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2012-13
Report on Plans and Priorities
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
The original version was signed by
The Honourable Lisa Raitt, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Labour
Table of Contents
Section I – Organizational Overview
- Raison d’être
- Responsibilities
- Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
- Organizational Priorities
- Risk Analysis
- Planning Summary
- Expenditure Profile
- Estimates by Vote
Section II – Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
Section III – Supplementary Information
Section IV – Other Items of Interest
- Summary of Revenue, Expenses and Appripriations
- Annex 1: List of Statutes and Regulations
- Annex 2: Publications
Minister's Message
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) was created to provide reliable and practical occupational health and safety information to assist Canadian employers and workers to be productive, healthy and safe at work. CCOHS is committed to providing Canadians with information on workplace hazards and conditions to promote health and safety in the workplace and enhance the physical and mental health of working people.
As Minister of Labour, I am proud to present the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's (CCOHS) Report on Plans and Priorities for 2012-2013. CCOHS fulfils an important role by providing services and expertise in the field of occupational health and safety both in Canada and internationally.
CCOHS will focus its efforts on providing a wide range of needed, relevant and practical information, resources and training that assist Canadians to improve health and safety. The Centre assumes a leadership role in innovation and expanding the boundaries of workplace health and safety and has developed a holistic approach to physical, mental and psychosocial well-being to workplace safety which is advocated for Canadian workplaces. Working together with our partners, we promote a comprehensive approach to improve health and safety so that injuries and illnesses will be recognized and, ultimately, eliminated by applying prevention practices.
By working together, we can make significant changes to workplace health and safety and ensure that every working Canadian comes home healthy and safe.
The Honourable Lisa Raitt, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Labour
Section I – Organizational Overview
Raison d’être
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1978 with a mandate to promote health and safety in the workplace and to enhance the physical and mental health of working people.
Responsibilities
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) operates under the legislative authority of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act S.C., 1977-78, c. 29 which was passed by unanimous vote in the Canadian Parliament. The purpose of this Act is to promote the fundamental right of Canadians to a healthy and safe working environment by creating a national institute (CCOHS) concerned with the study, encouragement and co-operative advancement of occupational health and safety.
CCOHS is Canada's national occupational health and safety resource which is dedicated to the advancement of occupational health and safety performance by providing necessary services including information and knowledge transfer; training and education; cost-effective tools for improving occupational health and safety performance; management systems services supporting health and safety programs; injury and illness prevention initiatives and promoting the total well-being – physical, psychosocial and mental health - of working people. The Centre was created to provide a common focus for, and coordination of, information in the area of occupational health and safety.
CCOHS functions as an independent departmental corporation under Schedule II of the Financial Administration Act and is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Labour. Its funding is derived from a combination of appropriations, cost recoveries and collaboration with the provinces. It is expected that 50% of the budget will be funded through cost recoveries from the creation, production, and worldwide sales of fee-for-service and revenue generating occupational health and safety products and services. CCOHS is a recognized leader in providing effective programs, products and services, which are based on the centre's core knowledge, its collection of occupational health and safety information, and its application of information management technologies.
CCOHS is governed by a tripartite council representing governments (federal, provincial and territorial), employers, and labour organizations. The Council of Governors assists in overseeing a policy framework for a trustworthy and complete occupational health and safety service, and ensures that the information CCOHS disseminates is unbiased. Our key stakeholders are directly involved in the policy, governance and strategic planning for the organization. They also assist with reviews of programs and services to help ensure that our information is impartial and relevant. Our inquiries service is supported and funded from contributions provided by provincial and territorial governments.
CCOHS has a broad range of collaborative arrangements with many national and international health and safety organizations. These include the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Pan- American Health Organization (PAHO) the World Health Organization (WHO), North American Occupational Safety and Health Week (NAOSH), European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Canada's Healthy Workplace Month and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Further information on the many partnerships is available at http://www.ccohs.ca/ccohs/partner.html and in our annual report.
Collaborative projects serve many purposes at CCOHS. They are opportunities to enhance our OHS information resources, generate revenues and collaborate with partners worldwide. This collaboration among nations serves to promote the sharing of information and knowledge for social and economic programs relating to health and safety, to reduce injuries and illness, and improve conditions for workers. They also contribute to Canada's role in the world and bring the wealth of global OHS information for use by CCOHS to benefit Canada and to improve the health and safety of Canadians.
Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
-
Strategic Outcome: Improved workplace conditions and practices that enhance the health, safety and well being of working Canadians
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Program Activity: Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration
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Program Sub- Activities: Expected Results
- Easy access to occupational health and safety information and services
- Inquiries
- Web access/design
- New Resources
- Osh Answers Content
- New risks
- Refinement of existing products
- Application of OHS information to improve workplace practices
- OHS management System
- High quality Information
- Improved Application in workplaces
- Foster collaboration
- Education
- Increased awareness and understanding of occupational health and safety issues in the workplace
- National Forum
- Training, conferences and presentation
- Enhance web presence
- Resources for Chemical health and safety
- Health and Safety Report
- Partial Recovery of Costs from User Fees
- OHS products
- Easy access to occupational health and safety information and services
-
Program Sub- Activities: Expected Results
-
Program Activity: Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration
Organizational Priorities
| Priority | Type1 | Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental Health at Work | New | SO1 |
Why is this a priority? Mental health in the workplace has a significant impact on safety. Making people aware of mental health issues at work can have a profound impact on employee well being. Having an open work environment where mental health can be discussed and the employee supported will improve the work place. This promotes a holistic approach to work place well-being. Plans for meeting the priority Developing tools to measure the risk factors associated with mental health in the workplace. Promoting a mental health strategy through various communications methods. |
| Violence in the Workplace | New | SO1 |
Why is this a priority? Violence in the workplace prevention is essential to protect workers. Resources are required to support management and educate workers on prevention strategies. Plans for meeting the priority An interactive web based assessment tool to measure the factors contributing to workplace violence and how to address them will be developed. Increased information on our website as well as educational programs. |
| Risk Assessment | New | SO1 |
Why is this a priority? Identification of risks in the workplace is the first step in working towards prevention and education. Plans for meeting the priority Promotion of the Online Interactive Risk Assessment Tool. Providing information and resources on how to identify risks and develop prevention methods through various communications methods. |
| Accreditation | New | SO1 |
Why is this a priority? By receiving accreditation for our learning programs we can be sure that the public needs are being met. Plans for meeting the priority Development and certification of learning programs. |
| Information Technology Strategy | New | SO1 |
Why is this a priority? The technical infrastructure is the cornerstone of delivery of a broad range of products and services to the public. This is a complex system that requires monitoring in light of the ever changing technology in today's environment. Plans for meeting the priority Review of existing infrastructure and development of a detailed plan. |
| Employee Engagement | New | SO1 |
Why is this a priority? Employee engagement is essential to a productive workforce. With changes due to retirements it is essential that our employees are engaged and mentored to plan for many anticipated human resource changes. Plans for meeting the priority Develop an action plan based upon the most recent survey that includes participation of a working group including a broad base of employees. |
1Type is defined as follows: previously committed to—committed to in the first or second fiscal year prior to the subject year of the report; ongoing - committed to at least three fiscal years prior to the subject year of the report; and new - newly committed to in the reporting year of the RPP or DPR.
Risk Analysis
The major challenge for CCOHS is maintaining revenues sufficient to finance 50% of our operating budget. Development of new products while maintaining public services is a delicate balance. The costs of ongoing product development must be financed from the operating budget, which increase the time from development to market place. Generating revenues of $4.3 million is challenging given our limited human resources, the absence of working capital and additional administrative costs of operating a government organization.
CCOHS is also subject to changes in the market place such as technological change, the life cycle of products and the availability of free information on the Internet. These changes make it difficult to replace lost revenues. The timeframe between new product development, implementation and ultimately sales is problematic as it generally does not coincide with the fiscal year end and there is no opportunity for financing of these initiatives. Costs are expensed as incurred and there are few funds available for promotion of products and services. Public services must be maintained with limited financial resources.
Revenue generation in a government organization is difficult while complying with governmental financial and administrative policies. CCOHS is a Schedule II department and has administrative responsibilities that are not conducive to generating revenues. Examples include dollar limits on advertising, embargos on advertising due to policy changes, travel and hospitality caps even when reimbursed by the client, and the lack of funding for new product development. In addition, CCOHS does not have any working capital to finance accounts receivable or inventories that are carried on its balance sheet. These restrictions place CCOHS at a competitive disadvantage for functioning as a cost-recovery organization.
CCOHS also cannot carry over funds, which makes multi-year planning and product development difficult. Technology is changing at a fast pace. CCOHS' traditional delivery methods were becoming outdated. New communications methods and delivery of information where developed to meet the changing needs. CCOHS has expanded its on-line resources to include more specialized web portals, e-learning programs, webinars, podcasts, facebook and twitter promotion and on-line discussion groups. This has improved public service delivery but it also impacts revenue generation. Information is generally available free of charge on the internet. CCOHS must balance its public service offerings with revenue generation to ensure we meet our financial obligations.
As CCOHS works extensively in various partnerships and collaborations, changes with these partners can have direct impact on our revenues and ability to deliver services. The support of our stakeholders is essential to the ongoing success of CCOHS. Changes in other governments and organizations' priorities could have a direct impact on their collaboration with CCOHS. Specifically, these organizations face decreased funding therefore reducing the scope of external collaborations. Lastly, the voluntary funding provided to CCOHS by provincial and territorial government is at greater risk due to the past year of lowered government revenue, therefore causing governments to reconsider and reduce their financial contributions to CCOHS. Some reduction in voluntary funding has already happened in recent years.
As with many organizations, many our staff are becoming eligible for retirement. This is a serious concern as technical, scientific and business knowledge will be lost and will be difficult to replace. In order to plan for the retirements, staff have been re-organized into working groups or teams. This promotes improved knowledge transfer in anticipation of retirements so that other staff will be trained and available to replace the retirement of key employees. Employee engagement is essential to maintaining a healthy workplace.
Planning Summary
| 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 |
|---|---|---|
| 4,984 | 4,984 | 4,984 |
The financial resources table above provides a summary of the total planned spending for CCOHS for the next three fiscal years.
| 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 |
|---|---|---|
| 96 | 96 | 96 |
| Performance Indicators | Targets |
|---|---|
| Satisfaction with and ease of access and retrieval of OHS information from Inquiries Services, web access and other resources such as web portals, articles and presentations. | Overall 80% Satisfaction Rate from Inquiries Services and 85% for web usage and 10% increase in usage |
| Increased awareness and understanding of occupational health and safety issues in the workplace. | Increase distributions and usage of awareness information by 10% |
| Application of occupational health and safety information in the workplace. | 72% of clients who use information provided to make change in the work place |
| Evaluation ratings: | Positive satisfaction rates for above targets and key informant interviews. Overall meeting objectives of the mandate. |
Planning Summary Table
| Program Activity 2 | Forecast Spending 2011-12 |
Planned Spending | Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |||
| Program Activity 1: Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration | $2,420 | $2,292 | $2,292 | $2,292 | Healthy Canadians 3 |
| Total Planned Spending | $2,292 | $2,292 | $2,292 | ||
| Program Activity | Forecast Spending 2011-12 |
Planned Spending | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | ||
| Internal Services | $2,957 | $2,692 | $2,692 | $2,692 |
| Total Planned Spending | $2,692 | $2,692 | $2,692 | |
2For program activity descriptions, please access the Main Estimates online at:
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/index-eng.asp
Expenditure Profile
Departmental Spending Trend
3For the government of Canada outcomes refer to the website at:
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/reports-rapports/cp-rc/2009-2010/cp-rctb-eng.asp
For the year 2008-9 to 2010-11 periods, the total spending includes all Parliamentary appropriations and revenue sources: Main Estimates, Supplementary Estimates, Treasury Board Vote 10, 15 and 23 and respendable revenues. It also includes carry forwards and adjustments. For the 2012-13 to 2014-15 periods, the total spending corresponds to the planned spending and revenues. Supplementary funding and carry forward adjustments are unknown at this point and are therefore not reflected.
CCOHS' funding remains consistent from year to year other than increases for compensations. There have been no increases in funding for compensation in the past two years due to cost containment measures. Fluctuations in funding are primarily due to carry forward amounts and recovery of paylist shortfalls. Spending is impacted by the ability to raise revenues to cover the un-funded portion of the budget. Funding was reduced this year by the amount of the compensation increase as a cost-containment measure in the budget. This reduction in funding is ongoing and reflected in the planned spending.
Estimates by Vote
For information on our organizational appropriations, please see the 2012–13 Main Estimates publication.
Section II – Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
Strategic Outcome
Improved workplace conditions and practices that enhance the health, safety and well being of working Canadians
Program Activity Descriptions
Program Activity: Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration.
The goal of this program is to provide free information on occupational health and safety to support Canadians in their efforts to improve workplace safety and health. Citizens are provided information through a free and impartial personalized service via telephone, e-mail, person-to-person, fax or mail. Alternatively, they can independently access a broad range of electronic and print resources developed to support safety and health information needs of Canadians. This may include cost recovery products and services and is supported financially by contributions from various stakeholders.
Through health and safety information development, CCOHS collects, processes, analyzes, evaluates, creates and publishes authoritative information resources on occupational health and safety for the benefit of all working Canadians. This information is used for education and training, research, policy development, development of best practices, improvement of health and safety programs, achieving compliance, and for personal use. When the product or service provided by CCOHS is to identifiable external recipients with benefits beyond those enjoyed by the general taxpayer, a user fee is charged.
CCOHS promotes and facilitates consultation and cooperation among federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions and participation by labour, management and other stakeholders in the establishment and maintenance of high standards and occupational health and safety initiatives for the Canadian context. The sharing of resources results in the coordinated and mutually beneficial development of unique programs, products and services. Collaborative projects are usually supported with a combination of financial and non- financial contributions to the programs by partners and stakeholders and result in advancement of the health and safety initiatives.
| Financial Resources ($ thousands) | Human Resources (FTEs) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
| $ 2,292 | $ 2,292 | $ 2,292 | 73 | 73 | 73 | |
This section will contain a discussion of plans surrounding the expected results for our Planning Activity, occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration. The discussion will focus on the following expected results:
| Performance Indicator | Targets |
|---|---|
| Satisfaction with and ease of access and retrieval of OHS information from Inquiries Service, web access and other CCOHS resources (such as our website, web portals, articles and presentations) | Overall 80% or higher on client satisfaction survey, web statistics and evaluation data |
| Performance Indicator | Targets |
|---|---|
| Numbers of distributions of OHS information to employees and their employers to improve their understanding of OSH | Increase awareness by 10% through various contact points and communications sources |
| Performance Indicator | Targets |
|---|---|
| Information is being applied in the workplace by employees, government and employers | Target of 72% using CCOHS information to make changes in the workplace |
| Performance Indicator | Targets |
|---|---|
| Generate sufficient revenues through cost recovery to cover the differential between appropriations and expenditures | Target of $4.3 million through the sale of products, services, and contributions from stakeholders. |
Planning Highlights
In order to achieve the expected results, CCOHS plans to undertake the following activities:
- Expand OSH information content to meet needs for emerging high-risk OHS issues and develop appropriate resources.
- Enhance CCOHS internet usability through improved technology and website design
- Ongoing development and refinement of existing OHS products and services
- Increase satisfaction with and ease of access to OHS information from Inquiries Service and other service points
- Host a national forum every 2 years on key issues in the Canadian workplace
- Promote healthy workplaces through providing OHS information via internet, training, conference, presentations and partnerships
- Promote the importance of health and safety in the workplace nation wide
- Host webinars and podcasts to increase the reach of various presentations
- Participate in collaborative projects with different levels of government and organizations throughout the year.
- Provide additional key resources in the area of chemical health and safety and including management systems
- Provide the Health and Safety Report as an electronic newsletter delivered via the internet
- Provide Workspace, a national free publicly available forum, for professionals exchange ideas and information related to occupational and environmental health and safety.
- Improve health and safety by application of OHS knowledge in Canadian workplaces through promotion of healthy workplace concepts
- Foster collaboration and exchanges in ideas through national dialogues, forums and conferences to increase the application of OHS information in the workplace and improve prevention practices.
- Increase educational resources and customized programs including e-learning and classroom based courses.
- Sale of products and services that meet the objective of improving health and safety in the workplace.
- Collaborate with the stakeholders, international organizations on various health and safety issues in order to bring to Canadians the most useful and relevant OHS information and knowledge.
Program Activity 2: Internal Services
Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Material Services; Acquisition Services; and Travel and Other Administrative Services. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.
| Financial Resources ($ thousands) | Human Resources (FTEs) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
| $ 2,692 | $ 2,692 | $ 2,692 | 23 | 23 | 23 | |
Planning Highlights
Plans for the year include follow-up activities as a result of our employee engagement survey. We will continue with our business planning process to engage employees and prepare them for new roles through participation in cross departmental working groups. This will increase their skills in anticipation of many retirements in the next few years.
Our second goal is to improve the overall working experience. This includes working on performance management, open communications, consistent and equal treatment of staff across the organization. This will also include incentives and rewards, based on established performance standards criteria.
We are also reviewing our IT resources and strategy to ensure adequate hardware and software to meet the ongoing needs of CCOHS.
Section III – Supplementary Information
Financial Highlights
The future oriented financial highlights presented within this RPP are intended to serve as a general overview of CCOHS' financial position and operations. These future-oriented financial highlights are prepared on an accrual basis to strengthen accountability and improve transparency and financial management.
| % Change | Future-Oriented 2012-13 |
Future-Oriented 2011-12 |
Actual 2010-11 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Expenses | 10,230 | 10,482 | 10,566 | |
| Total Revenues | (4%) | 4,000 | 3,834 | 3,971 |
| Net Cost of Operations | (- 6%) | 6,230 | 6,648 | 6,595 |
| % Change | Future-Oriented 2012-13 |
Future-Oriented 2011-12 |
Actual 2010-11 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | (- 2%) | 1,232 | 1,261 | 1,032 |
| Total Liabilities | 3,132 | 3,455 | 3,703 | |
| Equity | (1,901) | (2,194) | (2,671) | |
| Total | (- 2%) | 1,232 | 1,261 | 1,032 |
Future-Oriented Financial Statements
The Future-Oriented Financial Statements are located at: http://www.ccohs.ca/ccohs/reports/estimates_rpp.html
List of Supplementary Information Tables
All electronic supplementary information tables found in the 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities can be found on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s web site at: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rpp/2011-2012/info/info-eng.asp
Evaluations
Sources of Respendable Revenue
Section IV – Other Items of Interest
Summary of Revenue, Expenses and Appropriations
| Actual 02-03 |
Actual 03-04 |
Actual 04-05 |
Actual 05-06 |
Actual 06-07 |
Actual 07-08 |
Actual 08-09 |
Actual 09-10 |
Actual 10-11 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | 4,185 | 3,910 | 3,781 | 3,781 | 3,830 | 3,876 | 4,006 | 3,716 | 3,751 |
| Expenses | 8,275 | 7,806 | 8,150 | 8,332 | 8,382 | 8,579 | 8,641 | 9,195 | 9,188 |
| Appropriations | 4,156 | 4,173 | 4,369 | 4,501 | 4,506 | 4,651 | 4,925 | 5,245 | 5,437 |
Annex 1: Listing of Statutes and Regulations
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act (R.S. 1985, c. C-13)
Annex 2: Publications
The following reports are available at: http://www.ccohs.ca/ccohs/reports.html
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Annual Reports
Departmental Performance Reports
Program Evaluation and Cost Recovery Study: Assessing the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. 2001
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety – Modern Management Practices Assessment
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety – Modern Comptrollership Action Plan
Customer Satisfaction Research Report, 2004
CCOHS 2005 Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement Study
CCOHS Program Evaluation and Financial Capacity Assessment, 2009