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For immediate release
December 2, 2004
Ottawa – The Honourable Reg Alcock, President of the Treasury Board, today
tabled Canada's Performance 2004 in
the House of Commons. Canada's Performance is an annual government-wide
report that tracks how we are doing as a nation – highlighting both our
strengths and areas for improvement.
"The report
directly supports the commitment in the Speech From the Throne to improve the
availability and quality of government performance information for Canadians so
that they can hold the government to account, said Mr. Alcock. "Canada's Performance provides
parliamentarians and Canadians with a whole of government perspective from
which to review the performance of departments and agencies against their
planning and performance reports."
This report
provides information on the outcomes the government is striving to achieve in
six policy areas, as measured by 32 societal indicators that highlight how our
national performance is changing over time. The indicators were chosen because
they matter most to Canadians, and because they can be tracked and reported on
over the years. Taken together, the indicators reflect a balance of social,
economic and environmental interests.
"Of special
note in this year's report is a new chapter entitled Aboriginal Peoples, which is an important and significant step
toward fulfilling the government's April 2004 commitment to developing a more
robust Aboriginal Report Card," said Minister Alcock. "Also new this year is
the chapter entitled Canada's Place in
the World, which recognizes the international dimension of government
activity needed to advance national aspirations."
Canada is one
of the few countries in the world to publish this kind of results-based report.
Where the data is available, such as in economic and health indicators, the
report compares Canada's performance with that of other countries.
The themes and
societal indicators are:
- Canada's Place in the World: total trade, perceptions of security, trust in international
institutions, and official development assistance.
- Canada's Economy: barriers to entrepreneurship, employment rate, income security,
innovation, literacy, educational attainment, and real gross domestic product
per capita.
- Society, Culture and Democracy: attitudes towards diversity, safety, volunteerism, participation in
culture and heritage activities, and political participation.
- Aboriginal Peoples: educational attainment, employment rate, median income, health
status, and housing.
- The Health of Canadians: life expectancy, self-rated health, infant mortality, healthy
lifestyles, waiting times for key diagnostic and treatment services, and
patient satisfaction.
- The Canadian Environment: climate change, air quality, water quality, biodiversity, and
natural resources sustainability.
The electronic
version of the report links to the specific pages in the Reports on Plans and
Priorities and the Departmental Performance Reports that provide relevant
details on plans, results and resources, as well as audit and evaluation
information.
The report is
available on the Treasury Board Internet site www.tbs-sct.gc.ca or by calling 1-800-O-Canada
(1-800-622-6232).
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For more information, contact:
Lise Jolicoeur
Press Secretary
Office of the President of the Treasury Board
and Minister responsible for the
Canadian Wheat Board
(613) 957-2666
Robert Makichuk
Media Relations
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
(613) 957-2391
If there is a discrepancy between any printed version and the electronic version of this news release, the electronic version will prevail.
TTY (Telecommunications device for the
hearing impaired) — (613) 957-9090
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