
(S)	Spending of proceeds from the disposal of surplus Crown assets	-	-	2	2
	Total	106,017	104,794	107,820 (Note 1)	98,876

Note 1: Includes a frozen allotment of $5,131K, of which $4,917K represents resources for the Public Service Resourcing System which will be reprofiled to 2007-2008.

Table 4: Services Received Without Charge - 2006-2007

Service	($ thousands)
Accommodation provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada	10,032
Contributions covering employer's share of employees' insurance premiums and expenditures paid by Treasury Board Secretariat	5,522
Workers' compensation coverage provided by Social Development Canada	136
Salary and associated expenditures of legal services provided by Justice Canada	440
Audit services by the Office of the Auditor General	134
Total 2006-2007 services received without charge	16,264

Table 5: Source of Respendable and Non-Respendable Revenues - 2006-2007

Respendable Revenues ($ thousands)

Program Activity	Actual 2004-05	Actual 2005-06	2006-2007 Main Estimates	2006-2007 Planned Revenue	2006-2007 Total Budget Authorities	2006-2007 Actual
Recruitment and Assessment Services
Assessment and Counselling Services and Products (Note 1)	-	-	6,000	6,000	6,000	6,477
Total respendable revenues	-	-	6,000	6,000	6,000	6,477

Non-Respendable Revenues ($ thousands)

Program Activity	Actual 2004-05	Actual 2005-06	2006-2007 Main Estimates	2006-2007 Planned Revenue	2006-2007 Total Budget Authorities	2006-2007 Actual
Recruitment and Assessment Services:
Assessment and Counselling Services and Products (Note 1)	4,786	4,795	-	-	-	-
Miscellaneous Revenues	-	-	-	-	-	29
Appointment Integrity and Political Neutrality:
Miscellaneous Revenues	-	-	-	-	-	5
Total Non-respendable Revenues	4,786	4,795	-	-	-	34
Total Revenues	4,786	4,795	6,000	6,000	6,000	6,511

Note 1: In 2004-2005, the revenues were credited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). In 2005-2006, the PSC obtained approval to re-spend revenues. This authority, however, was not brought into legal effect due to the federal election call and the dissolution of Parliament. The collected revenues were therefore returned to the CRF. In 2006-2007, the PSC had the authority to re-spend revenues and the figures are reflected in the first table above.

Table 6: Resources by Branch - 2006-2007 ($ thousands)

BRANCH	Appointment Integrity and Political Neutrality	Recruitment and Assessment Services	Total
Policy
Planned Spending	13,802		13,802
Actual Spending	13,232		13,232
Audit, Evaluation and Studies
Planned Spending	8,134		8,134
Actual Spending	6,458		6,458
Investigations
Planned Spending	6,686		6,686
Actual Spending	5,897		5,897
Staffing and Assessment Services
Planned Spending		46,860	46,860
Actual Spending		39,726	39,726
Corporate Management
Planned Spending	12,450	15,845	28,295
Actual Spending	14,339	18,249	32,588
Commissioners' Office
Planned Spending	447	570	1,017
Actual Spending	429	546	975
Total Planned Spending	41,519	63,275	104,794
Total Actual Spending	40,355	58,521	98,876

Table 7: User Fees

A- User Fees Act

A- User Fee Description	2006-2007	Planning Years: Fiscal Year	Planning Years: Forecast Revenue $	Planning Years: Estimated Full Cost $
Fees charged for the processing of access requests under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) Fee Type: Other products and services Fee-setting authority: Access to Information Act Date last modified: 1992	Forecast revenue: $700.00 Actual revenue: $450.00 Full cost: $80,102 (salary and O&M) Performance standard: Response provided within 30 days following receipt of request; the response time may be extended pursuant to section 9 of the ATIA. Notice of extension to be sent within 30 days after receipt of request. The ATIA provides more details: http://laws.justice.qc.ca/en/A-1/218072.html Performance results: Statutory deadlines have been met for 95% of requests. Extension notices were sent within 30 days following the receipt of the request in 14% of cases.	2007-2008	400	205,000
		2008-2009	400	170,000
		2009-2010	400	170,000
B. Date last modified:
C. Other information: It is the practice of the PSC's Access to Information and Privacy Office to waive fees where (a) the total reproduction costs that could be assessed amount to less than $25; (b) the information being requested is publicly available; or (c) when no response or notice of extension is forwarded within 30 days following receipt of the request. Fees amounting to more than $25 were waived for 42 requests in 2005-2006, for a total of $183.40.

B- Policy on standard for external fees

Supplementary information on Service Standards for External Fees can be found at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/dpr-rmr/2006-2007/info/info-eng.asp.

Table 8: Response to Parliamentary Committees, Audits and Evaluations

Response to Parliamentary Committees

The Public Service Commission (PSC) did not provide input into government responses to Parliamentary Committees during 2006-2007.

Response to the Auditor General

Post-Secondary Recruitment (PSR) (Chapter 5 of the 2003 Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG)) - Program effectiveness

The PSC provides information on the outcomes of the Post-Secondary Recruitment (PSR) program in the PSC Departmental Performance Report and the PSC Annual Report. Furthermore, the PSC is currently working with the Deputy Minister Committee on Public Service Renewal, departments, agencies and the Canada Public Service Agency to increase the efficiency of the PSR program. The objective is to develop and implement an approach to identify departments' and agencies' post-secondary recruitment needs, so that the PSR program can be better coordinated and focused on these needs.

Modernization of Human Resources Management - Managing the Reforms (Chapter 3 of the February 2005 Report of the Auditor General of Canada)

The PSC continues to use the Staffing Management Accountability Framework (SMAF) that describes the expectations and indicators for departments and agencies in hiring and promoting staff. The PSC reported further on readiness and Public Service Employment Act implementation in its 2006-2007 Annual Report to Parliament as well as through reports to Deputy Minister (DM) committees and letters to Heads of Human Resources and DMs, as appropriate. The SMAF is being reviewed to focus more on results in the coming years.

The PSC is developing an evaluation framework to prepare for the five-year review of the new legislation. The evaluation framework will help the PSC to further establish meaningful performance measures, gather critical benchmarking data and contribute to the continuous improvement of our ongoing oversight activities. The PSC Survey of Appointments is being revised to better align it with the new staffing regime and the five-year evaluation framework.

Like all departments, the PSC also uses the Report on Plans and Priorities and the Departmental Performance Report (RPP/DPR) to inform Parliament of its progress, although the Annual Report is the main vehicle for reporting on implementation of reforms under the new Act.

Response to the Public Service Commission on External Audits

In the fall of 2006, the PSC published three audits which noted areas where the PSC itself needed improvement (see http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/audit-verif/reports/index_e.htm). These are the audits on: Acting Appointments to and Within the EX Group; Readiness for the New Public Service Employment Act and Follow-up Audit of the Military Police Complaints Commission. Where improvements are needed, the PSC included specific commitments to address these in the report.

The PSC has taken steps to ensure these commitments are respected. Progress on action plans to remedy weaknesses is being monitored by Internal Audit Directorate and the Internal Audit Committee. The Audit, Evaluation and Studies Branch is responsible for conducting follow-up audits, which will be reported in accordance with its Branch standards.

Internal Audits 2006-2007

The PSC has made considerable progress in implementing the government's new Policy on Internal Audit. This year marked the first year that the PSC's Internal Audit Committee was composed primarily of independent external members operating under a broad mandate. As well, late in the fiscal year, the PSC entered into an agreement with the Office of the Comptroller General for funding relating to Committee operations and additional assurance work.

During 2006-2007, the PSC completed the three audits summarized below. The PSC posts all its completed internal audit reports on its Web site:

http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/centres/internal_audits/index_e.htm.

Human Resources Readiness

This audit assessed the extent to which the PSC had implemented the new Public Service Modernization Act (PSMA) in its own internal operations. It found that overall the PSC put into place the requisite elements for implementing the new Act. These had included establishing new staffing policies and an Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument. Some planned processes were still under way or being finalized, e.g. criteria for the Staffing Management Accountability Framework. Management developed its action plan to respond to the audit with the intention of completing its implementation of the PSMA.

Readiness Assessment of Controls for External Audit of PSC's Financial Statements

With the aim of producing audited financial statements, PSC management requested an assessment of the auditability of the PSC's financial statements, particularly with future controls-based auditing in mind. Internal Audit reviewed the control environment and statement presentation and verified the opening balances for 2005-06. The auditors concluded that the financial control framework overall was strong, although some improvements were needed, for example, evidencing of review of some transactions and segregation of duties. Management promptly remedied some weaknesses and addressed others through its action plans.

Expenditure Management Control

In April 2004, the PSC put into place various spending and equipment loan restrictions in the interests of economies and prudent asset management. Management expressed a need for a review of the compliance to this directive. The auditors found overall a good level of compliance to the new restrictions. However, control weaknesses were identified, such as in records management, compliance monitoring and business case documentation. Management provided suitable action plans to deal with these weaknesses.

Internal Evaluation 2006-2007

The Internal Evaluation Function was established within the PSC in 2005-2006 as part of the Internal Audit and Evaluation Directorate. In 2006-2007, the function was re-located to the Corporate Planning and Reporting Directorate. The function responds to the decision making needs of the PSC's Executive with objective and evidence-based information on the performance of the PSC's policies, programs and initiatives as a Department (under the Financial Administration Act). The function is intended to advance sound performance measurement, reporting and accountability in the design of departmental policies, programs and initiatives and to formally assess the efficiency, effectiveness, results and continuing relevance of these initiatives.

Performance Measurement

In 2006-2007, the Internal Evaluation Function completed a departmental review and produced an updated PSC performance measurement framework. The new framework has been reflected in the PSC's 2007-2008 Report on Plans and Priorities and will be the performance framework underlying the 2007-2008 DPR.

Public Service Staffing Modernization Project Stream 1

In 2006-2007, the PSC finalized an evaluation framework for the Public Service Staffing Modernization Project (PSSMP) Stream 1. This evaluation framework supports the PSC's commitment to Treasury Board Secretariat for performance measurement, evaluation and reporting on the implementation and longer-term results of PSSMP Stream 1. Terms of Reference for a 2007-2008 implementation evaluation of PSSMP Stream 1 also were completed.

Recruitment of Policy Leaders Program

As well, the PSC completed Terms of Reference for an evaluation of the Recruitment of Policy Leaders Program and initiated a formative evaluation of the program. The evaluation will be completed in 2007-2008.

Table 9: Details on Project Spending

Supplementary information on Project Spending can be found at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/dpr-rmr/2006-2007/info/info-eng.asp

Table 10: Client –Centred Service

Supplementary information on Client-Centred Service can be found at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/dpr-rmr/2006-2007/info/info-eng.asp.

Table 11: Travel Policies

Comparison to the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) Special Travel Authorities

The PSC follows the TBS Special Travel Authorities.

Comparison to the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) Travel Directive, Rates and Allowances

The PSC follows the TBS Travel Directive, Rates and Allowances.

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