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ARCHIVED - Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety - Report
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The Message
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is Canada's national resource for the advancement of workplace health and safety. CCOHS promotes the total well-being of working Canadians by providing information, training, education, management systems and solutions that support health and safety programs and the prevention of injury and illness.
The Centre functions as an independent departmental corporation under Schedule II of the Financial Administration Act and is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Labour. Its funding is derived from a combination of appropriations, cost recoveries and collaboration with the provinces. It is expected that 50 percent of the budget will be funded through cost recoveries from the creation, production, and worldwide sales of fee-for-service and revenue generating occupational health and safety products and services.
Through its tripartite structure of governance, CCOHS promotes and facilitates cooperation among federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions, and encourages participation by labour, management and other stakeholders in the achievement of world-class standards in occupational health and safety.
CCOHS continues to be a leader in providing effective programs, products and services as the scope of health and safety continues to expand and encompass more complex issues involving physical, mental and psychosocial factors. As well, the vast outreach of services is not only based on the Centre's large collection of occupational health and safety resources, but also their core knowledge in the application of information technologies, webpage and portal development, and the use of social media tools. In order to stay at the forefront of this significant expansion of client needs, CCOHS has had to leverage its national standing and international stature through collaborative arrangements. As Canada's only comprehensive national health and safety organization, CCOHS has a broad range of mutual agreements with many regional and international health and safety organizations, as well as health services and research-based associations.
CCOHS continues to be dedicated to keeping up with changing times by providing cost-effective services and products to working Canadians. The Centre continues to enhance its free services to Canadians as part of its mandate to prevent, reduce, and eliminate occupational health, safety and psychosocial risks; as well as the incidence of injuries and illnesses. At the end of every working day, CCOHS is committed to bringing every Canadian home, healthy and safe.
Steve Horvath
President and CEO
Section I: Organizational Overview
Raison d’être
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1978 with a mandate to promote health and safety in the workplace and to enhance the physical and mental health of working people.
Responsibilities
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) operates under the legislative authority of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act S.C., 1977-78, c. 29 which was passed by unanimous vote in the Canadian Parliament. The purpose of this Act is to promote the fundamental right of Canadians to a healthy and safe working environment by creating a national institute (CCOHS) concerned with the study, encouragement and co-operative advancement of occupational health and safety.
CCOHS is Canada's national occupational health and safety resource which is dedicated to the advancement of occupational health and safety performance by providing necessary services including information and knowledge transfer; training and education; cost-effective tools for improving occupational health and safety performance; management systems services supporting health and safety programs; injury and illness prevention initiatives and promoting the total well-being – physical, psychosocial and mental health - of working people.The Centre was created to provide a common focus for and coordination of information in the area of occupational health and safety.
CCOHS functions as an independent departmental corporation under Schedule II of the Financial Administration Act and is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Labour. Its funding is derived from a combination of appropriations, cost recoveries and collaboration with the provinces. It is expected that 50% of the budget will be funded through cost recoveries from the creation, production and worldwide sales of fee-for-service and revenue generating occupational health and safety products and services. CCOHS is a recognized leader in providing effective programs, products and services, which are based on the centre's core knowledge, its collection of occupational health and safety information, and its application of information management technologies.
CCOHS is governed by a tripartite council representing governments (federal, provincial and territorial), employers, and labour. The Council of Governors provides guidance in the creation and delivery of a trustworthy and complete occupational health and safety service. Our key stakeholders are directly involved in the policy, governance and strategic planning for the organization. They also assist with reviews of programs and services to help ensure our information is impartial. Our inquiries service is also supported and funded from contributions provided by federal, provincial and territorial governments.
Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
Strategic Outcome
In order to pursue its mandate, CCOHS has the following strategic outcome:
Improved workplace conditions and practices that enhance the health, safety and well being of working Canadians.
Program Activity Architecture
Program Activity 1: Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration.
The goal of this program is to provide free information on occupational health and safety to support Canadians in their efforts to improve workplace safety and health. Citizens are provided information through a free and impartial personalized service via telephone, e-mail, person-to-person, fax or mail. Alternatively they can independently access a broad range of electronic and print resources developed to support safety and health information needs of Canadians. This may include cost recovery products and services and is supported financially by contributions from various stakeholders.
CCOHS collects, processes, analyzes, evaluates, creates and publishes authoritative information resources on occupational health and safety for the benefit of all working Canadians. This information is used for education and training, research, policy development, development of best practices, improvement of health and safety programs, achieving compliance, and for personal use. When the products or services provided by CCOHS are used by identifiable external recipients with benefits beyond those enjoyed by the general taxpayer, a user fee is charged.
CCOHS promotes and facilitates consultation and cooperation among federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions and participation by labour, management and other stakeholders in the establishment and maintenance of high standards and occupational health and safety initiatives for the Canadian context. The sharing of resources results in the coordinated and mutually beneficial development of unique programs, products and services.
Collaborative projects are usually supported with a combination of financial and non-financial contributions to the programs by stakeholders and result in advancement of occupational health and safety initiatives.
Program Activity 2: Internal Services
Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Material Services; Acquisition Services; and Travel and Other Administrative Services. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.
Strategic Outcome
Improved workplace conditions and practices that enhance the health, safety and well being of working Canadians.
Program Activity
Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration
Program Sub- Activities: Expected Results
- Easy access to occupational health and safety information and services
- Inquiries
- Web access/design
- New Resources
- Osh Answers Content
- New risks
- Refinement of existing products
- Application of OHS information to improve workplace practices
- OHS management System
- High quality Information
- Improved Application in workplaces
- Foster collaboration
- Education
- Increased awareness and understanding of occupational health and safety issues in the workplace
- National Forum
- Training, conferences and presentation
- Enhance web presence
- Resources for Chemical health and safety
- Health and Safety Report
- Partial Recovery of Costs from User Fees
- OHS products
Organizational Priorities
| Priority | Type | Status | Program Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provide (Material Safety Data sheet) MSDS management services to support compliance and assist workers to be more effective in safely using hazardous chemicals. | ongoing | Met | Linked to improved workplace conditions and practices that enhance the health, safety and well being of working Canadians |
|
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| Training and Education through provision of e-learning and classroom based courses. | ongoing | Met | As above |
Goals continue to be met for this priority each year. The satisfaction rating is consistently high and there is substantial growth year after year. This method of learning directly improves the knowledge of workers for application in the workplace to improve health and safety. |
|||
| Development of an occupational health and safety management service that is customizable for meeting the specific occupational health and safety needs of Canadian enterprises. | ongoing | Mostley met | As above |
Mostly met expectations reflects the ongoing improvements and enhancements to the system. Implementing management systems is a long process and requires a long term commitment. |
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| Provision of inquiries services to help workers with health and safety questions. | ongoing | Mostley met | As above |
The Inquiries service continually achieves high satisfaction ratings from its users. Statistics regarding change in the workplace are generally lower when surveys are done close to the time of the service. We strive for the information to be used in the workplace. |
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Performance/Priority Status Legend
- Exceeded: More than 100 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the corresponding Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) was achieved during the fiscal year.
- Met all: 100 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and expected outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the corresponding RPP was achieved during the fiscal year.
- Mostly met: 80 to 99 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and expected outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the corresponding RPP was achieved during the fiscal year.
- Somewhat met: 60 to 79 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the corresponding RPP was achieved during the fiscal year.
- Not met: Less than 60 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the corresponding RPP was achieved during the fiscal year.
Risk Analysis
The major challenge for CCOHS is maintaining revenue streams sufficient to finance 50% of our operating budget while complying with government policies. Over the past few years the revenues from our traditional product base declined significantly. In order to offset these losses new products and services were developed using our current funding base. This is difficult to achieve without working capital or multi-year funding. CCOHS mitigates these risks by diversifying revenue sources and continually seeking feedback to improve products and services.
Complying with complex government policy is also a challenge as we have limited financial and human resources to keep pace with the steady change in requirements. Each new policy has a significant impact on our operating costs as well as staff resources. These requirements place CCOHS at a competitive disadvantage when developing and delivering products and services.
CCOHS relies on partnerships and resources from many organizations and governments to deliver its programs. Governments and non-profit organizations are subject to changing priorities and limited resources. These changes in priorities impact stakeholders' and partners' ability to support CCOHS and fiscal changes within those organizations also impact CCOHS. Risks include funding levels, support and participation in programs and access to information and revenue streams. CCOHS often experiences changes in funding from our stakeholders and partners.
In order to mitigate these risks, CCOHS maintains close relationships with its stakeholders and partners. We also seek their feedback in product development and satisfaction with our services. This information is used for strategic planning and ongoing improvements.
When operating in a government environment it is difficult to achieve financial success, as the goal of helping people does not always coincide with the mandate to achieve cost recovery. In order to remain competitive, CCOHS defines itself as being able to provide trusted information and related management services.
A number of staff have retired and many more will become eligible in the next couple of years. This is a serious concern as technical, scientific and business knowledge will be lost and it will be difficult to replace. In order to plan for the retirement of staff members, staff has been re-organized into working groups or teams. This promotes knowledge transfer, in anticipation of retirements, so there will be other trained staff available to replace the loss of key employees. With careful planning CCOHS has been able to replace its key personnel upon retirement. This will be an ongoing challenge for CCOHS over the next ten to fifteen years. In addition, with ongoing financial restraints all retirements and resignations will be reviewed for cost saving opportunities.
Summary of Performance
| Planned Spending | Total Authorities | Actual Spending |
|---|---|---|
| 5,056 | 5,616 | 5,438 |
| Planned | Actual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 96 | 90 | 6 |
| Performance Indicators | Targets | 2010-11 Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction with and ease of access and retrieval of OHS information from Inquiries Service, web access and other CCOHS resources | Overall 80% or higher on client satisfaction survey, web statistics and evaluation data | Achieved 87% satisfaction rating for clients |
| Increased awareness and understanding of occupational health and safety issues in the workplace. | Increase distribution and participation in awareness information by 10% | Increased reach in all communications methods ranging from 8.3% to 29% with high satisfaction ratings |
| Information is being applied in the workplace by employees, government and employers | Target of 72% using information to make change in the workplace |
| Program Activity | 2009–10 Actual Spending ($ in thousands) |
2010-111($ in thousands) | Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Estimates | Planned Spending |
Total Authorities |
Actual Spending |
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| Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration | 2,886 | 2,350 | 2,350 | 2,706 | 2,816 | Healthy Canadians2 |
| Internal Services | 2,360 | 2,706 | 2,706 | 2,910 | 2,622 | |
| Total: | 5,246 | 5,056 | 5,056 | 5,616 | 5,438 | |
Commencing in the 2009–10 Estimates cycle, the resources for Program Activity: Internal Service is displayed separately from other program activities; they are no longer distributed among the remaining program activities, as was the case in previous Main Estimates. This has affected the comparability of spending and FTE information by program activity between fiscal years.
For the Government of Canada outcomes refer to the website at:
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/reports-rapports/cp-rc/2009-2010/cp-rc04-eng.asp#healthy
Expenditure Profile
Departmental Spending Trend ($ thousands)
Estimates by Vote
For information on our organizational Votes and/or statutory expenditures, please see the 2010–11 Public Accounts of Canada (Volume II) publication. An electronic version of the Public Accounts is available on the Public Works and Government Services Canada website.
