Financial Transparency and Accountability (CA0065)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Canada Action Plan 2018-2020
Action Plan Cycle: 2018
Status: Active
Institutions
Lead Institution: Department of Finance Canada (FIN); Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC); Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS); other departments and agencies across the Government of Canada
Support Institution(s): NA
Policy Areas
Access to Information, Anti-Corruption, E-Government, Fiscal Openness, Gender, Marginalized Communities, Open Contracting and Public Procurement, Open Data, Public Procurement, Publication of Budget/Fiscal InformationDescription
Financial transparency and accountability
Issue to be addressed
Many Canadians find it difficult to understand how the government spends their tax dollars.
Governments can improve financial transparency by providing tools and information to make
their spending easier to understand and by releasing more detailed information to allow
citizens to hold governments to account.
Commitment
The Government of Canada will continue to improve the transparency of its spending and its
open contracting to make it easier for Canadians to understand federal budgets, track funding
decisions, and examine government procurement and spending processes. We will:
• make government budget and spending information easier to find and understand
• publish an analysis of gender-based impacts for all Budget measures5
• ensure Canadians have access to open data on Government of Canada procurement
• explore adoption of common contracting data standards across Canada
Lead department(s)
Department of Finance Canada (FIN); Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC); Treasury
Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS); other departments and agencies across the Government of
Canada
Milestones
What will we do? How we will know we succeeded? What is our
deadline?
2.1 Make government budget
and spending information
easier for Canadians to find and
understand
Parliamentarians and Canadians are
engaged in reviewing the Government’s
progress in improving the timeliness,
completeness, and transparency of the
Budget and Main Estimates
October 2019
5. This type of analysis is known in the Government of Canada as Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+). GBA+ is an
analytical tool used to assess how diverse groups of women, men, and gender-diverse people may experience
policies, programs, and initiatives. The “Plus” in GBA+ acknowledges that GBA goes beyond biological (sex) and
socio-cultural (gender) differences. We all have multiple identity factors that intersect to make us who we are, so
GBA+ also considers many other identity factors, like race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.
19
What will we do? How we will know we succeeded? What is our
deadline?
(FIN/TBS) Based on feedback received in the
engagement above, recommendations
are published on the approach to the
Budget and Main Estimates for 2020 to
2021 and future years
February 2020
The description and detail of budget
spending plans is improved, including
more detailed information on budget
allocation by department
February to
March 2019
GC InfoBase is expanded to allow
Canadians to easily follow funding and
results, from announcement to
implementation, for all Government of
Canada programs
March 2019
Government of Canada Guidelines on the
Reporting of Grants and Contributions
Awards are updated to ensure proactive
disclosure of grants and contributions
data continues to meet Canada’s legal
and policy requirements
June 2020
2.2 Publish the Gender-based
Analysis Plus (GBA+) for all new
announced budget expenditure
and tax measures in future
budgets
(FIN)
Canadians and Parliamentarians have
access to information on the gender and
diversity impacts of budget measures.
February to
March 2019
2.3 Ensure Canadians have
access to open data on
Government of Canada
procurement
(PSPC/TBS)
Pilot data that tests the implementation
of the Open Contracting Data Standard
(OCDS) is undertaken, which includes a
cross-section of at least 300 contract
records for a variety of contracts,
including major projects. Pilot data will
include all stages of the procurement
cycle (planning, tender, award, contract,
and implementation).
December 2019
20
What will we do? How we will know we succeeded? What is our
deadline?
3 to 5 public workshops on open
contracting are held to analyze what
types of contracting data are currently
available and assess barriers to releasing
open contracting data.
• The workshops consider the results
of the open data pilot.
• Workshops include participation
from civil society, procurement
experts, and industry
representatives.
• A report is developed outlining input
received and recommendations
developed during the workshops.
June 2020
Tender, award, and contract data aligned
with the Open Contracting Data Standard
(OCDS) is published for all contracts for
fiscal years 2016 to 2017 and 2017 to
2018. Data is published on
open.canada.ca and is updated on a
regular schedule.
August 2020
PSPC’s new e Procurement Solution (EPS)
is designed to increase the release of
open contracting data for all PSPC
contracting records. A report is published
on progress in developing the EPS,
including reporting on progress in aligning
open contracting data with the
international Open Contracting Data
Standard (OCDS)
June 2020
Government of Canada Guidelines on
Proactive Disclosure of Contracts are
updated to ensure proactive disclosure of
contracts data continues to meet
Canada’s legal and policy requirements
June 2020
21
What will we do? How we will know we succeeded? What is our
deadline?
2.4 Explore adoption of
common contracting data
standards across Canada
(PSPC)
Representatives of federal government
and provincial and territorial
governments have met to discuss
potential adoption of common
contracting data standard for tender
notices
August 2019
Government officials have further
explored adoption of common
contracting data standards across the
broader procurement cycle
June 2020
Commitments
-
User-Friendly Open Government
CA0064, 2018, Access to Information
-
Financial Transparency and Accountability
CA0065, 2018, Access to Information
-
Corporate Transparency
CA0066, 2018, Anti-Corruption
-
Digital Government and Services
CA0067, 2018, Automated Decision-Making
-
Open Science
CA0068, 2018, Access to Information
-
Healthy Democracy
CA0069, 2018, Anti-Corruption
-
Access to Information
CA0070, 2018, Access to Information
-
Feminist and Inclusive Dialogue
CA0071, 2018, Capacity Building
-
Reconciliation and Open Government
CA0072, 2018, Access to Information
-
Open Government Community
CA0073, 2018, Access to Information
-
Enhance Access to Information
CA0042, 2016, Access to Information
-
Streamline Requests for Personal Information
CA0043, 2016, E-Government
-
Expand and Improve Open Data
CA0044, 2016, Access to Information
-
Provide and Preserve Open Information
CA0045, 2016, E-Government
-
Define an Approach for Measuring Open Government Performance
CA0046, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Develop Open Government Skills Across the Federal Public Service
CA0047, 2016, Access to Information
-
Embed Transparency Requirements in the Federal Service Strategy
CA0048, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Enhance Access to Culture & Heritage Collections
CA0049, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Enhance Openness of Information on Government Spending and Procurement
CA0050, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Increase Transparency of Budget and Other Department of Finance Information
CA0051, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Increase Transparency of Grants and Contributions Funding
CA0052, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Improve Public Information on Canadian Corporations
CA0053, 2016, E-Government
-
Increase the Availability and Usability of Geospatial Data
CA0054, 2016, Access to Information
-
Increase Openness of Federal Science Activities (Open Science)
CA0055, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Stimulate Innovation through Canada’s Open Data Exchange (ODX)
CA0056, 2016, Access to Information
-
Align Open Data Across Canada (Open Data Canada)
CA0057, 2016, Access to Information
-
Implement the Extractives Sector Transparency Measures Act
CA0058, 2016, Anti-Corruption
-
Support Openness and Transparency Initiatives Around the World
CA0059, 2016, Access to Information
-
Engage Civil Society on Open Government
CA0060, 2016, Public Participation
-
Enable Open Dialogue and Open Policy Making
CA0061, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Promote Open Government Globally
CA0062, 2016, Access to Information
-
Engage Canadians to Improve Key Canada Revenue Agency Services
CA0063, 2016, Access to Information
-
Implement Directive on Open Government
CA0030, 2014, Access to Information
-
Open Data Canada
CA0031, 2014, Access to Information
-
Canadian Open Data Exchange (ODX)
CA0032, 2014, Access to Information
-
Open Data for Development
CA0033, 2014, Access to Information
-
Open Data Core Commitment
CA0034, 2014, Access to Information
-
Open Science
CA0035, 2014, Public Participation
-
Mandatory Reporting on Extractives
CA0036, 2014, Anti-Corruption
-
Open Contracting
CA0037, 2014, Anti-Corruption
-
Open Information on Budgets and Expenditures
CA0038, 2014, Fiscal Openness
-
Digital Literacy
CA0039, 2014, Capacity Building
-
Open Information Core Commitment
CA0040, 2014, Access to Information
-
Consulting Canadians
CA0041, 2014, Marginalized Communities
-
International Aid Transparency Initiative: Publish Plan to Make CIDA Activities Available and Accessible
CA0010, 2012, Aid
-
International Aid Transparency Initiative: Implement Plan
CA0011, 2012, Aid
-
Opening Government of Canada Records: Increase Access to Archived Federal Documents at Library and Archives Canada
CA0012, 2012, Records Management
-
Opening Government of Canada Records: Issue New Mandatory Policy on Document Classification
CA0013, 2012, Records Management
-
Opening Government of Canada Records: Make Classified Information Available Online
CA0014, 2012, E-Government
-
GCDOCS: Deploy Wave One of Electronic Record and Document Management Solution
CA0015, 2012, E-Government
-
GCDOCS: Deploy Across Federal Government
CA0016, 2012, E-Government
-
GCWEB: Develop Consolidated Web Presence
CA0017, 2012, E-Government
-
GCWEB: Implement New Platform
CA0018, 2012, E-Government
-
Data.Gc.Ca: Expand Number of Datasets Available
CA0019, 2012, Access to Information
-
Data.Gc.Ca: Implement Data.Gc.Ca Portal
CA0020, 2012, Access to Information
-
Data.Gc.Ca: Improve Standardization of Data
CA0021, 2012, Access to Information
-
Government of Canada Resource Management Data: Publish Resource Management and Performance Data
CA0022, 2012, Access to Information
-
Government of Canada Resource Management Data: Enhance Search and Data Tools
CA0023, 2012, Access to Information
-
Consulting Canadians: Develop New Platform for Consultation
CA0024, 2012, E-Government
-
Consulting Canadians: Develop Standard Approach to Use of Social Media
CA0025, 2012, E-Government
-
Consulting Canadians: Pilot a Crowdsourcing Initiative
CA0026, 2012, E-Government
-
Consulting Canadians: Enable Use of Common Online Tools
CA0027, 2012, E-Government
-
Open Regulation: Federal Regulators to Post Forward Regulatory Plans
CA0028, 2012, Legislation & Regulation
-
Open Regulation: Simplify Engagement Activities
CA0029, 2012, Legislation & Regulation
-
Open Government Directive: Issue Directive on Open Government
CA0001, 2012, E-Government
-
Open Government Directive: Implement Directive on Open Government
CA0002, 2012, E-Government
-
Open Government Licence: Issue Open Government Licence
CA0003, 2012, Legislation & Regulation
-
Open Government Licence: Adopt Open Government Licence
CA0004, 2012,
-
Modernising Administration of Access to Information: Pilot of Online Request and Payment Service
CA0005, 2012, Access to Information
-
Modernising Administration of Access to Information: Implement ATI Solution
CA0006, 2012, Access to Information
-
Modernising Administration of Access to Information: Make Completed ATI Request Summaries Searchable
CA0007, 2012, Access to Information
-
Virtual Library: Begin Design of Virtual Library
CA0008, 2012, E-Government
-
Virtual Library: Launch Virtual Library
CA0009, 2012, E-Government