Ministry of Environment — Continued
Report on Performance
The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act sets out government's accountability framework and planning and reporting requirements. The framework provides a continuous line of accountability from government through ministries to core business areas and individual employees. It is characterized by a cascading series of goals, objectives, strategies and performance measures to assess progress toward their achievement. Also included in the accountability framework are employee performance plans to align personal responsibilities with accomplishment of the ministry's goals and objectives.
All components of the accountability framework are closely integrated. Therefore, when a goal is revised or replaced (for example, to better reflect the link between what the ministry is doing and the government's strategic direction), so must the objectives, strategies and performance measures associated with it be revised or replaced. This is the cycle of continuous improvement, and it underpins both effective public service planning and meaningful, accountable public performance reporting.
When the ministry developed its new corporate structure in 2005, it revitalized its vision and mission and redefined its values. This meant that the ministry's goals, objectives, strategies and performance measures had to be revised in order to align with a more sharply focused vision and mission and a more client-centred set of values. This reflected a significant change from the goals, objectives and strategies presented in the September 2005/06 – 2007/08 Service Plan Update.
Because of this change, the ministry decided it was not a true reflection of accountability to report on goals that no longer exist. Therefore, while the Report on Performance section will report on the ministry's progress over the 2005/06 fiscal year, it will report on performance measures as they currently exist under the ministry's new goals and objectives.
The following tables show the changes to ministry goals, objectives, strategies and performance measures that took place between the September 2005/06 – 2007/08 Service Plan Update and the February 2006/07 – 2008/09 Service Plan.8
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| 8 | The Ministry of Environment's September 2005/06 - 2007/08 Service Plan Update is available at http://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2005_Sept_Update/default.htm. The Ministry of Environment's February 2006/07 - 2008/09 Service Plan is available at http://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2006. |
Summary of Changes to the Ministry of Environment Service Plan
Table 1 summarizes the changes made to the ministry's goals and objectives. The left hand column reflects the goals and objectives in the September 2005/06 – 2007/08 Service Plan Update. The right-hand column reflects the goals and objectives in the February 2006/07 – 2008/09 Service Plan.
Table 1.Changes to Ministry of Environment Goals and Objectives in 2005/06
| Goals and Objectives September 2005/06 – 2007/08 Service Plan Update |
Goals and Objectives February 2006/07 – 2008/09 Service Plan |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | Objectives | Goals | Objectives |
| 1. Protect the environment and human health and safety by ensuring clean and safe water, land and air | 1.1 Streamline standards and improve monitoring, reporting and compliance | 1. Clean and safe water, land and air | 1.1 Enhanced protection and stewardship of our water resources |
| 1.2 Limit air pollution and lead British Columbia's efforts to respond to climate change | 1.2 Reduced contamination from toxins and wastes | ||
| 1.3 Ensure safe, high-quality drinking water and reduce discharges that threaten water quality | 1.3 Healthy air quality | ||
| 1.4 Reduce/remove toxins and wastes that contaminate land | 1.4 Effective responses to climate change | ||
| 1.5 Effective response to high-risk environmental emergencies | 1.5 Effective management of environmental risks | ||
| 2. Maintain and restore the ecological diversity of fish and wildlife species and their habitats | 2.1 Clear strategies and legislation to protect and restore species and their habitats | 2. Healthy and diverse native species and ecosystems | 2.1 Well-managed and accessible information on species and ecosystems |
| 2.2 Improved use of scientific and inventory information for the development of standards and for effective management, monitoring and reporting | 2.2 Well-maintained parks and protected lands | ||
| 2.3 Increased number of partnerships to conserve species and their habitats | 2.3 Protected, maintained and restored native species and ecosystems | ||
| 3. Provide and enhance park, fish and wildlife services and opportunities for British Columbians and others | 3.1 High-quality park facilities, services and opportunities | 3. British Columbians understand that they share responsibility for the environment | 3.1 British Columbians understand the benefits of healthy living and the effect of their actions on the environment |
| 3.2 High-quality hunting, angling and wildlife viewing opportunities | 3.2 Shared stewardship | ||
| 3.3 Optimize the economic contribution of park, fish and wildlife opportunities | 3.3 Industry and client groups are knowledgeable and implement best environmental management practices | ||
| 4. Provide effective and efficient planning and support for ministry programs | 4.1 Clear vision, leadership, direction and support for all ministry programs | 4. Sustainable use of British Columbia's environmental resources | 4.1 Sustainable use and continued benefits of water and air |
| 4.2 Efficient program management, fiscal responsibility and client service | 4.2 Optimized public, outdoor and commercial opportunities from British Columbia's parks, fish and wildlife | ||
| 4.3 Sustainable and collaborative management and use of marine and ocean resources | |||
| 5. A high performance organization | 5.1 A client-focused organization | ||
| 5.2 A healthy working environment that motivates and supports staff, promotes innovation and attracts and retains high performance employees | |||
| 5.3 A coordinated approach to legislation, policy, resource allocation and compliance | |||
| 5.4 An integrated approach to ministry planning, performance management and evaluation | |||
| 5.5 Accurate, timely information | |||
Table 2, which follows, presents the changes to the ministry's performance measures by goal. The performance measures from the September 2005/06 – 2007/08 Service Plan Update appear in the left-hand column; those from the February 2006/07 – 2008/09 Service Plan appear in the right-hand column. The ministry's restructuring afforded an opportunity to sharpen its focus on key priorities and the government's Great Goals. As a result, three outcomes were possible as the ministry reassessed each performance measure: the performance measure remained unchanged; the measure was revised; or the measure was discontinued. Discontinued performance measures are reported on in Appendix E.
Table 2. Changes to Ministry of Environment Performance Measures in 2005/06
| Goals and Performance Measures September 2005/06 – 2007/08 Service Plan Update | Goals and Performance Measures February 2006/07 – 2008/09 Service Plan | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | Performance Measures | Goals | Performance Measures |
| 1. Protect the environment and human health and safety by ensuring clean and safe water, land and air | Contaminated sites backlog reduction (X) | 1. Clean and safe water, land and air | Water quality trends in water bodies monitored under a federal/provincial agreement |
| Average processing time for issuing permits (X) | |||
| Turnaround time for pesticide certification (X) | |||
| Percentage of communities achieving the Canada-wide standard (CWS) for particulate matter (PM2.5) and low level ozone | Percentage of monitored communities achieving the Canada-wide standard (CWS) quality objective for particulate matter (PM2.5) and low level ozone | ||
| Per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to other provinces | |||
| Water quality trends in water bodies monitored under a federal/provincial agreement | Per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to other provinces | ||
| Products with industry-led product stewardship | |||
| Response to environmental emergencies (X) | |||
| 2. Maintain and restore the ecological diversity of fish and wildlife species and their habitats | Designations established under the Forest and Range Practices Act | 2. Healthy and diverse native species and ecosystems | Number of completed designations under the Forest and Range Practices Act |
| Number of Collaborative Management Agreements and Official Wildlife Processes with First Nations | |||
| 3. Provide and enhance park, fish and wildlife services and opportunities for British Columbians and others | Visitor satisfaction with park and campground facilities and services | 3. British Columbians understand that they share responsibility for the environment | Municipal solid waste disposal (kilograms/capita) |
| Client satisfaction with fish and wildlife opportunities | Number of Collaborative Management Agreements and Regional Fish and Wildlife Advisory Processes with First Nations | ||
| Number of hunting and angling licences sold | Number of product categories with industry-led product stewardship programs | ||
| Number of recorded visits to B.C. parks | |||
| 4. Provide effective and efficient planning and support for ministry programs | Regulatory reform targets (X) | 4. Sustainable use of British Columbia's environmental resources | Number of water or watershed management plans completed and implemented |
| Number of recorded park visits and visitor satisfaction rate | |||
| Percentage of staff with an Employee Performance and Development Plan (EPDP) (X) | Number of basic hunting and angling licences sold | ||
| Number of marine-based commercial and recreational fisheries managed through a collaborative decision-making process | |||
| Note — 'X' indicates measure has been discontinued. Explanations and rationales for changes in the performance measures can be found in Appendix E | 5. A high performance organization | Changes in satisfaction of client groups | |
Performance Plan Summary Table
Table 3. Synopsis of Ministry of Environment Performance Measure Results
New performance measures will be reported on in the 06/07 Annual Service Plan Report.
