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Section II – Analysis of Program Activities in Support of the Strategic Outcome

Introduction

Elections Canada operates under a Program Activity Architecture (PAA) that contains one strategic outcome:

An electoral process that contributes to fairness, transparency and accessibility for all participants, in compliance with the legislative framework.

The PAA contains one program activity: Elections. Within this activity, Elections Canada is committed to providing four key programs that are beneficial to Canadians.

Key Program 1: Electoral event delivery, political financing, and compliance and enforcement

Key Program 2: Electoral event readiness and improvements

Key Program 3: Public education and information, and support for stakeholders

Key Program 4: Electoral boundaries redistribution

The following sections describe Elections Canada's key program activities and identify the expected results and measures for each one. Each section also explains how Elections Canada plans to achieve the expected results and presents the financial and human resources that will be dedicated to each key program activity.

The initiatives planned to improve our internal services and operations are described later in this report (see section 2.5, Internal Services). In 2010–11, we will complete a review of our PAA to better reflect the results that Elections Canada brings to Canadians.

 

2.1 Key Program 1: Electoral Event Delivery, Political Financing, and Compliance and Enforcement

Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ thousands)
2010-11		2011-12		2012-13
FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending
68	$46,815	68	$47,157	68	$47,160

Expected Results	Measures
Delivery of high-quality elections, by-elections and referendums	Level of trust of electors in the administration of the electoral process, the list of electors, the voting process and election results. Electors' perception of the accessibility of registration and the voting process. Satisfaction of stakeholders (electors, political entities, election workers) with electoral products and services.
Fair, efficient and transparent administration of the political financing provisions	Level of trust of Canadians and political entities in the administration of the political financing regime. Satisfaction of financial agents and official agents of political entities with the political financing support, services and products received from Elections Canada.
Effective compliance and enforcement programs Electoral events carried out in accordance with legal requirements	Extent to which the work of the Commissioner of Canada Elections identifies and responds to incidents or patterns of non-compliance

Key Program Summary

This key program includes delivering federal elections, by-elections and referendums as they are required. It also includes administering the provisions of the Canada Elections Act related to political financing. This involves maintaining a registry of political entities and third parties, reviewing financial returns to verify compliance with the statutory provisions, determining the reimbursement or subsidy amount to be paid to a political entity and/or its auditor, publishing financial returns and assisting political entities with compliance through filing extensions and return amendments. Finally, this key program requires Elections Canada to deal with complaints and referrals concerning contraventions of the Canada Elections Act and to address alleged violations.

Planning Highlights

To help achieve the expected results for this program, Elections Canada plans to undertake the following activities in 2010–11:

• Deliver electoral events as they are called.
• On-line Tutorials – We will complete the on-line tutorial modules for political entities. This will increase the accessibility of our training programs and the knowledge of political entities of the political financing rules. Multimedia kits will be available for clients who do not have Internet access.
• Political Entities Registration System (PERS) – The technology now used to collect and store registration data for political entities is outdated and fails to meet business requirements. Thus, a new, fully functional, consolidated system will be put in place to register political entities. PERS will increase the efficiency of registering business processes, procedures and internal and external client services. It will also be flexible enough to adapt to future legislative changes.

Benefits for Canadians

Canadians exercise their democratic right to vote using an electoral process that is conducted impartially, fairly and in compliance with the Canada Elections Act.

 

2.2 Key Program 2: Electoral Event Readiness and Improvements

Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ thousands)
2010-11		2011-12		2012-13
FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending
211	$41,582	211	$41,885	211	$41,888

Expected Results	Measures
State of readiness achieved and maintained to deliver electoral events whenever they are called	Level of agency preparation at various readiness dates. Extent to which the agency mitigates the risks of a general election being called before a predetermined readiness date (e.g. contingency plans are in place for all key services).
Improved delivery of electoral events in response to stakeholders' concerns and expectations	Timely and effective implementation of changes to the electoral process.

Key Program Summary

This key program includes keeping electoral processes, systems, databases and materials up to date as well as training staff and election officers to be ready for any electoral event. Elections Canada regularly updates the National Register of Electors from the most current data sources. This key program also includes improving electoral events in response to stakeholders' concerns – for example, by implementing new legislation and new registration and voting methods.

Planning Highlights

To help achieve the expected results for this program, Elections Canada plans to undertake the following activities in 2010–11:

Electoral Event Readiness

• Maintain Electoral Readiness – The agency returned to a full readiness state in September 2009 and will maintain it for electoral events called before spring 2011. This involves keeping databases and materials up to date, particularly ensuring the ongoing maintenance of the National Register of Electors as well as geography data and products.
• Keep Abreast of Legislative and Judicial Developments – As required, we will monitor and analyze legislative changes and judicial decisions, and implement the required changes in the electoral process.

Electoral Event Improvements

• E-registration – We will continue to develop the e-registration system. This will improve access to voter registration by offering electors, especially young people, an additional way to register. The project will be phased in, beginning with on-line confirmation, partial on-line updating and limited additions, by spring 2011. Legislative changes will be required for full implementation.
• Internet Voting Pilot Project – The objective of this pilot project is to develop the means to successfully integrate Internet voting into Elections Canada's current paper-based voting process and results reporting. During this project, a limited target group of electors will vote, in a controlled environment, during one or more federal by-elections by 2013. Because this project is at a very early stage, our focus in 2010–11 will be on analyzing the business needs of this new voting process as well as engaging a number of key stakeholders, such as the Advisory Committee of Political Parties, parliamentarians, academics and the public.
• Voter Information Card as ID – In 2010–11, Elections Canada will explore the feasibility of adding the voter information card to the list of authorized documents that can be used as proof of address when voting. This is to respond to the fact that some groups of electors found it difficult to meet the proof-of-address requirement during the 40th general election.

Benefits for Canadians

This program activity provides eligible Canadians with a more accessible and constantly improved electoral process.

2.3 Key Program 3: Public Education and Information, and Support for Stakeholders

Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ thousands)
2010-11		2011-12		2012-13
FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending
44	$8,514	44	$8,576	44	$8,576

Expected Results	Measures
Public education and information Electors become aware of their right to vote, key dates in the electoral calendar and voting rules and procedures Groups most likely to experience difficulties in exercising their democratic rights become engaged in electoral processes and initiatives relevant to them	Public awareness and understanding of Elections Canada's public education and information campaign. Timely dissemination of information on the conduct of an election to Canadians, political parties and Parliament.
Engagement of political parties Improved channels of communication with parliamentarians and political parties	Satisfaction of parliamentarians and political parties with the quality of advice and technical support provided by Elections Canada.

Key Program Summary

This key program informs and educates electors in general, as well as specific groups, about federal electoral events and the federal electoral framework. It aims to ensure that Canadians are informed and aware of major changes to the electoral process and that they understand them. The program also helps Elections Canada evaluate its key activities by developing qualitative and quantitative research to assess its performance in delivering electoral events. Under this key program, the agency provides both parliamentarians and political parties with expertise and technical advice on initiatives regarding electoral legislation.

Planning Highlights

As a contribution toward achieving the expected results for this program, Elections Canada plans to undertake the following activities in 2010–11:

• New Creative Content for Advertising Campaign Aimed at Youth – By spring 2011, we will develop a new advertising campaign that targets young Canadians and their understanding of the importance of voting and becoming candidates.
  
• Youth Engagement – Research will form the basis of decision making for all future outreach activities. We will develop and implement a youth research action plan to deepen our knowledge of youth participation, notably by identifying barriers to participation as well as best practices and key interveners for engaging youth.
  
  In collaboration with federal and provincial partners, we will develop a strategy to provide current and comprehensive electoral civic education materials for use by Canadian educators. Finally, in consultation with student representatives, we will improve our communications materials directed at post-secondary students to ensure that they are appropriate for the audience and meet students' needs.
• Aboriginal Outreach Focus – Elections Canada has identified outreach to the Aboriginal population as a priority for the coming years. Two main areas of focus for 2010–11 will be improving, through research, our understanding of barriers that Aboriginal electors could face and exploring possible enhancements to the Aboriginal Community Relations Officer Program and Aboriginal Elders and Youth Program during electoral events to address those barriers.

Benefits for Canadians

This program activity informs Canadians about electoral matters and encourages them to exercise their democratic rights.

2.4 Key Program 4: Electoral Boundaries Redistribution

Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ thousands)
2010-11		2011-12		2012-13
FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending
0	$600	0	TBD*	0	TBD*

*Estimated costs not currently available; will be funded through Supplementary Estimates.

Expected Result	Measure
Efficient and non-partisan administration of the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act	Support services provided by Elections Canada are appropriate; they allow redistribution activities to be conducted in an effective and timely manner.

Key Program Summary

This program activity is initiated after each decennial (10-year) census. Federal electoral boundaries and representation in the House of Commons are revised to reflect changes and movements in Canada's population. Independent commissions in each province readjust the federal electoral boundaries with the support of Elections Canada. We provide a variety of professional, financial and administrative services, including assisting with mapping, census data and publications, and maintaining a Web site. The commissions will begin their work once we receive the 2011 census population figures from Statistics Canada (according to current plans, in spring 2012).

Planning Highlight

To help achieve the expected result for this program, Elections Canada plans to undertake the following activity in 2010–11:

• Supporting Tools – The agency will assess and develop the tools (including systems) required to support the process.

Benefits for Canadians

This program activity ensures that the representation of Canadians in the House of Commons is fair and equitable relative to the population density within Canada's boundaries.

2.5 Internal Services

Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ thousands)
2010-11		2011-12		2012-13
FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending
81	$24,310	81	24,310	81	24,310

Program Activity Summary and Planning Highlights

Elections Canada's internal services and enabler groups provide services that support the agency in fulfilling its mandate. These groups focus on human resources modernization, performance management, legal services, internal audit, financial and human resources management, and information technology.

The planning highlights for 2010–11 include the following:

Information Technology Renewal – We will continue to build a central repository of elector information to enable e-registration and continue improving data management. We will also complete the relocation of our business systems to a modern data centre and the migration of our field applications to a new Web-based platform. We will continue to further implement key components of the IT management framework that are critical to the IT renewal process. These will ensure that we are able to provide Canadians with new, enhanced and robust electronic services in keeping with the objectives of our strategic plan.

Human Resources Strategy – To ensure that our employees have the tools and skills they require to conduct their work, we will offer corporate language training and seven days per year of professional development to all indeterminate and term employees over six months.

To address the succession planning challenge that Elections Canada will face over the next few years, we will launch the Elections Canada Leadership Assignment Program. This program will ensure the development and the ongoing renewal of the executive group and EX equivalents. The program will use a mixed learning approach over an 18-month period for a selected number of employees. Participants will develop personal skills and acquire knowledge that will help them better perform their leadership roles. Personalized learning plans will also be developed for the whole management community at Elections Canada to help them better perform the leadership role in their respective positions.

Over the next fiscal year, we will also be using staffing pools to facilitate the hiring of employees.

Corporate Risk Management Framework (CRMF) – To improve our internal management capacity, we will develop a risk management framework in 2010–11 that will help Elections Canada better address key issues of its operating environment. The CRMF will be fully implemented in 2011–12.

Program Evaluation – Elections Canada will also establish a formal program and event evaluation capacity during the fiscal year. This is the result of the new Treasury Board Evaluation Policy (effective April 2009) as well as the need to anchor the modernization of the electoral framework in an evidence-based approach.

Internal Audit – By the end of the 2009–10 fiscal year, Elections Canada will have updated its Risk-Based Audit Plan (RBAP) for 2010–11 to 2012–13. This plan will provide management with assurance in the soundness of management processes as well as information to help them deliver on the agency's mandate and assess governance, risk management and control activities. The RBAP is a rolling plan that is updated annually, based on a risk assessment that covers a three-year period.

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