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 and Parliamentary business; and provides leadership on diversity and inclusion and the Government of Canada’s response to radicalization to violence.
PACB is composed of four Directorates: International and Border Policy; Communications; Cabinet and Parliamentary Affairs and Executive Services; and Policy, Planning and Priorities. The Branch also houses the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (Canada Centre) and the Diversity and Inclusion Secretariat.
As of June 28, 2023, the Branch had 219 full-time equivalents. The Branch had an operating budget of $28.9 M in 2023-24.
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) will coordinate international engagement with these and maintain strong working relationships with their departments and Canada’s network of embassies and high commissions abroad. Additionally, the Division will work across the Public Safety Portfolio to provide integrated policy advice on priority countries to engage, to identify opportunities to advance mandate commitments, and to provide intelligence. Working with Canadian embassies abroad, IAD is also responsible for planning and supporting travel overseas, as required, and will also 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 tracks progress made on commitments under 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 and will support participation in multilateral fora, such as the G7 Interior and Security Ministers’ Meeting. IAD further ensures the interests of the Department are represented across a broad range of complex and horizontal geopolitical files that require coordination with Canada’s embassies and the departments (e.g., The Privy Council Office, and Global Affairs Canada), such as Ukraine, Haiti, the Indo-Pacific Strategy, the Canada-U.S. Arctic Dialogue, and renewal of the UN Strategic Plan.
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 these missions.
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 planning and hosting Ministerial/senior officials’ visits and events in the U.S. fand building relations with U.S. representatives on behalf of the Department.
The Border Policy Division (BPD) provides coordinated and integrated policy advice to advance immigration and border-related files. BPD’s principal policy responsibility is CBSA governance and direction, including the advancement of a public complaints and review body for the CBSA. 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 including: the Preclearance Program, and immigration issues such as irregular migration, the Annual Immigration Levels Plan, and visa policy. Additionally, BPD supports the Canada-U.S. Cross Border Crime Forum (CBCF) by serving as the CBCF secretariat, in conjunction with Justice Canada. The Preclearance 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.
Communications Directorate
The Communications Directorate is responsible for strategic and operational communications services to the Minister, Deputy Minister and all Branches of the Department. Comprised of three Divisions – Corporate Communications and Marketing, Strategic Communications, and Public Affairs – and the Citizen Engagement and Stakeholder Relations team, it coordinates the Government of Canada’s communication response for broad public safety and security issues ranging from major events to natural disasters (e.g., wildfires). As part of this function, it provides support to the Government Operations Centre and develops and strengthens communications networks with provincial/territorial and international partners. Communications also works closely with key private sector partners to advance awareness of key messages in support of safety and security. It also manages the Department’s web sites, implementing government wide web strategy and overseeing print and web publishing. It leads internal communications and employee engagement (InfoBulletin and InfoCentral) for the Department and also manages PS social media accounts, media requests and public inquiries, and provides logistical planning for ministerial events.
The Citizen Engagement and Stakeholder Relations group within the Communications Directorate provides advice to Department colleagues on best practices for engaging their stakeholders. The teams also supports the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security, a forum for consultation with representatives of diverse ethno-cultural communities on national security and public safety issues. 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 times annually.
Policy, Priorities and Planning Directorate (PPPD)
PPPD provides strategic policy and leadership for the Department and Portfolio, leading the strategic policy and planning integration and foresight, along with the equity, diversity and inclusion functions.
The Strategic Policy and Priorities Division (SPPD) 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. 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. It is responsible for the co-development and implementation of the Public Safety Data Strategy, enhances research and data capacity across the Portfolio and leads collaborative efforts between the Portfolio and the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics (Statistics Canada) as Portfolio lead for the National Justice Statistics Initiative. The Division is the primary focal point for GBA Plus, and manages the GBA Plus Advisors Network; coordinating and implementing GBA Plus strategic framework; developing GBA Plus templates and guides; and building GBA Plus departmental capacity to ensure gender and diversity lens are considered throughout decision-making.
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, Corporate Risk Framework, Environmental Scan and Program Information Profiles. It also oversees and coordinates the annual departmental reporting, such as the annual Departmental Plan, Departmental Results Report, Annual Report on the Operation of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, and the Management Accountability Framework assessment; and, is responsible for leading implementation of the TBS Experimentation Directive.
The Diversity and Inclusion Secretariat is a new entity created in 2022 to work closely with the Corporate Management Branch (CMB), departmental champions, committees and employee networks to coordinate and leverage new and existing efforts to lead Public Safety's diversity and inclusion work that supports the Department’s Strategic Framework on Diversity and Inclusion as well as the Clerk’s Calls to Action. The Secretariat plays a lead role in working with the portfolio agencies and other government departments in the coordination and sharing of information and best practices on related initiatives to advance Public Safety’s Framework. It works to foster a culture of inclusion and enhance the capacity and governance of diversity and inclusion initiatives to help ensure sustained action in addressing systemic barriers, racism, and unconscious bias within the workplace, and facilitate the reporting of results.
Cabinet and Parliamentary Affairs and Executive Services (CPES)
CPES manages the Portfolio’s Cabinet, Parliamentary, and Regulatory agendas, including Governor in Council and Ministerial Appointments. The Cabinet, Parliamentary and Regulatory Affairs Division (CPRA) manages Public Safety Portfolio Cabinet and Parliamentary business as one of the largest across the federal government. This work supports the development and advancement of new policies and initiatives across the Portfolio.
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 Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (“Canada Centre”)
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 federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) governments, as well as non-governmental organizations. The Canada Centre chairs an FPT working group and actively contributes to various federal government initiatives, including Online Safety and the Action Plan on Combating Hate. The Canada Centre co-manages with the Emergency Management and Programs Branch the Community Resilience Fund (CRF) at $7 million/year which supports research and frontline CRV projects across the country with academics, civil society, law enforcement, and frontline practitioners. In May 2023, $25 million in new multiyear CRF projects were announced. 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 the Prime Minister’s participation in the annual summit for the Christchurch Call to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online (planned for September 2023); and via, the Canada Centre’s Executive Director, representing Canada as one of seven governments on the Independent Advisory Committee to the industry-led Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism.
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