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ARCHIVED - RPP 2006-2007
Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec


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3 Additional information

3.1 Information on the organization

Notes

1 A more detailed organization chart is available on the Agency’s Web site at: http://www.dec-ced.gc.ca/asp/APropos/Organigramme.asp?LANG=EN
2 FTE: Full-time equivalent

In 2006-2007, the Agency will have the equivalent of 408 full-time employees in its
business offices across Quebec, its office in Gatineau ensuring liaison with the federal government, and its Head Office in Montréal.

3.2 Financial tables

3.2.1 Departmental planned spending and full-time equivalents

($ thousands)
Forecast spending 2005-2006
Planned spending 2006-2007
Planned spending 2007-2008
Planned spending 2008-2009
Enterprise development
118,569
145,794
138,939
141,848
Improvement of the economic environment of regions
84,688
125,417
124,691
110,569
Improvement of community infrastructure
229,631
89,251
2,785
2,548
Provision of special adjustment measures
11,202
21,133
11,160
3,306
Total Main Estimates1
444,090
381,595
277,575
258,271
Adjustments
Governor General’s warrants2
8,677
---
---
---
TB Vote 5 - Contingencies3
3,833
---
---
---
Procurement savings
---
(290)
---
---
Collective agreements
43
24
24
24
Total adjustments
12,553
(266)
24
24
Net Planned Spending
456,643
381,329
277,599
258,295
Less: Non-respendable revenue4
(42,500)
(36,000)
(42,000)
(47,000)
Plus: Cost of services received without charge
4,874
5,515
5,534
5,529
Net Cost for the Agency
419,017
350,844
241,133
216,824
Full-time Equivalents
385
408
408
408

Notes

1 The smaller budget in 2007-2008 is attributable to the different mode of operation of the next infrastructure program. The Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund contribution budgets will remain under the authority of the Department of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and funds will be advanced to the Agency at the appropriate time. The even smaller budget in 2008-2009 is attributable to a reduction in the grant to the Québec Port Authority in the context of the 400th anniversary of Québec.
2 A Governor General’s warrant is the official instrument used to obtain appropriations when Parliament has been dissolved pending a general election.
3 The contingencies vote serves to supplement other appropriations so as to provide the Government with sufficient flexibility to meet urgent or unforeseen expenditures.
4 Details concerning non-respendable revenue are presented in table 3.2.5.

3.2.2 Program by activity

Spending - Program Activities

($ thousands)

2006-2007
Budgetary
Adjus-tments
Total Planned Spending
Operating1
Grants and contributions
Gross Spending
Enterprise development
27,939
117,855
145,794
(141)
145,653
Improvement of the economic environment of regions
18,879
106,538
125,417
(111)
125,306
Improvement of community infrastructure
2,589
86,662
89,251
(11)
89,240
Provision of special adjustment measures
1,023
20,110
21,133
(3)
21,130
Total
50,430
331,165
381,595
(266)
381,329

Note

1 Including contribution to employee benefit plans.

3.2.3 Voted and statutory items listed in Main Estimates

Vote or statutory item
Vote or statutory wording

($ thousands)

Current Main Estimates1
Previous Main Estimates
1
Operating expenditures2
44,693
34,128
5
Grants and contributions
331,165
405,814
(S) Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec – Salary and car allowance
---
70
(S)
Contribution to employee benefit plans
5,737
4,078
Total for the Agency
381,595
444,090

Notes

1 The 2006-2007 Main Estimates of $381.6 million are $62.5 million down compared with 2005-2006. This discrepancy is primarily attributable to: (1) a $140.4 million decrease under the Infrastructure Canada Program; (2) a budget increase, as follows: $43.6 million following the permanent increase in the budget for promotion of innovation and the knowledge economy, $17 million to support organization of the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Québec in 2008, and $9.9 million for strategic investment in order to increase enterprises’ competitiveness and the vitality of communities in the regions of Quebec.
2 Operating budgets have been increased to permit delivery of these new initiatives.

3.2.4 Services received without charge

($ thousands)
2006-2007
Accommodation provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada
3,070
Employer’s contribution to employees’ insurance premiums and expenditures paid by the Treasury Board Secretariat
2,415
Salary and associated expenditures for legal services provided by Justice Canada
30
Total services received without charge
5,515

3.2.5 Sources of non-respendable revenue by program activity

Non-respendable revenue

($ thousands)

Forecast revenue 2005-20061
Planned revenue 2006-2007
Planned revenue 2007-2008
Planned revenue 2008-2009
Promotion of the economic development of the regions of Quebec
Enterprise development
41,000
35,000
41,000
45,000
Improvement of the economic environment of regions
1,500
1,000
1,000
2,000
Improvement of community infrastructure
---
---
---
---
Provision of special adjustment measures
---
---
---
---
Total non-respendable revenue2
42,500
36,000
42,000
47,000

Notes

1 The exceptional amount of $42.5 million is primarily attributable to the sums billed during the year to applicants who were in contractual default and whose contribution from the Agency must be repaid immediately.
2 This refers to reimbursements of repayable contributions to be billed over the next few years. The Agency’s contribution budgets increased from 2002-2003 following the transfer of Canada Jobs Fund credits from Human Resources Development Canada. Consequently, since repayable contributions will begin to come due in 2006-2007, revenue in the next few years will increase accordingly.

3.2.6 Details on transfer payments programs

Programs

($ thousands)

Forecast spending 2005-2006
Planned spending 2006-2007
Planned spending 2007-2008
Planned spending 2008-2009
Grants

Innovation, development of entrepreneurship and access program for SMEs (IDEA-SME)

300
300
300
300
Grant to Québec Port Authority
---
16,770
21,755
4,700
Total grants
300
17,070
22,055
5,000
Contributions

Innovation, development of entrepreneurship and access program for SMEs (IDEA-SME)

82,035
86,306
76,888
80,068
Regional Strategic Initiative (RSI) program
94,654
93,703
93,345
95,320
Community Futures Program (CFP)
18,500
25,994
26,355
26,808
Canadian Apparel and Textile Industries Program (CATIP) – CANtex component
2,757
20,110
10,112
2,703
Canadian Support Program for the Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine Economy
2,438
1,320
---
---
Infrastructure Canada Program Canada–Quebec Agreement 2000
218,082
86,662
---
---
Total Contributions
418,466
314,095
206,700
204,899
Total
418,766
331,165
228,755
209,899

3.3 Sustainable Development Strategy

In 2006-2007, the Agency will pursue the commitments it made in the Sustainable Development Strategy 2003-2006, as described in the action plan below. The Agency will foster the development and integration of innovation strategies, both within enterprises and in terms of production of green products and technology. More specifically, the Agency intends to develop SMEs’ environmental innovation capability and encourage the adoption of green technology with a view to enhancing their productivity and eco-efficiency. As to the in-house component, the Agency will focus its efforts on greening by reducing its paper use in particular. Results will be measured by the level of paper use and the level of recycling through a diagnosis the Agency will perform during the year.

In December 2006, the Agency will table its fourth Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS), for 2006-2009. This strategy will present to Canadians the commitments made by the Agency for the next three years to support its sustainable development objectives.

The Agency aims, in drawing up this fourth SDS, to align its sustainable development objectives with the strategic directions for 2006-2011. These directions adopt an integrated development approach, that is, an approach which takes the economic, social, cultural and environmental dimensions into consideration from the program and policy design stage. These directions and this integrated approach are described in Section 1.

The strategic goals anticipated for this fourth SDS concern both the Agency’s external and its in-house activities. With respect to its external activities, it intends to help Quebec’s SMEs, regions and communities position themselves favourably in the 21st-century green economy and enhance the quality of life of their respective milieus. With regard to its in-house activities, the Agency intends to apply the principles of sustainable development in its decision-making processes and to be a highly dynamic and responsible organization in terms of taking environmental best practices on board.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Action Plan 2003-2006

1. INTERNAL COMPONENT

Goal

To make the Sustainable Development Strategy a tool for change within the organization to further integrate sustainable development concerns in day-to-day operations.

Objectives

  • empower staff
  • promote sustainable development
  • continue greening
  • ensure better environmental reporting.
2. EXTERNAL COMPONENT

Goal

To play a strategic role in advancing understanding and taking ownership of the principles of cost-effective sustainable development within SMEs and the regions of Quebec, and with the Agency’s different partners, both private and public, in a perspective of financial, economic and social viability.

Objectifs

  • encourage and help SMEs to adopt sustainable development practices in their operations
  • foster development and commercialization of innovations in sustainable development
  • foster development, dissemination and sharing of knowledge with respect to sustainable development to contribute to development and reinforcement of knowledge-based competitive advantages.
3. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SDS — PARTNERSHIPS

Objectif

To reinforce existing partnerships and better coordinate Agency efforts with the different partners in Quebec.

The Sustainable Development Strategy – Action Plan 2003-2006 may be consulted at: http://www.dec-ced.gc.ca/Complements/Publications/Strategie-EN/SDD_2003-2006_en.pdf?action=click&pid=PDF&uid=SiteWeb

3.4 Internal audit and evaluation

In 2005-2006, the Agency completed by far the majority of the internal audit and evaluation exercises in its five-year (2001-2006) review plan. During FY 2006-2007, backed by the results of a new exercise to determine the main departmental risks, it will draw up a new multi-year plan for internal audits and evaluations that will meet the information requirements of corporate managers and government management and reporting requirements, as expressed, for instance, in the Treasury Board Secretariat Management Accountability Framework.

This new plan, in its first year of implementation, will include work to benchmark planned results in several areas of intervention. Among other things, this work will enable the Agency to:

  • target its planned results more closely
  • set implementation benchmarks
  • gauge the effectiveness of its intervention over time
  • make adjustments accordingly
  • more accurately determine its impact on regional development in Quebec.

The following table presents some reviews that should be completed in 2006-2007. As soon as the Agency has adopted its new multi-year plan, other reviews will be added to this list.

Internal audit exercises

Audit of the Social Economy Initiative in Quebec

  • In its 2004 budget, the Government of Canada announced the launch of the Social Economy Initiative. The announcement included funding for the implementation of measures to:
    • reinforce community economic development capabilities
    • increase loans to social economy enterprises
    • give those enterprises access to existing development programs.

In the context of implementation of this initiative in Quebec, the Agency has undertaken to conduct an audit in 2006-2007 to examine the controls associated with management of the contribution program put in place to reinforce social economy capabilities.

Audit of the Infrastructure Canada Program

  • This program is funded by three levels of government (federal, provincial and municipal). Each year, to ensure that each level of government is meeting its commitments, a joint audit is conducted by the Governments of Canada and Quebec, covering the departments involved in delivering the program.

Audit of the Canada Business Service Centres initiative

  • The Agency provides financial support for two bodies which provide business intelligence to Quebec enterprises. As stipulated when this initiative began, the Agency’s internal audit team will audit these bodies and the departmental branch responsible for the initiative in order to ensure that all the parties are complying with the clauses of the funding agreement.

Audit of application of the Official Languages Act within the framework of the Community Futures Program

  • In May 2005, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages released an audit report concerning the services offered by organizations supported by the Community Futures Program (CFP) located in designated bilingual regions of Canada. In the wake of this report, the Agency undertook to put measures in place to upgrade the services offered to Quebec’s English-speaking communities. One of these measures involves ensuring, through an expert audit, rigorous monitoring of the level and quality of services offered in English in designated bilingual Quebec regions.
Evaluation exercise

National formative evaluation of the capacity-building component of the Social Economy Initiative

  • The Horizontal Results-based Management and Accountability Framework of the Social Economy Initiative (capacity-building and funding), approved by Treasury Board on November 28, 2005, provides for the tabling of a national formative evaluation of the capacity-building component during winter 2007.