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The Government of Canada is committed to the well-being of Canadians and the country. In serving Canada, the Privy Council Office provides essential advice and support to me, as Prime Minister, and to the rest of the Cabinet across the entire spectrum of policy questions and operational issues facing the Government. It upholds the integrity of the Cabinet decision-making system, supports the effective functioning of the Government’s day-to-day operations, and leads the renewal of the federal public service.
Over the past year the Privy Council Office supported the coordinated development and implementation of the Government’s priorities as presented in the October 2007 Speech from the Throne, and in other key documents, including the October 2007 Economic Statement and Budget 2008. The Privy Council Office also provided ongoing secretariat support to Cabinet and its committees. In February 2008, the Government established a new Cabinet Committee on Afghanistan, supported by a task force within the Privy Council Office, to better coordinate and ensure the effectiveness of Canada’s activities in Afghanistan.
I would like to thank the staff of the Privy Council Office and the thousands of federal public servants across this country for their dedication and professionalism. In leading a strong, prosperous and secure Canada, the Government will continue to rely on their capable expertise, advice and support.
It is with pleasure that I present the Departmental Performance Report of the Privy Council Office for the year ending March 31, 2008. This document summarizes achievements of the Privy Council Office in meeting the commitments made in the 2007-2008 Report on Plans and Priorities. I am also pleased to present the 2007-2008 Departmental Performance Report for the Public Appointments Commission Secretariat, included with this report.
I submit for tabling in Parliament the 2007-2008 Departmental Performance Report for the Privy Council Office.
This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2007-2008 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:
Kevin G. Lynch
Clerk of the Privy Council and
Secretary to the Cabinet
Organizational Information
The Privy Council Office reports directly to the Prime Minister and is headed by the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet.
The main roles of PCO are to:
Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture for 2007-2008
Strategic Outcome | Toward effective government policies and operations, the Privy Council Office ensures that decision making by the Prime Minister and Cabinet is well supported and the institutions of executive government are well supported and maintained. |
Program Activity |
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During the year 2007-2008, the Privy Council Office modified its Program Activity Architecture (PAA) to better reflect its role, core mandate and program activities across the organization. The approved revised PAA, which will be implemented in fiscal year 2008-2009, will have four program activities instead of six and will be related to PCO’s role to support the Prime Minister and portfolio ministers, the Cabinet, the Public Service and the commissions of inquiry.
Resource Summary
Financial Resources (thousands of dollars)
2007-2008 | ||
Planned Spending | Total Authorities | Actual Spending |
128,067 | 149,463 | 137,692 |
Human Resources (full-time equivalents)
2007-2008 | ||
Planned | Actual | Difference |
937 | 912 | 25 |
Departmental Priorities
The following table provides a summary of the department’s overall performance in relation to the priorities as set out in the 2007-2008 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP). Further details on expected results by program activity stemming from these priorities are found in Section II. As indicated below, all 2007-2008 performance milestones identified in the RPP were successfully met.
Priority | Type | Performance Status |
1. Support the Prime Minister in exercising his overall leadership responsibility | Ongoing | Successfully met |
2. Improve management and accountability of government | Ongoing | Successfully met |
3. Focus on key policy areas and strengthen medium-term policy planning | Ongoing | Successfully met |
4. Strengthen PCO’s internal management practices | Ongoing | Successfully met |
Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
Strategic Outcome: | Toward effective government policies and operations, the Privy Council Office ensures that decision making by the Prime Minister and Cabinet is well supported and the institutions of executive government are well supported and maintained. | ||||
Program Activities | Expected Results | Performance Status | 2007-2008 | Contributes to the Following Priority | |
Planned Spending $000s |
Actual Spending $000s |
||||
1. Support for Cabinet decision making and the legislative agenda | Cabinet decision making and legislative agenda are supported | Ongoing or successfully met | 5,458 | 5,121 | 1 |
2. Advice to the Prime Minister and ministers on issues, policies, machinery and appointments | The Prime Minister and ministers receive informed and sound advice in support of decision making | Ongoing or successfully met | 59,516 | 53,892 | 1,2,3 |
3. Provide Cabinet with sound advice on the development, coordination and implementation of the policy agenda | Cabinet receives sound advice on the development and implementation of the policy agenda | Ongoing or successfully met | 22,666 | 23,239 | 3 |
4. As its head, the Clerk leads the Public Service in effectively supporting Cabinet and serving Canadians | The overall development of the public service is fostered | Ongoing or successfully met | 7,197 | 9,638 | 2 |
5. Provide the Prime Minister’s Office and the offices of the portfolio ministers with financial and administrative support | The Prime Minister’s Office and the offices of the portfolio ministers receive appropriate financial and administrative support | Ongoing or successfully met | 27,521 | 28,401 | 4 |
6. Provide commissions of inquiry with appropriate administrative support | Commissions of inquiry receive appropriate support | Ongoing or successfully met | 5,708 | 17,401 | 4 |
Total | 128,067 | 137,692 |
Operating Context
PCO’s priorities depend in large part on the Government’s agenda and are subject to a variety of internal and external influences. Some of the most significant ones are outlined below.
Complex and unpredictable environment
New horizontal issues are arising that require increased collaboration among governments and sectors. Consequently, relationships and policy design are changing. Decision makers are faced with challenges and opportunities that are influenced by varying pressures, international circumstances, budgetary limits and changing expectations. A minority government’s situation in both the House of Commons and the Senate added to the complexity of the environment.
To deal with this complexity, PCO must support integration within the federal government community, and encourage teamwork within and across departments and agencies. Strong and effective networks involving the federal government, other orders of government and stakeholders are key success factors. PCO must ensure that it is able to support the Prime Minister in exercising his overall leadership responsibility with a high level of policy and legal expertise as well as analytical capability.
Public expectations for increased government accountability
Canadians expect their government to provide better and more efficient services at the lowest possible cost. At the same time, they expect their government to make sound decisions, to be transparent and to account for the use of resources.
Over the past year, the Government has introduced a new expenditure management system to ensure that all government programs are effective, efficient, focused on results, aligned with the Government’s priorities and responsibilities and provide value for money for taxpayers. PCO, as a central agency and as the Prime Minister’s department, has a special duty to lead by example by demonstrating an efficient and effective use of public resources, with excellence as the benchmark.
Changes in the labour market
The face of Canada is being reshaped by significant demographic and societal changes, which poses challenges to the Public Service. According to 2006 Census data, the median age has been rising steadily since 1966, reaching 39.5 years in 2006, and could exceed 44 years by 2031. In 2006, the number of people aged 55 to 64 was at an all-time high of nearly 3.7 million. This group made up 16.9% of the working-age population compared with 14.1% in 2001 and is predicted to represent more than 20% of the working-age population in 2016. According to population projections, Canada may face workforce shortages in approximately 10 years, thereby creating an urgency to develop and implement strategies for the transfer of knowledge, continuous learning, employee retention and succession planning.
In a strong national labour market, the Public Service is competing for talent with many other organizations, from businesses to universities to non-governmental organizations that are actively competing to recruit Canada’s top university and community college graduates.
In addition to our aging population, visible minorities now account for 16.2% of Canada’s total population. Their presence in the workforce is significant. Immigrants represented almost 70% of the net growth of the Canadian labour force between 1990 and 2001. By 2011, it is projected that immigration will account for 100% of Canada’s net labour force growth.1
Risks and challenges
People are PCO’s main asset and the main factor in successfully achieving our business objectives. To fulfill its role of providing sound policy advice and support to the Prime Minister and Cabinet, PCO relies extensively on its ability to attract, recruit and retain high-calibre policy analysts and advisors with specific subject-matter expertise who possess the experience, knowledge, analytical capability, ability to work under pressure and, above all, the dedication to provide exceptional quality service. Due to the workforce demographic, the current labour market and the high-pressure nature of its work, PCO, like many departments and agencies, is challenged to fully staff its organization. Integrated business and human resources planning is important in addressing this situation.
The responsibility of PCO to support the Prime Minister and Cabinet, ensure continuity of constitutional government and provide leadership for the Public Service means it must be capable of operating in all environments. Therefore PCO must be able to function 24 hours a day and seven days a week, regardless of the circumstances, which could range from business as usual to natural disasters (e.g. ice storms) to accidents (e.g. power interruptions) to deliberate actions (e.g. terrorism). PCO continues to build on progress already made in the area of emergency preparedness in order to continually improve its capacity to provide support and advice, regardless of the situation.
Alignment of PCO’s Outcome with Government of Canada Outcomes
Canada’s Performance Report to Parliament describes the federal government’s contribution to Canada’s performance as a nation by providing an overview of how individual departments and agencies contribute to broader, government-wide outcomes in the following key policy areas: economic affairs, social affairs, international affairs and government affairs (federal organizations that support all departments and agencies).
Overall Departmental Performance
Priorities
As mentioned previously, PCO focused on four priorities over the course of the year.
1. Support the Prime Minister in exercising his overall leadership responsibility
PCO provided support in a number of key areas. Examples of its activities include: providing policy and legal advice on the structure and organization of Cabinet, Cabinet committees and Cabinet decision making, including the changes to the Ministry in August 2007, the creation of a new Cabinet committee, and the modification of the mandate of one committee; supporting the implementation of the Government’s democratic reform agenda, including a number of pieces of key legislation; continually improving the Governor-in-Council appointment process; coordinating the Government of Canada’s security and intelligence activities to support the Prime Minister in his responsibility for the security of Canada and Canadians; providing advice and support to the Prime Minister in his overall responsibility for the management of relations with the provinces and territories; and providing advice and operational support for the management of the Government’s parliamentary agenda in a minority situation, including support for the legislative program for the new session of Parliament in October 2007.
2. Improve the management and accountability of government
PCO continued to play a central role in assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet in enhancing the overall management, transparency and accountability of government while ensuring that the objectives of improved efficiency and efficacy were met. PCO supported the renewal of the Public Service of Canada, grounding renewal initiatives in the business of government to ensure that the 21st century public service reflects excellence and leadership at all levels. Additionally, it concentrated its efforts on supporting the Government in meeting its commitment to implement the Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan and other key measures aimed at ensuring integrity, accountability, responsibility and excellence in public administration. It also assisted the Government in increasing the effectiveness and accountability of Canada’s democratic institutions and practices.
3. Focus on key policy areas and strengthen medium-term policy planning
PCO provided advice and supported the development and implementation of the Government’s agenda in the fields of social, economic and international policy, as set out in the Speech from the Throne (www.sft.ddt.gc.ca). It also identified emerging issues to inform Cabinet’s deliberations and, through long-term strategic thinking, provided advice for the Government’s forward-looking agenda.
4. Strengthen PCO’s internal management practices
Achieving excellence in management requires the ongoing strengthening of PCO’s internal management practices, consistent with the standards of management outlined in the Management Accountability Framework (MAF). PCO continued its efforts to integrate human resources planning with the business planning process by producing an integrated business and human resources plan for 2008-2009. PCO also strengthened emergency management and business continuity capacity within PCO. Further information on PCO’s efforts to improve its management accountability is provided in Section IV, Other Items of Interest.