The context in which Environment Canada operates is one where environmental issues are global in nature, jurisdictions are shared and the challenges of integrating environmental, economic and social factors must be addressed. As such, it is important to ensure strong linkages across the Department in the development of strategic directions related to both horizontal management and policy issues.

Through the Management, Administration and Policy (MAP) Business Line, Environment Canada develops an integrated management and policy agenda. This is the Department's strategic medium- and long-term agenda focusing on leadership, knowledge management and partnerships to inform and engage citizens, and developing ways to provide efficient, innovative internal and external services.

Within Environment Canada's Management Framework, the Management, Administration and Policy Business Line strategic outcome is supported by two key results. We have grouped departmental priority concerns under the key results to which they relate. This logic structure is shown in the table that follows.

Management, Administration and Policy Business Line

Management, Administration and Policy Business Line Provide strategic and effective departmental management to achieve environmental results
Key Results:
Policy Priorities and Plans		Well Performing Organization
Priorities:
Innovative and Integrated Policy		Integrated managment

4.4.1 Key Result: Strategic and Integrated Policy Priorities and Plans

Strategic and integrated policy, priorities and plans

4.4.2 Key Result: Well Performing Organization

4.4.1 Key Result: Strategic and Integrated Policy Priorities and Plans

Priority: Innovative and Integrated Policy

What is the issue?

Environmental issues tend to be complex, interdependent, pervasive and transboundary. For example, air pollution, acid rain and water are issues that have strong impacts on human health and our ecosystems and do not respect jurisdictional boundaries.

Environmental issues are also closely linked with economic and social issues. This is illustrated by the challenge of addressing climate change. It is a truly global issue and its solutions will likely have major impacts on our economy, in particular our daily decisions regarding energy and transportation. Because of this link, developing the right policy tools to address environmental issues presents both a challenge and an opportunity.

What are we doing about it?

The Department is strategically moving the environment and sustainable development agenda forward.

Although environmental issues are a preoccupation of many departments, Environment Canada is the federal lead. This role places the Department in a unique position to influence the agenda of other departments. It also means that most of the Department's initiatives need the support of other departments to be successful because most of the levers for action rest with others. Recognizing this symbiotic relationship, the Department has taken a leadership role in the development of the government-wide environment and sustainable development agenda.

In this leadership role, the Department is exploring the potential role for more innovative environmental policy tools that are tailored to the issue at hand. While regulation continues as a policy option, the Department is expanding its use of information, partnerships, and economic instruments.

Innovative and integrated policy in the Department is focused on:

• Further details concerning the above major initiatives including narrative description, key commitments and timelines can be found at: Policies and Plans and at: Organization
  
  

What are the key management challenges at risk?

Environment and Sustainable Development

To make sustainable development a reality, the Department needs to integrate social, economic and environmental issues into all of the Department's policies and programs. Increasingly, there is interest in the social aspects (e.g. poverty, gender and health) which lead to concerns relating to environmental health, including children's health, and the urban agenda. Intense work needs to continue, and much remains to be done, to better integrate environmental policies with economic considerations. MAP's integrated policy result reflects the Business Line's responsibility for the Department's leadership role in the development and promotion of the Government of Canada's broader Environment and Sustainable Development (SD) agenda. To advance these objectives, it uses strategic partnerships with both key domestic and international stakeholders.

One challenge in particular will be increasing awareness and understanding of how federal departments can best use a framework established for setting environmental and sustainable development priorities and to ensure that the federal Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) serves a strategic role in promoting sustainable development across the federal system. Building partnerships will also be essential for implementing Environment Canada's actions in the follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development and in the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.

Policy Instruments

In support of the Environment and Sustainable Development agenda, the Department will also continue to develop new approaches to policy instruments, including Environment and Sustainable Development indicators, and support policy research and development analysis. Emissions trading of greenhouse gases, for example, has been included as a key element of Canada's Climate Change Action Plan. This recognition of the important role of market-based instruments reflects work undertaken over a number of years within Environment Canada and other federal agencies in collaboration with the provinces, territories and stakeholders. Work will also be undertaken with the Department of Finance and other departments to implement fiscal measures (taxes, charges and other market-based instruments) to achieve the objectives of climate change policies. Environment Canada will continue to support the broader federal initiative to move forward on a smart regulation strategy.

Policy Partnerships

Environment Canada will continue to build on Canada's strong international presence as an environmentally progressive nation, through its participation in organizations and fora like the United Nations Environment Programme, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the G8, as well as bilaterally with selected countries. For example, the Department will continue to implement Environmental Cooperation Agreements with partners in the Americas (United States, Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica) and the Memorandum of Understanding with China. Environment Canada works in partnership with other federal departments to promote the mutual supportiveness of trade and environment in international trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and World Trade Organization (WTO). An important federal initiative, being led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), in which Environment Canada participates, is the environmental assessment of trade negotiations. Work will continue through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) with countries such as India, to achieve concrete environmental improvements and to build capacity in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Environment Canada will also continue to partner with the United States and Mexico in implementing a program of action for North America. More broadly, work will be done with Canada's trade partners in the Americas to promote national action and coordinated hemispheric action to improve human and environmental health.

4.4.2 Key Result: Well Performing Organization

A well performing organization supported by efficient and innovative services

Priority: Integrated Management

What is the issue?

Environment Canada needs to transform the way business is conducted from both inward looking and outward looking perspectives. Environment Canada focuses internally on strengthening management capacity, and improving accountability and information for decision-making to respond to increasingly complex and urgent environmental concerns, shared governance and increased public demands for transparency. This internal capacity building will support the Department in providing better, more innovative and responsive services to Canadians, having a richer dialogue with the citizens, and improving results for the environment. In addition to addressing internal capacity issues, the integrated management agenda also focuses on the Department's approaches to delivering services. This enables us to be responsive to individuals, communities and businesses and to transform our services when necessary to ensure we are providing the best environmental results for Canadians.

What are we doing about it?

Environment Canada's integrated management agenda is intended to influence organizational culture, structures, processes and management capacity to enable the Department to deliver results over the long term. As part of this agenda, the Department introduced a Modern Management Action Plan (MMAP), a 3 year Action Plan entering its final year of implementation. It presents a series of integrated activities aimed at improving a wide range of capabilities. By implementing the plan, Environment Canada has built its capacity in five key management areas: citizen focus, exemplary workplace, responsible spending, managing for results and values. The integrated management agenda also comprises initiatives that focus on knowledge sharing and service transformation.

Over the next three years Environment Canada will put significant effort into demonstrating results in a selection of Treasury Board Secretariat Management Accountability Framework (MAF) dimensions which correspond to various elements of the Modern Management Action Plan. They are:

The structure of the performance charts above is based on the Common Reporting Structure for the MAP Business Line. Since the MAF essentially provides guidance to further advance modern management, progress has already been made in the majority of the 10 elements of the Framework through existing initiatives outlined in the MMAP, as well as initiatives in the Knowledge and Service agenda.

• Further details concerning the above major initiatives including narrative description, key commitments and timelines can be found at:Policies and Plans and at: Organization
  
  

What are the key management challenges at risk?

The services delivered by the MAP Business Line are fundamental to delivering on both policy and program priorities and to meeting expectations for Modern Management (e.g. Human Resource Modernization, Security, Audit and Review, e-government and Modern Comptrollership). Promoting an active Environment Canada service culture through service transformation efforts and ensuring sustainability of core systems and operations will be significant challenges for the Business Line.

Environment Canada's focus on transforming the way services are delivered, both externally, to Canadians and clients of the Department, and internally, to departmental staff who deliver those external services, will entail asking people to look at the services they deliver, to whom, what the recipients' expectations are about that service delivery, and how they want services delivered. This transformation will require not only a culture change in many quarters of the Department, but also may place demand on existing service delivery channels and methods (e.g. information technologies). Environment Canada will need to be able to better respond to and manage expectations, while continuing to develop financial strategies in support of investments that may be necessary to transform our service delivery.

The Department is also challenged to develop strategies to maintain the sustainability of core programs and services (e.g. HR, IM/IT and administration) across the Department. Continuing departmental growth over the next few years is likely to exacerbate MAP's current resource challenges. The Business Line will need to regularly examine the services it provides and position its functions strategically for the long-term. A long-term financial strategy is currently being developed to address these financial issues. Not moving forward with a more strategic approach to resource issues would put at risk the Department's capacity to deliver on many initiatives that would improve services to internal and external clients.