CCOHS: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

ISSN 2561-0813

Minister's Message

As Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, I am pleased to present the 2017-2018 Departmental Results Report for the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).

CCOHS promotes the physical and mental health and total well-being of the working population in Canada by providing information, education, and tools that support the prevention of occupational injury and illness. While Canada’s workplaces are among the safest in the world, we understand that when workers are in good physical and mental health, they are able to be more productive and contribute more fully to our economy and to our society.

CCOHS continues to provide employers and workers with easy access to a wide range of useful resources and services in English and French. CCOHS collaborates with agencies and organizations from across Canada to meet the changing needs of workers and workplaces and to improve the quality and quantity of resources and programs they offer.

Creating psychologically healthy workplaces and addressing harassment and violence in the workplace are important issues for Canadian workplaces. CCOHS partnered with the Government of Canada on a national social media campaign to promote positive action around workplace mental health, and harassment and violence, reaching over 5 million Canadians. The Labour Program and CCOHS continue to assist stakeholders to better understand and respond effectively to the anticipated federal workplace harassment and violence legislation.

I look forward to continuing our work with CCOHS to prevent work-related illness and injury and help create safe, healthy, productive workplaces in Canada, in which all workers can thrive.

The Honourable Patty Hajdu
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

Institutional Head’s Message

I am pleased to present the 2017-2018 Departmental Results Report for the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).

This year we set out to be at the forefront of health and safety, addressing current and emerging concerns and continuing in our efforts to increase our national presence and reach more Canadians than ever before. We worked to increase awareness of relevant issues and to equip workers and workplaces with the injury prevention, information and tools they need for safe work.

CCOHS responded to emerging workplace issues such as the impacts of impairment in the workplace. We produced an updated white paper on cannabis and impairment, as well as podcasts, e-courses and fact sheets on the topic and participated in speaking engagements and media interviews with national and industry publications. We provided practical advice and guidance to help workplaces navigate impairment as a workplace hazard with appropriate policies and programs.

CCOHS led the efforts to make compliance and enforcement legislation and regulations easier for employers and employees to understand and implement in a complex regulatory environment. Health and safety laws are not the same across provinces and territories, which can pose a barrier for both Canadian and international enterprises, and for worker mobility. CCOHS provided recommendations on potential opportunities to harmonize, encourage and build compliance, and help Canadian jurisdictions work together effectively.

Workplace mental health and the prevention of harassment and violence are critical issues in workplaces today. CCOHS set out to help workplaces move from awareness to action by partnering with several jurisdictions on practical mental health workshops which will be offered in more regions across Canada in the upcoming year. CCOHS also partnered with the Government of Canada on a national social marketing campaign to promote positive action around workplace mental health and harassment and violence. More than five million people in Canada were reached by the campaign which resulted in 90,000 visits to CCOHS’ harassment and violence resource page as well increased traffic to the mental health portal that offers advice and information.

We remained engaged in activities in the identified high risk sectors of construction, transportation, mining, and healthcare. CCOHS developed customized web and mobile apps, and web portals that make information and guidance related to occupational health and safety legislation readily available and accessible. We expanded existing services across jurisdictions and made inroads in establishing a presence in the healthcare sector to build new relationships and find new opportunities to positively impact Canadian workplaces.

As the demographics of the workplace, and nature of work change, CCOHS will continue to collaborate and build partnerships to meet the challenges ahead.

Anne Tennier, P.Eng.
President and Chief Executive Officer

Results at a glance

What funds were used?

$10,156,973

Actual Spending

Who was involved?

83

Actual FTEs

Results Highlights

CCOHS’ confidential person-to-person Safety InfoLine responded to 8,041 live inquiries from users across every province and territory.
Online OSH Answers collection of 630 topics had 12.6 million page views.
In partnership with the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers and the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace, CCOHS released two online toolkits to help workplaces assess and address psychological hazards.
CCOHS and the federal government collaborated on a social media advertising campaign to promote positive responses to address workplace mental health and effective responses to workplace harassment and violence, reaching over 5 million Canadians.
Health and safety podcasts reached 84,718 listens this year, a 13% increase over the previous year.
10.7 million website visits resulted in 16.9 million page views.

For more information on the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s plans, priorities and results achieved, see the “Results: what we achieved” section of this report.

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Raison d’être

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1978 with a mandate to promote health and safety in the workplace and to enhance the physical and mental health of working Canadians.

CCOHS operates under the legislative authority of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act S.C., 1977-78, c. 29 which was passed by unanimous vote in the Canadian Parliament. The purpose of this Act is to promote the fundamental right of Canadians to a healthy and safe working environment by creating a national institute (CCOHS) concerned with the study, encouragement and co-operative advancement of occupational health and safety.

CCOHS functions as an independent departmental corporation under Schedule II of the Financial Administration Act and is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour.

Its funding is derived from a combination of appropriations, cost recoveries and collaboration with the provinces. It is expected that a portion of the budget will be funded through cost recoveries from the creation, production, and worldwide sales of fee-for-service and revenue generating occupational health and safety products and services.

Mandate and role

As Canada's national occupational health and safety resource, CCOHS is dedicated to the advancement of workplace health and safety. CCOHS provides information and knowledge transfer services; training and education; cost-effective tools for improving occupational health and safety performance; management systems services supporting health and safety programs; and injury and illness prevention initiatives that promote the total well-being – physical, psychosocial and mental health - of working people.

CCOHS is a recognized leader in providing effective programs, products and services, which are based on CCOHS’ core knowledge, collection of occupational health and safety information, and application of information management technologies.

CCOHS is governed by a tripartite council representing governments (federal, provincial and territorial), employers, and labour organizations. The Council of Governors assists in overseeing a policy framework for a trustworthy and complete occupational health and safety service, and ensures that the information CCOHS disseminates is unbiased. CCOHS’ Council members are directly involved in the policy, governance and strategic planning for the organization. Council also assists with reviews of programs and services to help ensure that information provided by CCOHS is impartial and relevant. Along with federal government support, CCOHS’ inquiries service is supported and partially funded from contributions provided by provincial and territorial governments.

CCOHS has a broad range of collaborative arrangements with many national and international health and safety organizations. These include the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA), the Radiation Safety Institute of Canada, CAREX Canada, World Health Organization (WHO), North American Occupational Safety and Health Week (NAOSH), European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, ISSA, and Health Canada. Further information on the many partnerships is available at www.ccohs.ca/ccohs/partner.html and in CCOHS' annual report.

Collaborative projects serve many purposes at CCOHS. These projects serve as an opportunity to enhance CCOHS’ occupational health and safety information resources and collaborate with partners worldwide to access and share global perspectives. This collaboration among nations serves to promote the sharing of information and knowledge for social and economic programs relating to health and safety, reduce injuries and illness, and improve conditions for workers. They also contribute to Canada's leadership role in the world and bring the wealth of global occupational health and safety information for use by CCOHS to improve the health and safety of working people in Canada.

For more general information about the department, see the “Supplementary information” section of this report.

Operating context and key risks

Operating context

CCOHS is governed by a tripartite council representing governments (federal, provincial and territorial), employers, and labour organizations. The Council of Governors (Council) assists in overseeing a policy framework for a trustworthy and complete occupational health and safety service, and ensures that the information CCOHS disseminates is unbiased. CCOHS’ Council members are directly involved in the policy, governance and strategic planning for the organization. Council also assists with reviews of programs and services to help ensure that CCOHS’ information is impartial and relevant. Along with federal government support, CCOHS’ inquiries service is supported and partially funded from contributions provided by provincial and territorial governments.

Key risks

Over the past year, CCOHS experienced Governor-in-Council vacancies as many of its Governors’ terms had expired. The situation presented a possible risk as it could have an impact on CCOHS’ ability to deliver on its mandate.

Any risk to CCOHS’ governance was mitigated during fiscal 2017-18 as representatives from the Employer, Labour and Provincial/Territorial caucuses were appointed by Privy Council by Order-in-Council on December 14, 2017. The strong complement of tripartite Governors ensures that a broad range of perspectives is represented on Council to:

be ambassadors for CCOHS to understand, endorse and promote CCOHS’ mission, vision and values;
lead the strategic directions and goals;
reflect the diversity of Canada;
ensure fiscal responsibility;
be accountable, through the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, to Parliament for decisions made, resources expended and results achieved;
approve policies and programs aimed at the governance of CCOHS;
support the President;
establish and approve bylaws for the conduct and management of the affairs for CCOHS;
understand the principal risks facing CCOHS and ensure that appropriate systems are in place to mitigate and monitor these risks;
ensure that policies and systems are in place at CCOHS to support a work environment that attracts, develops and retains talented people;
demonstrate leadership in health, safety and overall wellness; and
promote an environment of diversity and inclusion.

CCOHS relies heavily on cost recovery programs and contributions from partners to supplement its parliamentary appropriations and cover fixed costs. The CCOHS funding model is based upon a target of 50% of operating budget being generated through cost recovery. Therefore, CCOHS products and services must be continually updated to be marketable.

CCOHS also works very closely with various Government and non-profit partners. Changes to partners’ funding can have a direct impact on revenues and ability to deliver products and services to Canadians. CCOHS is proactively managing this risk by improving its cost recovery program. CCOHS has also modified its federal funding model to allow for full cash surpluses to be carried forward for future investments.

Continuous improvement in technology continues to change the landscape for CCOHS. CCOHS delivers the majority of its products and services to Canadians through electronic delivery and must stay up to date on new technology as traditional delivery methods for its content are unsustainable and out-dated. CCOHS has responded by expanding its on-line resources to include more specialized web portals, e-learning programs, webinars, podcasts, Facebook and Twitter promotion and on-line discussion groups. CCOHS also continues to develop mobile apps to help workers proactively assess hazards and risks. These new channels are integral to supporting CCOHS’ priority to expand its reach and impact of Canadians on a daily basis. CCOHS is investing in the technology required to support these new communication channels and is challenged to do so with a limited operating budget.

Key risks
Risks	Mitigating strategy and effectiveness	Link to the department’s Programs	Link to mandate letter commitments and any government wide or departmental priorities
Funding Risk – On-going Operating deficit due to the reliance from partners Changes to partners’ funding can have a direct impact on our revenues and our ability to deliver our products and services to Canadians.	CCOHS keeps regular contact with all partners. CCOHS is increasing its focus on cost recoveries in order to continue to provide all of its services to Canadians. This risk was identified in CCOHS’ 2017-18 Departmental Plan.	Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration.	Easy access to CCOHS’ occupational health and safety information and services Application of occupational health and safety information to improve workplace practices Increased awareness and understanding of health and safety issues in the workplace
Technology Risk – Existing Technology changes are impacting the way in which CCOHS must deliver its products. The majority of CCOHS’ products and services are delivered electronically so it is essential that CCOHS stay up-to-date on new technology.	CCOHS has discontinued the sale of CD based products and expanded its internet-based products and information channels. CCOHS continues to develop apps to deliver key services to mobile devices. This risk was identified in CCOHS’ 2017-18 Departmental Plan.	Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration.	Easy access to CCOHS’ occupational health and safety information and services Application of occupational health and safety information to improve workplace practices Increased awareness and understanding of health and safety issues in the workplace
Impartiality Risk - Existing Loss of CCOHS.ca domain from which to deliver services	CCOHS will have an Institutional Profile on the Government of Canada.ca website while maintaining a separate CCOHS website This risk was identified in CCOHS’ 2017-18 Departmental Plan.	Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration.	Easy access to CCOHS’ occupational health and safety information and services Application of occupational health and safety information to improve workplace practices Increased awareness and understanding of health and safety issues in the workplace

Results: what we achieved

Program

Program title

Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration

Description

The goal of this public service program is to provide free information on occupational health and safety to support Canadians in their efforts to work safely and create healthy and safe workplaces. Citizens are provided information through a free and impartial personalized service via telephone, e-mail, person-to-person, fax or mail. Alternatively, they can independently access a broad range of electronic and print resources developed to support safety and health information needs of Canadians. This may include cost recovery products and services and is supported financially by contributions from various stakeholders.

Through health and safety information development, CCOHS collects, processes, evaluates, creates and publishes authoritative information resources on occupational health and safety for the benefit of all working Canadians. This information is used for education and training, research, development of policy and best practices, improvement of health and safety programs, achieving compliance, and for personal use. When the product or service provided by CCOHS is offered to identifiable external recipients with benefits beyond those enjoyed by the general public, the product or service becomes part of the cost-recovery program and a fee is charged.

CCOHS promotes and facilitates consultation and cooperation among federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions and participation by labour, management and other stakeholders in the establishment and maintenance of high standards and occupational health and safety initiatives for the Canadian context. The sharing of resources results in coordinated and mutually beneficial development of unique programs, products and services. Collaborative projects are usually supported with a combination of financial and non-financial contributions to programs by partners and stakeholders and result in advancement of health and safety initiatives.

Results

The 2017-18 Departmental Plan for CCOHS focused on the following goals:

to provide workers and workplaces in Canada with easy, instant access to reliable and relevant health and safety information;
provide leadership on the issue of mental health by providing credible information and resources; and
increase awareness and understanding of health and safety issues in the workplace; and improve workplace practices.

CCOHS delivered on its mandate and goals through leveraging the partnerships and resources at its disposal. The CCOHS website (ccohs-cchst.ca) is the core vehicle used to deliver both subscription and public informational services. This year the website was enriched with new content and resources, including a topic page focused on workplace impairment. Early in the year an algorithm change in the web analytics resulted in an overnight reduction in web statistics. As the year progressed, traffic steadily increased but not enough to recover to pre-existing levels. Overall, the website views were down 7.8% to 10.7 million with more than 16.9 million views of content pages, 22% of which were from the French language version of the website.

In fiscal year 2017-2018 CCOHS was selected to co-host with the Institute for Work and Health the XXII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, to be held in Toronto in the fall of 2020. The selection of Canada as the host for the 2020 World Congress was officially announced at the close of the XXI World Congress in Singapore on September 6, 2017. At the Singapore meeting, representatives from CCOHS and the Institute for Work and Health introduced the theme for the Canadian Congress: Prevention in the Connected Age. Every three years, the World Congress on Safety and Health at Work brings together a global community of government representatives, labour organizations, employer groups, and prevention experts to exchange information and share perspectives on the world-wide effort to create safe and healthy workplaces. Sponsored by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Social Security Association (ISSA), this event is the world’s largest venue for the international occupational health and safety community and is expected to draw more than 3,500 delegates from more than 150 countries to the XXII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in 2020.

As a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre, CCOHS contributes to several major projects to advance workplace health and safety globally. For example, CCOHS, as a Collaborating Centre with the International Program on Chemical Safety (IPCS), produces and delivers the INCHEM database. This database service contains information essential for the sound management of chemicals that affect the environment and human health, and provides rapid access to internationally peer reviewed information on chemicals commonly used throughout the world, which may also occur as contaminants in the environment and food. INCHEM consolidates information from a number of intergovernmental organizations whose goal it is to assist in the sound management of chemicals. The relationships forged as a Collaborating Centre also provide global perspectives and resources that influence the work of CCOHS.

The annual readership surveys for the two CCOHS newsletters (Liaison and the Health and Safety Report) that help keep readers informed with current, relevant guidance and updates continue to earn high overall satisfaction ratings at greater than 88.6% and 99%, respectively. Many subscribers have indicated that the newsletters provide value to their organization, and that they use the information to make current or planned changes to improve occupational health and safety in their workplace.

“A valuable tool to keep me aware of current and future legislative changes. Provides helpful information to assist in maintaining safety policies and insight into changes coming in the near future. Your publication is very informative and has shed light on health and safety issues that we had not thought were applicable to our organization. I distribute the email publication to all local staff and also share with the construction company that my husband works for. In fact, I believe that they have since signed up to receive the e-mails directly. Thank you for a quality and informative publication.”

Employees and employers across Canada have questions that they need answered. With financial support from the federal government, provinces and territories, CCOHS provides a two-pronged service to meet this need for credible information and assistance: self-serve online fact sheets and the person-to-person Safety InfoLine. The online OSH Answers collection of 630 topics had 12.6 million page views. The confidential person-to-person Safety InfoLine provides easy access to answers to health and safety questions (in English and French). The service responded to 8,041 live inquiries from users from every province and territory in Canada. 85% of Safety InfoLine users surveyed were very satisfied with the information they received, and 65% said that their use of information obtained will lead to current or future changes to the workplace designed to improve health and safety.

“I found the service very informative and helpful. In the past week I have referred 5 different employees to the CCOHS website. It was very thorough and I have shared the response with another federal department. This central service is extremely useful. The legislation applicable to our workplace was quoted which was extremely useful. This is truly a centre of expertise.”

“My question was answered very fast and had lots of information given. That information was then forwarded to my health and safety committee to assess what they need to bring forward to the company to make sure that the necessary changes and modifications need to be done.”

In the nine years since CCOHS launched the podcast program, Health and Safety to Go!, it has increased in popularity, providing Canadians an alternative way to access health and safety information. The podcasts, produced monthly in English and French, offer listeners brief segments with health and safety advice and interviews with subject experts. The podcast program garnered a total of 84,718 listens, a 13% increase over the previous year.

CCOHS responded to workplace demands for practical and accessible tools to address psychological hazards that can affect worker health and safety with various projects. In partnership with the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, and the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace, CCOHS released two online toolkits to help workplaces assess and address psychological hazards. Available at no cost, Guarding Minds at Work and StressAssess are offered as different options for workplaces to survey their employees and take practical steps to promote psychological well-being. CCOHS also developed, and partnered with several jurisdictions, on practical workshops for mental health workplace champions and leaders to move from awareness to action. CCOHS held workshops of small groups ranging from 25-30 change-makers several times in the past year. These workshops consist of a framework and resources needed to implement a comprehensive program that includes mental health as part of a healthy workplace. On average, 87% of workshop survey respondents indicated that they could apply the information learned to make practical changes in the workplaces.

Mental health as well as harassment and violence continue to be two major areas of focus for workplaces across Canada. CCOHS and the federal government collaborated on a social media advertising campaign to promote positive responses to address workplace mental health and effective responses to workplace harassment and violence. As a result, over five million Canadians were reached and exposed to the social media messages, nearly 200,000 engaged with CCOHS’ campaign messages and more than 90,000 visited the CCOHS harassment and violence topic page.

Exhibiting and presenting at conferences and events in every province and territory is an important initiative that establishes credibility, reaches new audiences, and gathers input about specific concerns that may inform the work of CCOHS. Reflecting its tripartite governance structure, CCOHS attended labour, government, and employer events, with specific focus on high-risk industry-specific conferences in the mining, construction, and transportation sectors, as well as conferences specifically for Indigenous people. As a result, CCOHS presented at, and participated in, a record 57 conferences and events, reaching more than 34,000 people.

Results achieved
Expected results	Performance indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2017–18 Actual results	2016–17 Actual results	2015–16 Actual results
Easy access to CCOHS’ occupational health and safety information and services.	Satisfaction with and ease of access and retrieval of occupational health and safety information from the Inquiries Service, web access and other CCOHS resources, such as our website, web portals, and presentations.	Overall 80% or higher on client satisfaction survey, web statistics and evaluation data.	March 31, 2018	85% satisfaction rate for Inquiries service. 8% decrease in web page views* 99% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Health and Safety Report newsletter readers. 88.6% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Liaison newsletter readers. 3% decrease in Canadian web sessions*	89% satisfaction rate for Inquiries service. 41% increase in web page views 99.3% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Health and Safety Report newsletter readers. 91% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Liaison newsletter readers. 10% increase in Canadian web sessions.	87% satisfaction rate for Inquiries service. 31% increase in web page view. 99.4% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Health and Safety Report newsletter readers. 90% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Liaison newsletter readers. 42% increase in Canadian web sessions.
Application of occupational health and safety information to improve workplace practices	Information is being applied in the workplace by employees, government and employers	Target of 72% using CCOHS information to make changes in the workplace	March 31, 2018	76% of Health and Safety Report readers use the information in the Report to make current or planned changes in their workplace that might improve occupational health and safety. 72.7% of Liaison readers use information from the newsletter to affect change in their workplace.	71% of Health and Safety Report readers use the information in the Report to make current or planned changes in their workplace that might improve occupational health and safety. 77% of Liaison readers use information from the newsletter to affect change in their workplace.	70.7% of Health and Safety Report readers use the information in the Report to make current or planned changes in their workplace that might improve occupational health and safety. 72% of Liaison readers use information from the newsletter to affect change in their workplace.
Increased awareness and understanding of health and safety issues in the workplace	Increase distribution of OHS information to employees and employers to improve their understanding of OHS.	Increase distributions and usage of awareness information by 10%.	March 31, 2018	21% increase in poster and infographic downloads. 18.6%** decrease in repurposed content of Health and Safety Report newsletter.	7% increase in poster downloads. 91% increase in repurposed content of Health and Safety Report newsletter.	21% increase in poster and infographic downloads 12.5% increase in repurposed content.

* An algorithm change in Google analytics resulted in a reduction in web statistics in 2017-18.

**The 2016-17 increase of 91% was an anomaly spike due to improved reporting. However, even in consideration of the 2016-17 spike, 2017-18 results still exceeded their target when compared to the 2015-16 baseline.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)
2017–18 Main Estimates	2017–18 Planned Spending	2017–18 Total authorities available for use	2017–18 Actual spending (authorities used)	2017-18 Difference (Actual spending minus Planned spending)
$6,036,633	$6,036,633	$9,498,021	$6,849,062	$812,428

CCOHS’ actual spending for program exceeded planned spending by $812,428, primarily as a result of increased spending on unplanned payroll benefit costs and professional fees required to support additional cost recovery revenue projects completed in the year. CCOHS also incurred unplanned expenditures in the fiscal year in CCOHS’ role as host partner for the 2020 World Congress on Safety and Health at Work.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)
2017–18 Planned full-time equivalents	2017–18 Actual full-time equivalents	2017-18 Difference (Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents)
68	65	(3)

Information on the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s lower-level programs is available in the GC InfoBase.

Internal Services

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel Services; and Acquisition Services.

Results

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)
2017–18 Main Estimates	2017–18 Planned Spending	2017–18 Total authorities available for use	2017–18 Actual spending (authorities used)	2017–18 Difference (Actual spending minus Planned spending)
$2,840,768	$2,840,768	$3,332,924	$3,307,911	$467,144

CCOHS’ actual spending for internal services exceeded planned spending by $467,144, primarily as a result of an unplanned increase in payroll benefit costs charged CCOHS and for unplanned temporary professional services in support of unplanned staff vacancies within 2017-18, which were not fully offset by payroll savings. CCOHS also incurred higher than planned computer maintenance fees and software licence fees which were funded by CCOHS’ respendable / reinvestment authorities as per section 6 (1) (g) of the CCOHS Act.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)
2017–18 Planned full-time equivalents	2017–18 Actual full-time equivalents	2017-18 Difference (Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents)
21	18	(3)

Analysis of trends in spending and human resources

Actual expenditures

Departmental spending trend graph

Text version of Spending Trend Graph

The departmental spending trend graph depicts a decrease in Statutory EBP spending, as effective in 2018-19 these costs are expected to be funded from cost recovery revenues.

Budgetary performance summary for Programs and Internal Services (dollars)
Programs and Internal Services	2017–18 Main Estimates	2017–18 Planned spending	2018–19 Planned spending	2019–20 Planned spending	2017–18 Total authorities available for use	2017–18 Actual spending (authorities used)	2016–17 Actual spending (authorities used)	2015–16 Actual spending (authorities used)
Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration	$6,036,633	$6,036,633	$6,506,024	$6,506,024	$9,498,021	$6,849,062	$7,118,136	$6,728,530
Internal Services	$2,840,768	$2,840,768	$2,530,121	$2,530,121	$3,332,924	$3,307,911	$2,812,261	$3,189,587
Total	$8,877,401	$8,877,401	$9,036,145	$9,036,145	$12,830,945	$10,156,973	$9,930,397	$9,918,117

As illustrated in the departmental spending trend graph and the related table, planned spending for the future periods is expected to remain relatively flat. Actual spending authorities used in fiscal year 2017-18 were higher than planned primarily resulting from the unplanned increase in salary related benefit costs that were incurred by CCOHS.

Actual human resources

Human resources summary for Programs and Internal Services (full-time equivalents)
Programs and Internal Services	2015–16 Actual full-time equivalents	2016–17 Actual full-time equivalents	2017–18 Planned full-time equivalents	2017–18 Actual full-time equivalents	2018–19 Planned full-time equivalents	2019–20 Planned full-time equivalents
Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration	65	65	68	65	65	68
Internal Services	20	18	21	18	20	22
Total	85	83	89	83	85	90

CCOHS is planning to increase the services and products that it offers for public service and for cost recovery services. As a result, CCOHS expects that staffing levels will increase, as illustrated, in future years with the cost being offset by the increase in cost recovery revenues.

Expenditures by vote

For information on the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2017–2018.

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s spending with the Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available in the GC InfoBase.

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s financial statements (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2018, are available on the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's website.

Financial statements highlights

Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2018 (dollars)
Financial information	2017–18 Planned results	2017–18 Actual results	2016–17 Actual results	Difference (2017–18 Actual results minus 2017–18 Planned results)	Difference (2017–18 Actual results minus 2016–17 Actual results)
Total expenses	$9,800,000	$11,472,743	$11,167,506	$1,672,743	$305,237
Total revenues	$4,400,000	$5,337,068	$5,287,768	$937,068	$49,300
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	$5,400,000	$6,135,675	$5,879,738	$735,675	$255,937

CCOHS was successful in exceeding the total cost recovery revenue target during 2017-18, which made this fiscal year the second highest year for cost recovery revenues behind 2015-16. The continued strength in demand forWorkplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) online training products was the principal driver for the increase in revenues versus the planned results.

Actual expenditures in the year were above planned spending by 3%, resulting primarily from an increase in professional services supporting project income cost recovery revenue. CCOHS also incurred additional expenditures which were not planned in advance of the fiscal year for CCOHS’ role as host partner for the 2020 World Congress on Safety and Health at Work. Fiscal 2017-18 expenditures that were in excess of plan were funded by CCOHS’ respendable / reinvestment authorities as per section 6 (1) (g) of the CCOHS Act.

The graphs below show the CCOHS revenues by revenue category and the cost of operations.

CCOHS Revenues by revenue category and cost of operations graph

Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) as of March 31, 2018 (dollars)
Financial Information	2017–18	2016–17 (restated)	Difference (2017–18 minus 2016–17)
Total net liabilities	$4,107,053	$3,802,815	$304,238
Total net financial assets	$2,003,521	$1,890,969	$112,552
Departmental net debt	$2,103,532	$1,911,846	$191,686
Total non-financial assets	$483,309	$525,044	($ 41,735)
Departmental net financial position	($1,620,223)	($1,386,802)	($233,421)

CCOHS’ increase in net liabilities is mainly due to an increase in deferred revenues for web based subscriptions. Revenues will not be realized until future fiscal periods. In addition, there was a slight increase in accrued payroll liabilities at year end.

The increase in CCOHS’ net financial assets is primarily a result of an increase in accrued salaries and benefit costs from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). Amounts due from the CRF are the result of timing differences at year end and between when a transaction affects authorities and when it is processed through the CRF. Amounts due from the CRF represent the net amount of cash that CCOHS is entitled to draw from the CRF without further authorities to discharge its liabilities.

The decrease in CCOHS’ non-financial position is primarily a result of a decrease in the value of tangible capital assets, resulting from the value of the amortization expense exceeding the in-year purchases of capital assets.

Supplementary Information

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: The Honourable Patricia A. Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
Institutional head: Anne Tennier, P.Eng., President and Chief Executive Officer
Ministerial portfolio: Employment and Social Development Canada, Labour Program
Enabling instrument: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act
Year of incorporation / commencement: 1978

Reporting framework

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s Strategic Outcome and Program Alignment Architecture of record for 2017–18 are shown below.

Strategic Outcome: Improved workplace conditions and practices that enhance the health, safety and well-being of working Canadians.
1.1 Program: Occupational health and safety information development, delivery services and tripartite collaboration.
Internal Services

Supporting information on lower-level programs

Supporting information on lower level programs is available on the GC InfoBase .

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s website.

Fees
Response to parliamentary committees and external audits
- There were no parliamentary committee reports requiring a response in 2017-18.
- There were no audits in 2017-18 requiring a response.

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs. The tax measures presented in this report are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Organizational contact information

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

135 Hunter Street East
Hamilton ON L8N 1M5
Telephone: 905-572-2981
1-800-668-4284 Canada and US
Fax: 905-572-2206
www.ccohs.ca

Anne Tennier, P.Eng.

President and Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: 905-572-2981, extension 4532
Email: anne.tennier@ccohs.ca

Kimberly Pirhonen, CPA, CMA

Acting Vice-President Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Telephone: 905-572-2981, extension 4402
Email: kimberly.pirhonen@ccohs.ca

Appendix: Definitions

appropriation (crédit): Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires): Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.
Departmental Plan (plan ministériel): A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a three year period. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.
Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels): A report on an appropriated department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.
evaluation (évaluation): In the Government of Canada, the systematic and neutral collection and analysis of evidence to judge merit, worth or value. Evaluation informs decision making, improvements, innovation and accountability. Evaluations typically focus on programs, policies and priorities and examine questions related to relevance, effectiveness and efficiency. Depending on user needs, however, evaluations can also examine other units, themes and issues, including alternatives to existing interventions. Evaluations generally employ social science research methods.
experimentation (expérimentation): Activities that seek to explore, test and compare the effects and impacts of policies, interventions and approaches, to inform evidence-based decision-making, by learning what works and what does not.
full time equivalent (équivalent temps plein): A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. Full time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.
gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) ( analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+]): An analytical approach used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people may experience policies, programs and initiatives. The “plus” in GBA+ acknowledges that the gender-based analysis goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences. We all have multiple identity factors that intersect to make us who we are; GBA+ considers many other identity factors, such as race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability. Examples of GBA+ processes include using data disaggregated by sex, gender and other intersecting identity factors in performance analysis, and identifying any impacts of the program on diverse groups of people, with a view to adjusting these initiatives to make them more inclusive.
government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales): For the purpose of the 2017–18 Departmental Results Report, those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2015 Speech from the Throne, namely: Growth for the Middle Class; Open and Transparent Government; A Clean Environment and a Strong Economy; Diversity is Canada’s Strength; and Security and Opportunity.
horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale): An initiative where two or more departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.
Management, Resources and Results Structure (structure de gestion, des ressources et des résultats): A comprehensive framework that consists of an organization’s inventory of programs, resources, results, performance indicators and governance information. Programs and results are depicted in their hierarchical relationship to each other and to the Strategic Outcome(s) to which they contribute. The Management, Resources and Results Structure is developed from the Program Alignment Architecture.
non budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires): Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.
performance (rendement): What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.
performance indicator (indicateur de rendement): A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.
performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement): The process of communicating evidence based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.
plan (plan): The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.
planned spending (dépenses prévues): For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts that receive Treasury Board approval by February 1. Therefore, planned spending may include amounts incremental to planned expenditures presented in the Main Estimates.; A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.
priority (priorité): A plan or project that an organization has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired Strategic Outcome(s) or Departmental Results.
program (programme): A group of related resource inputs and activities that are managed to meet specific needs and to achieve intended results and that are treated as a budgetary unit.
Program Alignment Architecture (architecture d’alignement des programmes): A structured inventory of an organization’s programs depicting the hierarchical relationship between programs and the Strategic Outcome(s) to which they contribute.
result (résultat): An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.
statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives): Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.
Strategic Outcome (résultat stratégique): A long term and enduring benefit to Canadians that is linked to the organization’s mandate, vision and core functions.
sunset program (programme temporisé): A time limited program that does not have an ongoing funding and policy authority. When the program is set to expire, a decision must be made whether to continue the program. In the case of a renewal, the decision specifies the scope, funding level and duration.
target (cible): A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.
voted expenditures (dépenses votées): Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The Vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.