2015-16 Departmental Performance Report

Table of Contents

Minister's Message

Chief Executive Officer's Message

Results Highlights

Section I: Organizational Overview

• Organizational Profile
• Organizational Context
• Organizational Priorities

Section II: Expenditure Overview

• Actual Expenditures
• Budgetary Performance Summary
• Departmental Spending Trend
• Expenditures by Vote
• Alignment of Spending With the Whole-of-Government Framework
• Financial Statements and Financial Statements Highlights

Section III: Analysis of Programs and Internal Services

• Programs
  • Program 1.1: Heritage Places Establishment
  • Program 1.2: Heritage Places Conservation
  • Program 1.3: Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support
  • Program 1.4: Visitor Experience
  • Program 1.5: Heritage Canals, Highways and Townsites Management
• Internal Services

Section IV: Supplementary Information

• Supporting Information on Lower-Level Programs
• Supplementary Information Tables
• Federal Tax Expenditures
• Organizational Contact Information

Appendix: Definitions

Endnotes

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Results Highlights

* Figures refer to the total 2015-16 funds used (actual spending) and the actual FTEs and not strictly the selected achievements highlighted above.

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Section I: Organizational Overview

Organizational Profile

Appropriate Minister: The Honourable Catherine McKenna, P.C., M.P.

Institutional Head: Daniel Watson, Chief Executive Officer

Ministerial Portfolio: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Enabling Instruments:

• Parks Canada Agency Act ⁱ
• Canada National Parks Act ⁱⁱ
• Rouge National Urban Park Act ⁱⁱⁱ
• Historic Sites and Monuments Act ^iv
• Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act ^v
• Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park Act ^vi
• Historic Canal Regulations pursuant to the Department of Transport Act^vii
• Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act ^viii
• Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act ^ix
• Species at Risk Act ^x
• Canadian Environmental Assessment Act ^xi

Year of Incorporation/Commencement: 1998

Organizational Context

Raison d'être

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change is responsible for the Parks Canada Agency. Parks Canada protects and presents nationally significant examples of Canada's natural and cultural heritage, and fosters public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure the ecological and commemorative integrity^xii of these places for present and future generations. Canada's national urban park, national parks, national historic sites, heritage canals and national marine conservation areas, of which Parks Canada is the proud steward, offer Canadians opportunities to visit, experience and personally connect with these heritage places. In carrying out its responsibilities, Parks Canada works in collaboration with a number of partners, including over 300 Indigenous communities, stakeholders and neighbouring communities.

Mandate

On behalf of the people of Canada, we protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada's natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure the ecological and commemorative integrity of these places for present and future generations.

Vision

Canada's treasured natural and historic places will be a living legacy, connecting hearts and minds to a stronger, deeper understanding of the very essence of Canada.

Responsibilities

As the first national park service in the world, Parks Canada is responsible for including representative examples of Canada's natural regions in a system of national parks.^xiii The system, which is 77 percent complete, represents the diversity of natural regions and landscapes in Canada. Forty-six national parks represent 30 of Canada's 39 terrestrial natural regions and protect 328,198 square kilometres of Canada's lands. In managing national parks, Parks Canada is mandated to maintain or restore ecological integrity, and to provide Canadians with opportunities to discover and enjoy them.

The Rouge National Urban Park^xiv—the first of its kind in Canada—provides a unique opportunity to connect urban Canadians to their natural and cultural heritage and protects the park's natural ecosystems and cultural landscapes, as well as maintaining its native wildlife and the health of those ecosystems.

The system of national historic sites^xv includes 979 national historic sites, of which 171 are administered by Parks Canada, 690 persons of national historic significance, and 475 events of national historic significance. The system is developed in collaboration with Canadians to define important aspects of Canada's history and contributes to the recognition and celebration of significant anniversaries. The long-term objective is a system that represents the breadth and diversity of Canadian history. Parks Canada brings to life the key moments of Canada's history at the national historic sites it administers through special programming that offers unique opportunities for visitors to personally connect with and experience these places.

The system of national marine conservation areas,^xvi which is 17 percent complete, represents five of Canada's 29 marine regions and protects approximately 15,740 square kilometres of Canada's marine and freshwater ecosystems. The country's four national marine conservation areas represent marine regions in two oceans and the Great Lakes. The Agency works to foster the ecologically sustainable use of marine resources while protecting its key features for the benefit and enjoyment of Canadians, visitors and coastal communities.

Parks Canada's nine heritage canals^xvii support commercial and recreational boating, and the Agency's role includes water management as well as the management of bridge and dam infrastructure for the benefit of Canadians.

In 2015-16, Parks Canada welcomed more than 23 million people to the heritage places it administers.

Additional national programs focus on other heritage designations, including heritage railway stations, heritage lighthouses, federal heritage buildings and Canadian heritage rivers.

Parks Canada demonstrates leadership in heritage conservation both nationally and internationally. In Canada, the Agency administers the National Historic Sites Cost-Sharing Program,^xviii a contribution program for non-federally-owned national historic sites of Canada. Internationally, the Agency represents Canada as a State Party of the World Heritage Convention and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and through participation in other international organizations, conventions and agreements.

More information on Parks Canada's mandate and responsibilities is available on its website.^xix

Strategic Outcome and Program Alignment Architecture

Strategic Outcome: Canadians have a strong sense of connection to their national parks, national historic sites, heritage canals and national marine conservation areas and these protected places are experienced in ways that leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of present and future generations.

• 1.1 Program: Heritage Places Establishment
  • 1.1.1 Sub-Program: National Park Establishment
  • 1.1.2 Sub-Program: National Marine Conservation Area Establishment
  • 1.1.3 Sub-Program: National Historic Site Designation
  • 1.1.4 Sub-Program: Other Heritage Places Designation
  
  
• 1.2 Program: Heritage Places Conservation
  • 1.2.1 Sub-Program: National Park Conservation
  • 1.2.2 Sub-Program: National Urban Park Conservation
  • 1.2.3 Sub-Program: National Marine Area Conservation
  • 1.2.4 Sub-Program: National Historic Site Conservation
  • 1.2.5 Sub-Program: Other Heritage Places Conservation
  
  
• 1.3 Program: Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support
  • 1.3.1 Sub-Program: Heritage Places Promotion
  • 1.3.2 Sub-Program: Partnering and Participation
  
  
• 1.4 Program: Visitor Experience
  • 1.4.1 Sub-Program: National Park Visitor Experience
  • 1.4.2 Sub-Program: National Urban Park Visitor Experience
  • 1.4.3 Sub-Program: National Marine Conservation Area Visitor Experience
  • 1.4.4 Sub-Program: National Historic Site Visitor Experience
  • 1.4.5 Sub-Program: Heritage Canal Visitor Experience
  
  
• 1.5 Program: Heritage Canals, Highways and Townsites Management
  • 1.5.1 Sub-Program: Townsite Management
  • 1.5.2 Sub-Program: Highway Management
  • 1.5.3 Sub-Program: Heritage Canal Management
  
  
• Internal Services

Operating Environment and Risk Analysis

Asset Condition

As one of the largest federal custodians of assets, Parks Canada manages assets that support 46 national parks, 171 national historic sites including nine heritage canals, one national urban park, four national marine conservation areas, and five townsites. The Agency's $16.1 billion (2012 dollars) asset portfolio includes heritage assets mainly found in national historic sites, contemporary visitor experience assets such as campgrounds, visitor facilities, trails and pedestrian bridges, highway assets (over 1,000 kilometres passing through 18 national parks and one national historic site), and waterway assets spanning 625 kilometres within nine heritage canals in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

A review of assets, performed by Parks Canada in 2012 and validated by an independent third-party, highlighted that over half of the Agency's assets were in poor or very poor condition. The infusion of nearly $3 billion of federal funding over five years is enabling the Agency to address the backlog of deferred work and improve the overall condition of its built asset portfolio while contributing to its ongoing sustainability. Parks Canada's Investment Plan outlines how these funds will be invested over a five-year period. The Agency implemented the first year of the plan in 2015-16, with the result that 12 percent* of Parks Canada's assets rated as being in poor or very poor condition in 2011-12 have been restored to fair or good condition.

As Parks Canada makes progress on the implementation of its Investment Plan, it is putting in place strategies to ensure that it has the capacity, governance and processes for the effective and prudent delivery of its work plan. The Agency's investment approval process, combined with organization-wide systems and tools for monitoring and oversight, and enhanced capital project delivery services and expertise, ensure that it is positioned to identify and prioritize investments that are aligned with corporate priorities and make re-allocation decisions using a risk-based approach. Parks Canada reorganized and strengthened its project management office aimed at enhancing national project management practices, processes and controls, and continued to improve to the functionality of the new asset information system.

Work is currently underway to develop a long-term sustainability plan based on updated asset portfolio information and valuations. This plan will explore funding required to support life-cycle management of the entire built asset portfolio.

* Twelve percent by asset count: in 2012, 2,464 assets were rated in poor or very poor condition--of these 296 assets were rated in good or fair condition as of March 31, 2016.

Competitive Position

Parks Canada's protected heritage places are significant economic drivers, with a contribution of over $3.3 billion annually to the Canadian economy, and to hundreds of communities across Canada, many in remote and rural areas. Parks Canada's visitors are today's contributors to local and regional tourism and tomorrow's stewards of Canada's heritage treasures.

Canadian travel habits are changing. At one time, most Canadian families took road trips to national destinations, now many more travel internationally. In fact, Canadians vacation outside of their country at more than twice the rate per capita of their American neighbours. Changing demographics contribute to changing leisure and tourism patterns, which in turn impact visitation to Parks Canada heritage places. We are becoming an urban nation with more than 80 percent of Canadians now living in urban areas. We are growing older and, for the first time in our history, Canadian seniors outnumber Canadians under the age of 15 years. We have always been a country of immigrants and we now have the second largest immigrant population per capita in the world, with many new Canadians choosing to live in urban centres. Offering visitor experiences that resonate with multiple audiences is critical to maintaining a connection between Canadians and their national heritage places. Canada's national parks, national marine conservation areas, and national historic sites offer Canadians rare touchstones to our shared geography, history, and culture.

To mitigate its competitive position risk, Parks Canada continued to make important investments in tourism media and promotions, cross promotion, trip planning tools, product enhancements and visitor-related assets. In 2015-16, the Agency furthered its investment in demand-driven opportunities for visitors, notably through the addition of new accommodation offers attractive to families and urban audiences. The Agency explored options and developed trials for new recreational activities, such as fat bike and stand-up paddling. As well, Parks Canada leveraged promotion opportunities linked to special moments in the country's history, such as "The Dream of Canada", an exhibit launched in the wake of Canada's 150th anniversary, and Hometown Heroes^xx, a program commemorating milestone anniversaries of the First and Second World Wars. The national promotional campaign entitled "Time to Connect" was launched in cinemas across Canada, on social media channels, and through direct mail in advance of the 2015 season.

As a result, Parks Canada welcomed more than 23 million people in 2015-16—an increase of seven percent over the same period last year. This increase indicates that the collective actions being undertaken by the Agency to address this risk are achieving the desired results. Visitors not only enjoyed memorable experiences, they learned about the importance of protected natural and cultural heritage places and their experience increased their pride in their country and made them champions for conservation.

Natural Disasters

The most significant events affecting Parks Canada operations and Canadians in communities within and surrounding parks and sites include wildfires, floods, avalanches, landslides, hurricanes, storm surges, blizzards and hail. These types of events may impose unforeseen expenses, and require the Agency to reallocate internal resources in order to respond and to ensure the ongoing safety of visitors and personnel.

Parks Canada's efforts to manage this risk continued to focus on actions aimed at ensuring the ongoing safety of visitors and staff as well as the sustainability of operations. By integrating the pillars of Emergency Management (prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery) into its processes, protocols and strategies, and through its work with other levels of government, stakeholders and partners, Parks Canada continued to undertake proactive measures to eliminate or reduce risks of potential impacts before disasters occur.

The Agency continues to implement measures to safeguard its built assets against the impacts of natural disasters. For example, under the Federal Infrastructure Initiative, Parks Canada is making investments to rehabilitate avalanche mitigation structures such as snow sheds and avalanche defence systems along the Trans-Canada Highway in Glacier National Park. The Agency is stabilizing rock slopes adjacent to highways in the mountain parks to protect critical highway assets and further improve roadway safety.

External Development Pressures

Parks Canada's efforts to establish new heritage places and fulfill its responsibilities related to the ecological integrity of national parks, the ecologically sustainable use of national marine conservation areas and the commemorative integrity of national historic sites are influenced by external pressures such as increased urban and rural development, land conversion, resource extraction, and transportation and utility corridors in proximity to existing or proposed heritage places. The impacts of these pressures include the potential loss of key features that contribute to the representativeness of Canada's natural regions in future protected areas, loss of representative examples of our heritage, loss or impairment of the ecological and cultural values of heritage places, and a diminished sense of connection to place.

With the most significant pressures originating from outside Parks Canada lands, collaboration with other government departments, provinces and territories, Indigenous groups, industry, local communities, landowners and other stakeholders in the establishment, designation and conservation of heritage places is essential to help ensure that the Agency continues to fulfill its mandate. As evidenced by its recent work in establishing Rouge National Urban Park, species at risk recovery, and other initiatives, Parks Canada continues to demonstrate its commitment to undertake a constructive approach through meaningful engagement and collaboration in order to address this risk.

Key Risks

Risk	Risk Response Strategy	Link to the Organization's Programs
Asset Condition Assets are continuing to deteriorate, with the result that over half of the Agency's built assets are in poor to very poor condition.	In 2015-16, Parks Canada completed strategic assessments to support investment decisions that address priority assets with the greatest risk. In addition, the Agency implemented the first year of its five-year Investment Plan that will address the backlog of deferred work and improve the condition of built heritage, visitor experience and townsite assets as well as highway and canal infrastructure, across Parks Canada's protected places.	1.2 Heritage Places Conservation 1.4 Visitor Experience 1.5 Heritage Canals, Highways and Townsites Management Internal Services
Competitive Position Parks Canada's programs, services and experiences may be less attractive or less of interest to Canadians compared to alternative leisure activities.	Parks Canada targets investments in demand-driven opportunities for visitors, and to leverage event and promotion opportunities linked to anniversaries and celebrations to increase Canadians' awareness and appreciation of their history and heritage, and drive visitation. With the goal of reaching the Agency's key target markets, new products were developed and launched in 2015-16. Parks Canada created a sales function to integrate and enhance selling systems and services to improve accessibility to visitor experiences for Canadian and international individuals and groups. As a result of these and other nation-wide efforts, Parks Canada welcomed more than 23 million visitors by September 2015, which represents an increase of seven percent over the same period last year.	1.3 Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support 1.4 Visitor Experience Internal Services
Natural Disasters Natural disasters may lead to the loss or impairment of natural and cultural resources, visitor experience opportunities and contemporary assets, resulting in increased operational costs and compromising the Agency's ability to deliver on its mandate.	Parks Canada continued to update and exercise emergency and business continuity plans and provide emergency response staff with ongoing training and awareness to ensure a state of readiness in the event of a natural disaster. The Agency implemented measures to safeguard its built assets against the impacts of natural disasters, such as the application of more resilient designs and materials.	1.2 Heritage Places Conservation 1.4 Visitor Experience 1.5 Heritage Canals, Highways and Townsites Management
External Development Pressures External development pressures may limit opportunities for the establishment of new national parks and national marine conservation areas; and may affect the conservation objectives of national parks, national marine conservation areas, national historic sites, and the heritage value of cultural resources in heritage places.	During 2015-16, Parks Canada, together with other federal departments, participated in the environmental assessment review of nine major resource development projects with the potential to affect existing or proposed Parks Canada lands. In addition, through the Conservation and Restoration Program, the Agency carried out initiatives designed to enhance resilience to future climates, to establish self-sustaining systems and to protect priority species. Parks Canada is developing a system-wide approach for the management of invasive alien species, and has drafted a directive on the prevention and management of invasive alien species in national parks. To promote adherence to high-quality impact assessment standards while streamlining project assessment, Parks Canada developed in 2015-16 extensive guidance for internal use to mitigate environmental impacts, and trained over 700 practitioners to implement its new national directive on impact assessment.	1.1 Heritage Places Establishment 1.2 Heritage Places Conservation 1.3 Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support 1.4 Visitor Experience

Organizational Priorities

Priority: Strategic Asset Portfolio Management

Description

In support of the Government of Canada's priority to develop Parks Canada's programs and services, the Agency is investing nearly $3 billion over five years to improve the condition of its built assets. This investment will help halt the loss of irreplaceable heritage assets of national significance, renew visitor facilities, improve canal and townsite infrastructure and ensure highways that pass through heritage places remain safe and accessible for travellers. With these improvements, Parks Canada can continue to welcome Canadians and visitors to its heritage places so they can learn more about their natural and cultural heritage.

Priority Type¹: Ongoing

Key Supporting Initiatives

Planned Initiatives	Start Date	End Date	Status	Link to the Organization's Programs
Address the backlog of deferred work and improve the overall condition of heritage, visitor experience, townsite, waterway and highway assets.	2015	2020	On track	1.2 Heritage Places Conservation 1.4 Visitor Experience 1.5 Heritage Canals, Highways and Townsites Management Internal Services
Strengthen national project management processes, systems and controls for effective and prudent project delivery.	Ongoing	Ongoing	On track	Internal Services
Progress Toward the Priority
In 2015-16, capital expenditures of $455.6 million were spent on over 600 infrastructure projects and resulted in the improvement of the condition of 296 Parks Canada assets. These investments contribute to the Government of Canada's priority to develop Parks Canada's programs and services. Investments such as the rehabilitation of the walls of the Fortifications of Québec National Historic Site, improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway in Glacier National Park and visitor facilities in Prince Edward Island National Park will ensure Parks Canada can continue to welcome Canadians and visitors in these special places. In 2015-16, Parks Canada finalized its five year Investment Plan, which outlines its program of work to address its deferred infrastructure projects across its heritage places. To support these investments, the Agency is putting in place strategies to ensure it has the capacity, governance, and processes to ensure that public funds are spent wisely, support mandate delivery and achieve results for Canadians. The Agency also continued to implement an improved national asset management information system to enhance the quality of asset information and reporting capabilities, and apply consistent asset management practices across the Agency.

¹ Type is defined as follows: previously committed to-committed to in the first or second fiscal year prior to the subject year of the report; ongoing-committed to at least three fiscal years prior to the subject year of the report; and new-newly committed to in the reporting year of the Report on Plans and Priorities or the Departmental Performance Report.

Priority: Connecting Canadians and Visitors to Heritage Places

Description

The priorities "Increase Visitation and Revenue" and "Heritage Places Promotion" were combined and adjusted to better reflect the Government of Canada's priority to have more Canadians experience and learn about the environment and their heritage places. Parks Canada Agency is committed to developing innovative programs and services, as well as expanding outreach, engagement and promotional activities to raise public awareness and promote Parks Canada places as key tourism destinations. In turn, increased visitation and associated economic benefits will allow Parks Canada to contribute to the Government of Canada's priority to stimulate economic development in hundreds of communities across Canada.

Priority Type: Ongoing

Key Supporting Initiatives

Planned Initiatives	Start Date	End Date	Status	Link to the Organization's Program(s)
Expand Parks Canada's reach in urban centres by targeting key groups at outreach events.	Ongoing	Ongoing	On track	1.3 Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support
Expand products that focus on the needs of four target groups in urban centres.	2015	Ongoing	On track	1.3 Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support 1.4 Visitor Experience
Expand national programs including diversified accommodation, Xplorersxxi for children and Learn to Campxxii events for urban and new Canadians.	Ongoing	Ongoing	On track	1.4 Visitor Experience
Roll out a promotion plan featuring traditional and social media, supported by proactive media relations, in select urban areas.	2014	Ongoing	On track	1.3 Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support
Develop a digital content strategy to allow Canadians to interact more easily with Parks Canada.	2015	2016	On track	1.3 Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support
Improve online planning tools and reservation capabilities for individual travellers and tour operators.	Ongoing	Ongoing	On track	1.3 Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support
Progress Toward the Priority
In 2015-16, Parks Canada welcomed over seven percent more visitors than the previous year—more than 23 million visitors. This increase follows targeted efforts undertaken by Parks Canada to facilitate opportunities for Canadians to visit and to develop their own personal connections with their natural and cultural heritage. Some of the strategic initiatives undertaken in 2015-16 to support this priority include the introduction of new products and activities at select heritage places for key target markets in urban centres; the expansion of the Xplorers and Learn to Camp programs; the piloting of new opportunities such as an urban campfire storytelling program, "mini" Learn to Camp events and other special activities in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Parks Canada implemented a promotional plan to reach target groups in select urban areas. In addition, the Agency conducted proactive media relations, including participation in national and international tourism promotional events and interactions with tourism media, which resulted in over 300 travel media requests, thus extending its reach to potential travellers, domestically and abroad. These initiatives, as well as other organized events and activities, were supported by social media strategies designed to encourage interaction with Parks Canada. The Agency developed a digital content strategy, which included a series of recommendations. These will be reviewed and prioritized, and an implementation plan will be developed. The campground reservations system was launched early this year and the online inventory of available campsites was expanded, likely contributing to the increase in visitation.

Priority: Conservation Gains

Description

Parks Canada supports the Government of Canada's priorities to expand the national parks system, increase the protection of Canada's marine and coastal areas, and enhance Canada's first national urban park. Through its Conservation and Restoration Program, Parks Canada supports the Government of Canada's priorities for a clean environment and the protection of species at risk and helps restore Canada's reputation for environmental stewardship. Improvements to the condition of cultural resources of national significance through infrastructure investments contribute to the Government of Canada's priority to increase Canadians' ability to experience and learn about their heritage.

Priority Type: Ongoing

Key Supporting Initiatives

Planned Initiatives	Start Date	End Date	Status	Link to the Organization's Programs
Undertake priority natural resource conservation and restoration actions, including species at risk recovery, in national parks and national marine conservation areas.	Ongoing	Ongoing	On track	1.2 Heritage Places Conservation
Focus cultural resource conservation efforts and investments on priority work that results in the maintenance, stabilization or improvement of the condition of cultural resources and their heritage value, including heritage assets of national significance, at national historic sites administered by the Agency.	2015	2020	On track	1.2 Heritage Places Conservation
Advance national park proposals in two unrepresented terrestrial regions.	Ongoing	Ongoing	On track	1.1 Heritage Places Establishment
Advance national marine conservation area proposals in two unrepresented marine regions.	Ongoing	Ongoing	On track	1.1 Heritage Places Establishment
Complete a monitoring and reporting plan for the Rouge National Urban Park.	2015	2017	On track	1.2 Heritage Places Conservation
Progress Toward the Priority
In 2015-16, Parks Canada undertook priority ecological restoration projects in national parks and national marine conservation areas across the country through the Conservation and Restoration Program. Under the Program, important conservation gains have been achieved through various projects aimed at reconnecting aquatic ecosystems, restoring wildlife corridors, re-establishing ecological processes like fire, reintroducing species at risk, removing invasive species and managing hyperabundant wildlife populations. Infrastructure investments have improved the condition of Parks Canada's cultural resources of national significance. For example, conservation work at Province House National Historic Site and the Fortifications of Québec National Historic Site continued in 2015. Parks Canada achieved conservation gains in 2015-16 by expanding the national parks system. Canada's 45th and 46th national parks were created: the Qausuittuq National Park and the Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve. The Agency made demonstrable progress towards the establishment of one national park reserve in the Northwest Territories, the Thaidene Nene proposal, and received the new government's commitment to advance the proposal in the Manitoba Lowlands region. The Agency made demonstrable progress towards establishing two national marine conservation areas, Lancaster Sound and Southern Strait of Georgia. In addition, the Government of Canada committed 21 square kilometres of new lands to enhance Canada's first national urban park: the Rouge National Urban Park.

Priority: Canada 150

Description

This priority was renamed to better reflect the milestone to be celebrated. Parks Canada is contributing to the Government of Canada's plan to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Canada's national parks, national historic sites, national marine conservation areas, and heritage canals will play an important role in sesquicentennial activities. These places are ideal locations for Canadians to come together, celebrate Canada, and explore our country's natural and cultural heritage. Canada 150 will engage Canadians across the country, reinforce pride and attachment to Canada, maximize opportunities for economic benefits and leave a lasting legacy.

Priority Type: Previously committed to

Key Supporting Initiatives

Planned Initiatives	Start Date	End Date	Status	Link to the Organization's Programs
Stage programming in 2015 to celebrate the 200th birthday of Sir John A. Macdonald and the 50th anniversary of the National Flag of Canada and support the celebration of sport.	2015	2016	Complete	1.3 Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support 1.4 Visitor Experience
Deliver a multi-year, coast-to-coast program to commemorate the centennial of the First World War and the 75th anniversary of the Second World War, and lay the foundation for further commemorations and celebrations including the 175th birthday of Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 2016 and the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017.	2015	2017	On track	1.3 Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support 1.4 Visitor Experience
Progress Toward the Priority
As Canada approaches its 150th anniversary in 2017, the government is encouraging Canadians to explore this country's defining moments. In 2015-16 Parks Canada worked with partners on a variety of Canada 150 initiatives designed to raise Canadians' awareness and appreciation of their history and heritage. Through street banners, posters, and a special exhibit entitled "Architects of Modern Canada", the Agency celebrated the 200th birthday of Sir John A. Macdonald with visitors to Parks Canada places from coast to coast. The 50th anniversary of Canada's flag was celebrated through a social media campaign and reached over 115,000 people. The Agency supported the celebration of sport by hosting the cross-country torch relay for the 2015 PanAm Games in seven Parks Canada places, by featuring eight stories for This Week in History recounting Canada's sporting achievements, and by having a presence at two Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Women's World Cup Fan Zones. In 2015, Parks Canada launched Hometown Heroes, a national program commemorating the milestone anniversaries of the First and Second World Wars by telling the stories of civilians and those in the armed forces who have a link to Parks Canada places and nearby communities. Events, exhibits and special programs were featured at over 20 national historic sites, national parks and national marine conservation areas, including Signal Hill and Carleton Martello Tower national historic sites, reaching thousands of Canadians. The Agency continued to prepare for further commemorations and celebrations, including the 175th birthday of Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 2016 and the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017.

For more information on organizational priorities, see the Minister's mandate letter.^xxiii

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Section II: Expenditure Overview

Actual Expenditures

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2015-16 Main Estimates	2015-16 Planned Spending	2015-16 Total Authorities Available for Use	2015-16 Actual Spending (authorities used)	Difference (actual minus planned)
737,273,003	1,117,623,003	1,199,857,246	1,036,130,407	(81,492,596)

Human Resources (Full-Time Equivalents [FTEs])

2015-16 Planned	2015-16 Actual	2015-16 Difference (actual minus planned)
4,417	4,643	226

Budgetary Performance Summary

Budgetary Performance Summary for Programs and Internal Services (dollars)

Program(s) and Internal Services	2015-16 Main Estimates	2015-16 Planned Spending	2016-17 Planned Spending	2017-18 Planned Spending	2015-16 Total Authorities Available for Use	2015-16 Actual Spending (authorities used)	2014-15 Actual Spending (authorities used)	2013-14 Actual Spending (authorities used)
1.1 Heritage Places Establishment	27,582,536	27,662,536	18,281,238	12,612,259	31,844,292	17,719,496	21,199,396	27,859,372
1.2 Heritage Places Conservation	157,901,824	198,889,653	185,944,344	186,793,444	167,154,530	163,462,332	137,267,951	140,659,981
1.3 Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support	37,259,692	37,739,692	45,187,665	44,188,953	41,281,844	40,743,143	42,872,689	43,793,272
1.4 Visitor Experience	234,733,102	387,759,392	479,851,370	494,550,290	465,008,732	400,413,772	291,314,470	263,655,992
1.5 Heritage Canals, Highways and Townsites Management	191,344,084	343,350,853	306,781,950	350,029,700	351,129,854	272,412,103	136,302,253	118,681,423
Internal Services	88,451,765	122,220,877	137,491,734	139,240,718	143,437,994	141,379,561	92,843,101	96,291,316
Total	737,273,003	1,117,623,003	1,173,538,301	1,227,415,364	1,199,857,246	1,036,130,407	721,799,860	690,941,356

The Agency's 2015-16 planned spending represents the amount approved by Parliament through the Main Estimates, plus other adjustments known at the time of publishing the 2015-16 Report on Plans and Priorities, as well as projected funds carried over from 2014-15. Throughout the year, new and renewed supplementary funding added a total of $82.3 million to planned spending, increasing total authorities to $1.2 billion.

The actual spending of $1.0 billion reflects the Agency's expenditures as reported in the Public Accounts.

Departmental Spending Trend

The following graph depicts the Agency's spending trend over a six-year period. For the period from 2013-14 to 2015-16, actual spending represents the actual expenditures as reported in the Public Accounts. For the period from 2016-17 to 2018-19, the planned spending reflects approved funding by Treasury Board to support the Agency's Strategic Outcome, which includes infrastructure investments announced by the Government of Canada. Sunsetting programs are subject to government decisions to extend, reduce or enhance funding. Outcomes of such decisions would be reflected in the Agency's future budget exercises and Estimates documents.

 

*Total may differ within the table due to rounding of figures.

The 2015-16 fiscal year is showing increased spending over the fiscal year 2014-15 mostly as a result of new funding received and additional investments to improve highways, bridges and dams in national parks and along historic canals.

The increase over fiscal years 2015-16 to 2018-19 represents investments of nearly $3 billion over five years in Parks Canada's national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas to address the backlog of deferred work and improve the condition of assets administered by the Agency.

Expenditures by Vote

For information on the Parks Canada Agency's organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2016.^xxiv

Alignment of Spending With the Whole-of-Government Framework

Alignment of 2015-16 Actual Spending With the Whole-of-Government Framework^xxv (dollars)

Program	Spending Area	Government of Canada Outcome	2015–16 Actual Spending
Heritage Places Establishment	Social Affairs	A vibrant Canadian culture and heritage	17,719,496
Heritage Places Conservation	Economic Affairs	A clean and healthy environment	163,462,332
Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support	Social Affairs	A vibrant Canadian culture and heritage	40,743,143
Visitor Experience	Social Affairs	A vibrant Canadian culture and heritage	400,413,772
Heritage Canals, Highways and Townsites Management	Social Affairs	A safe and secure Canada	272,412,103

Total Spending by Spending Area (dollars)

Spending Area	Total Planned Spending	Total Actual Spending
Economic Affairs	198,889,653	163,462,332
Social Affairs	796,512,473	731,288,514
International Affairs	0	0
Government Affairs	0	0

Financial Statements and Financial Statements Highlights

Financial Statements

To view the complete set of financial statements, please refer to the Agency's unaudited financial statements.^xxvi

Financial Statements Highlights

Parks Canada Agency's unaudited financial statements are prepared in accordance with the government's accounting policies, which are based on Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards (accrual accounting principles) and, therefore, are different from appropriation-based reporting, which is reflected earlier in this section. The earlier portion of this Expenditure Overview section is prepared on a modified cash basis rather than an accrual basis. A reconciliation between the parliamentary appropriations used (modified cash basis) and the net cost of operations (accrual basis) is set out in note 17 of the financial statements.

Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited)
For the Year Ended March 31, 2016 (dollars)

Financial Information	2015-16 Planned Results	2015-16 Actual	2014-15 Actual	Difference (2015-16 actual minus 2015-16 planned)	Difference (2015-16 actual minus 2014-15 actual)
Total expenses	736,227,252	726,736,296	668,472,654	(9,490,956)	58,263,642
Total revenues	122,125,971	139,391,856	125,957,185	17,265,885	13,434,671
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	614,101,281	587,344,440	542,515,469	(26,756,841)	44,828,971

Actual Year over Year

The increase in expenses of $58.2 million ($726.7 million in 2015-16; $668.5 million in 2014-15) is mainly due to staffing for the implementation and oversight of federal infrastructure investments, an increase in the number of employees to accommodate for a greater number of park visitors, an increase in expenses related to remediation liabilities due to the application of the new Public Sector Accounting Standard for reporting liabilities for contaminated sites, and increases in amortization resulting from a higher asset base.

The increase in revenue of $13.4 million ($139.4 million in 2015-16; $126.0 million in 2014-15) is mainly due to the greater number of park visitors and increased in rental and concession revenues.

Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited)
As at March 31, 2016 (dollars)

Financial Information	2015-16	2014-15	Difference (2015-16 minus 2014-15)
Total net liabilities	232,630,731	150,572,320	82,058,411
Total net financial assets	177,857,780	112,288,791	65,568,989
Departmental net debt	54,772,951	38,283,529	16,489,422
Total non-financial assets	2,324,146,835	1,950,716,467	373,430,368
Departmental net financial position	2,269,373,884	1,912,432,938	356,940,946

The net debt is calculated as the difference between total net liabilities and total net financial assets, and represents liabilities for which the Agency will require future appropriations. Parks Canada Agency's net debt increased by $16.5 million, mainly due to increases in environmental liabilities of $13.0 million ($37.2 million in 2015-16; $24.2 million in 2014-15) as a result of the application of the new Public Sector Accounting Standard for reporting liabilities for contaminated sites.

The net financial position is calculated as the difference between net debt and total non-financial assets, and consists mainly of tangible capital assets of $2,312.4 million. The increase of $356.9 million ($2,269.4 million in 2015-16; $1,912.4 million in 2014-15) is mainly attributable to increased investments in tangible capital assets.

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Section III: Analysis of Programs and Internal Services

Programs

Program 1.1: Heritage Places Establishment

Description

This program aims to establish heritage places in order to conserve Canada's natural and cultural heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations, thus fostering a strong sense of connection to our natural and cultural heritage. This program also supports Canada's involvement in the internationally shared objective of protecting and commemorating the best of the world's natural and cultural heritage. By establishing national parks and national marine conservation areas in each of Canada's natural terrestrial and marine regions, this program ensures the protection and presentation of representative examples of Canada's natural diversity. Likewise, the designation and commemoration of historic places, persons and events in communities across Canada ensures our history remains a living legacy for all Canadians. Establishment or designation is achieved through feasibility assessments, public nominations, research, consultation with Indigenous peoples, stakeholders and the general public, negotiations with other governments and Indigenous organizations, recommendations from advisory bodies and fulfilment of legislative requirements. This process results in established national parks and national marine conservation areas and designated national historic sites, persons and events and other heritage places.

Program Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned

In 2015-16, Parks Canada exceeded its performance target and advanced the Government of Canada's priority to expand the national parks and national marine conservation areas systems by achieving demonstrable progress in six unrepresented regions.

Increasing the Representation of Terrestrial Natural Regions

The Qausuittuq National Park was added to Schedule 1 of the Canada National Parks Act effective September 1, 2015, legally protecting 11,008 square kilometres of Arctic lands and waters.

The land transfer process for the Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve was advanced through the completion of all survey products related to the final boundary and establishment agreements were signed with the Innu Nation and the Nunatukavut Community Council. This process followed the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Federal Government and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in July 2015 creating Canada's 46th national park.

Parks Canada made demonstrable progress towards the establishment of one additional national park reserve in the Northwest Territories (the Thaidene Nene proposal). The government announced a 14,000 square kilometre boundary for public consultation and Parks Canada initiated consultations with Indigenous communities, stakeholders, third-party interests and the public. Negotiated agreements-in-principle were initialled with the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation and the Northwest Territory Métis Nation for this proposal.

Establishing Rouge National Urban Park

The Rouge National Urban Park Act came into force on May 15, 2015, formally establishing Canada's first national urban park. On July 11, 2015, the Government of Canada announced it was committing 21 square kilometres of new lands to it, increasing the boundaries of the park by over 36 percent.

Demonstrable Progress in Unrepresented Marine Regions

Progress on the Lancaster Sound proposal for the Lancaster Sound marine region continued, including ongoing work on the feasibility assessment report and determination of a final boundary. The steering committee (Parks Canada, Government of Nunavut and Qikiqtani Inuit Association) undertook consultations with industry, environmental and conservation organizations; considered boundary options; and briefed concerned federal departments.

Progress on the Southern Strait of Georgia proposal in the Strait of Georgia marine region focused on increasing program capacity, including the addition of a First Nations coordinator to engage the 19 First Nations in the region. The preliminary concept was significantly advanced in order to be presented to the Canada/British Columbia steering committee in 2016, in preparation for consultations with First Nations and stakeholders.

Designation of National Historic Sites, Persons and Events

Parks Canada's work in support of the designation of historic sites, persons and events in communities across Canada, exceeded its planned target of 95 percent by reviewing 100 percent of applications received in 2015-16 resulting in the presentation of 27 eligible subjects to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. These subjects will be considered by the Board in 2016-17. Parks Canada continues to work with Canadians and communities on nominations for consideration by the Board. The resulting designations of national historic significance provide increased opportunities for Canadians to discover and enjoy their rich history.

Variance: Actual spending for the Heritage Places Establishment Program is $9.9 million or 35.9 percent lower than in the 2015-16 planned spending. This variance is mainly due to the deferral of new protected heritage areas establishment as a result of negotiations taking longer than anticipated.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2015-16 Main Estimates	2015-16 Planned Spending	2015-16 Total Authorities Available for Use	2015-16 Actual Spending (authorities used)	Difference (actual minus planned)
27,582,536	27,662,536	31,844,292	17,719,496	(9,943,040)

Human Resources (Full-Time Equivalents [FTEs])

2015-16 Planned	2015-16 Actual	2015-16 Difference (actual minus planned)
58	50	(8)

Performance Results

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Actual Results
The systems of national parks and national marine conservation areas are representative of Canada's natural terrestrial and marine regions.	Number of unrepresented regions with demonstrable progress towards establishing national parks and national marine conservation areas.	4 by March 2016	6
Heritage places, persons and events are considered for national or international designation.	Percentage of eligible heritage places, persons and events reviewed annually for designation.	95% annually	100%

Program 1.2: Heritage Places Conservation

Description

This program aims to protect and conserve the natural and cultural resources of all heritage places managed by Parks Canada, as well as the agricultural resources in the national urban park; and to fulfill responsibilities assigned to Parks Canada or mandated through federal legislation. Protection and conservation activities in a national urban park, national parks, national marine conservation areas, heritage canals and Parks Canada-administered national historic sites ensure that these heritage places are maintained and used in ways that leave them unimpaired for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Program Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned

Improving Ecological Integrity

In 2015-16, Parks Canada met its performance target for maintaining or improving ecological integrity indicators across the country. In 40 national parks, 104 of the 115 ecological integrity indicators (90%) have been maintained or improved. Each indicator is an index of the most important aspects of ecological integrity in a park ecosystem (e.g. forest, freshwater). Gains outnumber declines in this fully implemented monitoring system. Freshwater and coastal ecosystems are notable for their improved ecological condition. For Riding Mountain, Kejimkujik and Pacific Rim national parks, these improvements are partially due to ecological restoration work, such as sewage management, invasive species control and post-logging restoration. Among indicators where condition was not maintained, forest ecosystems that contain moose and deer populations are particularly susceptible to decline due to a lack of predators. Freshwater ecosystems, especially in the mountain parks, are also experiencing impacts from non-native fish species and obstacles to fish movement. Currently, the Agency reports on 91 percent of its ecological indicators, up from 58 percent in 2011. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature named Parks Canada's ecological monitoring program an inspiring conservation solution.

Under the Conservation and Restoration Program, important conservation gains have been achieved by reconnecting aquatic ecosystems, restoring wildlife corridors, re-establishing ecological processes like fire, reintroducing species at risk, removing invasive species and managing hyperabundant wildlife populations.

Improving Condition of Cultural Resources of National Historic Significance

In 2015-16, Parks Canada continued to carry out work to maintain cultural resources of national significance and their heritage value at 44 national historic sites. The Agency is on track to meet its target of 60 by March 2018, ensuring these heritage places are better preserved for Canadians.

Parks Canada also began implementing its five-year plan of targeted infrastructure investments to improve assets rated as being in poor or very poor condition to fair or good condition with total capital expenditures of $41 million in cultural heritage assets. For this category of assets, 14 percent (45) of the overall five year target of 328 assets was achieved during this first year of the program of work. Conservation and stabilization work, with a focus on resources of national historic significance, was completed at various national historic sites administered by Parks Canada including the bathing pavilion at Cave and Basin, the cookhouse and Pierson House at Bar U Ranch, and the fortification walls of the King's Bastion at the Fortifications of Québec.

Parks Canada conducted condition surveys and commemorative integrity assessments at 13 national historic sites. Additionally, the Agency maintained the historical collection of objects at national historic sites by providing 16 sites with inventory assistance and database management help, and by updating and maintaining the records of thousands of artifacts.

Of the artifacts recovered from the wreck of HMS Erebus, 56 are at various stages of conservation treatment in Parks Canada's Conservation Laboratory, and another seven are being examined to determine their material composition so that appropriate treatment can be applied. The duration of conservation treatments can vary from several months to several years before artifacts are sufficiently stabilized.

In 2015-16, Parks Canada concluded 15 contribution agreements through its National Historic Sites Cost-Sharing Program. This program is an important means of encouraging and supporting the conservation of national historic sites that are not administered by the federal government.

Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan

In 2015-16, Parks Canada closed two federal contaminated sites and undertook remediation and/or risk management activities at 27 other sites.

Variance: Actual spending for the Heritage Places Conservation Program is $35.4 million or 17.8 percent lower than the 2015-16 planned spending. This variance is mainly due to delays in conservation activities related to the timing of land transfers. These elements are offset by the 2015 fire season being one of the most active on record. Although the Agency has spent less than it planned, it has increased its expenditures by more than $26.2 million or 19 percent when compared to 2014-15 expenditures under its Heritage Places Conservation Program.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2015-16 Main Estimates	2015-16 Planned Spending	2015-16 Total Authorities Available for Use	2015-16 Actual Spending (authorities used)	Difference (actual minus planned)
157,901,824	198,889,653	167,154,530	163,462,332	(35,427,321)

Human Resources (FTEs)

2015-16 Planned	2015-16 Actual	2015-16 Difference (actual minus planned)
880	873	(7)

Performance Results

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Actual Results
National park and national marine area conservation is maintained or improved.	Percentage of indicators in national parks for which condition is maintained or improved.	90% annually	90%
Cultural resources of national significance at targeted national historic sites are maintained.	Number of targeted national historic sites where cultural resources of national significance are maintained.	60 by March 2018	44 (on track)
Condition of heritage assets in poor or very poor condition is improved to fair or good.	Percentage of assets assessed to be in poor or very poor condition that have improved to fair or good.	100% by March 2020	14%-45 out of 328* (on track)

*Includes heritage assets in national parks and national historic sites.

Program 1.3: Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support

Description

This program aims to nurture a sense of pride in and support for Parks Canada-administered places by increasing Canadians' awareness, appreciation of their value and the various ways to experience them. This is achieved through relevant and effective heritage places promotion initiatives delivered to Canadians, reaching them in their daily lives. Some of these promotion activities are done in collaboration with stakeholders and partners to reach and engage more Canadians.

Program Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned

Parks Canada revised its approach for measuring public support in 2014. The Agency will be in a position to report on this target in March 2018 after it conducts its national telephone survey.

Enhancing Promotion through Partnerships

In 2015-16, Parks Canada applied a strategic approach to better promote the work it undertakes to protect and present Canada's national heritage places, and provide Canadians with opportunities to participate in the realization of the Agency's mandate. Engaging Canadians to increase their awareness, appreciation and support of Parks Canada's heritage places requires a proactive and constant presence involving a mix of platforms, content, venues, and partners. The Agency continued to forge and leverage strategic partnerships to increase reach through broadcasting, mass media, social media, and presence at partner venues and key events in major urban centres. Some of the most notable partnerships that Parks Canada fostered this year were Google Street; TV5; ARTE; tourism industry trade shows; and federal, provincial, Indigenous, heritage and educational organizations.

Maximizing Reach to Key Audiences

Parks Canada undertook focused awareness, promotion and media initiatives in the key metropolitan areas of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver where large segments of young and new Canadians live. Some of the notable activities undertaken were "The Best Summer Job Ever" contest to target millennials, the "Wish Someone You Love a Merry Canada" social media campaign over the holiday gift-buying season, promotional launch events of the Learn to Camp program, and participation at public events, partner venues and consumer trade shows in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Variance: Actual spending for the Heritage Places Promotion and Public Support Program is $3 million or eight percent higher than the 2015-16 planned spending. This variance is in part due to an increase in collaborative activities, such as new park and site establishment, conservation, visitor experience, and heritage place promotion, as the program continues to grow and expand.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2015-16 Main Estimates	2015-16 Planned Spending	2015-16 Total Authorities Available for Use	2015-16 Actual Spending (authorities used)	2015-16 Difference (actual minus planned)
37,259,692	37,739,692	41,281,844	40,743,143	3,003,451

Human Resources (FTEs)

2015-16 Planned	2015-16 Actual	2015-16 Difference (actual minus planned)
351	335	(16)

Performance Results

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Actual Results
Canadians support the protection and presentation of places administered by Parks Canada.	Percentage of Canadians that support the protection and presentation of places administered by Parks Canada.	80% by March 2018	To be measured in 2018

Program 1.4: Visitor Experience

Description

This program fosters opportunities for Canadians and international visitors to discover, experience, enjoy and develop a sense of personal connection to Canada's national urban park, national parks, national historic sites administered by Parks Canada, national marine conservation areas, and heritage canals. This program includes a range of activities, services and products associated with pre-visit planning, the on-site visit, and post-visit communications. It includes tourism marketing, trip planning information, reception, orientation, interpretation, recreational activities, special events, merchandise, compliance, visitor safety services, and visitor facilities. The program is supported by market and visitor analytics, trend analysis, and performance measurement.

Program Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned

In 2015-16, Parks Canada advanced the Government of Canada's priority to have more Canadians experience and learn about the environment and their heritage places. Visitation to Parks Canada's heritage places increased by more than seven percent, to more than 23 million visitors, exceeding its target by five percent. Regarding visitor satisfaction, the Agency exceeded its performance targets related to the percentage of visitors at surveyed locations who were satisfied with their visit with a result of 95 percent. Nearly 82 percent of visitors at surveyed locations considered the place they visited meaningful to them, slightly short of the target of 85 percent. With enhanced programs and services and Canada 150 programming, the latter visitor survey results are expected to improve for 2016-17.

The above results follow targeted efforts undertaken by Parks Canada to facilitate opportunities for Canadians to visit and develop personal connections with their natural and cultural heritage.

Improving Visitor Experience Assets

In 2015-16, Parks Canada began implementing its five-year plan of targeted infrastructure investments to improve assets rated as being in poor or very poor condition to fair or good condition with total capital expenditures of $179.8 million in visitor experience assets. In this asset category, 11 percent (146) of the overall five year target of 1,322 assets was achieved during this first year of the program of work. The projects focused on the renewal of visitor facilities, such as visitor centres, campgrounds, multi-use trails, access roads and parking lots in national parks and national historic sites. These investments will ensure the quality and reliability of visitor offers and provide opportunities for Canadians and visitors to develop a sense of personal connection to these heritage places. Some of the notable visitor facility improvements were made in Prince Edward Island and La Mauricie national parks as well as in Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. In national historic sites, some of the notable infrastructure improvements were made in Lower Fort Garry, Fortress of Louisbourg and the Halifax Citadel national historic sites. Regarding heritage canal rehabilitation, the Lachine Canal and Trent-Severn Waterway were improved for the use and enjoyment of visitors.

Increased Appeal of the Visitor Experience

Parks Canada continued to implement a consistent branding approach for visitor experience activities such as the "Time to Connect" promotional campaign and featuring Parks Canada's signature red chairs installed at over 500 locations across the country. In line with the Government of Canada's priority to develop Parks Canada's programs and services, the Learn to Camp program was expanded including a pilot component for young urban Canadians, additional oTENTiks were installed in national parks and introduced in two heritage canals, and the Xplorers program for children was expanded. Parks Canada continued to develop a select number of unparalleled visitor experiences in northern national parks offering new tourism opportunities and creating tangible benefits to local communities through increased economic development. Iconic northern experiences have been developed in Labrador (Torngat Mountains National Park), Yukon (Ivvavik National Park), and Nunavut (Quttinirpaaq National Park). Work was initiated with the Inuvialuit to create the Imniarvik Base Camp (Sheep Creek) in Ivvavik National Park. In many cases, Parks Canada is working directly with Indigenous communities and Indigenous-owned businesses to develop and deliver these iconic and uniquely Canadian visitor experiences that will share Indigenous culture.

Improving Access to Services and Information

To facilitate trip planning and improve selling capacity in support of increased visitation, Parks Canada launched the campground reservation system three months earlier to allow visitors more time to plan their visits, updated and increased the inventory of available sites throughout the network of Parks Canada places, enhanced the quality of promotional content on its website, and expanded the National Merchandise Program^xxvii adding 45 new official merchandise items and 25 new retailers (for a current total of 91).

Federal Tourism Strategy

Parks Canada supported Canada's Federal Tourism Strategy through its partnership with Destination Canada attending various tourism industry shows, including ITB Berlin, the leading business-to-business platform and the world's largest tourism industry show. This leverages the opportunity to promote Parks Canada experiences and destinations to many of the world's leading international tour operators.

Canada 150

To prepare for Canada's 150th birthday celebration in 2017, Parks Canada continued to support the whole-of-government approach as a main partner positioning visits to Parks Canada places as a preferred way for Canadians to personally celebrate this unique anniversary. This included leveraging programs, activities and events linked to the Government of Canada's Canada 150 initiative, including "The Dream of Canada" exhibit and the Hometown Heroes program to promote Parks Canada places as ideal venues for Canadians to experience their country's sesquicentennial.

Variance: Actual spending for the Visitor Experience Program is $12.7 million or three percent higher than the 2015-16 planned spending. This variance is mainly due to the Agency carrying out more visitor experience asset projects than planned, which lead to opportunities for more Canadians to experience and connect to their protected heritage places.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2015-16 Main Estimates	2015-16 Planned Spending	2015-16 Total Authorities Available for Use	2015-16 Actual Spending (authorities used)	2015-16 Difference (actual minus planned)
234,733,102	387,759,392	465,008,732	400,413,772	12,654,380

Human Resources (FTEs)

2015-16 Planned	2015-16 Actual	2015-16 Difference (actual minus planned)
2,128	2,064	(64)

Performance Results

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Actual Results
Canadians and international visitors visit Parks Canada's administered places and visitors at surveyed locations feel a sense of connection to these places.	Increase in the number of visits at Parks Canada administered places.	2% annually	7%
	Average percentage of visitors that consider the place is meaningful to them.	85% annually	82%
	Average percentage of visitors that are satisfied with their visit.	90% annually	95%
Condition of visitor experience assets in poor or very poor condition is improved to fair or good.	Percentage of assets assessed to be in poor or very poor condition that have improved to fair or good.	100% by March 2020	11%—146 out of 1,322 (on track)

Program 1.5: Heritage Canals, Highways and Townsites Management

Description

This program involves the management of infrastructure for Canadians and provides opportunities for socio-economic benefits to adjacent communities. It is related to the operation, maintenance and improvement of the Trans-Canada and provincially numbered highways^xxviii within national parks and a national historic site; the water management of certain heritage canals^xxix; and, the provision of municipal services to certain national park townsites.^xxx

Program Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned

In 2015-16, Parks Canada began implementing its five-year plan of targeted infrastructure investments to improve assets rated as being in poor or very poor condition to fair or good condition. Total capital expenditures of $226.3 million were dedicated to improving townsite infrastructure; ensuring highways that pass through heritage places remain safe and accessible for travellers; and improving the contemporary assets in heritage canals. This investment resulted in an improvement of 28 percent (77) of the total 272 prioritized assets to fair or good condition.

Variance: Actual spending for the Heritage Canals, Highways and Townsites Management Program is $70.9 million or 20.7 percent lower than the 2015-16 planned spending. This variance is mainly due to spending being focused on accelerating designs for waterway and townsite assets, while the Agency built capacity to manage and deliver these complex projects in the following four years.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2015-16 Main Estimates	2015-16 Planned Spending	2015-16 Total Authorities Available for Use	2015-16 Actual Spending (authorities used)	2015-16 Difference (actual minus planned)
191,344,084	343,350,853	351,129,854	272,412,103	(70,938,750)

Human Resources (FTEs)

2015-16 Planned	2015-16 Actual	2015-16 Difference (actual minus planned)
323	291	(32)

Performance Results

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Actual Results
Condition of heritage canal, highway and townsite assets in poor or very poor condition is improved to fair or good.	Percentage of assets assessed to be in poor or very poor condition that have improved to fair or good.	100% by March 2020	28%—77 out of 272 (on track)

Internal Services

Description

Internal services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. Internal services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization, and not those provided to a specific program. The groups of activities 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.

Program Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned

Management and Oversight Services

Asset Management

In 2015-16, the Agency implemented a modern, centrally administered, national asset management system. This new system actively maintains information for the Agency's entire built asset inventory and further improves the Agency's ability to plan and prioritize capital work as well as corresponding operational and maintenance activities. Implementation of this system has resulted in enhancing the quality of the Agency's asset information and its ability to report on asset condition and outstanding capital investment requirements in real-time.

Given the magnitude of capital asset investments over the five-year planning period, the Agency reorganized and strengthened its project management function to support the effective and prudent delivery of the Investment Plan. Additional project management capacity and expertise was achieved through the creation of the Asset Management and Project Delivery Branch, which provides national functional leadership in the provision of asset management and project delivery services in support of Parks Canada's built asset portfolio. The new "Parks Canada Investment Planning and Project Management Orientation Guide" provided support in the successful planning and implementation of Investment Plan projects.

Blueprint 2020

As part of the Government of Canada's Blueprint 2020 initiative, Parks Canada continued to implement innovation labs: collaborative think tanks designed to provide opportunities for team members to contribute to improving the operations and the quality of the workplace. Four new labs were created: the first lab explored ways to improve the use of both official languages in the workplace; the second lab invited students working at Parks Canada to submit ideas to engage Canadian youth in the Canada 150 celebrations; the third lab focused on encouraging positive working relationships with Indigenous peoples; and the last was designed to welcome the new Chief Executive Officer and introduce him to the variety of work performed across the Agency.

Human Resources Management Services

In 2015-16, Parks Canada finalized the transfer of all pay accounts to the Pay Centre (Miramichi, New Brunswick) for the new Government of Canada-wide system (Phoenix). Training and support will continue to be provided to staff and managers.

National employee workshops were held to discuss the 2014 Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) results, which led to the development of local action plans. These plans were used to identify key initiatives to be included in a national action plan aimed at promoting positive change within the Agency. The selected three initiatives are as follows: respectful workplace innovation lab; intranet renewal; and performance management improvements. Progress will be measured against results, monitored on a regular basis, with a final evaluation before the 2017 PSES.

Financial Management Services

Parks Canada continued to make progress in updating its Financial Management Framework to ensure a consistent financial management approach across the organization. The Agency focused its financial policy efforts in 2015-16 on developing directives, guidelines and tools addressing the needs of Parks Canada's financial management community. The Agency also implemented an ongoing monitoring strategy to assess and sustain the management of internal controls in support of continuous improvement.

In line with the Government of Canada's direction on financial management transformation, Parks Canada has made significant progress in consolidating accounts payable and developing of standard business practices for related critical processes. The Agency has completed the proof of concept for a new delegation of authority application and actively participated in the design of an automated software solution for invoice-to-payment processing.

Information Management Services

In accordance with the Treasury Board Directive on Recordkeeping, the majority of Parks Canada business units identified and documented information resources of business value and required controls for their management, sharing, and use. Recordkeeping action plan surveys were conducted for business units across the Agency to identify the scope of legacy paper holdings. These will inform business unit recordkeeping action plans to support the Agency's core decision-making processes.

Real Property Services

Parks Canada developed new standardized business licence application forms and procedures to ensure a common, consistent and streamlined approach to the administration of business licensing activities. The Agency continued to work towards developing a modernized national approach to the administration of staff housing/accommodation to ensure consistency and realize economies of scale.

Variance: Actual spending for the Internal Services Program is $19.2 million or 15.7 percent higher than the 2015-16 planned spending and the number of full-time equivalents is 52 percent higher than planned for the same year. These variances are mainly due to the Agency being proactive and implementing the Treasury Board's Guide on Recording and Reporting of Internal Services effective April 1, 2016, which considers internal services' costs independent of where they are delivered within the organization.

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2015-16 Main Estimates	2015-16 Planned Spending	2015-16 Total Authorities Available for Use	2015-16 Actual Spending (authorities used)	2015-16 Difference (actual minus planned)
88,451,765	122,220,877	143,437,994	141,379,561	19,158,684

Human Resources (FTEs)

2015-16 Planned	2015-16 Actual	2015-16 Difference (actual minus planned)
677	1,030	353

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Section IV: Supplementary Information

Supporting Information on Lower-Level Programs

Supporting information on lower-level programs is available on the Parks Canada Agency's website.

Supplementary Information Tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the Parks Canada Agency's website.

• Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
• Details on Transfer Payment Programs of $5 Million or More
• Internal Audits and Evaluations
• Response to Parliamentary Committees and External Audits
• Status Report on Projects Operating with Specific Treasury Board Approval
• User Fees, Regulatory Charges and External Fees

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 annually in the Report of Federal Tax Expenditures.^xxxi 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

Parks Canada National Office

30 Victoria Street
Gatineau Quebec
Canada
J8X 0B3

General Inquiries

888-773-8888

General Inquiries (International)

819-420-9486

Teletypewriter (TTY)

866-787-6221

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Appendix: Definitions

appropriation: Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetaryexpenditures: Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

Departmental Performance Report: Reports on an appropriated organization's actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Reports on Plans and Priorities. These reports are tabled in Parliament in the fall.

full-time equivalent: 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.

Government of Canada outcomes: A set of 16 high-level objectives defined for the government as a whole, grouped in four spending areas: economic affairs, social affairs, international affairs and government affairs.

Management, Resources and Results Structure: 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: Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance: 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: 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: The process of communicating evidence‑based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

planned spending: For Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPPs) and Departmental Performance Reports (DPRs), 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 RPPs and DPRs.

plans: 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.

priorities:Plans or projects 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).

program: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:A structured inventory of an organization's programs depicting the hierarchical relationship between programs and the Strategic Outcome(s) to which they contribute.

Report on Plans and Priorities: Provides information on the plans and expected performance of appropriated organizations over a three‑year period. These reports are tabled in Parliament each spring.

results: 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: 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: A long‑term and enduring benefit to Canadians that is linked to the organization's mandate, vision and core functions.

sunset program: 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: 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: Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The Vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.

Whole-of-government framework: Maps the financial contributions of federal organizations receiving appropriations by aligning their Programs to a set of 16 government‑wide, high‑level outcome areas, grouped under four spending areas.

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Endnotes

ⁱ Parks Canada Agency Act,
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-0.4/

ⁱⁱ Canada National Parks Act,
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/N-14.01/

ⁱⁱⁱ Rouge National Urban Park Act,
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/annualstatutes/2015_10/page-1.html

^iv Historic Sites and Monuments Act,
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/H-4/

^v Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act,
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-7.3/index.html

^vi Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park Act,
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/S-1.3/index.html

^vii Historic Canal Regulations pursuant to the Department of Transport Act,
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-93-220/

^viii Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act,
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/H-3.5/

^ix Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act,
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/H-3.4/

^x Species at Risk Act,
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/S-15.3/

^xi Canadian Environmental Assessment Act,
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/nature/science/conservation/ie-ei

^xii Definition of Ecological Integrity, http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/progs/np-pn/ie-ei.aspx; Definition of Commemorative Integrity, http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/docs/pc/guide/guide/commemorative_1_0/commemorative_1_1.aspx

^xiii The System of National Parks of Canada,
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/cnpn-cnnp/carte-map

^xiv Rouge National Urban Park,
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/on/rouge/index.aspx

^xv National Historic Sites of Canada administered by Parks Canada,
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/docs/r/system-reseau/sec6.aspx

^xvi The System of National Marine Conservation Areas of Canada,
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/amnc-nmca/cnamnc-cnnmca/carte-map

^xvii Heritage canals include the Trent-Severn Waterway, the Rideau and Sault Ste. Marie canals in Ontario, the Carillon, Chambly, Lachine, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and Saint-Ours canals in Quebec, and the St. Peters Canal in Nova Scotia.

^xviii National Historic Sites Cost-Sharing Program,
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/culture/clmhc-hsmbc/ppf-csp

^xix Parks Canada website,
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/index.aspx

^xx Hometown Heroes,
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/progs/canada150/hero.aspx

^xxi Xplorers,
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/voyage-travel/xplorateurs-xplorers.aspx

^xxii Learn to Camp,
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/media/ltc-dlc/index.aspx

^xxiii Minister's mandate letter,
http://pm.gc.ca/eng/ministerial-mandate-letters

^xxiv Public Accounts of Canada 2016,
http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/cpc-pac/index-eng.html

^xxv Whole-of-Government Framework,
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hgw-cgf/finances/rgs-erdg/wgf-ipp-eng.asp

^xxvi Parks Canada Agency Unaudited Financial Statements,
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/agen/dp-pd/dp-pd.aspx

^xxvii Parks Canada Official Merchandise,
http://parkscanadashop.ca/

^xxviii Highways managed by Parks Canada consist of 1,151 two-lane kilometres of highways, including 360 two-lane kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway through Banff, Yoho, Glacier, Mount Revelstoke and Terra Nova national parks, 791 two-lane kilometres of highways through eight provinces and one territory, including the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island and 235 highway bridges.

^xxix Waterways, which support commercial and recreational boating as well as other recreational activities, include the Trent-Severn Waterway, the Rideau and Sault Ste. Marie canals in Ontario, the Carillon, Chambly, Lachine, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and Saint-Ours canals in Quebec, and the St. Peters Canal in Nova Scotia.

^xxx Townsite communities include Field in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Alberta, Wasagaming in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Waskesiu in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan, and Waterton in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. Two other townsites, Banff and Jasper, are self-governed since 1990 and 2002, respectively. Parks Canada retains authority for community plans and by-laws in Banff, and for community plans, land-use planning and development in Jasper.

^xxxi Report of Federal Tax Expenditures,
http://www.fin.gc.ca/purl/taxexp-eng.asp