ARCHIVED - RPP 2006-2007
Health Canada

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Section 4: Other Items of Interest

Health Canada's Regional Operations - An Overview

On January 6, 2006, the Deputy Minister of Health and the Associate Deputy Minster of Health announced the establishment of the Public Affairs, Consultation and Regions Branch. This new Branch incorporates the Communications, Marketing and Consultation Directorate; the external and internal ombudsman services; and the regions. The Branch affords Health Canada an opportunity to better integrate national and regional perspectives in all policies and strategies, communications and consultation functions, and is key to a commitment of transparency on the part of the Department.

Over the course of the last year, an initiative has been underway that aims to improve service to Canadians by strengthening the Department's programs and regional role, and enhancing communication and collaboration. As such, the role of the Regional Directors General has been enhanced in order to fully realize their integral role as Health Canada's senior representatives in the regions, responsible for the management of all of Health Canada's regional operations and personnel. The creation of the new Branch complements this ongoing work and will enable the Department to continue to evolve in the context of a changing environment. It also fulfills Health Canada's continuing commitment to ensure both greater coherence and a consistent presence for the Department nationally and in each region across the country.

In recognition of the unique program and service delivery challenges and opportunities among a diverse and often remote northern population, responsibility for all Health Canada activities in the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut is now overseen by the Northern Secretariat component of Regional Operations. This consolidation of responsibility for the North, under the Northern Secretariat, will provide a consistent Territorial lens for Health Canada's policy and program development, and greater coherence to Health Canada programs and services in northern communities. Further, in consideration of the needs and priorities identified within the community and among stakeholders, the Manitoba and Saskatchewan Region has been re-organized so that Manitoba and Saskatchewan each now assume status as an individual region. This will serve to enhance communications and consultations within the Department and with Health Canada's numerous stakeholders, partners and the public.

Health Canada's presence across the country will continue to be reflected through program and service delivery tailored to meet the varied needs of each of the geographic regions it serves. This includes the British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic regions, as well as the Northern Secretariat. Over one third of Health Canada's employees work in communities outside of the National Capital Region. This regional proximity to clients provides the Department with specialized knowledge and capacity to assist in furthering departmental goals and priorities. Health Canada's Regions offer local intelligence and a community connection which serves to bring regional perspective and coherence into the design and delivery of health protection and promotion programs as well as national policy development. Such citizen-centred engagement helps to ensure that program delivery in the regions is representative of and responsive to local issues and priorities, while respecting national program integrity and accountability.

The close ties between regional offices and their counterparts in other federal departments provide frequent opportunities for collaboration and partnership. Representation by Health Canada's Regions on regional Federal Councils serves to support the broader federal government agenda. In addition, it allows Health Canada to play a key role in reflecting regional views in the development of national cross-departmental policy and in the design of program delivery.

Health Canada's Regions foster and strengthen effective, long standing relationships and associations with provincial, territorial and municipal governments and key stakeholders. These relationships serve to advance horizontal collaboration and facilitate multipartnered and inter-governmental initiatives. They also improve the Department's understanding of challenges and opportunities which cross program boundaries as provincial and territorial approaches to managing the health care agenda evolve.

Strategic and targeted use of the Health Canada Innovation Fund continues to provide Health Canada's Regions with the ability to create and leverage partnership opportunities in response to local issues and concerns. Whether in partnership with academic institutions, non-governmental community based organizations or health research foundations, Health Canada Innovation Fund initiatives seek to identify and answer the specific needs and priorities within local groups and communities.

Providing Support to Departmental Strategic Outcomes and Corporate Objectives

Strengthened knowledge base to address health priorities:

• Manage intergovernmental affairs; and
• Foster communication, consultation and stakeholder engagement within the Regions.

Safe and effective health products and food and information for healthy choices:

• Conduct surveillance, enforcement and compliance activities for health-related products;
• Assist in ensuring safe and effective health products and food and information for healthy choices through regional contributions to national policies, programs, and regulations; and
• Engage in consultation to build stakeholder relations and provide information for making healthy choices.

Reduced health and environmental risks from products and substances, and safer living and working environments:

• Conduct inspection and surveillance activities as well as health promotion activities related to consumer products, tobacco, controlled drugs and substances, and the environment;
• Establish marketplace and user inspection programs as well as compliance and promotional activities for pesticides;
• Conduct risk assessments and evaluations and provide health advice to federal employees, provinces and municipalities related to chemical contaminates and exposure levels, drinking water standards, and work environments.

Better health outcomes and reduction of health inequalities between Aboriginals and other Canadians:

• Direct provision of Non-Insured Health Benefits to First Nations and Inuit clients;
• Delivery of community-based health promotion and disease prevention programs for First Nations and Inuit populations;
• Delivery of Home and Community Care Program and addictions treatment services for First Nations and Inuit populations;
• Development and delivery of health protection programs and services for First Nations and Inuit populations;
• Capacity building in the areas of health information management and analysis for First Nations and Inuit populations;
• Provision of management capacity support and capital investments in First Nations and Inuit communities; and
• Collaborate in emergency preparedness and response and pandemic planning.

Corporate Management - Leadership and infrastructure to support the Department's Regional Operations:

• Ensure sound stewardship of both the human and financial resources of the Department through effective and accountable management and administration of assets, human resources, information technology, policy, planning, security and business continuity services.

Supporting Health Canada's Programs and Services

Health Canada requires efficient and effective corporate services to ensure that it has the capacity and capability to undertake its main activities of promoting, protecting and improving the health of Canadians. The following examples demonstrate the Department's ongoing efforts and commitment to strengthen its corporate services and management practices

Our human resources planning process responds to the human resources risks and challenges we encounter in support of our business objectives. As well as consolidating and realigning IT resources and positioning the Department to align with the Government of Canada common services initiatives and generate savings, The Way Forward information technology project will ensure that service levels are maintained for all clients and that our IT infrastructure is sustainable in support of Health Canada's programs.

Health Canada was an early adopter of the Government's Management Accountability Framework (MAF) and will continue its efforts to not only promote the MAF throughout the Department but to implement management improvement initiatives to strengthen stewardship and accountability including the Financial Management Control Framework, the Contract Management Framework, the Contract Requisitions and Reporting System, the Asset Management Framework and the Departmental Real Property Management Framework. We will use the results of our MAF Assessment and other management or government priorities to determine areas requiring further attention or action. In addition, the Department will continue to share information and, as required, coordinate efforts with other Portfolio members.

We have also recently begun a department-wide operational planning process and we will continue our efforts to enhance and improve this process. Not only does operational planning link expected results to the allocation of resources, it will assist in identifying key priority pressures within the Department as well as reviewing opportunities for reallocation of resources from lower to higher priorities.

We will continue to implement an Integrated Risk Management (IRM) Framework and to update the Department's Corporate Risk Profile and Internal Scan on a regular basis. As well, we will continue to systematically manage risk in key functional areas and decision-making processes through such tools as the risk-based audit plan, the risk communications framework, risk-based disposition of records, an information technology enterprise approach predicated on risk management and a risk-based approached to human resources classification and staffing. We will also complete the development of an internal Departmental Business Continuity Plan in the Event of a Pandemic Influenza Outbreak that will allow us to maintain operations to the extent possible while protecting the health and safety of employees.

Initiatives are also underway to review, improve and update privacy policies and practices to ensure that personal information is protected within Health Canada. For example, a Departmental Information Management Awareness campaign is reinforced by more in-depth courses on both access to information and privacy offered to employees throughout Health Canada. We also conduct Privacy Impact Assessments on an on-going basis to identify and address privacy risks related to Departmental programs or services that handle personal information.

We foster an ethical culture that best embodies the core values of Health Canada and the Public Service through our Centre for Workplace Ethics. The Centre collaborates as appropriate with the services of Internal Ombudsman and Informal Conflict Management System (ICMS) to assist staff or teams with specific and pressing ethical challenges or conflict related issues. Regular reporting on trends by these three services provides the Deputy Minister with a department-wide perspective on progress as well as an early identification mechanism for areas of concern.

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