Chapter 3 - Serving Canadians Through Partnerships

The following information is out of date.

Objective: Work as a collaborative, networked government and build whole-of-government approaches to service that enable information sharing, integrated service delivery and strategic investment for the benefit of Canadians.

Public opinion surveys have sent the same message over and over again: Canadians want governments to work together to give them better access to all the programs and services they need.

To better serve citizens, Service Canada is collaborating with many partners, including other federal departments and agencies, other governments, and agencies at the community level.

The Results So Far

Providing One-Stop Access to More Services

Canadians know us primarily as the place to go for the Employment Insurance (EI), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) benefits we provide on behalf of Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC). We also deliver Social Insurance Numbers and other services and programs on behalf of HRSDC.

A growing number of other government departments have already turned to Service Canada to help them reach more Canadians, more easily.

For example:

Farmers and their families get assistance to participate in training to improve their farms or pursue employment off the farm through the Canadian Agricultural Skills Service. We deliver this on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to farmers and their families in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Yukon.

Employers who want to bring workers into Canada from other countries come to us for the Foreign Worker Program, which we deliver on behalf of HRSDC.

Veterans returning to the workforce in Manitoba are going to Service Canada for information on the Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) benefits and programs available to them under a pilot project in that province. People who want to reach VAC call centres can also contact the VAC Contact Centre Network directly through easy access buttons on the phones in our centres.

Canadians who want to reach Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) call centres can use priority phone lines at our Service Canada Centres in Edmundston, New Brunswick; Trois-Rivières, Drummondville, Verdun and Lasalle, Quebec; Brockville and Richmond Hill, Ontario; Brandon, Manitoba; Regina, Saskatchewan; and Kamloops, British Columbia under a pilot project. Our staff are also trained to help Canadians navigate the CRA Web Site.

People looking for services and information from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) can do so through a successful pilot program in our Service Canada Centres in Trois-Rivières and Sherbrooke, Quebec. Further discussions are taking place to establish other ways we can collaborate with CIC. As well, we have responded to opportunities to provide special services to Canadians. When the Government of Canada decided to help low-income Canadians needing relief from high energy prices, it turned to us. We reached about 1.6 million low-income seniors with their National Energy Cost Benefit payment using the same system for delivering Guaranteed Income Supplement payments.

Canadians can see the most current list of our service offerings (programs and services we deliver) at: servicecanada.gc.ca. (Appendix 2)

Service Canada Fact

Cooperating to Deliver Services to Canadians

We are in the early stages of collaborating with partners to create one-stop locations that make it easier for people to get government and community services at the same time.

For example, many of our outreach sites are in community and municipal government centres where people already go for other services.

Easier Access to Passport Applications

We collaborated with the Government of Ontario and the City of Ottawa to open a centre in Ottawa City Hall that combines the services of all three levels of government.

In partnership with Transport Canada and Service New Brunswick, we now offer Pleasure Craft Licencing through Service Canada Centres across the country.

In order to get various programs and services from different levels of government, Canadians (individuals and businesses) have to prove their identity repeatedly and often in different ways. We want to make this simpler for citizens. We are working with federal, provincial, and municipal partners to develop a framework that would allow a service delivery organization in one jurisdiction to recognize and accept the identity validation done for a client by another jurisdiction.

These efforts are showing us what it takes to make one-stop service work well for citizens and all partners.

Working Closely with Community Partners

Service Canada has many contribution agreements with voluntary sector organizations who provide services at the community level.

Productive relationships with voluntary sector organizations are essential to ensuring our services are delivered in ways that respond to citizen and community needs. Following a review by the Standing Committee on Human Resources and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, we established a Joint Working Group with voluntary sector representatives to develop these relationships and adapt new processes.

Partners in Service

We have simplified the management of contribution agreements while ensuring accountability for public funds allowing sponsor organizations to focus on results.

We have also established a new Service Canada Voluntary Sector Advisory Committee, and are including representatives of communities, voluntary organizations and businesses on other advisory councils.

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