ARCHIVED - Privy Council Office

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page

This page has been archived.

Section I: Overview

Prime Minister’s Message

The Government of Canada is committed to the well-being of Canadians and the country. In serving Canada, the Privy Council Office provides essential advice and support to me, as Prime Minister, and to the rest of the Cabinet across the entire spectrum of policy questions and operational issues facing the Government. It upholds the integrity of the Cabinet decision-making system, supports the effective functioning of the Government’s day-to-day operations, and leads the renewal of the federal public service.

Over the past year the Privy Council Office supported the coordinated development and implementation of the Government’s priorities as presented in the October 2007 Speech from the Throne, and in other key documents, including the October 2007 Economic Statement and Budget 2008. The Privy Council Office also provided ongoing secretariat support to Cabinet and its committees. In February 2008, the Government established a new Cabinet Committee on Afghanistan, supported by a task force within the Privy Council Office, to better coordinate and ensure the effectiveness of Canada’s activities in Afghanistan.

I would like to thank the staff of the Privy Council Office and the thousands of federal public servants across this country for their dedication and professionalism. In leading a strong, prosperous and secure Canada, the Government will continue to rely on their capable expertise, advice and support.

It is with pleasure that I present the Departmental Performance Report of the Privy Council Office for the year ending March 31, 2008. This document summarizes achievements of the Privy Council Office in meeting the commitments made in the 2007-2008 Report on Plans and Priorities. I am also pleased to present the 2007-2008 Departmental Performance Report for the Public Appointments Commission Secretariat, included with this report.

Management Representation Statement

I submit for tabling in Parliament the 2007-2008 Departmental Performance Report for the Privy Council Office.

This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2007-2008 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:

• it adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board Secretariat guidance;

• it is based on the department’s Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture that were approved by the Treasury Board;

• it presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and reliable information;

• it provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and

• it reports finances based on approved numbers from the Estimates and the Public Accounts of Canada.

Kevin G. Lynch
Clerk of the Privy Council and
Secretary to the Cabinet

Summary Information

PCO’s Raison d’être

Organizational Information

The Privy Council Office reports directly to the Prime Minister and is headed by the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet.

The main roles of PCO are to:

• provide professional, non-partisan advice to the Prime Minister, other ministers in the Prime Minister’s portfolio, Cabinet and the chairs of Cabinet committees on questions of national, intergovernmental and international importance;

• support the Cabinet’s decision-making system by challenging and coordinating departmental policy, legislative and communications proposals, conducting policy, legal, legislative and communications analysis, and providing secretariat services to the Cabinet and Cabinet committees;

• provide advice on the structure and organization of the government and its entities;

• advance the development of the Government’s agenda across federal departments and agencies and with external stakeholders;

• help foster a high-performing and accountable Public Service for the 21st century;

• manage the appointment process for senior positions in federal departments, Crown corporations and agencies; and

• provide administrative support to the Prime Minister’s Office, ministers’ offices within the Prime Minister’s portfolio, commissions of inquiry, task forces and other independent bodies responsible for matters associated with good governance in Canada.

Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture for 2007-2008

During the year 2007-2008, the Privy Council Office modified its Program Activity Architecture (PAA) to better reflect its role, core mandate and program activities across the organization. The approved revised PAA, which will be implemented in fiscal year 2008-2009, will have four program activities instead of six and will be related to PCO’s role to support the Prime Minister and portfolio ministers, the Cabinet, the Public Service and the commissions of inquiry.

Resource Summary

Financial Resources (thousands of dollars)

Human Resources (full-time equivalents)

Departmental Priorities

The following table provides a summary of the department’s overall performance in relation to the priorities as set out in the 2007-2008 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP). Further details on expected results by program activity stemming from these priorities are found in Section II. As indicated below, all 2007-2008 performance milestones identified in the RPP were successfully met.

Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Operating Context

PCO’s priorities depend in large part on the Government’s agenda and are subject to a variety of internal and external influences. Some of the most significant ones are outlined below.

Complex and unpredictable environment

New horizontal issues are arising that require increased collaboration among governments and sectors. Consequently, relationships and policy design are changing. Decision makers are faced with challenges and opportunities that are influenced by varying pressures, international circumstances, budgetary limits and changing expectations. A minority government’s situation in both the House of Commons and the Senate added to the complexity of the environment.

To deal with this complexity, PCO must support integration within the federal government community, and encourage teamwork within and across departments and agencies. Strong and effective networks involving the federal government, other orders of government and stakeholders are key success factors. PCO must ensure that it is able to support the Prime Minister in exercising his overall leadership responsibility with a high level of policy and legal expertise as well as analytical capability.

Public expectations for increased government accountability

Canadians expect their government to provide better and more efficient services at the lowest possible cost. At the same time, they expect their government to make sound decisions, to be transparent and to account for the use of resources.

Over the past year, the Government has introduced a new expenditure management system to ensure that all government programs are effective, efficient, focused on results, aligned with the Government’s priorities and responsibilities and provide value for money for taxpayers. PCO, as a central agency and as the Prime Minister’s department, has a special duty to lead by example by demonstrating an efficient and effective use of public resources, with excellence as the benchmark.

Changes in the labour market

The face of Canada is being reshaped by significant demographic and societal changes, which poses challenges to the Public Service. According to 2006 Census data, the median age has been rising steadily since 1966, reaching 39.5 years in 2006, and could exceed 44 years by 2031. In 2006, the number of people aged 55 to 64 was at an all-time high of nearly 3.7 million. This group made up 16.9% of the working-age population compared with 14.1% in 2001 and is predicted to represent more than 20% of the working-age population in 2016. According to population projections, Canada may face workforce shortages in approximately 10 years, thereby creating an urgency to develop and implement strategies for the transfer of knowledge, continuous learning, employee retention and succession planning.

In addition to our aging population, visible minorities now account for 16.2% of Canada’s total population. Their presence in the workforce is significant. Immigrants represented almost 70% of the net growth of the Canadian labour force between 1990 and 2001. By 2011, it is projected that immigration will account for 100% of Canada’s net labour force growth.¹

Risks and challenges

People are PCO’s main asset and the main factor in successfully achieving our business objectives. To fulfill its role of providing sound policy advice and support to the Prime Minister and Cabinet, PCO relies extensively on its ability to attract, recruit and retain high-calibre policy analysts and advisors with specific subject-matter expertise who possess the experience, knowledge, analytical capability, ability to work under pressure and, above all, the dedication to provide exceptional quality service. Due to the workforce demographic, the current labour market and the high-pressure nature of its work, PCO, like many departments and agencies, is challenged to fully staff its organization. Integrated business and human resources planning is important in addressing this situation.

The responsibility of PCO to support the Prime Minister and Cabinet, ensure continuity of constitutional government and provide leadership for the Public Service means it must be capable of operating in all environments. Therefore PCO must be able to function 24 hours a day and seven days a week, regardless of the circumstances, which could range from business as usual to natural disasters (e.g. ice storms) to accidents (e.g. power interruptions) to deliberate actions (e.g. terrorism). PCO continues to build on progress already made in the area of emergency preparedness in order to continually improve its capacity to provide support and advice, regardless of the situation.

Alignment of PCO’s Outcome with Government of Canada Outcomes

Canada’s Performance Report to Parliament describes the federal government’s contribution to Canada’s performance as a nation by providing an overview of how individual departments and agencies contribute to broader, government-wide outcomes in the following key policy areas: economic affairs, social affairs, international affairs and government affairs (federal organizations that support all departments and agencies).

Overall Departmental Performance

Priorities

As mentioned previously, PCO focused on four priorities over the course of the year.

1. Support the Prime Minister in exercising his overall leadership responsibility

PCO provided support in a number of key areas. Examples of its activities include: providing policy and legal advice on the structure and organization of Cabinet, Cabinet committees and Cabinet decision making, including the changes to the Ministry in August 2007, the creation of a new Cabinet committee, and the modification of the mandate of one committee; supporting the implementation of the Government’s democratic reform agenda, including a number of pieces of key legislation; continually improving the Governor-in-Council appointment process; coordinating the Government of Canada’s security and intelligence activities to support the Prime Minister in his responsibility for the security of Canada and Canadians; providing advice and support to the Prime Minister in his overall responsibility for the management of relations with the provinces and territories; and providing advice and operational support for the management of the Government’s parliamentary agenda in a minority situation, including support for the legislative program for the new session of Parliament in October 2007.

2. Improve the management and accountability of government

PCO continued to play a central role in assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet in enhancing the overall management, transparency and accountability of government while ensuring that the objectives of improved efficiency and efficacy were met. PCO supported the renewal of the Public Service of Canada, grounding renewal initiatives in the business of government to ensure that the 21st century public service reflects excellence and leadership at all levels. Additionally, it concentrated its efforts on supporting the Government in meeting its commitment to implement the Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan and other key measures aimed at ensuring integrity, accountability, responsibility and excellence in public administration. It also assisted the Government in increasing the effectiveness and accountability of Canada’s democratic institutions and practices.

3. Focus on key policy areas and strengthen medium-term policy planning

PCO provided advice and supported the development and implementation of the Government’s  agenda in the fields of social, economic and international policy, as set out in the Speech from the Throne (www.sft.ddt.gc.ca). It also identified emerging issues to inform Cabinet’s deliberations and, through long-term strategic thinking, provided advice for the Government’s forward-looking agenda.

4. Strengthen PCO’s internal management practices

Achieving excellence in management requires the ongoing strengthening of PCO’s internal management practices, consistent with the standards of management outlined in the Management Accountability Framework (MAF). PCO continued its efforts to integrate human resources planning with the business planning process by producing an integrated business and human resources plan for 2008-2009. PCO also strengthened emergency management and business continuity capacity within PCO. Further information on PCO’s efforts to improve its management accountability is provided in Section IV, Other Items of Interest.

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page