Archived—Section III: Results—What we achieved: 2017 to 2018 Departmental Results Report

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Strategic outcome

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)'s strategic outcome is to deliver high-quality central programs and services that ensure sound stewardship on behalf of Canadians and meet the program needs of federal institutions.

Programs

The following section describes PSPC's programs and actual results that supported our strategic outcome. It also includes an overview of financial and human resources, expected results, and performance indicators and targets for each program.

Program 1.1: Acquisitions

This program provides federal organizations with procurement solutions such as specialized contracts, standing offers, supply arrangements, and memoranda of understanding for acquiring a broad range of goods and services, including construction services. This program delivers acquisitions and related common services using the smart procurement principles (early engagement, effective governance, independent advice, and benefits for Canadians) through an open, fair and transparent process to ensure best value to Canadians and the federal government.

Program performance analysis and lessons learned

Under this program, PSPC managed the procurement of goods and services valued at approximately $13.4 billion on behalf of our client departments and agencies in 2017 to 2018. Over the course of the year, PSPC continued to provide effective, efficient and fair procurement services that support Canada's institutions in delivering their programs while contributing to the country's socio-economic goals.

Throughout fiscal year 2017 to 2018, in line with the minister's mandate commitments, PSPC implemented new procurement tools and technologies to streamline and simplify processes, including electronic bid submission, electronic requisitions, electronic signatures for invoices, and the paperless allocation of contracting files. As well, a pilot initiative was launched within PSPC to pay invoices for contracts valued at less than $100,000 within 15 days instead of the current 30 days. This means that small and medium-sized enterprises will require less working capital (cash flow) to do business with the Government; this initiative will also remove barriers to accessing government contracts.

PSPC has enhanced the procurement platform to make it easier for suppliers to know about bidding opportunities and for government buyers to access streamlined procurement tools. The department has also implemented a feature on Buyandsell.gc.ca allowing suppliers to partner with other suppliers on opportunities, thus further reducing barriers to accessing government contracts. In addition, PSPC contributed to making government information more readily accessible by continuing the identification and provision of additional open data sets on Buyandsell.gc.ca, which will also encourage more and better bids in support of the minister's commitment to encourage greater competition.

The department continues to work towards the implementation of a single portal for all procurement needs. Funding was proposed through Budget 2018 to establish a new electronic procurement solution (EPS) platform for the Government of Canada. Leveraging lessons learned from other government-wide transformation projects, the web-based EPS will first be implemented within PSPC to ensure that both the technology and business processes are stable before being deployed more broadly.

By implementing EPS, PSPC will make it easier for suppliers to sell, increase opportunities for small and medium enterprises, and improve data quality. This solution will help simplify procurement and reduce the administrative burden for suppliers, in alignment with the minister's mandate letter.

In further support of the Government of Canada's objective and commitment to modernizing procurement practices and to contribute to more flexible procurement approaches, the department established the phased bid compliance process. Implemented in July 2017, this process provides greater flexibility to bidders in their efforts to demonstrate compliance with certain mandatory requirements during a procurement activity. This will encourage greater competition and ensure the department obtains best value for Canada.

Over the course of the last fiscal year, PSPC has conducted extensive research and analysis on a number of vendor performance management (VPM) practices in order to help inform the development of a framework for the government of Canada. Multiple internal and external stakeholders have been engaged to inform the development of the VPM framework, which is expected to be finalized in 2018 to 2019. In line with the minister's mandate, developing better vendor management tools will allow the Government of Canada to incentivize vendors to provide better value to Canada while holding them accountable for poor performance or unacceptable behaviour, particularly in large scale procurements.

Also, PSPC continued the advancement of federal-provincial-territorial approaches to procurement and partnered on the development of a draft 3-year Canadian Collaborative Procurement Plan. The department signed 3 new collaborative agreements with provinces and territories; the new agreements brought the total of provinces and territories with agreements in place with PSPC to 10, along with 20 entities from the municipal, academic, social services and hospital (MASH) Sector.

During 2017 to 2018, PSPC's Office of Small and Medium Enterprises surveyed approximately 3,000 suppliers to identify specific barriers that are preventing suppliers from participating in federal procurement. The survey results will be used to set priorities and design service improvements to promote the participation of diverse groups of suppliers, including women-owned businesses, in federal procurement.

To advance Canada's socio-economic policy goals, PSPC developed policy strategies to support social procurement and as well as leading industry engagement to get feedback on best approaches to increase bidder diversity. Furthermore, PSPC piloted social procurement approaches in small projects to gauge industry response and to provide lessons learned before these methodologies are rolled out to larger procurements.

The department also supported the development of procurement innovation by strengthening the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP). In response to stakeholder feedback, the program launched a new challenge-based call for proposals (CFP) initiative, whereby the scientific, technical and innovation communities are invited to submit innovative science and technology proposals in response to Government of Canada challenges. This year, the BCIP doubled the amount of applications in comparison with the previous year, and awarded more than $35 million in contracts to Canadian innovators.

A modern fighter jet fleet is essential for defending Canada and Canadian sovereignty. On December 12, 2017, the Government launched an open and transparent competition to replace Canada's fighter aircraft. To address immediate needs, the Government of Canada announced its intention to pursue acquiring 18 F/A-18 fighter aircraft from Australia to supplement the current fleet until the permanent replacement is in place and fully operational. Canada is actively working with Australia to implement this decision.

As part of PSPC's commitment towards consultative approaches in procurement, the department held an Industry Day in January 2018 to provide details about the planned future fighter aircraft procurement, as well as the approach to maintenance and repair, and leveraging economic benefits. In February 2018, the department published a list of eligible suppliers that will be invited to submit proposals under the competition to replace Canada's fighter fleet. Formal engagements with eligible suppliers began in March 2018 to share and collect detailed information to support the finalization of the procurement strategy.

Through the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), the Government is renewing Canada's federal fleet so that needed vessels are delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy and the Coast Guard. The NSS includes the construction of large and small vessels, as well as vessel repair, refit and maintenance.

The interim auxiliary oiler replenishment vessel, the M/V Asterix, entered into service in January 2018. The Government of Canada has also invested in 20 new search and rescue (SAR) lifeboats; the first 2 SAR lifeboats, CCGS Baie de Plaisance and CCGS Pennant Bay, were delivered in November and December 2017.

The NSS continues to generate substantial economic benefits across the country, contributing to the development and sustainment of a viable Canadian marine industry. Approximately $1.3 billion of NSS contracts were awarded in 2017. NSS contracts awarded between 2012 and 2017 are estimated to contribute close to $8.9 billion of gross domestic product and create or maintain approximately 8,800 jobs annually during the period of 2012 to 2022 in the Canadian economy.

PSPC, in partnership with the Department of National Defense (DND) and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISEDC), is also implementing tailored contracting approaches for the maintenance and repair of military equipment and services through the Sustainment Initiative. This will help ensure that the specific needs of each sustainment project are met, using an interdepartmental approach that is guided by 4 principles: performance, value for money, flexibility, and economic benefits. This initiative became mandatory in January 2018.

The department continued to provide oversight and execute the Defence Procurement Strategy (DPS), working collaboratively with DND, ISEDC, the Canadian Coast Guard, as well as other partner departments and central agencies. The Defence Procurement Strategy Secretariat continued to support DPS interdepartmental governance committees to enable integrated and effective decision-making for defence and major Canadian Coast Guard procurements, while respecting existing individual ministerial accountabilities and mandates.

The implementation of the DPS progressed in a number of important areas, with DPS partner departments making notable progress on:

• holding 4 defence industry advisory group engagements, which help to inform the government's approach to defence procurement
• early and regular engagements with industry
• the continued application of value propositions in eligible procurements
• ongoing independent, third-party challenge for major procurements provided by the independent review panel for defence acquisition
• work to advance phase 2 of the increase in contracting authority to DND from $400,000 to $1,000,000, with implementation starting April 1, 2018
• the introduction of 16 key industrial capabilities

Results achieved

PSPC met its timeliness service standard for level 1 risk and complexity procurement processes; however, it did not meet its standard for level 2^{Footnote 1} risk and complexity procurement processes. The standard was not met due to a scarcity of resources to manage an increasingly voluminous and complex workload. Results information for these areas are available on the GC InfoBase.

Budgetary financial resources

The variance between actual spending and planned spending is mainly related to increased salary expense due to the implementation of newly signed collective agreements, the continuation of the Cost and Profit Assurance Program and the delayed collection of revenue under the vaccine program. In addition, actual spending is greater than total authorities due to the delayed collection of revenues to the next fiscal year, which would have reduced the actual spending for the vaccine program in 2017 to 2018.

Human resources

Program 1.2: Accommodation management and real property services

PSPC provides federal departments and agencies with affordable office and common use accommodation that supports the delivery of their programs and services. The department acts as steward for various public works such as buildings, bridges and dams, and national treasures such as the parliamentary precinct and other heritage assets across Canada. PSPC also provides other federal departments, agencies, and the Parliament of Canada with responsive and cost-effective real property services.

Program performance analysis and lessons learned

As part of the Government of Canada (GC) commitment to develop a "clients first" service strategy, PSPC conducted its second annual real property services client feedback survey to gauge client satisfaction with real property services and service delivery. The survey polled 87 clients and yielded an 83% response rate. The average rating given by all clients who submitted responses was 3.74 out of 5.

This takes into account 3 areas:

• service delivery
• process aspects
• engagement experience

This survey is being used to benchmark the performance of real property services and will inform continual improvements as the program becomes a truly enterprise-wide service management organization that plans and implements national programs of work in collaboration with our clients.

One goal of PSPC is to create a modern environment where employees want to come to work. In order to modernize the GC workplace, PSPC introduced the next generation workplace design, built upon a user-centered design approach and universal accessibility concepts. An innovative office fit-up pilot project is being undertaken, providing incentives for departments to innovate and integrate workplace technologies like Wi-Fi.

Out of 19 selected projects, 3 were completed in 2017 to 2018, the:

• PSPC Place Bonaventure, Montréal, Quebec
• Canada Revenue Agency at Place de Ville Ottawa, Ontario
• Shared Services Canada (SSC) at Skyline West hub, Ottawa, Ontario

According to early post-occupancy employee feedback (3 months after move in) through the workplace performance survey, 60% say their new workplace is more effective, and 70% say they prefer their new workplace to their previous one. The department, in strong partnership with SSC, was able to provide clients with modern, consistent and integrated delivery of service across all regions through the GC workplace fit-up program.

Additionally, the department initiated and or delivered $230 million of fit-up space-based projects across all regions that promote flexible ways of working, lend greater support for employee health and wellness (that is, work-life balance), provide tools and technologies for a more connected and productive workforce, and contribute to a greener environment.

To support the goals identified in the Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, PSPC is assessing existing climate change adaptation models and integrating climate change adaptation in the departmental risk profile. The department is collaborating with Environment and Climate Change Canada, as a technical expert, to identify extreme weather events for the Ottawa-Gatineau area. This data will be used to assess the vulnerability of each PSPC asset to a changing climate and develop adaptation strategies. In further support of these goals, PSPC has developed the first Departmental National Carbon Neutral Portfolio Plan which outlines how the department will achieve a carbon neutral real property portfolio by 2030. Taking its leadership role further, the department has provided real property expertise and project management services enabling the Departments of National Defence, Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, Transport and Agriculture and Agri-Food to complete their own plans.

Furthermore, the department has reduced its annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its owned real property portfolio and fleet by 54% when compared to the 2005 baseline. By doing so, PSPC has demonstrated leadership by exceeding the current federal government GHG emissions reduction target of 40% by 2030. PSPC has also installed 47 charging stations for electrical vehicles at 15 different locations in the National Capital Area, which represents another contribution to GC's GHG emissions reduction efforts.

The Smart Building Initiative leverages big data analytics in real time to improve the energy performance of buildings. Using modern and innovative environmental technologies, this initiative has achieved 11% energy savings ($2 million) on the first 13 pilot buildings. As of March 31, 2018, smart building services was installed in 61 of the department's crown-owned buildings. The Smart Building Initiative is estimated to contribute an annual reduction of 6% of PSPC's GHG emissions by 2025.

The department also remains committed to maintaining its public national inventory of all buildings in its portfolio containing asbestos and completed its third update in December 2017. The inventory supports the GC's commitment to openness and transparency. Additionally, PSPC has taken a leadership role in this area and provided support to other federal custodians, including technical support, tools development, and overall government coordination and reporting on progress. With this support and services from the department, other federal real property custodians successfully posted their respective inventories in September 2017.

In November 2017, PSPC received a Real Property Institute of Canada recognition award recognizing its best practices forits National Asbestos Inventory and Asbestos Management Standard and Directive.The new documents reflect the current practices concerning asbestos management, and ensure the safe and efficient operation of buildings and engineering assets where asbestos is deemed to be present. They also ensure the health and safety of employees.

As part of the surplus federal real property for homelessness initiative, in partnership with Employment and Social Development Canada, and in support of the homelessness partnering strategy, PSPC completed transactions, contributing 2 surplus properties to homelessness organizations, representing a value of $4.8 million.

In regards to the infrastructure portfolio, by March 2018 PSPC completed replacement projects of the Big Chaudière Dam, the Latchford Dam, and the Timiskaming Dam in Ontario. Investments in the Esquimalt Graving Dock highlight the government's commitment to the marine sector, to Canada's west coast, and to the environment. The results of projects totaling over $150 million include: the completion of the South Jetty Waterlot remediation project, which saw the removal of almost 100 years of contamination; the replacement of high- and low-voltage cabling at the south substation; and the replacement of the electrical supply on the north landing wharf. It should also be noted that 3 of the contracts associated with the South Jetty Waterlot remediation project were tendered to and completed successfully under the procurement strategy for Aboriginal businesses.

The national industry associations (the Canadian Construction Association [CCA] and the National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada [NTCCC]) expressed the desire that PSPC lead an industry engagement exercise to contribute to the development of effective legislation addressing prompt payment issues in the construction industry. As a result, the prompt payment industry-government working group developed a 14-point action plan which consists of a series of administrative and contractual measures to improve the timeliness of payment in the construction industry. Six actions have been completed in 2017 to 2018, including:

• disclosure of payments issued by PSPC and Defense Construction Canada to contractors on a newly created website
  • this timely information is updated on a weekly basis and enables subcontractors and trades to inquire about the status of their payment with their own contractor
• posting of PSPC's principles advocating for prompt payment
• the inclusion of PSPC prompt payment principles within tender documents

Going forward, 2 independent experts will lead a national engagement process with the construction industry to identify the elements required to develop a robust federal prompt payment regime. PSPC will review the subsequent recommendations report, which will be used to inform the development of options for further action.

In keeping with its stewardship role, PSPC advanced implementation of the Long-Term Vision and Plan (LTVP) to address the deteriorated state of Canada's parliamentary buildings, and restore and renew the iconic heritage buildings of the parliamentary precinct to ensure the needs of a 21st century parliamentary democracy are met. When carrying out LTVP projects, PSPC continued to address environmental sustainability and heritage conservation issues, while improving the accessibility and safety of the parliamentary precinct and promoting innovation and opportunities for youth, women and Indigenous peoples.

In 2017 to 2018, PSPC has significantly advanced the work on the West Block and the Government Conference Centre (GCC) rehabilitation projects, as well as the construction of the Visitor Welcome Centre Phase 1. To ensure all stakeholders were working in a coordinated manner and to facilitate the transition of parliamentary operations from Centre Block to the West Block and the GCC, a deputy minister-level steering committee was created. PSPC also implemented a phased handover of priority areas such as the chambers, committee rooms and offices in full concert with Parliament. This approach ensured that these areas were transferred to the building occupants to provide as much time as possible for the final integration of IT, multi-media and security devices to be completed. PSPC is working in close collaboration with Parliament, leveraging dedicated operations teams, to ensure the buildings are operationally ready, with a target for occupancy in January 2019. The move strategy is focused on personalized service and minimizing disruption.

To advance the Centre Block's rehabilitation, PSPC launched the Enabling Project Program and the Comprehensive Investigation Program in 2017 to 2018 to inform the substantive constructions. This work will help to refine the cost, scope and schedule for the Centre Block Rehabilitation Program. PSPC also started analyzing the functional requirements and building design options.

In addition, the department initiated the first phase of the East Block Rehabilitation Project to address urgent exterior repairs to 4 areas of greatest concern within the 1867 Wing: the southwest tower, the southeast tower, the south entrance and the Governor General's entrance. Continued research and evaluation work was finalised to determine scope, cost and schedule for the second phase of the rehabilitation project, which will address areas such as the 1910 Wing, complete seismic upgrades to the entire building, link the building with the Visitor Welcome Centre, as well as upgrade the building to comply with modern building codes and to meet the needs of the Senate of Canada.

On June 21, 2017, following several public consultations with Canadians regarding the future public use of the heritage building located at 100 Wellington Street, the Prime Minister announced this building will become a space for Canada's Indigenous Peoples. This project brings together PSPC in partnership with Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs (CIRNA) for the planning, designing and construction of this building. Since this announcement, CIRNA and PSPC have identified representatives from National Indigenous Organizations and launched an interim working group and continue to work together to achieve a space that marks the importance of Indigenous Peoples to this country's past, present and future.

In 2017 to 2018, PSPC also proceeded with the planning for Crown-owned buildings on the north side of Sparks Street through a campus approach, shifting the focus of new developmental opportunities for permanent accommodations to lands south of Wellington. PSPC also pursued the implementation of the Recapitalization Program, which preserves buildings, as well as the Building Components Program and Connectivity Program, which address the modernization of communications and information technology infrastructures.

In 2017 to 2018, PSPC maintained its high-level service to parliamentarians, their guests and staff by successfully achieving less than 2 hours per annum of disruptions during which essential property management services were temporarily unavailable, well below the established threshold of 48 hours per annum.

As 2017 marked Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation, the department played a significant leadership role with many partners and led or supported over 30 successful events, including the addition of Nunavut's shield to the Centennial Flame, the World Remembers, Red Bull Crashed Ice, La Machine, and a virtual reality/multimedia showcase on the Parliament Buildings and LTVP that had over 30,000 visitors.

Results achieved

Budgetary financial resources

The variance between actual spending and planned spending is mainly related to revised schedules of rehabilitation of engineering assets, adjustments to recalibrate funding to align with planned work for the parliamentary precinct rehabilitation, as well as additional revenues received for accommodation services.

Human resources

The variance between actual FTEs and planned FTEs is related to the business volume growth due mostly to revised schedules of rehabilitation of engineering assets and adjustments to recalibrate funding to align with planned work for the parliamentary precinct rehabilitation.

Program 1.3: Receiver General for Canada

This program manages the operations of the federal treasury, produces the Public Accounts of Canada and maintains the Accounts of Canada. It provides federal departments with an optional departmental financial and materiel management system offering and bill payment services.

Program performance analysis and lessons learned

Through the Receiver General operations, PSPC carried out mission critical functions for the Government of Canada by successfully managing the operations of the federal treasury. The Receiver General managed over $2.4 trillion in cash flow of federal money in and out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, and ensured that deposits to the Consolidated Revenue Fund were reconciled on time.

PSPC provided accurate and timely government-wide financial reporting. This included the monthly statements of financial operations and the Public Accounts of Canada for 174 organizations. For transparency and immediate accessibility to all Canadians, the public accounts were successfully posted online within 24 hours of tabling in the House of Commons. For the 19th consecutive year, the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Government of Canada received a clean audit opinion from the Auditor General.

The department also contributed to the open government initiative by publishing 17 data sets, available on the Open Government Portal, in 2017 to 2018, including the consolidated statement of revenues and expenses from the Public Accounts of Canada, and the summary of remittance deposits collected on behalf of participating federal departments. This is a significant contribution to our commitment to be more responsive, accessible and transparent for Canadians.

Additionally, PSPC completed an options assessment and developed a roadmap for the multi-year Receiver General modernization initiative. PSPC also began the development of several key treasury initiatives including: faster direct deposit payments that will be deposited within 2 hours to a beneficiary's bank account; replacement of the outdated electronic authorization and authentication processes to ensure the security of payment requisitioning by departments; and support for remote deposit capture to allow departments to deposit funds.

In addition, PSPC collaborated with Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada to promote direct deposit to various sections of the Canadian population via enrolment campaigns and participation in various outreach activities.

Results achieved

Budgetary financial resources

The variance between actual spending and planned spending is mainly related to the shift to direct deposit, the termination of the Universal Child Care Benefits Program and less fees from electronic transactions than expected.

Human resources

There is no significant variance between actual and planned full-time equivalents.

Program 1.4: Integrity programs and services

This program provides the government of Canada with high quality, timely and accessible specialized services and programs in support of sound, prudent and ethical management and operations.

Program performance analysis and lessons learned

Corporate wrongdoing imposes significant economic and social costs on Canadians. The Government of Canada has in place a number of tools to detect, prevent and address this type of misconduct, protecting Canadians and the Canadian economy.

For instance, PSPC administers the Integrity Regime—a policy-based debarment scheme—and ensures its application to all relevant Government of Canada contracts and real property transactions. The department engaged with government departments, suppliers, civil society and other stakeholders to enhance understanding and universal application of the regime in all federal procurement activities. Over the course of the year, the department completed over 26,322 checks to assist government in verifying supplier compliance, exceeding the target of answering 80% of requests within 4 hours.

In order to improve its ability to detect and deter fraud and corruption in its contracts and real property agreements, on April 20, 2017, the Government of Canada launched the federal contracting Fraud Tip Line, a joint initiative of the Competition Bureau, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and PSPC. The tip line provides Canadians with a central point of contact to report anonymously if they witness or suspect unethical and or illegal business practices in federal contracting and real property transactions. This information helps the Government to better protect the integrity of federal expenditures.

Additionally, in the fall of 2017, a public consultation was conducted to determine if the integrity regime continues to achieve its objectives. During the consultation, over 70 submissions were received and more than 370 Canadians, industry associations, businesses, non-governmental organizations and others participated. On February 22, 2018, the government released the results of the consultation.

Following what was heard during the consultation, within the context of ongoing efforts to modernize procurement processes as outlined in the mandate letter for the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and as set out in Budget 2018 on March 27, 2018, the government announced it will be enhancing the Integrity Regime. This will be done through a revised Ineligibility and Suspension Policy, to be released in fall 2018, which will come into effect on January 1, 2019.

Changes to the policy are expected to strengthen the Integrity Regime by making it more robust, while at the same time introducing greater flexibility and consideration of proportionality in debarment decisions. Changes will also help to ensure that suppliers that do business with the Government of Canada better understand their obligations in protecting the integrity of federal procurement, while at the same time promote behavioral changes within the marketplace with an increased emphasis on corporate compliance and corporate responsibility.

The Fairness Monitoring (FM) Program supports PSPC's commitment to integrity and excellence by providing a formal oversight mechanism for obtaining independent assurance that departmental procurement activities are conducted in a fair, open and transparent manner. In 2017 to 2018, the program managed 81 multi-year FM engagements. Of these engagements, 29 were new ones. High profile procurements observed by fairness monitors in 2017 to 2018 include:

• Future Fighter Capability Project
• Canadian Surface Combatant
• Contracted Airborne Training Services Project
• E-Procurement Solution
• Parliament Hill: Centre Block and Energy Services Acquisitions Program

Thirty fairness monitor reports were posted on PSPC's website in 2017 to 2018.

PSPC, through the forensic accounting management group, provides professional forensic accounting services to law enforcement and other government departments (OGDs) including consultation and expert testimony. In 2017 to 2018, PSPC provided forensic accounting services, ensuring that all forensic accounting reports (over 165) met the investigative and forensic accounting (IFA) standards and were delivered according to the established requirements.

Figure 1: Percentage of integrity verifications done within 4 hours for each quarter of fiscal year 2017 to 2018

PSPC helps protect sensitive government information and assets through security screening and controlled goods services. The Contract Security Program actively contributes to Canada's economic and national security agenda by clearing private sector organizations and individuals seeking to work on sensitive Government of Canada or foreign government contracts. To that end, PSPC implemented operational changes required to align with the Treasury Board standard on security screening.

Achievements include: implementation of the requirement for mandatory credit checks; a new process to perform out of country verifications; rigorous aftercare activities; and new procedures for site access clearances. In addition, PSPC implemented electronic signatures which reduced paper correspondence and permitted faster processing of requests. Through process re-engineering, PSPC made further improvements to exceed its performance target of 85% for simple reliability requests within 7 business days, and achieved a 96% performance rate for fiscal year 2017 to 2018. PSPC addressed concerns expressed by industry clients regarding the administrative burden of contract security compliance and found ways to reduce it via improved communications, outreach activities and training. PSPC conducted public opinion research to identify areas of concern to industry and participated in international security fora to identify industrial security best practices.

Figure 2: Percent of simple reliability screenings processed within 7 business days for each quarter beginning in fiscal year 2014 to 2015 and ending in fiscal year 2017 to 2018

Through the Controlled Goods Program, which ensures compliance of more than 4,000 registrants (including companies, organizations and individuals) who examine, possess or transfer controlled goods in Canada, PSPC has expanded its outreach and stakeholder engagement activities to ensure private sector awareness of requirements of the Controlled Goods Regulations. To help companies achieve and maintain compliance with the Controlled Goods Regulations, PSPC has developed training for designated officials of registered companies, and it is finalizing a self-learning certification program for designated officials in order to educate and assist them with their regulatory duties.

Results achieved

Budgetary financial resources

The variance between actual spending and planned spending is mainly related to increased business volume due to the continued strengthening of the integrity regime, controlled-goods staffing challenges as well as an accounting change that resulted in a reduction of internal revenues and expenditures.

Human resources

The difference between planned and actual full-time equivalents (FTEs) is mainly due to employee turnover and delays in staffing.

Program 1.5: Federal pay and pension administration

This program provides reliable central systems and processes for pay and pension administration to federal organizations. Through our pay and pension services, PSPC ensures that federal government employees and pensioners are paid accurately and on time.

Program performance analysis and lessons learned

Federal pay: PSPC's top priority in 2017 to 2018 was to work towards stabilizing the pay system so that public servants are paid accurately and promptly. Working in collaboration with the President of the Treasury Board, the working group of ministers (MWG), the Privy Council Office, departments and agencies, and our public service union partners, PSPC made progress on this priority, though there is still much work to do.

A new governance structure was put in place to stabilize pay operations and improve overall employee service and support. An integrated team of PSPC and Treasury Board Secretariat officials coordinated efforts. In 2017 to 2018, PSPC continued to optimize the Phoenix pay system and improved HR-to-pay business processes using a whole-of-government approach, working in partnership with departments and agencies, with the aim of ensuring employees receive timely and accurate pay.

PSPC hired and trained additional resources at the Pay Centre, Client Contact Centre, and Client Services Bureau to speed up the processing of pay transactions and better support Government of Canada employees. Since the new approach was put in place in October 2017, over 35,000 feedback surveys have been completed by clients indicating that the additional capacity and whole of government approach introduced at the Client Contact Center are contributing to improvements. This additional capacity helped us work more effectively and efficiently through the queue of transactions, which began to decline following a push in January 2018.

A new pay processing model was piloted with 3 client departments in December 2017. Applying an integrated and holistic client-focused approach, the pilot resulted in increased productivity, collaboration, client satisfaction and employee engagement, in addition to reducing the queue and achieving better service standards success rates for the intake. The results to date have been very positive with the overall backlog for the pilot departments reduced by 31.1%, the number of employees with pay issues in pilot departments decreased by 17.9%, and by March 31, 2018, service standards for incoming transactions were met 88% of the time using the new approach.

In 2017 to 2018, PSPC improved reporting for employees through increased information and monthly dashboards and pay bulletin updates, accessible online.

The following table shows service standards established by PSPC in the provision of pay and the percentage of transactions meeting the standard on March 31, 2018, at the Public Service Pay Centre.

The percentage of public service pay transactions processed by the Pay Centre within the established timeframes is well below the 95% target. This is due to a variety of factors:

• efforts were focussed on specific files such as disability and parental leave and transactions with high financial impacts
• the timeliness and accuracy of the human resources data entries were low, resulting in a significant increase in the case and their complexity
• the complexity of a large number of collective agreements being implemented, including retroactive payments, resulted in significant manual processing
• a significant backlog of transactions remained unprocessed, although progress to reduce it began in January

Federal pension administration: The Government of Canada Pension Centre is committed to providing its members with the highest quality services so that members have the information they need to make important life decisions at the right time. All service levels for service delivery to plan members were met during the year. Pension payments are subject to a verification and quality assurance process that ensures they are made accurately. Service standard results are published monthly online. Additionally, PSPC ensured the integrity of the pension plan funds via regular financial audits. Since the implementation of Phoenix, there has been an increase in the number of pay data issues. However, pension payments and services have not been compromised because even stronger mitigation measures have been put in place to ensure the integrity of the pension program.

The federal pension administration delivered approximately 5 million pension payments with $12.46 billion dollars in value; serving over 880,000 active and retired clients. The following table shows service standards established by PSPC in the provision of pension and the percentage of transactions meeting the standard on March 31, 2018.

Results achieved

Budgetary financial resources

The variance between actual spending and planned spending is related to additional funding received to help stabilize Phoenix pay system and increase pay service delivery capacity; actual spending is within the additional authorities received.

Human resources

The difference between planned and actual full-time equivalents is mainly due to additional resources dedicated to stabilize the pay system, improve HR-to-pay business process, and pension administration.

Program 1.6: Linguistic management and services

This program defines the Translation Bureau of PSPC as a key component of the federal government's service delivery infrastructure. The bureau is the sole internal linguistic services provider and offers translation, revision, interpretation and other linguistic services for parliament, the judiciary, and federal departments and agencies. It is also the terminology authority within the federal government and has been mandated to develop terminology standards to ensure clear, uniform and quality communications within government. The Linguistic Management and Services Program is mandated under the Translation Bureau Act.

Program performance analysis and lessons learned

In 2017 to 2018, PSPC's Translation Bureau developed its new vision to be recognized as a centre of excellence in linguistic services so Canadians can benefit from timely communications by the Government of Canada of equal quality in both official languages. To that end, PSPC implemented a number of initiatives, outlined below, to enhance the quality and capacity of services and to promote the economic vitality of Canada's translation and interpretation community.

PSPC appointed a new chief quality officer who is responsible for the evaluation and oversight of the linguistic quality at the Translation Bureau. In order to address shortages in the language industry, PSPC's Translation Bureau also restored its co-operative education program. Of the 152 students hired by the Translation Bureau in 2017 to 2018, close to 50 students were hired under the cooperative program. Over 80 students were hired in the regions.

The bureau's workforce renewal plan also led to the hiring of 20 client advisors, 12 translators, and 7 employees who work in the new after-hours service. This service will improve the distribution of work, the bureau's ability to respond to urgent translation needs and the delivery of quality products.

PSPC continued to provide quality translation services to parliament and to federal departments and agencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It translated approximately 305 million words for departments and agencies and successfully managed deliverables in support of such events as the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. PSPC also delivered approximately 6,700 conference interpreter-days for various events including G7 ministerial meetings. In addition, it translated more than 49 million words and provided over 3,600 days of interpretation for parliament.

PSPC's Translation Bureau also worked to improve its capacity in services in Indigenous languages, both for parliament and for departments and agencies, by reaching out to Indigenous languages community stakeholders and exploring opportunities to develop stronger ties and improve access to Indigenous language services.

Following quality concerns raised in the Senate, PSPC worked with the Senate advisory working group on interpretation and translation (PDF, 232KB) of the Standing Committee on internal economy, budgets and administration to address said concerns, conducted an internal evaluation and developed an action plan to improve quality as well as collaboration with the Senate.

Regarding its relationship with the language industry, PSPC held its annual Industry Day on August 24, 2017, in order to collaborate towards delivery of quality professional language services to the Government of Canada. Moreover, in the summer of 2017, the Translation Bureau created an advisory panel of conference interpreters to discuss, among other things, a new contractual tool for conference interpretation. The intent of the new procurement method is to emphasize quality in support of value for money.

The bureau has also developed a new request for supply arrangement for translation services that will include quality requirements. Under the new arrangement, contracts will no longer be awarded solely on the basis of price. As well, PSPC worked on establishing a number of new partnerships including an agreement signed with the Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec. These advancements will help ensure that we deliver high-quality linguistic services to Canadians. To support Canadians in their efforts to communicate better in both official languages, PSPC finished the rebranding of the Language Portal of Canada website, social media accounts and promotional material. The portal, a one-stop window for free language resources which provides Canadians with a wide range of writing tools, quizzes and links to help them improve their English and French, continued to provide high-quality interactive resources. In particular, the Our Languages blog, launched in September 2017, allows Canadians to discuss language-related stories: its articles have been consulted more than 218,000 times. In addition, the Language Portal continued the revamp of its Collection of Canadian language resources section, to be completed by September 2018.

Furthermore, PSPC continued ensuring the maintenance, updating and enhancement of TERMIUM Plus® a terminology and linguistic databank in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Users were invited to provide feedback on the content of the data bank through a suggestion button. Efforts were focussed this year on terminology related to government priorities and, as such, to issues relevant to the Canadian population (such as, Gender and sexual diversity glossary).

In order to support persons with disabilities, the department continued to offer real-time bilingual closed captioning and other services to parliament for Canadians, as well as high quality visual interpretation services. PSPC thus provided more than 14 hours of visual interpretation and 4,724 hours of closed captioning to both chambers of parliament and to their committees. It also delivered over 7,200 hours of visual interpretation to support deaf and hard of hearing public servants.

Results achieved

Budgetary financial resources

The variance between actual spending and planned spending is mainly related to an increased demand from parliament for translation services while maintaining the highest quality of services offered by the Translation Bureau.

Human resources

The difference between planned and actual full-time equivalents is mainly due to hiring by the Translation Bureau (as part of the implementation of its modernized vision and ongoing incremental funding received from Budget 2017) to invest in its human resources in order to improve the quality of official language and to ensure that the bureau can maintain the highest quality of services offered to parliament, while continuing to meet statutory service demands of the government.

Program 1.7: Specialized programs and services

This program provides federal organizations with high-quality, timely and accessible specialized services and programs.

Program performance analysis and lessons learned

In 2017 to 2018, PSPC continued to focus on providing modern, innovative solutions for its clients across government and supporting them in delivering their programs and services.

The department designed its new service management strategy to support alignment with a single online window for government services. This strategy aims to outline our commitment to changing the way we deliver our services, which include acquisition services; payment and compensation services; real property services; translation services; security services; enterprise-wide corporate services; and information and advisory services, over the next 3 years.

PSPC continued to plan the next generation of the Government of Canada's end-to-end travel solution to better meet the needs of public servants. The Next Generation Travel Program Directorate was established in December 2017 to look at the future of federal government travel and has begun project planning and research activities. Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) partnerships were established. Engagement, outreach and consultation activities were held and market benchmark and user personas analysis were completed.

PSPC continued to support TBS and other government departments to facilitate and support the government's administrative optimization. For example, for GCdocs^{Footnote 2}, the department expanded its reach in the context of onboarding additional client departments and services.

As part of PSPC's commitment to innovate and transform its operations, the department created the Office of the Chief Transformation Officer (CTO) in November 2017 to ensure that the department is well positioned to continue delivering on priorities. The transformation agenda is comprised of 4 key initiatives:

• the development of a strategic direction framework to ensure employees have a clear understanding of how their work contributes to the department's success
• the strengthening of PSPC's employee and client satisfaction culture
• a review of applications to support investment of resources in the right tools and in innovation
• an alleviation of employee workload through process improvements

In its role in supporting Government of Canada communications to Canadians, PSPC:

• continued to promote e-services offered by the Canada Gazette, such as the option to receive new and relevant information by an email notification system
• undertook the following related to Government of Canada advertising:
  • implemented a non-partisan review process of Government of Canada advertising to ensure that it is objective, factual and explanatory, and free from political bias
  • given the increased reliance on digital advertising, research is being undertaken (with other levels of government and with private sector entities) to determine best practices for ensuring that Government of Canada advertising is undertaken in an efficient, transparent and independently verifiable manner

In 2017 to 2018, PSPC added 64,544 Government of Canada publications to the Government of Canada publications website. The collection includes records for more than 437,000 publications, of which 316,000 are downloadable for free. In 2017 to 2018, there were over 1.5 million downloads of publications from the website (compared to 1.2 million the previous year). PSPC also began including links to HTML versions of departmental publications in order to increase access to alternate formats.

The department undertook independent research on media consumption patterns of minority language communities to learn about the level of satisfaction with current approaches used by the government to communicate its programs and services. The results were shared with media representing official language minority communities and departments to ensure effective communication with Canadians in the official language of their choice, regardless of where they reside.

In addition, PSPC delivered services related to asset disposal as well as standards development and conformity assessment. For instance, in 2017 to 2018, the department:

• set a new record selling over $63.5 million of surplus goods
• generated $11 million in net proceeds through the disposal of criminally forfeited assets

As the Government of Canada centre of expertise mandated to develop and maintain national standards and certification of personnel, products and organizations in accordance with internationally recognized certification requirements, the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) developed national standards in support of Government of Canada initiatives including personal protective equipment for dismantling clandestine drug laboratories for Defence Research and Development Canada, radon mitigation for existing low-rise residential buildings for Health Canada and organic agriculture for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

In support of the government's commitment to innovation that better reflects the changing nature of the economy, the Canadian General Standards Board has placed its active collection of standards online and has removed fees previously charged for access to standards.

PSPC also provided quality and efficient document imaging and data-capture services, a cost-recovery service to federal organizations, leveraging internal and private-sector solutions. The department provided image processing, indexing and secure archiving of electronic records in support of the government's modernization and process automation initiative. In 2017 to 2018 the service imaged 31 million pages.

Results achieved

Budgetary financial resources

The variance between actual spending and planned spending is mainly related to a decrease in the business volume for document imaging activities combined with a decrease in contributions from other governmental organizations for My Human Resources Management System (MyGCHR).

Human resources

The planned full-time equivalents did not include term employees (111.4). The renewal of term employees was dependent on client volumes that had not been secured at the time of the 2018 to 2019 Departmental Plan publishing.

Program 1.8: Procurement Ombudsman

This program, operating at arm's-length from the government, reviews procurement practices across federal departments and agencies, investigates complaints from suppliers regarding the award and administration of contracts for goods and services, and ensures the provision of alternative dispute resolution services for existing contracts. This program helps to promote fairness, openness and transparency in the federal procurement process.

Program performance analysis and lessons learned

The 2017 to 2018 annual report of the Procurement Ombudsman provided parliamentarians and Canadians with information on the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman's (OPO) mandate and services, as well as the results of OPO's activities.

OPO provided a neutral and impartial avenue to address supplier complaints regarding the award or administration of federal contracts. OPO received 26 written complaints during the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year.

In addition to 6 reviews of complaints which were carried over from 2016 to 2017, OPO launched 4 reviews of written complaints by Canadian suppliers in 2017 to 2018 as these complaints met the requirements of the Procurement Ombudsman Regulations. Two of these reviews were completed in 2017 to 2018. Since the remaining 2 written complaints were submitted towards the end of the fiscal year, they will be completed and reported on in 2018 to 2019.

OPO offered dispute resolution services to suppliers and federal organizations by providing a timely, neutral and cost-effective alternative to potentially lengthy and expensive litigation. In 2017 to 2018, OPO received 9 written requests for its alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service. Of the 9 ADR requests received in 2017 to 2018, 4 requests were resolved informally through OPO's assistance before the formal ADR process was initiated. Two requests for ADR services were received late in the fiscal year and will be reported on in 2018 to 2019. The remaining 3 requests were either withdrawn or declined by one of the parties. OPO has also successfully helped resolve issues between Canadian suppliers and federal organizations by facilitating communication and playing a "go-between" role. This involved obtaining an understanding of the supplier's issues and contacting the federal organization to discuss them.

Part of the Procurement Ombudsman's mandate is to review the procurement practices of federal organizations for acquiring materiel and services to assess their fairness, openness and transparency, and make recommendations for improvement. The office also shares information on good practices identified in federal organizations and in other jurisdictions as a way to promote improvement in the field of procurement. In 2017 to 2018, the office launched 2 procurement practice reviews that will be completed and reported on in 2018 to 2019, in accordance with the timeframes set forth in the Procurement Ombudsman Regulations. These reviews are entitled Review of Bid Solicitation Processes and Review of the Procurement Management Control Framework of a Federal Organization.

In addition, OPO conducted follow-up reviews 2 years after the initial release of a procurement practice review in order to determine OPO's impact on federal procurement practices. In 2017 to 2018, 3 follow-up reviews were completed:

• follow-up report on the 2014 to 2015 Review of Government-wide Procurement Practices Regarding Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements
• follow-up report on the 2014 to 2015 Review of the Procurement Management Framework of Natural Resources Canada
• follow-up report on the 2014 to 2015 Employment and Social Development Canada Information Technology services

The 3 follow-up reviews outlined the actions undertaken by the federal organizations in response to the Procurement Ombudsman's recommendations, and the extent to which each action had been completed and monitored. OPO noted each of the organizations took appropriate action to the Procurement Ombudsman's recommendations to strengthen its procurement practices.

All OPO reviews were completed and reported within the legislated timelines, and the reports or summaries are available on the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman website and in the Procurement Ombudsman's 2017 to 2018 annual report.

Results achieved

Budgetary financial resources

The variance between actual spending and planned spending is mainly related to the move of the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman being postponed to 2018 to 2019.

Human resources

There is no significant variance between actual and planned FTEs.

Information on the PSPC's lower-level programs is available in the GC InfoBase.

Internal services

Internal services (IS) are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. Internal services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not those provided specifically to a program. The groups of activities are:

• management and oversight services
• communications Services
• legal services
• human resources management services
• financial management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• real property services
• materiel services
• acquisition services

Program performance analysis and lessons learned

Internal service 1: Management and oversight services

In 2017 to 2018, PSPC completed the review of Canada Post Corporation, established a new direction for the corporation and announced the plan for the future of postal service. Specifically, the Government's service-focused vision for renewal at Canada Post, including concrete measures such as:

• the termination of the program to convert from door-to-door to community mailboxes
• an enhanced accessible delivery program for seniors and Canadians with mobility challenges
• better promotion of remittance services
• the reclassification of Canada Post under the Financial Administration Act with the strengthened expectation that it will reinvest all of its profits in service and innovation
• the renewal of leadership at Canada Post
  • a new Chair appointed in December 2017
  • an ongoing process to fill board postings and the position of president and chief executive officer (CEO) on a permanent basis

An extensive gender analysis was undertaken during the review of Canada Post Corporation, including the hiring of a third-party consulting firm to provide an independent gender-based analysis (plus) assessment.

PSPC continued to prepare decision documents (including memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board submissions) in support of the minister's mandate commitments as well as government-wide priorities. When required, decision documents included consideration and analysis of the impacts of strategic environmental assessments, gender-based analysis and official languages.

PSPC takes very seriously the protection of all personal information that it holds, and recognizes that there is a risk relating to privacy and safeguarding personal information with the programs it administers. In support of its commitment to safeguarding personal information and reducing any privacy risks, PSPC's Access to Information and Privacy Directorate elaborated a comprehensive Privacy Breach Protocol, which has been shared with employees. The protocol outlines a rigorous process to manage, contain, investigate and mitigate breaches to avoid recurrence. The protocol is reinforced through training, which is available online to all PSPC employees.

Following the approval of the new Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory under the Treasury Board Secretariat Policy on Results, PSPC prepared and submitted its first Departmental Plan (2018 to 2019) adopting this new structure based on departmental results and departmental result indicators. PSPC also implemented a departmental approach to planning, monitoring and reporting on progress towards achieving results on the minister's mandate commitments.

PSPC continued to provide services and advice to the minister regarding portfolio affairs, international affairs, and federal-provincial-territorial affairs and continues to administer the policy on naming Government of Canada structures. PSPC also continued to work closely with portfolio organizations and central agencies, and any other implicated parties as required to ensure effective, efficient and well-coordinated processes for corporate documents and other matters requiring the minister's attention, action or approval.

The security and emergency management sector completed its primary series of consultations and revisions to PSPC Departmental Security Policy as well as drafted a variety of security-related operating procedures, directives and guidelines. It developed an awareness campaign, training plan as well as an armed intruder table-top exercise for all employees; it designed the security for activity-based workplace showcases and developed associated security playbooks to assist departments in assessing and maturing their security posture with best practices. Also, it coordinated PSPC's response and provided surge-capacity support to multi-jurisdictional emergency events addressed under the Federal Emergency Response Plan.

The Special Investigations and Internal Disclosure (SIID) office of PSPC continued to undertake investigations as required. During the past year, SIID was also instrumental in the development and delivery of an on-line training course on fraud awareness, which is now available to all employees of the department.

Through the Office of Audit and Evaluation (OAE), PSPC contributed to the integrity and effectiveness of departmental operations by delivering 9 independent and credible internal audits, 2 reviews and 1 management letter that provided reasonable assurance on the effectiveness and adequacy of risk management, controls and governance processes. Furthermore, the OAE conducted neutral evaluations on the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of departmental programs, policies and priorities and continued to play an important role in support of the deputy minister's responsibilities as accounting officer.

The OAE experienced an increase in workload relative to previous years as a result of liaison activities related to a number of external oversight engagements implicating PSPC. Specifically, 2 Office of the Auditor General (OAG) audit reports implicating PSPC were tabled in parliament during the year (Managing the Risk of Fraud; Phoenix Pay Problems). An additional OAG audit (Building and Implementing the Phoenix Pay System) was conducted during 2017 to 2018 year and tabled the following year. The audits related to Phoenix created significant demands on departmental staff due to the high volume of documentation requested and the due diligence required prior to the release of the documentation.

Internal service 2: Communications services

Extensive communications capacity was dedicated to providing employees with information about Phoenix-related pay issues and available support, including multiple technical briefings and ministerial events. Efforts to demonstrate the results PSPC delivers to Canadians were strengthened with the production of stories on the National Shipbuilding Strategy, Pension Modernization, the reconstructed Armoury in Québec City, the Build in Canada Innovation Program, Vimy 100, Centre Block, Esquimalt Graving Dock and the Energy Savings Acquisition Program.

PSPC's official social media channels published multiple posts per day to support open and transparent communications with Canadians. Multiple platforms were used to provide information on the department's priorities. This included information on Phoenix, the new vision for Canada Post, the National Shipbuilding Strategy, Defence Procurement and ongoing rehabilitation work on Parliament Hill.

Internal service 3: Legal services

PSPC provided operational and administrative support to counsels and the senior general counsel. The department also provided paralegal support to counsels and the senior general counsel.

Internal service 4: Human resources management services

In support to the department's role as the pay administrator for the Government of Canada, PSPC's corporate organizations provided dedicated end-to-end human resources (HR) services to help capacity building within the Pay Centre and its satellite offices. Although these required activities had not been included in the 2017 to 2018 Departmental Plan, given the importance of the HR services in the pay process, extensive work has been done to review and modernize processes and electronic systems leading to a pay transaction. Furthermore, to achieve stability with the Phoenix pay system, a dedicated departmental service was implemented to provide guidance and support to PSPC employees and managers with pay-related questions and issues.

To address the department's need to adopt new and innovative ways of renewing and rejuvenating the workforce, a youth strategy and veteran strategy were implemented. Also, with a goal to enhance the departmental talent management approach, an organization-wide framework for employees at all levels has been developed and endorsed by senior management.

To support employee development, a new employee learning management system, which provides a course catalogue containing over 400 courses was launched successfully in April 2017. As of March 31, 2018, PSPC attained a 90% completion rate for the mandatory HR-to-pay^{Footnote 3} training, representing a total of 11,895 employees including managers.

With the objective of enhancing the department's ability to develop business insights and workforce planning, a new team has been created to provide managers with integrated department-wide HR planning processes and tools, data and analysis to support HR planning and predictive analytics, which will ultimately lead to more informed decision making.

In 2017 to 2018, PSPC continued to support and foster organizational well-being by strengthening and expanding its workplace well-being programs and services, appointing regional mental health and well-being champions, forming mental health and wellness committees, delivering workshops, participating at kiosks and encouraging awareness. With the launch of the mental health strategy, a concentrated effort was also placed on implementing the national standard on psychological health and safety in the workplace.

PSPC's ombudsman for mental health celebrated its first anniversary in February 2018 and has conducted several communication, promotional and awareness activities during 2017 to 2018.

For the second year in a row, PSPC was selected as one of Canada's best diversity employers by having a diverse workforce and inclusive workplace. PSPC launched the document Support for trans employees: A guide for employees and managers, one of the first in the federal public service, that supports trans employees, promotes and encourages the values, ethics and behaviours championed and expected at PSPC. The department demonstrated that it welcomes differences and offers a workplace where all can thrive and reach their full potential.

Internal service 5: Financial management services

The department focused on sound stewardship and management excellence by remaining committed to effective resource planning.

Over the last fiscal year, PSPC completed a broad-based consultation and developed a user- friendly, efficient, and robust departmental cost-accounting tool capable of capturing full project costs to the Government of Canada. Once implemented in the next fiscal year, the tool will serve a variety of audiences.

PSPC also delivered, in support of robust and optimized financial management:

• a 3-year financial plan which aligned available resources to departmental priorities
• a timely and agile budget allocation process which provided to PSPC programs the necessary resources for the delivery of initiatives
• enhanced financial reporting which enabled close monitoring and adjustment of the departmental financial strategies

By leveraging and optimizing its existing technologies, PSPC continued to improve efficiency of operations and the timeliness of financial information for decision-making. The department also began laying the foundation for adopting new technologies for its enterprise resourcing planning system. This included a renewed departmental decision-making model for the prioritization of its business priorities and established a clear approach for the standardization and alignment of its common financial business processes, in the context of the Government of Canada financial management transformation agenda.

PSPC continued to focus on a robust and sound financial management approach via the reinforcement of a number of elements including budget and revenue management excellence, departmental investment management, Chief Financial Officer Attestation on cabinet submissions, excellence in financial reporting and business advice.

Internal service 6: Information management services

PSPC has established the necessary governance to support the implementation of the "open by default" principles and oversee the delivery of the departmental Open Government Program. We also continued to develop a data strategy for PSPC, which further enhanced data management and analytic capabilities at PSPC.

PSPC implemented phase 1 of improvements to the access to information regime in fiscal year 2017 to 2018 with the proactive disclosure of briefing note titles and the disclosure of summaries of completed requests made under the Access to Information Act.

In addition, the Access to Information and Privacy Directorate of PSPC is preparing an action plan to implement the proposed changes to the acts and will develop awareness material in line with proposed amendments to the act.

Internal service 7: Information technology services

PSPC managed its portfolio of IT applications, ensuring that mission critical applications were adequately sustained, aging IT issues were identified and remediation plans were put in place to address the health of its portfolio of applications. PSPC reported a 95% availability on its mission critical applications in the 2017 to 2018 Management Accountability Framework exercise.

PSPC worked with partners to lead and deliver its GC common applications suite to support the GC IT modernization agenda. The department continued its development of My Human Resources Management System (MyGCHR ), GC shared management system (case management and client relationship management) and GCdocs (document and records management), with the focus on stabilizing ongoing operations for the Phoenix pay system.

Internal service 8: Real property services

The GCworkplace vision is oriented towards the development of spaces that are flexible, digital, efficient, green, inclusive, collaborative and healthy. As a part of the workplace renewal, workspace designs that put employee experience and quality of service at the core and integrate new technologies have been completed in Atlantic region (Corner Brook, Newfoundland), Quebec Region (Montréal), Western Region (Regina) and in the National Capital Area (pilot sites at Portage II and Les Terraces de la Chaudière).

Based on the lessons learned, design solutions are continuously improved for every new project. GCworkplace intends to provide greater flexibility in where and how employees work so that they can be productive as possible in delivering programs and services to Canadians by retooling work environments to encourage collaboration, use technology in smarter ways and foster a culture of health and well-being. Preliminary planning is underway for the renewal of the Portage III campus in Gatineau.

Internal service 9: Materiel services

PSPC continued to provide sound stewardship of departmental materiel management functions, and in doing so, contributed to the achievement of high-quality, effective, efficient and compliant materiel management practices. For example, in 2017 to 2018, for each request to acquire a vehicle made by branches and regions, Finance and Administration Branch acquired the most fuel efficient vehicles in their class to achieve our departmental fleet right-sizing goal while meeting operational requirements. Furthermore, PSPC has achieved its goals by disposing of assets in an environmentally sound and secure manner by utilizing various programs that are ecologically certified such as, the computer for school program, the battery recycle program and e-waste to dispose of electronics. As such, the department continued its contributions toward socioenvironmental and economic objectives.

The department has initiated the process to review its assets policy and directives. As indicated within, the department also reviewed and updated as required the departmental policy on the management and reporting of capital assets, to ensure that reporting and monitoring of capital assets are aligned with Treasury Board accounting standards. Additionally, the department has revised its Asset Management Control Framework Action Plan. The revised standardized framework will clarify how the department manages its assets and enables effective and efficient monitoring practices. The department continued to apply the service standards for assets, fleet and warehousing set by TBS.

Internal service 10: Acquisition services

PSPC has initiated, in a phased approach, its service renewal initiative to refine and streamline its procurement planning strategies and processes. The procurement transformation initiative will enhance the procurement service delivery model by placing greater emphasis on proactive planning for procurement under $2 million. The first phase, to be undertaken with the Human Resources Branch and the Chief Information Officer Branch, will introduce strategic efficient procurement processes for professional service requirements that eliminate duplication and realign resources to enhance the service delivery. In addition, it will increase the acquisition card usage by 1.5%. All these activities provide value for money and enhance program support.

PSPC has reported on its procurement obligations in a timely and accurate manner, indicating  well-managed and transparent procurement practices. The oversight and monitoring of procurement has been strengthened through a more robust quality assurance function that provides advice and support to clients. In addition, the department implemented an intake and workload management system (Galileo). This permits it to track performance on the basis of set indicators.

The department also put in place a learning plan for its procurement functional specialists that supports training and certification. The plan ensured that all personnel completed the mandatory training, thus enhancing the personnel capacity to deliver acquisition services as well as integrate and promote TBS' specific competencies in talent management.

Financial and full-time equivalent variances for the Internal Services Program

Budgetary financial resources

The variance between actual spending and planned spending is mainly related to the enhanced measures to help stabilize the Phoenix pay system, additional resources for information management initiatives, as well as an accounting change that resulted in a reduction of internal revenues and expenditures.

Human resources

The difference between planned and actual FTEs is mainly due to the following reasons:

• information technology: there were challenges for recruiting
• materiel services: there were a realignment between material management and acquisition sub-program activities

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