Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada Five-Year Evaluation Plan 2021-2022 to 2025-2026

June 2021

PDF Version (382 KB, 15 Pages)

 

Table of contents

Acronyms

AES

Audit and Evaluation Sector

CIRNAC

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

GBA Plus

Gender-based Analysis Plus

Gs&Cs

Grants and Contributions

IS

Implementation Sector

NAO

Northern Affairs Organization

PMEC

Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee

PSD

Policy and Strategic Direction

RPS

Resolution and Partnerships Sector

TAG

Treaties and Aboriginal Government

 
 

Deputy Head Confirmation Note

I approve this departmental Evaluation Plan for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada for the fiscal years 2021-2022 to 2025-2026, which I submit to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat as required by the Policy on Results.

I confirm that the following evaluation coverage requirements are met and reflected in this five-year plan:

I will ensure that this plan is updated annually and will provide information about its implementation to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, as required.

 
 

Original approved on July 8, 2021, by:

 

Paula Isaak for Daniel Quan-Watson
Deputy Minister
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

 
 

1. Introduction

This document presents the Five-Year Departmental Evaluation Plan for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) covering 2021-22 to 2025-26. Across the Government of Canada, evaluation is understood as the systematic and neutral collection and analysis of evidence to judge merit, worth or value. Evaluations are playing an increasingly important role in decision-making, innovation and accountability across government. They are intended to provide transparent, clear and useful information on the results that departments have achieved and the resources used to do so, in order to manage and improve programs, policies and services as well as to allocate resources based on performance to optimize results.  

Evaluation planning is a process that considers a department's evaluation universe, as defined by the Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory, balancing the requirements of the Financial Administration Act, the commitments to Treasury Board, and the needs of stakeholders and departments for credible and timely information. The development of this plan adheres to the requirements of the Treasury Board Policy on Results (2016) under which the federal evaluation function is called upon to provide evidence that helps the Government of Canada demonstrate that its spending contributes to results that matter to Canadians, rather than simply supporting programs where efficacy is not always clear.

 
 

2. Planning Context

2.1 Roles and Responsibilities

The role of the Evaluation Branch is to provide quality and timely evaluations that contribute to the Department's comprehensive and reliable base of evidence to support policy and program improvement, expenditure management, senior management and Cabinet decision-making and public reporting. The Branch's evaluators scope and plan new evaluation projects as per the Policy on Results in order to contribute to helping address questions related to the delivery of results for Canadians.

The implementation and monitoring of the Plan falls to the Evaluation Branch of the Audit and Evaluation Sector (AES).

2.2 Purpose of the Evaluation Plan

The purpose of the Evaluation Plan is to meet accountability requirements and to help the Deputy Minister ensure that credible, timely and neutral information on the ongoing relevance and performance of program spending is available to support evidence‑based decision making. The Plan also:

  • Provides an opportunity to align evaluations to ensure that the information needs of the Department and other evaluation users (e.g., other government departments) are being met;
  • Helps ensure that evaluations supporting program redesign are planned and completed in advance of program renewal;
  • Allows departmental units responsible for the development of the Departmental Plan and the Departmental Results Report, as well as other groups engaged in strategic planning and reporting activities, to identify when evaluations will be available to inform their work;
  • Initiates regular communication and consensus-building on evaluation needs and priorities across the Department; and
  • Provides central agencies with advanced notice of when evaluations will be available to inform their work (e.g., in support of Memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board Submissions, etc.).

Moreover, the Plan serves as an important tool for the Department's Head of Evaluation and the Evaluation Branch to manage project workflow and plan the activities of its human resources.

2.3 Policy Framework and Guidance

CIRNAC is subject to the Treasury Board Policy on Results (2016) and Directive on Results (2016). The Policy on Results allows departments to establish a results framework that identifies core responsibilities, associated results and appropriate indicators. It also limits requirements so that departments will collect performance information while remitting only some of it to Treasury Board. It allows departments to prioritize evaluation coverage and issues, while professionalizing the evaluation function.

The Policy requires departments to report on both planned program spending and ongoing programs of Grants and Contributions (Gs&Cs) evaluation coverage, but permits greater flexibility by allowing for risk-based planning for program spending coverage, and the option to defer evaluations beyond five years where average yearly expenditures are less than $5 million (over the preceding five-year period). The Policy on Results further recognizes that various types of evaluation are possible and essential to meeting the information needs of decision-makers.

The Directive on Results requires evaluations to focus on relevance, effectiveness and efficiency. It also clarifies many of the requirements in support of the Policy on Results, including roles and responsibilities of individuals and the Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee (PMEC) as well as the expectations around planning departmental evaluation coverage.

2.4 Evaluation Planning Methodology

CIRNAC revised its Departmental Results Framework – which sets out its Core Responsibilities, Departmental Results and Departmental Results Indicators – and program inventory for 2021‑2022. While there were some modifications to departmental results and sector responsibilities (e.g., the Specific Claims Program has moved from Treaties and Aboriginal Government Sector to the Resolution and Partnerships Sector), there were no additions or deletions to the program inventory. The Evaluation Branch has taken the approach to plan for evaluations based on the core responsibilities and program inventory. This has resulted in the amalgamation of some previously distinct programs into larger programs, reflecting the streamlining efforts that have been undertaken in response to the Policy on Results. Appendix A presents the Program Inventory for CIRNAC by Core Responsibility.

In addition, there is the requirement under the Financial Administration Act (Section 42.1) to evaluate all ongoing programs of Gs&Cs every five years. Credit for evaluation coverage is granted upon deputy head approval of an evaluation report, under the premise that approval allows for the sharing of information in support of management action and the sharing of results with the public. Evaluation planning is conducted with those requirements in mind, reviewing the last fiscal year in which a program was evaluated, and scheduling completion and approval of the program evaluation five years later. 

The planning timeframe for the Department's evaluations has typically been 12 months (e.g., the date of approval for the Terms of Reference – the official start of the evaluation – is generally 12 months before the planned approval date).

This Evaluation Plan is also developed in consultation with the Department's Internal Audit team, and with consideration for the Risk-Based Audit Plan. Consideration has been given to timing audits and evaluations in a way that does not overburden programs. When developing the Evaluation Plan, planned evaluation projects, scheduling and resources are discussed with senior management and recommended for approval by the Deputy Minister. 

 
 

3. Evaluation Planning Considerations

3.1 Departmental Core Responsibilities

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

CIRNAC continues to renew the nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown, government-to-government relationship between Canada and First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The Department's activities focus on modernizing Government of Canada structures to enable Indigenous peoples to build capacity and support their vision of self‑determination. CIRNAC also leads the Government of Canada's work in the North.

The 2021-2022 Core Responsibilities for CIRNAC are:

  • Crown-Indigenous Relations – with 10 supporting programs
  • Northern Affairs - with 8 supporting programs

3.2 Program Structures

Departmental activities are largely structured by funding arrangements or formal agreements with Indigenous partners and/or provincial or territorial governments. Most departmental programs, representing a majority of spending, are delivered through partnerships with Indigenous organizations or communities, and through federal‑provincial or federal‑territorial agreements.

Currently, CIRNAC has 27 active grant and contribution authorities (Gs&Cs) to support the 18 programs in its program inventory (this does not include statutory grants or transfer payments to the government of Yukon). Therefore, a one-to-one relationship does not exist in all cases between the authorities listed in the Main Estimates and the Program Inventory of ongoing programs of Gs&Cs deemed a 'program' by the Department. A number of programs draw on multiple Gs&Cs; and conversely, there are Gs&Cs that contribute to multiple programs. This plan has been developed using the Treasury Board's Interim Guide on Results, which was updated most recently in August 2018, where there is the recognition that a 'program' of Gs&Cs can cut across two or more programs in the Program Inventory and the relationship is not always one‑to-one.

3.3 Exemptions from Section 42.1 of the Financial Administration Act

According to Section 42.1 of the Financial Administration Act, government departments and agencies must review, at least once every five years, the relevance and effectiveness of each ongoing Gs&Cs program. Note that programs that are not funded through voted Gs&Cs are not subject to the Financial Administration Act requirements. However, as per the Policy on Results (Section 2.5), programs with five-year average actual expenditures of less than $5 million per year can be exempted from Section 42.1 and do not need to be evaluated every five years. Guidance from Treasury Board Secretariat states the five-year average is to be calculated on three years of actuals (Public Accounts) and two years of planned spending (Main Estimates). Based on these parameters, the following programs are not scheduled for evaluation:

Table 1: CIRNAC Programs that will not be evaluated
Program Inventory Rationale
Other Claims Below $5 million in Gs&Cs; also, no requirement to inform major policy or spending decisions
Residential Schools Resolution Below $5 million in Gs&Cs
Canadian High Arctic Research Station Not funded through Gs&Cs; no requirement to inform major policy or spending decisions

There have been instances where a program has moved above the $5 million threshold. This most recently occurred with Northern Strategic and Science Policy, which will now be the subject of an evaluation in 2025-2026.

3.4 Planned Expenditures and Transfer Payments

According to the 2021-2022 Main Estimates, total planned spending for 2021-2022 is outlined in Table 2 according to the Department's core responsibilities.

Table 2: CIRNAC Total Planned Budgetary Spending (2021-2022) by Core Responsibility
Core Responsibility 2021-2022 Planned Spending
Crown-Indigenous Relations $3,969,849,116
Northern Affairs $587,992,312
Internal Services $138,791,403
Total $4,696,632,831

Source: 2021-2022 Main Estimates. Figures include the following expenditures: salary; operations and maintenance; capital; statutory and Grants and Contributions funding; and the costs of employee benefit plans.

Note that the Loan under the Specific Claims Program ($25,903,000) is excluded from Crown-Indigenous Relations as it is non-budgetary.

 
 

4. Evaluation Branch

4.1 Status of Evaluation Completion in 2020-21

The CIRNAC evaluation function continues to report through CIRNAC's Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive. Looking back on the previous year, one evaluation report addressing program spending was completed and approved:

  • Evaluation of the Cabinet Directive on the Federal Approach to Modern Treaty Implementation 

In addition, the following evaluations were substantially completed in 2020-21 and are in the final reporting and approval stage, which is expected early in 2021‑2022:

  • Evaluation of Specific Claims (final approval pending)
  • Evaluation of Engagement and Capacity Support (Federal Interlocutor's Contribution Program, Basic Organizational Capacity, and Consultation and Policy Development) (final approval pending)
  • Evaluation of Northern Contaminated Sites (final approval pending)

4.2 Implementing the Plan

Evaluations are used to inform decision-making and reporting (such as within the Departmental Plan, Departmental Results Report), to assess progress made by programs in achieving expected results and to incorporate lessons learned in order to improve program design and delivery. The Branch also posts approved evaluation reports on its website, after sharing reports with Treasury Board.

The Evaluation Branch's evaluators work collaboratively with partners and stakeholders to tailor evaluation projects to meet the needs of decision-makers, as well as perhaps experimenting with new and innovative methodologies and approaches for use in the next generation of federal evaluation. The Policy on Results provides for more flexibility in the various types of evaluations and the identification of issues, allowing the Branch more flexibility in scoping and calibrating its work.

The Department is working to build capacity in collaboration with Indigenous partners to improve the design and implementation of programming. In support of that objective, evaluators work closely with the program managers to assess the availability of Indigenous representatives to participate in evaluation working groups.

4.3 Planned Evaluation Coverage

Table 3 lists the planned evaluations that will cover 100 per cent of CIRNAC's voted Gs&Cs amounts. The small variance is a new contribution to the Other Claims Program that is below the $5 million threshold.

Table 3: Planned Coverage of Gs&Cs
Fiscal Year Voted Gs&Cs
coverage
Percentage of
coverage of
voted Gs&Cs
Number of
evaluations
2021-22 $1,402,461,588 46.3% 4
2022-23 $116,123,125 3.8% 4
2023-24 $4,404,232 0.1% 2
2024-25 $116,796,489 3.9% 2
2025-26 $1,391,667,400 45.9% 4
Total Planned Gs&Cs Coverage $3,031,452,834 100.0% 16
Total Planned Gs&Cs Spending $3,032,868,793    

Source: 2021-2022 Main Estimates

Table 4 below lists CIRNAC's 16 planned evaluations covering 72 percent of planned departmental spending from 2021-2022 to 2025-2026. This includes grants and contribution funding as well as salaries, operations, maintenance, statutory payments, loans, capital and the cost of employee benefits plans. 

The areas that are not subject to evaluation activities include: Internal Services ($138,791,403 – 3%); Loans ($25,903,000 – 1%), and programs and other spending that are not funded through grants and contributions (24%). The bulk of the non-Gs&Cs planned spending is for the Other Claims Program ($1,157,963,966).

Table 4: Planned Coverage Departmental Planned Spending
Fiscal Year Departmental
Spending
Percentage
coverage
Number of
evaluations
2021-22 $1,480,315,674 31.5% 4
2022-23 $142,396,528 3.0% 4
2023-24 $9,446,538 0.2% 2
2024-25 $138,558,282 3.0% 2
2025-26 $1,620,813,296 34.5% 4
Total Planned Coverage $3,391,530,318 72.2% 16
Total Planned Departmental Spending $4,696,632,831    

Source: 2021‑2022 Main Estimates

4.4 Other Evaluation Branch Activities

In addition to conducting evaluations, the Evaluation Branch undertakes a wide range of activities to support and strengthen evaluation and performance measurement work. These include providing advice and support on performance measurement, corporate planning and reporting at the departmental level, supporting capacity building and outreach activities, and developing research and special studies on evaluation issues.

Working Groups

The Branch has established working groups to address specific issues or to participate in broader departmental issues. Recently, the Evaluation Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) Working Group had representation on the departmental-led GBA Plus Network to develop knowledge for applying and integrating GBA Plus principles in evaluation.

Corporate Advice

In addition to supporting the development of Treasury Board Submissions and Memoranda to Cabinet, the Evaluation Branch provides advice on the Department's Departmental Plan, Departmental Results Report, and other related activities. For example, during 2020-21, the Branch reviewed 21 Treasury Board Submissions, 12 Memoranda to Cabinet and 10 supporting documents to Cabinet for CIRNAC.

Performance Measurement

While the Evaluation Branch is not responsible for the performance measurement function at CIRNAC, the Head of Evaluation does have a role according to the Policy on Results (2016) to advise on performance measurement and information in the Departmental Results Framework, Performance Information Profiles (PIPs) and Cabinet documents. The Evaluation Branch verifies, for each relevant Memorandum to Cabinet and Treasury Board Submission, that the plans for performance information and evaluations are sufficient and that information on past evaluations is accurately represented and balanced. It is important for the evaluation function and the performance measurement function to work closely to ensure that the validity, reliability, availability and quality of performance information gathered can support evaluations. The Branch has also become involved in reviewing and providing input into the PIPs. 

Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee

The Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive, along with the evaluation team, collaborates with the Chief Finances, Results and Delivery Officer (as the Head of Performance Measurement for CIRNAC) on the various inputs into performance measurement. The evaluation team provides secretariat support to CIRNAC's Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee (PMEC), which meets periodically throughout the year. The PMEC, chaired by the Deputy Minister, considers a wide range of performance measurement and evaluation products at its meetings. Terms of reference for the PMEC, approved by the Deputy Minister, are in place.

Reviews

From time to time, the Evaluation Branch undertakes reviews, which are distinct from evaluations and conducted on a case‑by-case basis as directed by the Deputy Minister and/or Treasury Board. The Evaluation Branch and other branches of the AES conduct or commission these reviews, discussion papers and studies on topics of relevance to their mandates.

4.5 Challenges

Human Resources

There continues to be a high demand for evaluation skills across the federal government, which contributes to challenges in recruitment and retention of qualified evaluators. The Evaluation Branch continues to recruit recent university graduates and skilled evaluators with a focus on diversity in order to build capacity and meet the department's evaluation requirements.

Performance Information

The availability and quality of performance information remains a challenge for evaluation activities. The Government of Canada introduced the Policy on Results to instill a culture of performance measurement and evaluation, taking a results-focused approach that relies on gathering performance information. All government programs are required to develop performance information profiles to serve as a guide to gather performance information. However, collecting data at the front-line delivery level remains a challenge for program managers given the resources required for setting up databases that can be used to gather data (e.g., tombstone, impact, satisfaction, demographic, financial, etc.) and then creating reports from these data sets.

COVID-19 Pandemic

There were multiple challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic that required a rapid shift in the way the Department conducted its work. Government of Canada employees were directed to work from home, whenever and wherever possible, altering the way many employees were able to work. Throughout the year, departmental officials and external partners were understandably focused on essential service delivery. Some evaluation processes were adapted to working in a remote environment. For example, case studies, which typically inform evaluation reports and usually involve site visits, were not possible due to travel restrictions. Timelines for evaluations had to be modified during the year due to the impacts of the pandemic.

 
 

5. Five Year Schedule of Evaluations

2021-2022 Sector Last
Evaluated
2021-2022
Total Planned
Program Spending
Planned
Approval
Date
Evaluation of Negotiations of Claims and Self-Government Agreements and Other Constructive Mechanisms TAG 2013-2014 $336,498,416 Q4 2021-22
Evaluation of the Management and Implementation of Agreements and Treaties IS 2015-2016 $1,108,158,054 Q4 2021-22

Evaluation of Climate Change Adaptation and Clean Energy, including:

  • Northern REACHE (Responsible Energy Approach for Community Heat and Electricity) Program
  • Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring Program
  • Climate Change Preparedness in the North - Implementation of Adaptation Actions in the North
  • First Nation Adapt – Floodplain Mapping
NAO 2015-2016 $35,659,203 Q4 2021-22
Evaluation of the Exceptional Contracting Limits Authority PSD, TAG Never evaluated $0 Q2 2021-22
 
2022-2023 Sector Last
Evaluated
2021-2022
Total Planned
Program Spending
Evaluation of First Nation Jurisdiction over Land and Fiscal Management RPS 2016-2017 $26,923,320
Evaluation of the Impact Assessment and Regulatory Processes (Horizontal; led by Impact Assessment Agency of Canada) IS, NAO Never evaluated $3,247,368

Evaluation of Northern and Arctic Governance and Partnerships, including:

  • Grants to the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Nunavut for health care of Indians and Inuit
NAO 2016-2017 $101,619,686

Evaluation of Northern and Arctic Environmental Sustainability, including

  • Nunavut General Monitoring Plan

(Also part of the Horizontal Evaluation of the Federal Leadership Towards Zero Plastic Waste in Canada Initiative, led by ECCC)

NAO Never evaluated $10,606,154
 
2023-2024 Sector Last
Evaluated
2021-2022
Total Planned
Program Spending
Evaluation of Consultation and Accommodation (Includes Major Projects Management Office) IS 2015-2016 $5,642,306
Evaluation of Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (Horizontal; led by ECCC) NAO 2018-2019 $3,804,232
(only Gs&Cs)
 
2024-2025 Sector Last
Evaluated
2021-2022
Total Planned
Program Spending
Evaluation of Northern Regulatory and Legislative Frameworks NAO 2015-2016 $19,085,165
Evaluation of Nutrition North Canada
(Horizontal, led by CIRNAC)
NAO 2019-2020 $119,473,117
 
2025-2026 Sector Last
Evaluated
2021-2022
Total Planned
Program Spending

Evaluation of Engagement and Capacity Support:

  • Federal Interlocutor's Contribution Program
  • Basic Organizational Capacity
  • Consultation and Policy Development

(During the planning phase of the evaluation, consideration will be given to whether the authorities should be evaluated separately.)

PSD 2020-2021 $49,738,799
$25,336,332
$37,917,257
Evaluation of Specific Claims RPS 2020-2021 $1,212,827,072
Evaluation of Northern Strategic and Science Policy NAO Never evaluated $13,170,782
Evaluation of the Northern Contaminated Sites Program NAO 2020-2021 $281,823,055

Notes:

  1. Total Planned Program Spending includes the following expenditures: salary; operations and maintenance; capital; statutory and Gs&Cs funding; and the costs of employee benefit plans.
  2. Figures are based on 2021-2022 Main Estimates
 
 

Appendix A - Departmental Results Framework 2021-2022

Core Responsibility Departmental Results Program Inventory
Crown-Indigenous Relations Indigenous peoples determine their political, economic, social and cultural development
  • Negotiations of Claims and Self-Government Agreements
  • Management and Implementation of Agreements and Treaties
  • Consultation and Accommodation
  • Consultation and Policy Development
  • Federal Interlocutor's Contribution Program
  • Basic Organizational Capacity
  • Other Claims
  • First Nation Jurisdiction over Land and Fiscal Management 
  • Residential Schools Resolution
  • Specific Claims
Indigenous peoples advance their governance institutions and regimes
Past injustices are recognized and resolved
Northern Affairs Political, economic and social development in Canada's Arctic and North are advanced
  • Northern and Arctic Governance and Partnerships
  • Climate Change Adaptation and Clean Energy
  • Northern Strategic and Science Policy
  • Northern Regulatory and Legislative Frameworks
  • Northern and Arctic Environmental Sustainability
  • Northern Contaminated Sites
  • Nutrition North Canada
  • Canadian High Arctic Research Station
Northern and Indigenous communities are resilient to changing environments
Northern lands and resources are sustainably managed
 
 

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