Performance Reporting

Goal 4: Provide effective and efficient planning and support for ministry programs.

The following table summarizes the 2003 – 2004 operating expenses by objective.

Objective 1: Clear vision, leadership, direction and support for all ministry programs.

This objective helps to ensure that ministry resources are used to address high-priority issues in the most effective and efficient ways. It reflects the ministry's commitment to provide corporate leadership and services for ministry programs, and to demonstrate fiscal responsibility and efficient client service. To attain this objective, the ministry focuses on a range of strategies related to management, planning, deregulation and regulatory reform.

Performance Measures:

Annual survey of ministry clients to determine if they understand what the ministry is trying to achieve and whether it is being done in the most efficient and effective way

Rationale for the Performance Measure

The ministry did not complete a large annual survey of all its clients³ during 2003/04. However, the ministry has been conducting surveys of some client groups for a number of years in the area of outdoor recreation. (See the performance measures discussed above for Goal 3.)

In recent years, the ministry has set up a number of external panels (such as the Advisory Panel on Contaminated Sites and the Recreation Stewardship Panel), which have consulted broadly with stakeholders from a number of sectors. In addition, as part of the ambitious legislative agenda needed to implement the ministry's strategic shifts, extensive targeted consultation with key stakeholder groups took place over regulatory issues. To reduce the risk of duplication, stakeholder fatigue and the need to shift resources from other operating priorities, the ministry considered this consultative approach to be more appropriate and cost effective for identifying gaps in information and targeting specific issues.

Achievements and Key Issues

In 2003/04, the ministry conducted a wide-ranging staff survey to measure workplace wellness. The survey was timed to take the pulse of the ministry following restructuring, implementation of budget targets and workforce adjustment. It will serve as a valuable benchmark, not only enabling comparisons of results with other public- and private-sector organizations, but also in identifying key areas for improvement and monitoring changes over time. The survey was deemed a success with 70% of staff responding.

Results showed that:

• Fifty-nine per cent of staff indicated an overall positive satisfaction with the ministry as a place to work with supportive work policies.
• Fifty-eight per cent of managers are supportive of staff. This is a higher percentage than other Canadian private-sector (51%) and public-sector agencies (47%).⁴
• Eighty per cent of respondents said they were willing to contribute to the change management process.

The ministry's executive and senior management recognize that challenges remain and are developing a response to the survey's results and a roll-out plan linked to the Human Resource Management Plan. The ministry is conducting regional and branch visits to begin addressing the issues highlighted by the survey. The nature and frequency of follow-up employee surveys will be assessed as changes are implemented over the next few years.

Future Direction

The ministry will continue its ongoing efforts to report meaningful and relevant performance results in its Annual Report while focusing on a few key measures of performance. In preparation for its next Service Plan, the ministry will review Goal 4 measures.

Progress toward delivery of a three-year deregulation plan (measured as percentage reduction in ministry's regulatory count)

Rationale for the Performance Measure

As part of its New Era commitments, the government pledged to reduce regulations by 33% overall. This is the initial step in reducing the economic burden of prescriptive regulations for industry and other stakeholders. To support this initiative, the ministry has a three-year plan to reduce regulations by 38%, ending on June 4, 2004. This measure monitors ministry progress in delivering on its deregulation plan.

Achievements and Key Issues

As of March 31, 2003, the ministry had reduced its regulatory count by 5,143, or 23.87%, from a baseline of 21,541 regulations. Considerable progress was made in 2003/04 toward further reducing the ministry's regulatory count. Regulations were reduced by a further 1.3%. In addition, the Integrated Pest Management Act and Environmental Management Act were passed in the fall of 2003, and the subsequent regulatory changes that were expected to be completed by March 31, 2004 are in progress.

Future Direction

Between April 1, 2004 and June 4, 2004, the ministry's regulations are expected to be reduced by an additional 12.8%, to achieve the overall target of reducing regulations by 38%. June 2004 marks the end of the deregulation program. The ministry will continue to be judicious about maintaining appropriate regulations and using non-regulatory approaches and best management practices.

Objective 2: Efficient program management, fiscal responsibility and client service.

Obtaining this objective is important for the ministry because it makes more resources available for other ministry initiatives, thus enabling us to make progress in delivering our mandate. To achieve this objective, the ministry is working simultaneously in a number of areas such as meeting government fiscal targets and taking care of staff.

Performance Measure:

Percentage of staff with an Employee Performance and Development Plan

Rationale for the Performance Measure

Achieving this objective requires ministry staff to focus on developing key performance and development goals that will enable them to contribute to accomplishing ministry objectives articulated in the Service Plan. A key initiative for ensuring that this occurs is a ministry requirement for all staff to have an Employee Performance and Development Plan (EPDP). This plan identifies what work an employee is accountable for and makes clear links to the ministry's Service Plan. As the EPDP initiative is being implemented, the ministry is using an output measure to indicate the percentage of staff with an EPDP.

Achievements and Key Issues

The ministry achieved its target. As of May 31, 2003, 100% of ministry staff had an EPDP that linked their work and development goals to the 2003/04 – 2005/06 Service Plan. The EPDP is proving a valuable tool to assist staff in understanding how their efforts link to the ministry's objectives and broader goals of the government.

Objective 3: Effective and efficient compliance and enforcement.

Performance Measure:

Measures of call-centre trends, including response time, geographic areas, and call types to enable proactive area-based planning/resource allocations and response improvements

Rationale for the Performance Measure

A key ministry achievement in 2002/03 was the establishment of a call centre that the public can phone to report environmental violations or concerns. The centre, which opened on July 16, 2002, operates in partnership with the Provincial Emergency Program (PEP) and puts into action the ministry's commitment to shared stewardship. Use of the call centre means that more routine calls can be handled by trained call centre staff, while conservation officers focus their efforts on priority issues in local communities. In the 2003/04 – 2005/06 Service Plan, the ministry introduced a performance measure related to the call centre, at least for the early stages of its operation, to indicate the effectiveness of this new approach in serving the public.

Achievements and Key Issues

From July 16, 2002, when the call centre opened, to March 31, 2003, the centre received 24,121 calls, with 2,825 of the calls referred to conservation officers. In 2003/04, which was the call centre's first full year of operation, the centre received 36,987 calls, with 6,437 of the calls referred to conservation officers. The busy fire season, where damage to wildlife habitat resulted in animals coming into contact with urban settlements, caused September to be the busiest month with 6,269 calls.

Future Direction

This performance measure was not included in the 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan. It is apparent from the data since the call centre opened that it has been effective in allowing conservation officers to focus their efforts on priority issues that require their attention. The ministry holds regular meetings with PEP staff and will continue to monitor the operational effectiveness, performance and cost of the call centre.

Compliance and enforcement issues are included in the 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan within the contexts of environmental protection, environmental stewardship and outdoor recreation. The ministry will continue to conduct inspections and, where non-compliance is detected, appropriate investigations and enforcement actions will be taken. For example, Table 2 below identifies the number of warnings, charges and other statistics related to enforcement activities during 2002/03 and 2003/04.

Table 2. Enforcement statistics