Supplementary Information Tables: 2021–22 Departmental Results Report
Table of Contents
Reporting on Green Procurement
This supplementary information table supports reporting on green procurement activities in accordance with the Policy on Green Procurement.
Context
Although the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) is not bound by the Federal Sustainable Development Act and is not required to develop a full Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy (DSDS), the OIC adheres to the principles of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) by complying with the Policy on Green Procurement.
The Policy on Green Procurement supports the Government of Canada’s effort to promote environmental stewardship. In keeping with the objectives of the policy, the OIC supports sustainable development by integrating environmental performance considerations into the procurement decision‑making process through the actions described in the 2019 to 2022 FSDS “Greening Government” goal.
Commitments
Greening Government:The Government of Canada will transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient, and green operations
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FSDS target(s) |
FSDS contributing action(s) |
Corresponding departmental action(s) |
Starting point(s) |
Results achieved |
Contribution by each departmental result to the FSDS goal and target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Actions supporting the Greening Government goal and the Policy on Green Procurement |
Departments will use environmental criteria to reduce the environmental impact and ensure best value in government procurement decisions |
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All targets met |
Green procurement incorporates environmental criteria into purchasing decisions. Procurement agents who are trained to apply such criteria can award contracts to suppliers with a reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint. This is expected to motivate suppliers to reduce GHG emissions associated with their goods, services and supply chains. United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 (Target 12.7) Date modified: 2022-02-01 |
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Support for green procurement will be strengthened, including guidance, tools and training for public service employees |
Ensure material management and procurement specialists have the necessary training and awareness to support green procurement. |
Percentage of specialists in procurement and materiel management who have completed training on green procurement (target: 100%) |
100% of procurement specialists have received the training. |
The Canadian Human Rights Commission provides contracting services to several small government departments, including the OIC, and as such enables streamlined procurement efforts and unified results. |
Report on integrating sustainable development
During the 2021–22 reporting cycle, the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada had no proposals that required a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and no public statements were produced.
Gender-based analysis plus
Section 1: Institutional GBA Plus Capacity
The Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Services, Strategic Planning and Transformation Services (currently Head of Human Resources), continued her work in the role of champion for GBA+, with support from the network of the Human Resources Council, senior management and the Human Resources team at the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC). The champion has been actively involved in cross-government activities focused on GBA+, leveraging the work based on best practices across the government. The OIC carried several employee surveys focusing on GBA+ topic including mental health and wellness to better understand the challenges that the OIC employees potentially face, and to ensure that they have access to the support services. Work on advancement of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) was carried to eliminate possible barriers in the organization. The OIC remains committed to supporting its employees on this front.
Under the leadership of the OIC Commissioner, who assumed the role of the organizational EDI Champion, the OIC initiated multiple activities such as guest speaker programs aimed to increase the awareness about the subject of EDI and unconscious bias. EDI and unconscious bias were added to performance objectives and training on this subject had subsequently become mandatory for all employees.
Section 2: Gender and Diversity Impacts, by Program
Core Responsibility: There are two levels of independent review of government decisions relating to access to information under the control of government institutions. The Information Commissioner is the first level of review. The Access to Information Act requires the Commissioner to investigate all the complaints she receives. Furthermore, with the June 2019 amendments to the Act, the Commissioner may now decline or cease to investigate complaints she considers to be trivial, frivolous, vexatious, made in bad faith or otherwise an abuse of the right of access. The second level of independent review is the Federal Court.
Program Name: Compliance with access to information obligations
Key Program impacts on Gender and diversity:
Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity:
The OIC investigations are guided by the requirements of the Access to Information Act, particularly with regard to confidentiality, the need to give all parties to a complaint the opportunity to present their position on the matter, and the way the Commissioner must present her findings to complainants and others, and report on her activities and investigations to Parliament.
By giving Canadians access to information about government activities and decisions, the OIC has the potential to help the government meet all of the goals in its Gender Results Framework. However, the confidentiality requirements of the Access to Information Act hamper GBA+ data collection efforts to some extent.
The OIC is evaluating a possibility to collect disaggregated data on complaints from members of GBA+ groups to determine whether the OIC’s program contains any barriers to access. The OIC will then assess how service levels for those groups compare to those for the overall population, based on turnaround times for investigations.