2024-25 Department Plan: At a Glance
The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s 2024–25 Departmental plan at a glance The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., K.C., M.P. Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs A departmental plan describes a department’s priorities, plans and associated costs for the upcoming three fiscal years. Vision, mission, raison d’être and operating context Minister’s mandate letter [Read the full departmental plan] [Print this page] Key priorities Ongoing support of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Government Priorities Achieve Service Excellence Build and Maintain a Healthy and Strong Workforce Efficient Management of Resources Refocusing Government Spending In Budget 2023, the government committed to reducing spending by $14.1 billion over the next five years, starting in 2023–24, and by $4.1 billion annually after that. While not officially part of this spending reduction exercise, the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS) will respect the spirit of this exercise by doing the following: By the nature of its mandate, CICS works to provide economies of scale and an effective and competitive conference service model. The Secretariat maintains 75% of its total reference level as expenses for its program, intergovernmental conference services, and 25% for internal services. Additional favourable impact is expected to be achieved through reinforcing the conference model, promoting the hybrid format, creating an archive data retrieval tool, implementing a conference policy, and completing a comprehensive program evaluation to reduce any inefficiencies. The Secretariat has implemented technologies and processes to enable remote simultaneous interpretation for all in-person and hybrid conferences. This eliminates the travel costs associated with interpreters attending conferences, and contributes to CICS’ sustainable development strategy. CICS will conduct a Program Evaluation with the goal of learning about innovative conferencing technologies, finding efficiencies in processes, and optimizing resources utilization. The Secretariat will leverage insights gained to influence the future of conferencing in the Government of Canada, with the objective of helping reduce conference spending across the nation in the long-term. The Secretariat will continue to facilitate hybrid conferences, which are comprised of in-person meetings with virtual participation. Hybrid conferencing reduces travel costs and environmental impacts by allowing observers, presenters, and participants to connect remotely from anywhere in the world. The figures in this departmental plan reflect these reductions. Highlights A Departmental Results Framework consists of an organization’s core responsibilities, the results it plans to achieve, and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results. Intergovernmental Conference Services Departmental results: Facilitate productive federal-provincial-territorial and provincial-territorial discussions through centralized planning and professionally supported conferences. Continuous innovation in process and service delivery to meet evolving client needs. Planned spending: $5,936,923 Planned human resources: 30 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 […]
by Aaron Lampole
Read more »
2024-25 Department Plan: Full Plan
The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s 2024–25 Departmental Plan The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., K.C., M.P. Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs On this page From the Institutional Head Plans to deliver on core responsibility and internal services Intergovernmental Conference Services Internal services Planned spending and human resources Spending Funding Future-oriented condensed statement of operations Human resources Corporate information Supplementary information tables Federal tax expenditures Definitions From the Institutional Head As Secretary of the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS), I am pleased to present the Agency’s 2024–25 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. These multilateral meetings are a key component of Canadian federalism supporting the whole of government to collaborate, consult and coordinate policy making while complying with the Canadian political and constitutional framework. CICS facilitates these conferences and maintains the records of proceedings confidentially. From 2020, the conference model has been progressively shifting towards virtual and hybrid conferences; This trend continued in 2023–2024. The focus of the Secretariat is on aligning the business operating model to these changes, including complex logistical and technical requirements. CICS has started key initiatives to ensure longer term sustainability while supporting government-wide shifting toward hybrid and virtual conferences in a cost-effective manner. Key initiatives started are program evaluation and institutional development, to build and maintain a healthy, strong workforce and inclusive human resources team, which will be pursued in part in consultation with the federal, provincial and territorial governments. We have also started to systematically identify and plan for conferences for the next 3 years, ensuring that staff deployment and training is aligned to emerging conference models and that we do not leave conferences and departments unsupported and work more collaboratively in planning for resources. These initiatives will help us build out a strategy for 2025–2027 and make pragmatic recommendations on a longer term and sustainable cost allocation and recovery structure for conference services. Our expectations is that these core re-evaluations will result into a contemporary conference services model, based on evidence of conferences through an integrated conference policy, closer attention to conference costs and incorporating these into the conference policy and recommendation of more sustainable conference services models and cost allocation and recovery mechanisms that will support longer term system sustainability across government. Lastly, the changes integrate how best to build and transform our program and framework in order to maintain a diversified and inclusive staff across provinces and territories, and for inclusive agency reform, development, and evaluation. Focusing on these aspects will ensure that CICS provides value to Canadians through continued and increasingly more relevant assurance of economies of scale, inclusive and accountable governance, inclusive use and development of Canada’s human resources, and continued service to all levels of government as mandated. CICS is also committed […]
by Aaron Lampole
Read more »
Future-Oriented Statement of Operations 2024-25
CANADIAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT Future-Oriented Statement of Operations (unaudited) ISSN 3111-0363 For the Year Ended March 31 (in dollars) Forecast Results for 2023-24 Planned Results for 2024-25 Expenses Intergovernmental Conference Services Internal Services 6,532,878 2,177,710 6,591,490 2,221,683 Total expenses 8,710,588 8,813,173 Revenues Sharing cost agreement – Transfers received from the provincial governments Revenues earned on behalf of government 1,521,200 (1,521,200) 1,521,200 (1,521,200) Total revenues 0 0 Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 8,710,588 8,813,173 1. Methodology and significant assumptions The future-oriented statement of operations has been prepared on the basis of government priorities and departmental plans as described in the Departmental Plan. The information in the forecast results for fiscal year 2023−24 is based on actual results as at January 5, 2024 and on forecasts for the remainder of the fiscal year. Forecasts have been made for the planned results for the 2024−25 fiscal year. The main assumptions underlying the forecasts are as follows: The Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s (the Secretariat) activities will remain substantially the same as the previous. The Secretariat expects that in fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25, in person conferences will increase. This will result in higher operating and maintenance costs as they relate to program delivery. Expenses and revenues, including the determination of amounts internal and external to the government, are based on historical experience. The general historical pattern is expected to continue. These assumptions are made as at January 5, 2024. 2. Variations and changes to the forecast financial information Although every attempt has been made to forecast final results for the remainder of 2023-24 and for 2024-25, actual results achieved for both years are likely to differ from the forecast information presented, and this variation could be material. In preparing this Future-Oriented Statement of Operations, the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS) has made estimates and assumptions concerning the future. These estimates and assumptions may differ from the subsequent actual results. Estimates and assumptions are based on past experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, and are continually evaluated. Factors that could lead to material differences between the Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and the historical statement of operations include: The timing and the amount of equipment acquisitions or disposals which may affect gains, losses and amortization expense. Implementation of new collective. Intergovernmental influences may affect the volume and complexity of conferences supported and managed by Conference. Other changes to the operating budget, such as new initiatives or technical adjustments later in the fiscal. After the Departmental Plan is tabled in Parliament, the CICS will not be updating the forecasts for any changes in financial resources made in ensuing supplementary estimates. Variances will be explained in the Departmental Results Report. 3. Summary of significant accounting policies The Future-Oriented Statement of Operations has been prepared using the Government of Canada’s accounting policies in effect for fiscal year 2023−24 and is based on Canadian public sector accounting standards. The presentation […]
by Aaron Lampole
Read more »