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Minister’s Message

As Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, I am pleased to present to Parliament the Departmental Performance Report for Public Safety Canada for the period ending March 31, 2008.

Public Safety Canada delivers programs and develops policy on a wide range of public safety issues, including national security, emergency management, policing and law enforcement, corrections and conditional release, Aboriginal policing, and crime prevention. Each year, the Department establishes priorities for enhancing the safety and security of Canadians. I am pleased to report that 2007-08 saw a number of significant achievements.

For instance, there was the creation of a $400 million Police Officers Recruitment Fund that fulfilled a Government commitment to put more police on our streets. Public Safety Canada also funded more than 200 crime prevention projects that contributed to making our communities safer.

In addition, the First Nations Policing Program—a program delivered in partnership with the Provinces, Territories and First Nations communities to enhance existing provincial policing services—provided policing services to our First Nations and Inuit communities. Some 400 First Nations and Inuit communities benefit from the 163 agreements currently in place.

This reporting period also saw the coming into force of the new Emergency Management Act. It outlined an integrated approach to emergency management and established Public Safety Canada’s federal leadership role for emergency management and critical infrastructure protection. Finally, throughout 2007-08, the Department continued to respond to provincial and territorial requests for federal assistance with emergency management situations, such as the flooding that occurred in British Columbia in 2007.

These are just a few of the Department’s many accomplishments in 2007-08. I am confident that Public Safety Canada will continue to enhance the safety and security of Canadians in the years to come.

Management Representation Statement

I submit for tabling in Parliament the 2007-08 Departmental Performance Report for Public Safety Canada.

This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2007-08 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:

• It adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board Secretariat’s guidance;
• It is based on the Department’s Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture that were approved by the Treasury Board;
• It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and reliable information;
• It provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
• It reports finances based on approved numbers from the Estimates and Public Accounts of Canada.

Section I: Departmental Overview

This section of the Report describes the Department’s major programs and its key roles, as well as progress against highlighted priorities. It also describes some of the challenges faced and opportunities pursued in 2007-08.

Program Activity Architecture

In 2007-08, Public Safety Canada developed a new Strategic Outcome and PAA for the 2008-09 reporting period. The new PAA and accompanying Performance Measurement Framework (PMF) will inform decisions on program relevance, effectiveness and value for money; support the realignment of spending and the identification of horizontal linkages among programs; and provide for improved information to parliamentarians and Canadians on spending and results. The new PAA will be reflected in the 2008-09 DPR.

This Departmental Performance Report is based on the Department’s previous Strategic Outcome and PAA:

Section II reports on the performance of each Program Activity, including progress made in achieving all expected results.

Summary Information

Public Safety Canada (PS)^[1] was created in 2003 to provide leadership and coordination across all federal departments and agencies responsible for the safety of Canadians. Public Safety Canada works within a Portfolio consisting of the Department, five agencies and three review bodies.^[2] These entities, including the Department, are united under the Public Safety Portfolio and report to one minister, enabling enhanced integration among federal organizations dealing with public safety issues.

Working towards enhancing the public safety, security and emergency preparedness of Canadians in an open society, in 2007-08, Public Safety Canada delivered programs, developed policy and provided strategic leadership on a wide range of public safety issues including emergency management, national security, law enforcement, corrections and crime prevention. The Department also worked with other levels of government, emergency management personnel, industry, voluntary sector organizations and international counterparts to achieve its objectives.

The Department delivered a range of programs designed to promote community safety, improve emergency preparedness, and protect critical infrastructure. Both disaster assistance relief and Grants and Contributions, such as the National Crime Prevention Strategy, the First Nations Policing Program, and the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program, made up a significant percentage of the Department’s budget (over 60%).

Also situated within the Department is the Office of the Inspector General of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), which carried out independent reviews of CSIS’ compliance with the law, Ministerial direction and operational policy.

Operating Environment

As always, Public Safety Canada’s work was influenced by internal and external factors. In an effort to keep Canadians safe from evolving threats, the Department continued to work with the more than 30 departments and agencies involved in public safety issues, provinces and territories, international partners, the private sector and first responders. The effectiveness of these relationships remained key to the successful advancement of the Department’s policy and program agenda. Threats to Canada continued to shape the work of the Department particularly in the area of national security.

The Department’s activities and volume of work were heavily influenced by the Government’s continued focus on crime and safety issues. As outlined in this report, the activities of the Department were far-ranging from a focus on enhancing community safety through initiatives such as crime prevention, offender rehabilitation, and increasing the number of police in communities to protecting Canada’s national security, for example, by enhancing Canada’s legislative framework. A significant amount of work was also done in the area of emergency management.

During the past year, the Department and Portfolio continued to be the subject of significant public, media and Parliamentary scrutiny. This added to the complexity of the Department’s operating environment but helped to ensure that Canadians had an opportunity to learn about the Department’s activities and to gain a better understanding of the work of the Portfolio. This scrutiny also helped ensure that the Department remained accountable to Canadians.

Departmental Performance

The Departmental Priorities for 2007-08 directly supported the achievement of Public Safety Canada’s Strategic Outcome, enhancing the public safety, security and emergency preparedness of Canadians in an open society. This portion of the Report discusses progress on performance expectations related to each priority. Further details on the expected results by program activity are found in Section II.

Priority	Performance Status
1. Protecting the security of Canada and Canadians	Reasonable progress
2. Fighting serious and organized crime	Reasonable progress
3. Enhancing community safety and security	Reasonable progress

Expanded details on the Department's Management Priorities can be found in section III of this Report.

Public Safety Canada’s overall performance in 2007-08 is summarized in the following pages. Progress is rated by one of four categories:

• On target means that performance met the target levels set by Public Safety Canada, and is usually applied in situations where the performance related to key initiatives was achieved within the reporting year.
• Reasonable progress means that progress (in areas over which the Department has control or direct influence) toward a multi-year goal was reasonable, and, if continued, is likely to lead to achievement of a longer-term target.
• Caution means that either short-term goals were not met, or that progress toward longer-term goals was and continues to be below expectations.
• Insufficient information means that there was not enough information to make a determination of progress.

Priority 1: Protecting the Security of Canada and Canadians

With a focus on the development of programs and policies that mitigated threats to Canada and Canadians, work related to this priority focused on:

• strengthening emergency management capacity, critical infrastructure protection and emergency response capacity;
• reviewing and improving national security policies, legislation and arrangements;
• coordinating the security agenda of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America; and
• providing interdepartmental leadership to develop, negotiate and implement improved Canada-United States emergency and security border management.

In 2007-08, Public Safety Canada made reasonable progress on this priority. Success was marked by the passage and coming into force of the Emergency Management Act, and amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (with respect to the issuance of security certificates and the creation of a special advocate program). The Department also provided training to over 5,800 federal, provincial and territorial officials, first responders and emergency management personnel; and assessed the Business Continuity Plans of 50 federal government departments.

The Department also contributed to the establishment of Security and Prosperity Partnership priorities, which were announced by Canadian, U.S. and Mexican leaders at the Montebello Leader’s Summit in 2007. Further, Public Safety Canada continued its efforts to renew the 1986 Canada-U.S. Agreement on Emergency Management Cooperation.

A number of initiatives and policies were also advanced in support of cross-border law enforcement. In 2007-08, funding was provided for the creation of a permanent Great Lakes Marine Security Operations Centre (Budget 2008 provided $15 million over two years towards its establishment). Furthermore, formal negotiations on the development of a bi-national framework agreement to govern the integrated cross-border maritime law enforcement operations with the United States began in March 2008. In addition, the Department hosted the 10th Annual Ministerial-level Cross-Border Crime Forum with the United States. Some of the key deliverables at this Forum included: the 2007 Canada-U.S. Integrated Border Enforcement Teams Threat Assessment, the 2008 Report on Mass-Marketing Fraud Trends, and the 2007 Canada-U.S. Border Drug Threat Assessment.

Priority 2: Fighting Serious and Organized Crime

Work under this priority was focused on:

• efforts to combat serious, organized and transnational crime;
• developing and implementing strategies to combat gun violence; and
• enhancing information-sharing and interoperability among federal departments, agencies and with other jurisdictions.

Although not identified as a priority in its 2007-08 Report on Plans and Priorities, the Department also provided particular focus to:

• bolstering law enforcement capacity within Canada; and
• strengthening the management and accountability of the RCMP.

In 2007-08, Public Safety Canada made reasonable progress towards the established goals of this ongoing priority. The Department provided continued coordination and leadership to law enforcement initiatives such as the National Strategy for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet and Integrated Market Enforcement Teams, as well as support for the development and implementation of new strategies including the National Anti-Drug Strategy. The Department focused considerable efforts on enhancing its national leadership role in combating serious, organized and transnational crime through the development of policies, hosting of fora and coordination and facilitation of national efforts. The Department implemented a short-term action plan to enhance public safety and compliance with the Firearms Act (one year extension of fee waiver and amnesty), and regulatory changes to allow for renewal of Possession Only Licenses.

The Secret Communications Interoperability Pilot Project, an electronic communications system capable of transmitting classified information among federal public safety and security partners, was developed by March 31, 2008.

Priority 3: Enhancing Community Safety and Security

Work on this priority aimed to reduce crime and increase personal safety through efforts to:

• assess and support local crime prevention measures addressing, in particular, gang, drug and alcohol-related crime;
• develop correctional policy to better address the challenges of community reintegration and management of high-risk offenders; and
• design innovative policies and programs to enhance public safety in First Nations communities through culturally sensitive crime prevention measures, law enforcement and corrections.

In 2007-08, Public Safety Canada made reasonable progress towards the established goals of this priority. The Department began implementing the Youth Gang Prevention Fund (YGPF), and in 2007-08, 13 youth gang prevention projects received funding for a total amount of $1.7 million in eight cities across Canada. The Department contributed to the Prevention Action Plan of the National Anti-Drug Strategy and implemented non-legislative initiatives targeted at high-risk offenders, including enhancements to the National Flagging System for High-Risk Offenders. The Department also continued its implementation of the Effective Corrections Initiative (in collaboration with Correctional Service Canada and the National Parole Board) to support the safe management of eligible offenders in the community.

Lastly, the Department managed 163 First Nations Policing Program (FNPP) agreements across Canada (including Self-Administered and Community Tripartite agreements) covering 399 communities.

Departmental Financial Resources (in thousands of dollars)

2007-08
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
458,275	444,166	339,906

The difference between actual spending and total authorities ($104M) is mainly due to less spending than anticipated on grants and contributions related to the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements Program, the National Crime Prevention Centre and the Communities At-Risk, Minor Security Infrastructure Pilot Program (total of $86M), and a lapse in the Department’s Operating Budget ($16M). For further information, please refer to Table 1 in Section IV.

Departmental Human Resources (in full-time equivalents)

2007-08
Planned	Actual	Difference
995	827	168

The number of Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) differs from the calculation of an employee in that the former considers part-time employment, term employment, job sharing, and would combine, for instance, two half-time employees into a single FTE.

Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome		Enhancing public safety, security and emergency preparedness of Canadians in an open society
Program Activity	Expected Result		Performance Status	(thousands of dollars)		Contributes to the following priority
				Planned Spending	Actual Spending
Emergency Management and National Security	Programs and policies that help protect and mitigate threats to Canada and Canadians		Reasonable progress	232,183	153,788	Protecting the security of Canada and Canadians
Policing and Law Enforcement	Enhanced capabilities to combat serious and organized crime		Reasonable progress	36,946	49,092	Fighting serious and organized crime
Community Safety and Partnerships	Reduced crime and increased personal safety		Reasonable progress	189,146	137,026	Enhancing community safety and security
			Total	458,275	339,906

Challenges and Opportunities Affecting Performance

As a result of the Government’s strong focus on safety and security, the Department needed to advance a high volume of complex policy initiatives. This was a challenge as the volume and complexity of policy initiatives that needed to be advanced by the Department increased significantly. It also was an opportunity for the Department to demonstrate its ability to address emerging priorities.

In addition, the variety of departmental partners and stakeholders presented a dimension of complexity to Public Safety Canada’s work, requiring time and energy to engage each on specific issues, and to maintain strong relationships.

The complexity of the Portfolio relationship impacted the work of the entire Department. The Department continued to work to exercise strategic leadership within the Portfolio and to develop effective relationships with Portfolio partners. Improving on the effectiveness of these relationships remains a key opportunity for the Department.

Finally, over the past year Public Safety Canada developed improved management tools in order to better link its resources and efforts to clear results. The processes afforded an opportunity to clarify roles, and develop a more coherent approach to performance management. The new Program Activity Architecture, being implemented for the 2008-09 fiscal year, will form a better basis for reporting to Parliament, for communicating to Canadians, for positioning the Department’s work vis-à-vis the Portfolio agencies, and for internal human resources and business planning.

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