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Page 1 - Framework Document

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1.0    STATUS
1.1    Agency Name
The official name of the Agency is Measurement Canada.

1.2    Background
Measurement Canada was created from two closely related sub-activities, Electricity and Gas (E&G) and Weights and Measures (W&M). Both sub-activities have a long history of service within the federal government. The first Gas Inspection Act was established shortly after Confederation and was followed by the Electric Light Inspection Act. Weights and Measures has been in existence since Confederation, with the first Weights and Measures Act receiving assent in 1871. All industrialized countries have a government organization responsible for legal metrology (legal trade measurement), demonstrating the importance societies place on the accuracy and integrity of measurement to a nation’s economic health and prosperity.

Both sub-activities have resided within a number of federal departments during their long history, including the Department of Trade and Commerce and the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs.

Services provided by Measurement Canada are intended to ensure the fair and accurate measurement of goods and services in the Canadian marketplace. The Agency operates under one of the most stable and consistent mandates for service in Canadian federal government history.

1.3    Purpose
This Framework Document serves as the charter or constitution for the Measurement Canada Agency and sets out its mission, mandate, and vision. It also details Measurement Canada’s relationships with its home department of Industry Canada and other organizations, as well as the organizational and accountability framework. The Framework Document will be reviewed with the parent department at least every three years.

1.4    Special Operating Agency Status
On August 6, 1996, Treasury Board approved the establishment of Measurement Canada as a provisional Special Operating Agency (SOA) within Industry Canada. The Agency is confident that SOA status will enable it to foster a more business-like culture that will respond more efficiently and effectively to the needs of its clients, while furthering the Government’s priority of jobs and growth.

2.0    AGENCY MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
2.1    Mandate
Measurement Canada administers and enforces the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act and the Weights and Measures Act through the exclusive constitutional authority of the Government of Canada.

2.2    Mission
To fulfill its legislated mandate, the Agency has developed the following mission:

Measurement Canada’s mission is to ensure equity and accuracy where goods and services are bought and sold on the basis of measurement, in order to contribute to a fair and competitive marketplace for Canadians.

The Agency plays an important role in Industry Canada’s marketplace services framework, by contributing to consumer, business and investor confidence in the fair and efficient functioning of the marketplace.

The Agency’s credo is "Fair Measure for All".

2.3    Vision

• Our business is trade metrology.
• We are the cornerstone of fairness in all trade measurement.
• We make a difference; our contribution to a fair marketplace is recognized and valued.
• We are committed to exceeding our clients’ expectations at every opportunity.
• We are evolving; we challenge the status quo; we seek out creative and innovative opportunities to maximize our effectiveness and efficiency.
• We are committed to an environment that values teamwork, effective communication, and the pursuit of knowledge and excellence.

Measurement Canada’s mission and vision: 

• support Industry Canada’s mission of fostering a growing, competitive, knowledge-based economy that gives consumers, businesses and investors confidence that the marketplace is fair and efficient;
• contribute to the achievement of the Department’s strategic objective of building a fair, efficient and competitive marketplace for consumers, business and investors; and
• advance the Operations Sector’s vision to be recognized as a world leader in delivering marketplace services, and its mission to promote confidence in a fair and efficient Canadian marketplace.

2.4    Values
The following values will be reflected in all we do as a Special Operating Agency:

• We will deal with our clients and each other with honesty, integrity, respect and fairness.
• We will recognize and acknowledge efforts that contribute to the success of our organization.
• We will value one another; we will be a team; we will seek solutions through dialogue; and we will work together to achieve our goals.
• We will encourage learning and innovation that result in better service to our clients.
• We will pride ourselves in taking ownership of our work and responsibility for our actions and decisions.

3.0    BUSINESS OVERVIEW
3.1    Services
Measurement Canada meets its statutory obligations and deliver its services through the following lines of business:

Calibration and Certification of Measurement Standards: Standards to measure mass, volume, pressure, temperature, length and various electrical quantities are calibrated and certified in accordance with a legislated schedule to achieve and maintain uniformity of measurement in domestic and international trade. These standards form the basis of all trade measurement in Canada.

Trade Measurement Governance: This line of business is delivered through four primary activities.

Trade Measurement Standards and Requirements:  Legislative standards and requirements for measuring instruments (including scales, electricity and gas meters, and gas pumps) and goods and services traded on the basis of measurement are continually evaluated and amended to ensure they are relevant, reflect changing technology and new business practices, minimize regulatory burden and the costs of legislative compliance, and provide a positive environment for business growth, consumer and investor confidence, trade and innovation. This activity provides a regulatory framework which supports fair and accurate measurement of goods and services, enhances Canadian businesses' global competitiveness and opportunities for growth and export, and provides businesses and consumers with a source of knowledge and expertise regarding domestic and international trade measurement standards and requirements and measuring instrument technology.

Trade Measurement Protection and Surveillance: Prototype measuring instruments intended for trade use are evaluated for compliance with legislated requirements to ensure they are capable of measuring accurately under normal conditions of use and throughout their service lifetime and are approved for retail and/or commercial use. All approved measuring instruments must be inspected before use in commerce begins, and are inspected thereafter to ensure they continue to measure accurately and are not used in a fraudulent manner. Goods and services traded on the basis of measure are also inspected to ensure that they are measured and priced accurately.

Dispute and Complaint Investigation: Buyers and sellers of goods and services, including purchasers and vendors of electricity and natural gas, who are dissatisfied with the results of their measurement transaction may request to have the matter investigated. This activity provides consumers and businesses with an avenue of recourse if they feel they have received inaccurate measurement.

Alternative Service Delivery:  Private sector partnering arrangements are sought in the delivery of legislated services currently the exclusive responsibility of Measurement Canada. This activity includes the establishment of standards and criteria for organizations seeking delegated authority to provide services that would otherwise be provided by the Agency, accreditation of private sector organizations to provide these services, and auditing, by Agency officials, of accredited organizations to ensure they continue to meet established standards of performance. It provides for trade measurement accuracy and equity with less direct government intervention, and gives the Agency the opportunity to focus its resources on the delivery of services it is best suited and positioned to provide.

3.2    Clients
Measurement Canada’s clients include:

• Buyers and sellers of measured goods and services, and purchasers and vendors of electricity and natural gas.
• Measuring instrument manufacturers, dealers, owners and operators.
• Current and potential private sector partners willing and capable of delivering services on Measurement Canada’s behalf.
• Owners and users of measurement standards (i.e. standards to measure mass, volume, temperature, pressure, length and various electrical quantities) including companies accredited to provide services on Measurement Canada’s behalf, private sector organizations, and federal and provincial governments, agencies and crown corporations.

4.0    ORGANIZATION
4.1    Organizational Structure
Measurement Canada is a Special Operating Agency of Industry Canada. It currently consists of a central administration and laboratories, six regional offices and 17 district offices and sub-offices situated across Canada. The President will ensure that the organizational structure of Measurement Canada supports its business strategy and promotes responsiveness to clients and may, therefore, make periodic adjustments to that structure as conditions warrant.

4.2    President
The Agency will be headed by a President with operational and legislative responsibilities. The President is accountable to the Assistant Deputy Minister of Operations, Industry Canada for providing long-term strategic direction, for ensuring that Measurement Canada meets its agreed upon objectives and performance targets, and for reporting upon actual versus target performance through the reporting framework described in this Framework Document.

4.3    Employees
Employees of the Agency will retain the status of public servants with all the associated rights, benefits and responsibilities. Existing collective agreements will remain in force and staff will continue to be represented by their bargaining agents in all negotiations with Treasury Board. Further, the employees will continue to be covered by the Public Service Employment Act, the Workforce Adjustment Directive, the Public Service Staff Relations Act, the Financial Administration Act and other applicable legislation.