Grants and Contributions
Context
Public Safety (PS) administers a portfolio of 38 Grants and Contributions (G&C) programs covering a wide range of emergency management, national security and community safety issues. Grants are used when projects have pre-established eligibility and entitlement criteria and are not subject to financial monitoring. Contributions are used for projects when funding is conditional to performance and are subject to financial and results monitoring.
PS programs are managed by the Emergency Management and Programs Branch (EMBP) and the Crime Prevention Branch (CPB). They vary considerably in size ranging from $272K for smaller programs and up to $616M for the largest which is the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA). While the DFAA is a non-discretionary program, most other programs are subject to a selection process led by public servants and are based on program terms and conditions, pre-established priorities and criteria. Decisions regarding the allocation of G&C are made throughout the year and provide an opportunity for related announcements and events. The department produces a monthly G&C tracker, which is shared with the Minister's Office and assists in identifying announcement opportunities.
Ongoing investments across Canadian communities and stakeholders include but are not limited to:
- First Nations and Inuit Policing Program: support for First Nation and Inuit Communities to support the public safety needs through professional, dedicated and culturally responsive policing.
- Canada Community Security Program: supports the implementation of projects to help communities with a demonstrated history of being victimized by hate-motivated crime through measures to enhance the security of their community gathering spaces.
- Crime Prevention Action Fund: provides time-limited funding to support evidence-based crime prevention initiatives in communities that address known risk and protective factors associated with crime among vulnerable groups of the population, especially children and youth from 6 to 24 years, and chronic offenders.
- Assault Style Firearms Compensation Program: supports the Government's mandate and commitment to safely and securely remove these firearms from Canadian communities.
PS also works to strengthen national emergency preparedness to help prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from all-hazard events. The Department provides resources and expertise to Canadian communities in support of emergency preparedness, disaster mitigation and recovery:
- Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA): In the event of a large-scale natural disaster, where response and recovery costs place a significant burden and would exceed what individual provinces and territories might reasonably be expected to bear on their own, the Government of Canada can provide financial assistance to provincial and territorial governments through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements. The DFAA is non-discretionary in the sense that payments are made to provinces and territories based on a pre-established cost sharing formula, and following federal audit of expenditures.
- Supporting a Humanitarian Workforce to Respond to COVID-19 and Other Large-Scale Emergencies: provide financial assistance to non-government organizations to enhance and maintain a humanitarian workforce to provide surge capacity in response to COVID-19 and other large-scale emergencies; and
- Search and Rescue Programming: provides financial assistance to enhance search and rescue services in the areas of response and prevention, specialized search and rescue capabilities (Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Program), and related activities.
G&C Process
All of PS's G&C are subject to the Treasury Board's (TB) Transfer Payment Policy, Directive and Guidelines. PS also has multiple Departmental directives to support transfer payments programs and ensure they are managed with integrity, transparency and accountability in a manner that is sensitive to risks, citizen/recipient focused, and designed and delivered to address government priorities while achieving results for Canadians.
Program Development
Program Design: Programs are created to deliver on the Government's priorities, which are generally brought up through the Speech from the Throne, as a federal Budget Initiative or in reaction to any current events. To start the cycle, PS must obtain policy authority through the tabling of a Memorandum to Cabinet, then secure a source of funding either through the Budget process or through an off-cycle funding request, and finally follow with a Treasury Board Submission (TB Sub) to confirm the program authority decision. When PS submits its programs' Terms and Conditions for approval as part of the TB Sub, it also recommends whether a funding program should provide grants and/or contributions.
Throughout the development of these documents, Program and Policy areas work together with Finance, Communications, Legal Services and the G&C Center of Expertise (CoE) to design programs that align with policy objectives and deliver results for Canadians. Ministerial approval is required prior to submission of those documents to Cabinet or Treasury Board.
Program/Project Administration
Receipt/Assessment of Funding Requests: Once approved by the TB, programs can launch solicitations for project proposals. There are 3 main types of solicitations used by PS: open, targeted and directed. The most common is the open solicitation where programs set their parameters for accepting applications, identify priorities and develop a funding guide for applicants. The Minister's Office is consulted regarding the solicitation methodology and priorities. Once these are approved, programs then launch the solicitation using the PS website and post the solicitation invitation on the web.
The proposals received are carefully analyzed, assessed and scored by a review committee based on eligibility, strength, feasibility and value-for-money.
Funding Decision and Agreement: Projects recommended for funding are routed for approval as per the Delegation of Financial Signing Authority (DFSA). Once approval is obtained, a funding agreement is signed and recipients can start their projects.
Financial Information: The detailed list on 2025-26 G&C programs presents the financial information for each program, as follows:
- Authorities to date of $1.8B present total planned disbursements by March 31, 2026.
- A Director General (DG) Forum for G&C was established in 2020 to support and manage the Vote 5 envelope across the Department. The primary objective of the DG Forum is:
- Foster policy and program integration by providing a venue for collaboration.
- Consult and engage with policy, program and corporate members on program design to augment consistency of programs horizontally across the department.
- Establish priorities related to G&C for the Department, including discussions of the Vote 5 envelope pressures to enable prioritization and recommendations for decision of overprogramming.
- For the G&C context, it is important to note:
- It is the Department's practice to over-program at the beginning of the year to help reduce the risk of lapsing funds at year-end;
- For the majority of programs, departmental decisions are made throughout the fiscal year:
- spring/summer for projects/programs to be implemented in the same fiscal year;
- fall/winter, for projects/programs to be implemented in the following fiscal year;
- Several programs are fenced, meaning funding can only be allocated for specific program objectives (i.e., funding cannot be reallocated); and
- Any surpluses in individual programs would need to go against a departmental deficit (if required).
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