2022-23 Departmental Plan
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
(The original version was signed by)
The Honourable David Lametti, P.C., Q.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by
the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, 2022
Catalogue No. IP51-6E-PDF
ISSN 2371-7955
From the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
I am pleased to present the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) 2022-23 Departmental Plan, my last as my mandate as Commissioner will come to a close in June.
This year’s plan will continue to build on our efforts to contribute to the adoption of new federal privacy laws and prepare the Office for changes stemming from these reforms.
In mandate letters issued in December, Prime Minister Trudeau asked his Ministers of Innovation, Science and Industry and Justice to deliver on legislation to “strengthen privacy protections for consumers” and to continue their “substantive review of the Privacy Act” in order to “keep pace with the effects of both technological change and evolving Canadian values.”
The letters followed statements from Minister Champagne indicating government would introduce an amended private-sector privacy law in 2022.
He described legislative reform as a “top priority” for the government and said he was working to move forward quickly with the support of the other parties.
I could not agree more with his statement that updated privacy laws are essential to building trust among Canadians that their personal information is protected, while simultaneously fostering innovation.
The new Parliament must legislate to enable responsible innovation, but within a rights-based framework that recognizes the fundamental right to privacy.
I am hopeful that much needed reforms will finally be introduced. My office will be ready to deliver on its renewed mandate by the time I turn the reins over to my successor, who will chart the next course for the OPC.
To that end, we are reviewing potential operational and structural changes as well as what additional resources will be required to fulfill our new responsibilities. To prepare for this new chapter, we also launched consultations to look at how we could enhance engagement with stakeholders on guidance and advisory work. We are also seeking views on the procedural safeguards that should be applied to the exercise of new order-making powers.
In addition to completing this preparatory work, we continue to pursue the goals set out in our Departmental Results Framework: to help empower Canadians to exercise their privacy rights, guide organizations to comply with their privacy obligations and bring enforcement actions to ensure businesses are respecting rights and complying with the law.
We also recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet behind us. We will continue to oversee compliance with Canada’s federal privacy laws in a remote work environment and within a broader landscape where increased digitization resulting from the pandemic is creating new risks for privacy.
Since we expect remote work to continue into the foreseeable future, we are continuing to invest in and support our employees in these times of change. This includes defining and developing a hybrid work model to be implemented once it is safe for employees to return to the office.
We are also committed to promoting the substantive equality of official languages and, in particular, to strengthening the use of French in our workplace. Finally, we are taking concrete action on employment equity, diversity and inclusion to build a more welcoming, accessible, rewarding and respectful workplace for all employees now and into the future.
For the OPC, 2022-23 is shaping up to be an important transition year as the organization makes adjustments to its workspaces, creates a more diverse and inclusive workforce, braces for the many new responsibilities set to come with legislative reform, and welcomes a new Privacy Commissioner.
I am proud of the work that the OPC team has accomplished during my tenure. Since my mandate began in 2014, we have worked hard to advance privacy interests. Our work has highlighted the very real threats to our rights. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, our attempts to better protect Canadians have fallen short because of significant gaps in our laws.
The adoption of modern laws – fit for the 21st century and compatible with our national and international allies – is the only way forward. As a society, we must project our values into the laws that regulate the digital space. It is on this condition that confidence in the digital economy, damaged by numerous scandals, will return.
(The original version was signed by)
Daniel Therrien
Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Plans at a glance
1. Contribute to the adoption of laws that improve privacy protection.
Privacy plays an important role in increasing Canadians’ trust in the digital economy and in our federal institutions. Central to this role is having modern privacy laws and a well-resourced regulator with the necessary tools to effectively ensure that businesses and government fulfil their obligations. For years, the OPC has been advocating for stronger privacy laws that meet 21st century challenges. Last year, the government introduced Bill C-11, An Act to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act and the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts, and held public consultations to inform eventual Privacy Act reform. When the federal election was called in August 2021, Bill C-11 died on the Order Paper.
It is our hope that we will see revised private-sector legislation introduced as well as legislative proposals to update the public-sector act in the coming year. Over the next year, we will continue advocating for the strengthening of Canada’s privacy laws. We look forward to working with Parliament to adopt contemporary privacy laws that adequately protect Canadians while promoting responsible innovation.
2. Prepare the Office for the implementation of new responsibilities.
Once new laws are introduced, we anticipate becoming a substantially different Office of the Privacy Commissioner – notably one with greater enforcement powers and an enhanced role in developing guidance, approving codes of practice and working with public-and private-sector institutions to ensure greater respect for privacy rights.
While it will likely take some time, perhaps a few years, before the OPC exercises new responsibilities, it is important that we start preparing as soon as possible, so that we can be effective when new laws come into force. This planning will be done in such a way as to be even more transparent and impartial towards regulated entities and other stakeholders. We want to deepen our engagement activities. The primary role of a regulator, such as the OPC, is to help organizations comply with the law, and when enforcement is required, to exercise this authority quickly but fairly.
3. Continue to focus on our Departmental Results Framework (DRF) goals
Our Office will stay the course we have set in recent years by continuing to work towards the objectives set out in our DRF. We will achieve those objectives to the extent possible within our current operating context and with our limited resources, and taking into account the uncertainty brought about by law reform.
To remain responsive to Canadians, we must continually look for ways to do more with less. We will continue to make optimum use of resources by looking for creative ways to further streamline processes and use technology to achieve additional efficiencies.
4. Invest in, and support our employees in these times of change
This will be a year of transition as we prepare for, and adapt to a number of significant changes, such as – the appointment of a new Commissioner, new responsibilities and a post-pandemic hybrid work model. Providing support for employees, whose commitment to the mission of protecting and promoting privacy has been unwavering, is a key component of the Office’s ability to carry out its mandate, and will be critical during this transition period.
Our Office will continue its efforts to maintain a standard of organizational excellence as well as employee well-being, and will continue to invest in the development of our workforce of tomorrow.
During this transition period, it will be important to incorporate effective change management strategies that balance existing institutional knowledge and experience with new approaches, while maintaining a committed, informed, diversified and inclusive workforce that is well equipped to provide a high level of service in both official languages in order to address the privacy issues of Canadians. We will rely on our many assets to bring about effective change management throughout this transition period.
For more information on the OPC’s plans, see the “Core responsibilities: planned results and resources” section of this plan.
Core responsibilities: planned results and resources
This section contains information on the department’s planned results and resources for each of its core responsibilities.
Protection of Privacy Rights
Description
Ensure the protection of privacy rights of Canadians; enforce privacy obligations by federal government institutions and private-sector organizations; provide advice to Parliament on potential privacy implications of proposed legislation and government programs; promote awareness and understanding of rights and obligations under federal privacy legislation.
Planning highlights
In 2022-23, our Office will continue to fulfil its core responsibility, guided by its three departmental results it wishes to achieve: (1) Privacy rights are respected and obligations are met; (2) Canadians are empowered to exercise their privacy rights; and (3) Parliamentarians and public and private sector organizations are informed and guided to protect Canadians’ privacy rights.
We will continue our push for greater compliance with privacy obligations by businesses and federal institutions by making maximum and strategic use of our existing powers including using early resolution and summary investigation processes. These approaches allow our office to more flexibly and to dedicate resources to higher-risk privacy issues. To address high-impact issues, such as those that put Canadians’ privacy at broad risk or affect an entire industry sector or government program, we will continue to conduct comprehensive complaint-driven and Commissioner-initiated investigations to the extent that resources permit. We will also continue to collaborate with enforcement partners domestically and internationally on privacy matters in both private and public sectors, leveraging our collective expertise, capacity and cross-regulatory perspectives, and increasing the impact of our regulatory efforts.
In the coming year, we will prepare for, and adapt to the significant anticipated increase in complaints resulting from the coming into force of the Privacy Act Extension Order No. 3 in July 2022. We will closely monitor the impacts of its implementation on OPC resources and performance, and will implement strategies to mitigate those impacts, if necessary.
In Budget 2019, the OPC was allocated funding to help reduce the overall backlog of complaints older than 12 months. Over the past several years, this temporary funding, along with several new operational strategies, including deemed refusals, enhanced procedural efficiency, and the setting of higher expectations with respect to institutions’ responsiveness to our investigations, has enabled our Office to make considerable progress in reducing the backlog of complaints by 91%. However, with the temporary funding set to expire on March 31, 2022, we are concerned that the impact of the Extension Order will exacerbate any outstanding gaps. Nevertheless, our Office will continue to work on improving its performance against service standards to the best of its ability.
To empower Canadians to exercise their privacy rights and guide organizations to comply with their obligations, our Office will continue to provide information to Canadians. We will allocate resources to provide advice to federal and private-sector organizations on programs and initiatives, including COVID-19 initiatives, so that they can proactively address privacy risks. Given the significant developments in technology and the need to be aware of the potential impacts of new technologies on data protection, our Office will make effective use of its upgraded technology laboratory in order to maintain, acquire and implement a sufficient repository of knowledge of new developments in technology, as well as provide better support for investigative activities and research development.
Some previously planned activities will need to take into account the uncertainty brought by law reform in the private sector. For example, a number of planned guidance documents related to key privacy issues will be suspended because the relevant provisions are likely to change. So, this year, once again, we will not set any specific targets for the indicators used to measure our progress in issuing information and guidance.
Lastly, providing advice to parliamentarians will be a key activity for our office in the coming year. Last year, in quick succession, the federal government introduced Bill C-11, which sought to overhaul the federal private-sector law, as well as a comprehensive public consultation document laying out a plan for modernizing Canada’s nearly 40-year-old public-sector law. While the proposed reforms were not enacted in new laws before the election was called in August, our Office prepared detailed submissions in response to both initiatives and put forward key recommendations for improvements in each one. We are hopeful that in the coming year, we will see revised legislation introduced for the private sector as well as legislative proposals to update the public-sector legislation and we will be prepared to offer our advice to Parliament.
With the implementation of legislative reforms, we anticipate that the OPC’s mandate will change. We will allocate resources to prepare our Office, so that it is ready to exercise its new duties once the amended privacy legislation comes into force.
Planned results for the Protection of Privacy Rights
The following table shows, for the Protection of Privacy Rights, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2022-23, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.
| Departmental result | Departmental result indicator |
Target | Date to achieve target |
2018-19 actual result |
2019-20 actual result |
2020-21 actual result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Privacy rights are respected and obligations are met. | Percentage of Canadians who feel that businesses respect their privacy rights. | 90% | March 31, 2023 | 38% | Not a survey year | 45% |
| Percentage of Canadians who feel that the federal government respects their privacy rights. | 90% | March 31, 2023 | 55% | Not a survey year | 63% | |
| Percentage of complaints responded to within service standards. | 75% | March 31, 2023 | 50% | 61% | 44%Footnote 1 | |
| Percentage of formal OPC recommendations implemented by departments and organizations. | 85% | March 31, 2023 | 96% | 80% | 75% | |
| Canadians are empowered to exercise their privacy rights. | Percentage of Canadians who feel they know about their privacy rights. | 70% | March 31, 2023 | 64% | Not a survey year | 64% |
| Percentage of key privacy issues that are the subject of information to Canadians on how to exercise their privacy rights. | No target set for 2022-23 | No target set for 2022-23 | 17% (5/30 specified pieces of guidance done) | 27% (8/30 specified pieces of guidance done) | 30% (9/30 specified pieces of guidance done) | |
| Percentage of Canadians who read OPC information and find it useful. | 70% | March 31, 2023 | 72% | 71% | 74% | |
| Parliamentarians, and public and private sector organizations are informed and guided to protect Canadians’ privacy rights. | Percentage of OPC recommendations on privacy-relevant bills and studies that have been adopted. | 60% | March 31, 2023 | 35% (33 recs made, 11 adopted) | 68% (28 recs made, 19 adopted) | n/aFootnote 2 |
| Percentage of private sector organizations that have good or excellent knowledge of their privacy obligations. | 85% | March 31, 2024 | Not a survey year | 85% | Not a survey year | |
| Percentage of key privacy issues that are the subject of guidance to organizations on how to comply with their privacy responsibilities. | No target set for 2022-23 | No target set for 2022-23 | 17% (5/30 specified pieces of guidance done) | 27% (8/30 specified pieces of guidance done) | 30% (9/30 specified pieces of guidance done) | |
| Percentage of federal and private sector organizations that find OPC’s advice and guidance to be useful in reaching compliance. | 70% | March 31, 2023 | 73% | 71% | 70% |
The financial, human resources and performance information for the OPC’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.
Planned budgetary financial spending for Protection of Privacy Rights
| 2022-23 Budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates) |
2022-23 planned spending |
2023-24 planned spending |
2024-25 planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21,524,426 | 21,524,426 | 21,524,426 | 21,524,426 |
Financial, human resources and performance information for the OPC’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.
Planned human resources for Protection of Privacy Rights
| 2022-23 planned full-time equivalents |
2023-24 planned full-time equivalents |
2024-25 planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|
| 153 | 153 | 153 |
Financial, human resources and performance information for the OPC’s program inventory is available in the 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.
At the OPC, communications services are an integral part of our education and outreach mandate. As such, these services are included in the promotion program. Similarly, the OPC’s legal services are an integral part of the delivery of compliance activities and are therefore included in the compliance program.
Planning highlights
During this transition year, the OPC must incorporate effective change management strategies that balance existing institutional knowledge and experience with new approaches aimed at greater efficiency, economy and collaboration, while sustaining a committed and informed workforce that is, well equipped to provide a high level of service in terms of addressing privacy matters of greatest risk to Canadians.
The OPC will work toward these goals by focusing on the following priorities:
- Maintain and enhance internal communications efforts and opportunities to support OPC employees throughout key transitions.
- Continue to support employees in a remote work environment and ensuring the health and safety of all employees through sound COVID-19 management and return-to-work guidelines.
- Implement the Office’s new hybrid work model designed with a view to greater collaboration, and provide employees with the necessary support and equipment to optimize productivity toward a new post-pandemic work environment.
- Provide support for the organization as it prepares to carry out new and expanded mandate obligations.
- Continue to review organizational structures and, recruitment and attraction practices in order to meet the requirements of the changing environment.
- Continue efforts to achieve the substantive linguistic equality of both Official Languages By implementing the second year of our Official Languages Strategic Plan.
- Implement the second year of our Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan in response to the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion from the Interim Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet to take practical actions to achieve systemic change.
- Implement the third year of our strategic human resources plan to ensure that our current and future workforce has the necessary skills and competencies to cope with a competitive, rapidly changing and agile environment and an evolving mandate.
- Continue carrying out the digital transformation by upgrading processes, infrastructure and tools to optimize service delivery and, accessibility, and promote employee mobility. This will include implementing activities to migrate OPC’s IT systems to the cloud.
- Continue efforts to apply HR-to-Pay and Pay Stabilization strategies and mechanisms that ensure accurate and timely pay for employees and align with future state HR-to-Pay solutions.
- Continue to maintain collaboration and business partnerships with other small and medium-sized organizations and agents of Parliament in order to gain effectiveness, share tools and resources, and implement best practices in areas such as information technology, administrative services, finance, internal audit, people management and human resources programs.
Planned budgetary spending for Internal Services
| 2022-23 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates) |
2022-23 planned spending |
2023-24 planned spending |
2024-25 planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7,695,005 | 7,695,005 | 7,695,005 | 7,695,005 |
Planned human resources for Internal Services
| 2022-23 planned full-time equivalents |
2023-24 planned full-time equivalents |
2024-25 planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|
| 54 | 54 | 54 |
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 2022-23 with actual spending for the current year and the previous year.
Planned spending
Departmental spending 2019-20 to 2024-25
The following graph presents planned spending (voted and statutory expenditures) over time.
Departmental spending graph
Text version of Figure 1
| 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory | 2,599,274 | 3,310,829 | 3,171,235 | 3,141,436 | 3,141,436 | 3,141,436 |
| Voted | 25,947,986 | 28,500,006 | 28,344,408 | 26,077,995 | 26,077,995 | 26,077,995 |
| Total * | 28,547,260 | 31,810,835 | 31,515,643 | 29,219,431 | 29,219,431 | 29,219,431 |
| * Amounts are net of Vote Netted Revenue authority (VNR) of $200,000 for internal support services to other government organizations, pursuant to section 29.2 of the Financial Administration Act. | ||||||
The graph above illustrates the OPC’s spending trend over a 6-year period from 2019-20 to 2024-25.
Statutory spending covers annual costs for employee benefits. Such costs may vary from year to year and are set by the Treasury Board Secretariat based on calculated expenses and forecasts.
The figures for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 fiscal years reflect the organization’s actual expenditures, as reported in the public accounts. The figures for the 2021-22 to 2024-25 fiscal years represent planned spending.
Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)
The following table shows information on spending for each of the OPC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2022-23 and other relevant fiscal years.
| Core responsibility and internal services |
2019-20 actual expenditures |
2020-21 actual expenditures |
2021-22 forecast spending |
2022-23 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates) |
2022-23 planned spending |
2023-24 planned spending |
2024-25 planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protection of privacy rights |
20,573,425 | 23,003,685 | 23,193,773 | 21,524,426 | 21,524,426 | 21,524,426 | 21,524,426 |
| Subtotal | 20,573,425 | 23,003,685 | 23,193,773 | 21,524,426 | 21,524,426 | 21,524,426 | 21,524,426 |
| Internal Services |
7,973,835 | 8,807,150 | 8,321,870 | 7,695,005 | 7,695,005 | 7,695,005 | 7,695,005 |
| Total | 28,547,260 | 31,810,835 | 31,515,643 | 29,219,431 | 29,219,431 | 29,219,431 | 29,219,431 |
Analysis of the spending trend
For the 2019-20 and 2020-21 fiscal years, actual spending represents the actual expenditures as reported in the Public Accounts of Canada. The increase in expenditures between 2019-20 and 2020-21 is mainly due to funding received in Budget 2019 to allow us to better protect the privacy of Canadians as well as compensation related the costs of new collective agreements and adjustments to employee benefits plans.
Forecast spending for the 2021-22 fiscal year and budgetary spending for the 2022-23 fiscal year correspond to the Office’s planned spending. The forecast spending for 2021-22 includes funding received for the collective agreements, the inclusion of the operating budget carry-forward from 2020-21 to 2021-22 and a re-profiling of Budget 2019 funding.
The planned spending for 2022-23 and future years will decrease to $29.2M because of the sunset funding received in Budget 2019 to reduce the backlog of privacy complaints older than one year, and provide Canadians with more timely resolution of their complaints.
Planned human resources
The following table shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for each of the OPC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2022-23 and the other relevant years.
Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services
| Core Responsibility and internal services | 2019-20 actual full-time equivalents |
2020-21 actual full-time equivalents |
2021-22 forecast full-time equivalents |
2022-23 planned full-time equivalents |
2023-24 planned full-time equivalents |
2024-25 planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protection of privacy rights | 142 | 158 | 158 | 153 | 153 | 153 |
| Subtotal | 142 | 158 | 158 | 153 | 153 | 153 |
| Internal Services | 51 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 54 |
| Total | 193 | 212 | 212 | 207 | 207 | 207 |
The increase in actual full-time equivalents between 2019-20 and 2021-22 is mainly due to resources received from the funding for delivering Budget 2019 measure: Protecting the privacy of Canadians. Starting in fiscal year 2022-23, there will be a decrease in the OPC’s human resources due to the sunset funding received in Budget 2019 to reduce the backlog of privacy complaints older than one year.
Estimates by vote
Information on the OPC’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2022-23 Main Estimates.
Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of the OPC’s operations for 2021-22 to 2022-23.
The amounts for forecast and planned results in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The amounts for forecast and planned spending 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 to the requested authorities, are available on the OPC’s website.
Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ending March 31, 2023 (dollars)
| Financial information | 2021-22 forecast results |
2022-23 planned results |
Difference (2022-23 planned results minus 2021-22 forecast results) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses | 35,179,179 | 33,142,535 | 2,036,644 |
| Total revenues | 179,734 | 200,000 | 20,266 |
| Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers |
34,999,445 | 32,942,535 | 2,056,910 |
The net cost of operations before government funding and transfers for the 2022-23 planned results is expected to decrease by $2,056,910 when compared with the net cost of operations before government funding and transfers for the 2021-22 forecast results.
This decrease is mainly due to the inclusion of sunset funding received in Budget 2019 and the operating budget carry-forward in the forecast results for 2021-22. Total revenues include a recovery from another organization for costs associated with the provision of internal services.
Corporate information
Organizational profile
Appropriate minister(s)Footnote 3: David Lametti
Institutional head: Daniel Therrien
Ministerial portfolioFootnote 4: Department of Justice Canada
Enabling instrument(s): Privacy Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-21; Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c.5
Year of incorporation / commencement: 1982
Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on the OPC’s website.
Operating context
Information on the operating context is available on the OPC’s website.
Reporting framework
The OPC’s approved departmental results framework and program inventory for 2022-23 are as follows:
| Departmental Results Framework | Departmental Result: Privacy rights are respected and obligations are met |
Indicator: Percentage of Canadians who feel that businesses respect their privacy rights Indicator: Percentage of Canadians who feel that the federal government respects their privacy rights Indicator: Percentage of complaints responded to within service standards Indicator: Percentage of formal OPC recommendations implemented by departments and organizations |
Internal Services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Departmental Result: Canadians are empowered to exercise their privacy rights |
Indicator: Percentage of Canadians who feel they know about their privacy rights Indicator: Percentage of key privacy issues that are the subject of information to Canadians on how to exercise their privacy rights Indicator: Percentage of Canadians who read OPC information and find it useful |
||
| Departmental Result: Parliamentarians, and federal and private-sector organisations are informed and guided to protect Canadians’ privacy rights |
Indicator: Percentage of OPC recommendations on privacy-relevant bills and studies that have been adopted Indicator: Percentage of private sector organizations that have a good or excellent knowledge of their privacy obligations Indicator: Percentage of key privacy issues that are the subject of guidance to organizations on how to comply with their privacy responsibilities Indicator: Percentage of federal and private sector organizations that find OPC’s advice and guidance to be useful in reaching compliance |
||
| Program Inventory |
Compliance Program Promotion Program |
||
To fulfil our core responsibility, our work falls into one of two program areas – compliance or promotion. Activities related to addressing existing compliance issues fall under the compliance program, while activities to bring departments and organizations towards compliance with the law fall under the promotion program. Some activities in our previous compliance program were preventative, including the review of privacy impact assessments and responses to information requests from Canadians. These activities have been moved from our compliance program to our new consolidated promotion program.
Supporting information on the program inventory
Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to the OPC’s Program Inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
Supplementary information tables
The following supplementary information tables are available on the OPC’s website
- Reporting on Green Procurement
- Details on transfer payment programs
- Gender-based analysis plus
Federal tax expenditures
OPC’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 government-wide 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.
Organizational contact information
Mailing address
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
30 Victoria Street, 1st Floor
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3
Canada
Telephone: 819-994-5444
Toll Free: 1-800-282-1376
Fax: 819-994-5424
TTY: 819-994-6591
Website: www.priv.gc.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.
- experimentation (expérimentation)
- The conducting of activities that explore, test and compare the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform decision-making and improve outcomes for Canadians. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from, innovation. Innovation is the trying of something new; experimentation involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, introducing a new mobile application to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new application and comparing it against an existing website or other tools to see which one reaches more people, is experimentation.
- 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+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])
- An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.
- government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
- For the purpose of the 2022-23 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2021 Speech from the Throne: protecting Canadians from COVID-19; helping Canadians through the pandemic; building back better – a resiliency agenda for the middle class; the Canada we’re fighting for.
- 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.
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