In the 2020-21 fiscal year, TBS will continue to work with departments to:
- strengthen oversight of taxpayer dollars and the clarity and consistency of financial reporting
- improve transparency, reduce administrative burden, and harmonize regulations that maintain high safety standards to improve the competitiveness of Canadian businesses.
With the establishment of a Minister solely dedicated to Digital Government, we are strengthening our commitment to ensure that the Government of Canada is improving the way Canadians access our programs and services.
As the administrative arm of the Treasury Board, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) provides leadership in relation to the following 4 core responsibilities to help departments effectively implement government priorities and meet citizens? evolving expectations of government:
- Spending Oversight ($3,622,079,027)
- As part of fulfilling this responsibility in 2020?21, TBS will support the Department of Finance Canada, as appropriate, to meet the government?s commitment to undertake a comprehensive review of government spending to ensure that resources are efficiently allocated to continue to invest in people and keep the economy strong and growing.
- TBS will also continue to strengthen the oversight of the expenditure of taxpayer dollars and the clarity and consistency of financial reporting, and to exercise due diligence regarding the costing analyses that departments prepare for all proposed legislation and programs.
- Administrative Leadership ($86,245,749)
- make more government data available to Canadians and give Canadians more timely access to information they request
- improve the government?s digital capacity and services to Canadians
- manage government assets and projects better
- reduce the federal government?s greenhouse gas emissions
- Employer ($2,230,326,777)
- increase diversity in the executive levels of the federal public service, including increasing the number of women in senior decision-making positions
- support healthy, safe and inclusive public service workplaces
- complete in good faith the round of collective bargaining started in 2018
- TBS will also:
- lead the implementation of the recently passed Pay Equity Act in the public service
- lead work on the development and delivery of pilot projects for the Next Generation human resources and pay system to replace the Phoenix pay system
- support Public Services and Procurement Canada in working to eliminate the backlog of outstanding pay issues that have resulted from the Phoenix pay system
- work with the Privy Council Office, the Public Service Commission and departments to recruit and retain talented people from communities across Canada, and to reduce the time it takes to hire new public servants
- Regulatory Oversight ($11,084,418)
- continue regulatory reform efforts to improve transparency, reduce administrative burden, and harmonize regulations that maintain high safety standards and make Canadian businesses more competitive
- replace completed regulatory cooperation work plans with new ones
Open Government
In pursuit of open government in the coming year and beyond, TBS will:
- explore potential amendments to the Directive on Open Government and create new guidelines to support federal government organizations in adding content to open.canada.ca
- continue to lead the implementation of Canada?s 2018?2020 National Action Plan on Open Government
- work with citizens and stakeholders to develop the country?s next open government action plan for 2020 to 2022
- continue to support the offices in government institutions that respond to access to information and personal information requests by, for example, providing online tools and information to help institutions administer the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act
- expand the use of the Access to Information and Privacy Online Request Service with the goal of having all government institutions that are subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act supported by this service by 2021?22
- continue to support government institutions as they implement the amendments to the Access to Information Act that were enacted in June 2019 by, for example, providing guidance and tools to help them implement new requirements to proactively publish key government information
- support the President of the Treasury Board in fulfilling the requirement to begin a full review of the updated Access to Information Act within 1 year of the coming into force of the amendments, or by June 21, 2020
Policy on Service and Digital
The Treasury Board has set out the requirements and expectations for government services in the Policy on Service and Digital, which will take effect on April 1, 2020. The policy aims to:
- make services easier to use and more responsive to the needs of Canadians
- increase the number of services available online
- ensure that these services are secure and accessible to all Canadians TBS also works with departments to help them improve their services. For example, the Canadian Digital Service, housed at TBS, partners with departments to design, test and build easy-to-use services.
To support results in the area of service delivery, TBS will:
- work with departments, provinces, and territories to develop a pan-Canadian approach to digital identity so that the public has seamless access to government services
- provide departments with documents, tools, and information sessions to help them make their web sites more secure and to help them implement the new Treasury Board Policy on Service and Digital, which requires that departments:
- maximize the number of services that are available online end-to-end and make them easier to use to complement all service delivery channels
- ensure that client feedback is collected and used to improve services
- review each of their services regularly with clients, partners and stakeholders, to identify opportunities for improvement, including redesign for client-centricity, digital enablement, online availability and uptake, efficiency, partnership arrangements, and alternate approaches to service delivery
- develop, manage and regularly review the service standards, related targets and performance information, for all their services and service delivery channels in use
- report real-time performance information on their service standards
To help develop and improve government services through the Canadian Digital Service, including:
- improving the application process for Canada Pension Plan benefits for Canadians with disabilities with Employment and Social Development Canada
- building a new service to help low-income Canadians file their taxes, enabling them to receive benefits and refunds, with the Canada Revenue Agency
- building, with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a new service that makes it easier for Canadians and businesses to report when they encounter or are victims of a cybercrime, and that helps police analyze and investigate reports
- building common applications that, for example, send notifications and book appointments, which all departments can use to create consistent, efficient, user-centred digital services
To support results in the area of digital capacity, TBS will, through the Canadian Digital Service:
- identify and share current digital practices and tools with departments and help departments adopt them
- form interdisciplinary teams with departments to help them build and maintain in-house digital expertise
- support training and development for public servants by, for example, researching training needs and contributing to and participating in training delivered by the Digital Academy at the Canada School of Public Service
- help change government rules, processes, and guidance to make it easier for departments to adopt the same methods, tools, and ways of working
