ARCHIVED - Report on Plans and Priorities - 2014-15

Purpose

Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPP) are individual expenditure plans for each department and agency. These reports provide increased levels of detail over a three-year period on an organization's main priorities by strategic outcome, program and planned/expected results, including links to related resource requirements presented in the Main Estimates. In conjunction with the Main Estimates, Reports on Plans and Priorities serve to inform members of Parliament on planned expenditures of departments and agencies, and support Parliament's consideration of supply bills. The RPPs are typically tabled soon after the Main Estimates by the President of the Treasury Board.

Estimates Documents

The Estimates are comprised of three parts:

Part I – Government Expenditure Plan - provides an overview of the Government's requirements and changes in estimated expenditures from previous fiscal years.

Part II – Main Estimates - supports the appropriation acts with detailed information on the estimated spending and authorities being sought by each federal organization requesting appropriations.

In accordance with Standing Orders of the House of Commons, Parts I and II must be tabled on or before March 1.

Part III – Departmental Expenditure Plans - consists of two components:

• Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP)
• Departmental Performance Report (DPR)

DPRs are individual department and agency accounts of results achieved against planned performance expectations as set out in respective RPPs. The DPRs for the most recently completed fiscal year are tabled in the fall by the President of the Treasury Board.

Supplementary Estimates support Appropriation Acts presented later in the fiscal year. Supplementary Estimates present information on spending requirements that were either not sufficiently developed in time for inclusion in the Main Estimates or have subsequently been refined to account for developments in particular programs and services. Supplementary Estimates also provide information on changes to expenditure forecasts of major statutory items as well as on such items as: transfers of funds between votes; debt deletion; loan guarantees; and new or increased grants.

For more information on the Estimates, please consult the Treasury Board Secretariat website.^{Footnote 1}

Links to the Estimates

As shown above, RPPs make up part of the Part III of the Estimates documents. Whereas Part II emphasizes the financial aspect of the Estimates, Part III focuses on financial and non-financial performance information, both from a planning and priorities standpoint (RPP), and an achievements and results perspective (DPR).

The Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) establishes a structure for display of financial information in the Estimates and reporting to Parliament via RPPs and DPRs. When displaying planned spending, RPPs rely on the Estimates as a basic source of financial information.

Main Estimates expenditure figures are based on the Annual Reference Level Update which is prepared in the fall. In comparison, planned spending found in RPPs includes the Estimates as well as any other amounts that have been approved through a Treasury Board submission up to February 1st (See Definitions section). This readjusting of the financial figures allows for a more up-to-date portrait of planned spending by program.    

Changes to the presentation of the Report on Plans and Priorities

Several changes have been made to the presentation of the RPP partially to respond to a number of requests – from the House of Commons Standing Committees on Public Accounts (PAC - Report 15^{Footnote 2}), in 2010; and on Government and Operations Estimates (OGGO - Report 7^{Footnote 3}), in 2012 – to provide more detailed financial and non-financial performance information about programs within RPPs and DPRs, thus improving the ease of their study to support appropriations approval.

• In Section II, financial, human resources and performance information is now presented at the Program and Sub-program levels for more granularity.
• The report's general format and terminology have been reviewed for clarity and consistency purposes.
• Other efforts aimed at making the report more intuitive and focused on Estimates information were made to strengthen alignment with the Main Estimates.

How to read this document

RPPs are divided into four sections:

Section I: Organizational Expenditure Overview

This Organizational Expenditure Overview allows the reader to get a general glance at the organization. It provides a description of the organization's purpose, as well as basic financial and human resources information. This section opens with the new Organizational Profile, which displays general information about the department, including the names of the minister and the deputy head, the ministerial portfolio, the year the department was established, and the main legislative authorities. This subsection is followed by a new subsection entitled Organizational Context, which includes the Raison d'être, the Responsibilities, the Strategic Outcomes and Program Alignment Architecture, the Organizational Priorities and the Risk Analysis. This section ends with the Planned Expenditures, the Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes and the Estimates by Votes. It should be noted that this section does not display any non-financial performance information related to programs (please see Section II).

Section II: Analysis of Program by Strategic Outcome

This Section provides detailed financial and non-financial performance information for strategic outcomes, Programs and sub-programs. This section allows the reader to learn more about programs by reading their respective description and narrative entitled “Planning Highlights”. This narrative speaks to key services or initiatives which support the plans and priorities presented in Section I; it also describes how performance information supports the department's strategic outcome or parent program.

Section III: Supplementary Information

This section provides supporting information related to departmental plans and priorities. In  this section, the reader will find future-oriented statement of operations and a link to supplementary information tables regarding transfer payments, as well as information related to the greening government operations, internal audits and evaluations, horizontal initiatives, user fees, major Crown and transformational projects, and up-front multi-year funding, where applicable to individual organizations. The reader will also find a link to the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations Report, produced annually by the Minister of Finance, which provides estimates and projections of the revenue impacts of federal tax measures designed to support the economic and social priorities of the Government of Canada.

Section IV: Organizational Contact Information

In this last section, the reader will have access to organizational contact information.

Definitions

Appropriation

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Budgetary Vs. Non-budgetary  Expenditures

Budgetary expenditures – operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

Non-budgetary expenditures – net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

Expected Result

An outcome that a program is designed to achieve.

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. FTEs are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work.  Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

Government of Canada Outcomes

A set of high-level objectives defined for the government as a whole.

Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS)

A common approach and structure to the collection, management and reporting of financial and non-financial performance information.

An MRRS provides detailed information on all departmental programs (e.g. program costs, program expected results and their associated targets, how they align to the government's priorities and intended outcomes) and establishes the same structure for both internal decision making and external accountability.

Planned Spending

For the purpose of the RPP, planned spending refers to those amounts for which a Treasury Board (TB) submission approval has been received by no later than February 1, 2014. This cut-off date differs from the Main Estimates process. Therefore, planned spending may include amounts incremental to planned expenditure levels presented in the 2014–15 Main Estimates.

Program

A group of related resource inputs and activities that are managed to meet specific needs and to achieve intended results, and that are treated as a budgetary unit.

Program Alignment Architecture

A structured inventory of a department's programs, where programs are arranged in a hierarchical manner to depict the logical relationship between each program and the Strategic Outcome(s) to which they contribute.

Spending Areas

Government of Canada categories of expenditures. There are four spending areas^{Footnote 4} (social affairs, economic affairs, international affairs and government affairs) each comprised of three to five Government of Canada outcomes.

Strategic Outcome

A long-term and enduring benefit to Canadians that is linked to the department's mandate, vision, and core functions.

Sunset Program

A time-limited program that does not have on-going funding or policy authority. When the program is set to expire, a decision must be made as to whether to continue the program. (In the case of a renewal, the decision specifies the scope, funding level and duration).

Whole-of-Government Framework

A map of the financial and non-financial contributions of federal organizations receiving appropriations that aligns their Programs to a set of high level outcome areas defined for the government as a whole.

Organizational Profile

Minister: The Honourable Steven Blaney, P.C., M.P.

Deputy Head: Ian McPhail, Q.C.

Ministerial portfolio: Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Year established: 1988

Main legislative authorities: Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act R.S.C. 1985, c. R-10^{Footnote 5}

Organizational Context

Organizational Priorities

Risk Analysis

The Commission conducts an annual risk assessment that identifies risks and appropriate mitigation actions. This fosters an organizational culture that supports risk-informed decision-making, with a focus on results.

Planned Expenditures

Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes

Departmental Spending Trend

Departmental Spending Trend Graph

Text Version

Spending Trend

Fiscal Year	$ dollars
2011-12	7,880,902
2012-13	8,011,001
2013-14	10,387,164
2014-15	10,010,382
2015-16	10,010,382
2016-17	10,010,382

The Commission has developed an organizational structure for the new Civilian Review and Complaints Commission that will allow it to operate within its current and future budgets. In 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 the reduction in spending on Internal Services reflects the impact of implementing cost containment measures. These include reductions resulting from the completion of one-time projects to enhance systems and the realization of operational efficiencies from process improvements and consolidating resources.

Estimates by Vote

For information on the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP's organizational appropriations, please see the 2014-15 Main Estimates publication^{Footnote 6}

Strategic Outcome: Public Confidence in the RCMP

Program: Civilian review of RCMP members' conduct in the performance of their duties

The Commission is an independent agency created by Parliament to provide fair and independent civilian review of RCMP members' conduct in the performance of their duties. The Commission accomplishes this by receiving complaints from the public about the conduct of RCMP members, and monitoring the RCMP's investigation of such complaints. Where a complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the RCMP's response to a complaint, a request can be made to the Commission for an independent review of the members' conduct and the RCMP's handling of the matter. In reviewing complaints, the Commission may find that it is satisfied with the RCMP's handling of the complaint, or it may make findings and recommendations to the RCMP Commissioner and the Minister of Public Safety with respect to matters addressed in the complaint. The new Civilian Review and Complaints Commission will also have the mandate to conduct reviews of specified RCMP activities; report to provinces which contract RCMP services; conduct research, program outreach and public education; and provide independent observers to investigations of serious incidents involving RCMP members.

Planning Highlights

In 2014-15, the Commission will assume its enhanced mandate which includes the existing complaints function, as well as the new authorities to conduct joint complaint investigations, reviews and hearings with other law enforcement review bodies; to conduct reviews of specified activities; to provide enhanced reporting to provinces which contract RCMP services; to undertake research; to conduct outreach efforts; and to provide independent observers to investigations of serious incidents involving RCMP members.

Bill C-42 directs the Commission to establish service standards for the timely handling of public complaints. The Commission has maintained performance-based service standards for each step of the complaint and review process since 2007. New funding provided by Bill C-42 will allow the Commission to maintain these standards while adjusting business processes, and implementing new programing and technical support required to meet the expanded mandate and responsibilities prescribed in Bill C-42. The Commission will launch a new case management system in 2014-15. The new system will assist with the tracking of each step of the complaint and review process, and produce business intelligence to identify and address any delays. Tracking complaints and appeals from the RCMP's initial disposition of the complaint will enhance the ability of complainants, RCMP members and Canadians to hold the Commission and the RCMP accountable for a timely response to public complaints. 

Guided by the objectives outlined in Bill C-42, the Commission will work to increase public confidence in the RCMP by enhancing its transparency and accountability to the public as well as to the provinces which contract for its services. The Commission's strategic approach to achieving this outcome is set out in the plans and priorities outlined in Section I of this report.

Internal Services

Description

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel Services; Acquisition Services; and Other Administrative Services. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.

Future-Oriented Statement of Operations

The future-oriented condensed statement of operations presented in this subsection is intended to serve as a general overview of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP's operations. The forecasted financial information on expenses and revenues are prepared on an accrual accounting basis to strengthen accountability and to improve transparency and financial management. 

Because the future-oriented statement of operations is prepared on an accrual accounting basis and the forecast and planned spending amounts presented in other sections of this report are prepared on an expenditure basis, amounts will differ. 

A more detailed future-oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net costs of operations to the requested authorities, can be found on the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP's website.^{Footnote 7}

List of Supplementary Information Tables

The CPC does not produce any supplementary information tables.

Tax Expenditures and Evaluations Report

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures annually in the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations^{Footnote 8} publication. The tax measures presented in the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations publication are the sole responsibility of the Minister of Finance.