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I am pleased to present the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s (CICS) 2023–24 Departmental Results Report (DRR).
This year, CICS has continued to excel as the key conference service provider for First Minister, Minister, and Deputy Minister-level intergovernmental meetings across Canada. We have made substantial progress in enhancing our services, including the initiation of a new Conference Policy in collaboration with provinces and territories, which remains in progress. Our IT infrastructure upgrades and continued efforts to enhance the Conference Management System (CMS) have improved videoconferencing capabilities and are addressing accessibility needs, ensuring our services remain inclusive and efficient.
CICS also focused on long-term sustainability, using the first installment of a supplemental budget to strengthen internal controls and evaluate costing structures. Additionally, our innovations in IT and communication have enhanced both security and accessibility, supporting the government’s broader objectives of transparency and inclusivity.
Despite challenges such as rising costs and the complexities of post-pandemic operations, CICS has demonstrated resilience, achieving a notable increase in Minister-level and Provincial-Territorial meetings. Our commitment to service excellence is reflected in the high satisfaction rates from both conference participants and organizers.
Looking ahead, CICS will continue to strengthen relationships with federal, provincial, and territorial government clients, ensure continuity of services in an ever-changing environment, optimize our technological tools, and build and maintain a strong workforce. These efforts will allow us to support intergovernmental collaboration through ongoing innovation and strategic engagement, ensuring we meet the evolving needs of our stakeholders.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our successes this year.
The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat provides continuity of planning and archival services, as well as impartial administrative support, for federal-provincial-territorial and provincial-territorial conferences of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, throughout Canada.
This section presents details on how the department performed to achieve results and meet targets for intergovernmental conference services. Details are presented by departmental result.
Table 1 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Intergovernmental Conference Services.
Departmental Result Indicators
|
Target
|
Date to achieve target
|
Actual results
|
---|---|---|---|
Conference organizer satisfaction rate
|
> 90%
|
March 2024
|
|
Conference participant satisfaction rate
|
> 90%
|
March 2024
|
|
Departmental Result Indicators
|
Target
|
Date to achieve target
|
Actual results
|
---|---|---|---|
Client satisfaction of key technologies and service delivery
|
> 75%
|
March 2024
|
|
Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
The following section describes the results for Intergovernmental Conference Services in 2023–24 compared with the planned results set out in the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s departmental plan for the year.
This result measures the satisfaction rate of conference organizers and participants that use the Secretariat’s services for the planning and support of their conferences. This demonstrates how well the services CICS deliver support successful conferences. The planned results in the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s (CICS) 2023–24 Departmental Plan for result 1 were to achieve a minimum target of 90% for both conference organizer and conference participant satisfaction rate, and successfully obtained results of 95% and 93%, respectively. During this fiscal year, CICS surpassed its target through enhanced stakeholder engagement and innovative client-focused solutions.
Results achieved
The following section describes the results for Intergovernmental Conference Services in 2023–24 compared with the planned results set out in the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s departmental plan for the year.
Facilitate productive federal-provincial-territorial and provincial-territorial discussions through centralized planning and professionally supported conferences
This result measures the satisfaction rate of conference organizers and participants that use the Secretariat’s services for the planning and support of their conferences. This demonstrates how well the services CICS deliver support successful conferences. The planned results in the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s (CICS) 2023–24 Departmental Plan for result 1 were to achieve a minimum target of 90% for both conference organizer and conference participant satisfaction rate, and successfully obtained results of 95% and 93%, respectively. During this fiscal year, CICS surpassed its target through enhanced stakeholder engagement and innovative client-focused solutions.
Continuous innovation in process and service delivery to meet evolving client needs
This result measures the client satisfaction rate of the Secretariat’s innovative solutions, and identifies whether the solutions being adopted provide a more effective and efficient experience for clients. Satisfaction rates also help inform management decisions when reviewing and refining service offerings. The planned results in CICS 2023–24 Departmental Plan for result 2 were to achieve a minimum target of 75% for the client satisfaction rate of key technologies and service delivery. During this fiscal year, CICS surpassed its target and attained a result of 95% through the comprehensive enhancement of IT systems, which included modernizing hardware, upgrading software, and improving network infrastructure and the proactive adaptation of CICS’ service model.
Results achieved
In 2023–24, CICS continued to mitigate the risk that the organization would be unable to sustain an adequate workforce with the appropriate competencies due to a large turnover of staff (attributed to retirements and departures, provincial-territorial employee rotations, and peak period staffing). CICS mitigated this risk by implementing its Succession Plan to enable the provision of surge support, and to forecast retirements and other departures from key positions in the short to mid-term. CICS continued to implement staffing strategies including creation of multiple career development opportunities, staffing pools, and short-term employment mechanisms to ensure prompt staffing. Additionally, CICS successfully promoted job rotations to create an agile and multi-skilled workforce.
Table 2 provides a summary of the planned and actual spending and full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to achieve results.
Resource
|
Planned
|
Actual
|
---|---|---|
Spending
|
$4,263,834
|
$5,741,708
|
Full-time equivalents
|
25
|
27
|
Complete financial and human resources information for the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
CICS is fully committed to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion within the organization and strives to raise awareness and encourage learning opportunities among its employees. Additionally, the Secretariat has implemented the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan to ensure its employees have an accessible workplace where they can be accommodated if they face barriers at work. CICS also monitors its employment equity profile on a regular basis to ensure it is aligned with the representation goals for the designated employment equity groups.
The Secretariat took action to combat climate change and its impacts in the aim of contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 13 with a specific focus on targets 13.2 and 13.3: “Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning” and “improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning”, respectively. CICS accomplished this by reducing travel emissions through the implementation of remote interpretation for hybrid and in-person conferences, and by promoting and supporting the Government of Canada Green Procurement Initiative.
More information on the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.
Continuous innovation in processes and services to meet changing client needs has been fundamental to the Secretariat’s continued recognition by governments as the conference service provider of choice for senior-level intergovernmental conferences. The implementation of innovations (technical and administrative) to support a sustained number of videoconferences and the increasing demand for hybrid meetings requires the Secretariat to constantly be searching, testing, piloting, and implementing new tools, technologies and processes.
In our continuous effort to enhance communication efficiency and accessibility, we recently modified our news release process to ensure more rapid dissemination of information and improved HTML accessibility. This innovation was driven by a series of evidence-based decisions, rigorous testing, and valuable lessons learned.
Intergovernmental Conference Services is supported by the following programs:
Additional information related to the program inventory for Intergovernmental Conference Services is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.
Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:
This section presents details on how the department performed to achieve results and meet targets for internal services.
The Internal Services program is expected to support the Agency in meeting its mandate through sound management and careful stewardship of assets, financial and human resources, and information technology services. CICS aims to be an agile department with streamlined processes that are continuously reviewed and improved to meet current policy. In this context, CICS has recently revised its Sub-delegation of Human Resources Authorities and Financial Signing Authorities Delegation Instrument.
During the 2023–24 fiscal year, the Secretariat received and utilized the first installment of its supplemental budget. CICS continued to enhance internal controls over travel, acquisition cards, and procurement functions, while also evaluating its costing structure and gathering conference data to inform future budget proposals and align resources for upcoming multi-year conferences. Additionally, the Secretariat committed to assessing the long-term operational sustainability of the CICS program and developing a new governance structure that better supports enduring organizational success. CICS is committed to support openness and transparency in government. In 2023–24, internal controls on contracting and payable at year-end were assessed, maintained, and improved to ensure compliance with Treasury Board Policies, Directives and Guidance. The Secretariat adhered to the spirit of the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB), which will become effective in 2024–25, and continued to integrate environmental performance considerations into its procurement decision-making process.
On the information technology front, CICS continued to modernize its endpoint equipment to provide better service to its staff and external clients. Since the Secretariat’s aging infrastructure presented a risk to the organization, the Information Services team began the comprehensive overhaul and replacement of Information Technology systems and equipment. This initiative was undertaken to ensure unparalleled efficiency in operations, enhanced security measures to protect sensitive data, and superior reliability to support uninterrupted service delivery. By integrating state-of-the-art hardware and software solutions, CICS aims to create a robust and future-proof IT environment that meets the evolving needs of its users while maintaining the highest standards of performance and safety.
Furthermore, the organization continued to promote and encourage learning opportunities in order to foster a healthy workplace, promote mental health and wellbeing as well as a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. The Secretariat placed a strong emphasis on developing a skilled workforce by focusing on strategic recruitment and the implementation of new mandatory training programs tailored to each employee’s role and position within the organization Finally, CICS explored new inclusive and innovative staffing strategies to focus on services-oriented individuals that are capable, talented and high-performing and who embrace new ways of working and the use of new technologies to serve clients’ evolving needs. CICS is committed to building and maintaining an engaged and diverse workforce by devoting time and effort to implement inclusive human resources practices, as well as to address key barriers identified in the 2023–25 Accessibility Plan.
Table 3 provides a summary of the planned and actual spending and full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to achieve results.
Resource
|
Planned
|
Actual
|
---|---|---|
Spending
|
$1,827,357
|
$2,180,959
|
Full-time equivalents
|
7
|
8
|
The complete financial and human resources information for the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
This section presents an overview of the department’s actual and planned expenditures from 2021–22 to 2026–27.
Table 4 Actual three-year spending on core responsibility and internal services (dollars)
Table 4 presents how much money the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat spent over the past three years to carry out its core responsibility and for internal services.
Core responsibility and internal services
|
2023–24 Main Estimates
|
2023–24 planned spending
|
2024–25 planned spending
|
2025–26 planned spending
|
2023–24 total authorities available for use
|
2021–22 actual spending (authorities used)
|
2022–23 actual spending (authorities used)
|
2023–24 actual spending (authorities used)
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Intergovernmental Conference Services
|
4,263,834
|
4,263,834
|
5,478,579
|
2,352,970
|
5,790,179
|
3,252,061
|
4,759,874
|
5,741,708
|
Internal services
|
1,827,357
|
1,827,357
|
2,347,963
|
2,352,970
|
2,397,128
|
1,641,714
|
1,539,943
|
2,180,959
|
Total
|
6,091,191
|
6,091,191
|
7,826,542
|
7,843,232
|
8,187,307
|
4,893,775
|
6,299,818
|
7,922,667
|
The rise in planned spending for 2024–25 is mainly attributed to $1.7 million in temporary additional funding allocated in Budget 2023. This funding, which is set to extend through to 2025–26, was primarily intended for Intergovernmental Conference Services. However, Internal Services has also seen an increase in planned spending to support the program’s growth and associated costs.
More financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.
Core responsibility and internal services
|
2024–25 planned spending
|
2025–26 planned spending
|
2026–27 planned spending
|
---|---|---|---|
Intergovernmental Conference Services
|
$5,869,907
|
$5,882,424
|
$4,745,234
|
Internal services
|
$1,956,636
|
$1,960,808
|
$1,581,745
|
Total
|
$7,826,543
|
$7,826,543
|
$6,326,979
|
The decrease in planned spending for 2026–27 is primarily due to the $1.7 million in temporary additional funding allocated in Budget 2023. This funding, which extends through 2025–26, was mainly intended for Intergovernmental Conference Services. As the program is scaled back, Internal Services will also experience a reduction in planned spending, reflecting decreased support needs and associated costs.
More detailed financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.
This section provides an overview of the department’s voted and statutory funding for its core responsibilities and for internal services. For further information on funding authorities, consult the Government of Canada budgets and expenditures.
Graph 1 summarizes the department’s approved voted and statutory funding from 2021–22 to 2026–27.
Fiscal year
|
Total
|
Voted
|
Statutory
|
---|---|---|---|
2021–22
|
$4,893,775
|
$4,538,500
|
$355,275
|
2022–23
|
$6,299,818
|
$5,870,745
|
$429,073
|
2023–24
|
$7,922,668
|
$7,346,651
|
$576,017
|
2024–25
|
$7,826,542
|
$7,295,419
|
$531,123
|
2025–26
|
$7,843,232
|
$7,310,085
|
$533,147
|
2026–27
|
$6,326,978
|
$5,882,558
|
$444,420
|
The increase in CICS’ authorities in 2023–24 is primarily due to $1.7 million in temporary additional funding allocated in Budget 2023. This three-year funding will extend through to 2025–26.
For further information on the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s departmental voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada.
The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s complete financial statements (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2024, are available online.
Financial information
|
2023–24 actual results
|
2023–24 planned results
|
Difference (actual results minus planned)
|
---|---|---|---|
Total expenses
|
8,364,014
|
6,734,697
|
1,629,317
|
Total revenues
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers
|
8,364,014
|
6,734,697
|
1,629,317
|
The 2023–24 planned results information is provided in the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2023–24.
Financial information
|
2023–24 actual results
|
2022–23 actual results
|
Difference (2023–24 minus 2022–23)
|
---|---|---|---|
Total expenses
|
8,364,014
|
6,703,330
|
1,660,684
|
Total revenues
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers
|
8,364,014
|
6,703,330
|
1,660,684
|
The variance between planned results and actual results relate to an increase in Salaries and Benefits and an increase in non-salary expenditures related to the expansion in serving senior-level intergovernmental conferences, including videoconferences and in-person conference. The total expenses were approximately $8.4 million, roughly $1.7 million higher than the previous year. The increase was mainly due to an increase by $1.2 million in salaries and employee benefits, $318 thousand in professional and special services, and $78 thousand in utilities, materials and supplies.
Table 8 provides a brief snapshot of the department’s liabilities (what it owes) and assets (what the department owns), which helps to indicate its ability to carry out programs and services.
Financial information
|
Actual fiscal year (2023–24)
|
Previous fiscal year (2022–23)
|
Difference (2023–24 minus 2022–23)
|
---|---|---|---|
Total net liabilities
|
1,220,960
|
994,143
|
226,817
|
Total net financial assets
|
1,014,082
|
1,901,785
|
(887,703)
|
Departmental net debt
|
206,878
|
(907,642)
|
(700,764)
|
Total non-financial assets
|
510,621
|
147,953
|
362,668
|
Departmental net financial position
|
303,743
|
1,055,595
|
(751,852)
|
Total liabilities amounted to approximately $1,221 thousand, reflecting an increase of around $227 thousand (23%) from the previous year. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities comprised 69% of the total, while vacation pay and compensatory leave represented an additional 24%. The overall rise is primarily attributed to a $99 thousand increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities, and a $71 thousand increase in vacation pay and compensatory leave liabilities.
Total net financial assets were approximately $1,014 thousand as of March 31, 2024, a decrease of $888 thousand (47%) over the previous year. The overall reduction is mainly attributable to a decrease in account receivable for external parties.
Total non-financial assets were approximately $511 thousand as of March 31, 2024, an increase of some $363 thousand over the previous year. The increase is mainly due to the acquisitions of tangible capital assets.
This section presents an overview of the department’s actual and planned human resources from 2021–22 to 2026–27.
Table 9 shows a summary of human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s core responsibility and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years.
Core responsibilities and internal services
|
2021–22 actual FTEs
|
2022–23 actual FTEs
|
2023–24 actual FTEs
|
---|---|---|---|
[Insert name of core responsibility 1]
|
20
|
22
|
27
|
Internal services
|
8
|
8
|
8
|
Total
|
28
|
30
|
35
|
The increase in 2023–24 actual FTEs compared to previous years is due to 8 new positions funded by the temporary additional funding from Budget 2023. However, due to staffing challenges and turnover, the actual FTEs for 2023–24 total 35, which is lower than the funded position of 40.
Table 10 shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s core responsibility and for its internal services planned for the next three years. Human resources for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on year to date.
Core responsibilities and internal services
|
2024–25 planned FTEs
|
2025–26 planned FTEs
|
2026–27 planned FTEs
|
---|---|---|---|
Intergovernmental Conference Services
|
30
|
30
|
25
|
Internal services
|
10
|
10
|
7
|
Total
|
40
|
40
|
32
|
The planned Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) for 2024–25 and 2025–26 include 8 new positions funded by the temporary additional funding from Budget 2023. This funding and the associated FTEs will be in effect until the end of 2025–26, which explains the decrease of 8 in the planned FTEs to 32 for 2026–27.
The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc
Ruth J. Onyancha
Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs
The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat was established pursuant to an agreement reached at the May 1973 First Ministers’ Conference and was designated a department of the federal government by an Order-in-Council dated November 29, 1973.
1973
P.O. Box 488, Station ‘A’, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 8V5
613-995-2341
613-996-6091
The following supplementary information tables are available on the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s website:
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 Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.
For the purpose of the 2023–24 Departmental Results Report, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the November 23, 2021, Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fight harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation; and fighting for a secure, just and equitable world.
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.
A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.