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ARCHIVED - Western Economic Diversification Canada - Supplementary Tables


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Response to Parliamentary Committees and External Audits


Response to Parliamentary Committees

Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities (October 28, 2010) - RE: Government of Canada's deadline of March 31, 2011, for completion of Projects under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund and the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program.  No recommendations were received.

Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) (June 2, 2010) - RE:  Study on Renewable Energy Projects Funded by the Government.  No recommendations were received.

Standing Senate Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) (May 13, 2010) – RE: Main Estimates 2010-2011: Votes 1 and 5.  No recommendations were received.  As a follow-up to WD’s appearance before the committee, one member posed the following questions:

Question:  What timeframe can a company expect when submitting a proposal for a contribution to an RDA?

Answer:  Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) does not currently provide direct assistance to private companies.  WD provides contributions to non-profit organizations, research organizations and post-secondary institutions.  Projects that are not eligible are often identified quickly.  The time required for due diligence on other projects can vary substantially from a few weeks to months depending on the complexity of the case.  Where the review process requires a longer timeframe, ongoing communications are maintained with proponent as issues are addressed.

Question:  Who has the delegation of authority for projects in each RDA?

Answer:  The Deputy Minister and Regional Assistant Deputy Ministers are responsible for conducting due diligence on project proposals and informing applicants when their proposals do not meet the established criteria.  Authority to approve Grants and Contributions projects lies with the Minister of State (Western Economic Diversification).  The Deputy Minister and Regional Assistant Deputy Ministers have the authority to make payments and various amendments to approved contribution agreements.

Senate National Finance Committee (FINA) (April 14, 2010) – RE: To discuss the Community Futures Program, examinations of the Main Estimates, interest in the Community Futures funding to RDAs. No recommendations were received. As a follow-up to WD’s appearance before the Committee, the Committee requested additional information on the following requests:

Information Request #1:  Additional information on specific measures for monitoring and assessing performance

Response:
The national Results-Based Management Accountability Framework (RMAF) is used by all of the Regional Development Agencies (RDA).  The RMAF contains a logic model and strategies for ongoing performance measurement, evaluation and reporting.  The performance measurement strategy identifies indicators for the outputs and outcomes in the logic model and describes how these indicators will be collected, how often and at what cost.  The evaluation strategy includes evaluation issues and questions, and associated data collection requirements.  The reporting strategy outlines the systematic reporting of evaluation and performance results.

WD like other RDAs, has a departmental Risk-Based Audit Framework (RBAF) which provides an explanation of the roles and responsibilities of management and Internal Audit; an assessment of key risks of the program; the approaches for program monitoring, Community Futures Organization (CFO) audits and Department Audits; and reporting strategies.

Information Request #2:  Information on some success stories

Response:
A sample of success stories related to the Community Futures Program from WD’s “Access West” and “Working with the West” publications.

Information Request #3:  The link to departmental financial statements

Response:
Link: http://www.wd-deo.gc.ca/eng/11656.asp

Information Request #4:  Information on the loan criteria used to guide the CFOs, including how criteria are determined, common deliverables, common terms and conditions.

Response:
The Community Futures Program Terms and Conditions are used by all RDAs and Section 2.1 outlines the conditions for administration of the Investment Funds.

Within this framework, in Western Canada, each CFO establishes their own policies to govern their internal operations and investment fund administration.

Information Request #5:  Examples of types of loans made in different regions and communities

Response:
Terms and Conditions and the Contribution Agreements allow CFO to provide the following types of investments:

  • Loans - CFOs can lend up to $150,000 and interest rates will not normally be less than the prime rate plus two percent.  In 2009, the average value of all loans provided by CFOs in Western Canada was $51,000.
  • Loan Guarantees - CFOs provide a guarantee on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) loans issued by commercial financial institutions.
  • Equity Investments - equity investment mechanism provided to incorporate SMEs in return for share capital.  The assistance provided must be the subject of formal agreements and the CFO must also have an investment exit strategy.  This option is not widely utilized.

As part of the evaluation of the Community Futures Program completed in 2008, WD conducted case studies of ten CFOs across western Canada.  Examples were cited which illustrate the size and diversity of businesses supported by CFOs across Western Canada.