Governance

Over the past several years, events in the private and public sectors have had a significant impact on the way DCC conducts its business. Stakeholders and the general public demand complete transparency and accountability in all business operations and management activities.

To meet these expectations and fulfill its commitment to good governance, DCC has participated in government-wide reviews to ensure that its business practices reflect the intent of central agencies of the Government of Canada. The Corporation is committed to promptly and proactively implementing all regulations, guidelines and best practices that are the products of these reviews. DCC has already introduced a number of important measures outlined in the Treasury Board of Canada’s Review of the Governance Framework for Canada’s Crown Corporations.

A number of recent policy reviews have been directly relevant to DCC’s core business activities. The Parliamentary Task Force on Procurement Reform, for example, stressed the need for speed, ease, fairness, transparency and cost effectiveness in a procurement system—all qualities inherent in DCC’s processes. And in its October 2007 report, the Auditor General’s office recommended that DCC and DND “establish an integrated framework for managing industrial security on defence projects in accordance with the requirements of the Government Security Policy.” To that end, DCC, in collaboration with DND, refined its processes to ensure that all DND-identified security requirements are included in contracting documentation.

The Corporation continues to monitor government policy changes and will modify its business procedures as required, ensuring that they remain aligned with standard industry practices.

The Board of Directors

Members of the DCC Board of Directors are appointed by the Governor-in-Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services. The Board of Directors safeguards the interests of the Corporation and its stakeholders through three key functions: strategic planning, oversight of management performance monitoring and evaluations, and risk management.

Strategic Planning

The Board takes into account government and industry trends and issues in its review and approval of the Corporation’s strategic plans.

Performance Monitoring and Evaluation

The Board monitors corporate performance against strategic and operational plans and assesses to what extent the Corporation fulfills its public policy objectives and statutory mandate.

Governance Committee

The Governance Committee of the Board reviewed DCC practices to ensure conformance to the most recent recommendations of the Treasury Board and the best practices of other Crown corporations. In 2007, the Board completed its first self assessment.

Board Renewal and Development

The Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors advises the Minister of Public Works and Government Services on the appointments and re-appointment of the President and Chief Executive Officer.

According to the Committee’s profile of skills, experience and competencies required to meet the governance requirements of a Crown corporation, board members must have a strong balance of public- and private-sector experience and knowledge of fields relevant to the Corporation’s business lines, such as engineering, construction, law, finance, general management and public administration.

Risk Management: Framework and Application

Senior management has instituted a comprehensive risk management framework that identifies the risks associated with DCC’s environment and its main business activities, evaluates the probability and potential impact of risk, and defines mitigation measures.

The strategy also allows for operational risks identified at the working level to be referred to more senior levels within the organization for action. This framework is integrated into the Corporation’s strategic planning process to ensure high risk areas receive special consideration, particularly with respect to establishing priorities and allocating resources.

The Corporation’s executive team develops DCC’s risk-mitigation strategy and disseminates it through the organizational structure for implementation.

Audit Committee

The Board has an Audit Committee that oversees the Corporation’s internal operations and provides guidance on workplace values and ethics. All Audit Committee members are independent of management.

The Board’s Audit Committee for 2008–09 is comprised of Chair Kris Matthews, Robert Presser and Shirley McClellan.

Values and Ethics

DCC regularly conducts business in a number of areas such as procurement and contract management that demand the highest level of ethical behaviour. As such, the Corporation, its directors and senior management have established a code of business conduct to inform all staff of the standards for behaviour. The code is based on best practices for fairness, accountability and transparency, and maintained through strong leadership and internal quality management.