ARCHIVED - RPP 2006-2007
Fisheries and Oceans Canada

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In this section:

• Organizational Information
• Legal Framework
• Program Enablers
• Contacts for Further Information

Organizational Information

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is a largely decentralized department with almost nine of every ten employees situated in regions outside the National Capital Region. The Department operates across Canada from six regions, as well as from the national headquarters in Ottawa. The regions are as follows.

Each of the six regions is headed by a Regional Director General (RDG) in a regional headquarters. The RDGs are responsible for organizing and managing the delivery of programs and activities in their regions through area offices, in accordance with national and regional priorities and within national performance parameters set for each program and activity.

The national headquarters in Ottawa — under the leadership of the Deputy Minister, Senior Associate Deputy Minister, Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard and five Assistant Deputy Ministers — is responsible for establishing national objectives, policies, procedures and standards. It also runs some national programs and monitors departmental activities nationwide to ensure the quality and consistency of service delivery.

The Canadian Coast Guard is a Special Operating Agency within DFO under the leadership of the Commissioner and organized into five regions, each headed by an Assistant Commissioner.

The rest of the Department is organized into five sectors, each headed by an Assistant Deputy Minister. Assistant Deputy Ministers are responsible for establishing national objectives, policies, procedures and standards for their respective sectors and business lines.

The Deputy Ministers, Assistant Deputy Ministers and Regional Directors General work closely together in managing the Department and its operations.

Regional Directors General and Assistant Deputy Ministers report directly to the Deputy Minister.

This organizational and governance information is shown in the accompanying figure.

Organizational and Governance Information

The Departmental Management Committee (DMC) is the Department's senior decision-making body. The Committee is chaired by the Deputy Minister. Other members include the Senior Associate Deputy Minister; the Assistant Deputy Ministers; the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard; the Regional Directors General; the Senior General Counsel, Legal Services; the Director General of the Executive Secretariat; the Director General, Communications; the Executive Director, Aquaculture Management; and the Director General, Audit and Evaluation.

DMC meets regularly as DMC-Management, DMC-Policy or DMC-Human Resources. DMC is supported by the following senior management committees: Policy Committee, Human Resource Committee, Legal Risk Management Committee, Departmental Audit and Evaluation Committee, Investment Management Board, Information Management/Information Technology Management Board and the Science Management Board.

Legal Framework

The legal authority for DFO's programs and activities is found in the following statutes and their respective regulations. These statutes set out DFO's legal mandate, powers and duties.

• Atlantic Fisheries Restructuring Act,¹ R.S.C. 1985, c. A-14
• Canada Shipping Act,² R.S.C. 1985, c. S-9
• Coastal Fisheries Protection Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-33
• Department of Fisheries and Oceans Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-15
• Fisheries Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-14
• Fisheries Development Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-21
• Fisheries Improvement Loans Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-22
• Fishing and Recreational Harbours Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-24
• Freshwater Fish Marketing Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-13
• Great Lakes Fisheries Convention Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-17
• Oceans Act, S.C. 1996, c. 31
• Resources and Technical Surveys Act,³ R.S.C. 1985, c. R-7
• Species at Risk Act,⁴ S.C. 2002, c. 29

¹Certain sections of this Act are also the responsibility of the Ministers of Industry, Finance and State (Privatization and Regulatory Affairs).

²The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has some responsibilities under this Act. The majority of the Act is administered by the Minister of Transport.

³The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has some powers under this Act. However, those powers also exist under the Oceans Act.

⁴The Minister of the Environment is the responsible Minister for the Act, but the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is a competent Minister with respect to aquatic species.

In addition, DFO is required to comply with constitutional statutes and laws of general application, such as:

• the Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
• the Financial Administration Act;
• the new Public Service Labour Relations Act;
• the new Public Service Employment Act;
• the Official Languages Act;
• the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act; and
• the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Program Enablers

Program Enablers refers to the corporate functions that support the delivery of DFO's plans and priorities. In DFO, Program Enablers represent approximately 17% of total employees and consist of Executive Direction, Strategic Policy, Communications, Legal Services, Human Resources and Corporate Services. Executive Direction includes the offices of the Minister, Deputy Minister, Associate Deputy Minister, Regional Directors General and Area Managers; Audit and Evaluation Directorate; Values, Integrity and Conflict Resolution; Executive Secretariat and the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council.

The work of the Program Enablers is ongoing and multi-faceted; for example, they provide financial management support, prepare news releases and analyze policy issues. They work together with the programs described in the section Plans for 2006-2009 by Strategic Outcome to deliver departmental and government priorities and initiatives.

The financial and human resources shown below are the sum of the prorated resources presented in the section Plans for 2006-2009 by Strategic Outcome.

Planned Spending and Full-time Equivalents, DFO

	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
Financial Resources (millions of dollars)	308.1	298.7	287.3
Human Resources (number of FTEs)	1,786	1,786	1,768

Program Enablers Sub-activities

The Program Enablers program activity is delivered through six sub-activities.

Executive Direction

• Providing leadership and direction to the Department to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of the Department's mandate and achievement of its strategic outcomes
• Providing timely and informed advice to the Minister
• Implementing the audit and evaluation policies, programs and initiatives of the Government of Canada and DFO
• Developing and implementing DFO's integrated risk management initiatives
• Ensuring adherence to the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act
• Ensuring awareness of and compliance with the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service within DFO

Strategic Policy

• Providing strategic advice, services and policies to ensure the sustainable development and safe use of Canada's oceans and aquatic resources
• Providing strategic advice and co-ordination for the legislative and regulatory priorities of DFO

Communications

• Working with program and policy leads across the Department to guide communications activities that support the goals and priorities of the Department and are consistent with the Government of Canada Communications Policy

Legal Services

• Providing legal services and counsel to the Department in support of policy development, program implementation, legislative and regulatory drafting, regulatory prosecutions and civil litigation
• Designing and implementing programs, reports and materials that enhance legal awareness

Human Resources

• Delivering policy and procedural advice, services and training to managers and employees on organization and classification, human resource planning, succession planning, learning and career development, performance management, staffing and recruitment, employment equity and diversity, official languages, labour relations, compensation, human resource management systems, awards and recognition, and management trainee/career assignment programs

Corporate Services

• Providing support to the Department's core areas of corporate review, finance and administration; real property management, safety and security; environment; and information management and technology services

The following table identifies the expected results and performance indicators for each of the Program Enabler sub-activities.

Expected Results and Performance Indicators

Expected Results	Performance Indicators
Executive Direction
Improved management practices, policies and internal control systems in DFO through the audits, evaluations and follow-up audits carried out according to the Annual Audit and Evaluation Workplan Improved organizational objectives in DFO achieved through the implementation of Integrated Risk Management in departmental decision making	Percentage of audits, evaluations and follow-up audits in the annual workplan that are completed or started Percentage of recommendations approved or implemented, totally or partially Number of sectors that have implemented risk-based planning for their activities DMC-approved governance model for future implementation
Strategic Policy
Senior management, including the Deputy Minister and Minister, properly prepared to make departmental policy decisions and representations Enhanced capacity within DFO to conduct complex economic research and analysis Increased information and analytical base upon which decisions are made on departmental programs and policies (evidence-based policy making) Increased credibility with respect to the Department's policies, program and approaches to natural resource management Effective Canadian participation in international meetings Enhanced capacity within DFO for legislative and regulatory initiatives	Senior management satisfied that policy decision-making process is strategic and properly informed from a whole-of-department perspective Number of highly skilled economists and quantitative analysts recruited Number of economic and statistical analyses prepared to support the development and assessment of existing and new programs and policies Number of requests to provide economic advice and analysis or to use DFO as a valuable source of economic information and analytical expertise Canadian positions promoted and adopted internationally Number of requests for new legislative and regulatory initiatives and their implementation as "Smart Regulations"
Communications
Increased transparency with media and citizens Informed and engaged managers and employees in DFO	Total number of media interactions (proactive and responsive) Balance of tone in media coverage Total General Inquiries requests and response rates per established service standards Number of Internal Communications activities
Legal Services
Legal risk anticipated and mitigated Programs, reports and materials that enhance legal awareness	Number of legal risk (litigation) and high-impact case committee meetings Number of legal awareness products delivered
Human Resources
Continued implementation of Human Resource Modernization and effective delivery of human resource advice and services in DFO, in line with the People Component of the Management Accountability Framework	Number of positions using national model work descriptions Number of managers trained to exercise their delegated responsibilities Number of Human Resource Advisors validated by the Public Service Commission Effectiveness of regional/sector Human Resource plans Assessment of compliance or movement toward compliance with the 12 statutory requirements of the Employment Equity Act Increase in the number of employees who meet the language requirements of their position, and reduced official language complaints Increase in the number of employees who have a learning plan Establishment of a career and succession management program for the EX group Departmental support for development programs such as the Management Trainee Program and the Career Assignment Program Number of union/management meetings Continued use of both formal and informal recognition mechanisms
Corporate Services
Effective stewardship of DFO Real Property custodial inventory Safe and healthy work environment for employees in DFO Efficient management of government information Reliable, secure and responsive information technology infrastructure Departmental finances managed according to government policies and regulations Departmental staff with the tools and information required to manage effectively	Ratio of capital investment to asset replacement value Number of safety hazards reported and addressed by management Number of Management of Government Information Policy Readiness Indicators met Number of contaminated sites assessed, risk managed and cleaned up Percentage availability of IT infrastructure during working hours Percentage of DFO staff that rate Finance and Administration tools and information as Excellent, Very Good or Good Percentage of Treasury Board decisions that are made without conditions

Contacts for Further Information

Region	Name	Telephone
Newfoundland and Labrador	Jan Woodford	(709) 772-7622
Maritimes	Kathy Kieley	(902) 426-3866
Gulf	Terrance Boucher	(506) 851-7757
Quebec	Marcel Boudreau	(418) 648-7316
Central and Arctic	Lawrence Swift	(519) 383-1830
Pacific	Deborah Phelan	(604) 666-8675
Headquarters	Anne Lamar	(613) 990-0219

 

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