​​​​​Departmental Plan 2021–2022

Table of Contents

• From the Minister
• From the Librarian and Archivist of Canada
• Plans at a glance
• Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks
  • Acquiring and preserving documentary heritage
  • Providing access to documentary heritage
• Internal Services: planned results
• Spending and human resources
• Planned spending
• Planned human resources
• Estimates by vote
• Future-oriented Condensed statement of operations
• Corporate information
• Organizational profile
• Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
• Operating context
• Reporting framework
• Supporting information on the Program Inventory
• Supplementary information tables
• Federal tax expenditures
• Organizational contact information
• Appendix: definitions

From the Minister

As Minister of Canadian Heritage, I am pleased to present the 2021–22 Departmental Plan for Library and Archives Canada (LAC). The worldwide health crisis has had a major impact on us as people and as a society. It has affected every part of our economy. It is with this reality in mind that the organizations in the Canadian Heritage Portfolio, including LAC, are preparing to carry out their respective mandates. There are countless challenges in this changing environment, but I know these organizations are redoubling their efforts to support the Canadian arts, culture, heritage and communications sectors.

The health crisis has shown how important it is to facilitate access to LAC’s collection and to offer services focused on the user. To do this, in 2021–22 LAC will overhaul its services—both in-person and virtual—and optimize its digital capacity to acquire, manage and preserve Canada’s documentary heritage, and make it more accessible.

The overhaul of in-person services will focus on the new facility shared with the Ottawa Public Library, which will begin construction in 2021. In time, this innovative collaboration between the two institutions will offer users an improved experience. It will give free access to millions of documents from various collections, as well as to activities and exhibition spaces. In Gatineau, the construction of a new cutting-edge preservation facility will continue, making it possible to preserve analog documents under the best possible conditions and provide present and future generations with access to them. These projects, which support the Greening Government Strategy, will allow us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and develop the first carbon-neutral federal facilities.

I encourage you to read this plan and learn more about LAC’s activities and priorities in the coming year. As you will see, this organization is committed to serving the Government of Canada’s objectives in supporting our two official languages and numerous Indigenous languages as well as striving for an equitable, inclusive society whose strength is in its diversity.

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Canadian Heritage

From the Librarian and Archivist of Canada

The year 2020 was challenging in many ways around the world. It was a period of accelerated development and unprecedented change, in the context of a pandemic. As our reality has been transformed overnight by working remotely, physical distancing and isolation, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has demonstrated incredible resilience by continuing to deliver the best possible service to all Canadians.

This difficult period compelled us to rethink our ways of doing things and to rely even more on digitization and innovation—primarily to organize virtual events or gather publications and documents related to COVID-19 on the web and social networks.

I am very proud of how far we have come as an organization and look forward to continuing to work together for a better future.

With this in mind, in spring 2020 LAC launched its 2030 Vision initiative, an exercise that will set the path for our institution in the next decade and beyond. The intent is to provide a framework for planning our future, taking into account the user experience in developing our services and improving access to our collections. A transition team has been established to guide us in the process of developing this vision, which will take shape by the spring of 2022. Together, management, employees and clients will find the model that is most appropriate for LAC and will set it apart from other memory institutions for many years.

LAC’s future relies heavily on this initiative, as well as on two of our priorities: digital optimization and service transformation. Not only will these priorities define our goals and future direction, but they will also guide our decision-making process, influence our future projects, include diverse perspectives and ideas for a more inclusive workplace, and progressively change LAC’s organizational culture.

The decisions we make today will be tomorrow’s historical record. We want to help future generations understand what we have experienced during the pandemic and how society has changed as a result of this global upheaval. We play a key role in helping tomorrow’s leaders guide their decisions, while shaping our continuing memory.

In short, LAC’s future direction is based on collaboration. Canada’s memory institutions must play a leadership role to keep pace with the (mainly digital) changes that are reshaping our society. There is no doubt that we will get there by continuing to work together.

Leslie Weir
Librarian and Archivist of Canada

Plans at a glance

Over the past few years, the technological means to implement Library and Archives Canada’s (LAC) mandate—to acquire, process, preserve, facilitate access to and make known Canada’s documentary heritage—have continued to evolve. Canadians’ interest in LAC’s collection and services has also increased considerably in the wake of the digital revolution. Such are the circumstances in which the institution is undertaking a transition focused on digital technology, the public, and the flexibility of in-person and virtual interactions with its partners and users.

To support this ambitious transition program and look to the future, in 2020–21 LAC launched its Vision 2030 initiative. A clear and compelling vision statement, developed collaboratively by management, employees and clients, will define where the institution wants to go and what it wants to achieve between now and 2030. It will be supported by a strategic road map outlining the initiatives needed to achieve this vision between 2020 and 2030. These initiatives will be realistic, practical and engaging, and they will define LAC’s service transformation and digital optimization aspirations. They will be aligned with the changing landscape of work and take the effects of COVID-19 into consideration.

LAC’s 2021–22 Departmental Plan is structured around two strategic priorities: the optimization of its digital capacity and the transformation of its services.

The optimization of digital operations will enable LAC to redefine and enhance its program activities, ensure its digital collection is protected, and make it more accessible to Canadians. As part of its Digital Preservation Strategy, LAC will continue testing the Digital Asset Management System. Ultimately, it will allow LAC to acquire, preserve and make accessible to Canadians a high volume of digital records, such as university theses, works published by Canadian authors, and records of private or public origin.

LAC will capitalize on the momentum created by the construction, starting in 2021, of its new joint facility with Ottawa Public Library to fundamentally rethink its program activities and its services to the public. This collaboration between the two institutions will offer an enriched user experience through the merger of various collections, the organization of exhibitions and events, and free and open access to millions of records and Canada’s rich documentary heritage. The joint facility will also serve as a meeting place where a broader clientele can connect and discover stories that highlight the diversity and richness of the Canadian experience. By beginning this transition now, LAC will be ready for the opening, expected in 2025.

To reach Canadians of all ages, regardless of their province or territory of residence, LAC will create dynamic online programming. Signature events such as the Signatures interviews, the Wallot-Sylvestre seminars and some public conferences will be posted on LAC’s English and French YouTube channels. Digitization will remain a key activity and a significant part of LAC’s strategy to increase virtual access to its collection. The institution will renew its website, following the template and principles of the Canada.ca website. This will make navigation more intuitive, and users will find the information and services they need more quickly. In the same vein, LAC will focus on developing customized digital services. These services will be expanded and focused on user expectations.

LAC will continue the construction of its new preservation facility; it will also optimize and reconfigure a number of storage vaults in the existing Preservation Centre to ensure that its analog collection is preserved in optimal conditions. The new facility will use an automated high-density storage and retrieval system for its holdings. It will be the first carbon-neutral building dedicated to archival preservation in the Americas, and the first federal building built in conformity with the requirements of the Greening Government Strategy.

Lastly, LAC will build on its existing partnerships with academic, cultural and memory institutions (both in Canada and abroad) through collaborative activities aimed at increasing digital optimization, transforming its services, and improving access and visibility of documentary heritage.

For more information on LAC’s plans, priorities and planned results, see the “Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks” section of this report.

Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks

This section contains detailed information on the department’s planned results and resources for each of its core responsibilities. It also contains information on key risks related to achieving those results.

1. Acquiring and preserving documentary heritage

Description

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) acquires documentary heritage of historical value and preserves it for current and future generations, as mandated in the Library and Archives of Canada Act. Its collection is made up of documentary heritage preserved in a variety of media and formats. LAC advises the Government of Canada and its institutions on the management of information and ensures that records of historical value are transferred to its collection. Through legal deposit, all materials submitted by Canadian publishers become part of its collection, as well as sampling of Internet content. Other records of national significance are acquired to document Canadian society. LAC uses state-of-the-art techniques and infrastructure to restore the collection and provide optimal conditions for long-term preservation. LAC also builds its capacity and expertise to ensure the availability of digital records.

Planning highlights

In 2021–22, LAC will accelerate the optimization of its digital capacity to efficiently acquire and preserve Canada’s documentary heritage. As part of its Digital Preservation Strategy, it will continue testing the Digital Asset Management System. Ultimately, this will allow LAC to acquire, preserve and make accessible to Canadians a high volume of digital records, such as university theses, Canadian publications, and records of private or public origin.

Building on this system, LAC will develop and test a workflow for processing documents from federal departments that use GCdocs. Using digital preservation software, specifically Preservica, it will continue exploring data exports and conduct a pilot project for preserving and providing access to born-digital documents.

LAC will continue to explore options for modernizing its Archival Information System (AIS). At the same time, it will review the descriptive data of its archival documents with regard to migrating them to the AIS. The institution will continue its efforts in archiving the Government of Canada’s websites and social media. It will focus in particular on resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

LAC will acquire records of private origin in 25 thematic areas such as the environment, arts and culture, Indigenous peoples, multiculturalism, social justice, politics, the military, science and economics. It will continue to improve its procedures to ensure that private archives are processed in a timely manner and according to service standards. In March 2022, LAC will complete a five-year funded project to acquire, process and preserve the personal and official records of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. LAC will continue to select, acquire, categorize, describe and make accessible government records documenting the federal government’s impact on Canadian society. It will continue its efforts to facilitate the management of information by federal institutions.

In 2021–22, LAC will continue the construction of its new preservation facility (Gatineau 2); it will also optimize and reconfigure a number of storage vaults in the existing Preservation Centre to ensure that its analog collection is preserved in optimal conditions. The new facility is designed to meet strict long-term archive preservation standards. The new facility will use an automated high-density storage and retrieval system for its holdings. It will also be the first net-zero carbon building dedicated to archival preservation in the Americas and the first federal building built in conformity with Greening Government Strategy requirements.

At the same time, LAC is continuing to prepare the collection for its relocation to the new spaces. This notably involves the analysis and reappraisal of government records held at the existing Preservation Centre in Gatineau. LAC will also move forward with its new collection space management strategy (2021–2024), which is intended to find proactive solutions to alleviate the pressure created by the transfer of a large quantity of published and archival material in analog format to LAC.

LAC will continue the conservation treatment of books, maps, manuscripts, prints, drawings, paintings and photographs for long-term preservation, and it will continue to process requests for loans to exhibitions, and for consultations by clients. In a similar vein, LAC will select problematic or obsolete specialized media whose data need to be extracted, then migrated.

In 2021–22, LAC will strengthen its relationships and its position in existing networks. In particular, it will take a leadership role in the network of Canadian libraries and archives. LAC will complete its policy for the National Union Catalogue (Voilà) so the library community is involved in its management, and it will draft the terms of reference for a new advisory committee to represent libraries and relay the needs of users. It will continue to support small public libraries and small libraries at post-secondary institutions that wish to be part of the project to enrich the Canadian national catalogue. LAC will share its collection preservation expertise by continuing to work closely with the Canadian Conservation Institute, the Canadian Museum of History and the Library of Parliament.

In addition, LAC will be guided by its private archives acquisition orientation and recommendations from its Acquisitions Advisory Committee and its Youth Advisory Council to ensure that its acquisition practices better reflect Canadian diversity. It will also seek to build relationships with Indigenous publishers and reach out to publishing associations and universities to facilitate the transfer of digital publications and theses.

LAC will work with other government partners to accelerate its transition program and contribute to Canadian Heritage’s mandate. In 2021–22, it will have a leadership role in organizing a symposium on the Government of Canada’s information management. This event will bring together participants from various departments and partner organizations. Lastly, LAC will put forward its action plan for litigation support to the Crown. The objective of the plan is to make other departments aware of LAC’s mandate and work together with central agencies to include LAC in a timely manner in litigation involving its collections.

United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The future preservation facility will be the first government building in the Americas not to emit any greenhouse gases. This project contributes to the achievement of two United Nations sustainable development goals: SDG 9, which is to build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation; and SDG 12, which is to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns by using resources and energy efficiently.

As the institution responsible for preserving Canadian documentary heritage for current and future generations, LAC is the owner, manager and custodian of five special-use facilities in Canada. Its space requirements are determined by the size of its collection and its future growth. In addition to its five facilities, LAC has leased office space in the National Capital Region, and it has offices at the Vancouver Public Library and Pier 21 in Halifax through collaborative agreements. In 2020, LAC unveiled its 2020–2023 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy. The institution will contribute to the second goal of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy for Canada: greening government. Specifically, it will take steps to “green” its buildings and reduce energy consumption at its facilities.

Experimentation

Resources for testing new solutions will be allocated to the extent that LAC focuses its efforts on transforming its services and optimizing its digital capability.

Key risks

Using its existing systems, LAC may not be able to acquire, manage and sustainably preserve the exponential volume of content that it digitizes or that it acquires or receives in digital format. To mitigate this risk, LAC must optimize the systems, infrastructure, processes and tools that underpin its digital operations. The testing and deployment of LAC’s Digital Asset Management System will partly mitigate the effects of this risk, by contributing to the improvement of its capacity and the interoperability of its digital infrastructure.

Financial, human resources and performance information for LAC’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

2. Providing access to documentary heritage

Description

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) provides access to its collection, while respecting legal, policy and contractual obligations. Using cutting-edge technologies, LAC enables Canadians to access and consult its collection and enrich their knowledge of Canada’s documentary heritage. LAC makes digital content available through its website and social media to improve access to its collection. As well, LAC provides online services and in-person services at its four service points. LAC uses innovative strategies such as crowdsourcing (Co-Lab) and the Digi-Lab to complement the digital content of its collection. LAC also promotes Canadian heritage by creating exhibitions that enable the public to discover its collection in cultural sites throughout Canada. Through the Documentary Heritage Communities Program, LAC supports memory organizations by increasing their capacity to preserve and make their collections accessible.

Planning highlights

In 2021–22 and over the coming years, digital optimization and service transformation will aim to make access to the collection central to LAC’s priorities. LAC will be guided by the Policy on Service and Digital and the Government of Canada Digital Standards to develop user-focused services and provide user-friendly access to content of interest. The current pandemic has strengthened these guidelines and is speeding up their implementation.

In 2021, LAC will launch its new website, which will respect the template and principles of Canada.ca. This is a Treasury Board Secretariat requirement that includes replacing the current domain name by library-archives.canada.ca in English and bibliotheque-archives.canada.ca in French. Over the next year, LAC will have to complete the archiving of the bac-lac.gc.ca and collectionscanada.gc.ca websites. With the user experience at the core of its website renewal, LAC will conduct tests and ensure that navigation is easy and intuitive, and that users quickly find the information and services they need. In the same vein, LAC will refine its Collection Search tool to help its users locate content. It will also focus on developing customized digital services.

To reach Canadians of all ages, regardless of their province or territory of residence, LAC will develop dynamic online programming. It will take steps to develop new partnerships to increase the visibility of its collection and attract a wider audience. Signature events such as the Signatures interviews, the Wallot-Sylvestre seminars and some public conferences, will be posted on LAC’s English and French YouTube channels. The institution will also develop new models for sharing its content in videos and on its social media accounts.

To raise awareness of the richness of Canada’s documentary heritage among young adults, LAC will launch a new series that, with assistance from an expert, will explore a topic and an area of expertise from the past. It will increase its own visibility and the visibility of its collections on Instagram and YouTube, organize youth book launches and continue to rely on the Youth Advisory Council to liaise with young adults.

Digitization will remain a key activity for LAC and a significant part of its strategy for increasing virtual access to its collection. In 2021–22, digitization services will continue to support ongoing litigation, convert reference records into digital format and respond to requests by LAC clients.

LAC will invite its archivists, librarians and conservators to talk about their work on its social media platforms, write posts on its blog or share their expertise in videos and podcasts. This involvement by LAC specialists will help to engage the community of documentary heritage experts and the Canadian public.

LAC will continue its efforts to make government records retained in its archives more accessible. It will review and implement solutions to improve the efficiency of the digital request-handling process, given that the number and complexity of requests made under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act continually increase. In addition, in 2021–22 LAC will support the federal government’s response to the settlement of class actions regarding sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces and National Defence. LAC expects to receive and process nearly 9,000 requests for access to the records of former members of the military and federal public servants. If necessary, it will conduct an ATIP analysis and provide a digital copy of the available records. LAC plans to be similarly involved in the class action filed in response to concerns over systemic racial discrimination and harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces.

LAC will capitalize in 2021 on the momentum created by the starting of construction for its new joint facility with Ottawa Public Library, to fundamentally rethink its program activities and its services to the public. This collaboration between the two institutions will offer an enriched user experience through the merger of various collections, the availability of exhibitions and events, and free and open access to millions of records and Canada’s rich documentary heritage. As the opening of the shared facility is planned for 2025, LAC must begin this transition and start now to plan its service offerings, develop a road map for its future exhibitions and revamp its events.

In the summer and fall of 2020, LAC gradually reopened its various points of service in Canada. To the extent permitted by provincial public health authorities, its employees will continue to provide in-person reference and consultation services. At the same time, LAC will continue to optimize its remote services (such as genealogy, reference and copying services) to ensure that documentary heritage is accessible to the greatest possible number of Canadians. To meet the growing demand for information on how to search and discover its collections, in particular among students and Indigenous communities, customized virtual presentations and entertaining interactive workshops will be hosted by LAC, alone or in collaboration with partners such as the Vancouver Public Library.

In 2021–22, LAC intends to renew partnerships and build new ones with academic, cultural and memory institutions, in Canada and abroad. It will leverage those partnerships to increase digital optimization, accelerate service transformation, and improve access to and visibility of documentary heritage.

The collaboration between LAC and its various partners will create opportunities to share and promote LAC’s national collection and mandate. In this regard, LAC will participate in a series of four virtual discussions (livestreamed on its YouTube channels) with the German National Library. In spring 2021, LAC will also hold a virtual forum with university partners on diversity and inclusiveness in memory institutions. It will also continue its collaboration with Global Affairs Canada and embassies on work related to cultural diplomacy and in advancing the use of its collection to enhance Canada’s presence abroad.

LAC will continue to administer its Documentary Heritage Communities Program to support Indigenous communities and Canadian heritage institutions. It will also continue to implement its Indigenous Heritage Action Plan and provide funding to digitize and preserve recordings in Indigenous languages as part of the second funding call for the Listen, Hear Our Voices initiative. Lastly, LAC has established two networks to contribute to the development of official-language minority communities: one with archival centres and the other with libraries serving those communities. LAC hopes that regular meetings will help to promote the sharing of knowledge and best practices, mentorship and networking.

United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The new joint facility, whose architectural design was unveiled in 2020, will contribute toward SDG 9 and SDG 12. The building will be constructed to LEED Gold standards and will be accessible by light rail and the National Capital Region’s bicycle and pedestrian multi-use trails. In the coming months, the project team and architects will ensure that the facility is carbon neutral by making the following sustainability upgrades to the building:

• Improving the exterior and the insulation
• Installing triple-glazed windows
• Installing solar panels on the roof and the facade
• Using sustainable building materials
• Installing an indoor living wall

The joint facility, set to begin construction in 2021, will meet the requirements of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy for Canada. It will also serve as an environmental model and a showcase for the design of future sustainable and green facilities, both in the National Capital Region and elsewhere in Canada.

Experimentation

Resources for testing new solutions will be allocated to the extent that LAC focuses its efforts on transforming its services and optimizing its digital capability.

Key risks

Virtual access to LAC’s collection may not meet the expectations of current users. As well, LAC may not be able to attract more users. Developing LAC’s digital infrastructure, digitizing the collection, making it available and developing user-friendly digital tools are essential to facilitate access to the collection. To mitigate these risks, LAC will fundamentally transform its services, focusing on user needs and user experience. In particular, it will refine its Collection Search tool to facilitate the retrieval of content and develop customized digital services.

LAC may not have sufficient capability to meet its legal obligations regarding access to the archival records of federal institutions and to personal information. LAC’s responsibilities in this area go well beyond those of other departments, since it is the custodian of billions of pages of documents that it holds on behalf of more than 200 Government of Canada (GC) organizations.

LAC will continue to participate in GC efforts to identify government-wide solutions to the challenges presented by the current delivery model. However, due to the increasing volume and complexity of access requests subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, LAC will need to find solutions so that it can acquire the necessary digital tools and provide the required services in accordance with service standards. The development of a more efficient digital service delivery model will partially mitigate the effects of this risk.

Financial, human resources and performance information for LAC’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Financial, human resources and performance information for LAC’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Financial, human resources and performance information for LAC’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Internal Services: planned results

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 services that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department or in an organization. These services are:

• Management and Oversight Services
• Communications Services
• Legal Services
• Human Resources and Security Management Services
• Financial Management Services
• Information Management Services
• Information Technology Services
• Real Property Management Services
• Materiel Management Services
• Acquisition Management Services

Planning highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of a public service that is more agile, collaborative and equipped to support Canadians during these uncertain times. LAC will demonstrate resilience, adaptability and flexibility to address changes taking place in the work environment. It will focus on promoting a healthy, safe and respectful workplace. LAC will adapt and implement its 2020–2022 Workplace Wellness Action Plan to ensure that it reflects both the reality of employees who have returned to the workplace and those working from home.

The coming into force of the new Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations on January 1, 2021, will bring many changes to legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks governing federal workplaces. LAC will establish a strategy to integrate the new requirements in the institution.

As part of the implementation of its 2019–2022 Diversity and Employment Equity Action Plan, LAC will continue to promote and maintain an inclusive work environment. LAC will adopt flexible, effective and quick processes and policies to attract and retain a diverse, skilled and productive workforce that will be able to meet the evolving needs of the institution and the Canadian public. It will implement its new strategy for the recruitment and retention of Indigenous employees. In 2021–22, LAC will also begin developing its accessibility strategy to meet the new requirements of the Accessible Canada Act.

LAC will continue to implement its 2019–2022 Official Languages Action Plan, which includes meeting its official languages obligations with respect to communications with, and services to, the public. It will continue to explore the best ways to increase employees’ and managers’ awareness of their official languages rights and obligations, whether they are working at the office or from home.

LAC continues to make learning a fundamental part of the work environment for its employees. The development of a career management program for access to information analysts will also be a priority.

To better equip its staff and to participate in service and digital program transformation, LAC will use cloud computing and complete the migration of the current email system to Microsoft 365 Exchange and Protected B certification for Microsoft Teams.

Lastly, LAC will continue to develop its building management master plan. Since 2016, it has been the owner, manager and custodian of five special-use facilities across Canada. Construction of two other buildings is under way (Gatineau 2) or about to begin (LAC and Ottawa Public Library joint facility). The master plan will notably be used to identify and plan the institution’s future needs for the storage of its collection, and to evaluate the current real estate portfolio and its performance against the government’s policy and sustainable development targets.

 

Spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of the department’s planned spending and human resources for the next three consecutive fiscal years and compares planned spending for the upcoming year with the current and previous years’ actual spending.

Planned spending

Departmental spending 2018–19 to 2023–24

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory) spending over time.

 

 

Figure 1 - Text version

Table 9: Library and Archives Canada (LAC) spending trend (dollars)

	2018—19	2019—20	2020—21	2021—22	2022—23	2023—24
Statutory	10,933,874	11,894,413	11,524,962	11,750,446	11,735,618	11,828,695
Voted	113,696,290	122,459,782	127,405,624	131,611,368	168,440,207	136,600,666
Total	124,630,164	134,354,195	138,930,586	143,361,814	180,175,825	148,429,361

The increase in spending in 2022–23 is tied to the substantial completion payment for the construction of a new building for the preservation of analog documents in Gatineau, Quebec (originally planned for 2019–20).

In general, most of the planned budget variations are due to salary adjustments stemming from new collective agreements and the following initiatives:

• Preservation of Indigenous languages and cultures announced in Budget 2017 (2017–18 to 2020–21)
• Acquisition, processing, preservation and accessibility of the private records of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper (2017–18 to 2021–22)
• Partnership between LAC, Ottawa Public Library and the City of Ottawa for the definition and implementation phases of the joint facility project (2018–19 to 2024–25) and ongoing operating costs (2024–25 and subsequent years)
• Support for the Government of Canada’s response to the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Purge Class Action Settlement (2018–19 and 2019–20)
• Real estate portfolio, including the construction of a new building for the preservation of analog documents in Gatineau, Quebec; harmonization of funding for this portfolio is currently under way to match the new spending plan and the substantial completion payment for the construction project planned for 2022–23 (originally planned for 2019–20)

Planned human resources

The following table shows actual, forecast and planned full-time equivalents (FTEs) for each core responsibility in LAC’s departmental results framework and to Internal Services for the years relevant to the current planning year.

Estimates by vote

Information on LAC’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2021–22 Main Estimates.

Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations

The future oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of LAC’s operations for 2020–21 to 2021–22.

The amounts for forecasts and planned results in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The amounts for forecast and planned spending presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

A more detailed future oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on LAC’s website.

Expenses

The $14.5 million decrease in total expenses is mainly due to the following elements:

• A net decrease of $7.2 million related to expenditures and capital investments in the partnership between Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa Public Library and the City of Ottawa for a joint facility project, and other existing facilities
• A decrease of $2.7 million for the revitalization of Indigenous languages and culture initiative
• A decrease of $2.3 million for negotiated salary adjustments
• A decrease of $2.3 million mainly due to additional expenses incurred in 2020–21 for COVID-19 and various transition initiatives

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage

Institutional head: Leslie Weir, Librarian and Archivist of Canada

Ministerial portfolio: Department of Canadian Heritage

Enabling instrument:Library and Archives of Canada Act, S.C. 2004, c. 11

Year of incorporation: 2004

Acronym:LAC

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

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on LAC’s website.

For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the “Minister’s mandate letter.”

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on LAC’s website.

Figure 2: Reporting framework

LAC’s approved departmental results framework and program inventory for 2021–22 are as follows.

Supporting information on the Program Inventory

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to LAC’s program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on LAC’s website:

• Sustainable Development Goals
• Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
• Details on transfer payment programs
• Gender-based analysis plus

Federal tax expenditures

LAC’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures that relate to its planned results for 2020–21.

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance, and the Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis. The tax measures presented in this report are solely the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Organizational contact information

Mailing address
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa ON, K1A 0N4
Canada

Telephone: 613-996-5115
Telephone: 1-866-578-7777 (toll-free in Canada and the United States)
Fax: 613-995-6274
Email: bac.reference.lac@canada.ca
Website: www.bac-lac.gc.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.

Core Responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a Core Responsibility are reflected in one or more related Departmental Results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

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 Priority (priorité ministérielle)

A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Departmental priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

Departmental Result (résultat ministériel)

Any change that the department seeks to influence. A Departmental Result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by Program-level outcomes.

Departmental Result Indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a Departmental Result.

Departmental Results Framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

The department’s Core Responsibilities, Departmental Results and Departmental Result Indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on the actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

experimentation (expérimentation)

The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare, the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works and what doesn’t. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.

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 process used to help identify the potential impacts of policies, Programs and services on diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people. The “plus” acknowledges that GBA goes beyond sex and 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.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2019–20 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities refers to 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.

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 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 Departmental Results.

Program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

Program Inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all of the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s Core Responsibilities and Results.

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.

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.

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