Transition Binder: Portfolio Affairs and Communications Branch Overview
Branch Background
The Portfolio Affairs and Communications Branch (PACB) coordinates the Department's international engagement; provides policy advice to advance border-related matters; provides strategic communications advice and services; provides advice to the Department related to consultation, stakeholder relations, and citizen engagement; leads strategic policy and planning integration within the Department and across the Portfolio; coordinates Portfolio, Cabinet, Appointments, Regulatory and Parliamentary business; and the Government of Canada's response to radicalization to violence.
PACB is composed of three Directorates: International and Border Policy; Communications; Strategic Direction and Integration Directorate. The Branch also houses the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (Canada Centre).
As of November 2024, the Branch had 231 full-time equivalents. The Branch had an operating budget of $31.4 M ($26.1 M in Salary and $5.3 M in O&M) in 2024-25.
Key Files and Responsibilities
International Affairs and Border Policy Directorate (IBPD)
IBPD consists of the International Affairs Division, a PS Counsellor in Washington, D.C., and the Border Policy Division.
The International Affairs Division (IAD) coordinates international engagement with representatives of G7 and Five eyes partners, and maintain strong working relationships with Canada's network of embassies and high commissions abroad. Additionally, the Division works across the Public Safety Portfolio to provide integrated policy advice on priority countries to engage, to identify opportunities to advance mandate commitments, and share information on international developments in the public safety/national security sphere. Working with Canadian embassies abroad, IAD is also responsible for planning and supporting Ministerial and DM-level engagements overseas, as required, and works with partners to develop programs and site visits. IAD leads on engagement with U.S. counterparts to strengthen Canada-U.S. cooperation on law enforcement and security issues, and advances and tracks progress made on commitments under the Cross Border Crime Forum, as well as the Roadmap for a Renewed Canada-U.S. Partnership. It also supports engagement to advance Canada's security interests in the wider world with our allies (such as the strategic dialogue between Public Safety-United Kingdom Home Office) and supports participation in multilateral fora, such as the G7 Interior and Security Ministers' Meeting, which will be of particular importance during Canada's 2025 G7 Presidency. IAD further ensures the interests of the Department are represented across a broad range of complex and horizontal geopolitical files, such as the Indo-Pacific Strategy, including global "hot spots", that require coordination with Canada's embassies and the departments (e.g., The Privy Council Office, and Global Affairs Canada). On the latter, IAD's current focus includes areas such as Gaza/Israel, Ukraine, and Haiti.
Along with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Development, the Minister of Public Safety is responsible for the Canadian Police Arrangement (CPA) and the approval of most of CPA deployments to police capacity and police peacekeeping missions abroad. Recently, after years of negotiations led by IAD and the RCMP, the Correctional Service of Canada, a Public Safety Portfolio Agency, joined the CPA as the first-ever civilian partner agency. Deployments of correctional experts to CPA missions may begin in the near future.
The PS Counsellor at the Canadian Embassy in Washington supports Ministerial engagement and the full range of the Department's policy and programming in the U.S. by advising the Ambassador on PS issues, planning and hosting Ministerial/senior officials' visits, and building relations with U.S. representatives on behalf of the Department.
The Border Policy Division (BPD) provides policy advice on immigration security and border-related files. BPD's principal policy responsibility is CBSA governance and direction, including the creation and implementation of the new public complaints and review body for the CBSA (PCRC Act). The Division consults and collaborates with key PS Portfolio partners, as well as other government departments (OGDs), to provide a public safety lens on border-related files and immigration issues such as irregular migration, the Annual Immigration Levels Plan, special immigration programs (e.g. Gaza, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Lebanon) and visa and travel documents policy. BPD supports the Preclearance Program in Canada. The Program provides approximately 400 U.S. Officers with the capacity to operate in Canada and processes over 16 million U.S.-bound passengers a year. This program delivers economic and security benefits for both countries. BPD liaises with OGDs, U.S. partners and external stakeholders (e.g., airport operators), and advances preclearance expansion in Canada. BPD is designing with the US a new regulatory-based vetting program for preclearance operations.
Communications Directorate
The Communications Directorate is responsible for strategic and operational communications services to the Minister, the Deputy Minister and all Branches of the Department. Three Communications Divisions and the Citizen Engagement and Stakeholder Relationsteam coordinate the Government of Canada's communication response for broad public safety and security issues ranging from major events to natural disasters.
The Public Affairs Division (PAD) is the key point of contact with the Ministers' offices: The Ministerial Liaison team coordinates approvals as a single window for all public communication products, and provides logistical planning for ministerial events. PAD also manages media requests, public inquiries, issues management and all departmental social media accounts. The Division also develops speeches for Ministerial events and Parliamentary appearances, and ensures the translation of public communications products. It also has a mandated role under the Federal Emergency Response Plan (FERP) to ensure the communications planning and coordination function for whole-of-government in the event of a national emergency or large-scale natural disaster; and includes the planning and readiness through emergency exercises. It is also the permanent co-chair of the Government Emergency Communicator's Network; a federal community of practice for emergency communicators. In addition, PAD is responsible for providing media monitoring services to the Portfolio, as well as to the Communications Security Establishment.
The Strategic Communications Division provides communications advice to Branches, the DM and Ministers' offices, develops and implements communications plans to support the department's objectives and priorities and develops and strengthens communications networks with provincial/territorial, international, and non-governmental partners. Comprehensive communications strategies are informed by environmental analysis and include the development of a variety of communications products to reach Canadians.
The Corporate Communications and Marketing (CCM) Division manages the Department's web sites (including implementing the government wide web strategy), creative services, and overseeing print and web publishing. In 2024-25, CCM opened a studio to support photography and video production to support the Government of Canada's digital first policy. CCM also leads internal communications and employee engagement (Info suite of products including InfoBulletin and InfoCentral) for the Department. CCM also manages national marketing and advertising campaigns and marketing related public opinion research. For fiscal year 2024-25, there were five campaigns with a total budget of just over $3 million dollars.
The Citizen Engagement and Stakeholder Relations group provides expert advice, guidance, and resources to Department colleagues on best practices for engaging their stakeholders. The team also ensures that Departmental engagement activities are compliant with PCO, TBS, and PSPC policies regarding the reporting of consultation and public opinion research activities.
The team also is the secretariat for the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security (CCRS), a stakeholder group that was created to engage Canadians and the Government of Canada in a long-term dialogue on matters related to national security and public safety. CCRS members are leaders in their respective communities and have extensive experience in social and cultural matters. Together with the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Public Safety appoints Roundtable members, and has an opportunity to engage directly with them when they meet, typically three to four times annually. The CCRS's membership was renewed in 2023 and since then, the Roundtable has met three times (two virtual and one in person). The next in person meeting of the CCRS is November 15 to 16 in Regina, SK with additional virtual meetings planned in winter and spring of 2025.
Strategic Direction and Integration Directorate (SDID)
SDID provides strategic policy and leadership for the Department and Portfolio, leading the strategic policy, planning integration and foresight functions. SDID manages the Portfolio's Cabinet, Parliamentary, and Regulatory agendas, including Governor in Council and Ministerial Appointments and the Public Safety Portfolio Cabinet and Parliamentary business as one of the largest across the federal government. With the leadership of Access to Information and Privacy and Executive Services, it also leads and delivers Access to Information and Privacy programs for the Department and Ministerial Correspondence and Secretariat Services for the Public Safety Portfolio.
The Strategic Policy and Cabinet Affairs Division (SPCAD) provides strategic and coordinated advice to support the implementation of the Government's policy priorities. It tracks and reports on Portfolio-wide mandate priorities and commitments. It coordinates the Portfolio's Federal Budget process and off-cycle requests, leads on the development of ADM, DM and Ministerial transition materials, and provides strategic input on horizontal policy issues, such as mandate letter commitment tracking (MLC) and medium-term policy planning (MTP). It also leads on the Arctic file, coordinating with departmental, Portfolio and OGD partners to support DM and ADM Arctic Committee meetings and develop horizontal initiatives such as the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework. SPACD also serves as a 'single window' to manage the Cabinet agenda for the Portfolio. It coordinates the development of Cabinet proposals led by PS Ministers and those led by OGDs that require PS Ministers' co-signature and supports PS Ministers by drafting notes for items of interest for their use at Cabinet and Cabinet Committee. The Division also coordinates materials to fill vacancies for Ministerial and GIC appointments as well as regulatory and order in council proposals to the Treasury Board on behalf of the Portfolio. The Division is also the primary focal point for GBA Plus, and manages the departmental GBA Plus Advisors Network; coordinating and implementing the departmental GBA Plus Framework; developing tools and guidance to support the department's GBA Plus capacity to ensure intersectional impacts are considered throughout decision-making. Finally, SPCAD is also the departmental lead in establishing a foresight function for Public Safety, as well as medium and long-term policy planning, by enhancing policy development capacity across the Department and Portfolio to encourage deep forward thinking and enhance organizational agility.
The Strategic Planning Division (SPD) supports the Department by setting its strategic objectives and adhering to the TBS Policy on Results, primarily by developing and maintaining foundational corporate planning tools, such as Departmental Priorities, Departmental Results Framework, Enterprise Risk Inventory, Departmental Service Inventory, Environmental Scans and Program Information Profiles. It oversees and coordinates the annual departmental reporting (Departmental Plan, Departmental Results Report, DM Performance Management Agreement) and Portfolio input to Canada's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy and the annual Management Accountability Framework assessments. SPD also acts as the Department's Governance Secretariat, Innovation Hub and is leading efforts towards Integrated Business Planning across the department. The Division is working across partners to increase strategic planning awareness and capacity; the availability of planning information and data; and develops and coordinates the production of status reports and departmental dashboards to support management decisions on priorities, transformation and resource allocation.
To support the Minister, the department and our portfolio agencies, the Parliamentary Affairs Division (PAD) acts as the single window for Parliamentary affairs for the Public Safety Portfolio. It provides strategic and procedural advice while providing value throughout its processes. The division coordinates the preparation of Question Period and the tabling of Parliamentary returns, annual reports, and other documents before both Houses on behalf of the Minister and Parliamentary Secretary. They also provide strategic advice and leadership in developing parliamentary strategies for policy proposals, and managing the portfolio's legislative agenda. Lastly, they coordinate all appearances by Ministers and Senior Officials from the full PS Portfolio before parliamentary committees, provide advice on parliamentary procedure and practices and offer briefings for PS senior officials on what to expect prior to their appearances before Parliamentary Committees.
The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence ("Canada Centre")
Created in 2017 as the government's centre of excellence in prevention of violent extremism, the Canada Centre leads Canada's National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence (CRV). The Canada Centre's in-house experts are central to its capacity-building role across the country in the still-nascent field of CRV, and providing science-based advice to other levels of government and to non-governmental organizations. The Canada Centre chairs an federal-provincial-territorial working group and actively contributes to various federal government initiatives, including the Online Harms Bill and Canada's Action Plan on Combating Hate. The Canada Centre co-manages with the Emergency Management and Programs Branch the Community Resilience Fund (CRF) grants and contributions program which has supported 69 projects totaling $79 million for research and frontline CRV projects across the country with academics, law enforcement, and civil society. That includes funding frontline psycho-social clinics in several cities that counsel people referred as being at risk of extremist violence. The Canada Centre also coordinates the National Experts Committee on Countering Radicalization to Violence, which provides the Minister and department with policy advice.
The Canada Centre is also a centre of excellence internationally. This includes leading Canada's engagement on prevention of violent extremism within the Five Eyes and the G7; coordinating Canada's work with the Christchurch Call to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online (a priority for our prime minister); representing Canada as one of seven governments on the Independent Advisory Committee to the industry-led Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism.
Budget 2024 provided the Canada Centre, through Canada's Action Plan on Combatting Hate, with $19.5 million in new funding over three years. This includes:
- a $3 million/year top-up to the CRF (bringing it to $10 million/year through 2026-27)
- $2 million/year to create a new data analytics group to better understand trends in radicalization to violence across Canada, and how online and offline prevention programs are performing; and
- $1 million/year specifically to advance Canada's Christchurch commitments, which may include a Canadian on the Christchurch secretariat staff
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