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Section II Performance Discussion by Strategic Outcome

Policies and Programs That Meet the Human Capital and Social Development Needs of Canadians

Program Activity
Policy, Research and Communications

The Policy, Research and Communications functions are the focal point for strategic policy at Human Resources and Social Development Canada. They manage the agenda, contribute to policy development, and provide the Minister, the Deputy Minister and the Government with the knowledge, analysis and advice needed to make informed choices to improve the standard of living and quality of life of Canadians. They also track commitments made in the Budget and the Speech from the Throne as well as create socio-economic strategies to address current pressures and provide strategic policy direction and advice to the Minister.

The Department is the Government of Canada's principal advisor on human resources and social development policy issues, providing the capability to contextualize the issues in support of efforts to achieve the Government's policy objectives and results for Canadians.

Early in the fiscal year, the Department took steps to strengthen its policy and research capacity by integrating evaluation, research, knowledge and strategic policy functions within a single Branch. Behind this move was a desire to maximize the impacts of programs and policies and to create a greater opportunity for multi-disciplinary and stakeholder engagement.

The Department supported Government of Canada's human resources and social development policies to specifically deliver on the Advantage Canada agenda as well as its social policy agenda. It supported the implementation of the new labour market architecture, including new Labour Market Agreements and the development of associated performance indicators to ensure accountability and Results for Canadians. The Department worked with Finance Canada on the development and introduction of a new tax benefit that provides incentives for social assistance recipients to enter the labour force and encourages lower-wage workers to remain in the labour force. As well, the Department implemented the Government's commitment to increase funding for post-secondary education and partnered with other departments to establish the Community Development Trust which was announced by the Prime Minister in January 2008.

Policy, Research and Communications made investments in support of policy formulation through the provision of timely and quality communications and stakeholder relations services through media activities, advertising campaigns and public opinion research strategies. It ensured continuous communications issues identification and management through publication of newsletters, success stories, press releases, and speeches. A corporate Public Involvement Framework was designed to establish principles to guide and strengthen departmental consultation and engagement practices. Stakeholder strategies were also designed and implemented for new Government initiatives to ensure a commitment to consulting the public and stakeholders on issues that affect their lives.

In advancing knowledge development across the Government, the Department carried-out medium term policy planning which created sectoral diagnostics on the Labour Market, Learning and Social Development, as well as on the Retirement Income System and Productivity. A corresponding Knowledge Management Strategy was developed to maximize departmental efficiency and effectiveness in acquiring, using, and sharing the knowledge needed to help Canadians achieve their goals. A three-year Policy Research Plan was developed and implementation began with the management of hundreds of research projects undertaken within the department and by the academic community, much of which has been widely-recognized and cited both domestically and internationally.

In support of macro-economic scenario analysis, Policy, Research and Communications proceeded with the development and use of the models for policy analysis and updated components of the Canadian Occupational Projection System for projecting labour supply and demand by occupation to inform both policy formulation and to provide critical labour market information to workers and employers. It also continued the use of experimentation and demonstration projects as a vehicle for learning on 'what works'.

The Department created a five-year evaluation plan, to ensure adequate and timely coverage of the main program elements and to reflect new priorities and accountability requirements (43 evaluations were underway, 9 have been completed).

Policy, Research and Communications made significant investments to the development of Statistics Canada surveys (in particular, the 2006 Census which released key findings in 2007-008) and moved forward with the development of a Human Resources and Social Development Canada Data Plan for 2008-09, that will contribute to the effective management and planning of departmental knowledge assets (including investments in surveys). The "Indicators of Well Being in Canada" site was publicly launched and provided Canadians with access to an up-to-date picture of the well-being of Canadians and Canadian society.

Policy, Research and Communications also increased engagement and collaboration with Provinces, Territories, Partners and Canadians to ensure better, innovative and complementary policy initiatives. It participated in external knowledge and research development exercises on retirement and pension issues (for example, the Department holds a membership in the C.D. Howe Institute Pension Paper Series). It oversaw the implementation of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial approach set out in April 2007 to guide the achievement of policy directions outlined in Budget 2007 on key priorities, notably Child Care spaces and Post-Secondary Education, initial roll-out of the new labour market architecture, and the Canada Student Loan Program review.

On the global scene, best practices and Lessons Learned were exchanged with international partners by hosting some 30 visiting delegations and further developing relationships with Australia and the United Kingdom. The Department continued to partner with the United States on labour market issues as well as Ministerial visits and exchanges to discuss homelessness and affordable housing. The Department also contributed to the Government's international priorities such as the joint Canada-European Union study on the costs and benefits of a closer economic partnership, and the Government's Americas Strategy.

In advancing knowledge development in the international arena, the development of a family policy data base was supported at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to ensure the availability of comparable data to assess the situation of families and to identify effective practices in supporting Canadian families.

The Department continued implementing initiatives under the 2003-2008 Action Plan for Official Languages and its Horizontal Results-Based Management and Accountability Framework. The Department enhanced its ability to coordinate the implementation of section 41, Part VII of the Official Languages Act, by developing a tool to support analysts. In 2007 2008, financial support was granted to official language minority communities through various initiatives including the Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program. A total of $1.3 million in grants and contributions was allocated given to literacy groups in official language minority communities, and $1.5 million was allocated to essential skills projects that included products and documentation in both official languages.

Human Resources and Social Development Canada has continued its work to raise awareness of and fully integrate gender considerations in the Department's policies and programs and to provide departmental employees with concrete tools to apply gender analysis in their work.

Achievements Against Priorities

Policy, Research and Communications
Plan	2007-2008 Achievements
Priority: Support human resources and social development policies of the Government of Canada
Develop policies that support the Government's commitments to create new opportunities and choices for people to reach their full potential and build a better quality of life, and promote the inclusion and participation of all in society and the economy.	Medium-Term Policy Planning results (such as identification of emerging trends and challenges faced by Canadians) contributed to new policy development and informed decision-making.
Undertake an older worker feasibility study.	Supported the Expert Panel on Older Workers Report who were looking at potential measures to help older workers, including improved training and enhanced income support, such as early retirement benefits
Contribute to the development and implementation of a Working Income Tax Benefit for low- and modest-income Canadians.	Worked closely with the Department of Finance in the early development and design stages of the Working Income Tax Benefit, and continued to assess its impact on low-income populations in Canada who claimed the benefit by filing an income tax and benefit return for 2007.
Priority: Develop and implement departmental frameworks and strategies
Develop a long-term policy framework that integrates human resources and social development.	A Medium-Term Policy Planning Integrated Diagnostic was produced which identified priority areas for future human resources and social policy development.
Integrate and coordinate broad policy areas such as employment, adult learning, income security, social development and essential skills.	The Department focussed on strong management of its agenda, the development of strategies to achieve Speech from the Throne and Budget commitments, and the use of Medium-Term Policy Planning and the executive policy committees as tools to coordinate and integrate the Department's broad policy mandate.
Develop and implement a department-wide Knowledge Management Initiative.	The Department further developed a corporate Knowledge Management Strategy encompassing web-based tools, products and exchange venues, to facilitate the storage and transfer of knowledge. These initiatives are critical to realize the benefits of our knowledge investments and ensure better access by policy-makers to the knowledge necessary to formulate sound, evidence-based policy and program options.
Develop and implement an Agenda for Excellence.	A multi-year plan was created that encourages integration, collaboration, and the development of a culture of excellence across the Department.
Develop an integrated HRSDC Knowledge Plan - a medium-term strategy to develop and disseminate knowledge and facilitate knowledge exchange.	The Department developed a process to enable the identification of priorities in terms of knowledge creation (e.g., data plan, research plan), and to ensure knowledge resources are effectively managed and aligned with departmental priorities.
Strengthen strategies to include evaluation in the policy development process.	In 2007-2008, Human Resources and Social Development Canada continued to implement initiatives to strengthen evaluation contribution to the policy and program development process. These initiatives aimed at ensuring that evaluation results are effectively shared and used in support of policy and program development: Undertook a follow-up study on the implementation of all management responses included in evaluations approved between 2004-2005 and 2006-2007. Produced the Second Annual Report on the Evaluation Activities and Results, which presents a learning tool summarizing key findings for all evaluations approved between 2004-2005 and 2006-2007. Developed new evaluation products such as thematic studies on Lessons Learned from previous evaluations for improvement of both program/policy development and evaluation practice.
Analyse labour market and social trends that could impact the effectiveness of the Canadian Retirement Income System over the long-term and explore strategies to address these challenges.	To identify and address challenges to the Canadian Retirement Income System the Department conducted analysis of emerging trends and their potential long-term impact on the Canadian Retirement Income System and continued direct and indirect support for external research related to Retirement Income System trends and their implications. Initiated discussions with external experts and stakeholders regarding their views on the current and future state of the Retirement Income System.
Priority: Advance knowledge development to support informed decision-making.
Develop rigorous, integrated knowledge and evidence to identify current and emerging social policy and human resources development issues, including the development, refinement or updating of: A Data Plan - a coordinated, comprehensive strategy for data and survey planning; A Research Plan to identify key research areas to inform policy and program development; An Evaluation Plan to identify key areas for evaluation related to departmental policies and programs; An Internal Audit Plan to identify key areas for risk-based audits related to departmental program activities and internal controls; Knowledge dissemination strategies to foster the sharing of high-quality knowledge including a national conference to promote ongoing dialogue with provinces, territories and external partners; A common knowledge base on social policy and human resources development trends.	Developed a new suite of research dissemination products, with a new 'look and feel', with special emphasis on highly readable short summaries of research reports. Translated approximately 70 previously completed policy research reports. The Department developed a comprehensive approach to manage the portfolio of surveys for which it provides funding. The planning and management approach to the data assets focused on balancing investments across the areas of our mandate and fulfilling various data requirements with respect to legal and mandatory obligations, international and inter-jurisdictional agreements, program reporting and evaluation, and policy/research priorities. Completed a three-year Department Policy Research Plan, which included the management of hundreds of research projects, undertaken by staff or by the academic community. A long-term Program Evaluation plan (2007/2008-2011/2012) was developed and approved by the Management Audit and Evaluation Committee during the Summer 2007. The departmental Evaluation Plan meets Departmental and Treasury Board Secretariat requirements for timeliness quality and coverage. Completed significant number of evaluations of intergovernmental initiatives including: Labour Market Development Agreements, National Child Benefit and Labour Market Policy Development Developed an integrated risk-based 2008-2011 Internal Audit Plan for Human Resources and Social Development Canada. The Department developed and released the Indicators of Well-being in Canada website, as a platform to disseminate information to other orders of government, external partners and the public on determinants of well-being. In addition, work proceeded with the development of the Human Resources and Social Development Canada Knowledge Web Portal in order to facilitate knowledge dissemination within the Department. The Department in collaboration with other organizations supported knowledge exchange events to foster an informed dialogue with experts and other orders of government on policy and research issues. Sponsored a roundtable "How Many Students will Canada's Universities and Colleges Have in the Coming Decades?", with the participation of included the participation of stakeholders, researchers, program officers and policy makers. Hosted a speakers series with five American experts on Current Issues in the United States of America Higher Education.
Promote consideration of international comparisons and benchmarking in development of policy initiatives to address human resources and social development priorities.	Human Resources and Social Development Canada's involvement in international organizations, conferences and study tours served to broaden perspectives on the policy directions other countries are pursuing and how those policies compare to Canadian approaches. Lessons Learned internationally helped inform policy and program development.
Priority: Increase engagement and collaboration with provinces, territories, partners and Canadians through public involvement and other activities to ensure better, innovative and complementary policy initiatives
Implement an engagement strategy and a Public Involvement Framework to guide all HRSDC public involvement activities in a manner that is coordinated and integrated both inter-departmentally and intra-departmentally.	The Department offered numerous opportunities for the stakeholder views and needs to be considered when developing policies, programs and services, including: An online public consultation on the Canada Student Loan Program. The Department consulted the public and experts through an online consultation on revisions and improvements to the national occupation classification system. Departmental officials hosted roundtable meetings, jointly with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, with stakeholders and citizens to discuss recent changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and seek input on improvements. The National Seniors Council in hosting several series of roundtables across the country with experts, stakeholders and citizens on low-income and elder abuse issues. Results on these consultations will form the basis for advice and recommendations on issues related to seniors. While initial plans for the 2007-2008 fiscal year also proposed activities such as hosting an annual stakeholder conference and coordinating a web-based citizens panel, review of corporate stakeholder relations resulted in a refocusing of activity. Information on the Department's consultation activities is available through a public consultations button on the home page of the department's website.
Continue to support and enhance federal-provincial/territorial relations through formal meetings, consultations and working arrangements, which support the Government's effort to strengthen the economic union and continue to support the social union.	Led the implementation of the Federal- Provincial-Territorial approach set out in April 2007 to guide the achievement of policy directions outlined in Budget 2007 on key priorities: child care spaces, Post-Secondary Education, initial roll-out of the new labour market architecture, and the Canada Student Loan Program review. Worked collaboratively with Provinces and Territories to prepare for Social Services Deputy Ministers' June 2008 retreat on Poverty and Early Childhood Development.
Develop mechanisms to engage provinces, territories and partners in developing integrated knowledge and evidence (e.g., External Advisory Committee on Knowledge).	Lessons learned from Labour Market Development Agreement evaluations were shared with Provincial-Territorial governments at a Federal-Provincial-Territorial Workshop with a view to developing a common understanding and identifying areas of possible improvement. The Department continued to engage with interlocutors at the federal level as well as academic communities to identify gaps and relevant strategies to address those gaps, leading to the development of strategic plans in terms of data and research. It partnered for instance, with Statistics Canada and external experts to enhance data and survey instruments that are used to conduct research and inform policy and program analysis and development.
Continue to support the Government of Canada's relationships with community sector organizations that play a key role in serving Canadians.	Consulted the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and other disability community stakeholders concerning their priorities for a possible Canadians with Disabilities Act. In order to carry out its strategy for people with disabilities, Service Canada met twice with the Service for People with Disabilities External Advisory Group in 2007-2008 to receive advice and feedback on disability benefits and services. These consultations have informed the draft Policy on Services for the Deaf, Deaf-Blind, Deafened and Hard of Hearing.
Undertake and promote a broader analysis of the role of community in fostering social well-being by learning from existing comprehensive community collaborations aimed at assisting communities to become more economically and socially resilient	Provided support in developing policy advice on the development of the Community Development Trust. This contributed to the establishment of a $1 billion trust fund for the provinces and territories to support communities across the country affected by lay offs and worker displacement. Smooth and effective transition that saw community plans and projects approved under the new Homelessness Partnering Strategy.

For more details on programs supporting this activity, please see Section IV - Other Items of Interest.

Financial and Human Resources 2007-2008

Policy, Research and Communication
(in millions of dollars)	PLANNED SPENDING	AUTHORITIES	ACTUAL
Policy, Research and Communication
FINANCIAL RESOURCES (GROSS)	197.5	210.9	199.3
HUMAN RESOURCES (FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS)	991	1,346	1,346

 

Details by Programs and Services 2007-2008

Financial Resources (millions of dollars)
	Planned Spending	Authorities	Actual
Policy, Research and Communication
Strategic Policy	20.5	43.6	47.6
Strategic Analysis, Audit and Evaluation	74.1	50.5	50.5
Public Affairs and Engagement	41.8	40.0	40.0
Allocated Corporate Servicesa	61.1	76.8	61.2
Total	197.5	210.9	199.3
Human Resources (Full Time Equivalents)
Full Time Equivalents	991	1,346	1,346
a Corporate Services resources related to the Minister's Office, the Deputy Minister's Office, the Comptroller's Office and the Shared Services have been prorated to each program activity.

Enhanced Canadian Productivity and Participation Through Efficient and Inclusive Labour Markets, Competitive Workplace and Access to Learning

Among other factors, the recent success of the Canadian economy can be attributed to the skills and abilities of Canada's workers. Canada has one of the best educated, highly skilled and flexible labour forces in the world, which has ranked comparatively well in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. These factors have enabled Canada to secure a productive and competitive position in the global marketplace and to prosper from opportunities within and outside of the country.

Canada's post-secondary, adult learning, literacy and essential skills, and skilled trades training systems continue to produce skilled people that are needed to maintain and improve our economic growth. Skilled workers contribute to productivity as they process information, perform tasks efficiently and effectively, and adapt to and use new technology.

Canada works hard to ensure its programming remains responsive to potential labour market challenges, and to afford employed and unemployed Canadians the skills training they need to pursue employment opportunities and the temporary financial assistance they need during transitions.

In order to continue to maintain its economic success as labour and skills shortages emerge in certain regions and occupations, Canada needs to facilitate the labour force participation of all Canadians. In collaboration with provincial and territorial governments and community organizations, the Department helps those who need help with skills development, work experience and employment supports. In particular, Departmental programs offered opportunities to youth-at-risk, persons with disabilities, and Aboriginals, among others.

The Department has three main program activities that assisted Canadians with income support, supported skills and learning, and access to post-secondary education.

The Labour Market and Workplace Skills programs were managed as one activity in 2007-2008. The aim of these program activities is to develop an efficient and inclusive labour force. The programs also serve to improve Canadian economic competitiveness by providing Employment Insurance and by fostering innovative, productive and inclusive workplaces, where workers are encouraged and supported to develop and use their knowledge, skills and abilities.

Program Activity
Labour Market

In 2007-2008, one of the Department's priorities was to increase the workforce participation and develop the skills of Canadians by working with provinces, territories, the private sector and partners in the implementation of strategies that will eliminate barriers to employment and improve choices and opportunities. Through a suite of programs, the Department enhances Canadian productivity by ensuring that workers are self-reliant and adaptable to labour market change. For example, Canadians can access the employment insurance that they require to handle labour market transitions or to access skills training and development opportunities to pursue productive employment. In addition, new approaches to help address the skills needs of low-skilled employed workers, and of individuals who are not eligible for employment insurance benefits or programs, were developed in partnership with provinces, who are best placed to design and deliver labour market programming to individual Canadians. Skills Employment Branch is also responsible for delivering the programs and leveraging the partnerships that allow Canadians to increase their participation - by acquiring skills to compete in the labour market, and finding and maintaining meaningful and productive employment. Much of this programming is aimed at ensuring that the Canadian labour force is inclusive, and that under-represented groups such as Aboriginals, youth, older workers, and people with disabilities have access to the training services and tools for searching and acquiring meaningful employment.

Strategic Outcome Indicators

Labour Market
Indicators	Results
Participation rate		2006	2007
Data Systems & Controls Rating: Good	15 years or over	67.2 %	67.6 %
	15-24 years	66.4 %	67.0 %
	25-54 years	86.2 %	86.6 %
	55 years or over	32.1 %	33.3 %
% of unemployed looking for work for one year or more (52 weeks and over) Data Systems & Controls Rating: Good		2006 *	2007
		8.3 %	7.1 %
	*2006 data revised as per Statistics Canada
Percent of youth (aged 15-24) not in the labour force nor in school Data Systems & Controls Rating: Good		2001	2006
		4.8 %	5.0 %
Unemployment Rates by Designated Group		2006	2007
Data Systems & Controls Rating: Good	Women	7.2 %	6.6 %
	People with Disabilities	13.2 %	10.4%
	Aboriginal People	19.1 %	14.8 %
	Visible Minorities	9.5 %	8.6 %
	Older Workers	6.0 %	5.2 %

The Employment Insurance program promoted individual economic stability and a flexible labour market by providing temporary income support to unemployed workers who qualify under Part I of the Employment Insurance Act. In 2007-2008, over 1.7 million Canadians received Employment Insurance benefits. A comprehensive reporting on the Employment Insurance program was done through the Monitoring and Assessment Report, tabled before Parliament annually. Detailed results on 2007-2008 will be available in April 2009. Preliminary results indicate that the program provided income support in the form of regular benefits to more than 1.2 million unemployed individuals. In addition, the program provided important supports to help individuals balance work and family responsibilities, including Canadian workers who took time-off work due to personal sickness almost 300,000 Canadians in 2007-2008); workers who took time away from their jobs to care for a newborn or a newly-adopted child (nearly 200,000 new parents); and workers who cared for a gravely-ill person (5,700 caregivers). The Employment Insurance Summative Technical Reports confirmed that these employment Insurance supports were important. The receipt of Employment Insurance benefits strongly contributed towards healthier work-life balance. For example, one study revealed that the parents' risk of being stressed was less if they were receiving Employment Insurance than if they were not (fathers: 16.2% vs. 33.9%; mothers: 6.6% vs. 17.0%).

An evaluation on the Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefit highlighted low program awareness and a lower take-up than originally anticipated, which is explained by the fact that 90% of working caregivers were able to make arrangements with their existing employers thereby avoiding the need for Employment Insurance. While the Employment Insurance system cannot address all aspects of the care-giving issue, the Compassionate Care Benefit was seen as a "good start" in addressing the needs of families in these situations.

The Department made significant contributions in the development of options and advice pertaining to the Employment Insurance program. Extensive analysis was undertaken and alternative approaches were developed regarding Employment Insurance financing, rate-setting and the Employment Insurance account. As a result of this work, Budget 2008 announced improvements to the management and governance of the employment Insurance Account. Starting in 2009, a new rate-setting mechanism will ensure that Employment Insurance revenues and expenditures will break-even over time. The Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board, a Crown corporation, will be established and will report through the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Canada. the Crown Corporation will be responsible for managing a separate bank account, implementing the improved rate-setting mechanism and maintaining a cash reserve. In addition, the Department provided support on other issues concerning Employment Insurance, including the Government of Canada decision to continue the Extended Employment Insurance Benefits pilot project until June 2009.

Throughout 2007-2008, Human Resources and Social Development Canada also made significant progress in ensuring the Employment Benefits and Support Measures under Part II of the Employment Insurance Act continued to respond to the needs of unemployed workers and employers, as well as government policy priorities. Specifically, Budget 2007 announced a new labour market architecture to support the goal of the Government of Canada to create the best educated, highly skilled and most flexible work force in the world. The Government of Canada took steps to negotiate the full transfer of Labour Market Development Agreements with the provinces and territories who had co-management agreements. The transfer agreements recognized that the provincial and territorial governments were best placed to design and deliver labour market training to individual Canadians. A devolved Labour Market Development Agreement was concluded with the Province of British Columbia while discussions and negotiations continue with the remaining provinces and the Yukon territory.

A second element of the new labour market architecture was the commitment of $3 billion (over six years) to a new type of labour market agreement outside of Employment Insurance. These new agreements address the skills needs of low-skilled employed workers and of individuals who are not eligible for Employment Insurance benefits or programs. Throughout 2008-2008, four new labour market agreements were concluded with provincial/territorial governments, with the remaining agreements currently under negotiation.

Human Resources and Social Development Canada recognized the importance of working in partnership with other federal departments and agencies, employers, unions, Aboriginal organizations, the voluntary sector and provinces and territories to successfully fulfill its mandate and meet the needs of unemployed Canadians, including those who face barriers to labour force participation. The Department began the development of options for a successor to the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy in 2007-2008. Much of the work that had been undertaken, such as stakeholder engagement, evaluations, research, and documentation of international experiences, will be used to further inform the successor strategy. Since its inception in 1999, the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy has provided service to over 430,000 clients. More than 140,000 clients (including 59,000 youth and 10,000 persons with disabilities) found meaningful, productive jobs and 45,000 clients returned to school.

The Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership initiative was extended to 2012 and expanded to maximize Aboriginal employment on major economic developments across Canada. As a result of the 2007 Request for Proposal, projects will be implemented in partnership with Aboriginal organizations, private sector partners, provinces and territories, Aboriginal training institutions and other stakeholders. As a result of the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership initiative, 1,439 Aboriginal clients were served in 2007-2008 with 2,395 interventions completed and 570 clients in employment.

The Government of Canada signed agreements with nine provinces and territories interested in participating in the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers. During 2007-2008, agreements were signed with Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Northwest Territories, adding to the ones signed the previous year with Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Yukon. For youth, the new Canada Summer Jobs implemented in 2007-2008 contributed to the creation of approximately 42,000 summer jobs for youth. this particular initiative focused on creating high quality, career-related jobs for youth and in helping organizations deliver important community services for children, families, persons with disabilities, seniors, and others.

The Department also administered Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities and the Opportunities Fund for Persons With Disabilities, which are reported separately under the Strategic Outcome for "enhanced income security, access to opportunities, and well-being for individuals, families and communities".

 

Program Indicators

Labour Market
Program Indicators	2007-2008 Target	Results
Clients Employed Number of clients employed and / or returns to school following an employment program intervention and as a proportion of the total number of clients who complete their employment program intervention (s).	Number Range: 205,000-225,000 Proportion: 55%-60%	Number: 221,787 Proportion: 60.76% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
Job Ready/ Job Search Number of Job Ready/Job Searcha clients employed or returned to school following an employment program intervention. aJob Ready / Job Search: support programs that help clients find a good job match as quickly as possible.	Number Range: 87,000-95,000	105,296 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
Developmental Number of clients who become employed or return to school following a developmentalb employment program intervention. bDevelopmental: benefit programs that help clients gain work experience, improve job skills or start a new business.	Number Range: 118,000-130,000	123,845 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
Number of clients participating in Skills Development and as a proportion of the total number of clients who participate in a developmental employment program intervention.	85,000-94,000 68%	75,203 65% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
Number of apprenticeship clients who received benefits provided through EI Part I or II.	50,000-56,000	58,195 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
Comments: In December 2007, the Province of Alberta implemented a new integrated management information system. Due to the implementation of the new system, national employment program results include Alberta Labour Market Development Agreement data for the period of April 2007 to November 2007. The province and federal government are working to ensure the inclusion of full year Labour Market Development Agreement data from Alberta in the 2008 Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report when it is tabled in Parliament.

 

Achievements Against Priorities

Labour Market
Plan	2007-2008 Achievements
Priority: Increase the workforce participation and develop the skills of Canadians by working with provinces, territories, the private sector and partners in the implementation of strategies that will eliminate barriers to employment and improve choices and opportunities
Work with Aboriginal partners, provinces and territories, and employers to reduce workforce barriers for Aboriginal peoples, strengthening and supporting the delivery of the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy and Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership program.	The Department actively engaged in strengthening its partnerships with Aboriginal groups, provinces and territories, employers, and Aboriginal Human Resource Development Agreement holders in order to achieve better outcomes for Aboriginal Canadians. The results of this engagement, combined with evaluation work, research, and Lessons Learned by international partners, were incorporated into the early development of a successor strategy to Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy. In addition, the Department participated in a multi-departmental demonstration project to improve service delivery for Early Childhood Development programs. The Department supported strengthened delivery of the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy and Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership initiative by implementing the 2007 Budget commitment to re-invest in the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership initiative. As a result of the 2007 Request for Proposal, projects began to be implemented with the partners in 2007-2008 and others will follow in 2008-2009. Through the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership initiative, 1,439 Aboriginal clients were served in 2007-2008 with 2,395 interventions completed to help them overcome barriers, and 570 clients secured employment.
Continue work with provinces, territories, other government departments and stakeholders to assist targeted groups such as unemployed older workers and youth, with employment transitions.	Targeted groups, such as unemployed older workers and youth, face different challenges or have different needs than the general population during employment transitions. As a result, the Department worked in partnership with provinces, territories, other departments, and stakeholders to ensure innovative and flexible programs were available to respond to the specific needs of targeted groups. In this regard, the Department extended the Youth Employment Strategy, the Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities, Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities, and Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities. It also negotiated Targeted Initiative for Older Workers agreements with five provinces/territories. Together, the tailored interventions of these programs helped Canadians with employment transitions.
Work with provinces and territories and stakeholders to examine the current array of labour market, employment and skills development programming in an effort to modernize labour market programming to meet the needs of employers and assist Canadians to find and keep jobs.	The Department worked in collaboration with provinces, territories and stakeholders to examine existing programming and assess its ability to meet the needs of employers and to assist Canadians find and keep jobs. As a result, Labour Market Development Agreements and Labour Market Agreements were negotiated to better serve the needs of all Canadians. With respect to Labour Market Development Agreements, the Department engaged the co-managed Provinces and Territory in negotiations with the objective to move to a complete suite of transfer Labour Market Development Agreements. As a result, Canada and British Columbia signed a transfer Labour Market Development Agreement with implementation planned for February 2009. In order to ensure the Labour Market Development Agreements continue to remain responsive to the needs of employers and Canadians, the Department engaged the provinces and territories in discussions of evaluation findings and in the identification of best practices. The Department engaged all Provinces and Territories in negotiations to sign Labour Market Agreements that contain accountability and results reporting requirements. Labour Markets Agreements were successfully concluded with British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick. These Labour Market Development Agreements are designed specifically to assist Canadians find and keep jobs, as they provide programs and services to non-Employment Insurance eligible unemployed Canadians and low-skilled employed Canadians.
Continue to work with other government departments, stakeholders, and provinces and territories, to conduct program assessments to ensure continued relevance of youth employment programming. Specifically, for student summer employment, launch a new initiative focusing on creating high quality, career related jobs that would not otherwise be created and assisting students who could not otherwise find work as a result of where they live or the barriers they face.	A Summative Evaluation of the Youth Employment Strategy, which includes results from Human Resources and Social Development Canada / Service Canada and all other participating departments, is currently being completed. Preliminary findings are positive and indicate that Youth Employment Strategy is still relevant to Government of Canada priorities and achieves the intended outcomes of increasing employability skills, helping youth find employment or return to school. In order to continue the program assessment and permit further study of Youth Employment Strategy programming without disrupting service delivery to clients, the Youth Employment Strategy umbrella and Human Resources and Social Development Canada specific Terms and Conditions were extended for an additional year and now expire on March 31st, 2009. Canada Summer Jobs was developed as a component of the Youth Employment Strategy. In 2007-2008, it contributed to the creation of approximately 42,000 summer jobs for youth. This particular initiative focused on creating high quality, career-related jobs for youth and in helping organizations deliver important community services for children, families, persons with disabilities, seniors, and others.
Continue work with Official Languages Minority Communities, through national committee, consultations and other initiatives, to facilitate and support effective partnerships with private and other public sector stakeholders to ensure the vitality of their local labour markets and economies.	The Department actively provided guidance and support to Official Languages Minority Communities national committees in their work on improving local labour markets. The Department also supported Canadian Heritage's work on the evaluation of the Action Plan on Official Languages. Through these efforts, the Department ensured the Enabling Fund responded to employment and community development needs, a key ingredient in ensuring the vitality of local labour markets and economies. In addition, the Department provided funding (through Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program) to support family literacy initiatives, projects and organizations. To ensure these contributions continue to make a difference in local labour markets, the funding and program authorities for the Enabling Fund were renewed until March 31, 2009, pending the new Government of Canada action plan on official languages.

Evaluations and Audits

A number of evaluations were carried out in 2007-2008, including the Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefit and the Employment Insurance Summative Technical Reports mentioned above. Some additional findings of the evaluations include:

• Employment Insurance has a beneficial impact by redistributing purchasing power; reduces the rate of poverty in the economy substantially, ranging from a reduction of about 20% in 1992 to 10% in 2002; and demonstrates little evidence of shifting dependence to Social Assistance due to tightening of Employment Insurance regulations;
• The 1996 Employment Insurance reforms are is estimated to have saved $1.43 billion;
• The values of average annual Employment Insurance claims are much higher for both self-employed fishers and employees in the fishing, trapping and hunting category than for other seasonal industries;
• The percentage of fishers receiving fishing benefits has increased since the 1996 Employment Insurance reform;
• Over 80% of those reporting self-employed fishing income also report Employment Insurance income; and,
• In general, Canada's Employment Insurance program is slightly less generous than those in most Scandinavian countries, but is more generous than those in the United States and United Kingdom.

Additional detailed reporting on the Employment Insurance program is available in the annual Monitoring and Assessment Report of Employment Insurance.

Program Activity
Workplace Skills

In 2007-2008, the key priority under Workplace Skills program activity was to enhance Canadian productivity and participation by working with provinces, territories, government departments and stakeholders in advancing multiple activities that include mobility, labour market information, the integration of immigrants, workplace skills development, the skilled trades and apprenticeships. Through programs in the skilled labour force cluster of programs, Skills Employment Branch is working with workplace stakeholders to encourage workplace skills development that responds to challenges in the workplace, and supports the mobility of skilled trade's workers in Canada. For instance, Skills Employment Branch has supported projects that test and evaluate promising, outcomes-focused approaches to skills development and human resources practices. The Department also enhances productivity and participation by contributing to the efficiency of the Canadian labour market. Through activities like enhancing foreign credential recognition and labour mobility initiatives, Skills Employment Branch has been able to contribute to fostering a better balance between national labour supply and demand. More specifically, through these programs Skills Employment Branch promotes the labour force integration of recent immigrants, the entry of temporary foreign workers, the mobility of workers across Canada, and the dissemination of labour market information.

Strategic Outcome Indicators

Working Skills
Indicators	Results
Labour productivity growth, for business sector (based on annual averages) Data Systems & Controls Rating:   Good		2006	2007
		1.0 %	0.5%
Canada's productivity level as a % of the United States' productivity level Data Systems & Controls Rating:   Good		2006
	Total economy	81.4 %
	Business sector	74.0 %
	2006 data represents the most current information
% of working-age Canadians who score below the literacy level which is considered the minimum to cope in today's economy and society Data Systems & Controls Rating:   Good		2003
		42 %
	Updated results from Statistics Canada will not be available until 2010.
% of adult workforce who participated in job-related formal training Data Systems & Controls Rating:   Good
		2005
		27.6 %
	2005 data represents the most current information
Percent of adult workforce who participated in employer-supported job-related training Data Systems & Controls Rating:  Good		2005
		20.2 %
	2005 data represents the most current information

As noted above, the Labour Market and Workplace Skills program activities were operationally managed together in 2007-2008.

In 2007-2008, the Workplace Skills Strategy brought together a broad range of programs and services, and in working with provinces and territories and employers' requirements. The Department, in cooperation with the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship advanced the work of the Trades and Apprenticeship Strategy through joint work on research, essential skills, and other initiatives aimed at harmonizing apprenticeship training and improving inter-provincial examinations in the Red Seal trades. The Trades and Apprenticeship Strategy also supported awareness and engagement of employers on opportunities for Aboriginal Canadians in the skilled trades.

Human Resources and Social Development Canada worked to improve the capacity of Sector Councils to better align with the work of other government departments and pursue a unified or "whole of government" approach to address national skills and labour market issues. As such, the Program designed and implemented cross-sectoral, multi-partners models (skills tables) to better support Government of Canada initiatives of other departments. The Program continued to strengthen linkages, increasing collaboration and sharing best practices with national and provincial sector councils. Annual performance indicators collected by the Sector Council Program indicate that council-sponsored training programs have increased over the past three years.

Moreover, the Workplace Skills Initiative funded innovative projects which responded to a range of skills-related challenges in Canadian workplaces in order to improve productivity and position Canada to effectively compete in the global knowledge-based economy. A total of 25 Workplace Skills Initiative projects were funded from the Second Call for Proposals issued in 2007-2008.

The Literacy and Essential Skills program was transferred to the Skills and Employment Branch during the year in recognition of the importance of such skills among adults striving to find and retain employment as well as to families and communities. While full reporting on results is included below under the Learning program activity, the program was fully integrated into the Labour Market and Workplace Skills program activities during the year.

Final results of evaluations will not be available until 2008-2009, but the Interim Evaluation of the National Literacy Program was approved in October 2007, and key findings and Lessons Learned are informing policy and program development regarding literacy awareness. Overall, the National Literacy Program was found to be compatible with both the federal government's and the Department's priorities with respect to the inclusive participation of all Canadians in the knowledge-based economy. It was also found to be supporting activities which stakeholders identify as needing federal government support. Further evidence collected from funded organizations and literacy practitioners showed learners benefited from the program by strengthening or developing new skills. The results of the evaluations are being taken into account to ensure a smooth transition to the new "Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program".

The Department has played and important role in supporting efforts of provinces/territories and their regulatory bodies to ensure that Canadians can work anywhere in Canada without restrictions. It provided funding assistance and technical advice to support regulators, to facilitate progress on labour mobility issues, and to secure compliance with the Agreement on Internal Trade. Moreover, the Department, along with provinces and territories, continues to explore ways to improve the Agreement on Internal Trade Labour Mobility Chapter (Chapter 7) and make it a stronger and more effective means for reducing barriers to labour mobility, as they undermine the overall efficiency of Canada's labour market.

Human Resources and Social Development Canada, in collaboration with key stakeholders, has worked to improve the integration of internationally trained workers into the labour force as it facilitated the assessment and recognition of qualifications acquired outside of Canada. The Department supported the launch of the Foreign Credential Recognition Office, now located at Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and played a key role in the development of the governance framework with provinces, territories, and other government departments. Program authorities for the Foreign Credential Recognition Program were also extended for an additional year.

During 2007-2008, in order to respond to skill and labour shortages, the Department made significant improvements to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, including launching the Expedited Labour Market Opinion pilot project in British Columbia and Alberta. A range of other program changes were initiated in line with commitments made in Budget 2007, including the exploration of new monitoring and compliance procedures, regulatory changes (in cooperation with Citizenship and Immigration Canada), and new approaches to address employers' demand for temporary foreign workers with respect to large projects such as the oil sands. In order to strengthen protection of foreign workers, Human Resources and social Development Canada has concluded and information sharing agreement with Alberta, and preliminary discussions and/or negotiations continue with other provinces and territories. The Department also worked to strengthen delivery partnerships with other federal departments such as Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Canada Border Services Agency, as well as with provincial and territorial governments. For example, there was close collaboration with citizenship and Immigration Canada on the development of improved procedures for the approval of Labour Market Opinions and the issuance of work permits for groups of employers.

Program Indicators

Workplace Skills
Program Indicators	2007-2008 Target	Results
Percentage of Sector Councils that meet or exceed expected level of performance.	90%	95% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Increase in the number of trades people who are fully mobile in Canada through Red Seal endorsement.	17,000	21, 087 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Portion of skilled immigrants in occupations targeted by systemic Foreign Credential Recognition interventions.	53%	53.7% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good

 

Achievements Against Priorities

Working Skills
Plan	2007-2008 Achievements
Priority: Implement key components of the workplace skills strategy by working with provinces, territories, government departments and stakeholders in advancing multiple activities that include mobility, labour market information, the integration of immigrants, workplace skills development, the skilled trades and apprenticeships
Enhance the Foreign Worker Program by implementing a series of improvements designed to support faster and more efficient entry of foreign workers as appropriate to respond to regional, occupational, and sectoral labour demands.	The Department implemented a series of improvements in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, resulting in reduced backlogs of employer requests for Labour Market Opinions. An Expedited Labour Market Opinion pilot was implemented to test a new process to reduce processing time. These improvements will help support faster and more efficient entry of foreign workers. The Department also engaged with employers, labour groups, non-government organizations, and temporary foreign workers in order to acquire a deeper understanding of the challenges to improving program design and delivery. In addition, the Department strengthened its partnerships by expanding Temporary Foreign Worker Federal-Provincial Working Groups to Manitoba and Saskatchewan, participated in the multi-lateral Federal-Provincial-Territorial Immigration Working Group, and concluded an information sharing agreement with Alberta.
Support the creation, adoption, testing and sharing of promising tools and approaches to workplace skills development by encouraging employers to invest in the skills of their employees through the Workplace Skills Initiative.	The Workplace Skills Initiative is a primary means for developing and identifying promising tools and approaches to skills development in workplaces. The Second Call for Proposals focused on older workers, low-skilled workers and newcomers to Canada, and 25 projects have been funded. The Third Call for Proposals has been developed, with an added focus on innovative approaches to organizational changes to workplace environments that contribute to the improved productivity of Canadian firms. In addition, the Department initiated an extensive engagement strategy to increase awareness, visibility and uptake of the initiative and it conducted a Project Recipients Workshop in order to share preliminary project information and results.
Work with provinces, territories and partners on labour mobility issues, including recognizing credentials (both domestic and foreign) and licenses granted by other jurisdictions, removing barriers and enhancing the labour mobility of Canadians, by April 1, 2009, and determine what additional assistance the Government of Canada can provide to accelerate these efforts.	The Department supported the launch of the Foreign Credential Recognition Office and contributed to development of the Governance Framework in conjunction with provinces and territories and other government departments. This was complemented by developing future strategic directions for the Foreign Credential Recognition Program; launching the Foreign Credential Recognition Program summative evaluation; and updating the Working in Canada Tool and section of the Going to Canada Immigration Portal (www.goingtocanada.gc.ca). In order to ensure labour mobility for all Canadians, recommendations were developed for amending Chapter 7 of the Agreement on Internal Trade in partnership with all provinces and territories through the Forum of Labour Market Ministers. In addition, the Department directly supported (through contribution agreements) 11 regulated professions and provided indirect (non-financial) support and advice to all other regulated professions in order to enhance labour mobility and compliance with the Agreement on Internal Trade.
Continue to work with internal and external partners, provinces and territories to enhance labour market information, products and services and improve pan-Canadian consistency, to help users make optimal, informed labour market decisions.	In order for individuals, partners, provinces and territories across Canada to make optimal, informed labour market decisions, they need high quality labour market information. In this regard, the Department provided pan-Canadian labour market information through completion of Essential Skills Research profiles (98% annual target occupations completed) and initiated pan-Canadian consultations for National Occupational Classification 2011 revisions. The Department cannot provide this high-quality information alone, and works in partnership with many stakeholders, including with Federal-Provincial-Territorial Forum of Labour Market Ministers Working Groups. For example, the Department worked with provinces and territories to produce a technical handbook to support the development of labour supply and demand products. Human Resources and Social Development Canada also improved access and dissemination of high quality and comparable labour market information across jurisdictions through the NOC Web Service and Web Site, the Going to Canada - Immigration Portal, and the Working in Canada Tool.
Implement the Trades and Apprenticeship Strategy and the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant in consultation with the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship.	During 2007-2008, the Department completed the first full year of delivering the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant including the completion of the national advertising campaign, processing 52,697 applicants and issuing 30,781 grants. In addition, it advanced work on priorities under the Trades and Apprenticeship Strategy including boosting Aboriginals' participation and the recognition of military trades.
Work with provinces, territories and other workplace stakeholders to improve skills levels by strengthening the capacity of employers to develop workplace tools, models and other supports.	Department created the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills in April 2007. During 2007-08, the Office developed and disseminated literacy and essential skills tools and resources to help employers integrate literacy and essential skills activities into the workplace. The Office also ran its first Call for Proposals to support projects that would develop additional literacy and essential skills knowledge, tools and supports, and disseminate them to those who need them most. This knowledge will help strengthen the capacity of all organizations involved, including employers. The Department also improved processes to strengthen Federal / Provincial / Territorial relationships on topics of literacy and essential skills for the future.
Continue the renewal of the Sector Council Program by strengthening the sector council network and improving program responsiveness through the introduction of new partnership models to address pressing human resources needs in key sectors of the economy.	In pursuit of new partnerships and a "whole of government" approach, initiatives were undertaken with Natural Resources Canada, Transport Canada and Industry Canada to address the challenges of key sectors of the economy. The Department also strengthened the network of Sector Councils and improved program responsiveness through annual performance review of the Councils. To extend the impact and relevance of Sector Councils, partnerships (skills tables) were forged between them and other government departments, the provinces, territories and the private sector on skills and learning issues. For example, Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters realigned projects in support of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans priorities.

Evaluations and Audits

Multiple evaluations were undertaken throughout 2007-2008 (see Section III), however, final reports for these evaluations will not be available until 2008-2009. One interim evaluation, however, was completed in 2007-2008 on the National Literacy Program with key findings and Lessons Learned which will be used to further inform policy and program development regarding literacy awareness, programming and access across Canada. The Interim Evaluation of the National Literacy Program was approved in October 2007. The purpose of this interim evaluation was to acquire information to help strengthen or improve the overall performance and outcomes of the National Literacy Program, and as noted above, the results of these evaluations are being taken into account to ensure a smooth transition to the new "Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program".

Lessons Learned

The Lessons Learned described below relate to both the Labour Market and Workplace Skills Program Activities.

A. Cross-cutting

• Reorganization. Human Resources and Social Development Canada has experienced a series of organizational changes in recent years, all with the objective of striving for excellence in policy development, program design, and delivery of labour market and social programs for Canadians. What became evident in 2007-2008 was that stakeholders and clients, provinces and territories, those with whom the department needed to partner to be successful at achieving its objectives in the areas of labour market and workplace skills programs, could not understand nor respond effectively to the arbitrary distinctions being made between these two program activities. As a result, the activities were brought together within a single organization and efforts began to create a vision and a mission and an understanding among all staff of how meeting the needs of Canadian workers (whether employed or unemployed), potential workers (whether Aboriginal Canadians, persons with disabilities, or youth) and of employers had to be approached in an integrated manner.
• Federal / Provincial / Territorial Partnerships. Dissemination of best practices and Lessons Learned and active ongoing engagement of partners are key to the effective design and delivery of labour market and workplace skills programs. After more than ten years of devolved Labour Market Development Agreements with some provinces and territories, and as the Department renewed its efforts to devolve all agreements, it was realized that few efforts had been made to share the findings of evaluations, the best practices, or the Lessons Learned from international experience. As a result, through the Forum of Labour Market Ministers and other avenues, the Department actively supported meetings, workshops and partnerships in 2007-2008 to ensure knowledge of what works in meeting the needs of Canadian workers and potential workers is disseminated broadly.
• Grants and Contributions. During 2007-2008, a Departmental Audit on Segregation of Duties identified areas for improvement in Human Resources and Social Development Canada activities. In particular, the audit outlined the need to:
  • Review and standardize business processes and practices;
  • Reinvigorate the Common System for Grants and Contributions;
  • Reinvigorate training for employees managing Grants and Contributions; and,
  • Develop a framework to guide the development of service standards.
    
    As part of its ongoing commitment to excellence in the management of Grants and Contributions in the Labour Market and Workplace Skills Program Activities, the Department responded by:
    • Standardizing processes and practices across the Grants and Contributions programs in these Program Activities;
    • Implementing Segregation of Duties across all nationally delivered programs through the creation of a single office responsible for agreements, activity, and financial monitoring;
    • Creating training strategies for staff involved in Grants and Contributions; and,
    • Developing and implementing service standards, a more strategic risk assessment and management approach, and enhanced quality control processes.

B. Specific Programs:

• Employment Insurance - Part I. Through the evaluations of the Employment Insurance Summative Technical Report, the analysis of individual-level trends and the effect of past claims history suggest that the longer an individual can avoid making a subsequent claim, the lower the risk that a claim will be made in the future. Indicators for local labour market conditions and the program generosity effects indicate that both of these factors play independent roles in the likelihood of filing a claim, and can be taken into account in policy analysis and program design. Aspects related to work/life stress were also identified which will be used to help integrate work/life balance concerns with other Employment Insurance goals.
• Employment Insurance - Part II. Evaluation results of the Employment Benefits and Support Measures highlighted that administrative data can provide rich information about program participants and trends in the success of specific interventions. To enhance the quality of administrative data and its use in guiding policy development, information should be collected throughout a client's participation in a program and the evaluation process. This was incorporated into the approach to the Labour Market Agreement accountability framework.
• Temporary Foreign Worker Program. With the increasing labour and skills shortages emerging in certain regions and occupations, the demands on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program had reached a point at the beginning of 2007-2008 where in the western provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, backlogs for the processing of labour market opinions were up to 26 weeks. An assessment of the factors contributing to these backlogs determined that one of the reasons was that application forms being received from employers were incomplete or inaccurate. As a result, extensive efforts were made throughout the year to meet with employers, employer associations, and trade organizations to explain the requirements of the program and the obligations of employers seeking to bring foreign workers into Canada to work temporarily. These outreach efforts combined with the publication of a series of bulletins and brochures to raise awareness of the program has contributed to significant reductions in the time necessary to process applications and, as a result, reductions in the backlogs.

Program Activity
Learning

Canadians recognize that learning is vital to sustain the productivity, competitiveness and prosperity of the country and the well-being of Canadians. Reflective of this recognition, Canada's economic plan, Advantage Canada identifies "creating the best-educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world" as one of the five key priorities to gain a global competitive advantage.⁶ The Canadian Council on Learning also concluded that, in a fast changing, knowledge-based global economy, there is an increasing demand for an educated and productive workforce."⁷

The importance of investing in postsecondary education and its impact on Canada's economy is further outlined in the Price of Knowledge.⁸ This report shows that investing in post-secondary education yields a substantial benefit for the economy and employers in terms of employment, a considerable increase in the amount of tax base for governments and significant reductions of government transfers such as social assistance. In addition, research shows that higher education and training results in a more educated population which is strongly linked to safer communities, a healthy population, a sustainable environment, higher levels of volunteerism and charitable giving, a greater appreciation of diversity and a stronger social cohesion.

Human Resources and Social Development Canada assisted Canadians during 2007-2008 to access the learning opportunities they need to increase their skill levels and participate more fully in a knowledge-based economy and society by:

• promoting awareness of the importance of learning and the need to save, plan and pay for post-secondary education;
• facilitating access for students to post-secondary education;
• collaborating with provincial and territorial governments and other key stakeholders on the delivery of learning programs and services; and
• researching and disseminating information on the benefits of learning for individuals, the economy and society.

As part of its mandate, the Department works with provincial and territorial governments, financial institutions, universities and other key stakeholders to deliver its programs and services. The Department also manages a Horizontal Initiative, the Canada Student Loans Program⁹ and manages the Department's relationship with The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation with which the Government of Canada has a funding agreement.¹⁰ The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation is a private, independent organization created and funded by an act of Parliament in 1998.

The Learning Branch managed relations between the various participating organizations, developed policies and guidelines to ensure the relevance and effectiveness of its programs, and worked with stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and introduce changes to further streamline its program delivery.

Reduced financial barriers to participation in post-secondary education

Following the commitments made in Budget 2007, the Learning Branch undertook a public consultation to review financial assistance to students which included consultation about the future of the Canada Student Loans Program. The review's recommendations resulted in announcements in Budget 2008 that will:

• provide $123 million over four years to streamline and modernize the Canada Student Loans Program;
• make Registered Education Savings Plans more attractive by increasing limits and flexibility; and
• provide a new consolidated Canada Student Grant Program with an annual investment of $350 million in 2009-2010, rising to $430 million in 2012-2013.

The new consolidated Canada Student Grant Program will provide students from low and middle-income families with a grant equal to $250 and $100 per month respectively. Students with permanent disabilities will be eligible for a grant of $2,000 per year and up to $8,000 per year for those with special education needs. Students with children will be eligible for a grant of $200 per month for each child under the age of 12.

The Canada Student Loans Program helps lower financial barriers to access post-secondary education for Canadians with demonstrated financial need.¹¹ During 2007-2008, approximately 460,000 (461,500 in 2006-2007) borrowers benefited from the Program. Approximately 58,500 (49,600 in 2006-2007) Canada Study Grants and over 34,700 (39,000 in 2006-2007) Canada Access Grants were awarded to students to increase the participation of under-represented groups in post-secondary education. The Learning Branch's investment in loans and grants for students to attend post-secondary education during 2007-2008 included $1.1 billion in loan, $161.5 million in Canada Study Grants and Canada Access Grants and other costs of $333.1 million.

While some borrowers rely on the Canada Student Loans Program for a marginal amount of financial assistance, the majority have a substantial dependence on assistance provided by the program. Based on a 2008 survey, 69% of Canada's student loan borrowers reported that they would have been severely impacted if they had not received a government student loan.¹² The result shows that a high proportion of borrowers have a strong dependence on this Program and that the Program clearly has a consequential impact in contributing to the reduction of financial barriers to post secondary education for Canadians with demonstrated financial need. This same survey also found that 75% of borrowers were satisfied with the overall quality of services provided by the Canada Student Loans Program.

The Program also made progress in reducing the level of defaulted student loans; the Actuarial Report of the Office of the Chief Actuary for the program revised its estimate of the default rate from 35% to 20%.¹³ The reduction of default rates has been primarily achieved by improved efforts in communicating with borrowers.

In addition, in 2007, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation supplied $358.0 M in bursaries and scholarships, for a total investment of $ 382.8 M (including operating costs). The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation awarded 101,165 bursaries averaging $3,000 to post-secondary students based on financial need. In addition, 28,431 access bursaries were awarded with a cumulative value of $48.2 million to students from low-income families. The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation also awarded 3,135 millennium excellence entrance and national in-course excellence awards, valued at $4,000 or $5,000, depending on the type of award.

The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation was established with an endowment in 1999 for a ten-year period. It is set to expire in 2009. The 2008 budget stipulates that the Foundation will be dissolved in July 2010. The Government of Canada will introduce a new grant, the Canada Student Grant for the 2009-2010 academic year, to replace the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation and the patchwork of federal student grants.

The Canada Education Savings Program encourages Canadians to save for the post-secondary education of their children. During 2007-2008, this program implemented the changes resulting from Budget 2007 commitments. These changes increased the flexibility of Registered Education Savings Plans by eliminating the $4,000 limit on annual contributions and by increasing the lifetime contribution limit to $50,000 from $42,000 and by raising the maximum annual grant amount paid from $400 to $500.

As a result of this Program, families have been saving more for their children's post-secondary education and at an earlier age. The average age at which children received their first Canada Education Savings Grant has dropped from age 8 ten years ago to 4.2 years in December 2007. Registered Education Savings Plan assets increased to $23.5 billion in December 2007 (from $21.3 billion in December 2006). In addition, in 2007 more than 215,000 (about 192,240 in 2006) Canada Education Savings Grant beneficiaries attended post-secondary education institutions with $1.3 billion ($1.07 billion in 2006) of assistance from their Registered Education Savings Plans. Lastly, the Canada Learning Bond take-up increased to 11.8% by December 2007 from 5.8% in December 2006. This means that approximately 48,000 eligible low income families opened Registered Education Savings Plans and received a Canada Learning Bond in 2007. The percentage of children (ages 0-17) who have ever received a Canada Education Savings incentive increased to 37% by December 2007 (34% at December 2006), surpassing the program's target of 36%.

During 2007-2008, the Department also increased awareness of the importance of saving for post-secondary education by launching the Education Savings Community Outreach initiative. This initiative supports projects that enable the development and delivery of outreach activities so as to inform, encourage, and direct Canadians to save for post-secondary education.

The investment in savings for postsecondary education during 2007-2008 included $580 million in Canada Education Savings grants, $35.8 million in Canada Learning Bond payments, $1.2 million in Education Savings Community Outreach contributions and $10.1 million of operating costs for a total of $627 million.

See also the "Achievement Against Priorities" portion of this Departmental Performance Report for additional results related to "reducing financial barriers to participation in post-secondary education".

Increased access to international education

The International Academic Mobility Initiative supported 64 projects with a contribution of $2.7M in collaboration with international partners, enabling 271 Canadian students to participate in international learning and skills acquisition activities.

Reduced non-financial barriers to participation in adult learning and Increased awareness of the benefits of lifelong learning and literacy

Strengthening adult learning, literacy and essential skills was a key initiative for the Department. The Office of Literacy and Essential Skills was established in April 2007 to become a centre of expertise to improve the literacy and essential skills of adult Canadians. Drawing on research, stakeholder and client feedback, evaluations, and both Canadian and international best practices the Department brought together literacy and essential skills programming to improve overall program efficiency and effectiveness and to better respond to an evolving labour market. The Office also promoted an understanding of the importance of the integration of literacy and essential skills into other programs and policies, developed working relationships with other government departments and strengthened federal/provincial/territorial relations.

In March 2008, the Department launched a new iteration of the CanLearn web site which contains a new section dedicated to helping Canadians explore lifelong learning. It has an overview of the different categories of lifelong learning, highlights its benefits, and provides tips and tools to research post secondary education opportunities. Users are also informed of the Canada Revenue Agency's Lifelong Learning Plan, which allows Canadians to withdraw money from their Registered Retirement Savings Plan to pay for training or education.

The Department worked with Statistics Canada to develop the Access and Support to Education and Training Survey which, amongst other things, will ask Canadians about their attitudes towards adult learning and their views on education and training. A key goal of this survey is to measure Canadians' awareness of the benefits of lifelong learning. The Department also worked to increase awareness of the importance of saving for post-secondary education through the Education Savings Community Outreach initiative. This initiative supported projects that inform and encourage Canadians to save for post-secondary education.

In order to improve its ability to measure its performance the Learning Branch also developed a strategy that provides a framework for the improvement of its performance indicators. The Strategy includes a logic model, a currently possible as well as an ideal set of performance indicators, data collection templates for the indicators, and an overall performance storytelling template. The Strategy provides a framework that the Learning Branch can use to continue to improve its performance measurement over time. This will improve the Learning Branch's ability to demonstrate accountability and value for money.

Strategic Outcome Indicators

Learning
Indicators
Percentage of the Canadian labour force (aged 15-64) that have attained a post-secondary education certificate, diploma or degree (63.7% Annual Average for 2007 for 25-64 year olds). (For Canadians in the labour market)	PSE Attainment Rates - Canadians in Labour Force 2007 Actual - Annual Average Years of Age 15-24 25-64 65+ Total Trades, Certificate or diploma 5.5% 12.4% 14.7% 11.3% College & University (below bachelor) 14.5% 25.2% 15.2% 23.3% Bachelor's degree 5.9% 18.1% 12.5% 16.0% Graduate degree 0.7% 8.1% 10.8% 6.9% Total 26.7% 63.7% 53.3% 57.5%
	Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
Indicators
Percentage of Canadians (15 years and older) who have attained a post-secondary education certificate, diploma or degree by age group (Total of 60.3% Annual Average for 2007 for 25-64 year olds). (For all Canadians)
	PSE Attainment Rates - All Canadians 2007 Actual - Annual Average Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development 2005 Years of Age 15-24 25-64 65+ Total 25-64 Canada's Rank in Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development Trades, Certificate or diploma 3.7% 12.0% 10.8% 10.5% 12.0% 1st College & University (below bachelor) 11.9% 23.7% 12.0% 20.0% 23.0% 1st Bachelor's degree 5.1% 17.1% 6.8% 13.5% 23.0% 6th (Tied with Korea and Australia) Graduate degree 0.6% 7.5% 4.5% 5.9% Total 21.4% 60.3% 34.0% 49.9% 58.0%* 1st Overall
	Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable This total includes total tertiary education (of 46% as usually reported by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) as well as trades, certificates or diplomas (of 12%).
Proportion of Canadians who were enrolled in university or college, by age group and overall for 15-64 and 25-64 years of age (Annual Average for 2007)
	Proportion of Canadians Attending University or College Age Groups Full-Time Part-Time Total 15-64 Total 25-64 15-24 25.9% 2.6% 28.5% N/A 25-34 5.6% 3.2% 8.8% 8.8% 35-44 1.7% 1.9% 3.6% 3.6% 45-54 0.5% 0.9% 1.4% 1.4% 55-64 0.1% 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% Overall 15-64 6.6% 1.8% 8.4% 3.6%
	Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
Post-secondary participation of 18-21 year-olds by family income (2001) Note: The data for this chart is no longer being produced.	Proportion of Canadians Attending University or College Family After-tax Income Quartile PSE Participation University College Lowest 21% 30% Lower-middle 25% 32% Upper-middle 30% 37% Highest 38% 30% Overall 29% 32%
	Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable

 

Program Indicators

Learning
Program Indicators	2007-2008 Target	Results
Percentage of Canada Student Loan borrowers who would have been severely impacted if it were not for the loan.	71%	69% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Comments: The margin of error for this survey was plus or minus 2%. Therefore, the result is within the margin of error for the survey.
Client satisfaction with the overall quality of services provided by the Canada Student Loans Program.	75%	75% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Percentage of children 0-17 who have ever received a Canada Education Savings Incentive.	36%	37% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Comments: Target was exceeded because of increased Registered Education Savings Plan contribution and grant limits announced in the 2007 Budget.

 

Achievements Against Priorities

Learning
Plan	2007-2008 Achievements
Priority: Enhance management and delivery of learner support programs by ensuring programs are efficient, effective and produce results for Canadians
Undertake a review of Canada Education Savings Program operations and evaluate the impact of recent program changes.	In 2007-2008, the Department completed a review of the operations of the Canada Education Savings Program. Results indicate that the Canada Education Savings Program has an efficient service delivery model and that it has helped families save for the post-secondary education of children. The review recommended improvements to communications and outreach as well as some to program delivery and our performance measurement frameworks. Canada Education Savings Program implemented some of the recommendations in 2007-2008 and will continue to make improvements in the future.
Assess measures to increase low-income Canadians families' awareness and uptake of education savings incentives, and to increase awareness of the importance of planning and saving for post-secondary education.	The Department conducted surveys to assess the effectiveness of its measures. The main conclusions were that awareness of post-secondary education savings incentives and the importance of planning and saving for post-secondary education is still relatively low. As well, if Canadians had known more about the incentives available to them, most would have participated. Lack of awareness is particularly problematic for low and middle income families. As a result, the Department has stepped-up efforts to increase awareness through television advertising and direct contact with eligible families.
Transition to the selected Canada Student Loans Program Service Provider and renegotiation of Integration and Costing Agreements for the integrated delivery of student financial assistance with the four integrated provinces.	The Canada Student Loans Program successfully concluded the transition to a new service provider for the delivery of federal loans as well as for delivery of provincial loans in integrated provinces (Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador). This was completed with little disruption to borrowers while maintaining the integrity and privacy of the borrower's data and information being transferred and consolidated with one Service Provider. At the same time, Integration Agreements with the four integrated provinces were renewed to reflect the selected Service Provider contract. These agreements are important because they simplify the student financial assistance experience for borrowers by integrating the administration of their federal and provincial loans. The new service provider contract will help to ensure the new service provider's activities are designed to further reduce default rates and improve borrower satisfaction.
Implement the government's new direction to re-target the Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program in order to ensure that it is delivered in an efficient and effective manner.	In April 2007, the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills was established to support efforts to create the best-educated, most skilled and most flexible population in the world. Drawing on research, stakeholder and client feedback, evaluations, and both Canadian and international best practices the Department brought together literacy and essential skills programming to improve overall program efficiency and effectiveness and to better respond to an evolving labour market. The Office administers the Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program which, in 2007-2008, invested nearly $44 million in literacy and essential skills activities. It supports efforts to help Canadians get the literacy and essential skills they need to get a job, adapt and succeed within the workforce, and for success in their families and communities.
Priority: Continue to address financial and non-financial barriers to post-secondary education and to lifelong learning
Continue diagnostic work with the provinces and territories on support to students to address financial and non-financial barriers to post-secondary education and to lifelong learning.	The Department undertook a review of financial assistance to students, which included an online public consultation about the future of the Canada Student Loans Program. The consultation was open to all Canadians and resulted in over 770 submissions. The review's recommendations resulted in announcements in Budget 2008 for a new consolidated Canada Student Grant Program, which will: provide a $350 million investment in 2009-2010, rising to $430 million in 2012-2013. The new consolidated Canada Student Grant Program will provide students from low and middle-income families with a grant equal to $250 and $100 per month respectively. Students with permanent disabilities will be eligible for a grant of $2,000 per year and up to $8,000 per year for those with special education needs. Students with children will be eligible for a grant of $200 per month for each child under the age of 12.
Continue program policy work on identifying and addressing non-financial barriers to adult learning.	During 2007-2008, the Learning Branch continued the diagnostic work with the provinces and territories on support to students to address lifelong learning and the program policy work on identifying and addressing non-financial barriers to adult learning. The diagnostic will be completed in 2008-2009.
Continue to work with provinces and territories to pursue modernization of the delivery of student financial assistance to Canadians, as announced in Advantage Canada on November 23, 2006.	Extensive consultations were held with provinces and territories through the Intergovernmental Consultative Committee on Student Financial Assistance and other Federal/Provincial/Territorial working groups. This work represented a significant contribution to the follow-up to Advantage Canada announcements, as well as to the review of the Canada Student Loans Program that culminated in the announcements to modernize the Canada Student Loans Program made in Budget 2008. Budget 2008 committed to provide $123 million over four years to streamline and modernize the Canada Student Loans Program. The Service Delivery Vision for Student Financial Assistance was developed in partnership with five provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia). To complete the development work required to implement the five priorities identified under the Service Delivery Vision, a Service Delivery Vision Working group was created in August 2007 with the participating provinces and the Department.

Other Achievements in 2007-2008

In order to ensure continued financial integrity, the Canada Student Loans Program worked with stakeholders to deliver 47 audit reports which provide assurance regarding the financial statements of the program, as well as compliance by the four Integrated Provinces with their Federal Government Integration Agreements. Results of the audits were very positive.

Evaluations and Audits

Results from a formative evaluation, which will provide information on the early impacts of changes to the Canada Education Savings Grant and the Canada Learning Bond, will be available in 2008-2009.

The May 2007 Report on Federal Loans and Grants for Post-Secondary Education by the Auditor General recommended that the Canada Student Loans Program better measure the impact it has on promoting access to post-secondary education. Developing national-level indicators is challenging as not all provinces have the same availability of data. However, the Canada Student Loans Program developed a performance measurement framework to address the Auditor General's recommendation. The framework will continue to be improved in the future.

In its May 2007 report, the Auditor General also recommended that the Canada Student Loans Program monitor compliance with its needs assessment process. As a result, the Program worked with the Internal Audit Services Branch of the Department to improve this process. This work is scheduled for completion in 2008-2009.

Lessons Learned

1. Budget 2007 announced a review of the Canada Student Loans Program to identify changes that would simplify the Program and make it more effective. The Review was based on an extensive analysis of financial assistance to students which was also validated by stakeholders. The major lessons that we learned from this Review can be categorized under the following main areas:

• the administration of Student Financial Assistance was complex and was not easy for clients to follow. This was most evident when dealing with service delivery, debt management measures, and when students tried to determine the contribution expected from their families;
• under-represented groups, including students from low -income families, adult learners, and students with permanent disabilities were still facing significant barriers to their access to post-secondary education; and
• certain student financial assistance was not very predictable for students which led to uncertainties in terms of what funding students could rely on to assist them in accessing post-secondary education;

The review identified a series of strategic directions for the federal government, which led to the announcement in Budget 2008 of highly significant improvements to student financial assistance and other support to students. In order to address the issues identified in the review the Canada Student Loans Program will:

• implement a new, simplified and predictable Canada Student Grant Program that will support the access to post-secondary education of under-represented groups by targeting low-income families. This new grant will be based on clearly defined income levels and will be available to university undergraduate and college students for all years of study.
• replace the current cumbersome delivery model with a new Service Delivery Vision which will allow students to apply for and manage their loans on-line;
• replace complex debt repayment measures with a new Repayment Assistance Plan which will ensure borrowers are only required to make affordable loan repayments during a period not exceeding 15 years;
• introduce new debt management and loan forgiveness provisions for students with permanent disabilities, including an Accelerated Repayment Assistance Plan that will more quickly write down their debt;
• better address the needs of adult learners by increasing the maximum amount of part-time loans offered and by not requiring their repayment while in study; and
• facilitate access to student loans and as a result post-secondary education for married and common-law students by reducing the contribution expected from their spouses.

2. In the fall of 2007, a review was initiated to ensure best practices in administering family savings in Registered Education Savings Plans and flexible financial support for post-secondary studies. The findings show that the Registered Education Savings Plan industry is generally performing well and in-line with Government of Canada education savings objectives, but raises some concerns about the availability of information that would allow Canadians to make more informed decisions regarding their Registered Education Savings Plan options. We also learned that the Department must also be responsive to the needs of its service delivery partners for administrative simplicity, cost of providing services on our behalf and the time required for them to adjust to changes in government policy.

To address these findings, the Department will work in collaboration with consumers, the provinces and territories, other Government departments, and the Registered Education Savings Plan industry to ensure that Canadians receive the best possible services and that the policy objectives of Registered Education Savings Plan savings incentives are met.

3. In 2000, the Government of Canada moved to a Direct Lending Regime and assumed new duties with respect to fiduciary responsibilities and accountability to both elected officials and the Canadian public as taxpayer money is now used to finance student loans and grants. At the initial stage the Canada Student Loans Program had contracted with two external service providers to administer and manage Canada Student Loans on behalf of the Government of Canada. However, through ongoing monitoring and consultation with the public, it was identified that having two Service providers was inefficient, confusing and complicated for our clients. Accordingly, the Government moved to issue one contract with one Service Provider. In December 2006, the contract was awarded and a transition phase of one year, to the new and only Service Provider, was put in place.

4. In Advantage Canada, the Government of Canada committed to working with the provinces and territory to modernize and simplify the administration and delivery of student financial assistance. In making this commitment, the Government of Canada was recognizing that student financial assistance services have been too complex for borrowers, resulting in the potential for application errors and increased default rates due to confusion over the student financial assistance process.

In the past, borrowers have had multiple student loans with provincial and federal governments, as well as financial institutions. This is particularly true for borrowers in the non-integrated provincial and territorial jurisdictions. With multiple student loans at different institutions, it is difficult to keep track of each and students are more likely to miss payments.

Students were also reporting that the applications process was cumbersome, repetitive and frustrating, requiring students to navigate multiple applications, forms and service delivery agents in order to obtain loans. In addition, debt management measures have been difficult to access, sometimes requiring multiple applications for the same service.

In response to these challenges, the Government created a federal-provincial/territorial working group with the goal of improving service delivery so that students will have simple, easy to manage access to student financial assistance information and services. The tasks of the working group were to:

• Modernize and simplify service delivery;
• Create a holistic, positive and responsive customer service experience; and,
• Ensure partnerships that facilitate the sharing of information and best practices across service delivery partners while respecting jurisdictional differences.

Out of this work, the Service Delivery Vision was announced in Budget 2008, which includes five key initiatives:

• Consolidated View of Student Loans;
• Master Student Financial Aid Agreement/Electronic Confirmation of Enrolment;
• Single Electronic Application for Debt Management Measures;
• Single Loan Payment for Multiple Loans with Repayment Options; and
• Consolidate, Simplify and Customize Communications throughout the student financial assistance Lifecycle.

The Government of Canada will continue to work with its provincial/territorial partners to implement this Vision over four years, beginning in 2008-2009.

Financial and Human Resources 2007-2008

Labour Market, Workplace Skills and Learning
(in millions of dollars)	PLANNED SPENDING	AUTHORITIES	ACTUAL
FINANCIAL RESOURCES (GROSS)
Labour Market	15,406.7	15,067.6	14,908.3
Workplace Skills	213.7	220.9	139.4
Learning	2,100.0	2,314.8	2,283.8
Total Financial Resources (Gross)	17,720.4	17,603.3	17,331.5
HUMAN RESOURCES (FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS)
Labour Market	236	248	248
Workplace Skills	338	463	463
Learning	407	620	620
Total Human Resources (Full Time Equivalents)	981	1,331	1,331

 

Details by Programs and Services 2007-2008

Labour Market, Workplace Skills and Learning
Financial Resources (millions of dollars)
	Planned Spending	Authorities	Actual
Labour Market
Employment Insurance	12,697.9	12,316.0	12,252.0
Labour Market Programs	2,696.8	2,736.5	2,644.3
Allocated Corporate Servicesa	12.0	15.1	12.0
Sub-Total	15,406.7	15,067.6	14,908.3
Workplace Skills
Workplace Partnerships	162.9	159.8	87.8
Foreign Workers and Immigrants	22.6	25.6	22.9
Skills and Labour Market Information	5.7	7.3	4.6
Othersb	6.5	8.1	8.1
Allocated Corporate Servicesa	16.0	20.1	16.0
Sub-Total	213.7	220.9	139.4
Learning
Student Financial Assistance	1,442.0	1,594.4	1,594.1
Canada Education Savings Program	577.3	630.5	627.8
Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program	51.4	52.6	30.5
International Academic Mobility	4.0	4.0	3.3
Othersb	5.1	8.0	7.9
Allocated Corporate Servicesa	20.2	25.3	20.2
Sub-Total	2,100.0	2,314.8	2,283.8
Total	17,720.4	17,603.3	17,331.5
Human Resources (Full Time Equivalents)
Labour Market	236	248	248
Workplace Skills	338	463	463
Learning	407	620	620
Total - Full Time Equivalents	981	1,331	1,331
aCorporate Services resources related to the Minister's Office, the Deputy Minister's Office, the Comptroller's Office and the Shared Services have been prorated to each program activity. bOther category is for resources which are not directly related to the sub-activities identified.

Safe, Healthy, Fair, Stable, Cooperative, Productive Workplaces and Effective International Labour Standards

Program Activity
Labour

The workplace is where Canada's wealth is generated and where many Canadians spend a significant proportion of their day. Therefore, fulfilling the mandate of the Labour Program that deals with workplace issues is crucial to the performance of Canada's economy and the well being of its citizens. That mandate can be defined, in general terms, as supporting balanced, cooperative relationships between employers and employees and fostering safe, healthy, fair and productive work environments. This mandate operates at three levels:

• Federal Jurisdiction Mandate - The development and administration of labour related legislation governing federally regulated private sector employers who employ approximately 8.5 percent of the Canadian labour force. In addition, the federal public sector is covered by occupational health and safety and employment equity legislation administered by the Labour Program.
• National Mandate - National leadership and coordination within the network of labour jurisdictions in Canada in the interests of strengthening the Canadian economic union and sharing best practices.
• International Mandate - Managing Canada's international labour affairs, including the negotiation and implementation of international labour agreements and representation of Canada in multilateral organizations dealing with labour issues.

The Labour Program's federal jurisdiction mandate covers an estimated 46,000 Canadian workplaces employing approximately 1.1 million employees. Its clients are generally knowledgeable, concerned with all aspects of labour policy, well organized, whether through labour organizations or business associations, and expect high levels of professionalism in both administration and policy development. Beyond the federal jurisdiction, the Labour Program interacts with a wide variety of business, labour and other non governmental organizations on both national and international issues.

The Labour Program's activities and their results supported its strategic outcome, which was accomplished by actively promoting and sustaining stable industrial relations and safe, fair, healthy, equitable and productive workplaces within the federal jurisdiction, as well as promoting effective international labour standards. The Program developed labour legislation and regulations to achieve an effective balance between workers' and employers' rights and responsibilities, as well as ensured that the rights and obligations established under labour legislation were respected in federal jurisdiction workplaces. As a result, risks to life and property were managed and injuries were compensated; workplace parties enjoyed constructive and cooperative ongoing relations; workplace parties complied with relevant workplace standards, policies and practices; and Canada's interests and obligations in international and intergovernmental agreements and relations were met.

During the 2007-2008 fiscal year, in addition to ongoing operations, the Labour Program focused on a number of special activities.

The Wage Earner Protection Program Act received Royal Assent on December 14, 2007. The Act established a program to compensate workers, up to a maximum amount equalling four weeks' maximum insurable earnings under the Employment Insurance Act (currently about $3,000), for unpaid wages and vacation pay owed to them by employers who are declared bankrupt or are subject to receivership under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Following Royal Assent, work advanced significantly on developing regulations and designing the program.

A new priority for the Labour Program arose in late 2007-2008 as the government moved to secure job and education protections for military reservists volunteering on full time deployments with the Canadian Forces. The resulting Comprehensive Reinstatement Strategy was developed in cooperation with the Department of National Defence. It included a proposal to add relevant job protection provision to Part III (Labour Standards) of the Canada Labour Code and the Public Service Employment Act, and to amend other affected legislation as necessary. Bill C 40 was passed on April 16, 2008, and received Royal Assent the following day. Sections of the Bill dealing with job protection for reservists came into force on April 18, 2008.

During 2007-2008, the Minister of Labour identified the frequency and duration of work stoppages as one of his priorities, which led to the launch of a focussed study on the causes and impacts of work stoppages in the federal private sector.

The recommendations emanating from a review of Part III (Labour Standards) of the Canada Labour Code were analysed and a Technical Discussion Paper was developed for use in developing legislative proposals.

There has been a sharp increase in the number and complexity of work refusals by employees who feel there is a danger in performing certain tasks or using certain equipment. To ensure that there is a consistent approach in dealing with these refusals, new guidelines and operational directives, consistent with the requirements of the Canada Labour Code, were developed and implemented.

New regulatory requirements to proactively identify and assess ergonomics related hazards were developed and promulgated so that the risk of work related musculoskeletal injuries to employees, which represents about one third of claims accepted for compensation, can be minimised. New regulatory requirements to proactively address the emerging issue of workplace violence were also developed.

Action was also taken to enhance the engagement of Canada's provinces and territories on international labour issues. Of particular importance was securing provincial and territorial agreement to adhere to the labour cooperation agreements that Canada signs with its free trade partners and to ratify international labour conventions that aim to protect fundamental rights at work. In 2007-2008, Quebec agreed to implement the obligations of Canada's existing labour cooperation agreements with Chile and Costa Rica. The Labour Program built on this momentum by actively encouraging other provinces and territories to do the same. In addition, a federal provincial territorial strategy on International Labour Organization issues, aimed at strengthening the engagement of the provinces and territories, improving Canada's compliance with its international labour obligations, and promoting International Labour Organization reform, was endorsed by federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for Labour in January 2008.

The Labour Program conducted a thorough review of the administration of the Government Employees' Compensation Act, which provides benefits for federal employees who are injured on the job. The review identified specific areas for modernisation of the administration of the Act and, in 2007-2008, implementation of an action plan began, including better information sharing and consultation between the Labour Program and the workers' compensation boards that adjudicate the work injury claims, improving compliance of employers covered by the Government Employees' Compensation Act, addressing problems of late reporting, and focusing on disability management.

The targets of two of the Labour Program's performance indicators were not met in 2007-2008. The 75 percent target for the performance indicator "Percentage of money collected in relation to the amount found to be owed for complaints under Part III (Labour Standards) of the Canada Labour Code (excluding unjust dismissal)" was not met, with a result of 57.93 percent. This was due to the unusually high numbers/amounts not settled because of bankruptcies (especially two large ones in Ontario, amounts that are largely unrecoverable) and from claims filed in Federal Court. If these two categories were excluded, the result would have been 84.79 percent.

With respect to the performance indicator "Client satisfaction with the quality of Workplace Information Directorate data", a survey was not carried out in 2007-2008 because the Labour Program was in the midst of reviewing this performance indicator in the context of the Human Resources and Social Development Canada Performance Measurement Framework review initiative. However, the result of 96.4 percent that was reported for 2006 2007 showed that stakeholders rated the quality of the Workplace Information Division's products as good, very good or excellent.

More information on the Labour Program can be found at: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/labour/index.shtml

Strategic Outcome Indicators

Labour
Indicators	Current Level
Percentage of total working days lost due to work stoppages (federal jurisdiction)	(2006) Less than 1% For 2007-2008, only 0.07% of all available work time in the federal jurisdiction was lost to work stoppages Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Representation of designated groups in all occupations and workforce availability, employers covered under the Legislated Employment Equity Program	Representation of Designated Groups (2005) Women 42.7% Aboriginal Peoples 2.4% Visible Minorities 11.6% People with Disabilities 3.2% Workforce Availability (2001) Women 48.1% Aboriginal Peoples 2.6% Visible Minorities 12.0% People with Disabilities 5.3% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good

 

Program Indicators

Labour
Program Indicators	2007-2008 Target	Results
Percentage of collective bargaining disputes settled under Part I (Industrial Relations) of the Canada Labour Code without work stoppage.	90%	92.1% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Percentage of unjust dismissal complaints settled by inspectors (Part III of the Canada Labour Code).	75%	76% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Disabling Injury Incidence Rate measuring the change in the rate of lost time injuries, illnesses and fatalities within federal jurisdiction industries from year to year.	Reduce the Disabling Injury Incidence Rate by 10% over five years (by 2008-2009) in those high-risk industries where we are targeting proactive interventions	All industries reduced by 12.6% Seven priority industries reduced by 20.5% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Percentage of money collected in relation to the amount found to be owed for complaints under Part III (Labour Standards) of the Canada Labour Code (excluding unjust dismissal complaints).	75%	57.93% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Comments:The target was not met due to the unusually high numbers/amounts not settled because of bankruptcies (especially two large ones in Ontario, amounts that are largely unrecoverable), and from claims filed in Federal Court. If these two categories are excluded, the percentage would be 84.79%.
Client satisfaction with the quality of Workplace Information Directorate data.	80%	96.4% (2006-2007) Data Systems and Controls Rating: N/A
Comments:A survey was not carried out in 2007-2008 because the Labour Program was in the midst of reviewing this performance indicator in the context of the Human Resources and Social Development Canada's Performance Measurement Framework review initiative. However, the previous year's results (2006-2007) showed that 96.4% of stakeholders rated the quality of the Workplace Information Division's products as good, very good and excellent.

 

Achievements Against Priorities

Labour
Plan	2007-2008 Achievements
Priority: Analyse recommendations in the Report of the Commissioner on the Review of Part III (Labour Standards) of the Canada Labour Code and consult stakeholders, identify and evaluate options for the government response
Obtain responses from stakeholders on legislative and administrative recommendations of the review.	Stakeholder responses were obtained through a series of meetings between stakeholder groups and the Minister of Labour in late 2006-2007. In 2007-2008, work advanced (described below) as a prerequisite to further Technical Discussions on the legislative recommendations.
Analyse the report and recommendations; identify areas in the report that would require further research and follow up as appropriate; perform economic and social impact analyses and determine the operational feasibility of specific recommendations.	Human Resources and Social Development Canada Legal Services analysed the report and developed a draft Technical Discussion Paper on the recommendations. Additional research and follow up was completed where necessary with some very last points now being completed. The Technical Discussion Paper includes some initial analysis of possible economic or social impacts of the review recommendations.
Priority: Proactive administration of existing Pay Equity legislation
Promote education and provide promotional materials to increase awareness of pay equity legislation.	A brochure on Pay Equity frequently asked questions was distributed to the 4, 500 federally regulated employers who employ 20 or more people. The brochure was also used for on site employer visits. The Pay equity Web Pages have been updated to provide information, definitions and practical advice employers. More information is available by visiting www.labour.gc.ca/Equity in the workplace/Pay Equity.
Advise federally-regulated employers, employees and unions of their rights and obligations.	Over 260 employers received educational and promotional visits.
Make available specialised mediation assistance to workplace partners in order to provide them with critical assistance in their efforts to implement pay equity in accordance with their statutory obligations.	Mediation staff has received special Pay Equity training. Specialised mediation assistance is now available to workplace parties in order to provide them with critical assistance in their efforts in negotiating Pay Equity solutions.
Monitor employers' progress, provide expert guidance on implementation and, if necessary, refer cases to the Canadian Human Rights Commission for investigation when employers refuse to implement pay equity.	A process has commenced to hire compensation experts to provide advice and assistance on technical issues and assess employer progress. A specialised computer program is being designed to record the status and progress of Pay Equity interventions with employers. A question is also included in the Statistics Canada survey to determine the initial status of Pay Equity implementation. Implementation is expected to be in 2008 2009, unless there are indications of individual complaints. There have been no cases to date. Cases will be referred to the Canadian Human Rights Commission when employers refuse to comply with requirements, after having worked with Labour Standards Officers or Compensation Advisors.
Priority: Complete preparations for the Wage Earner Protection Program
Support the regulatory and legislative processes by providing policy advice and relevant information as circumstances require.	These processes were appropriately supported as planned. The Wage Earner Protection Program legislation passed earlier than anticipated, in December 2007 and regulations are under development.
Finalise Program policy and work with Service Canada to design, develop and ready the Program for implementation.	The work advanced significantly, as planned. The Wage Earner Protection Program is expected to be ready for implementation in the summer of 2008.

Evaluations and Audits

The Internal Audit Services Branch conducted an internal audit of the Occupational Health and Safety Program, which was approved by the Management Audit and Evaluation Committee in November 2007. The main objectives of the audit were to provide reasonable assurance to senior officials that:

• the Management Action Plan, which was developed in response to the 2001 report on the Review of the Labour Branch, Occupational Safety and Health Program, had been implemented;
• the Division was able to deliver on its objectives adequately; and
• the services rendered by the Canada Appeals Office on Occupational Health and Safety, as per its mandate in regards to Occupational Health and Safety, were adequate.

Audit results showed the Occupational Health and Safety Program had made improvements. However, the planned actions outlined in the Management Action Plan of the 2001 review were not fully implemented. Furthermore, improvement to the control framework of the Occupational Health and Safety Program is required to allow for greater success in the achievement of program objectives. The Internal Audit Services Branch concluded that the Canada Appeals Office on Occupational Health and Safety responded adequately to its mandate by providing accessible services.

Please reference the following link for further information: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/publications_resources/audit/2007/sp_833_11_07e/page00.shtml

Lessons Learned

Reorganization

The Compliance and Regional Operations Directorate was established in the fall of 2007 to provide leadership and representation for the Labour Program's regions. Emphasis was placed on creating a new team, which would work seamlessly at both headquarters and in the regions. Open, transparent communication was encouraged among headquarters, regions, stakeholders, unions, employers and others. This approach, combined with the careful planning and an attitude of mutual respect and understanding, has taught the Directorate that it can develop solid, productive relationships to achieve common goals. This has permitted the Compliance and Regional Operations Directorate to focus on issues and how best to handle them, such as inviting district managers' participation in working groups for the purposes of problem solving and developing new strategies. The Directorate has learned that the creation of positive working relationships will provide a sold basis for future endeavours, such as the development of new compliance policies.

Federal Workers' Compensation

The Labour Program must ensure that the delivery of workers' compensation services to employees in the federal jurisdiction is both efficient and timely. As such, the Federal Workers' Compensation Service undertook an internal review late in 2007. It identified a need for administrative changes within the Service and also for strengthened links with the provincial workers' compensation boards, who adjudicate claims on behalf of the federal government. Better and updated administrative procedures and policies, together with improved links with the workers' compensation boards, are key to improving the administration of the Government Employees' Compensation Act. Together, both activities will assist the Labour Program in delivering effective and timely compensation to employees in the federal jurisdiction.

Occupational Health and Safety

The Labour Program works proactively to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses and uses the Disabling Injury Incidence Rate, which every five years measures the number of disabling and fatal injuries in order to target high risk industries for proactive inspections. The objective by 2008-2009 was to reduce the Disability Injury Incidence Rate by 10 percent in overall federal jurisdiction industries, as well as in seven national higher risk priority industries. Actually, a reduction of 12.6 percent was achieved overall and 20.5 percent in the priority industries. By addressing non compliance in a proactive way, accidents and injuries are prevented as evidenced by the dramatic reduction of the Disabling Injury Incidence Rate beyond the targets originally set by the Labour Program.

Racism-free Workplace Strategy

The Labour Program is addressing a key gap in its employment equity programs. Decisions in the past resulted in shifting resources away from education and outreach related activities. There is still an expressed need for education and assistance for employers implementing employment equity. The Racism free Workplace Strategy, as part of the Government of Canada's broader Action Plan against Racism, is intended to remedy that need with respect to Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities. The aim of the Strategy is to facilitate the integration of skilled individuals in the above groups into Canadian workplaces by developing tools, guidelines and education materials for employers, practitioners, managers, employees and the general public. The Strategy is intended as a key outreach mechanism in order to make it easier for people to learn about practices, success stories and business cases, and to bring employers and representatives from the designated groups together to work on innovative approaches to training, recruitment, retention and advancement.

Since its implementation, the focus of the Strategy has been on conducting consultations with key stakeholders in order to assist with issue identification, developing tools, resources and education materials, meeting staffing requirements and identifying effective program delivery mechanisms. Racism Prevention Officers engage key stakeholders by providing opportunities to promote dialogue, build networks and create awareness of issues relating to workplace racism. These activities have been well received by stakeholders and the Strategy will continue its focus on outreach activities to raise awareness of issues and, in particular, of discriminatory barriers faced by Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities in the workplace.

Labour Standards

The Labour Program is developing a new plan to increase stakeholder compliance with Part III (Labour Standards) of the Canada Labour Code. A review of past projects that were successful in improving compliance was undertaken so that the Lessons Learned could be applied. The Road Transport Industry Client Education and Partnership Initiative was one such project and demonstrates how a promotional campaign with a targeted audience can improve compliance with labour standards. Under this initiative, the Labour Program consulted all the major road transport associations and developed a multi media style training package containing an overview of Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) and Part III (Labour Standards) of the Canada Labour Code. Labour Program officials then approached transport driver training schools across the country and encouraged them to include the product in their curriculum. This proved successful and was seen as an important base for employees beginning a career in the road transport industry. Subsequently, discussions were held with the Association of Community Colleges of Canada to include the package in their curriculum related to the motor transport industry. In addition, the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council has added the training outline to their eight week course, "Earning Your Wheels", for professional drivers.

The information products were successful, in large part, because they were developed in consultation with all the major road transport associations who made use of the publications. The result was products specifically designed to meet the needs of this industry, thereby improving their understanding of the application of Part III of the Code. Strong partnerships between the Labour Program and the industry were also established and continue to this day. Most importantly, the project created a synergy between the Labour Program and the road transport industry, which in turn led to increased levels of compliance. To date, the project has realised an overall 25 percent drop in complaint load from the industry.

Financial and Human Resources 2007-2008

(in millions of dollars)	PLANNED SPENDING	AUTHORITIES	ACTUAL
Labour
FINANCIAL RESOURCES (GROSS)	271.5	247.2	239.3
HUMAN RESOURCES (FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS)	870	904	904

 

Details by Programs and Services 2007-2008

Financial Resources (millions of dollars)
	Planned Spending	Authorities	Actual
Labour
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service	8.2	7.2	7.2
National Labour Operations	187.5	188.5	188.3
International and Intergovernmental Labour Affairs	6.7	6.3	6.3
Workplace Policy and Information	38.1	5.4	5.3
Othersb	1.0	2.2	2.2
Allocated Corporate Servicesa	30.0	37.6	30.0
Total	271.5	247.2	239.3
Human Resources (Full Time Equivalents)
Full Time Equivalents	870	904	904
aCorporate Services resources related to the Minister's Office, the Deputy Minister's Office, the Comptroller's Office and the Shared Services have been prorated to each program activity. bOther category is for resources which are not directly related to the sub-activities identified.

Enhanced Income Security, Access to Opportunities and Well-Being for Individuals, Families and Communities

Well-being for Individuals, Families and Communities

The Department continued helping individuals, families and communities achieve their potential in contributing to Canadian society and sharing in the opportunities it provides. At times this involved providing direct assistance, such as the financial benefits paid to parents to help them choose the kind of care they want for their young children and pension benefits paid to over 5 million people to provide income security.

In other cases, more tailored approaches were implemented to address particular circumstances and vulnerabilities. For example, the Social Development Partnerships Program promoted the participation of children and families, persons with disabilities or other vulnerable populations in Canadian society. Similarly, the New Horizons for Seniors Program ensured that seniors were able to benefit from and contribute to the quality of life in their communities through social participation and active living.

To improve access to the services and programs that homeless individuals and families need to move towards self-sufficiency, the new Homelessness Partnering Strategy enhanced partnerships across government by developing a series of pilot projects with other government departments to introduce new programs and services for homeless and at-risk people across Canada.

Program Activity
Social Investment

Canada's economic prosperity, its vibrant labour market, and the positive outlook for our country's future are closely linked to the income security and well-being of Canadians, their families and communities. The well-being and social inclusion of individuals are enhanced by programs that contribute to their income security, or their ability to care for and support a family, or to participate in community life.

Providing income security

The Department continued to contribute to a stable income for millions of Canadians through the administration of Canada's national pension programs. Specifically, in 2007-2008, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security benefits paid to individuals and families totalled more than $59.5 billion (up from $56.4 billion in 2006-2007).

Seniors constitute the fastest growing population in Canadian society. In the next 30 years, nearly one in four Canadians will be a senior. In 2007-2008, over 3.4 million individuals received the Canada Pension Plan retirement benefit ($19.8 billion in benefit payments), while approximately 4.4 million individuals received the basic Old Age Security pension ($24 billion in benefit payments).

However, despite the fact that many of today's seniors are economically better off than their predecessors, there are seniors who continue to have low income. To address this vulnerability, approximately 1.6 million seniors received the Guaranteed Income Supplement ($7.4 billion in benefit payments) to contribute to a stable income in retirement. The Department implemented a number of improvements to the delivery of the Guaranteed Income Supplement. For example, beneficiaries do not need to renew their applications for the Supplement and Allowance benefits once an initial application has been made and beneficiaries who file tax returns do not have to reapply for these benefits.

Income security also continued to be a challenge for people with disabilities. Many individuals with disabilities are not always able to earn an adequate income through employment and therefore depend on social assistance for income support. Recognizing this, the Government of Canada supports people with disabilities and their caregivers through a variety of tax incentives and income support measures. Such measures included the ongoing delivery of the Canada Pension Plan Disability program, which paid monthly benefits to over 307,000 eligible contributors in 2007-2008 ($3.3B in benefit payments). This program remains Canada's largest long-term disability insurance plan and is an important source of earnings replacement for Canada Pension Plan contributors who could not work due to severe, prolonged disabilities. Enhancements to the Canada Pension Plan Disability were also implemented to ensure it meets the current and future needs of Canadians. In particular, an amendment was made to extend Canada Pension Plan Disability benefit eligibility to contributors with a long history of labour force attachment.

Helping vulnerable populations and supporting communities

In addition to financial security, seniors also face issues associated with their well-being and inclusion in Canada society. As the federal government's focal point for seniors' issues, HRSDC continued to work with other departments, the provinces, territories and other partners to identify and address issues and opportunities created by the growing seniors' population. For example, the Department established the National Seniors Council to advise the federal government on all matters related to the health, well-being and quality of life of seniors. In 2007-2008, the Council focused on the issues of elder abuse and low-income seniors.

The Department also invested in 1,771 projects through the community-based New Horizons for Seniors Program and launched the expansion of the Program dealing with capital assistance and elder abuse that was announced in Budget 2007. In total, projects funded by the New Horizons for Seniors Program in 2007-2008 helped approximately 91,700 seniors benefit from and contribute to the quality of life in their community through social participation and active living.

Human Resources and Social Development Canada supported the Government of Canada on matters affecting people with disabilities. In 2007-2008, the Department continued to improve awareness, coherence, and horizontal management of disability issues within the Department and across the Government of Canada. Additionally, Human Resources and Social Development Canada's Office for Disability Issues continued work to assist the Department become a model of accessibility in the federal government through the Departmental Task Team on Accessibility. Accomplishments included establishing relevant working groups; hosting three Employee Accessibility Forums; gathering information and priorities through three phases of employee opinion polling; and disseminating knowledge through a speakers' series.

Extensions to Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities, and the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities were also obtained in 2007-2008. The Labour Market Agreements for Person with Disabilities improved the employment situations of Canadians with disabilities, by enhancing their employability, increasing the employment opportunities available to them, and building on their existing knowledge base. The Opportunities Fund Program, assisted unemployed Canadians with disabilities to prepare for, find and maintain employment.

At the community level, the Department supported the efforts of the community not-for-profit sector to innovate, strengthen networks, promote self-sufficiency and share good practices to contribute to community well-being. Funded initiatives supported entrepreneurship and innovation within the community not-for-profit sector to achieve better socio-economic outcomes for individuals and promote self-sufficiency. Furthermore, the Department continued to make strategic investments through the Social Development Partnerships Program to create opportunities, reduce risk, remove barriers and improve social outcomes for vulnerable populations.

Strategic Outcome Indicators

Social Investment
Indicators	Current Level
Number of and proportion of individuals aged 65 years and over, who had low family income.	241,900 6.1% of all Seniors (2005) Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Number and proportion of individuals aged 65 years an over who would have had low-income without public pension support.	1,963,400 49.4% of all Seniors (2005) Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Percentage of recipient's individual income provided by the CPP-D benefit	42.6% (includes CPP clients - 2004) Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good

 

Program Indicators

Social Investment
Program Indicators	2007-2008 Target	Results
Number and percentage of clients with enhanced employability.	2,200 clients or 40%	2,600 clients or 74% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Number of new community-based social development projects or initiatives that have been supported to promote the participation of children and families, persons with disabilities or other vulnerable populations.	30 projects	59 projects Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
Number of persons participating in New Horizons for Seniors community projects	50,000 participants	91,700 estimated participants (based on an estimated average of 100 participants per project) Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable

 

Achievements Against Priorities

Social Investment
Plan	2007-2008 Achievements
Priority: Raise awareness of seniors' issues and improve the retirement income system
Develop and implement a plan to inform people about the retirement income system and their role within it. Efforts will include a focus on Aboriginals on-reserve.	The Department carried out a series of activities to inform people about Canada's retirement income system. To ensure that the most vulnerable seniors and those living in isolated or remote communities received the benefits to which they are eligible, the Department targeted the hardest of the hard-to-reach seniors who often experience barriers to receiving information and assistance through traditional government channels. Specific examples of these activities include: The Working together Workshop, a strategy aimed at increasing the capacity of service providers working with Aboriginal seniors and Elders in remote communities to inform aboriginal people about Canada's retirement income system, was rolled out to British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Atlantic provinces. In partnership with the Department of Education of Newfoundland and Labrador, a component was added to the school curriculum to inform students of retirement planning in general and the Canada Pension Plan in particular. The Canada Pension Plan Credit Splitting Fact Sheet was updated and 20,000 copies were sent to over 100 Canadian Legal Aide Societies across the country in October 2007. The Canada Pension Plan Credit Splitting Guide for the Legal Profession was also updated and 1,500 copies were sent to over 700 legal professionals and law schools in June 2008. This material helps those in the legal profession better counsel their clients on how the division of Canada Pension Plan credits following divorce or separation can affect their current or future entitlement to Canada Pension Plan benefits and their financial security in retirement.
Continuing efforts will be directed towards future reforms to Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan to ensure that the programs meet current and future needs. Implementing the proposed amendments of Bill C-36.	Work continued to ensure that the programs meet the current and future income security needs of eligible Canadians through the development of options for consideration in the upcoming Canada Pension Plan Triennial Review process. In 2007-2008, options focused on work-to-retirement transitions and refinements to disability benefits. The Department fully implemented 11 of 16 amendments to the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security Act. These amendments helped simplify access to and delivery of Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security benefits to individuals. For example, beneficiaries do not need to renew their applications for the Guaranteed Income Supplement and Allowance benefits once an initial application has been made and recipients who file tax returns do not have to reapply. In addition, contributors to the Canada Pension Plan may now request their Canada Pension Plan Statement of Contributions more than once a year. Also, former common-law partners may apply for a Canada Pension Plan credit split more than four years after the date of separation where both former common-law partners agree in writing.
Develop and, once created, support, a National Seniors Council that will advise the Government of Canada on all matters related to the well-being and quality of life of seniors.	The National Seniors Council helps give the growing Canadian seniors' population the chance to have a say in the issues that matter to them. In 2007-2008, a secretariat was established to support the Council to deliver on its mandate. Secretariat work included the development of background and orientation material for Council members regarding the Council's initial priorities (elder abuse and low income seniors), the organization of five regional Seniors Council meetings on elder abuse and roundtables on seniors' well-being.
Priority: Support full participation of persons with disabilities in the labour market and society
Undertake policy research to develop a proposal for a Canadians with Disabilities Act.	Key research activities included developing policy proposals for the legislation and tabling issues to an interdepartmental working group.
Renew labour market programs for people with disabilities as part of the development and implementation of a departmental labour market strategy.	Extensions of the Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities, and Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities were obtained.
Contribute to the Canada Pension Plan Triennial Review by managing the adoption of an amendment to ease contributory eligibility for long-term contributors applying for Canada Pension Plan Disability benefits as part of Bill C-36, and planning for its potential implementation.	The long-term contributors' amendment was fully implemented. The amendment extends Canada Pension Plan Disability benefit eligibility coverage to contributors with a long history of labour force attachment.
Start Phase I of a comprehensive evaluation of the Canada Pension Plan Disability Program, including a review of existing literature and data, a methodology plan and key informant interviews.	Phase 1 of the evaluation was complete.
Place Canada Pension Plan Disability administrative data into Statistics Canada's Research Data Centres for use by academic researchers to build the knowledge base relating to Canada Pension Plan Disability.	Technical work with Statistics Canada proceeded on schedule to advance the project toward implementation.
Improve awareness, coherence, and horizontal management of disability policies and programs within HRSDC and across the Government of Canada.	The Federal Disability Report for 2007 was prepared. By fostering a more comprehensive understanding of the problems people face accessing disability supports, the Report assists in the development of longer-term strategies on disability investments. The Departmental Task Team on Accessibility, now in its second year, provided recommendations to the Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Canada that promote the Department as a model employer for people with disabilities within the Government of Canada. Accomplishments included establishing relevant working groups; hosting three Employee Accessibility Forums; gathering information and priorities through three phases of employee opinion polling; and disseminating knowledge through a speaker's series.
Priority: Support not-for-profit community sector efforts to innovate, strengthen networks of collaboration, develop capacity and share good practices to contribute to community well-being
Make strategic investments through the Social Development Partnerships Program to improve social outcomes for children, families, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations consistent with the social priorities of the Government. Develop options and engage in activities to support the renewal of the program whose terms and conditions expire in March 2008.	Overall, the program supported 59 projects in 2007-2008. Approved projects generated knowledge on emerging social issues; disseminated information and knowledge and increased public awareness; established and maintained sustainable partnerships; and increased public dialogue and consultations. The Children and Families component of the Social Development Partnerships Program provided contribution funding to support 14 non-profit organizations to improve the social well-being of children and their families. Grant funding was also provided to 8 national non-profit organizations to deliver front-line programs and services to children and families living in communities across Canada. Work also continued on the development of options for the repositioning of the Social Development Partnerships Program to ensure the program continues to meet the needs of people living with disabilities, families and children.
Foster entrepreneurship and innovation within the community not-for-profit sector to achieve better socio-economic outcomes for individuals and promote sectoral self-sufficiency.	In 2007-2008, 14 projects were approved as part of the Innovation in the Community Not-for-Profit Sector component of the Social Development Partnerships Program. Through this initiative, over 80 community-based organizations across Canada were supported to share innovative best practices in the areas of governance, finance, human resources, collaboration and service delivery to individual Canadians. Also, work progressed on an initiative to analyze and disseminate the data from the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. This initiative will assist not-for-profit organizations better understand patterns of volunteering and donating in their local communities.
Increase the participation of seniors through projects funded through the New Horizons for Seniors Program.	Increased participation of seniors in society was achieved through funding 917 projects related to the original component of the New Horizons for Seniors Program. In 2007-2008, it was estimated that 91,700 seniors participated in these projects. Furthermore, an additional 854 projects were funded as part of the capital assistance component of the Program to upgrade non-profit organizations' facilities or equipment used for existing seniors' programs and activities.
Select and engage new communities to participate in the Understanding the Early Years initiative.	The Understanding the Early Years Initiative helped communities with different economic, social and physical characteristics understand how their young children are doing, what the community is doing to support those children, and the family and community factors that influence young children's development. These results were achieved through the approximately 16,000 children and parents who participated in community research activities in 21 communities across Canada. In addition, 15 new communities were approved for project funding. These outcomes are substantiated by the findings of the Early Implementation Review of the Understanding the Early Years Initiative published in July, 2007.
Support a government dialogue on understanding "place-based" policy approaches and how federal instruments affect communities as they address their complex social and economic problems.	Within the Department, raised awareness of the 'community' dimension and 'place-based' perspectives through research, presentations and the development of policy and program options in the areas of families, poverty, the not-for-profit sector, Medium Term Planning and the Northern Strategy. Furthermore, established an interdepartmental working group to examine how to make federally-held local-level data more readily available to facilitate community planning, and enhance a community's understanding of its assets, challenges and priorities. In partnership with other federal departments, the Collaborative Community Initiatives Speaker Series held 7 events, attracting approximately 732 participants from over 85 organizations to share and promote the use of innovations taking place in a wide spectrum of communities, including Aboriginal communities, across Canada. For example, a one-day session featured community, academic and government officials from the United Kingdom sharing their experiences from 10 years of neighbourhood renewal. In addition, the Department continued to support the Government Learning Circle, a tele-conference series for government practitioners who work with communities. Also, four tele-learning sessions were held, attracting approximately 70 registrants per session.
Invest in national francophone non-governmental organizations to promote French language early childhood development programs in official language minority communities.	Invested in initiatives to strengthen the capacity of national non-governmental organizations to develop a shared vision and strategy on early childhood development for francophone official language minority communities. For example, in 2007-2008, the Commission nationale des parents francophones received $650,000 in grant funding.

Evaluations and Audits

Evaluations

In October 2007, the formative evaluation of the Community Inclusion Initiative was approved. Among the strengths identified by the evaluation were the Initiative's ability to mobilize communities and its capacity to fund projects that reflect priorities, including promoting the self-determination of people with disabilities. Further evidence from the evaluation indicated that the Initiative has been successful in creating partnerships in achieving increased inclusion.

The evaluation also noted some areas for improvement such as the need for better processes to facilitate reporting and data collection and to provide consistent data that are clearly linked to achievements/progress based on objectives. Additionally, the targets are not well-defined in terms of reach and expected results and the Initiative needs to work closer with stakeholders at the regional and local levels, and among people with disabilities, to improve their understanding of the program objectives.

The results of the evaluation will be posted online at a later date.

Audits

An audit conducted of the Early Implementation Review of the Understanding the Early Years Initiative was published in July, 2007. This purpose of the audit was to provide assurance to senior management that program delivery has been established appropriately in order to meet its objectives and highlight any areas that require focused management attention for improvement.

The review concluded that, overall, the Understanding the Early Years Initiative is well managed and controlled in support of program objectives. Good communication and cooperation is evident within the Understanding the Early Years program area, as well as with recipients and other stakeholders. Feedback from recipients and departmental representatives has led to improved tools and processes for the second round of Calls for Proposals, as well as overall management of the Understanding the Early Years Initiative.

Please refer to the following link for further information: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/publications_resources/audit/2007/sp_796_07_07e/page00.shtml

There was also an audit conducted on the Consolidated Statement of administrative costs charged to the Canada Pension Plan Account by Human Resources and Social Development Canada for the year ended March 31, 2006. The audit was fully approved by the Management Audit and Evaluation Committee in October 2007. This audit is conducted annually to demonstrate that the costs charged to the Canada Pension Plan Account are exclusively attributable to the administration of the Canada Pension Plan. The audit found that the consolidated statement presents fairly, in all material respects, the administrative costs charged to the Canada Pension Plan Account by Service Canada and Human Resources and Social Development Canada for the year ended March 31, 2006.

Please refer to the following link for further information: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/publications_resources/audit/2007/sp_834_05_07e/page00.shtml

Lessons Learned

Understanding the Early Years

Understanding the Early Years is a national initiative that enables communities across Canada to work together to better understand the needs of their young children and families. Each project helps to raise community understanding about the key factors influencing the development of children from birth to age six. Community groups and individuals then learn to use local information to make decisions to enhance children's lives and social outcomes.

As part of three-year contribution agreements, funded community organizations are required to report on the results of Understanding the Early Years projects. To ensure that the reports would meet the Department's requirements - and at the same time be beneficial to organizations - Understanding the Early Years officials designed an interactive one-day workshop entitled Reporting on Results. The workshop objectives were to inform project representatives about Human Resources and Social Development Canada's approach to performance measurement and evaluation while seeking participant advice on the proposed structure for reporting on project outcomes and performance indicators. During the workshop, participants shared their planned project objectives, activities, and anticipated results. This fed into a collective discussion about commonalities among communities, perceived challenges, and innovative approaches to doing this work.

Participant feedback was very positive overall. Specific comments noted the benefits of networking, sharing and learning with other Understanding the Early Years projects. Having the opportunity to review, clarify, and provide feedback on the reporting templates was also considered to be valuable. Based on the input received from funded organizations, the Department was able to design a reporting system that:

• better reflects the activities and outputs of funded projects (i.e. better able to tell the story of the Understanding the Early Years Initiative);
• is more useful to funded organizations when reporting back to project partners and communities; and,
• is more efficient and results in less burden on organizations as it, to a large extent, builds on current organizational systems and practices.

Program Activity
Children and Families

The Government of Canada recognizes that families are the building blocks of a society, and that child care is a priority for Canadian families. Families play a critical role in shaping Canada's social and economic future and face a number of key challenges. Families also provide the nurturing environment that fosters both early childhood development and positive outcomes during the middle years and adolescence. With the rise in the number of dual-earner and single-parent families, and the need to care for elderly and vulnerable adults, many families experience challenges balancing their work and home life. Families need the flexibility to choose child care services that meet their needs. Some Canadian families continue to live in low income situations despite full-time employment.

Thus the Children and Families program activities provide direct and indirect support to families to help ensure all children have the best possible start in life; that parents have choice in childcare, to ensure the needs of those who provide care to loved ones are taken into account and that families' economic security is sustained.

Human Resources and Social Development Canada assisted Canadian families with children during 2007-2008 to meet their child care needs by:

• Providing direct financial support to eligible families with children through the Universal Child Care benefit;
• Providing indirect support to families through the Child Care Space Initiative;
• Collaborating with provincial and territorial governments to report on how Canadian children are doing; and
• Working with Finance Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency to implement payments

Canada's Universal Child Care Plan, created in 2006 and which includes the Universal Child Care Benefit and the Child Care Spaces Initiative, is designed to meet the needs of Canadian families with children. The aim of the Universal Child Care Plan is to help all parents of young children, whether they work in the paid labour force or stay at home with their children, live in a small town, rural community or large urban area. The Universal Child Care Plan provides direct support to eligible families through monthly payments of $100 for every child under the age of 6.

The Child Care Spaces Initiative, an indirect form of support to parents, represents a new approach to child care that respects the role of parents in determining how best to care for their children, allows for parental flexibility, and recognizes the responsibility of provincial and territorial governments for delivering child care services. The Child Care Spaces Initiative provides $250 million annually to provinces and territories for the development of child care spaces.

The other activities of the children and families area involve the ongoing implementation of the 2000 Federal/Provincial/Territorial Early Childhood Development Agreement and the 2003 Federal/Provincial/Territorial Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care. Fundamentally this refers to reporting regularly on how young children are doing.

As well, work is continuing with provincial and territorial governments on the National Child Benefit Initiative. Finally, the program activities contribute to the development and implementation of a Working Income Tax Benefit for low and modest-income Canadians and their families.

Through the Universal Child Care Benefit this government has been very successful in providing support to 99.2% of eligible families with children less than six years of age. Variation between the target and the result may be explained by the fact that some eligible families may not receive the Universal Child Care Benefit payment in a particular month because of problems with mailing addresses. In addition, families have 11 months retroactive to apply for the Universal Child Care Benefit.

The Child Care Spaces Initiative has supported the creation of over 60,000 new child care spaces by provinces and territories since its inception.

An interdepartmental advisory committee was convened to oversee the activities of the Universal Child Care Benefit evaluation. The Universal Child Care Benefit terms of reference were approved by the committee and work is proceeding to complete an evaluation framework and formative evaluation for 2008-2009. The formative evaluation will assess the effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability of the processes and procedures established for the administration of the Universal Child Care Benefit. Design, delivery and take-up, as well as governance and accountability issues will be addressed at this formative stage of evaluation. In addition, a review of data to enable ongoing performance measurement and long-term impact assessment will also take place during this period.

Strategic Outcome Indicators

Children and Families
Indicators	Current Level
Percentage of young children with average to advanced levels of verbal development	2004 - 2005 86.5% of children 4-5 years of age displayed average to advanced levels of verbal development Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Percentage of young children living in families exhibiting positive family functioning	2004-2005 91.3% of children from birth to five years of age lived in well-functioning families Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Incidence of low-income - Change in the number and percentage of families and children that fall below the post-tax low-income cut-offs (post-tax LICOs), due to the National Child Benefit, in one year.	Due to the National Child Benefit initiative, in 2003, an estimated 159,000 children in 60,500 families were prevented from living in low-income. This is a 12.4 percent reduction in the number of families with children living in low-income in 2003. Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Depth of low-income - Change in the aggregate amount of income that low-income families would need to reach the post-tax low-income cut-offs (post-tax LICOs), due to the National Child Benefit, in one year.	For families with children who received the National Child Benefit Supplement in 2003, the National Child Benefit reduced the depth of low-income by a total of $610 million, or 16.1 percent. Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good

 

Program Indicators

Children and Families
Program Indicators	2007-2008 Target	Results
Percentage of families who are receiving the Universal Child Care Benefit for their children under age 6.	100% of eligible families	99.2% of eligible families Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Comments: Variation between the target and the result may be explained by the fact that some eligible families do not receive the Universal Child Care Benefit payment in a particular month because of problems with mailing addresses.

 

Achievements Against Priorities

Children and Families
Plan	2007-2008 Achievements
Priority: Provide support and choices for families, through Canada's Universal Child Care Plan and other existing initiatives, to help ensure their children have the best possible start in life
Ensure successful implementation of Canada's Universal Child Care Plan, including: Administration of the Universal Child Care Benefit for all children under six, in partnership with Canada Revenue Agency; and	On-going maintenance and updating of the website on Canada's Universal Child Care Plan (www.universalchildcare.ca) Continued work with the Canada Revenue Agency to ensure successful implementation of the Universal Child Care Benefit, including on-going monitoring of take up rates for families with children less than six years of age.
Implement a new Child Care Spaces Initiative to support the creation of child care spaces.	Supported the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development in discussions with provinces and territories during the summer 2007 regarding federal expectations for use of the $250 million per year as per Budget 2007 to support provinces and territories in the creation of child care spaces that are responsive to the needs of parents and administered in an efficient and accountable manner. For 2007-2008, this funding was provided through a direct transition payment. Human Resources and Social Development Canada worked with Finance Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency on the design of the Investment Tax Credit for Child Care Spaces to support employers in the creation of child care for their employees and the broader community
Continue implementation of the 2000 Federal/Provincial/Territorial Early Childhood Development Agreement and the 2003 Federal/Provincial/Territorial Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care.	As part of the agreement to report regularly on how young children are doing and on their investments in programs and services, two key reports were published in August 2007. The Well-Being of Canada's Young Children: Government of Canada Report 2006, and the Early Learning and Child Care Activities and Expenditures: Government of Canada Report 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. As well, the development of a database to replace the annual reports on early childhood development and early learning and child care activities and expenditures is under development.
Continue to work with provincial and territorial governments on the National Child Benefit Initiative.	In collaboration with Provincial and Territorial partners, released the National Child Benefit Progress Report: 2005, and compiled the forthcoming National Child Benefit Progress Report: 2006.
Contribute to the development and implementation of a Working Income Tax Benefit for low and modest-income Canadians and their families.	Worked closely with the Department of Finance in the early development and design stages of the Working Income Tax Benefit, and continue to assess its impact on low-income populations in Canada.

Evaluations and Audits

An interdepartmental advisory committee was convened to oversee the activities of the Universal Child Care Benefit evaluation. The Universal Child Care Benefit terms of reference were approved by the committee and work is proceeding to complete an evaluation framework and formative evaluation for 2008-2009. The formative evaluation will assess the effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability of the processes and procedures established for the administration of the Universal Child Care Benefit. Design, delivery and take-up, as well as governance and accountability issues will be addressed at this formative stage of evaluation. In addition, a review of data to enable ongoing performance measurement and long-term impact assessment will also take place during this period.

Lessons Learned

Reporting on the national success of the Universal Child Care Benefit and particularly the number of eligible Canadian families versus those who receive the benefits required appreciating that the numbers of eligible recipients were based on the 2006 Census. However, the numbers who receive the benefit were based on data from the current calendar year. The discrepancies will become larger with time until we have access to 2011 Census data.

Furthermore, this data had limited ability to assess coverage at a geographically disaggregated data level (provincial or territorial). Given the movement of people, the use of out-dated Census data results in considerable variances across regions.

Program Activity
Housing and Homelessness

The Department implemented the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, which works to put in place the structures and supports needed to help individuals move towards self-sufficiency, thus preventing and reducing homelessness in Canada. The Federal Government announced the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, which replaced the National Homelessness Initiative, on December 19, 2006.

The Strategy focuses on longer-term housing and support solutions following the "housing-first" approach, which recognizes that housing stability is a precondition to achieving positive socio-economic outcomes and full participation in Canadian society.

The Strategy's five objectives are: prevention and reduction of homelessness through community-based approaches; longer-term solutions (transitional and supportive housing and related supports); enhanced provincial and territorial partnerships; horizontal linkages with other federal programs and policies; and strengthened accountability and results.

The Homelessness Partnering Strategy is delivered through three initiatives: Homelessness Partnership Initiative; Homelessness Accountability Network; and Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative. The Homelessness Partnering Strategy flows funds to more than 61 communities in order to assist them in addressing homelessness, at the local level.

Horizontal and Partnership Work

A number of horizontal pilot projects were created to enhance collaboration with other relevant federal programs and policies whose outcomes affect or are affected by homelessness. One example, developed in collaboration with Justice Canada and Health Canada, provides transitional housing to Drug Treatment Court participants in Toronto and Vancouver to ensure a secure living space while they complete treatment.

The Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative program, which makes unused federal properties available to provide housing for homeless and at-risk people, is managed through a long-standing inter-departmental partnership with Public Works and Government Services Canada. The Initiative was renewed, and all outstanding Initiative projects from National Homelessness Initiative Phase II were completed. Eight properties were transferred to community organizations under the Initiative, resulting in more supportive and affordable housing, and support services for homeless and at-risk individuals and families.

The new Canada-Quebec Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding with Ontario were both signed, and bilateral negotiations were held with every province and territory. These negotiations have led to enhanced dialogue and an understanding of the need to better align investments on the ground. As well, in some provinces (e.g., Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador), these negotiations served to increase federal horizontal collaboration and improved coordination and delivery of services.

Discussions with community partners has resulted in the drafting of a business case paper which demonstrates how the private sector can become further engaged in supporting efforts to reduce homelessness in Canada.

The dissemination of these private sector good practices will inspire the not-for-profit and private sectors to find ways to further collaborate in preventing and reducing homelessness.

Research and Knowledge Dissemination Work

Activities with various organizations have resulted in greater understanding of homelessness throughout the Department which will in turn influence the development of policies and programs reflecting the needs and realities of the homeless population. These activities include: chairing the Homelessness Working Group at the bi-annual National Housing Research Committee meeting on November 5, 2007; and participating in the Department's Policy Research Coordinating Group meetings, which have served to strengthen research linkages between homelessness and other Human Resources and Social Development Canada research areas such as communities, families, children and youth, seniors, inclusion, and poverty.

The Homelessness Knowledge Development Program's Call for Proposals resulted in a partnership with Citizenship and Immigration Canada Metropolis office for a project addressing immigration and homelessness; and a partnership with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for a project addressing diversity and homelessness. In the fall of 2007, a knowledge transfer event (Café Scientifique) was funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes on Health Research. All these activities led to increased knowledge and information sharing which is being used to support better-informed policies, investment decision-making, and the provision of services to homeless and at-risk persons.

A National Stakeholders Forum was held in January 2008, giving communities and service providers the opportunity to share best practices. The Homelessness Partnering Strategy also hosted 6 thematic national telephone forums throughout the year.

Community Development Work

As part of the Homelessness Partnering Secretariat's efforts to better assist communities across Canada, the Secretariat led the National Homelessness Initiative Phase II Community Plan Assessment; produced assessment documents; provided support to communities; and provided orientation sessions to community representatives, city staff and facilitators on the Community Plan Assessment Framework and tools. The Secretariat developed community planning documents for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy 2007-2009, and provided training and support to communities to help them identify community priorities. Community priorities were approved, resulting in more longer-term solutions, support and prevention services, and programs and shelters for homeless and at-risk Canadians.

Strategic Outcome Indicators

Housing and Homelessness
Indicators	Current Level
Core Housing Need	1.5 million Canadian households 13.7% (2001 Census) Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good

 

Program Indicators

Housing and Homelessness
Program Indicators	2007-2008 Target	Results
Amount invested in communities by external partners (not-for-profit groups, private sector organizations and other government departments) for every dollar invested by the Homelessness Partnership Initiative.	$1.50	$3.18 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Comments: All investments were directed toward supports and services based on priorities established by the community.
Percentage of all Homelessness Partnership Initiative investments targeted to long-term stable housing and related services.	65%	73.9% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Comments:Transition year full results not available. Results represent carry- over projects from Phase II of the National Homelessness Initiative (predecessor of the Homelessness Partnering Strategy).

 

Achievements Against Priorities

Housing and Homelessness
Plan	2007-2008 Achievements
Priority: Implement the new Homelessness Partnering Strategy
Allocate program funding based on approved community plans/projects, and update program guidelines and tools to implement the new Homelessness Partnering Strategy that will ensure continuity of services to homeless people.	To ensure that funding is directed to projects reflecting local needs and providing local solutions, 73 community plans were approved in the fall of 2007 and, in February 2008, 505 projects totalling $150 million were announced. These projects helped homeless and at-risk people move along the path to independent and productive living. The National Homelessness Initiative Phase II Community Plan Assessment provided communities across Canada with assessment and planning documents, support, orientation sessions, tools, and training in order to better assist them in making strategic investments in supportive and transitional housing, shelters, and support and prevention services. Operational guidelines and tools were developed to assist regions and proponents with preparing funding submissions for projects designed to effectively help homeless and at-risk people achieve greater self-sufficiency and longer-term housing solutions. Amendments to the renewed Terms and Conditions of the Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative continued to provide housing and services for homeless and at-risk people throughout Canada. The extension of the provision for the maintenance of the services provided from 5 to 15 years ensures longer protection of existing investments and more stability for residents housed as a result of the Initiative. To ensure that homeless people experienced no gap in services, a total of $46 million in essential services to the homeless population was approved at the onset of the Strategy in April 2007.
Focus on achieving tangible results for homeless persons through a housing-first approach.	Outcome indicators were developed for the Community Plan and Project Results to measure tangible results including transitions to more stable longer-term housing. Provided training and tools to regions and community organizations for planning and data collection to support them in identifying and reporting on outcomes achieved for the homeless and at-risk population. Developed the new Homelessness Electronic Reporting Information Network database, which has enabled comprehensive data analysis that focuses on results.
Priority: Develop partnerships to better align investments
Develop bilateral arrangements with provinces and territories to align federal capital investments with provincial/territorial investments in social services.	The new Canada-Quebec Agreement and a new Memorandum of Understanding with Ontario on research and information sharing were signed and bilateral negotiations were held with every province and territory. These initiatives helped to align investments as well as produce and disseminate information to help develop solutions to homelessness.
Shape meaningful public-private partnerships in the context of addressing homelessness challenges.	Documented and disseminated best practices through the paper entitled "Doing Well by Doing Good: Analysis of the Business Case for Private Sector Engagement in Homelessness". The business case reviews private sector motives for engagement and documents a range of strategic private sector activities that will help the not-for-profit and private sectors create mutually beneficial partnerships to reduce homelessness. Held a workshop on engaging the private sector at the Homelessness Partnering Strategy National Forum which provided an encouraging environment and conditions to facilitate partnerships. Held 2 telephone forums - one on social enterprises and the other on Business Improvement Associations - to facilitate dialogue and partnerships.
Priority: Strengthen horizontal links between housing and homelessness and other policy areas
Improve coordination and reporting of horizontal links with federal partners.	Lessons Learned on horizontality played an important role in the development of the new Homelessness Partnering Strategy. For example, new horizontal pilot projects with other federal departments were investigated and/or funded to develop effective ways of helping homeless and at-risk people on cross-cutting issues. One of these projects partnered the Department with Justice Canada and Health Canada on the related issues of homelessness, the judicial system and addictions. Collaborated with Public Works and Government Services Canada and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in the management of the Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative that makes unused federal properties available to provide housing for homeless and at-risk people.
Develop pilot projects to test innovative and collaborative approaches to preventing and reducing homelessness.	A series of horizontal pilot projects was developed by government departments working together to introduce new programs and services for homeless and at-risk people across Canada. The Homelessness Partnering Strategy identified five priority areas for enhanced collaboration: physical and mental health; justice and corrections; immigrant settlement; employment and skills development; and Aboriginal issues. The following 10 projects were begun or planned in 2007-2008: Supportive Housing Component to Drug Treatment Courts; Case Management for Aboriginal Persons with HIV/AIDS; Integrated Employability Supports and Transitional Housing to Persons Involved in the Criminal Justice System; Transitional Housing and Support Services for Newcomer Women; Tending the Fire Leadership Program; Pre-discharge Support to Federal Offenders; Linking Transitional Housing and Employment Preparation for Persons with Disabilities; Housing and Employment Support for Homeless Youth in St. John's; Housing Support to Aboriginal Persons to Bolster Outcomes of Employment Interventions; and Support Workers for Street Youth.

Evaluations and Audits

A summative evaluation of the National Homelessness Initiative was completed in 2006-2007 and demonstrated that the program's strengths include increasing community capacity, establishing a continuum of supports and services, increasing knowledge and understanding of homelessness, contributing to a reduction in homelessness, and impacting the daily life of individuals.

The four conclusions resulting from the National Homelessness Initiative Evaluation suggested: a continued need for federal government involvement; further development of ongoing partnerships with multiple orders of government and various sectors; additional coordination at the federal, provincial and territorial levels; and that performance measurement should include on-going measurement of medium- and long-term outcomes.

These conclusions were used to develop the new Homelessness Partnering Strategy which the Minister announced on December 19, 2006. The Homelessness Partnering Strategy, which took effect on April 1, 2007, works to prevent and reduce homelessness across Canada through five objectives: prevention and reduction of homelessness through community-based approaches; longer-term solutions (transitional and supportive housing and related supports); enhanced provincial and territorial partnerships; horizontal linkages with other federal programs and policies; and strengthened accountability and results.

Lessons Learned

Homelessness is a multifaceted and complex issue which intersects with numerous policy areas involving many federal departments and other orders of government. The summative evaluation of the National Homelessness Initiative, completed in 2006-2007, clearly stated the need for: further development of ongoing partnerships with multiple orders of government; additional coordination at the federal, provincial and territorial levels; and ongoing measurement of medium- and long-term outcomes. These recommendations were addressed in the design of the National Homelessness Initiative's successor, the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, which took effect on April 1, 2007, with the goal of preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada.

Partnerships with Multiple Orders of Government

The new Homelessness Partnering Strategy includes an offer to partner bilaterally with provinces and territories in order to maximize outcomes for homeless people in Canada and ensure a better alignment of federal and provincial resources. Bilateral discussions were carried out with every province and territory, resulting in enhanced dialogue as well as the signing of a new Canada-Quebec Agreement and a new Memorandum of Understanding with Ontario on research and information sharing.

Lessons Learned include:

• Progress is not linear when negotiating with various jurisdictions; ongoing dialogue is often required.
• External factors can impede progress, and can have implications for bilateral discussion and negotiations.
• The concept and understanding of bilateral partnership on homelessness varies across provinces and territories.
• Flexible models and arrangements, reflecting regional differences, are more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Sharing information about Government of Canada priorities, program elements and processes regarding homelessness helps to advance discussions.

Horizontal Collaboration

The Homelessness Partnering Strategy encourages greater horizontal collaboration with other federal programs and departments whose mandates relate to homelessness. Such collaboration is largely pursued through discussions and dialogues between Human Resources and Social Development Canada and other federal departments at the Assistant Deputy Minister level; and also through the implementation of joint pilot projects that address root causes and common issues. For example, a pilot project in partnership with Justice Canada and Health Canada has been launched to understand whether access to supportive housing can reduce recidivism and improve the interventions provided by the Drug Treatment Court Program. In 2007, the Department also explored possibilities for a number of other pilot projects in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Correctional Service Canada, Canadian Heritage, Public Safety, and Status of Women Canada. The pilot project findings will enhance understanding about the types of interventions that effectively address the needs of vulnerable populations such as Aboriginal persons, recent immigrants, people with disabilities, offenders, youth and women.

In 2007, a roundtable of senior officials was convened to discuss how greater horizontality can be fostered at the federal level. The roundtable, as well as the process of negotiating the pilot projects, has yielded some valuable lessons on horizontality:

• Many federal departments have recognized the value of working collaboratively and have explicit mandates to work horizontally, which has greatly facilitated partnering.
• Collaborative work is labour-intensive and requires officials who demonstrate strategic vision, attention to detail, and brokering skills.
• Although it can be a challenge for programs to coordinate when their funding instruments and program architecture are different, the variety of structures and instruments can also foster creativity and innovation.
• When practical and accountability considerations are factored into horizontal work, all departments feel invested in the outcomes; this can lead to more sustained and systematic collaboration.

Performance Measurement

A new performance measurement strategy was developed to track, on an ongoing basis, the Homelessness Partnering Strategy's progress in achieving the outcome of preventing and reducing homelessness. "Generic" outcome indicators were developed for use at both the project and community levels, to collect relevant national data. These indicators, which focus on transitions to and retention of housing, were designed to measure the path from homelessness to being stably housed, which is often non-linear.

Part of the challenge with implementing the performance measurement strategy was ensuring that the indicators provided relevant information that measured the effectiveness of the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, without overburdening funding recipients with reporting requirements. Recognizing that regions and community organizations need support for data collection, the Strategy provided data collection tools, training and ongoing consultation.

Financial and Human Resources 2007-2008

Social Investment, Children and Families and Housing and Homelessness
(in millions of dollars)	PLANNED SPENDING	AUTHORITIES	ACTUAL
FINANCIAL RESOURCES (GROSS)
Social Investment	59,971.1	59,930.5	59,902.7
Children and Families	2,481.2	2,484.5	2,482.1
Housing and Homelessness	144.5	165.6	116.6
Total Financial Resources (Gross)	62,596.8	62,580.6	62,501.4
Human Resources (Full Time Equivalents)
Social Investment	1,009	976	976
Children and Families	163	60	60
Housing and Homelessness	319	175	175
Total Human Resources (Full Time Equivalents)	1,491	1 ,211	1,211

 

Details by Programs and Services 2007-2008

Social Investment, Children and Families and Housing and Homelessness
Financial Resources (millions of dollars)
	Planned Spending	Authorities	Actual
Social Investment
Seniors and Pensions	55,933.4	56,203.2	56,203.2
Disability Programs	273.7	263.7	263.7
Canada Pension Plan - Disability	3,667.0	3,337.4	3,337.4
Community Development and Partnerships	54.0	55.3	55.3
Allocated Corporate Servicesa	43.0	53.9	43.0
Otherb	-	17.0	0.1
Sub-Total	59,971.1	59,930.5	59,902.7
Children and Families
Child Care	2,460.6	2,474.4	2,474.4
Multilateral Framework for Early Learning and Child Care	-	0.1	0.1
Early Childhood Development Agreements	2.8	-	-
National Child Benefit	2.4	0.4	0.4
Otherb	8.8	1.3	0.6
Allocated Corporate Servicesa	6.6	8.3	6.6
Sub-Total	2,481.2	2,484.5	2,482.1
Housing and Homelessness
Homelessness Partnership Initiative	128.0	148.5	104.1
Homelessness Accountability Network	1.8	3.3	1.5
Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative	3.7	-	-
Allocated Corporate Servicesa	11.0	13.8	11.0
Sub-Totalc	144.5	165.6	116.6
Total	62,596.8	62,580.6	62,501.4
Human Resources (Full Time Equivalents)
Social Investment	1,009	976	976
Children and Families	163	60	60
Housing and Homelessness	319	175	175
Total - Full Time Equivalents	1,491	1,211	1,211
aCorporate Services resources related to the Minister's Office, the Deputy Minister's Office, the Comptroller's Office and the Shared Services have been prorated to each program activity. bOther category is for the resources which are not directly related to the sub-activities identified. cA new program, the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, was announced in December 2006 and is funded for two years (2007-2008 and 2008-2009).

Achieve Better Outcomes for Canadians
Through Service Excellence

Program Activity
Service Canada

In its third year of operation, Service Canada continued to offer one-stop, easy-to-access service to Canadians across multiple service delivery channels including telephone, Internet, in-person and mail. With over 18,000 employees, Service Canada provided Canadians 620 points of service across the country. The organization served Canadians efficiently through its national 1 800 O-Canada number and the network of call centres. Service Canada increased the volume of its services offered on the Internet at: www.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/home.shtml

In collaboration with federal departments and agencies and other orders of government and numerous voluntary organizations, Service Canada delivered a wide range of integrated programs and services to Canadians - further streamlining the way in which government services were delivered. Service Canada recorded accomplishments in connecting citizens to their government and to the full array of programs and services. In all these initiatives, Service Canada protected the personal information of Canadian citizens and residents while ensuring integrity in the process of allocating benefits to eligible recipients.

Did You Know?

Last year, Service Canada served more than 32 million Canadians by:

• paying $78 billion ($210 million a day) in benefits to Canadians
• processing more than 5 million applications for government benefits
• receiving 26.6 million visits to the Service Canada website
• receiving 9.2 million in-person visits to the Service Canada points of service
• handling 51 million telephone calls

Program Indicators

Service Canada
Program Indicators	2007-2008 Target	Results
Specialized calls answered by an agent within 180 seconds-information and transaction	95%	58.5% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Comments:Result for the Canada Student Loans Program: 94.5% Result for Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security: 75% Result for Employment Insurance: 41% Service Canada continues to make improvements to its specialized call centres by transforming the current program-silo network to an integrated network. When fully implemented, this means that workload can be managed nationally, eventually enabling agents to respond to Canadians across programs and from any geographic location.
General calls answered by an agent within 18 seconds (1 800 O-Canada).	85%	88% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Access to automated telephone information services.	95%	95.4% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
24/7 availability of Internet-information and transaction.	98%	99.3% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Number of forms online in formats accessible for people with disabilities.	10	11 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Percentage of Canadians with access within 50 kms of where they live.	90%	95.4% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Number of Service Canada Centres with extended hours of service.	60	62 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Number of established points of service for Official Language Minority Community Groups.	17	37 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Languages offered other than English and French.	10	20 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Notifications sent within seven days of receipt of applications.	80%	65.8% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Comments: When Canadians apply on-line, they are immediately notified of the receipt of their application. At this time notification within 7 days for paper-based claimant applications cannot be guaranteed. Result for Employment Insurance: 97.6% of initial applications and 85.5% of renewal applications are received electronically through the internet and are instantly acknowledged. for the Canada Pension Plan: 24% of Canada Pension Plan retirement applications were received on line and acknowledged instantly. for Old Age Security: Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Security applications are not automated bringing the overall indicator result down to 65.8%. Old Age Security applications on-line is planned for 2009-2011.
Canada Pension Plan retirement benefit payment or non-payment notification issued within first month of entitlement.	85%	91.8% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Employment Insurance benefit payment or non-payment notification issued within 28 days of filing.	80%	80.3% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Employment Insurance Umpire Appeals sent to the Office of the Umpire within 60 days.	100%	98.3% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Employment Insurance Board of Referee Appeals scheduled within 30 days.	90%	78.1% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Comments: Service Canada processed over 45,000 appeals filed by clients. The Board of Referees heard over 22,000 client appeals — most within 30 days from receipt.
Old Age Security basic benefit payment or non-payment notification issued within first month of entitlement.	90%	93.7% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Pleasure craft licences issued in a visit.	90%	89.8% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
SINs issued in a visit.	90%	93% Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Comments: Results include the social Insurance Number Rapid Access, the Newborn Registration Services in Ontario and British Columbia, and the Teleapp in New Brunswick.
Accuracy rate of payments (includes Employment Insurance and Old Age Security) (Canada Pension Plan under development).	95% (Employment Insurance)a	94.4% (Employment Insurance - 12 month moving average as of February 2008) 97.7% (Old Age Security - Year-to-date results as of February, 2008) Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Client satisfaction in relation to services provided	80% b	N/A Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
a A combined indicator for Employment Insurance and Old Age Security payments was implemented in 2007-2008. b Refers to biannual client satisfaction survey which will be supplemented by a range of client feedback and related mechanisms.

The following indicators also provide information concerning the Department's performance.

Additional Measures

Program Indicators	Results
Number of new Service Offerings	7 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Canada Pension Plan Applications	644,182 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Employment Insurance Applications	2,643,091 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Old Age Security Applications	2,282,955 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good a Includes Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) automatic renewals
Comments: The target of 52.9 million reported in the 2007-2008 Report on Plan Priorities was a printing error and should have read 2.3 million.
Passport Applications	267,112 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
Comments: Results for number of passport applications received dramatically surpassed the planning assumption primarily due to the increase in the number of Service Canada passport receiving agents from 35 in 2006-2007 to 101 locations in 2007-2008 to respond to the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
Pleasure Craft Licences Applications	128,516 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
Social Insurance Number Requests	1,445,146 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Number of employment program clients served	563,704 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Weak
In-person visits - Assisted clients (personally and Internet)	8,252,432 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
In person visits - Self-served clients	963,564 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Reasonable
Internet visits	26,620,460 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Job seekers using Job Bank	113,197,773 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Telephone calls - specialized calls answered by an agent	9,325,396 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good
Comments:Specialized program calls include Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and Canada Student Loans Program
Telephone calls - answered in the Interactive voice response system	45,690,248 Data Systems and Controls Rating: Good

Program Activity
Seamless, Citizen-Centred Service

Service Canada made progress toward its goal of providing one-stop personalized service for Canadians with consistent, quality service across all delivery channels and responding to the identified service delivery interests of Canadians. Service Canada sought to deliver the services Canadians want and to provide those services as close to where they live as possible. The work in this program activity took place under three priorities: Transforming Service to Canadians, Achieving and Sustaining a Service Excellence Culture and Strengthening Accountability and Transparency.

Transforming Service to Canadians

Service Canada continued its efforts to transform the service it provided to Canadians through the following four commitments: Expanding Service Canada's Regional and Community Presence; Integrating Call Centres; Implementing Service Strategies for Client Segments; and Undertaking Business and Product Development. These commitments are described in the following sections.

Expanding Service Canada's Regional and Community Presence

Service Canada expanded its regional and community presence through a number of initiatives that increased Canadians' awareness of Government of Canada programs and services. The initiatives included national, regional and community-based advertising for both program-specific and new service offerings, and participation in public events.

Service Canada increased awareness of its programs and services through the "Service to Canadians" national advertising campaign using four program-specific television advertisements, each emphasizing easy access and encouraging Canadians to "CALL, CLICK, OR VISIT." The campaign contributed to an increase in the number of calls placed to 1 800 O-Canada, and visits to the Service Canada website for the advertised services and programs. Marketing research showed citizen recall of Service Canada increased an average of 51% over the past 12 months. Service Canada also enhanced its presence by interacting with provincial and territorial governments and community groups, and promoting its services at local events such as career fairs, expositions and Chamber of Commerce meetings.

Service Canada Centres installed 91 new signs with the Service Canada brand and also established information kiosks, further increasing public awareness at the community level. Staff provided information sessions on client services, including those for families, children, First Nations, new Canadians and workers who have lost their jobs. The organization has implemented new service offerings into operations, call centres and on the Web and has participated in the design and rollout of several new offerings, most notably the Common Experience Payment and the ecoAUTO Rebate Program.

Service Canada expanded access to service by opening 33 new points of service, including full Service Canada Centres, scheduled outreach sites and Service Canada Community Offices, bringing the total number of Service Canada points of service to 620. Through this expansion, 95.4% of Canadians now reside within 50 kilometres of a Service Canada point of service, exceeding the national target of 90%. Our in-person channel received over 9 million visits by clients. Additionally, increasing its outreach services closer to where Canadians live, Service Canada representatives visited hundreds of smaller communities, which allowed clients to access service in their own surroundings.

Integrating Call Centres

Service Canada made strides to further integrate Service Canada call centres while contributing to answer 88% of the 1.8 million general calls within our 18 second goal. As part of our integration efforts we are developing a new Client Contact Centre Model that will help ensure we can resolve client's concerns on first contact. Progress towards full implementation of the national Common Reference Tool to supply all call centre agents with a comprehensive listing of services and procedures so all clients receive consistent information. Developing the Contact Model includes developing a common platform so that national call centres can leverage capacity during peak business hours.

Moreover, a pilot launched in New Brunswick and Quebec routed less complex, quick response questions to agents with general training and more complex questions to a specialized pool of agents, improving call centre and benefits processing efficiency. In its first weeks, this service handled 2,216 support calls while meeting an 87.7% service level in 15 seconds.

To ensure accuracy, call centres adjusted and improved the interactive voice response system and continually trained call centre agents. Reviewing client feedback ensured that information was always accurate, complete and responsive to client demands. In addition, to effectively support Members of Parliament in their role in addressing issues raised by their constituents, the Telephone Inquiries Resolution Service for Parliamentarians (MP Line) pilot was extended to serve an additional 110 members.

Implementing Service Strategies for Client Segments

In 2007-2008, Service Canada developed strategies for seniors and workers, and made progress in implementing strategies for newcomers to Canada and people with disabilities. In the development of client profiles for the strategy for people with disabilities, Service Canada held a number of consultations which resulted in the development of the draft Policy on Services for the Deaf, Deaf-Blind, Deafened and Hard of Hearing, a key element of this segment. Through utilization of these client profiles, Service Canada ensured that client communities were aware of available offerings and that agents were able to tailor their service delivery to the unique and varied circumstances of these communities.

Service Canada met its obligation of enhancing the vitality of official language minority communities by advancing a horizontal framework for these communities that feeds into all of the client segment strategies. The client segment strategy for official language minority communities is based on five guiding principles to ensure that members of these communities receive the same quality of service as majority language communities and that Service Canada provides leadership to other departments in a joint approach for official language minority communities.

Undertaking Business and Product Development

Service Canada integrated new services into its service delivery channels, and participated in the rollout of several new offerings, most notably the ecoAUTO Rebate Program and the Common Experience Payment for former residents of Indian Residential Schools. A strategy to help quickly coordinate activities guided various steps in the integration of new services and the expansion of others.

The settlement agreement for the Common Experience Payment came into effect on September 19, 2007. Approximately 90,000 Aboriginal Canadians have applied for the Common Experience Payment Service played a key role in delivering the service with Indian Residential Schools Canada. By March 31, 2008 Service Canada had received over 90,000 applications from Aboriginal Canadians to date and had processed over 60,000 payments have been made. Service Canada developed application processing solutions to deal with this high volume. Through this initiative, Service Canada played an important and sensitive role in meeting Canada's commitment pursuant to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, and serving Aboriginal communities.

In August 2007, the government announced the ecoAUTO Rebate Program which Transport Canada launched jointly with Service Canada in October. Cheques totalling over $72 million were issued to Canadians in 2007-2008.

Service Canada developed plan to expand the Passport Receiving Agent service to 99 additional Service Canada Centres. In 2007-2008, more than 267,000 passport applications were received processed, verified for accuracy and sent to Passport Canada for processing a substantial increase from the nearly 71,000 applications received the previous year.

Service Canada managed and coordinated the implementation of the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant program, introduced in 2006-2007. The organization issued payments to 93% of the 31,485 eligible applicants within 28 days, exceeding the national target of 85%.

Service Canada partnered with through a successful partnership with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to expeditiously deliver the Ice Compensation grant to East Coat fishers affected by the ice conditions. Service Canada initiated the Ice Compensation Program within eight weeks, although some design and implementation issues for application processing were resolved only after the program's launch. A management review concluded that the program worked well and that the partnership between Service Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans was effective.

Achieving and Sustaining a Service Excellence Culture

The approach Service Canada has taken to making service excellence a reality entails creating an internal culture to support staff development and reinforce organizational and staff commitment to providing client-centred service. Service Canada's commitment to service excellence expanded through a number of concrete internal efforts that included: Service Canada College's development of a suite of service excellence courses for client service staff; registration of client service staff in the Service Excellence Certification Program; development of an employee development plan and a learning policy; delivery of training oriented for both new staff and new managers; and for new client services, and implementation of a Leadership and Management Development Program.

Building for Service Excellence

Service Canada College, the organization's corporate learning institution, developed a suite of service excellence courses for client-facing employees, corporate service employees and management. The suite includes the Service Excellence Certification Program, launched in 2006 and made accessible to all Service Canada employees, as well as the Service Leadership and Management Excellence Development Program launched in October 2007. Service Canada surpassed its 2007-2008 target of registering 30% of client service staff in the Service Excellence Certification Program by registering 41.2% (1,637) of its employees in addition to the 26.4% (1,163 employees) registered in 2006-2007.

To promote the role learning plays in cultural change, the Service Canada College integrated all national learning, training and development resources. The College also developed a national learning strategy, based on Service Canada's Policy on Learning, Training and Development, which was approved in February 2008. This policy was developed in consultation with internal and external stakeholders. As part of this strategy, Service Canada established an employee development plan, along with a learning policy and directives on required training.

Service Canada College was recognized in the Public Service Renewal: 15^th Annual Clerk's Report on the Public Service, which called the College a good example of a departmental renewal initiative and praised its "high quality courses and a uniform curriculum contributing to building solid customer relations management skills for front-line staff."

Achieving Service Excellence

As part of Service Canada's performance management initiatives, all employees are required to complete personal learning plans. By March 31, 2008, a total of 91.6% of employees had prepared their plans. Managers assessed and discussed personal learning plans with their employees. Learning plans and the corresponding discussions were individually registered in the Service Canada Corporate Management System. All client service staff were offered training to deliver the full suite of Service Canada programs and services. Front-line processing and management staff were trained to provide a knowledgeable first point of contact for the Government of Canada and to support one stop service delivery.

Learning was further supported by a commitment in all Executive Heads' performance management agreements that new employees would successfully complete the Canada School of Public Service orientation course within six months of their start date.

A similar commitment was made to provide authority delegation training for new managers. Of the 421 new supervisors, managers and executives, approximately half completed their training during the fiscal year. Service Canada continued to work with the Canada School of Public Service to support capacity requirements and ensure timely training for all eligible employees.

To support the next phase in building a culture of service excellence, Service Canada designed, developed and implemented the Service Leadership and Management Excellence Development Program. The program focused on leadership competencies for managers, including performance management, strategic thinking and engagement. A strategic framework for greater employee engagement was also developed. These efforts were supported by a Service Canada Culture website which provided easy access to all culture-related documents for employees, regular messages from senior management and the weekly electronic employee news bulletin, InfoService Canada.

Senior Management committees monitored the implementation of annual recommendations made by the Office for Client Satisfaction in 2006-2007. The Department successfully addressed the recommendations of the Office.

Rewarding Service Excellence

In support of service excellence, the newly enhanced Pride and Recognition Program managed the annual Service Canada Awards of Excellence-the highest awards offered by the organization. They have been presented annually to employees who have made a significant contribution to fulfill the mission, vision and values of Service Canada. Under the same program, the Years of Service Awards recognize employees' years of service with the Government of Canada in a fair, timely and equitable manner.

Results from the Service Canada Culture Survey indicated that Service Canada is on the right track in creating a culture of service excellence. Of the over 10,800 Service Canada employees who completed the survey, 92% indicated that they focussed on results for their clients.

Strengthening Accountability and Transparency

Reporting on Our Commitments to Canadian and to Parliament

In addition to the material provided through the Report on Plans and Priorities and the Departmental Performance Report, Service Canada continued to report on results for Canadians through its annual report and the corporate performance scorecard. The results of this year's performance scorecard indicators were tracked and validated, and reports were produced monthly and quarterly, thereby providing Service Canada's senior executives the proper tools to ensure an acceptable level of service to Canadians. Presentations were made to the Service Canada Management Board for discussion and to address corrective issues as required. Results for indicators relating to service standards were also made available to Canadians in the 2006-2007 Service Canada Annual Report.

The Audit and Evaluation Committee, chaired by the Deputy Head and consisting of assistant deputy ministers at headquarters and from the regions, met quarterly to review and approve evaluation and internal audit reports. These reports outlined progress on Assistant Deputy Minister-approved action plans to address issues raised in evaluations, internal audits and audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General. In an effort to improve reporting to Canadians and parliamentarians, Service Canada developed the Audit Report Release Strategy to ensure internal audits are released within three to four months of Audit and Evaluation Committee approval and published on the Internet within an acceptable time frame.

In addition, the Office for Client Satisfaction gathered feedback from Canadians on service delivery through surveys and other information-gathering mechanisms. The Office identified client service trends and issues and helped the department learn from day-to-day experiences with Canadians. The Office for Client Satisfaction also provided the department its annual recommendations for improving services.

Service Canada provided greater accountability and transparency through improved and integrated planning. In the past year, Service Canada developed an Integrated Business Plan from the individual business plans submitted by each of Service Canada's branches and regions, as well as the Service Canada Human Resources Plan. The plan provided a broad picture of priorities for 2007-2008 and outlined Service Canada's strategic direction, business model, and key initiatives for the fiscal year. It also provided an agenda for the next three years.

Integrated planning is one of the principal priorities for public service renewal. Service Canada made its integrated plans available to employees by posting them on its intranet website.

Achievements Against Priorities

Seamless, Citizen-Centred Service
Plan	2007-2008 Achievements
Priority: Transforming Service to Canadians
Expanding Service Canada Regional and Community Presence	Market research shows citizen recall of Service Canada increased an average of 51% 33 new points of service bringing the total number of Service Canada points of service to 620, resulting in 95.4% of Canadians living within 50 kilometres of a point of service Service Canada installed 91 new signs, further increasing public awareness at the community level
Integrating Call Centres	The Service Canada 1 800 O-Canada general information answered 88% of 1.8 million general calls within 18 seconds The Common Reference Tool enabled all agents to provide Canadians with consistent information on all programs and services A pilot program in New Brunswick and Quebec improved call centre and benefit processing efficiency by routing complex calls to specialized agents The Members of Parliament Line was extended to serve 110 additional MPs, thereby assisting them to address issues directly with Canadians
Implementing Service Strategies for Client Segments	The Strategy for Seniors was introduced to ensure awareness of and receipt of due benefits and services Service Canada maintained a Service for People with a Disability External Advisory Group to receive advice and feedback on disability benefits and services To adhere to Official Language requirements and to provide adequate service to Official Language Minority Communities, Service Canada developed a three-year detailed action plan
Undertaking Business and Product Development	Service Canada integrated news service into its service delivery channels, most notably the ecoAUTO Rebate Program, the Common Experience Payment for former residents of Indian Residential Schools, and the Ice Compensation Grant Plans were developed to expand the Passport Receiving Agent Services in up to 90 additional Service Canada Centres Service Canada managed and coordinated the implementation of the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant program launched in January 2007
Priority: Achieving and Sustaining a Service Excellence Culture
Building, Achieving and Sustaining Service Excellence	Building Service Excellence Service Canada College developed a number of service excellence courses for client-facing employees, corporate service employees and management The Service Leadership and Management Excellence Development Program was launched A national learning strategy for employees was developed, including the establishment of an employee development plan; personal, professional and career development plan; reimbursement of tuition; and education leave Service Canada College was recognized by the Clerk of the Privy Council as a good example of a departmental renewal initiative Achieving Service Excellence All learning plans and discussions about them between employees and managers were individually registered in the Service Canada Corporate Management System Client service staff received continuous training to deliver a full suite of Service Canada programs and services The Service Leadership and Management Excellence Development Program trained managers in areas of performance management, strategic thinking and engagement Service Canada has successfully addressed the 2006-2007 recommendations made by the Office of Client Satisfaction Rewarding Service Excellence Branch and regional representatives from all levels participate in a newly enhanced Pride and Recognition Program The Service Canada Culture Survey indicates 92% of employees focus on results for their clients
Priority: Strengthening accountability and transparency
Reporting on Our Commitments to Canadians and to Parliament	Service Canada reported its results to Canadians through its annual report and corporate performance scorecard Monthly and quarterly reports are produced for internal monitoring by senior executives Developed the Audit Report Release Strategy to ensure audits are released publicly within an acceptable timeframe The Office for Client Satisfaction identified client service trends and issues with an annual recommendation for improving services

Program Activity
Integrity

Canadians rely on Service Canada to ensure that benefits are distributed to the right people, in the right amounts and for the purposes for which they are intended. Service Canada uses proven risk management strategies and the integration of client information to meet this expectation. Organizational integrity is the focal point for this activity, which is organized under the priorities Strengthening Accountability and Transparency, and Achieving Client Information Integration.

Strengthening Accountability and Transparency

Establishing Enterprise-wide Integrity

Protecting the personal information of Canadians continued to be a high priority for Service Canada, which has developed more stringent procedures to help achieve this goal. Service Canada aimed for complete compliance with the security and privacy requirements for managing and monitoring information in the Management of Information Technology Security standards approved by the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Service Canada developed a framework for conducting risk analysis and integrity reviews for new services and has been applying the same framework to core programs. This framework helped identify risks and develop mitigation strategies for all services introduced in 2007-2008. Risk analyses and audit readiness studies were performed on core program initiatives such as Employment Insurance Simplification, Canada Pension Plan Modernization, and Old Age Security Quality Assurance. The management tools were tested in 2007-2008 and improved versions integrated into the lifecycle of offerings.

To guide risk assessments and support monitoring strategies as well as clarify roles and responsibilities, Service Canada drafted the Operational Risk Management Policy and framework. Service Canada tested a proof of concept for enhanced data analysis capability, applying it to prioritize Employment Insurance claims investigation. Reviews undertaken of both Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan programs demonstrated that payment is highly accurate.

Service Canada also initiated a proof of concept to improve data analysis and detect, investigate and prevent abuse of Social Insurance Numbers. The organization implemented the Social Insurance Number Quality Management Strategy to provide rigorous systematic controls to guide each step of Social Insurance Number issuance.

Generating Program and Operational Savings

Service Canada continued to achieve program savings targets through a range of program integrity strategies and through effective proactive and preventative interventions to ensure that payments were issued to eligible individuals. The organization was on target to achieve its 2007-2008 program savings objective. A national team of investigators equipped with risk models and fraud detection tools identified files in error for both over- and underpayment and ensured their correction. Service Canada conducted a total of 772,357 identity, fraud and benefit payment investigations related to the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, Social Insurance Number and Employment Insurance in 2007-2008. This number included increased investigations to detect individuals who did not report earnings or absences from Canada while receiving Employment Insurance benefits. This resulted in savings exceeding $733 million.

To provide secure online access to these programs, client identity was validated against the Social Insurance Register, amounting to more than 13.7 million authentication transactions.

In 2007, Service Canada evaluated the integrity of the Social Insurance Register. The accuracy rate for legitimate Social Insurance Numbers appropriately issued to the right person is approximately 99.9%. The accuracy rate of the Social Insurance Register's vital events data for dates of birth and death is approximately 97.3%. Service Canada will continue to maintain these high rates of accuracy through increased rigour in the Social Insurance Number issuance process and the phased implementation of vital events information-sharing agreements with the provinces.

Achieving Client Information Integration

Achieving Processing Automation

Service Canada continued working towards the automation of key program processing where there is high volume (e.g. Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security programs) in order to achieve internal operational efficiencies and improved effectiveness. a common process to increase efficiency as it continued the process of integrating delivery of Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and Employment Insurance programs.

There was good progress in automating Employment Insurance program processing. For instance 36.1% of Record of Employment was received electronically from some 76,000 registered businesses. This was almost 24,000 more employers than a year earlier, well ahead of the target of 19,400 new employers on ROE Web. Note that the Record of Employment Web also increases efficiencies for employers and reduces their paper burden.

Receiving the Record of Employment electronically is essential in order to automate the calculation of claims. During the year, 97.9% of EI initial applications were received on-line. Automated claims processing was used for 411,000 initial claims for Employment Insurance benefits exceeding the target of 20% and for 227,000 applications to renew existing Employment Insurance claims exceeding the 50% target.

The increased automation of processing helped Service Canada staff in the regions to balance workloads across the country during the winter peak period. This resulted in improved service to Canadians.

It is recognized that automation of the processes used to administer benefit programs improves program integrity. Automation eliminates the errors that arise in manual processing such as data not correctly entered and it prevents delays that arise when documents have to await manual data entry.

Expeditious delivery of payments for Canada Pension Plan retirement benefits, Old Age Security basic benefits. Employment Insurance benefits, and Apprenticeship Incentive Grants, have consistently met or exceed their respective targets. Service Canada achieved a 94.4% accuracy rate for Employment Insurance payments, just short of its 95% national target and a 97% accuracy rate for Old Age Security payments.

A silver medal for Service Delivery to citizens and Business was awarded at the Government Technology Exhibition and Conference to Service Canada's Employment Insurance Automated Claims Processing. Service Canada will modernize the Canada Pension Plan benefit processing network and platform by adopting a similar simplification, standardization and automation approach to that used for Employment Insurance.

Service Canada remained committed to automating processes across the country. A national, integrated, service delivery network, characterized by generic processes, intranet-based applications and services, and the automated adjudication of applications, is being developed over the next several years. The end result will be a harmonized, paperless service that is more accurate, timely, efficient, equitable, cost-effective and reliable.

Achievements Against Priorities

Integrity
Plan	2007-2008 Achievements
Priority: Strengthening accountability and transparency
Establishing enterprise-wide integrity.	Compliance with Treasury Board Secretariat's Management of Information Technology Security standards Framework in place for the conduct of a risk analysis and integrity review for new service offerings Risk analysis and audit readiness studies performed on Employment Insurance Simplification, Canadian Pension Plan Modernization and Old Age Security Quality Assurance Operational Risk Management Policy and framework drafted Social Insurance Number Quality Management Strategy implemented to provide rigorous systematic controls to guide each step of Social Insurance Number issuance Enterprise-wide quality measurement framework tested and prepared for implementation to harmonize quality indicators across activities
Generating program and operational savings.	772,357 identity, fraud and benefit payment investigations relating to the Old Age Security, Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance and Social Insurance Number programs Program savings of $342.9 million Client identity validated against the Social Insurance Register in more than 13.7 million authentication transactions 99.9% accuracy rate for Social Insurance Numbers in the Social Insurance Register 97.3% accuracy of the Social Insurance Register's vital events data
Priority: Achieving client information integration
Achieving processing automation	Employment Insurance Automated Claims Processing won silver medal at Government in Technology Week. Record of Employment website nominated for Government in Technology award. Continued mapping of generic processes to harmonize foundational programs Targets consistently met or exceeded for timely payments for Apprenticeship Incentive Grants, Canada Pension Plan retirement benefits, Old Age Security basic benefits and Employment Insurance benefits Automated processing of 23% of Employment Insurance initial claims and 52.4% of renewals 94.4% accuracy on employment Insurance payments, just short of the 95% target and 97.7 accuracy rate for Old Age Security payments

Program Activity
Collaborative, Networked Government Service

By broadening and strengthening its partnerships with other federal departments and agencies, as well as other orders of government, Service Canada continued to transform the way Canadians gain access to government services. Service Canada ensured quality service excellence through nationally consistent Web and in-person networks. It also began to work towards becoming a sustainable operation. The work of this program activity took place under two priorities, Transforming Services to Canadians and Achieving Client Information Integration.

Transforming services to Canadians

Under the current program activity, the goal is to describe how we are building our capacity as the Government of Canada network of choice through the building of strategic partnerships.

Building our Capacity as the Government of Canada Network of Choice

The delivery of "My Service Canada Account" eliminated the need for separate online accounts for clients to access key Service Canada products and services, reducing duplication and improving client service delivery. Client service capacity was further increased through enhancements of the "Read to Me" feature for visually and mobility impaired users of the Service Canada Web site. The extent to which Canadians are turning to Service Canada for information and assistance was evident in an increase by more than four million visits to the Service Canada Web site compared to the previous year.

In addition, to provide secure online access to Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security services, Service Canada validated the identity of clients against the Social Insurance Register through over 13,7 million authentication transactions.

Building Strategic Partnerships

Service Canada has developed an overall partnership strategy and framework for the acquisition and management of new partnerships in an efficient and effective manner. Tools and processes are being developed to assess new partnership opportunities and assist in partnership implementation and maintenance. Stronger partnerships developed with other federal government departments and agencies, as well as other orders of government allowed Service Canada to expand the array of benefits and services it provides to Canadians. The number of partnerships is tracked through the Service Canada corporate scorecard and Corporate Risk Management Strategy.

Service Canada worked with the Privy Council Office to develop a framework for publishing information in multiple languages on the Service Canada website. The target of four multi-language fact sheets for development in 2007-2008 was met, making relevant information available on a total of 11 fact sheets to newcomers to Canada in 12 foreign languages and to Aboriginal Canadians in eight Aboriginal languages. Service Canada has heightened its communications with the regions to ensure that multi-language services are provided to those clients unable to speak sufficient English or French.

Service Canada maintained and expanded partnerships with federal departments and agencies, including seven new partnerships with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Transport Canada, Passport Canada, Health Canada, the Department of National Defence and the Labour Program of Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Service Canada signed off on seven new Memoranda of Understanding with other departments to meet service needs, exceeding the national target of four. Service Canada also signed Memoranda of Agreement for service delivery collaboration with Ontario and British Columbia.

Service Canada worked with Human Resources and Social Development Canada to improve processes for delivering the Temporary Foreign Workers Program, including new options for governance and two service efficiency initiatives: the opening of a Centre of Specialization for processing and a new call centre stream for live-in caregivers. The partnership with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on the Ice Compensation Program was particularly successful. This program later served as a model arrangement for partnering with other departments.

As well, announcements and activities were undertaken in collaboration with parliamentarians and other federal partners to demonstrate government investments at the community level through Service Canada. Service Canada contributed to Advantage Canada: Building a Strong Economy for Canadians, a long-term, national economic plan to make Canada a true world economic leader by reducing regulations and paper burden. Service Canada contributed by developing the Record of Employment website, through which Canadian companies can submit data via the Internet.

Service Canada worked with the Voluntary Sector Advisory Committee to support efforts to cluster services around client groups, to streamline the administration of programs and to establish the Office of the Fairness Advisor. This work was cited as a "best practice" by the Independent Blue Ribbon Panel on Grants and Contributions.

Achieving Client Information Integration

Canadians would prefer to be able to provide their information once to the federal government and have this information available to different programs. Service Canada, in accordance with its citizen-centred approach, is creating a single, integrated set of information on individual clients that can be drawn on when they apply for various benefits or services. Achieving Processing Automation, reported earlier, is part of this initiative. The other elements to this priority are establishing a One-Client View for Citizen-Centred Service and of Transforming Vital Events Management.

Establishing a One-Client View for Citizen-Centred Service

In 2007-2008 Service Canada advanced development of the "One Client View" concept initiated the previous year and made significant gains in automation, data integration and service delivery harmonization. Service Canada made strides toward a single system for collecting, using and integrating information provided by Canadians. The system addressed many of the challenges posed by different databases and systems for individual programs and services already in place.

Since the introduction of "My Service Canada Account" on its website in 2006-2007, many Canadians have used the site to access the Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan, and Old Age Security programs. By going online and providing their personal information only once, Canadians have efficiently carried out a large number of transactions to obtain benefits for which they were eligible.

Service Canada's implementation of "My Service Canada Account" demonstrated the organization's continuing capacity to integrate client information securely, while at the same time providing Canadians access to a world class collaborative network.

Transforming Vital Events Management

Vital events management improvement was facilitated through arrangements that permit the authentication and validation of personal identity with the provinces. Service Canada implemented the Integrated Newborn Birth Registration Service with British Columbia and maintained ongoing death notification with both British Columbia and Alberta. Receipt of historical and ongoing death data was on track with these provinces as of March 31, 2008. Service Canada signed vital events agreements with Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Service Canada also signed an agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada for the validation of citizenship data for Social Insurance Number issuance.

Achievements Against Priorities

Collaborative, Networked Government Service
Plan	2007-2008 Achievements
Priority: Transforming service to Canadians
Building the capacity of Service Canada as the Government of Canada network of choice	"My Service Canada Account" implementation eliminated the need for separate online accounts for clients to access key Service Canada products and services "Read to Me" feature enhanced for visually and mobility impaired users of the Service Canada website Visits to Service Canada's website increased from 22,364,000 in 2006-2007 to 26,620,000 in 2007-2008, an increase of 16% 33 new points of service added for total of 620, exceeding target of 605 95.4% of Canadians live within 50 kilometres of a Service Canada point of service, exceeding the target of 90% Over 8 million in-person visits required assistance from a client service agent Approximately 1 million visitors served themselves by using the Internet workstations
Building strategic partnership	Seven new Memoranda of Understanding sign with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Transport Canada, Passport Canada, Health Canada, the Department of National Defence and the Department's Labour Program In partnership with Privy Council Office, developed four multi-language fact sheets in 12 foreign languages and eight Aboriginal languages, for a total of 11 multi-language fact sheets Service for Human Resources and Social Development Canada's Temporary Foreign Workers Program enhanced with the opening of a new Centre of Specialization for processing and a new call centre for a live-in caregiver stream Record of Employment website contributes to Advantage Canada: Building a Strong Economy for Canadians, a long-term, national economic plan to reduce regulations and paper burden for Canadian companies Consultations with Voluntary Sector Advisory Committee to support efforts to cluster services around client groups
Priority: Achieving client information integration
Establishing a "one client view" for citizen-centred service	Canadians accessed key personal information from their "My Service Canada Account" to more easily apply for Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security programs
Transforming vital events management	Agreement signed with Citizenship and Immigration Canada for the validation of citizenship data for SIN issuance Integrated Newborn Birth Registration Service implemented with British Columbia Vitals events agreements signed with Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta

Corporate Focus
Strengthening Management and Financial Accountability

Sustainable Development Commitments

Purchase Energy Efficient Equipment and Lighting, Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Based on commitments outlined in the Sustainable Development Strategy, Service Canada has made progress to develop a framework to purchase energy efficient equipment and lighting in offices and Service Canada Centres across the country, and to optimize the Service Canada fleet of vehicles for fuel efficiency. The fleet inventory for 2007-2008 was 323 vehicles. Of these vehicles, one uses propane fuel, 19 are hybrid vehicles, 39 use Ethanol 85 Flex Fuel, one uses Natural Gas, 230 use regular gas and three use diesel fuel.

Use Recycled Materials where Feasible

Where opportunities exist, recycled materials are used. This includes items such as paper, printer cartridges and furniture for both offices and Service Canada Centres. As part of the Chief Financial Officer Branch Procurement Transformation, a review of standard business equipment and furniture is underway to identify those commodities that have a sustainable development impact. Once the review is complete, targets and measures will be identified and form part of Service Canada's ongoing Sustainable Development reporting.

New Energy Efficient Building

The Jean Canfield building in Charlottetown Prince Edward Island is an example of the latest of the Government of Canada's energy efficient and environmentally friendly buildings and is a model for sustainable development. Estimates of energy use indicate that this building, which opened in December 2007, is approximately 57% more energy-efficient than other national energy-efficient buildings. By using recycled and renewable material to construct the building, 75% less construction waste ended up in landfill sites. The building uses "green" power from provincial wind turbines; water consumption is reduced; and natural light is used and occupancy sensors activate lighting to ensure that energy is used efficiently. Two other energy-conscious buildings use similar strategies: the Alvin Hamilton Building in Regina, which houses Service Canada College's western learning centre, and the Greenstone Government of Canada building in Yellowknife, which is the location of the first Service Canada office in the northern territories.

Manage Waste from Electronic Equipment

Service Canada's Ontario Region is diverting large amounts of the lead, arsenic and cadmium in its discarded computers and televisions from landfill sites. Old computers and other technical equipment are being sent to Computers for Schools, a program that was co-founded by Industry Canada, and the Telecom Pioneers. Computers for Schools takes antiquated electronic equipment, refurbishes it and distribute it to schools, libraries and registered not-for-profit learning organizations. The program increases school and not-for-profit access to technology, enhances youth skills development and diverts toxic waste from landfills. Equipment that cannot be refurbished is taken to a depot where components are separated and reused in other areas. The plastics and metals are recycled and components that cannot be reused are disposed of in a manner that has a minimal impact on the environment. In December 2007, Service Canada was awarded Renewed Computer Technology's top Environmental Partner certificate for its commitment to sound e-waste management.

Reduce Energy and Paper Use through Service Process Automation

Service Canada's automation of the Employment Insurance process has resulted in simpler application processes for clients and a reduction in the use of paper. Building upon this success, Service Canada has begun to modernize its Canada Pension Plan processes, with the goal of reducing the number of paper-based applications. Service Canada has developed plans to support the implementation of the Processing Automation Initiative, developing templates, creating timelines, setting performance expectations and targets, and reviewing ways in which program delivery requirements can be simplified. Service Canada undertook a review of workflows in order to modify how documents are treated and handled, and created new processes and procedures for transmittal of documents.

Bring together Common Support Functions to Enhance the Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness of these Services

In November 2007, the Portfolio Senior Management Board was created to contribute to the strategy of bringing together common support function to enhance efficiency and cost-effectiveness of these functions. The Portfolio Senior Management Board is a decision-making body that provides strategic oversight and direction for management issues that affect Human Resources and Social Development Canada, Service Canada, and the Labour Program in order to create a coherent and consistent approach across the three business lines activities. In 2007-2008, the Board focused on three corporate services - human resources, finance and administration and information management/information technology.

The resulting new Human Resources Services Branch is mandated to provide integrated human resources services to the entire organization. As for finance and administration, the position of Chief Financial Officer has been created to strengthen the financial management functions and stewardship of departmental resources.

The Portfolio Senior Management Board continued to examine corporate services in 2007-2008, to determine how these can best be put to use to serve the needs of management and staff across the entire organization. These new developments built on the significant progress already achieved since the start of the year.

Evaluations and Audits

Several audits were conducted within Service Canada in 2007-2008. they are described below.

Service Canada Internal audits

The Internal Audit Branch at Service Canada reports on the risk management, control and governance processes employed at Service Canada, and operates within the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Audit.¹⁴

Record of Employment Web

The objective of this audit was to provide assurance to Service Canada senior management that the Record of Employment website was meeting its objectives of reducing error rates, better positioning Service Canada for electronic commerce with employers, simplifying the process across Service Canada, and minimizing the burden for employers in processing paper records of employment all without compromising the quality of service to employers.

The audit concluded that the Record of Employment website is gaining acceptance and that its use by the employer community has increased steadily. Some improvements are needed to realize its full potential for electronic commerce with employers.¹⁵

Management of Information Technology Security Standards

The objective of this audit was to review Service Canada's compliance with each mandatory Management of Information Technology Security standard and to provide an opinion on its state of implementation.

In response to a request by the Treasury Board Secretariat for a self-assessment, Service Canada reported its compliance with 32 of 52 MITS standards in January 2007. The audit noted that while MITS standards are the same for each federal government organization, the effort required for implementation is more difficult for an organization such as Service Canada because of its numerous service delivery channels providing multiple services to many different clients and partners.

The audit concluded that Service Canada has successfully enhanced or implemented many security controls and demonstrated its commitment to complying with MITS and safeguarding confidential client information.¹⁶

Compensation and Benefits

The objective of this audit was to assess the administration and appropriateness of the compensation and benefits activities of Service Canada. While Service Canada has implemented a compensation and benefits infrastructure in all its regions, certain anomalies were noted such as the lack of national consistency in applying functional direction.

Most transactions audited had been processed for the correct amount and in accordance with relevant collective agreements, guidelines and policies. Roles and responsibilities were well defined, and resources and tools were deemed adequate. Furthermore, compensation and benefits advisors generally viewed their training positively.

However some inconsistencies among regions were observed. It was not clear whether guidelines have been consistently applied. The audit also concluded that Service Canada needs to remain vigilant in ensuring that staff compensation and benefits files, and the personal information they contain, are secure and accessible only to those who need to know.¹⁷

Grants and Contributions Segregation of Duties

The objective of this audit was to determine if the Segregation of Duties Directive is an effective and efficient control and has been implemented in the delivery of Grants and Contributions programs and services at national headquarters and in selected regions. Segregation of duties means having more than one person required to complete a task or a function.

The Internal Audit Branch was satisfied with the segregation of duties, but found that the interpretation of the directive needed to be clarified. The Segregation of Duties Directive on the delivery of programs and services was judged an effective policy but additional tools are required to ensure greater compliance.¹⁸

Follow-up Audit: Employment Insurance Segregation of Duties

The audit concluded that the Operations Branch has made substantial progress in moving away from the universal agent concept to implement segregation of duties and other management controls, such as monitoring and providing information for staff. However, control weaknesses remained with respect to segregation of duties, monitoring and access only to appropriate information in Employment Insurance claim processing. The Internal Audit Branch requested that its findings be addressed to assure clients and the public of cost-effective due diligence.¹⁹

Evaluations and Management Reviews

Three evaluations and a management review were conducted in 2007-2008.

Evaluation of the SIN Segregation of Duties Pilot

The primary objective of the Social Insurance Number Quality Management Strategy is to ensure that proper quality controls and monitoring mechanisms are in place for the Social Insurance Number issuance and approval process. The strategy included two models, which were piloted in the Ontario Region:

• The Broad Social Insurance Number Quality Management Strategy, which includes training, certification, random sampling, and a pop-up screen feature; and
• SIN Segregation of Duties.

The Broad Social Insurance Number Quality Strategy model was piloted in twenty-one Service Canada Centres across Ontario, three of which were located in the Toronto area (Toronto Centre, Toronto North, and Brampton). The SIN Segregation of Duties model was piloted only at the Scarborough Service Canada Centre.

The objective of the evaluation was to examine and assess the effectiveness of the Segregation of Duties pilot. The Segregation of Duties model was examined in the context of the quality management strategy and in comparison with the Broad Social Insurance Number Quality Management Strategy model. Specifically, the evaluation looked at issues related to the design and implementation, costs and, error and risk mitigation. The evaluation relied primarily on the results of a literature review and key informant interviews.

The evaluation found that both the Social Insurance Number Segregation of Duties and Broad SIN QM Strategy pilots were successfully implemented. Management and staff understood the importance of protecting the integrity of the SIN and appreciate the need for controls.

Evaluation of the Multi-language Service Initiative

The Multi-language Service Initiative was launched in 2006 to meet Service Canada's commitment to reach more Canadians in more communities. The initiative was evaluated in 2007-2008, revealing that there is still much to learn about the provision of multi-language services to aboriginal people and newcomers to Canada.

The evaluation confirmed that Service Canada's Multi-language Service Initiative "employs known, good practices" in its approach to service delivery, and that the client surveys demonstrated high satisfaction among Aboriginal peoples and very high satisfaction among newcomers regarding the extent to which the Multi-language Service Initiative satisfies their needs. The evaluation notes that services are sometimes delivered to clients who speak one of Canada's official languages, but whose basic knowledge of French or English "may be insufficient" to ensure an accurate interaction. As well, service provided in a client's preferred language facilitates trust, comfort and acceptance of the service delivery process. Service Canada has stepped up its communications with regional management and staff regarding the promotion of multi-language services to those clients who are unable to speak sufficient English or French or who prefer, for cultural reasons, to be served in their native language.

To satisfy the need to enhance communications and staff training on multi-language service requirements, fact sheets in Aboriginal and foreign languages have been posted on the Service Canada Internet site for staff, the targeted audiences and community partners.

To improve performance indicators, Service Canada will develop a Performance Measurement Strategy for multi-language services, including revisions to the logic model, and align it with the Performance Measurement Strategy for the Newcomers to Canada and Aboriginal Client Segments.

Evaluation of Pleasure Craft Licensing

Service Canada's Evaluation Division conducted an evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis of pleasure craft licensing to support decision-making for refinements and improvements in service delivery and resourcing for the program. The evaluation report identified Lessons Learned that could be applied to the design and implementation of future service delivery initiatives.

Management Review of the Ice Compensation Program

The Ice Compensation Program was designed to provide financial assistance to approximately 5,100 fishers in northern Newfoundland and Labrador and north-eastern Quebec who were prevented or delayed from fishing because of worse than normal ice conditions from mid May to early July 2007. A management review was undertaken by Service Canada's Evaluation Division to document the challenges, best practices, and lessons from the Ice Compensation Program to inform future service delivery decisions.

The management review concluded that Service Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans collaborated effectively and provided adequate assistance to the affected fishers.

Lessons Learned

Management of Service Delivery

The audit of the Record of Employment website showed that enhancements improved the ability of employers to reliably transfer their bulk files. As reported by management, "this feature has not only improved the speed of issuance, but it also provides employers with a report on the status of each bulk file," a significant benefit to Canadian employers and employees. The audit showed that Service Canada could achieve several strategic outcomes simultaneously. The enhancements to the Record of Employment website addressed Service Canada's strategic integrity program activity by reducing error rates, while at the same time contributing to the goal of seamless, citizen-centred service by enhancing service delivery for both employers and employees.

Achieving Greater Integrity

The findings of the evaluation of the Social Insurance Number Segregation of Duties pilot contributed directly to increasing program integrity. Through Social Insurance Number QM pilots and evaluations, Service Canada has implemented random, systematically generated controls that ensure requests for SIN applications are legitimate. These controls, in turn, contribute to greater accuracy for the Social Insurance Register and integrity for the Social Insurance Number issuance process.

The audit of Service Canada Compensation and Benefits underlines the importance of continuing vigilance on the part of Service Canada staff to ensure the confidentiality of files and the protection of the personal information of clients. Electronic processes are insufficient to protect clients from breaches to the integrity of their information and staff must also be vigilant in overseeing processes that involve the personal information of clients.

The Need for Tools to Implement Policy

The Internal Audit Branch concluded in its audit of grants and contributions programs that the Segregation of Duties Directive on the delivery of programs and services provides a clear policy, but that policy on its own is not sufficient. Additional tools are required to ensure greater compliance with even the clearest of policies, a lesson that can be applied to other Service Canada programs and delivery mechanisms.

Improving Service Delivery through Effective Policy

As a result of the evaluation of the Multi-language Service Initiative, management supported the recommendation on the Multi-language Service Initiative that "fundamental to best practice is the development of a Multi-language Service policy." The Service Canada Multi-language Service Initiative evaluation report cited the European Union's evaluation of its Multi-Lingual Information Society Programme, published in 2000. The European Union recognized that the success of "further interventions in the field of the multilingual information society" would be enhanced "if there was a comprehensive European Union language policy that could provide a framework for all relevant interventions."

Improved Collaboration with Government Departments

The Ice Compensation Program worked well due to an effective partnership between Service Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Program success was attributed to clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and the professionalism and perspicacity shown by program personnel. Key informants from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans emphasized that the early groundwork by Service Canada in anticipation of the program's announcement was key to its rapid design and implementation.

These results suggest that Service Canada is well positioned for future partnerships as long as key elements are addressed. These elements include defining clear responsibilities between collaborating departments and agencies; an appropriate degree of professionalism; and timely initiative and program design and implementation.

Financial and Human Resources 2007-2008

Service Canada
(in millions of dollars)	PLANNED SPENDING	AUTHORITIES	ACTUAL
FINANCIAL RESOURCES (GROSS)
Seamless, Citizen-Centred Service	2,479.6	2,597.2	2,581.6
Integrity	1,029.6	907.3	903.9
Collaborative, Networked Government Service	228.4	229.9	228.4
Total Financial Resources (Gross)	3,737.6	3,734.4	3,713.9
HUMAN RESOURCES (FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS)
Seamless, Citizen-Centred Service	7,045	6,812	6,812
Integrity	11,302	10,927	10,927
Collaborative, Networked Government Service	757	637	637
Total Human Resources (Full Time Equivalents)	19,104	18,376	18,376

 

Details by Programs and Services 2007-2008

Service Canada
Financial Resources (millions of dollars)
	Planned Spending	Authorities	Actual
Seamless, Citizen-Centred Service
Service Strategies and Policy	5.3	15.3	15.2
Client Service Offerings	22.6	26.2	26.0
Service Deliverya	2,254.4	2,379.4	2,376.7
Allocated Corporate Servicesb	197.3	176.3	163.7
Sub-Totala	2,479.6	2,597.2	2,581.6
Integrity
Identity Management	10.9	13.2	13.1
Risk Management	105.0	109.4	109.1
Processing	555.9	486.2	484.8
Allocated Corporate Servicesb	357.8	298.4	296.8
Statutory Payment - Energy Cost Benefits	-	0.1	0.1
Sub-Total	1,029.6	907.3	903.9
Collaborative, Networked Government Service
Partnerships	148.1	150.3	149.3
Information and Knowledge Management	1.0	13.5	13.3
Allocated Corporate Servicesb	79.3	66.1	65.8
Sub-Total	228.4	229.9	228.4
Totala	3,737.6	3,734.4	3,713.9
Human Resources (Full Time Equivalents)
Seamless, Citizen-Centred Service	7,045	6,812	6,812
Integrity	11,302	10,927	10,927
Collaborative, Networked Government Service	757	637	637
Total - Full Time Equivalents	19,104	18,376	18,376
aThis amount includes Common Experience Payments to former Indian residential school students ($1,900M in planned spending, $1,817.4M in authorities and actual.) bCorporate Services resources related to the Deputy Head's Office, the Chief Financial Officer's Office, the Internal Audit Services, Policy, Partnerships and Corporate Affairs and the shared services have been prorated to each program activity.

 

DPR Expenditure Profile 2007-2008

Service Canada
(in millions of dollars)	PLANNED SPENDING	AUTHORITIES	ACTUAL
Budgetary
Operating Costs (Vote 1)a	2,384.0	2,424.0	2,413.1
Delivery Cost related to:
º Employment Insurance Account	1,162.0	1,100.8	1,095.3
º Canada Pension Plan	191.6	204.5	202.4
º Other Government Departments	-	5.0	3.0
Sub-total	1,353.6	1,310.3	1,300.7
Gross Operating Costsb	3,737.6	3,734.3	3,713.8
Delivered on behalf of Human Resources and Social Development Canadac
Voted Grants and Contributions (Vote 5)	663.3	726.3	624.5
Statutory Payments:
º Old Age Security	24,093.0	24,029.8	24,029.8
º Guaranteed Income Supplement	7,413.0	7,406.7	7,406.7
º Allowance Payments	553.0	518.2	518.2
º Energy Cost Benefits	-	0.1	0.1
Sub-total Statutory Payments	32,059.0	31,954.8	31,954.8
Canada Pension Plan benefits	27,478.9	27,536.9	27,536.9
Employment Insurance benefits
• Part I	12,641.0	12,260.0	12,197.2
•Part II	2,053.1	2,062.1	2,051.0
Sub-total Employment Insurance benefits	14,694.1	14,322.1	14,248.2
Total Statutory Transfer Payments	74,232.0	73,813.8	73,739.9
Total Delivered on behalf of HRSDCd	74,895.3	74,540.1	74,364.4
Consolidated Total	78,632.9	78,274.4	78,078.2
a This amount includes Common Experience Payments to former Indian Residential Schools ($1,900.0M in planned spending and $1,817.4M in authorities and actual.) b This amount includes statutory items for employee benefit plans, spending of proceeds from disposal of Crown assets and refunds of previous years revenue. c The financial strategy for Service Canada establishes that statutory funds, including Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security statutory payments and Voted Grants and Contributions related to the delivery of specified programs, will be allocated annually by HRSDC. d This amount directly benefits Canadians and is delivered on behalf of HRSDC.

 

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