ARCHIVED - Review of the Governance Framework for Canada's Crown Corporations - Meeting the Expectations of Canadians

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10. Conclusion

The transparency and rigour of governance and accountability regimes for public institutions, including Crown corporations, has been an area of growing concern for Parliament and the general public. The government launched a series of reviews, including this one, to strengthen transparency, oversight, accountability, and management across the public sector. The government recognizes the connection between the transparency and accountability of public institutions, and their effectiveness. As stated in Strengthening Public Sector Management: An Overview of the Government Action Plan and Key Initiatives,⁽¹⁴⁾ the government understands that for Canada to build a 21st century economy, strengthen its social foundations and secure its place in the world, it must have a modern public sector in which Canadians have pride and confidence.

The purpose of this review was to undertake a comprehensive examination of Crown corporation governance in light of recent developments in both public and private sectors. Indeed, this review constitutes the first examination of all major aspects of the governance regime for Crown corporations since Part X of the FAA was last amended in 1984. Since then, in the private and public sectors, a range of innovative and successful improvements to corporate governance have been instituted. Some of these best practices are reflected in measures outlined in this report.

We hoped to answer a fundamental question: How can the government improve the effectiveness of the current governance framework so that the programs and services delivered by Crown corporations respond to Canadians' interests and needs, as well as meet Canadians' standards and expectations of ethical conduct and operations for all public institutions? The measures outlined in this report reflect our determination to succeed and our commitment to action.

However, as this report makes clear, no single governance framework could possibly meet the requirements of all 46 Crown corporations given their extraordinary diversity. Many of the measures the government will pursue will still need to be tailored to fit the nature of each corporation and its status under or outside the FAA. However, the government is confident that the measures announced provide an integrated governance framework reflecting the core principles of accountability and transparency. In addition to these measures, the government recognizes the requirement to periodically review Crown Corporation mandates and will set in place a process to do so.

The measures focus on five key areas: (1) clarification of the relationship between the responsible Minister and the Crown corporation; (2) clarification of the Crown corporations' accountability regimes and the stewardship roles of their Boards; (3) an update of the interim process announced in March 2004 to make the appointment process more professional, transparent, and rapid; (4) keeping pace with governance reforms in the private sector, and (5) increasing the transparency of Crown corporations' activities and operations.

The implementation of the measures will flow from legislative, policy, and guidelines changes, which the Government of Canada will pursue in consultation and collaboration with Crown corporations.

 

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