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Section IV: Other Items of Interest

4.1 Organizational Information

The Honourable John Baird is the Minister responsible for the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio.

Infrastructure Canada is headed by a Deputy Head, Louis Ranger, who reports to the Minister. The Deputy Head was supported in 2007-2008 by five Assistant Deputy Ministers and a Departmental Senior Counsel:

• Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Communications: John Forster;
• Assistant Deputy Minister, National Transit Strategy/Special Projects: Yazmine Laroche;
• Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations: Carol Beal;
• Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services/Chief Financial Officer: David Cluff;
• Assistant Deputy Minister, Regional Integration: Gary Webster;
• Departmental Senior Counsel: Richard Ouellet.

Infrastructure Canada's organizational structure is presented in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Infrastructure Canada Organization Chart (March 31, 2008)

4.2 Departmental Administration and Management Initiatives

Infrastructure Canada's third Program Activity is Departmental Administration. The objective for this Activity is to promote excellence in program and corporate management in support of Infrastructure Canada's priorities. Departmental Administration consists of:

• Corporate Services;
• Communications;
• Legal Services.

The Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, supported by the Deputy Head, is responsible for ensuring that Government priorities are pursued through the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Portfolio. Infrastructure Canada is well-positioned to support the Government of Canada's unprecedented commitment to rebuild and modernize our country's infrastructure. Success requires all parts of the organization to recognize the complementary roles they play within the Portfolio, and their respective roles in supporting the Minister in his responsibilities to Parliament and Canadians.

Corporate Services

Divided into five key areas (Information Management and Information Technology, Finance and Administration, Human Resources, Evaluation and Internal Audit), Corporate Services not only provides support to all the employees of Infrastructure Canada, but also responds to the many requests from Central Agencies in reporting on the Department's accounts and activities. Corporate Services is also responsible for monitoring the implementation of policies and strategies to safeguard the integrity of the Department's financial planning and management programs.

Information Management and Information Technology

Information management and information technology (IM/IT) personnel provide advisory and technical services within Infrastructure Canada.

IM/IT has developed a business model based on service management principles to promote continuous improvement, implement central government policies (such as the Management of Government Information and the Management of Information Technology Security) and facilitate the delivery of services through the Shared Services Initiative. The model recognizes that IM/IT services should be client-driven and should meet business needs through a structured framework of good governance, best practices and processes and continuous improvement.

IM/IT facilitates the management of several Infrastructure Canada funding programs through the Shared Information Management System for Infrastructure (SIMSI). SIMSI is a secure, user-friendly, bilingual, web-based information management system that has evolved since 2001 to meet the requirements of Infrastructure Canada's programs. SIMSI enables municipal governments to apply online for project funding. SIMSI allows Infrastructure Canada, its federal delivery partners and the provinces and territories to access applications; apply due diligence; track and report project approvals, completion and closure; track benefits; and, monitor financial commitments and expenditures.

The past fiscal year saw a renewal of SIMSI technology architecture to ensure a robust and secure environment for the continued management of Infrastructure Canada programs. End-of-life hardware was replaced and other components upgraded to provide a stable system platform for the next five years while incorporating Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices and complying with Government of Canada legislation (e.g., Management of IT Security Standard, Secure Channel). This included the initial construction for the Building Canada Fund, the introduction of a new business reporting tool, as well as the integration into the SIMSI environment of the CSIF/BIF and GTF information. In addition the SIMSI Service Desk was migrated to the national operations centre in Montréal to ensure continued optimal services to clients.

Continued emphasis on client service, and support of stakeholder requirements such as the need for horizontal reporting ensures SIMSI development is in step with the Infrastructure Canada priorities.

In partnership with federal delivery agencies, provinces/territories and municipalities, Infrastructure Canada made significant progress in implementing a foundation for the capture and life cycle management of data. Infrastructure projects are spread across Canada, and thus the data capture effort was focused on location-based data. Pilot projects were initiated to support the analysis and dissemination of the data.

Collaborative technologies have been introduced in Infrastructure Canada and several wiki-based initiatives and web-conferencing were implemented for partner and stakeholder organizations.

With the growth of Infrastructure Canada, IM/IT has formally organized a unit to address the corporate applications needs of the department, including work done to introduce the government-sponsored Human Resources Information System (HRIS) to manage human resource data.

Finance and Administration

During 2007-2008, Infrastructure Canada took steps to review and strengthen its internal financial and administrative policies and procedures, particularly with regard to the use and control of hospitality, the management of petty cash, and the delegation of financial signing authority. Certain financial services which had been provided by a service delivery partner were repatriated and consolidated within Finance at Infrastructure Canada, reflecting the changing priorities of both the department and its service delivery partner. Policy documents were completed on accounting for expenditures related to infrastructure programs, and a monthly accrual process was implemented. The management of accommodations was improved by increasing the use of more efficient procurement tools and standardizing requirements; and procurement services were restructured to develop the capacity for a higher level of client service, monitoring and control regarding contracting activities.

Human Resources Strategy

Throughout 2007-2008, the department worked to integrate its business needs and the related human resources priorities. In response to the Clerk of the Privy Council's Fourteenth Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada, Infrastructure Canada adjusted our HR directions to support the Clerk's priorities.

i) Modernization and Public Service Renewal

The corporate Human Resources Plan was posted on InfraNet in January 2008, along with a document entitled "Human Resources Planning Made Easy", which demystifies the HR planning process for managers. It explains the what, the why and the how; it also provides links to tools and names an HR contact for advice and employee data.

The 2008-2009 Infrastructure Canada Integrated Human Resources Plan was completed in March 2008, in accordance with the Clerk's requirement, and posted on InfraNet at that time. With this plan in place, managers made a commitment to develop HR plans at the branch and division levels.

The department supported the public-service wide goal of appointing post-secondary graduates to indeterminate positions by March 31, 2008, by hiring nine recent graduates in 2007-2008. Our progress report on renewal, prepared in co-operation with Transport Canada, was posted on the InfraNet in January 2008.

Infrastructure Canada no longer relies on Industry Canada for People Soft services. The department now uses the Human Resources Information System (HRIS) to capture position and employee data, and has mapped and adjusted its staffing and classification processes so that they are aligned with the use of HRIS. As a result, Infrastructure Canada has significantly enhanced its ability to respond to central agency reporting requirements and to requests from its managers.

ii) Building the Workforce

In support of Public Service Renewal, the corporate HR plan set out recruitment strategies that take advantage of all the options and flexibilities allowed under the Public Service Employment Act. Infrastructure Canada's approaches included: Student Bridging; public-service wide development programs such as the Management Trainee Program, the Accelerated Economist Training Program, the Financial Officers Recruitment and Development Program, and the Recruitment of Policy Leaders Program; and, collective staffing to establish pools of qualified candidates. As a result, the number of indeterminate employees increased from 160 to 200 during 2007-2008.

In an effort to find out why employees left the department in 2007 and the first three months of 2008, the Human Resources Division developed an exit questionnaire and contacted former indeterminate departmental employees. Preliminary results were analyzed, and it was decided to continue this initiative until we have enough information to aid in the development of corporate and branch retention strategies.

A corporate employee orientation program was also implemented so that new employees would feel welcome and understand where they fit in the department.

iii) Learning

Work was begun on the creation of internal development programs for the most seriously under-staffed occupational groups, beginning with the PE and ES communities.

The Clerk emphasized learning plans as an important tool in helping employees attain their career goals, and the department exceeded the target of 90% of its staff having career and development plans by March 31, 2008. A practice was established that all new employees must have performance objectives and a learning plan in place within three months of their arrival at Infrastructure Canada.

iv) Representation

A campaign to encourage employees to complete the Employment Equity (EE) self-identification form revealed that, overall, the department exceeded its workforce availability targets in all areas in 2007-2008. Processes were established to monitor our EE numbers closely.

Infrastructure Canada maintained its highly regarded capacity in the area of official languages, and continued work on balancing the need for bilingual services with issues related to succession planning, employment equity, and bringing new recruits into the public service.

v) Values and Ethics

With the increasing focus on values and ethics at all levels of the public service, Infrastructure Canada conducted a leadership survey on values and ethics, and the results were communicated to employees in June 2007.

Internal Audit and Evaluation

During 2007-2008, Infrastructure Canada continued the execution of its three-year phased internal audit plan that was approved by the Departmental Audit Committee (DAC) on June 15, 2007.

The difficulty in staffing approved positions caused some delays in the finalization of the audit report for the Classification and Staffing audit and the deferral of several audits which were planned for this fiscal year (ICP and MRIF Contribution Management Framework).

Infrastructure Canada's DAC continued the commitment to make the audit committee more independent from the management of the organizations they review. The DAC met twice during the year to review and discuss items that are now part of its broader mandate, (including risk management, the departmental financial statements and Public Accounts reporting), in addition to its traditional responsibilities related to internal audit and follow-up on management action plans developed to respond to audit reports and recommendations of the Auditor General.

During the last quarter of 2007-2008, an ongoing three-year risk-based internal audit plan was developed and approved at the June 19, 2008 DAC.

The Executive Committee acts as the Departmental Evaluation Committee (DEC). The DEC main responsibilities are to approve the INFC evaluation policy, annual evaluation plan, and evaluation and review reports; to resolve any contentious issues relating to evaluations; and to ensure that evaluation results are acted upon.

The DEC approved the three-year Evaluation Plan, in January 2007. The activities carried out in 2007-2008 were in accordance with this plan.

During 2007-2008, a Formative Evaluation of MRIF was completed, which assessed the results achieved to date and also reviewed issues related to the administration and delivery of the program.

A process evaluation of the GTF was also completed. It assessed the implementation of the program to date and also assessed the management and reporting systems.

Risk Management

During 2007-2008, Infrastructure Canada continued to make significant progress in integrating risk management practices within the department. It introduced a departmental Integrated Risk Management (IRM) Policy; assessed effectiveness of existing mitigation measures and progress in implementing new mitigation measures; completed the Corporate Services Branch risk profile and produced a quarterly report on the status of the branch's mitigation measures; began the update of the corporate risk profile; and, created the Risk Management Committee for the Shared Information Management System for Infrastructure (SIMSI).

In 2008-2009, work will continue to advance the Department's IRM initiative by establishing a Chief Risk Officer (CRO) position responsible for guiding and supporting risk management initiatives throughout the department, updating the IRM policy to reflect the role of the CRO and reflect policy developments, completing the update of the corporate risk profile, incorporating a risk management activity within various departmental committees (e.g., proposed Project Assessment Committee and Management Control Framework Committee), increasing awareness of risk management within the department by developing and implementing a risk management website and producing a risk management guide, monitoring and reporting on progress made in the implementation of mitigation measures throughout Infrastructure Canada, and completing other branch risk profiles.

Communications

The Communications Directorate informs Canadians about infrastructure policies, programs and projects that contribute to improving Canada's economy and environment and which support their communities. The Directorate also helps to ensure that the views of Canadians are considered in the development of the new policies and programs. Communications initiatives are coordinated and carried out with Portfolio partner Transport Canada as well as regional development agencies and provincial, territorial and municipal governments.

Helping to Inform Canadians: During 2007-2008, the Communications Directorate coordinated 125 media events and issued 166 news releases. The Directorate was also responsible for branding and communicating the new federal infrastructure plan, web and print material on the plan, and Ministerial outreach to stakeholder press and more general audiences helped inform these key audiences on the plan. Together, these efforts generated national and regional print and television media coverage and coverage in community media across the country, helping to inform Canadians of existing infrastructure programs and Building Canada. Also, the Communications Directorate fielded over 600 public inquiries, providing information in response to their questions.

Sharing Information With Stakeholders: To support outreach activities and share information with key stakeholder audiences, the Directorate prepared speeches for the Minister and senior management and provided several articles on the Building Canada plan for publication. A detailed publication outlining the plan was also developed to help inform stakeholders. The Communications Directorate supported Infrastructure Canada, with the aim of raising awareness of Building Canada at key stakeholder conferences such as the Northern Lights Trade Show (Ottawa, February 2008) and the FCM Sustainable Communities Conference (Ottawa, February 2008). As well, Infrastructure Canada partnered with the Centre for Expertise in Research on Infrastructure in Urban Areas (Laval, November 2007) and the Can-Am Border Trade Alliance (Montreal, November 2007). The department also met with representatives of Official Language Minority Communities to explain Building Canada to them.

4.3 Additional Information on Infrastructure Investment Programs

In addition to the information presented in Sections I and II, the following tables provide details concerning the projects announced or approved in 2007-2008, plus cumulative data, for the major investment programs delivered or coordinated by Infrastructure Canada: the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF), the Border Infrastructure Fund (BIF), the Infrastructure Canada Program (ICP), the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF), the Gas Tax Fund (GTF) and the Public Transit Fund (PTF).

Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF)

Table 18: CSIF Projects Announced During 2007-2008

Province	Date	Project	Category	Contribution ($M)
Newfoundland and Labrador	May 16, 2007	Corner Brook Water Treatment and Distribution	Water	12.0
	May 24, 2007	Torbay Bypass Road	Highways or Rail	5.0
Quebec	May 7, 2007	Naskapi Imuun Inc. Broadband (NSI)	Broadband	4.7
	July 7, 2007	Shortline Rail Projects	Highways or Rail	30.0
	August 24, 2007	Northern Indigenous Community Satellite Network	Broadband	20.6
Ontario	July 5, 2007	Wastewater Treatment Bundle	Waste Water	40.5
	September 5, 2007	Niagara Convention and Civic Centre	Tourism	35.0
	November 26, 2007	Construction of Strandherd Bridge	Public Transit	35.0
Saskatchewan	September 14, 2007	Regional Rural Water Supply Systems	Water	27.3
Total				210.1

Table 19: CSIF Program Expenditures ($M) and Announced Projects, as of March 31, 2008

Jurisdiction	Total CSIF Funding ($M)	# of Announced Projects as of March 31, 2008	CSIF Share of Announced Projects as of March 31, 2008 ($M)	# of Signed Projects Agreements as of March 31, 2008	CSIF Share of Signed Project Agreements as of March 31, 2008 ($M)	Federal Expenditures in Previous Years ($M)	Federal Expenditures in 2007-2008 ($M)
British Columbia		3	735.0	3	525.0	525.3	154.7
Alberta		3	300.0	2	150.0	112.5	32.5
Saskatchewan		5	120.0	4	92.7	76.2	15.3
Manitoba		3	347.5	3	135.0	116.8	84.6
Ontario		17	1,323.5	8	582.0	217.2	208.7
Quebec		8	786.9	4	101.4	19.9	177.2
New Brunswick		6	371.6	4	238.0	98.1	141.1
Nova Scotia		3	105.5	2	90.5	32.8	32.5
Prince Edward Island		7	30.0	3	11.2	9.9	17.9
Newfoundland & Labrador		5	77.0	3	60.0	30.2	27.5
Yukon		3	35.0	2	26.0	11.6	5.6
Northwest Territories		1	40.0	1	40.0	43.7	10.1
Nunavut		2	40.0	2	40.0	12.8	14.6
National Priority Projects2		7	155.2	5	129.8	–	–
Sub-total	4,970.8	713	4,467.2	46	2,221.6	1,307.1	922.4
Federal Coordination/ Research	187.0
Total	5,157.81

Notes:

1	The original $4 billion allocation for CSIF has been supplemented as follows:	($M)
	New Brunswick Highways (New Brunswick)	140.0
	GO Transit (Ontario)	65.0
	Canada Line (British Columbia)	210.0
	Échangeur Dorval	11.96
	Toronto International Film Festival	25.0
	Budget 2006 CSIF Top Up	710.0
	Spending restraint imposed by TBS to smaller Ministry	(4.15)
		1,157.8
2	National Priority Project Details:	($M)
	Manitoba Floodway (Manitoba)	40.0
	Corridors for Canada (Northwest Territories)	25.0
	Northwest Territories	7.0
	Nunavut	7.8
	Banff National Park	50.0
	Naskapi Imuun Inc. Broadband	4.7
	Northern Indigenous Community Satellite Network	20.6
		155.2
3	Although the sum of the column adds up to 73, the displayed total is 71 because the Corridors for Canada project in the Northwest Territories and the Manitoba Floodway project are double-counted under the provincial jurisdictions and the National Priority projects.

Border Infrastructure Fund (BIF)

Table 20: BIF Expenditures ($M) and Announced Projects as of March 31, 2008

Jurisdiction	Total BIF Funding ($M)	# of Announced Projects as of March 31, 2008	BIF Share of Announced Projects as of March 31, 2008 ($M)	# of Signed Projects Agreements as of March 31, 2008	BIF Share of Signed Project Agreements as of March 31, 2008 ($M)	Federal Expenditures in Previous Years ($M)	Federal Expenditures in 2007-2008 ($M)
British Columbia		2	90.0	1	88.0	62.3	22.8
Alberta		–	–	–	–	–	–
Saskatchewan		1	5.0	1	5.0	2.0	1.6
Manitoba		–	–	–	–	–	–
Ontario		4	338.1	3	158.1	88.1	32.6
Quebec		3	72.0	–	–	–	1.3
New Brunswick		2	45.0	1	30.0	11.7	11.6
Nova Scotia		–	–	–	–	–	–
Prince Edward Island		–	–	–	–	–	–
Newfoundland & Labrador		–	–	–	–	–	–
Yukon		–	–	–	–	–	–
Northwest Territories		–	–	–	–	–	–
Nunavut		–	–	–	–	–	–
National		–	–	–	–	–	–
Sub-total	550.1	12	550.1	6	281.1	164.1	69.9
Funds not yet allocated	28.9	–	28.9
Federal Coordination	18.0	–	18.0
Total	597.0*	12	597.0*

* The total allocation for BIF excludes $3M, which was transferred to the Canada Border Services Agency for the Border Modelling project.

Infrastructure Canada Program (ICP)

Table 21: ICP Expenditures ($M) and Approved Projects as of March 31, 2008

Jurisdiction	ICP Funding Allocation ($M)	# of Approved Projects as of March 31, 2008	ICP Share of Approved Projects as of March 31, 2008 ($M)	Federal Expenditures in Previous Years ($M)	Federal Expenditures in 2007-2008 ($M)
British Columbia	268.5	309	262.5	235.7	1.9
Alberta	171.0	776	167.3	159.3	7.9
Saskatchewan	56.7	365	55.6	54.2	2.3
Manitoba	60.9	173	59.9	57.9	2.3
Ontario	680.7	533	668.8	616.5	33.0
Quebec	515.5	896	504.4	384.9	46.0
New Brunswick	54.4	93	53.6	53.6	0.4
Nova Scotia	65.3	145	64.6	61.4	5.9
Prince Edward Island	12.8	81	12.6	12.8	0.1
Newfoundland & Labrador	51.2	378	50.4	46.9	2.9
Yukon	2.5	8	2.5	2.5	0.0
Northwest Territories	3.0	12	3.0	3.0	0.0
Nunavut	2.1	5	2.1	2.1	0.0
First Nations	31.1	97	30.4	30.4	0.0
Sub-total	1,976.0	3,871	1,937.7	1,721.2	102.6
Federal Coordination/ InfraGuide	74.0
Total	2,050.0

Note: Columns may not add due to rounding.

Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF)

Table 22: MRIF Expenditures ($M) and Approved Projects as of March 31, 2008

Jurisdiction	MRIF Funding Allocation ($M)	# of Approved Projects as of March 31, 2008	MRIF Share of Approved Projects as of March 31, 2008 ($M)	Federal Expenditures in Previous Years ($M)	Federal Expenditures in 2007-2008 ($M)
British Columbia	74.6	103	73.3	–	0.5
Alberta	107.0	86	106.0	–	7.1
Saskatchewan	45.5	302	44.3	8.9	12.9
Manitoba	49.3	83	45.6	11.7	5.9
Ontario	362.0	701	290.2	51.5	70.7
Quebec	234.8	162	171.9	6.8	6.4
New Brunswick	39.6	57	37.9	9.6	10.6
Nova Scotia	44.5	83	43.5	–	13.5
Prince Edward Island	21.7	88	16.1	3.7	5.3
Newfoundland & Labrador	33.5	71	14.8	0.1	5.7
Yukon	19.2	19	12.7	0.8	3.9
Northwest Territories	19.2	20	12.3	–	–
Nunavut	19.1	3	2.7	–	0.8
First Nations	25.0	–	–	–	–
Sub-total	1,095.0	1,778	871.3	93.0	143.3
Federal Coordination	40.0
CSIF – BC Rapid Transit*	60.0
Total	1,195.0

Note: Columns may not add due to rounding.

* The CSIF Vancouver Rapid Transit "Canada Line" project is receiving $60M in funding from British Columbia's share of the MRIF program.

Gas Tax Fund (GTF)

Table 23: Gas Tax Funds Allocations and Flow of Funds ($ millions)

GTF Allocations

Province/Territory	2005-2006	2006-2007	2007-2008
British Columbia	76.3	76.3	101.7
Alberta	57.2	57.2	76.4
Saskatchewan	17.7	17.7	23.6
Manitoba	20.1	20.1	26.8
Ontario	223.9	223.9	298.5
Quebec	138.1	138.1	184.2
New Brunswick	13.9	13.9	18.6
Nova Scotia	17.4	17.4	23.2
Prince Edward Island	4.5	4.5	6.0
Newfoundland and Labrador	9.9	9.9	13.2
Yukon	4.5	4.5	6.0
Northwest Territories	4.5	4.5	6.0
Nunavut	4.5	4.5	6.0
First Nations Infrastructure Fund	7.5	7.5	10.0
Total	600.0	600.0	800.0

GTF Flow of Funds

	2005-2006	2006-2007	2007-2008*	Cumulative
Received from Canada	579.7	590.2	778.2	1,948.1
P/T Interest	2.5	3.5	–	6.0
P/T Administration	0.389	2.3	–	2.7
Transferred to Recipients	358.7	550.3	–	909.0
Municipal Interest	0.435	9.6	–	10.0
Municipal Administration	0.016	0.287	–	0.303
Spent on Projects	118.1	364.0	–	482.1
Number of Projects	266	1,967	–	2.233

Note: Columns may not add due to rounding.

* For 2007-2008, reports from the provinces and territories are available starting in September 2008.

Public Transit Fund (PTF)

Table 24: Public Transit Funds Spent as of 2006-2007

Province/Territory	Allocation ($ millions)	Spent ($ millions)	Remaining ($ millions)
British Columbia	52.5	36.3	16.2
Alberta	40.1	20.0	20.1
Saskatchewan	12.5	0	12.5
Manitoba	14.7	0.8	13.8
Ontario	155.2	122.8	32.4
Quebec	94.4	0	94.4
New Brunswick	9.4	0	9.4
Nova Scotia	11.7	8.3	3.4
Prince Edward Island	1.7	1.7	0
Newfoundland and Labrador	6.5	0	6.5
Yukon	0.391	0.4	0
Northwest Territories	0.536	0	0.5
Nunavut	0.371	0.4	0
Total	400.0	190.7	209.3

Note: Columns may not add due to rounding.

4.4 Contacts

For more information, visit www.infrastructure.gc.ca, or contact Infrastructure Canada at:

Infrastructure Canada
90 Sparks Street, Suite 605
Ottawa ON K1P 5B4

Telephone: 613-948-1148
Telephone toll free: 1 800 O-Canada (1 800 622-6232)

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1. Each territory will receive an additional amount under the PT Base Fund that corresponds to their respective BCF allocations. In each territory, the BCF allocation and the PT Base Fund allocation have been rolled into one program and will be managed under the terms of the PT Base Fund. A minimum of $16 million of this combined allocation in each territory must be committed to community infrastructure initiatives.
2. Due to the unique upfront funding mechanism of the GTF program, projects are reported by the jurisdictions for the previous year from which the reporting takes place. Therefore for 2007-2008, the results for 2006-2007 have been submitted.
3. Does not include the amount for the First Nations, which is managed through the First Nations Infrastructure Fund (FNIF).
4. Does not include the amount for the First Nations, which is managed through the First Nations Infrastructure Fund (FNIF).

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