2025–26 Quarterly Financial Report (for the first quarter ended December 31, 2025)

ISSN 2819-0041

Statement Outlining Results, Risks and Significant Changes in Operations, Personnel and Programs

Introduction

This report complements the Main and Supplementary Estimates for 2025–26 and is prepared in accordance with section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act. It follows Treasury Board guidelines and has not been externally audited.

Additional information on the Office’s mandate, raison d’être and program expenditures is available in the 2025–26 Estimates (Parts I and II) and in the Office’s corporate publications.

Basis of Presentation

This report has been prepared using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities reflects the spending authorities granted by Parliament and those used by the Office, consistent with the Main Estimates and any Supplementary Estimates for 2025–26. The report uses a special-purpose framework tailored to track how spending authorities are used.

Parliamentary authority is required before any funds can be spent by the Government. Such authority is provided through appropriation acts or statutory legislation for specific purposes. When Parliament is dissolved for a general election, section 30 of the Financial Administration Act allows the Governor in Council, under certain conditions, to request that the Governor General issue a special warrant authorizing withdrawals from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. A special warrant is deemed an appropriation for the fiscal year in which it is issued.

While the Office prepares its annual financial statements on a full-accrual basis as part of the departmental results reporting process, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

Highlights of the Fiscal Quarter and the Fiscal Year-to-Date Results

This section identifies and explains significant variances, trends and changes related to increases or decreases in actual expenditures and in relation to planned expenditures. The amounts are compared to the same periods of the preceding fiscal year, for both the quarter and the year-to-date results.

Statement of Authorities

Total Authorities Available for Use

Authorities increased by $1,309,854 (+19%), from $6,884,825 in 2024–25 to $8,194,679 in 2025–26. This increase is primarily due to permanent funding received through Budget 2024, the off-cycle decision supporting the external whistleblowing regime, as well as additional compensation-related funding.

Statement of Budgetary Expenditures by Standard Object

Planned Expenditures for the Year

Planned expenditures for 2025–26 total $8,194,679, an increase of $1,309,854 (+19%) compared to $6,884,825 in 2024–25. Most of the increase relates to personnel costs (+$1,240,481), as the Office continued to expand its workforce to manage the higher workload. Additional small increases are planned for rentals as well as professional and special services, to support operational needs.

Expenditures during the Quarter

Expenditures for the third quarter of 2025–26 totalled $1,902,422, representing an increase of $204,910 (+12%) compared to $1,697,512 in the same quarter of 2024–25. The increase is primarily attributable to higher personnel expenditures (+$204,540, +14%), reflecting salary costs associated with staff recruited to fill positions funded through Budget 2024.

Year-to-Date Expenditures

As of December 31, 2025, year-to-date expenditures totalled $5,116,649, an increase of $167,843 (+3%) compared to $4,948,806 at the same time last year.. 

The variance is largely attributable to increased personnel spending associated with Budget 2024 funding, partially offset by lower professional and special services expenditures due to timing differences in contracting.

Year-to-date expenditures represent approximately 62% of total authorities, compared to 72% in the third quarter last year. The lower utilization rate reflects the materially higher authority base in 2025–26 ($8,194,679 compared to $6,884,825 in 2024–25), rather than a reduction in spending levels, with expenditures continuing to ramp up in line with implementation timelines.

Overall, spending remains aligned with approved authorities and the Office’s planned staffing and operational growth.

Risks and Uncertainties

There is a risk that the Office may not have the capacity to deliver on its statutory mandate. The unpredictable nature of file intake and volume means that, in the event of a sudden increase in cases and investigations, the Office runs the risk of not being able to process files in a timely manner. The recent and sustained trend of increasing numbers of new disclosures of wrongdoing and complaints of reprisal each year has significantly impacted the Office’s caseload, which continues to outpace the Office’s resource capacity. The Office’s risk response strategy is to optimize processes for maximum efficiency, closely monitor caseloads as well as human resource capacity, and support ongoing professional development. In addition, the Office is submitting a request for additional funding that would enable it to increase human resource capacity to effectively deliver its mandate in the context of growing trends and caseloads.

The Office faces the risk of not being able to attract, retain and develop the right people with the appropriate mix of skills. The Office’s strategy to mitigate this risk includes proactive recruitment, as well as the use of casual employment and contractors when warranted.

The Office relies on external service providers for many of its corporate functions. This dependency subjects the Office to the risk of service providers not having the capacity to meet our operational needs at any given time. To mitigate this risk, the Office ensures that memoranda of understanding are in place with each service provider that detail both the services and levels of service to be provided. Regular monitoring of service delivery and audits of service level agreements are also conducted.

Furthermore, there is a risk that external and internal threats (including malware, hacking, and errors) could compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive information and business systems, disrupt operations and negatively impact the Office’s ability to deliver on its mandate. To mitigate this risk, the Office is updating its outdated IT infrastructure, using multifactor authentication across all its critical systems, supporting a new and more reliable case management system, providing quarterly cyber security training for all staff, and reinforcing internal IT capacity.

Significant Changes in Relation to Operations, Personnel and Programs

In terms of the notable changes in personnel during the third quarter of 2025–26, the Office welcomed a new Head of Human Resources to further strengthen the Office’s management and oversight of its human resource capacity.

Approval by Senior Officials

(Original signed by)

• Brian Radford
  General Counsel and Acting Deputy Commissioner
  (acting for the Commissioner)
• Alexandre Roitman
  Chief Financial Officer

Ottawa, Canada
February 26, 2026

Statement of Authorities (unaudited)

Notes:
* Includes only authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end.
** Employer Benefit Plan contributions are paid proportionally over 12 months rather than based on salaries paid. An adjustment is made by TBS at year-end.

Departmental Budgetary Expenditures by Standard Object (unaudited)