Shared Services Canada Act

An Act to establish Shared Services Canada Preamble Recognizing that the Government of Canada wishes to stand­ardize and consolidate, within a single shared services entity, certain administrative services that support government institutions; and doing so will enable those services to be provided more effectively and will support the efficient use of public money; Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons, enacts as follows: Short title This Act may be cited as the Shared Services Canada Act. Definitions The following definitions apply in this Act. Crown corporation has the same meaning as in subsection 83(1) of the Financial Administration Act. (société d’État) department has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Financial Administration Act. (ministère) President means the President of Shared Services Canada appointed under subsection 10(1). (président) Power of Governor in Council The Governor in Council may designate a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada to be the Minister for the purposes of this Act. Establishment A department is established, called Shared Services Canada, for the purpose of assisting the Minister in providing the services specified under section 6. Minister The Minister presides over Shared Services Canada and has the management and direction of it. Governor in Council The Governor in Council may specify the services that the Minister must provide through Shared Services Canada; the services that the Minister may provide through Shared Services Canada; the departments that must obtain a service that is specified under paragraph (a) exclusively from the Minister through Shared Services Canada and that are not permitted to meet their requirement for that service internally; the departments and Crown corporations to which the Minister is permitted to provide services through Shared Services Canada; the departments and Crown corporations to which the Minister is not permitted to provide services through Shared Services Canada; and terms and conditions respecting the provision of the specified services. The Minister may, for the purpose of providing services under this Act, exercise any of the powers, or perform any of the duties or functions, that are set out in paragraph 6(a), (b), (c) or (g) of the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act in respect of departments, Crown corporations, persons, organizations and governments to which those services are provided. Delegation — appropriate Minister For the purpose of providing services under this Act to a department through Shared Services Canada, the Minister may delegate any of his or her powers under section 7 in respect of that department, for any period and under any terms and conditions that he or she considers suitable, to that department’s appropriate Minister. Delegation — chief executive For the purpose of providing services under this Act, through Shared Services Canada, to a department over which the Minister does not preside but for which he or she is the appropriate Minister, the Minister may delegate any of his or her powers under section 7 in respect of that department, for any period and under any terms and conditions that he or she considers suitable, to that department’s chief executive. Subdelegation — chief executive The appropriate Minister for a department may, subject to and in accordance with the delegation under subsection (1), subdelegate to the chief executive of that department, for any period and under any terms and conditions that the appropriate Minister considers suitable, the power that was delegated to him or her under that subsection. Subdelegation — subordinate The chief executive of a department may, subject to and in accordance with the delegation under subsection (2) or the subdelegation under subsection (3), subdelegate to any person under his or her jurisdiction, for any period and under any terms and conditions that the chief executive considers suitable, the power that was delegated or subdelegated, as the case may be, to him or her under that subsection. The following definitions apply in this section. appropriate Minister has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Financial Administration Act. (ministre compétent) chief executive means with respect to a department named in Part I of Schedule VI to the Financial Administration Act, its deputy minister; with respect to a department named in Part II or III of that Schedule, the person occupying the position set out opposite that name; and with respect to a department that is not named in that Schedule, the chief executive officer, the deputy head or the person who occupies any other similar position, however called, in that department. (administrateur principal) Governor in Council’s approval The Minister may — with the Governor in Council’s approval, given on a general or a specific basis — provide the services that are specified under paragraph 6(a) or (b) through Shared Services Canada to any person, organization or government, including a foreign government. Charging for services The Minister may, subject to any regulations that the Treasury Board makes for the purposes of this section, charge for the services that are provided under this Act. Authorization Despite the Governor in Council having specified, under paragraph 6(c), that a department must obtain a service that is specified under paragraph 6(a) exclusively from the Minister through Shared Services Canada and is not permitted to meet its requirement for that service internally, the Minister may, if the Minister considers that exceptional circumstances justify it, and under any terms and conditions that the Minister specifies, authorize that department to obtain part of that service other than from the Minister through Shared Services Canada, including by meeting its requirement for that part of the service internally; or authorize that department to obtain all of that service in respect of one or more portions of the department — but not all of the department — other than from the Minister through Shared Services Canada, including by meeting its requirement for that service internally. Power exercised personally The Minister must personally exercise the power that is set out in subsection (1). Instructions A department that is authorized, under subsection (1), to obtain all or part of a service other than from the Minister through Shared Services Canada, including by meeting its requirement for that service or that part of the service internally, must do so in accordance with any instructions that the Minister provides. President The Governor in Council is to appoint a President of Shared Services Canada to hold office during pleasure. Executive Vice-president The Governor in Council may appoint an Executive Vice-president of Shared Services Canada to hold office during pleasure. The President is the deputy head of Shared Services Canada. The Executive Vice-president is to act as President if that office is vacant or if the President is absent or incapacitated. Remuneration The President and the Executive Vice-president are to be paid the remuneration that is fixed by the Governor in Council. Head office The head office of Shared Services Canada is to be in the National Capital Region that is described in the schedule to the National Capital Act. Appointment of employees The employees that are necessary for the conduct of Shared Services Canada’s work are to be appointed in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act. Access to Information Act For greater certainty, for the purposes of the Access to Information Act, the records of other government institutions as defined in that Act or of other organizations that are, on behalf of those institutions or organizations, contained in or carried on Shared Services Canada’s information technology systems are not under the control of Shared Services Canada. Privacy Act For greater certainty, for the purposes of the Privacy Act, personal information that is collected by other government institutions as defined in that Act or by other organizations and that is, on behalf of those institutions or organizations, contained in or carried on Shared Services Canada’s information technology systems is not under the control of Shared Services Canada. The following definitions apply in sections 18 to 20. former department means the portion of the federal public administration known as Shared Services Canada. (ancien ministère) new department means Shared Services Canada as established by section 4. (nouveau ministère) The person occupying the position of President of the former department on the day on which this section comes into force becomes President of the new department on that day and is deemed to have been appointed under subsection 10(1). Employees Nothing in this Act is to be construed as affecting the status of an employee who, immediately before the coming into force of this section, occupied a position in the former department, except that the employee is, on the coming into force of this section, to occupy that position in the new department. Definition of employee In subsection (2), employee has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Public Service Employment Act. Transfer of appropriations Any amount that is appropriated, for the fiscal year in which this section comes into force, by an appropriation Act based on the Estimates for that year for defraying the federal public administration’s charges and expenses for the former department that is unexpended on the day on which this section comes into force is deemed, on that day, to be an amount appropriated for defraying the federal public administration’s charges and expenses for the new department. Transfer of powers, duties and functions If a power, duty or function is vested in or exercisable by the former department’s President or an employee of the former department under any Act, order, rule or regulation, or any contract, lease, licence or other document, that power, duty or function is vested in or is exercisable by the new department’s President or an employee of the new department. References A reference to the former department in any of the following is deemed to be a reference to the new department: Schedule I to the Access to Information Act under the heading “OTHER GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS”; the schedule to the Privacy Act; any order of the Governor in Council made under subsection 3.2(2) of the Access to Information Act; any order of the Governor in Council made under subsection 3.1(2) of the Privacy Act; any order of the Governor in Council made under the definition department in subsection 2(1) of the Public Service Employment Act; and Schedules I.1, IV and VI to the Financial Administration Act. Deputy head The designation of a person as deputy head of the former department in any of the following is deemed to be a designation of the President of the new department as deputy head of that department: any order of the Governor in Council made under paragraph 29(e) of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act; and any order of the Governor in Council made under the definition deputy head in subsection 2(1) of the Public Service Employment Act.