Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Symbol of the Government of Canada

ARCHIVED - RPP 2006-2007
Privy Council Office


Warning This page has been archived.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.


SECTION I OVERVIEW

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of CanadaPrime Minister’s Message

On February 6, 2006, a new administration took over the reins of government, reflecting the desire for change expressed by Canadians from coast to coast. Canada’s new Government, which I am proud to lead, established five key priorities for the First Session of the Thirty-Ninth Parliament of Canada. These priorities are:

  • Restoring Canadians’ faith in the federal government by introducing the most sweeping accountability measures in Canada’s history;
  • Putting money back in the pockets of hard-working Canadians by reducing the GST;
  • Protecting families, communities and Canada’s way of life by cracking down on guns, gangs and drugs;
  • Giving parents choice in child care by providing direct financial support and new child care spaces; and
  • Guaranteeing timely health care services for Canadians by creating a patient wait times guarantee.

It is a clear and focused agenda, one that will serve as the cornerstone of our efforts to keep Canada strong, united, independent and free.

To help us implement this agenda and to respond to issues as they arise, our Government relies on the competence, expertise and non-partisan advice it receives from the dedicated public servants who make up the Privy Council Office. The plans outlined in this report will, when fully implemented, greatly assist our Government in achieving its goals. I am pleased to present the 2006-2007 Report on Plans and Priorities for the Privy Council Office.

Management Representation Statement

I submit for tabling in Parliament, the 2006-2007 Report on Plans and Priorities for the Privy Council Office.

This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2006-2007 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:

  • It adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board Secretariat guidance;
  • It is based on the department’s approved Program Activity Architecture structure as reflected in its Management, Resources, Results Structure (MRRS);
  • It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and accurate information;
  • It provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
  • It reports finances based on approved planned spending numbers from the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Kevin G. Lynch
Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet


Summary Information


Reason for Existence – The mandate of the Privy Council Office (PCO) is to serve Canada and Canadians by providing the best non-partisan advice and support to the Prime Minister, ministers within the Prime Minister’s portfolio and Cabinet. PCO supports the development of the Government’s policy agenda; coordinates responses to issues facing the Government and the country; and supports the effective operation of Cabinet.

Financial Resources (thousands of dollars)


  2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009
Main Estimates 146,721 130,810 129,877
Planned Spending 129,296 111,201 111,266

Human Resources (full-time equivalents)


  2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009
Main Estimates 1,088 1,066 1,062
Planned 916 902 902

The Main Estimates represent the votes approved by Parliament in April 2006. Subsequent to this approval, PCO underwent a significant reorganization in order to refocus its efforts on core functions. The Planned Spending reflects the significant reductions in projected resource requirements resulting from this reorganization. For further details, see the Organizational Information section and Table 1d.

Departmental Priorities


Strategic Outcome – Towards effective government policies and operations, the Privy Council Office ensures that decision making by the Prime Minister and Cabinet is well supported and the institutions of executive government are well supported and maintained.

Departmental Priorities, Program Activities, Expected Results and Planned Spending


Priorities Type Program Activity1 Expected Result Planned Spending (thousands of dollars)
2006-
2007
2007-
2008
2008-
2009
Support the Prime Minister in exercising his overall leadership responsibility Ongoing A.1 Cabinet decision making and legislative agenda are supported 32,143 30,253 30,277
A.2 The Prime Minister and ministers receive information and sound advice in support of decision making
Improve the management and accountability of government Ongoing A.2 The Prime Minister and ministers receive informed and sound advice in support of decision making  10,445 10,032 10,038
A.4 The overall development of the Public Service is fostered
Focus on key policy areas and strengthen medium-term policy planning Ongoing A.1
Cabinet decision making and legislative agenda are supported 61,297 51,727 51,759
A.2 The Prime Minister and ministers receive informed and sound advice in support of decision making 
A.3 Cabinet receives informed and sound advice on the development and implementation of the policy agenda 

The overall development of the Public Service is fostered
Strengthen PCO’s internal management practices Ongoing A.1-A.6  The Prime Minister’s Office and the offices of the portfolio ministers receive appropriate financial and administrative support 

Commissions of inquiry receive appropriate support
12,647 6,424 6,428
All other PCO activities2 - -   12,764 12,765 12,764
Total PCO Planned Spending -   -     129,296   111,201   111,266

  1. Program Activity Descriptions
    A.1    Support for Cabinet decision making and legislative agenda
    A.2    Advice to the Prime Minister and ministers on issues, policies, machinery and appointments
    A.3    Provide Cabinet with sound advice on the development, coordination and implementation of the policy agenda
    A.4    As its head, the Clerk leads the Public Service in effectively supporting Cabinet and serving Canadians
    A.5    Provide the Prime Minister’s Office and the offices of the portfolio ministers with financial and administrative support
    A.6    Provide commissions of inquiry with appropriate administrative support
  2. PCO is reporting only on key departmental priorities in this RPP. Therefore, the category "All other PCO activities" includes the direct costs of all remaining functions related to the Prime Minister’s Office and ministers’ offices. These costs relate to salaries and wages ($8.6 million), other operating expenditures ($2.2 million), and employee benefit plans and other statutory items ($1.9 million)

Departmental Plans and Priorities

Operating Environment

PCO’s priorities depend in large part on the Government’s agenda and are subject to a variety of internal and external influences. Significant ones are outlined below.

Changing government-wide priorities
A new government was elected on January 23, 2006. It was installed on February 6, 2006, and immediately introduced five key priorities: accountability, tax relief, security and public safety, child care, and health care. In order to move ahead on these focused priorities in a minority government situation, it committed to working with others to find shared goals and common ideas. PCO needs to ensure government-wide focus on these key priorities. To that extent, PCO announced changes to its organization to refocus the efforts of its secretariats on their core functions. These changes will reduce PCO’s overall financial resources by about twenty percent and human resources by about eleven percent. (More information is provided on page .)

Public expectations for increased government accountability
The Canadian public demands increased accountability on the part of public officials. There are mounting expectations for faster delivery of more services for the same tax dollar, more efficient and effective use of public resources, greater transparency and ethical decision making. Resource allocations need to be better linked to government policy priorities. PCO is expected to provide a leadership role in improving the overall functioning of government, with excellence being the benchmark.

Effective organizations need clear mandates, the responsibility and resources to achieve these mandates, and the clear understanding of being held to account for results. The role of central agencies is to provide context, coherence, coordination and challenge. With the increased focus on accountability, it becomes critical that the central agencies concentrate on setting the broad policy framework to guide how policy is developed; the fiscal framework within which the government operates; the accountability regime which shapes how the government performs; and the human resources management framework anchored on public service values and ethics.

Complexity of issues
Although the priorities of the Government are clear and focused, the business of government in a modern society is inevitably complex. There is increased interdependence among governments and a convergence of sectors which are changing relationships and policy design. Decision makers are faced with challenges and opportunities that are influenced by varying pressures, international circumstances, budget limits and changing expectations. In addition, the Government faces a minority situation in both the House of Commons and the Senate. To deal with this level of complexity, PCO must support integration within the federal government community and encourage teamwork within and across departments and agencies. As well, strong and effective networks involving the federal government, other levels of government and other stakeholders are key success factors. PCO must also ensure that it is able to attract and engage people with a high level of policy expertise and analytical capability.

Societal and demographic changes
Societal and demographic changes are reshaping the face of Canada and its federal public service. In 2003, 4.1 million Canadians were 65 years of age and older. Their numbers are expected to reach 6.4 million in 2020–nearly one in five Canadians. According to 2001 Census data, the median age of the labour force was 39 in 2001, up from 37 in 1991. The 2001 Census data also show that immigrants who landed in Canada during the 1990s and who were in the labour force in 2001 represented almost 70 percent of the total growth of the labour force over the decade.

With the baby boomers aging and fewer young people entering the working age population, the potential exists for shortages in certain occupations. At the federal level, for example, a large number of employees in the executive cadre category will be retiring within 10 years and, without proper human resources planning, this may create a vacuum.

Good public policy is helped by a diversity of views–linguistically, geographically and culturally–and by sufficient knowledge of the demographic changes that are occurring in Canadian society. For the renewal of the public service, PCO needs to continue to support diversity in the workforce and take into consideration the impact of the changing demographic–including the aging population in Canadian society.

Accelerating technological shifts
With technological shifts and advances comes the availability of new tools that not only increase the expectations of Canadians for information and services but also help the Public Service to deliver on the Government’s commitments and to be held accountable through a number of control and reporting mechanisms. These changes will require a public service that is flexible, agile, innovative and focused on excellence.

During this fiscal year, support will focus on priorities articulated by the Government in its Speech From the Throne. These include the five priorities highlighted for action which are as follows:

  • Restoring Canadians’ faith in the federal government by introducing the most sweeping accountability measures in Canada’s history;
  • Putting money back in the pockets of hard-working Canadians by reducing the GST;
  • Protecting families, communities and Canada’s way of life by cracking down on guns, gangs and drugs;
  • Giving parents choice in child care by providing direct financial support and new child care spaces; and
  • Guaranteeing timely health care services for Canadians by creating a patient wait times guarantee.

Ongoing support will be directed to key enablers of the government’s agenda as outlined in the Speech From the Throne. This will entail:

  • Working to help our federation keep pace with the evolving needs of Canadian society, including ensuring all governments have access to the resources they need;
  • Involving parliamentarians and citizens in examining the challenges facing Canada’s electoral system and democratic institutions; and
  • Defending Canada’s sovereignty and the security of its citizens.

Support will also be given to other key Speech From the Throne commitments:

  • Taking measures to achieve tangible improvements in Canada’s environment;
  • Building a stronger economy, including action to secure a prosperous future for those in natural resource and agriculture industries; and
  • Improving opportunity for all Canadians including Aboriginal peoples and new immigrants.

Priorities for PCO

The Government priorities will be supported by the following PCO priorities:

  • Support the Prime Minister in exercising his overall leadership responsibility
  • Improve the management and accountability of government
  • Focus on key policy areas and strengthen medium-term policy planning
  • Strengthen PCO’s internal management processes

PCO’s strategic outcomes and program activities (outlined in detail in Section II) are aligned with all Government of Canada outcomes: economic, social and international. PCO provides support to government departments and agencies, and contributes to strengthening and modernizing public sector management.

Priority: Support the Prime Minister in exercising his overall leadership responsibility

PCO will better concentrate its resources in support of the Prime Minister’s overall responsibility to provide leadership by creating and sustaining the unity of the Ministry required to maintain the confidence of Parliament.

Plans:


  • Reorganize PCO to place a stronger emphasis on the traditional responsibilities of providing context, coherence, coordination and challenge to policy development and ensure greater clarity of the respective roles of PCO and relevant departments and agencies.

  • The reorganization will result in a smaller organization that more effectively supports the Prime Minister and ministers in his portfolio. The changes will be completed by September 2006. They include reassigning secretariats and teams that existed in PCO to advance work on Aboriginal affairs, smart borders, official languages, smart regulation, policy research, science, regulatory affairs, regional communications and diversity to those departments and agencies with clear mandates to deliver in these areas. The number of PCO secretariats will be reduced, refocusing their efforts on their core functions and reducing PCO’s overall size by about fifteen percent. In addition, the Democratic Renewal Secretariat has been merged into the Legislation and House Planning Secretariat, and Media Services have been transferred from the Corporate Services Branch to the Plans and Consultations Secretariat.

Planned Reduction in Resources Resulting from Focus on Core Functions


  Actual 
2005-2006
Planned 
2006-2007
Planned 
2007-2008
Financial Resources 
(thousands of dollars)
162,318 129,296 111,201
Human Resources 
(full-time equivalents)
1,032 916 902

  • Support the Prime Minister in exercising his prerogative responsibilities by providing advice on:
    • the appointment of principal public office holders and their mandates;
    • the broad organization of government;
    • the organization of Cabinet;
    • the establishment of rules for the Cabinet decision-making process; and
    • the dissolution and convocation of Parliament.
  • Fulfill the Cabinet secretariat role by:
    • being the guardian of the Cabinet decision-making process
    • exercising a challenge function in respect of policy proposals being brought forward by departments; and
    • carrying out a coordination function by providing Cabinet and its committees with the support required to prepare for and conduct meetings.

  • Revise PCO organizational structure and processes to provide support for the revised Cabinet committee structure and deputy minister- level committees.

Priority: Improve management and accountability of government

PCO will continue to play a central role in assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet in enhancing the overall management, transparency and accountability of government while ensuring that the objectives of improved efficiency and efficacy are met. Additionally, it will concentrate its efforts to support the Government in meeting its commitment to introduce and implement the Federal Accountability Act and other key measures aimed at ensuring integrity, accountability, responsibility and excellence in public administration, while developing strategies to enhance the effectiveness of the overall Cabinet decision-making process.

Plans:


  • Support the renewal of the Public Service through improved approaches to recruitment, development and management. Focus on leadership, including teamwork, mentoring, training, development and celebrating excellence. Strategies employed to recruit the next generation of public servants will include factors related to diversity–culture, language and place of origin.  

  • Continue to strengthen the public service’s culture of teamwork and promote leadership while making excellence the benchmark.
  • Support the design and implementation of the Government’s integrity, management and accountability initiatives, including the introduction of the Federal Accountability Act.
  • Refine the Governor-in-Council appointment process by streamlining and modernizing the appointment system and facilitating the review process of key appointments before parliamentary committees.

Priority: Focus on key policy areas and strengthen medium-term policy planning

PCO will provide advice and support the development and implementation of the Government’s focused agenda in the fields of social, economic and international policy, as set out in the Speech from the Throne that opened the Thirty-Ninth Parliament. It will also identify emerging issues to inform Cabinet’s deliberations and, through long-term strategic thinking, provide advice for the Government’s forward-looking agenda.

Plans:


  • Ensure greater cross-departmental coordination and coherence in the execution of the Government’s policy agenda through a variety of machinery mechanisms as well as renewal of deputy ministers (DM) committees that will strengthen decision making and integration on both policy and management issues; make more effective horizontal use of deputy ministers; provide a clearer role for associate deputy ministers; and strengthen the DM community.  

  • Support the Government of Canada’s initiative to lower taxes for working Canadians, starting by reducing the GST.
    • Contribute to the Government of Canada’s efforts to establish a better balance in fiscal arrangements by ensuring all governments have access to the resources they need to meet their responsibilities.
  • Contribute to the development and implementation of domestic and international initiatives to protect Canada and Canadians and others taking into consideration that Canadian values including diversity, inclusiveness and representativeness, in particular by:
    • strengthening Canada’s national security system to protect the security of Canada and Canadians at home and abroad and contribute to international security; and
    • advancing Canada’s interests in North America, particularly through the implementation of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America to enhance collaboration with the United States and Mexico on prosperity, security and quality of life.
  • Contribute to the Government of Canada’s efforts to:
    • forge, in partnership with the provinces and territories, a stronger federation, including ensuring that Canadians have access to timely, quality health care services regardless of their ability to pay and developing a patient wait times guarantee; and protect Canadian families and communities by strengthening the justice system; and
    • support parents’ child care choices through direct assistance and by creating more daycare spaces.

Priority: Strengthen PCO’s internal management practices

PCO is committed to strengthening its internal management practices, consistent with the standards of management outlined in the Management Accountability Framework to ensure excellence in management. PCO will continue its efforts to better integrate human resources planning so that it will cover all aspects of human resources management, especially in the areas of workforce renewal and diversity.

Plans:


  • Strengthen performance measurement and reporting by developing a performance measurement strategy for program and corporate services activities to reflect the revised Program Activity Architecture (PAA).  

  • Strengthen internal audit and evaluation functions by establishing an appropriate and effective audit and evaluation infrastructure.
  • Implement the Public Service Modernization Act by:
    • putting in place a governance structure to oversee the human resources management system at PCO and to implement the Act;
    • providing training to managers who are to assume new responsibilities, including those having to do with staffing; and
    • carrying on with efforts aimed at instituting an integrated human resources planning framework.
  • Strengthen PCO’s capacity to respond to statutory obligations under the Access to Information and Privacy Act.