Certainly, Mr. Chair, and thank you for the invitation to appear before your committee.
My name is Louise Baird. I'm the assistant secretary of communications and ministerial affairs at the Treasury Board Secretariat.
Today I'd like to take you through the key elements of the Government of Canada's new policy on communications and federal identity that governs advertising. I'll highlight some of the significant changes from the former communications policy.
This new policy sets out rules for the government's communications activities and, first and foremost, how it communicates with the public on policies, program, and services.
Prior to May of last year, the policy, which first came into effect in 2002, had not been significantly updated since 2006. There were some minor modifications introduced in 2012, but these were mostly administrative in nature.
As we all know, the communications environment has evolved dramatically in recent years. Canadians seek out their information through digital channels, and government now primarily interacts with the public through the web and social media.
The new combined policy is supported by the new directive on the management of communications.
Together they modernize the practice of Government of Canada communications to keep pace with how citizens communicate in what is largely a digital environment.
The policy has been streamlined by removing requirements that were duplicated in other Treasury Board policies and by focusing on what is most important. The result is that the number of policy requirements has been reduced from 330 down to 97.
Whereas the previous policy targeted the institution as a whole, the new policy provides more precision. It clarifies accountabilities for deputy heads and for heads of communications, and it provides greater flexibility for departments to determine roles and responsibilities based on their specific needs.
It also sets out the rules related to the Government of Canada's corporate identity. The consistent use of this identity helps brand initiatives, allowing Canadians to easily recognize government programs. It covers the Canada word mark, departmental signatures, and the arms of Canada. The Government of Canada's identity continues to have primacy over the identity of individual departments. It cannot be overshadowed by other logos.
Treasury Board approval is required for those who wish to replace official symbols or add an additional identifying symbol to a department's corporate identity. One new feature: departments must now use their applied title, which is the official departmental name, or the title "Government of Canada" in all of their communications products and activities.
Allow me to take you through four key elements of the new policy: non-partisan communications, spokespersons, digital communications, and public opinion research.
There's been a significant strengthening of the policy and directive with respect to non-partisan communications. While the previous policy required the public service to carry out communications activities in a non-partisan way, it did not include a definition of “non-partisan”. There was really no specific guidance. The new policy explicitly defines, for the first time, the term “non-partisan communications”. “Non-partisan communications” means:
Objective, factual and explanatory; Free from political party slogans, images, identifiers; bias; designation; or affiliation; The primary colour associated with the governing party [cannot be] used in a dominant way, unless an item is commonly depicted in that colour; and Advertising [must not include the] name, voice or image of a minister, member of Parliament or senator.
Let me emphasize that all Government of Canada communications activities must be non-partisan.
With regard to advertising, we put in place an independent third party oversight mechanism to ensure non-partisanship. It's mandatory that campaigns with budgets over $500,000 must be reviewed. Departments may voluntarily submit smaller budget campaigns for review.
During the review process, should there be a disagreement, the matter will be referred to the secretary of the Treasury Board for resolution. To date, there have been no disagreements with the reviews.
These reviews are conducted at two stages; an initial one, done in the planning stages with concepts and story boards; and a final review, done prior to the advertising going to market.
These reviews are currently carried out by Advertising Standards Canada, who we'll hear from, through a contract with the Government of Canada. The Treasury Board Secretariat meets regularly with the ASC and Public Services and Procurement Canada to discuss the review process and other operational issues. At the end of the review, all these review reports are posted publicly on Canada.ca. ASC is the national not-for-profit organization that administers the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. The code sets the criteria for acceptable advertising that is truthful, fair, and accurate. You'll hear more from ASC directly in a few minutes.
The government has also asked the Office of the Auditor General to audit the review mechanism and criteria to assess the effectiveness of the process. The Auditor General will confirm the scope and timing of this audit.
Under the policy, departments have not been allowed to advertise during a general federal election. The new policy extends that period to include the 90 days prior to a general federal election on a fixed date.
I'll make two additional points on advertising. Under the new policy, it is now prohibited to advertise initiatives not yet approved by Parliament, and trade agreements that require ratification cannot be advertised until ratified.
Let me now turn to the subject of spokespersons. Ministers continue to be the principal spokespersons for their departments. However, the new policy clarifies the role of departmental officials to ensure government information is made available to Canadians in a more complete and timely manner.
This is being achieved by allowing subject matter experts, including scientists, to speak publicly about their work without being designated as a media spokesperson. Designated media spokespersons continue to speak in an official capacity on behalf of their department regarding its policies, programs, services, and initiatives. In performing their duties, all public servants must respect privacy and security policies, and the values and ethics code for the public service.
Turning to digital communications, the new policy sets out very clearly a digital-first approach. What this means is that departments and agencies are using the web and social media as the principal channels to connect with Canadians. It's important that the government make information available and engage citizens on the platforms of their choice.
At the same time, we recognize that there are Canadians who will continue to require traditional methods of communications, so multiple channels are still being used to meet the diverse needs of the public. This approach allows the government to reach and engage with Canadians effectively in the official language of their choice, regardless of where they reside or what tools they have at their disposal.
One of the objectives of the policy is to ensure that the views and interests of the public are considered when developing policies, programs, services, and initiatives.
This brings us to the issue of public opinion research. Public opinion research is an important tool for seeking the views of Canadians. In the new policy, the approval level for this research has moved from the minister to the deputy head. This also provides an additional safeguard against the potential of public opinion research becoming politicized.
In addition, the policy provides a new definition of “public opinion research”, making it less restrictive. For example, usability testing, which is often used in the development of web content, is no longer considered public opinion research. This will make it easier to continually improve government information and client services through the use of various web analytics tools.
Mr. Chair, this concludes my remarks. I'll now turn it over to my colleagues.