Bill C-421

1st Session, 39th Parliament,

55-56 Elizabeth II, 2006-2007

house of commons of canada

BILL C-421

An Act to provide for the evaluation of statutory programs

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the Statutory Programs Evaluation Act.

INTERPRETATION

2. The following definitions apply in this Act.

“evaluation cycle” means the number of years between each program evaluation.

“evaluation year” means the initial evaluation year and every subsequent year in which a pro- gram evaluation is carried out under section 3.

“expenditure” means a payment of public funds made under the authority of any Act of Parliament.

“government evaluation standards” means the standards established under section 4.

“program evaluation” means the evaluation of a statutory program in conformity with government evaluation standards to determine

(a) the public policy objectives that the program is designed to achieve;

(b) whether the public policy objectives are being met;

(c) whether the program is being delivered efficiently; and

(d) whether its purpose could be better fulfilled by different means.

“statutory program” means a program for which expenditure is authorized by an Act of Parliament.

PROGRAM EVALUATION

3. (1) The President of the Treasury Board shall, by order,

(a) within six months after the coming into force of this Act, for every statutory program under which an expenditure has been made prior to the commencement of this Act, prescribe a fiscal year not later than the seventh fiscal year after the commencement of this Act as an initial evaluation year for the statutory program and, subject to subsections (2) and (3), prescribe the evaluation cycle for the statutory program; and

(b) within six months after the coming into force of an Act authorizing a statutory program for which the first expenditure is made on or after the commencement of this Act, prescribe a fiscal year not later than the seventh fiscal year after the first expenditure under the statutory program as an initial evaluation year for the statutory program and, subject to subsections (2) and (3), prescribe the evaluation cycle for the statutory program.

(2) The evaluation cycle of a statutory program shall not exceed 10 years.

(3) Despite any evaluation cycle, the House of Commons may, by order, on the recommendation of a committee of the House, require a program evaluation of a statutory program to be carried out at a time specified in the order.

4. The President of the Treasury Board shall, by order, after consulting with experts in the private and public sectors, establish standards, to be known as government evaluation stand- ards, for carrying out the evaluation of every statutory program.

5. In prescribing an initial evaluation year and evaluation cycle for a statutory program, the President of the Treasury Board shall, in so far as is practicable, apply the following criteria:

(a) not less than 10% and not more than 20% of all statutory programs shall be subject to evaluation under this Act in any fiscal year;

(b) each department of the Government of Canada shall carry out a similar number of evaluations in every year; and

(c) not more than one of the five statutory programs involving the greatest expenditure shall be evaluated in any one year.

6. (1) A statutory program that has been discontinued before the commencement of an initial evaluation year shall be subject to evaluation under this Act in the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which it was discontinued.

(2) A statutory program that has been discontinued between evaluation years shall be subject to a final evaluation in the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which it was discontinued, if required by the House of Commons under subsection 3(3).

7. (1) The Minister responsible for the administration of a statutory program shall cause a program evaluation report to be carried out covering an evaluation period described in subsections (2) and (3).

(2) The evaluation period shall start

(a) for an initial program evaluation, at the beginning of the statutory program or 10 years before the end of the fiscal year immediately preceding the evaluation year, whichever is later: or

(b) for the second or subsequent program evaluation, immediately after the end of the previous evaluation period.

(3) The evaluation period shall end at the end of the fiscal year immediately preceding the evaluation year.

(4) The Minister shall ensure that the program evaluation is completed within 150 days after the end of the evaluation year and shall lay a report of the program evaluation before the House of Commons on any of the first 30 days on which the House is sitting following its completion.

REVIEW BY AUDITOR GENERAL

8. (1) The Auditor General of Canada may review any program evaluation and submit a report on it to the House of Commons.

(2) In the case of a program evaluation covering a statutory program under which the average annual disbursement in the three fiscal years immediately preceding the evaluation has been more than $250 million, the Auditor General of Canada shall review the program evaluation and submit a report on it to the House of Commons.

(3) A report on a program evaluation made by the Auditor General of Canada under this Act shall be submitted to the House of Commons in the same manner and at the same time that the Auditor General makes a report to the House under the Auditor General Act.

STANDING COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

9. (1) After being laid before the House of Commons, a program evaluation report and any report of the Auditor General of Canada on the program evaluation may be referred to any standing committee of the House that the House may designate for the purpose.

(2) The standing committee shall take the evaluation and report under consideration and may hold public hearings.

10. A report by a standing committee under subsection 9(1) is deemed to be accompanied by a request for a response by the government under the Standing Orders of the House of Commons.