A special operating agency (SOA) is a designation given to a

government organization State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

within a department or agency of the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

, or a provincial government, that has some management flexibility, independence, and separate accountability. Federal SOAs function, without legislation, within a

framework agreement In the context of negotiations, a framework agreement is an agreement between two parties that recognizes that the parties have not come to a final agreement on all matters relevant to the relationship between them, but have come to agreement on en ...

approved by their given department's deputy minister, the minister responsible for the agency, and the Treasury Board. They are considered part of the host department and not separate legal entities. Special operating agencies also exist among some provincial governments in Canada.

Federal special operating agencies

Former

* Consulting and Audit Canada Revolving Fund ( Public Services and Procurement) *

Passport Canada Passport Canada (known as the Passport Office prior to June 2006) was an independent, special operating agency of the Government of Canada with bureaucratic oversight provided through Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Passport Ca ...

( Global Affairs) *Physical Resources Bureau ( Global Affairs) * Defence Research and Development Canada

Provincial special operating agencies

Special operating agencies also exist among some provincial governments in Canada.

Manitoba

References

Federal departments and agencies of Canada {{Canada-gov-stub Manitoba government departments and agencies