Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat

2023–24

Departmental Plan

ISSN : 2371-8234

Table of contents

From the Institutional Head

Plans at a glance

Core responsibility: planned results and resources, and key risks

Internal services: planned results

Planned spending and human resources

Planned spending

Planned human resources

Estimates by vote

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Operating context

Reporting framework

Supporting information on the program inventory

Supplementary information table

Federal tax expenditures

Organizational contact information

Appendix: definitions

From the Institutional Head

As Secretary of the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS), I am pleased to present the Agency’s 2023–24 Departmental Plan. This plan provides parliamentarians and Canadians with information on our mandate and objectives for the upcoming year.

Through its sole program, the Secretariat provides professional administrative support services required for the planning and conduct of federal-provincial-territorial and provincial-territorial conferences of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers across Canada. Such multilateral meetings continue to be a key component of Canadian federalism and support the Government of Canada’s objective of maintaining open and collaborative relationships with every province, territory and Indigenous partners. Along with the added benefits of confidentiality, impartiality and expertise in service delivery, CICS facilitates the holding of such intergovernmental conferences.

In 2022–23, CICS transitioned into the new “post pandemic” norm and was required, once again, to modify its service model as in-person meetings were gradually reintroduced. Throughout the year, the Secretariat remained agile and committed to respond to the growing demand for in-person and hybrid meetings, while coping with challenges including new conference technologies and unprecedented increases in conference costs pertaining to travel, interpretation and audiovisual services.

As we approach 2023–24, we continue to foresee a significant increase in requests for in-person and hybrid senior-level meetings, while interest in videoconferences will remain high. The Secretariat is committed to redoubling its efforts in order to find innovative, long-term solutions to meet our clients’ needs. We trust that half a century of continuous, effective and impartial administrative support to multilateral conferences has equipped us well to meet this new challenge.

André M. McArdle

Secretary, Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat

Plans at a glance

The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS) is fully committed to delivering quality, cost-effective conference services to federal, provincial and territorial governments. Our impartiality, expertise in service delivery and commitment to official languages make us the conference service provider of choice for senior-level intergovernmental conferences. We are determined to maintain this unique status.

The agency is also committed to carrying out its role as official custodian of the information shared and discussed during federal-provincial-territorial and provincial-territorial conferences. To this day, the Secretariat is custodian to nearly 55 000 documents that offer a high-level snapshot of all the intergovernmental issues tackled over the course of the 4500 conferences served by CICS since 1973.

The previous fiscal year was a year of transition for the Secretariat. We had to be creative and flexible to meet the challenges brought forward in a post-pandemic context with the sudden increase in demand for in-person and hybrid conferences, the substantial increase in conference costs and the significant staff turnover. 2023–24 will therefore be a year of stabilization for the Secretariat in terms of staffing, infrastructure, and services to ensure the continuity and long-term stability of CICS services.

Through 2023–24, the Secretariat’s initiatives will focus on remaining agile, maintaining our capacity to respond to high demand, and supporting the following four priorities:

Strengthen the relationships with federal, provincial and territorial government clients

CICS will continue to focus on collaboration and partnerships with federal, provincial and territorial governments to implement national commitments and priorities that depend on these strong relationships. This will be achieved through consultation with FPT governments, as well as partnerships with meeting organizers and permanent secretariats that support intergovernmental relations.

Ensure continuity of services in an ever-changing environment

The Secretariat will keep its clients updated on new services and tools that will enable the organization to continue responding to governments’ needs, but also to proactively guide and advise clients in new areas and directions. This will be especially important considering the increasing interest for “hybrid” conferences, which refers to in-person meetings requiring videoconference equipment to link-in remote participants or presenters.

Optimize CICS technological tools

In 2023–24, the Secretariat will continue to modernize its endpoint equipment to provide better service to its staff and external clients. This will include the upgrade of firewall appliances and their threat defence capabilities, and the provisioning of latest wireless technologies at conference sites. We will also carry on with the migration of IT services to the Cloud and implement an upgraded Conference Management System.

Build and maintain a strong workforce

The Agency’s greatest asset has always been its employees. As a micro-agency, the successful delivery of its mandate relies heavily on staff’s experience, skills, knowledge and innovative ideas. In 2023–24, emphasis will be placed on addressing accessibility barriers identified in the 2023-25 Accessibility Plan, and updating the organization’s succession plan in order to ensure that key positions can be promptly and successfully filled following departures.

For more information on the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s plans, see the “Core responsibility: planned results and resources, and key risks” section of this document.

Core responsibility: planned results and resources, and key risks

This section contains information on the department’s planned results and resources for its core responsibility. It also contains information on key risks related to achieving those results.

Intergovernmental Conference Services

Description

The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat provides continuity of planning and archival services and impartial administrative support for federal-provincial-territorial and provincial-territorial conferences of First Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, throughout Canada.

Planning highlights

The Conference Services program delivers the Agency’s core responsibility and, consequently, conducts the professional, innovative and successful delivery of services to senior-level intergovernmental meetings. With the federal government’s strong focus on collaboration and partnerships with provinces, territories and Indigenous partners, the number of intergovernmental meetings is expected to rise in 2023–24. This reality continues to offer an excellent opportunity for CICS to strengthen its relationships with federal, provincial and territorial conference delegates as well as other stakeholders. The latter include meeting organizers in chair and/or host governments and permanent secretariats that support intergovernmental relations in sectors of activity that will be of key importance over the next year and beyond.

An ongoing priority will be to ensure our Agency’s capacity to respond to a sustained, high demand for its broader range of services while ensuring that those services remain relevant, forward-looking and of the highest quality.

Given the continued interest in videoconferencing, as a meeting format and as an essential element of the hybrid approach to most in-person meetings, there is a definite expectation for the organization to lead the way, to advise and encourage its clients to adopt new and innovative approaches. This expanded leadership role for CICS will be enabled and fulfilled largely through the ongoing research and implementation of leading-edge technologies and methods.

In 2023–24, the following activities will help CICS achieve the planned results for its core responsibility:

1.Remain attuned to, and in step with the expanding needs of intergovernmental clients and other stakeholders. Activities in this area will aim to:

Maintain the Secretariat’s reputation as the key conference service provider of choice for senior-level intergovernmental meetings.

Make sure that CICS remains a hub for sharing timely and innovative event management solutions for the benefit of its clients.

2.CICS will continue to explore, test, and promote new formats, technologies and services in conference service delivery, including those that will:

Enhance videoconferencing capabilities for all its technical, financial and logistical advantages.

Transform the way the Agency manages intergovernmental conference documentation and archives, by leveraging Cloud-based Electronic Records and Document Management Systems (ERDMS).

Upgrade the agency’s internal Conference Management Software (CMS) to address certain accessibility barriers and to enhance its client facing functionalities.

Support the government’s objective to strive for greater transparency, inclusivity, diversity and accessibility.

3.CICS will continue to rely on recently upgraded tools to gauge client satisfaction and collect feedback, while also strengthening relationships with the federal, provincial and territorial governments at a strategic level:

Client surveys of both conference planners and delegates will remain a primary source of information to determine service improvements and measure success in achieving our overall objective of service excellence and responsiveness.

Client surveys will also become an important tool for gathering information about conference accessibility and identifying barriers faced by people with disabilities.

Engaging provinces and territories at a strategic level, through their intergovernmental offices, will remain a priority to share information, gather intelligence and feedback, and obtain reaction to new ideas and initiatives.

4.CICS aims to be an agile department, where internal processes and work tools are continuously reviewed and improved through environmental scans as well as staff surveys and feedback. The Secretariat will continue to use internal committees and employees input for program decision-making, taking full advantage of our staff’s experience, skills, knowledge and innovative ideas.

5.Considerable effort will be expended to review and refine training and development strategies for conference service delivery to ensure that our people, internal processes, and technologies are aligned to respond to the current environment, future demands, and the changing needs of clients while constantly strengthening CICS’ client service mindset. Those training and development strategies will also focus on the importance of mental health, diversity and inclusion and will aim to increase awareness of unconscious bias and discrimination in CICS practices. This initiative will continue to be of critical importance in 2023–24.

All of the above activities are aligned with the four organizational priorities of the Secretariat:

1) Strengthen the relationships with federal, provincial, and territorial government clients; 2) ensure continuity of services in an ever-changing environment; 3) optimize CICS technological tools; and 4) build and maintain a strong workforce.

Gender-based analysis plus

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. 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.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The Secretariat will take action to combat climate change and its impacts, more specifically, target 13.3 (improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning) essentially by promoting and supporting the Government of Canada Green Procurement Initiative.

Innovation

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 identified through the work of its Innovation Committee. This committee, comprised of employees from all sectors of the organization, supports innovative policies within CICS by identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement in service delivery, evaluating ideas proposed by employees, and presenting them to senior management for consideration.

Key risk(s)

There is a risk that the organization might be unable to sustain an adequate workforce with the appropriate competencies due to a large turnover of staff, caused by retirements & departures, provincial-territorial secondment rotations and peak period staffing. Potential impacts would include staff shortages, client dissatisfaction, and loss of corporate knowledge and confidence in the organization. As a micro-agency, the departure of even one employee has an impact on the organization as a whole.

In recent years, CICS successfully mitigated this risk through the implementation of its most current Succession Plan for key positions. Focus on succession planning over the next year remains essential as CICS is forecasting retirements and other departures from key positions in the short to mid-term. CICS will continue to implement staffing strategies to ensure the continued staffing of various positions, including career development opportunities, staffing pools, and short-term employment mechanisms to ensure prompt staffing at peak intervals. CICS will also continue to promote job rotations, as the lean nature of a micro-agency emphasizes the need for an agile and multi-skilled workforce.

Planned results for Intergovernmental Conference Services

The following table shows, for Intergovernmental Conference Services, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2023–24, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

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^[1] Proportion of respondents who provide a grade of 4 or 5 out of 5 to a series of interview questions.

^[2] Proportion of respondents who provide a grade of 4 or 5 out of 5 to a series of survey questions.

^[3] Proportion of respondents who provide a grade of 4 or 5 out of 5 to a series of interview questions.

^[4] New indicator in 2023-24, therefore, results from previous years are not available.

The financial, human resources and performance information for the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary spending for Intergovernmental Conference Services

The following table shows, for Intergovernmental Conference Services, budgetary spending for 2023–24, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years. CICS is forecasting to spend the entirety of its appropriation for Intergovernmental Conference Services in 2023–24 and future years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources for Intergovernmental Conference Services

The following table shows, in full–time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Internal services: planned results

Description

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:

management and oversight services

communications services

legal services

human resources management services

financial management services

information management services

information technology services

real property management services

materiel management services

acquisition management services

Planning highlights

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. Over the next fiscal year, CICS will adhere to the spirit of the new Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB), which will become effective in 2024–25, and will continue to integrate environmental performance considerations into its procurement decision-making process.

CICS is committed to support openness and transparency in government. In 2023–24, internal controls will continue to be assessed, maintained, and improved as needed, to ensure compliance with Treasury Board Policies, Directives and Guidance. CICS is also planning to further expand and strengthen internal controls over financial planning and procurement processes.

On the information technology front, CICS will continue to modernize its endpoint equipment to provide better service to its staff and external clients. Since CICS’ aging infrastructure will need replacement in the coming years, the organization will continue the migration of IT services to the Cloud. The Government of Canada Cloud-First adoption strategy represents a fundamental shift in the delivery of IT services. Cloud computing has the potential to provide a flexible means of delivering IT services.

Furthermore, the organization will continue 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.

Finally, CICS will explore 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 also 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.

Planning for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses

The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat aims to award a minimum of 5% of all contract values to Indigenous suppliers in fiscal year 2023–24, as outlined in the Government of Canada’s Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB). CICS plans on reaching this target through various contracts, such as professional services and IT equipment ahead of the required implementation period of 2024–25.

The following table shows in % the actual, forecasted and planned value for the target.

Planned budgetary spending for internal services

The following table shows, for internal services, budgetary spending for 2023–24, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years. CICS is forecasting to spend the entirety of its appropriation for Internal Services in 2023–24 and future years.

Planned human resources for internal services

The following table shows, in full–time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to carry out its internal services for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of the department’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2023–24 with actual spending for the current year and the previous year.

Planned spending

Departmental spending 2020–21 to 2025–26

The following graph presents planned spending (voted and statutory expenditures) over time.

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Spending between 2020 and 2022 was significantly lower due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the virtual nature of our services. The CICS now plans to spend the entirety of its appropriation starting 2023–24 due to the return to in-person and hybrid meetings in a post-pandemic environment.

For detailed information see the “Budgetary planning summary for core responsibility and Internal Services” section of this report.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibility and internal services (dollars)

The following table shows information on spending for the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s core responsibility and for its internal services for 2023–24 and other relevant fiscal years.

It is important to note that CICS does not convene intergovernmental meetings. It is called upon to respond to decisions taken by governments to meet on key national or specific issues. Decisions concerning the format and location of such meetings, their number in any given fiscal year, their timing and duration, are all factors beyond the control of the Secretariat. The level of CICS expenditures for each fiscal year is, however, directly affected by these factors. An event can consist of one or more conferences and is used to plan the budget for each of the conferences in terms of transportation and communication, rentals, translation, and interpretation services.

Due to the virtual nature of our services during the COVID-19 pandemic, actual expenditures between 2020 and 2022 were significantly lower than forecasted and planned spending. For 2022–23, expenditures are expected to be approximately $1.4 million higher than the previous fiscal years. This increase is the result of the dramatic increase in governments’ demand for in-person and hybrid events, which are generally more expensive than virtual events, and the significant inflation rate that has amplified increases in administrative costs. This has been particularly noticeable for simultaneous interpretation, audio-visual rental and services contracts. Inflation has also increased costs related to air travel, transportation of large equipment crates to conference sites, on-site security services, and more. This trend is expected to continue in future years.

Planned human resources

The following table shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s core responsibility and for its internal services for 2023–24 and the other relevant years.

Human resources planning summary for core responsibility and internal services

CICS human resources have been lower than anticipated over the last two years due to unplanned departures. 2022–23 will see an increase in FTEs as a result of staffing vacant positions in the fourth quarter. As a proactive measure, the Secretariat has increased focus on its succession plan to address upcoming departures from key positions and implemented innovative recruitment strategies. Due to this proactive approach and upcoming staffing, CICS is now forecasting an FTE increase for 2023–24.

Estimates by vote

Information on the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2023–24 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The future–oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s operations for 2022–23 to 2023–24.

The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

A more detailed future–oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, are available on the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s website.

Future–oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ending March 31, 2024 (dollars)

CICS is forecasting to spend the entirety of its appropriation in 2022–23 and 2023–24. The difference in planned results is mainly related to the operating balance carry forward received in 2022–23, which will be fully expended within the fiscal year.

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister(s): The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc

Institutional head: André M. McArdle

Ministerial portfolio: Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities

Enabling instrument(s): 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.

Year of incorporation / commencement: 1973

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Information on CICS’ raison d’être, mandate and role is available on the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s website.

Information on CICS’s mandate letter commitments is available in the Minister’s mandate letter.

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s website.

Reporting framework

The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s approved departmental results framework and program inventory for 2023–24 are as follows.

Changes to the approved reporting framework since 2022–23

Note 1An amendment was made to this departmental result indicator to more accurately capture and report on the effectiveness and efficiency of our client services. This indicator now measures the client satisfaction rate towards CICS’ innovative solutions, rather than their usage rate. Satisfaction rates will help inform management decisions when reviewing and refining service offerings.

Supporting information on the program inventory

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information table

The following supplementary information table is available on the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s website:

Gender-based analysis plus

Federal tax expenditures

The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for governmentwide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis plus.

Organizational contact information

Mailing address

P.O. Box 488, Station ‘A’

Ottawa, Ontario

K1N 8V5

Telephone: 613-995-2341

Fax: 613-996-6091

Email: Info@scics.ca

Website(s): www.scics.ca

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

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

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

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

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A document that sets out a department’s priorities, programs, expected results and associated resource requirements, covering a three–year period beginning with the year indicated in the title of the report. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A change that a department seeks to influence. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that consists of the department’s core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department’s actual performance in a fiscal year against its plans, priorities and expected results set out in its Departmental Plan for that year. Departmental Results Reports are usually tabled in Parliament each fall.

full–time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person–year charge against a departmental budget. Full–time equivalents 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.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography, language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2023–24 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the Government’s agenda in the 2021 Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fighter 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.

high impact innovation (innovation à impact élevé)

High impact innovation varies per organizational context. In some cases, it could mean trying something significantly new or different from the status quo. In other cases, it might mean making incremental improvements that relate to a high-spending area or addressing problems faced by a significant number of Canadians or public servants.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative in which two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non–budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the 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.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within a department and that focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

An inventory of a department’s programs that describes how resources are organized to carry out the department’s core responsibilities and achieve its planned results.

result (résultat)

An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead, they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.