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The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (Secretariat) is the administrative arm of the Treasury Board. The President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario is responsible for this organization. The Secretariat supports the Treasury Board by making recommendations and providing advice on policies, directives, regulations and program spending, while respecting the primary responsibility of deputy heads in managing their organizations and their roles as accounting officers before Parliament. In this way, the Secretariat strengthens the way government is managed and helps to ensure value for money in government spending and results for Canadians.
The Treasury Board is a Cabinet committee of ministers established in 1867. It oversees the government's financial, human resources and administrative responsibilities, and establishes policies that govern each of these areas. In addition, the Prime Minister has designated the Treasury Board to act as the committee of the Queen's Privy Council with respect to the consideration and approval of regulations and most orders-in-council. The Treasury Board, as the Management Board for the government, has three principal roles:
The Secretariat makes recommendations and supports the Treasury Board in each of its roles (see text box “Treasury Board Roles”).
Within the Secretariat, the Comptroller General of Canada provides government-wide leadership, direction, oversight and capacity building for financial management, internal audit and the management of acquired services and assets.
The Chief Human Resources Officer leads people management across the core public administration by developing workplace and workforce policies and programs; by centrally managing labour relations, compensation, and pension and benefit plans; and by developing executive leadership.
The Chief Information Officer provides government-wide leadership, direction, oversight and capacity building for information management, information technology, government security (including identity management) and access to information, privacy, and internal and external service delivery.
The Treasury Board Portfolio consists of the Secretariat and the Canada School of Public Service. The Public Service Pension Investment Board, the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada and the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada are arm's-length organizations that report to Parliament through the President of the Treasury Board.
When working with federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations, the Secretariat plays three central agency roles: