HUMA Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent du développement des ressources humaines, du développement des compétences, du développement social et de la condition des personnes handicapées |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
An Examination of New Directives Governing Contribution Agreements for Selected Programs Delivered on Behalf of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Ottawa, May 18, 2005 -
Today, Raymonde Folco, M.P. for Laval-Les Îles and Chair of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, tabled a report entitled An Examination of New Directives Governing Contribution Agreements for Selected Programs Delivered on Behalf of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
The report was prepared by members of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in response to serious concerns raised by community groups regarding the call-for-proposal process and three other national administrative directives that were implemented by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) on 16 February 2004. These directives were designed in the absence of meaningful consultations with community groups and were implemented without warning. Some organizations that deliver contribution projects on behalf of HRSDC have experienced discontinuity in service delivery as a consequence of delays in project approval and funding, some have halted the intake of clients while awaiting funding approval, while others have witnessed a total collapse of their services.
The report contains 20 recommendations to address the key issues that surfaced during the Committee’s study of this matter. Specifically, the Committee’s report calls for, among other things:
- Suspending the call-for-proposal process until HRSDC has engaged in meaningful consultations with community organizations to determine the appropriate amount of time required to prepare and submit applications, and to review and re-evaluate the selection criteria that are used to rank applications;
- Restricting the call-for-proposal process to individual projects valued at $500,000 and more;
- Moving quickly to multi-year funding agreements;
- Establishing meaningful results-based accountability measures and an evaluation framework for contribution programs delivered under Employment Benefits and Support Measures; and
- Ensuring that HRSDC employees receive the required support to provide stable, high-quality, consistent service to community organizations that deliver contribution programs on behalf of the Department.
Speaking on behalf of members of the Committee, Raymonde Folco said that “the Committee’s report offers guidance and direction to help HRSDC improve its management and delivery of contribution programs.” She also said that “the Department needs to improve its relationship with the many essential community organizations that deliver programs on its behalf. The voluntary sector and other organizations provide a valuable community service to help unemployed individuals find and maintain employment and deserve to be treated as essential partners in the delivery of HRSDC programs.”
There are two dissenting opinions – one by the Bloc Québécois and one by the NDP.
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