The TBS functions as the government's management board, oversees the operations of the federal government as a whole, and serves as the general manager and employer of the federal Public Service. TBS is also responsible for the comptrollership function of government, providing oversight of the financial management functions in departments and agencies. It is headed by a Secretary who reports to the incumbent President of the Treasury Board and Chair of the Treasury Board. The Honourable Navdeep Singh Bains serves as Vice Chair of the Treasury Board. TBS offices are located primarily in the L'Esplanade Laurier office complex in Ottawa, though there are several smaller offices elsewhere in Ottawa, as well as regional offices throughout Canada.
The GC 2.0 Program Office in the CIO Branch of Treasury Board Secretariat is responsible for maintaining GCpedia, the Government of Canada internal wiki.
The Access to Information Act gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and any person or corporation present in Canada a right to access records of government institutions that are subject to the Act. The Privacy Act gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and individuals present in Canada the right to access their personal information held by government institutions that are subject to the Act. The Treasury Board Secretariat is responsible for issuing direction and guidance to government institutions with respect to the administration of the Access to Information Act and interpretation of this policy. Access to Information system and the impact of COVID-19 - According to the current Information Commissioner of Canada Caroline Maynard on April 28, 2020 "Even before the pandemic and the widespread adoption of alternative work arrangements, chronic under-resourcing had created backlogs in both access requests and complaints that had grown year after year. Government employees are now working from home on a large scale, with limited access to physical files, protected information and other resources. I understand that this has curtailed much of the gathering of requested documents, and by extension, the ability of access to information teams to process requests and respond to complaints. My office anticipates that the delays we already see will only become worse the longer that alternative work arrangements are in place. Further, we anticipate that some Access to Information and Privacy units will be completely overwhelmed when they resume their full duties." In response "The federal government says it will look at whether investments in new technology could help clear any backlog of information requests that arises from a COVID-19 related bottleneck."
