Response to parliamentary committees and external audits

Response to parliamentary committees

There were no parliamentary committee reports requiring a response in 2021–22.

Response to audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (including audits conducted by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

2021 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada Report 12—Protecting Canada's Food System.

The objective of this audit was to determine whether selected departments and agencies protected Canada's food system during the COVID‑19 pandemic by effectively designing, delivering, and managing programs to reduce food insecurity in Canada and to support the resilience of food processors in the agriculture and agri-food and the fish and seafood sectors. One recommendation was addressed to CIRNAC. The departmental response to address the recommendation can be found in the report in the section titled "list of recommendations".

2021 Reports 3 to 7 of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to the Parliament of Canada Report 6—Departmental Progress in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies—Healthy Coasts and Oceans, Pristine Lakes and Rivers, and Sustainable Food.

The objective of this review was to determine whether departments and agencies contributed to meeting the 2016–2019 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy goals of healthy coasts and oceans, pristine lakes and rivers, and sustainable food, as applicable to each entity. There were no recommendations for CIRNAC.

Response to audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

An Audit of Employment Equity Representation in Recruitment was conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Canada in 2020 throughout 30 departments and agencies including CIRNAC. The audit was undertaken as part of the PSC oversight mandate to assess the integrity of the public service staffing system. It is part of a series of initiatives that looks at the performance of the staffing system with respect to the representation of employment equity groups. As a result, the audit provided important evidence on where potential barriers exist in the staffing system for members of employment equity groups.

Although the recommendations were not specifically or strictly addressed to CIRNAC, in response to those, the department added a mandatory training on unconscious bias in recruitment for managers and has planned to undertake an Employment Systems Review in 2022, based on the Guide for the Federal Public Service recently provided by the PSC.