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Section III: Supplementary Information
Financial Highlights
The financial highlights presented on the following pages offer an overview of Environment Canada’s financial position and operations. The detailed unaudited departmental financial statements can be found on Environment Canada’s website.
| % Change | 2010-11 | 2009-10 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets | (3.0%) | 606.2 | 625.2 |
| Total liabilities | (7.2%) | 458.0 | 493.6 |
| Equity of Canada | 12.6% | 148.2 | 131.6 |
| Total | (3.0%) | 606.2 | 625.2 |
| % Change | 2010-11 | 2009-10 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses | 0.5% | 1,231.7 | 1,225.3 |
| Total revenues | (9%) | (79.6) | (87.4) |
| Net Cost of Operations | 1.3% | 1,152.1 | 1,137.9 |
Financial Statements
Environment Canada’s unaudited financial statements are prepared in accordance with accrual accounting principles and, therefore, are different from appropriation-based reporting, which is reflected in Sections I and II of this report. Sections I and II are prepared on a modified cash basis rather than an accrual basis. A reconciliation between the parliamentary appropriations used (modified cash basis) and the net cost of operations (accrual basis) is set out in notes 2 and 3 of Environment Canada’s Unaudited Financial Statement at this website.
Financial Highlights Charts/Graphs
Total departmental expenses by Program Activity have increased by $6.4 million or 0.5%, increasing from $1,225.3 million in 2009–2010 to $1,231.7 million in the current year. To comply with the Policy on Management, Resources and Results Structures, the 2009–2010 expenditures were realigned with the revised 2010–2011 Program Activity Architecture (PAA).
See note 13 of the Departmental Financial Statements – Segmented Information at the following website for a further breakdown of expenditures by PAA and Standard Objects.
Total revenues amounted to $79.6 million for 2010–2011. The majority of the revenue in 2010–2011 is derived from Environment Canada’s meteorological services under Weather and Environmental Services for Targeted Users.
Major revenue items include ocean disposal permit applications, meteorological services, the hydraulics laboratory, and ocean disposal monitoring fees. The decrease of $7.9 million in Environment Canada’s revenues in 2010–2011 is due to a modification of the invoicing and revenue recognition policy in 2009–2010.
See note 13 of the Departmental Financial Statements – Segmented Information at the following website.
Total assets, valued at $606 million, have decreased by $19.0 million. This decrease in Environment Canada’s total asset valuation is mainly attributable to
- a decrease of $40.5 million in the due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund;
- an increase in accounts receivable and advances of $17.4 million; and
- an increase in tangible capital assets of $5.1 million.
See notes 4 and 5 of the Departmental Financial Statements – Accounts Receivable and Advances; Tangible Capital Assets at the following website for more details.
Total liabilities were $458 million at the end of 2010–2011. This represents a decrease of $35.6 million (7.2%) from the previous year’s total liabilities of $493.6 million. The Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities continue to represent the largest component of liabilities at $185.6 million (41%) of total liabilities in 2010–2011. The accounts payable and accrued liabilities have decreased due to a reduction in a liability with the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
See notes 6 to 11 of the Departmental Financial Statements – Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities, Deferred Revenue; Lease Obligation for Tangible Capital Assets; Employee Future Benefits; Environmental and Contingent Liabilities; Contractual Obligations at the following website for more details.
List of Supplementary Information Tables
All electronic supplementary information tables found in the 2010–2011 Departmental Performance Report can be found on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s website.
- Sources of Respendable and Non-Respendable Revenue
- User Fees Reporting
- Status Report on Projects Operating with Specific Treasury Board Approval
- Details on Transfer Payment Programs (TPPs)
- Up-front Multi-year Funding
- Horizontal Initiatives
- Green Procurement
- Response to Parliamentary Committees and External Audits
- Internal Audits and Evaluations
Section IV: Other Items of Interest
Organizational Contact Information
For questions or comments on Environment Canada’s Departmental Performance Report, please contact:
Gordon Clifford
Director
Planning, Reporting and Performance Measurement
Corporate Management Directorate, Finance Branch
Environment Canada
Tel.: 819-953-3922 Fax: 819-953-3388
Gordon.Clifford@ec.gc.ca
Additional Information
The following information on official languages, the Management Accountability Framework, and indicators of environmental sustainability is part of Environment Canada’s Other Items of Interest in the 2010–2011 Departmental Performance Report.
Official Languages
Under the Official Languages Act (OLA), Environment Canada is fully committed to continue providing bilingual services to the public (Part IV) and to ensure that the language of work provision (Part V) is respected at all times.
Following the revised guidelines on the provision of bilingual service and active offer, Environment Canada assessed the Department’s compliance with Part IV via a monitoring toll developed internally. The assessors reported back to the branch heads on the positive results and on some suggested minor corrective measures. This assessment will be conducted once a year to ensure that Environment Canada continues to provide bilingual services and active offer to the public at all times. With respect to language of work, covered by Part V of the OLA, Environment Canada is finalizing a new internal tool of language of work that will give all employees tips on how to create and maintain a work environment that is conductive to the use of both official languages. Furthermore, all employees who were appointed to a bilingual position on a non-imperative basis under a public service official languages exclusion approval order are closely monitored in order to ensure that they meet the language requirements of their position within the two-year time frame allocated. The Department also encourages employees to acquire or improve second-language skills by adding language training to their learning plans.
Management Accountability Framework
In the Round VIII (2010–2011) Management Accountability Framework (MAF) assessment, Environment Canada built upon the significant performance improvements from the previous year, receiving three strong, nine acceptable, three opportunity for improvement and no attention required ratings. The Department’s overall performance can be considered stable; the rating improved in one area (values-based leadership and organizational culture), declined in one area (integrated risk anagement), while all other ratings remained the same as they were in the previous round.
In its ongoing search for continuous performance improvement, the Department developed a renewed MAF Action Plan for 2011–2012. Produced annually, the Action Plan is based on departmental priorities as well as those identified by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). The Action Plan outlines actions to maintain or improve management performance. TBS has identified three priority areas for Environment Canada in 2011–2012: financial management and control; management of security; and integrated risk management. Progress will be monitored periodically against the Action Plan to help ensure that management performance meets expectations in MAF Round IX.
Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators
Environment Canada develops and communicates national environmental indicators in the areas of air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, water quality and nature. These indicators are reported through the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) program.
CESI provides a high-level snapshot of key environmental sustainability issues and, as such, do not necessarily portray the complexity and details surrounding those issues. The indicators are continually being refined, updated and expanded to ensure that they best measure Canada’s environmental performance.
Designed to be relevant to the Government’s policy, the indicators are built on rigorous methodology and the best available data from surveys and monitoring network. As such, CESI brings together environmental information from federal, provincial and territorial governments, which share responsibility for environmental management in Canada. Consequently, the trends and values of these indicators are not solely attributable to Environment Canada's actions, but indicative of the environmental results achieved collectively by various levels of government in accordance with their responsibilities for the environment.
The table below provides an overview of observed trends and results for key high-level environmental sustainability indicators reported in CESI:
| Trend | Indicator* | Overview |
|---|---|---|
| No trend | Air Quality (PM2.5) | Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) can be emitted directly into the atmosphere by anthropogenic and natural sources or formed by the transformation of gaseous emissions. It is also a key component of smog and can affect human health and the environment. The population-weighted air quality indicator shows that the PM2.5 level for 2009 was of 7.2 µg (micrograms) per cubic metre. The national indicator did not show any statistically significant increasing or decreasing trend between 2000 and 2009, but a 14% decrease was registered between 2008 and 2009. This parallels a similar decrease measured across the Eastern United States. The likely factors contributing to this decrease include the implementation of emissions reduction regulations, the North American economic slowdown and a cool wet summer in eastern Canada during this period. |
| No trend | Water Quality | The freshwater quality indicator (WQI) is a measure of the ability of water bodies to support aquatic life. Of the 176 representative sites monitored across Canada from 2006 to 2008, freshwater quality was rated excellent at 5% of the sites. It was rated good at 37%, fair at 40%, marginal at 15% and poor at 3% of sites. |
| No trend | Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Levels | Under the Copenhagen Accord, Canada is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 607 Mt (megatonnes) by 2020, or 17% below 2005 levels. Total emissions in 2008 were 734 Mt. Current Government actions are expected to reduce emissions by 65 Mt. A further 178 Mt reduction is required to meet this target. The Government of Canada’s climate change plan is to regulate all major sources of emissions to generate additional reductions. |
| Improving performance | Biodiversity: Protected Areas | Protected areas include lands where development and use is restricted. Total protected area in Canada has grown to 977 621 km2, or 9.8% of its land area as of 2010. Since 1990, the overall protected area in Canada has nearly doubled. As a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Canada has committed to protecting 17% of its terrestrial area by 2020. |
*A severe weather events indicator is under development, with anticipated inclusion in CESI.
[Footnotes]
1 On February 16, 2011, responsibility for the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP) and the Federal Public Administration MGP Office was transferred to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. Please see the Canada Gazette for more information.
2 Please refer to Environment Canada’s 2010–2011 RPP: Section I: Environment Canada’s Operating Context and Priorities.
3 The EEA is being implemented in three stages through 2012–2013.
4 See Program Activity 3.1: Substance and Waste Management for further details on progress against commitments.
5 Leading the Way on Jobs and Growth, Budget 2010, Department of Finance, March 2010.
6 Environment Canada had the intent to report baseline values in this Departmental Performance Report at the time when the 2010–2011 Report on Plans and Priorities was prepared. However, this proved more difficult than anticipated for the reasons outlined in the 2010–2011 Performance Summary column.
7 The key findings of Canadian Biodiversity: Ecosystem Status and Trends 2010 include a broad range of topics that cover both the status and trends of various aspects of ecosystems themselves (biomes, habitat, wildlife, and ecosystem processes) and the human activities that affect them. The overall health of individual ecosystems was not rated. The percentage of the report’s key findings that are rated as healthy, of concern or impaired is not equivalent to the percentage of Canada’s ecosystems that are rated as healthy, of concern or impaired. Note that 20 of the 22 key findings from the report are reflected here; the science/policy interface themes have been excluded.
8 The percentage of key findings in each status category (healthy, of concern, impaired) was calculated by adding the number of status ratings in each category and dividing by 20. In cases where the status of a key finding was given two ratings (e.g. forests are rated as both healthy and of concern), each rating received a weighting of 0.5. All percentages were rounded to two digits. See the synthesis of key findings in the report details.
9 The establishment of baseline values, as identified in the 2010–2011 Performance Summary column, assists in facilitating development of a future target.
10 Concentrations presented are based on small sample size, and one single location in Canada. In addition, PFOS and certain PBDEs are persistent and bioaccumulative, therefore significant changes in concentrations may not be evident from year to year.
11 Commencing in the 2009–2010 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 Estimates documents. This has affected the comparability of spending and full-time equivalent information by Program Activity between fiscal years.
12 See http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/txt/72-eng.html.
13 Total number of species included in the reports: 2000 = 1,670; 2005 = 7,732; 2010 = 11,950.
14 Separate marine plans are being produced in the Atlantic region, so there are now 32 individual plans instead of the 22 reported in the 2010–2011 Report on Plans and Priorities.
15 Canada’s Ecological Gifts Program provides a way for Canadians with ecologically sensitive land to protect nature and leave a legacy for future generations. Made possible by the terms of Canada’s Income Tax Act and Quebec’s Taxation Act, it offers significant tax benefits to landowners who donate land or a partial interest in land to a qualified recipient. Recipients ensure that the land’s biodiversity and environmental heritage are conserved in perpetuity.
16 The establishment of baseline values, as identified in the 2010–2011 Performance Summary column, assists in facilitating development of a future target.
17 Participation in water boards includes the Prairie Provinces Water Board, the Mackenzie River Basin Board’s advisory committee and the International Rainy River Water Pollution Board and International Rainy Lake Board of Control, International St. Croix River Watershed Board, Souris River Basin Board and the International Lake of the Woods and Rainy River Watershed Task Force (with final report and recommendations scheduled to be submitted to the International Joint Commission in July 2011).
18 At the time of the 2010–2011 Report on Plans and Priorities preparation, the intent was to establish a definition of ecosystem health in 2010–2011 and the baseline value was to be reported in the subsequent year. Only then could we set a target after two measured values for this indicator became available. However, this proved more difficult than anticipated for the reasons explained in the Performance Status column.
19 The key findings of Canadian Biodiversity: Ecosystem Status and Trends 2010 include a broad range of topics that cover both the status and trends of various aspects of ecosystems themselves (biomes, habitat, wildlife and ecosystem processes) and the human activities that affect them. Trends of individual ecosystems were not rated. The percentage of the report’s key findings that are rated as healthy, of concern and impaired is not equivalent to the percentage of Canada’s ecosystems that are rated as healthy, of concern and impaired. Note that 20 of the 22 key findings from the report are reflected here; however, the science/policy interface themes have been excluded).
20 The percentage of key findings in each trend category (improving, little change, getting worse) was calculated by adding the number of trends in each category and dividing by 20. In cases where a key finding had two trends (e.g. Marine is both improving and getting worse), each trend was given a weighting of 0.5. All percentages were rounded to two digits.
21 The 2010–2011 Report on Plans and Priorities reflected the intent at the time to report baseline values in this Departmental Performance Report and to set a target in the National Enforcement Plan for the 2010–2011 fiscal year. However, this proved more challenging than anticipated for reasons cited in the Performance Status column.
22 The establishment of baseline values, as identified in the 2010–2011 Performance Summary column, assists in facilitating development of a future target.
23 Providing a baseline value for this indicator, as per the commitment made in the 2010–2011 Report on Plans and Priorities, proved more difficult than anticipated. Considering that no exhaustive list of clients is available and that no mechanisms are currently in place to assess this indicator, an alternative reporting approach has been taken to demonstrate how these users are increasingly using the information. For 2012–2013 and beyond, the indicator will be based on a specific client satisfaction question asked of Environment Canada’s three main clients: NAV CANADA, National Defence and the Canadian Coast Guard.
24 Reporting a baseline value in this Departmental Performance Report proved more difficult than anticipated. Considering that no exhaustive list of clients is available and that no mechanisms are currently in place to collect the data for this indicator, an alternative reporting approach has been taken.
25 The establishment of baseline values, as identified in the 2010–2011 Performance Summary column, assists in facilitating development of a future target.
26 Note that the actual baseline year for PCBs is 2009; however, data do not yet exist for that year. Data for 2007 have been provided in their place for the time being.
27 For further information on the assessment and management of new substances, please see this website.
28 Pollution prevention planning notices legally require persons subject to the notice to prepare and implement a pollution prevention plan.
29 Programs: Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC); the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund (GMF); Canadian Environmental Technology Advancement Centres (CETACs); the Program of Energy Research and Development (PERD); ecoENERGY Technology (ecoETI); and the Clean Energy Fund (CEF).
30 The 2010–2011 Report on Plans and Priorities reflected the intent at the time to report baseline values in this Departmental Performance Report and to set a target in the National Enforcement Plan for the 2010–2011 fiscal year. However, this proved more challenging than anticipated for reasons cited in the Performance Status column.
31 CEAP figures include contributions to employee benefits plans (EBPs).
