2019 to 2020 Departmental Results Report and 2021 to 2022 Departmental Plan): Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates—March 24, 2021

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Tabling of the 2019 to 2020 Departmental Results Report for Public Services and Procurement Canada

Context

On December 7, 2020, the 2019 to 2020 Departmental Results Report (DRR) for Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) was tabled in the House of Commons by the President of the Treasury Board. The report documents PSPC’s key program accomplishments and challenges for 2019 to 2020 in relation to the Minister’s mandate commitments and/or government-wide priorities.

Suggested response

• PSPC continues to efficiently deliver high-quality services and programs to support the daily operations of government and provide value and sound stewardship on behalf of all Canadians
• Among many accomplishments, in 2019 to 2020, we leveraged federal procurement to support Indigenous businesses by providing them with increased opportunities to access the federal government market
• The department advanced its efforts to ensure that public servants are paid accurately and on time. Significant progress has been made to reduce the backlog of pay transactions
• PSPC’s work also actively supported the climate action and sustainability priority of the Government of Canada by reducing its operational greenhouse gas emissions by 58.1% for 2019 to 2020 through energy efficiency initiatives in its real property portfolio

If pressed on COVID-19 response:

• PSPC responded quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic through significant and sustained efforts to provide critical and essential services in support of the Government of Canada and Canadians, such as the procurement of supplies and equipment to protect the health and safety of Canadians

If pressed on the Translation Bureau:

• the Translation Bureau strengthened its position as a centre of excellence in linguistic services and developed a COVID-19 glossary on short notice as a service to government operations and the general public during the pandemic

If pressed on the delivery of National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) ships:

• the NSS continued to help stimulate the Canadian economy, with approximately $3.3 billion in new contracts awarded to Canadian companies in 6 different provinces in 2019
• a $15.7 billion investment to renew the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) fleet was announced, which will include 16 multi-purpose vessels and 2 Arctic and offshore patrol ships
• a competitive process was also launched to select a third strategic partner shipyard under the NSS to build 6 new icebreakers for the CCG. Chantier Davie pre-qualified to move onto the request for proposal and evaluation stage of this process
• the first 2 offshore fisheries science vessels, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Sir John Franklin and the CCGS Captain Jacques Cartier, were delivered to the CCG. Sea trials began for the first Arctic and offshore patrol ship, the HMCS Harry DeWolf, and the second ship, the HMCS Margaret Brooke, was launched

If pressed on the department’s expenditures:

• The 2019 to 2020 expenses were $558 million higher than planned (planned: $5,906.1 million; actual: $6,464.1 million). The increase is mainly attributable to the Property and Infrastructure and Payments and Accounting core responsibilities due to:
  • additional funding received for real property repairs and maintenance after the estimation of the planned results
  • additional funding received for ensuring proper payments for public servants after the estimation of the planned results
• The 2019 to 2020 revenues were comparable with the planned revenues (planned: $3,090.5 million; actual: $3,087.9 million)

Background

PSPC’s DRR is prepared annually and reports on whether the department has fulfilled the expectations outlined in the Departmental Plan. The report is tabled every fall by the President of the Treasury Board. Parliamentary committees have an opportunity to review and question department spending and achieved results. The DRR for the 2019 to 2020 fiscal year is based on the Departmental Results Framework.

Priority 2019 to 2020 activities

In 2019 to 2020, PSPC made significant progress in the implementation of the priorities identified in the 2019 to 2020 Departmental Plan.

In addition, PSPC responded quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic through significant and sustained efforts to provide critical and essential services in support of the Government of Canada and Canadians, such as the procurement of supplies and equipment to protect the health and safety of Canadians.

Key financial information

The performance information contained within the 2019 to 2020 DRR is measured against the planned spending defined in PSPC’s 2019 to 2020 Departmental Plan.

The DRR shows an increase of $614 million between the 2019 to 2020 planned spending and the actual spending, from $3.215B to $3.829B. This is not unusual since planned spending is determined prior to the year and does not include changes in funding approved throughout 2019 to 2020.

• The net increase of $614 million between the 2019 to 2020 actual spending and the 2019 to 2020 planned spending is mainly due to:
  • the exclusion of the new 2019 Budget Implementation Vote (BIV) in the 2019 to 2020 Main Estimates and planned spending amounts due to the timing of the tabling of the 2019 to 2020 Departmental Plan. When taking into account the new BIV funding in the amount of $1.02 billion received in fiscal year 2019 to 2020, the revised planned spending versus actual spending will result in a surplus of $407 million instead of a deficit of $614 million. The $407 million surplus is due to:
    • delays experienced in tendering new construction contracts as well as increased revenues from accommodations, such as office space
    • the realignment of funding to revised project schedules for the rehabilitation of major public infrastructure such as the Parliamentary Precinct
    • lower payment issuance costs, related to the use of electronic payments instead of cheques
    • changes in the scheduling of activities related to the electronic procurement solution project

Tabling of the 2021 to 2022 Departmental Plan for Public Services and Procurement Canada

Context

On February 25, 2021, the 2021 to 2022 Departmental Plan (DP) for Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) was tabled in the House of Commons by the President of the Treasury Board. The report outlines PSPC’s key priorities for 2021 to 2022 in relation to the Minister’s mandate commitments and government-wide priorities.

Suggested response

• In 2021 to 2022, one of PSPC’s top priorities is to continue its aggressive approach to purchasing goods and services in support of the government’s response to COVID-19
• The department will also continue to support the broader business of government through its core business lines of buying, real property, payments and pension, and linguistics services, among others
• PSPC’s work will also deliver on broad government commitments related to diversity and inclusion, sustainability and climate goals, and economic recovery

If pressed on COVID-19 response:

• as Canada’s central purchasing agent, PSPC will continue to prioritize its support for the government’s response to COVID-19, buying personal protective equipment (PPE), medical equipment, testing equipment and therapeutics on behalf of client departments and agencies. PSPC has secured agreements for a diverse portfolio of COVID-19 vaccines to ensure that every Canadian that wants a vaccine can get one as quickly as possible

Background

The DP is a mechanism of ministerial accountability communicating departmental expenditure plans for the next 3 years, as well as an organization’s priorities, resource requirements and expected results. The report is tabled annually in Parliament by the President of the Treasury Board on behalf of all organizations and published online for all Canadians.

Priority 2021 to 2022 activities

The activities identified below collectively summarize PSPC’s key plans, which are aligned by core responsibility:

• purchase of goods and services:
  • continue to prioritize the purchase of goods and services in support of the government’s response to COVID-19
  • advance the implementation of the cloud-based electronic procurement solution within PSPC, to simplify how suppliers of all sizes and regions of the country do business with the Government of Canada
  • examine new approaches to procurement to provide greater opportunities for supplier diversity, including the launch of pilot procurements to open bidding opportunities for Black owned and/or operated businesses
  • continue to modernize procurement, including continuing the phased implementation of a vendor performance management regime to incentivize suppliers to deliver high-quality goods and services, and developing and implementing innovative procurement approaches to help federal organizations meet their business needs
  • deliver on key procurements in support of Canada’s defence policy: Strong, Secure, Engaged, including by releasing requests for proposals for a number of defence air and land requirements, as well as making key strides in the competitive process to replace the fighter aircraft fleet
  • continue to work with other government departments and industry to renew Canada's federal fleet of combat and non-combat vessels, providing economic benefits to Canadians and rebuilding our country’s shipbuilding industry
• payments and accounting:
  • continue progress towards the elimination of the backlog of outstanding pay issues for public servants as a result of the Phoenix pay system
  • deliver high quality, client-centric services by meeting service delivery goals, ensuring the ongoing integrity of pension data, and enabling more services through innovation, so that more than 908,000 active and retired members of pension plans administered by PSPC can readily access pension information, and receive timely and accurate pension payments
• property and infrastructure:
  • advance sustainability, climate resiliency, and the green agenda for federal real property and infrastructure assets by integrating sustainable development, the use of clean energy, energy reduction, and greenhouse gas reduction into the decision-making, planning and delivery of real property projects
  • build a comprehensive approach that takes into consideration opportunities brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic to rethink the workplace, and the return to the office, through stakeholder engagement
  • continue to advance the Laboratories Canada Strategy which seeks to provide federal scientists with leading-edge, collaborative, accessible, and sustainable science and technology facilities
  • continue to implement the rehabilitation of the Parliamentary Precinct through the Long Term Vision and Plan (LTVP)
  • continue to improve crossings in the National Capital Region (NCR) in order to improve fluidity and increase transportation options to ensure the health and safety of users and to further decrease greenhouse gas emissions
• government-wide support:
  • continue to adapt to the rapid pace of digital transformation in linguistic services, by experimenting with artificial intelligence and collaborating with other government departments and agencies to increase remote interpretation for official, Indigenous and foreign languages, and video remote interpretation for sign languages
  • support the transition to a digital government to improve the delivery of services and solutions, enhancing the capacity and integration of modern tools and methodologies
  • continue to improve the Contract Security Program and Controlled Goods Program to respond to an evolving external threat environment, and develop a more client-focused delivery approach to safeguard sensitive and strategic government information and assets accessed by the private sector
• Procurement Ombudsman:
  • continue to promote fairness, openness and transparency in federal procurement

Key financial information

Budgetary planning information for core responsibilities and internal services, including the 2021 to 2022 Main Estimates, and the 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 planned spending, is as follows.

For 2023 to 2024, the department plans to spend approximately $1,087 million less than in 2021 to 2022. The decrease is due to the end or winding down of funding in a broad suite of initiatives including:

• the department’s current funding approval to deliver on its infrastructure projects which includes the retrofit of federal office buildings and the modernization of scientific laboratories supported by the Laboratories Canada initiative. Funding will be adjusted should future approvals be received
• the end of incremental funding received in order to stabilize the pay operations and decrease the backlog of pay issues. Funding will be adjusted should future approvals be received

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Date modified:

2021-07-22