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About the CFIA > Reporting to Parliament > Annual Report > Annual Report 2002 - 2003  

3.0 PERFORMANCE

3.1 HOW WE PLAN AND REPORT

As described in the CFIA's Planning, Reporting and Accountability Structure (PRAS), the Agency plans and reports along three business lines.

The following table depicts the relationship between business lines, strategic outcomes, key results and programs.

To achieve its objectives, the CFIA's planning process includes a multi-year Corporate Business Plan and an annual Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP). The Corporate Business Plan Update (2000-02) provided the planning framework for the 2002-03 RPP. The CFIA's Annual Report provides an account of accomplishments achieved against the specific performance expectations described in the 2002-03 RPP. In addition, the Agency is required to complete a Departmental Performance Report (DPR), which includes the same performance information as the Annual Report. The formulation of both the Annual Report and the DPR is consistent with the principles outlined in the Treasury Board Secretariat's Preparation Guide: Departmental Performance Reports.

The Agency has completed a new five-year strategic plan to cover the period 2003-08, which has formed the basis for the 2003-04 RPP and will also drive the CFIA's next Annual Report. Included in this process was the development of business line logic models, which have been included in Annex 2 to outline next year's activities and reporting.

This section is structured along the Agency's three business lines. Key results are reported by business line under each strategic outcome and provide an explanation of how the Agency's activities contribute to the well-being of Canadians; a description of the program, including the CFIA's role and its key partners; and allocated resources. The performance component contains a comparison of planned activities to performance as outlined in the 2002-03 RPP.

This section also describes the CFIA's human resources management and related key initiatives. A brief summary is also included on the progress made in 2002-03 with respect to modern management initiatives designed to promote effective service delivery, responsible spending and well-managed administration.

Finally, Section 4.0 of this report looks back on the achievements of the Agency's first five years of operation--and looks forward to its next five.

3.1.1 Business line spending

The Agency's 2002-03 total expenses by business line and program are outlined below. These figures are consistent with the results reflected in the Agency's 2002-03 audited financial statements (Section 6.0), which are based on accrual accounting principles (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). Accordingly, these figures differ from the Agency's financial results reported on the modified cash basis of accounting as reported in Section 6.0 of the CFIA's 2002-03 Departmental Performance Report. The figures presented in this document for program spending and dedicated staff in each of the Agency's 14 programs were also calculated on the basis of accrual accounting.

3.1.2 Promoting compliance

As a regulatory agency, the CFIA employs a series of approaches to promote and ensure industry's compliance, including education, verification and enforcement activities. These represent a graduated approach to compliance as shown below:

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To facilitate voluntary compliance, the CFIA carries out education and awareness activities to increase industry's understanding of the regulations and standards.

Assisted compliance activities focus on verifying that establishments and products are compliant with the regulatory requirements. They include activities such as registering or licensing facilities, inspecting or auditing establishments, product testing and regulatory enforcement activities.

Enforcement actions can include warning letters, and suspensions or revocations of licences. The actions for non-compliant or unsafe products range from corrective actions, such as the application of proper labelling, to refusal of entry into or export from Canada, to product destruction. Under the 13 federal inspection acts and respective regulations that the CFIA applies and enforces, the Agency may carry out regulatory inspections and investigations, administer monetary penalties and lay charges in the criminal courts when an offence is committed.

As with any regulated activity, the underlying cause of infractions ranges from ignorance of the law to deliberate disregard. Therefore, the Agency and its partners utilize this series of approaches to achieve the highest possible degree of product and establishment conformity.

Assessment of Compliance

The CFIA measures its success in delivering its mandate by assessing and verifying that Canada's registered establishments and domestic and imported products comply with federal acts and regulations. Government of Canada legislation is designed to safeguard human health and animal and plant resource bases.

Compliance rates indicate the extent to which regulated parties observe the statutes and their accompanying regulations. The CFIA uses industry compliance rates as a measure of its success in achieving its regulatory objectives. The Agency uses a group of indicators to assess compliance levels across industries and commodities. Key indicators include establishment compliance, product testing results, enforcement actions and incidents or recalls. These indicators are briefly described below.

Much like other regulatory agencies, the CFIA strives to promote 100-percent compliance with regulatory requirements. Recognizing, however, that public health and safety are of the highest priority, the Agency operates in a risk-based manner, targeting areas of low compliance and striving for year-over-year improvements.

Establishment compliance is assessed at specified points in time to facilitate establishment compliance with regulatory requirements. Areas assessed vary by program but include elements such as storage, sanitation, hygiene, equipment, manufacturing and personnel.

Product testing demonstrates the degree to which products meet legislative or regulatory requirements. Product testing is conducted, according to established sampling plans, at various points in the food continuum for domestic, imported and exported products. These plans and the type of test required vary by individual program and commodity, and are based on international standards, federal protocols and risk. They include food safety as well as non-food safety standards. Examples include testing for formulation, pesticide residues, microbial contamination, package integrity, labelling and net content.

Another key indicator of compliance is the number and type of enforcement actions undertaken by the CFIA. This provides trend information to highlight where the Agency has used enforcement to improve compliance.

The number and type of food safety related incidents and recalls provide an indication of food safety at various stages of the food continuum. Canadians can become ill from consuming unsafe food, and the CFIA acts to protect consumers from such risks. An examination of incidents and recalls can provide an additional indication of the safety of the food supply.

To obtain a clear understanding of how the Agency contributes to the safety of the food supply in Canada, the key indicators need to be examined together. The next section provides detailed discussions of each indicator.

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