Program directory · Employment and Social Development Canada
Government of Canada Telephone General Enquiries Services
- Department
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Program code
- BGQ01 (HRSD)
- Core responsibility
- Information Delivery and Services for Other Departments
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Government of Canada Telephone General Enquiries Services support Canadians through 1 800 O-Canada as well as Customized Information Services (CIS).
1 800 O-Canada provides Canadians access to government information over the phone, including general information on all Government of Canada programs, services, initiatives and events. and it supports the Government’s communication needs in crisis situations and is part of the Federal Emergency Response Plan.
Canadians who require specialized or client-specific information are connected or are directed to appropriate online resources, program call centres or in-person resources.
Customized Information Services (CIS) provide support to Canadians on behalf of other Government of Canada departments that require a service delivery partner to meet their communication needs.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government of Canada Telephone General Enquiries Services | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $130M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Employees (FTEs) 61, against 25 in 2018-19 (+144%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2019-20 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of 1 800 O-Canada calls answered.; Percentage of Customized Information Services calls answered within service level agreement standards. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2019-20 | Spending $21.4M, against $15.1M in 2018-19 (+42%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2028-29 | Planned employees (FTEs) 75, against 45 in 2027-28 (+67%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 80% | 2019 | 78% Higher than forecast call volumes and a new telephone system contributed to falling just below target. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 80% | 2020 | 70% Note that the March result fell to 18% due to exceptional call volumes surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The year-to-date value in the previous months, from April 2019 to February 2020, was 81%. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 80% | 2021 | 62% The volume of calls answered was significantly higher than previous years. The highest volume of incoming calls took place in April (Covid-19 wave one) and in the fall of 2020 (Covid-19 wave two). Call durations were also significantly higher than historical levels. The increase in volume limited the capacity to answer calls in less than 18 seconds as per the target. The target was reached or sur… | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 80% | 2022 | 76% This result represents an overall improvement compared to last fiscal year of +14% (previous fiscal year result was 62%). The 1 800 O-Canada service received a sustained, high level of call volume due to the Covid-19 pandemic (+2.3% comparted to previous year). The service narrowly missed the annual target because of temporary labour market shortages from July to November that delayed recruitment… | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 80% | 2023 | 80% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 80% | 2024 | 87% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 80% | 2025 | 81% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 95% | 2019 | 98% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 90% | 2019 | 98% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 80% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $15.4M | $15.1M |
| 2019-20 | $15.2M | $21.4M |
| 2020-21 | $15.2M | $21M |
| 2021-22 | $15.4M | $17.9M |
| 2022-23 | $16.3M | $17.7M |
| 2023-24 | $16.4M | $18.6M |
| 2024-25 | $16.3M | $18.1M |
| 2025-26 | $18.4M | — |
| 2026-27 | $14.9M | — |
| 2027-28 | $14.3M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $17.8M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 16 | 25 |
| 2019-20 | 59 | 61 |
| 2020-21 | 59 | 58 |
| 2021-22 | 59 | 58 |
| 2022-23 | 59 | 45 |
| 2023-24 | 59 | 47 |
| 2024-25 | 52 | 42 |
| 2025-26 | 54 | — |
| 2026-27 | 46 | — |
| 2027-28 | 45* | — |
| 2028-29 | 75* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $15,413,377 | $15,413,377 | $15,413,377 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $15,190,435 | $15,190,435 | $15,190,435 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $15,178,569 | $15,178,569 | $15,178,569 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $15,436,179 | $15,436,150 | $15,436,150 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $16,289,964 | $16,289,964 | $16,289,964 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $16,401,210 | $16,401,210 | $16,406,606 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $16,295,162 | $16,219,419 | $16,071,162 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $18,439,213 | $16,194,298 | $16,181,516 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $14,909,335 | $14,267,397 | $17,811,039 | ||||||||
| Actual | $15,071,978 | $21,371,300 | $20,978,491 | $17,861,997 | $17,686,044 | $18,630,082 | $18,102,629 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
