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Section III: Supplementary Information

Organizational Information

WD’s Head Office is located in Edmonton, Alberta, co-located with the Regional Office for Alberta. Regional offices are located in each of the other western provinces - Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Vancouver - with a liaison office in Ottawa. A regional satellite office also exists in Calgary. The department’s Deputy Minister is located in Edmonton and Assistant Deputy Ministers are located in Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Ottawa.

In addition to corporate responsibilities, each of the western Assistant Deputy Ministers is accountable for the delivery of programs and services in their region, which support the department’s strategic outcomes. The Ottawa-based Assistant Deputy Minister and the Director General Policy lead the department’s advocacy activities. The department also works closely with Industry Canada and other Regional Development Agencies.

Western Economic Diversification Canada Organization Structure

Western Economic Diversification Canada Organization Structure
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WD’s Executive Committee is composed of the Deputy Minister, five Assistant Deputy Ministers, the Director General Corporate Finance and Programs, Director General Corporate Services, Director General Policy and the Director Corporate Communications.

Table 1: Comparison of Planned to Actual Spending (including Full-time Equivalents)

Table 1
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*Note: Spending in this Program Activity area almost doubled in the last fiscal year due to the Alberta and Saskatchewan Centennials Initiative.

**Also note: The reduction in Infrastructure spending of approximately $57 million was due to the decrease in Infrastructure Canada Program activity. (The Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund expenditures are not reflected in WD’s public accounts, as this funding is held in an Other Government Suspense Account by Infrastructure Canada.)

Table 2: Resources by Program Activity
($ thousands )

Table 2: Click to enlarge
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Table 3: Voted and Statutory Items
($ thousands)

Table 3
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*Note : Actual spending is lower than Total Authorities, primarily due to the transfer of contractual commitments under the Infrastructure Canada Program and the Alberta / Saskatchewan Centenaries initiative to future years.

Table 4: Services Received Without Charge


($ thousands )

2006–2007
Actual Spending

Accommodation provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada

2,319

Contributions covering the employer’s share of employees’ insurance premiums and expenditures paid by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (excluding revolving funds); employer’s contribution to employees’ insured benefits plans and associated expenditures paid by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

2,343

Salary and associated expenditures of legal services provided by the Department of Justice Canada

8

Workers’ Compensation

29

Total 2006–2007 Services received without charge

4,699


Table 5: Sources of Respendable and Non-respendable Revenue

Respendable Revenue


($ thousands )

Actual
2004–05

Actual
2005–06

2006–2007

Main
Estimates

Planned
Revenue

Total
Authorities

Actual

Total Respendable Revenue

0 0 0 0 0 0

Non-respendable Revenue


($ thousands )

Actual
2004–05

Actual
2005–06

2006–2007

Main
Estimates

Planned
Revenue

Total
Authorities

Actual

Repayments of Contributions

18,462

6,513

0

2,000

0

4,885

Adjustment to previous years payables at year-end

2,664

1,953

0

500

0

2,119

Other Revenue

4,245

175

0

200

0

139

Fees paid with Access to Information Program(ATIP) requests*

0

0

0

0

0

 0

Total Non-respendable Revenue

25,371

8,641

0

2,700

0

7,143


*Note : Western Economic Diversification Canada collected $457 in fees associated with the Access to Information Program during the fiscal year 2006-2007.

Table 6: Resource Requirements by Branch or Sector

Table 6: Click to enlarge
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Table 7A: User Fees Act

Table 7a: User Fees Act
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*Note : WD only collects user fees for Access to Information Requests. The total user fees collected during the fiscal year 2006-2007 was $457.00.

Table 7-B: Policy on Service Standards for External Fees

For Table 7-B see http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rma/dpr2/06-07/index_e.asp.

Table 8: Details on Transfer Payment Programs (TPPs)

During the 2006-2007 fiscal year, Western Economic Diversification managed the following transfer payment programs with expenditures in excess of $5 million:

  1. Western Diversification Program;
  2. Community Futures Program; and
  3. Infrastructure Canada Program.

For further information on the above-mentioned transfer payment programs see http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rma/dpr2/06-07/index_e.asp.

Table 9: Conditional Grants (Foundations)

Western Economic Diversification provided the following conditional grants:

  1. Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights Inc. ($27 million);

  2. Primrose Lake Economic Development Corporation ($15 million); and

  3. Prince Rupert Port Authority ($30 million).

Further information on these Foundations (conditional grants) can be found at:

http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rma/dpr2/06-07/index_e.asp.

Table 10: Financial Statements of Departments and Agencies (including Agents of Parliament)

For Table 10, see Annex I.

Table 11: Response to Parliamentary Committees, and Audits and Evaluations

This section includes the internal audits and program evaluation reports issued by WD.

Challenges for 2006-2007

1. Staffing of the Chief Audit Executive

2. Change in Internal Audit and Evaluation Portfolio to include Values and Ethics

Internal Audit

WD audits its programs and operations to ensure that they are in compliance with established policies, procedures and government regulations. Audit reports are issued to WD management with conclusions on performance and recommendations for improvements. Audits provide assurances and conclusions based upon professional standards of evidence, analysis and reporting.

Evaluation and Impact Assessments

WD also conducts assessments of the relevance, success and cost-effectiveness of its programs and initiatives. These evaluation reports provide WD management with relevant, timely and objective information to guide decision-making. Evaluation and impact assessment reporting is critical to help demonstrate the results achieved from departmental programs and initiatives.


Response to Parliamentary Committees

None – There were no recommendations during 2006-2007 from Parliamentary Committees.

 

Response to the Auditor General of Canada, including to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD)

Sustainable Development Strategies (SDS) - (Chapter 4): WD made satisfactory progress towards meeting SDS commitments. http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/c20060904ce.html

SDS (IV) - Commitment Progress Monitoring Questionnaire – Annual

 

External Audits (Note: These refer to other external audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.)

Audit on Services to the Public in Both Official Languages provided by offices in Alberta was done in December 2006. The results have not been released yet.

 

Internal Audits or Evaluations

The following audits and evaluations were completed during 2006-2007. Reports (when finalized, approved and translated) are posted on WD’s website: http://www.wd.gc.ca/rpts/audit/default_e.asp

Audits completed during 2006-2007:

  • Audit of the Infrastructure Canada Program;
  • Administration of Grants & Contributions Audit (ongoing);
  • Audit of Management of Information.

Evaluations completed during 2006-2007:

  • Canada-Saskatchewan Northern Development Agreement

Impact Assessments completed during 2006-2007:

  • Impact Assessment of Aboriginal Projects;
  • Impact Assessment of Life Sciences Projects (WIP).

Horizontal Evaluations completed during 2006-2007

  • National Evaluation of The Softwood Industry and Community Economic Adjustment Initiative (SICEAI), led by Industry Canada;
  • World Urban Forum (WUF) Evaluation, led by Service Canada.

Consultations:

  • Development of WD’s Corporate Risk Profile.

Table 12: Sustainable Development Strategy


Department

 

Points to Address

Departmental Input

1. What are the key goals, objectives and/or long-term targets of the SDS?

WD’s fourth sustainable development strategy (SDS IV) defines the department’s sustainable development (SD) vision as follows: WD is building a more sustainable Western Canada by making strategic investments and providing its employees and partners with practical tools to integrate sustainable development into WD’s core areas of business. The strategy identifies three strategic outcomes to move towards this vision for sustainable development:

  1. Innovation towards sustainable development - WD investments will facilitate the development, commercialization, adoption and adaptation of new environmental technologies and processes within Western Canada.
  2. Greening of WD operations - WD corporate culture will reflect WD’s principles of sustainable development.
  3. External greening - WD will facilitate greater awareness of Government of Canada SD concepts and opportunities among WD partners and western Canadian business.

Additional information about key activities, commitments and the performance measurement strategy can be found on the department’s website at http://www.wd.gc.ca/rpts/strategies/sd/default_e.asp.

2. How do your key goals, objectives and/or long-term targets help achieve your department’s strategic outcomes?

WD’s program activities are concentrated in three distinct but interrelated areas leading to the following departmental strategic outcomes:

  1. Entrepreneurship and Innovation;
  2. Community Economic Development; and
  3. Policy, Advocacy and Coordination.

SDS IV contributes to elements of each departmental strategic outcome; however, activities in support of the SD strategic outcome “innovation towards sustainable development” are particularly relevant to the department’s activities related to Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

3. What were your targets for the reporting period?

WD's SDS III outlines targets for fiscal years 2004-2005 through 2006-2007. Specific annual targets are not identified for each fiscal year.

4. What is your progress to date?

In 2006-2007 WD invested approximately $17 million in projects that will contribute to the achievement of outcomes as identified in SDS III. The department also continued to improve systems to identify and track SD projects. These activities have been key to ensuring that officers are able to identify, support and report on SD related projects. In addition, WD undertook an assessment of SDS III and a case study analysis of projects that supported SD objectives. Specific achievements against SDS III targets are posted annually on the department's website. For a detailed report on key outcomes from 2006-2007 please refer to the annual update at: http://www.wd.gc.ca/rpts/strategies/sd/2003/update_e.asp.

5. What adjustments have you made, if any?

SDS IV responds to the advice of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) and the findings of a third-party assessment of SDS III. SDS III met 8 out of 10 of CESD’s expectations; in the 2 remaining areas (“Goals and objectives” and “linking [of] goals and objectives with targets and actions”) weaknesses have been addressed in SDS IV. CESD also recommended that WD improve its project tracking methods to facilitate better identification of SD projects. WD has addressed this concern by refining the department’s project assessment tool. CESD also noted that dollars invested and leveraged are not the best SD performance indicators. WD continues to use these measures in SDS IV as they are important metrics of the department’s activities in support of SD; however, WD is exploring the use of other performance indicators.

The third party assessment of SDS III recommended changes to address three key issues:

  1. the complex structure of SDS III;
  2. the need for clarity about the role of SD within WD; and
  3. the level of management focus on and attention to SD within WD.

These recommendations reflected many of the general concerns expressed by the CESD with regard to government-wide SD strategies. SDS IV responds to these concerns and recommendations, in the following ways:

  • It is less complex than SDS III, identifying three SD strategic outcomes with clear commitments for each;
  • It clearly identifies the links between the strategy and the department’s day-to-day activities to make the SDS IV more meaningful and relevant to department staff; and
  • The action plan developed to support SDS IV also emphasizes strong management systems.

Table 13: Procurement and Contracting

For Table 13 see http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rma/dpr2/06-07/index_e.asp.

Table 14: Client-Centred Service

WD made the following progress with respect to client-centred service in 2006-2007:

  1. The Canada Business Service Centres achieved an overall client satisfaction rating of 83 per cent in 2006-2007.
  2. WD will conduct a client satisfaction survey during 2007-2008 and will act upon the results. WD is also developing service standards for project funding requests with respect to timeliness, access and accuracy.
  3. The results of the 2007-2008 client satisfaction survey will be communicated to clients. In addition, once WD establishes service standards for project funding requests, these will be posted to the department’s public web site.

Further information on WD’s client-centred service may be found at

http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rma/dpr2/06-07/index_e.asp.

Table 15: Horizontal Initiatives

During the 2006-2007 fiscal year, Western Economic Diversification was involved in the following horizontal initiatives as either the lead or as a partner:

Lead

  1. Western Economic Partnership Agreements (WEPA)

    Partner

  2. Infrastructure Canada Program – Infrastructure Canada (lead)
  3. Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund – Infrastructure Canada (lead)
  4. Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund – Infrastructure Canada (lead)
  5. U.S. Enhanced Representation Initiative (ERI) – Foreign Affairs &
  6. International Trade Canada (lead)

For further information on WEPA see
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rma/dpr2/06-07/index_e.asp. For further information on all the above horizontal initiatives, including those in which WD is a partner, see the relevant Program Activity area in Section II of the Departmental Performance Report.

Table 16: Travel Policies

Western Economic Diversification Canada conforms to all Treasury Board Secretariat travel policy parameters.

Table 17: 2006-2007 G&C Expenditures by Sub-program

Table 17
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