ARCHIVED - Department of Justice Canada

Budgetary

Plus: Non Budgetary

Total

Program Activity

Operating

Capital

Grants

Contributions and Other Transfer Payments

Total: Gross Budgetary Expenditures

Less: Respendable Revenue

Total: Net Budgetary Expenditures

Loans, Investment and Advances

A.1 Developing policies and laws

A.2 Developing and implementing programs

B.1 Providing legal advisory, litigation and legislative services to government

B.2 Providing prosecution services

TOTAL

628.8

-

2.3

284.6

915.7

-

915.7

-

915.7

$ millions

2006-2007

Vote or Statutory Item

Truncated Vote or Statutory Working

Main Estimates

Planned Spending

Total Authorities

Total Actuals

Vote 1

Operating Expenditures

549.0

553.3

591.8

546.4

Vote 5

Grants and Contributions

286.9

372.5

364.0

355.0

(S)

Minister of Justice – Salary and motor car allowance

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

(S)

Contribution to employee benefit plans

79.8

79.8

72.7

72.7

Total

915.8

1,005.7

1,028.6

974.2

Main Estimates

Planned Spending

Total Authorities

Actual Spending

1. Response provided within 30 days following receipt of request; the response
time may be extended pursuant to section 9 of the ATIA. Notice of extension to be sent within 30 days after receipt of request. The Access to Information Act provides fuller details: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/ en/A-1/218072.html.

1. Processing of tracing applications under Part I of the Actwill be completed and a response provided to provincial/territorial enforcement programs within 10 business days.

2. Garnishment applications under Part II of the Act
will be in effect 35 days after receipt.

3. Licence-denial applications under Part III of the Act
will be initiated and terminated within 10 business days.

4. Public enquiries are to be responded to within 48 hours.

A total of 23,087 applications received
and treated within 10 business days. Met at 100%

80,460 garnishment applications accepted with the time frame. Standard met

Standard met

Standard met

Informal feedback and general day-to-day interactions with clients and stakeholders, including provincial and territorial maintenance and enforcement programs, courts, creditors and other federal government partners, indicate a high level of satisfaction with the services provided under both the Family Orders and Agreement Enforcement Assistance and Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings programs.

A client satisfaction survey was launched in January 2005 to provide a more formal assessment of client satisfaction with service standards, levels and accessibility. Findings indicate strong levels of satisfaction

1. Clearance Certificates are to be issued within 3 weeks of receipt of the application.

2. Divorce information is to be provided to Statistics Canada annually, according to schedule.

3. All telephone enquiries are to be responded to within 24 hours and all written enquiries are to be responded to within

5 business days. 4. Quarterly invoices and compensation reports are to be issued within 30 days.

Standard met at 90%

Standard met

Calls has increased and service level was met at 85%. Enquiries met at 100%.

Met at 100% with
new system

4) Description: Aboriginal people continue to be over-represented in the criminal justice system, both as victims and accused, and under-represented in the judiciary, legal profession and police. When Aboriginal people come into contact with the justice system as victims or accused, their needs - related to culture, economic positions and social circumstances - must be taken into account to make the system fairer, relevant and more effective for them.

One of the federal government's key responses to addressing these issues has been the Aboriginal Justice Strategy (AJS), which co-funds diversion, sentencing, and family and civil mediation projects in Aboriginal communities with provinces and territories.
In response to recommendations related to justice made by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the AJS was established in 1996 and was subsequently renewed in 2001. The mandate of the AJS is to:

• help Aboriginal people assume greater responsibility for the administration of justice in their communities;
• promote the inclusion of Aboriginal values within the Canadian justice system; and
  
• contribute to a reduction in rates of crime, victimization and incarceration among Aboriginal people.

The AJS is managed by the Department of Justice Canada's (DOJ) Aboriginal Justice Directorate (AJD). In collaboration with provincial and territorial counterparts, the AJD pursues the goals of the AJS through policy development and support, community-based justice program funding, training and development funding, self-government negotiations and capacity-building support, and outreach and partnership (formerly the Aboriginal Justice Learning Network: AJLN). The AJS supports activities on- and off- reserve and in urban settings to all members of their communities.

6) Results Achieved: According to the AJS formative evaluation of June 2005, the success of the AJS has taken several forms including more awareness of victims' issues and greater mainstream justice system awareness and recognition.

In 2005-2006, the AJS made the largest funding commitment to community-based programs in its history. In total 111 programs were operational, an increase of 2% from 2004-05. This has allowed communities to participate meaningfully in the administration of justice.

A study of five community programs that was conducted as part of the 2000 AJS evaluation found evidence that the five programs were more effective in reducing recidivism than comparative mainstream programs, and thus crime among Aboriginal offenders in their communities.

The impact of the AJS on victimization, crime and incarceration rates will be examined in the summative evaluation (06/07).

17) Significant Audit and Evaluation Findings and URL (s) to Last Audit and / or Evaluation:

Summary of Key Findings of the AJS Formative Evaluation June 2005

Key findings include:

• The objectives of the AJS continue to be relevant and will be more so with the expected increase in the Aboriginal population, particularly youth.
  
• Justice continues to be a necessary aspect of greater Aboriginal self-government.
  
• Since the last evaluation in 2002, there has been a positive impact on the level of cooperation between various Aboriginal stakeholders. This includes internal and external partners and between officials in Aboriginal communities and local mainstream justice officials.
  
• The success of the AJS goes beyond its noted objectives and includes:
  • healing in the communities,
    
  • improvements to individual lives,
    
  • youth feeling more connected their community,
    
  • increased awareness of victims issues, and
    
  • increased awareness within the mainstream justice system of Aboriginal culture and the existence of community alternative programs and more recognition is being given to these programs.
    
  • Communities with AJS programs have assumed substantial responsibility for the administration of Criminal Code offences.

The report makes 9 recommendations. These focus on:

• The need for better coordination on Aboriginal justice issues with partners and early identification of priorities for the next mandate;
  
• Local and mainstream justice system support for community-based justice programs; and
  
• Undertaking a review of the AJLN to determine whether its structure is sufficient to fulfill the mandate of the AJLN.

More details can be found at: http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/eval/reports/05/abomid/index.html

17) Significant Audit and Evaluation Findings and URL (s) to Last Audit and / or Evaluation:

Summary of Key Findings of the AJS Formative Evaluation June 2005

Key findings include:

• The objectives of the AJS continue to be relevant and will be more so with the expected increase in the Aboriginal population, particularly youth.
  
• Justice continues to be a necessary aspect of greater Aboriginal self-government.
  
• Since the last evaluation in 2002, there has been a positive impact on the level of cooperation between various Aboriginal stakeholders. This includes internal and external partners and between officials in Aboriginal communities and local mainstream justice officials.
  
• The success of the AJS goes beyond its noted objectives and includes:
  • healing in the communities,
    
  • improvements to individual lives,
    
  • youth feeling more connected their community,
    
  • increased awareness of victims issues, and
    
  • increased awareness within the mainstream justice system of Aboriginal culture and the existence of community alternative programs and more recognition is being given to these programs.
    
  • Communities with AJS programs have assumed substantial responsibility for the administration of Criminal Code offences.

The report makes 9 recommendations. These focus on:

• The need for better coordination on Aboriginal justice issues with partners and early identification of priorities for the next mandate;
  
• Local and mainstream justice system support for community-based justice programs; and
  
• Undertaking a review of the AJLN to determine whether its structure is sufficient to fulfill the mandate of the AJLN.

More details can be found at: http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/eval/reports/05/abomid/index.html

4) Description: Aboriginal people continue to be over-represented in the criminal justice system, both as victims and accused, and under-represented in the judiciary, legal profession and police.  When Aboriginal people come into contact with the justice system as victims or accused, their needs – related to culture, economic positions and social circumstances – must be taken into account to make the system more relevant and effective for them. 
One of the federal government’s key responses to addressing these issues has been the Aboriginal Justice Strategy (AJS), which co-funds, along with provinces and territories, community-based justice programs offering one, all, or a combination of diversion programs, sentencing circles or panels, family and civil mediation and other justice activities in Aboriginal communities.  In response to recommendations related to justice made by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the AJS was established in 1996 and was subsequently renewed in 2001 and again in 2007.  The mandate of the AJS is to:

• help Aboriginal people assume greater responsibility for the administration of justice in their communities;
• promote the inclusion of Aboriginal values within the Canadian justice system; and
• contribute to a reduction in rates of crime, victimization and incarceration among Aboriginal people in communities operating AJS programs.

6) Results Achieved:  In 2006-2007, the AJS supported 108 community-based justice programs serving just under 400 Aboriginal communities across Canada, along with 18 training and development and 4 self-government capacity-building initiatives. 

13) Program Activity

17) Significant Audit and Evaluation Findings and URL (s) to Last Audit and / or Evaluation:  A summative evaluation of the 2002-2007 AJS mandate was conducted in 2006-07 and finalized in April 2007. The complete 2007 AJS summative evaluation report will soon be posted on the Department of Justice Program Evaluation web site at: http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/eval/index.html.

reflect Aboriginal values and beliefs and recommended that: 

• in the event additional funding for the AJS is secured, increasing the number of, and participation in, community-based justice programs should be an overall funding priority;
• the AJD should work toward formalizing the selection process for new AJS programs, making the application process more accessible, enhancing communication about the program, and should develop tools to improve AJS program reporting; and
• the AJD should increase the level of coordination of provincial, territorial, and federal efforts in relation to the implementation of community-based justice programs.

6) Results Achieved :

• Building on the activities of the first three years of the Strategy, in 2006-2007 the Fund: implemented 5 new services; expanded or enhanced 23 services; and maintained 49 family justice services.
• A Family Law Information Centre was implemented in the Yukon as was an education program on coping with separation and divorce for children in all of the Yukon’s elementary schools.  PEI introduced a case management system for their Recalculation office. Newfoundland and Labrador implemented a case tracking system for its Family Justice Services Division, which includes all the service programs, in order to integrate and coordinate these systems to assist the courts as well as the programs.  Newfoundland and Labrador also implemented a family law website for its courts which will include process information, as well as educational information for families experiencing separation and divorce.  Eight jurisdictions either expanded or made enhancements to their parenting education programs, while the other five maintained their services.  Seven of the 13 jurisdictions made enhancements to their Maintenance Enforcement Program systems and delivery mechanisms.

13) Program Activity (PA)
A2 – Developing and implementing programs

17) Significant Audit and Evaluation Findings and URL (s) to Last Audit and / or Evaluation:
An internal audit of the Child-centred Family Justice Fund was undertaken in the Fall of 2006. The audit was positive with no major recommendations. The Audit Report was finalized in April 2007 and will soon be posted on the departmental website at http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/audit_reports/index.html.  Preliminary work on the Summative Evaluation of the Strategy has begun.  The evaluation will be completed in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. 

The mechanics of the Contraventions Act includes the identification of federal offences that are to be considered “contraventions” and the establishment of a scheme to process these contraventions. In 2001, the Federal Court was asked to clarify the extent to which judicial and extra-judicial language rights requirements were applicable in the context of the Contraventions Act. The Court concluded that while the federal government is authorized to use the prosecution scheme of a province or territory to process federal contraventions, it must comply with all language rights requirements that would be applicable in the context of a federal prosecution scheme. More specifically, the Court stated that any level of government that processes federal contraventions is, in fact, acting on behalf of the Government of Canada.

5) Strategic Outcomes:

• Immediate Outcome: Increase capacity to offer judicial and extra-judicial services to the prosecution of federal contraventions in both official languages.
• Intermediate Outcomes: The judicial services provided as part of the prosecution of federal offences under the Contraventions Act respect the provisions set out in section 530 and 530.1 of the Criminal Code and the extra-judicial provided the provisions set out in Part IV of the Official Languages Act.

6) Results Achieved:

• In Ontario, with the funding allocated, courts located in the seven targeted areas increased their capacity to offer judicial and extra-judicial services in both official languages.
• Our Agreement with Nova Scotia provides for bilingual personnel for counter services, part-time Justice of the Peace & Court Monitor and toll free number.
• In Manitoba, the activities funded have increased the courts’ capacity to offer bilingual services by adding video link equipment in court locations where such equipment was previously unavailable to facilitate access to bilingual magistrates or justices of the peace. The video link allows the provincial government to provide access to French services in areas where the demand for such services is low. It also provides access to Justices of the Peace, a Justice Generalist in a Bilingual Service Centre or to a toll-free phone number that represents an innovative strategy to provide extra-judicial services in French to any contravener in the province.
• Our agreement with British Columbia provides for bilingual personnel in two court offices, signage and a 800 telephone line. Bilingual tickets were adopted through provincial legislation and 8 bilingual forms are in use. Information in both official languages is available on the Web site and a bilingual pamphlet outlining the language rights was developed and distributed in all court offices.

16) Comment(s) on Variance(s):
The reduction in forecasted expenditures is due to the fact that:

• Quebec will not be requiring funding;
• The renegotiated agreement with Ontario brought the amount down by $1M;
• Amounts of $1M and 3K were forecasted for Alberta and Newfoundland & Labrador respectively and no agreements were signed as we are still negotiating the implementation with these provinces;

17) Significant Audit and Evaluation Findings and URL (s) to Last Audit and/or Evaluation:
The formative evaluation report of March 2006 reported that the activities supported by the Contraventions Act Fund have modestly increased the capacity of both Ontario and Manitoba to offer bilingual services.  The report also noted three recommendations which are being discussed with the provinces: explore options for tracking and reporting complaints; monitor timelines fro receiving reports from Ontario; and continue to monitor the volume of French trials to determine if there is a need to provide funding to modify provincial databases to meet federal reporting requirements.

4) Description: Contribution funding to the provinces for the delivery of criminal, youth criminal and immigration and refugee legal aid (Funding for criminal and civil legal aid in the territories is provided through the Access to Justice Agreements).  The objective of the federal Legal Aid Program is to ensure that economically disadvantaged persons have access to justice through criminal legal aid.

6) Results Achieved: New five-year agreements were negotiated with the provinces and territories during 2006-07.  These agreements are intended to sustain, over the period of 2006-07 to 2010-2011, an adequate range of programs and services that encourage accountability measures, effective rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders and target the use of the formal court system, detention and custody to serious offences.     

6) Results Achieved: Project funding is provided to help support alternative approaches to youth justice services.  A wide range of activities were supported that have encouraged effective rehabilitation and reintegration of youth.   The majority of projects funded (65 percent) helped support the delivery of new or specialized programs for youth in conflict with the law.  The remaining projects included training, program development work, and creating awareness across youth justice stakeholders.

13) Program Activity
A2 – Developing and implementing programs

6) Results Achieved: Programs are in place to deal with individuals receiving an Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision sentence. During 2006-2007, new agreements where negotiated with the provinces and territories to extend IRCS program funding to March 31, 2008. This will provide time for the negotiation of new long-term agreements.    

13) Program Activity
A2 – Developing and implementing programs

Assets

Liabilities and Equity of Canada

Expenses (Note 5)

Revenues (Note 6)

Operating activities

Capital investment activities

Financing activities

Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights

- Report 6 (39th Parliament, 1st Session)
http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=10474&Lang=1&SourceId=190754

Summary:
This report, entitled The Challenge of change: A Study of Canada's Criminal Prostitution Laws (Adopted by the Committee onDecember 12th, 2006; Presented to theHouse onDecember 13th, 2006), describes the Committee's findings regarding solicitation laws, safety of sex trade workers and communities, and changes that will reduce the exploitation of and violence against sex-trade workers. The Committee puts forth one recommendation which is directed at the Department of Justice.

Recommendation:
This Committee reaffirms the need to maintain the independence of the Office of the Information Commissioner, and recommends that the Justice Minister consider the advisability of introducing before the end of the Session legislation in the House of Commons based on the provisions of the “Open Government Act” presented by Information Commissioner John Reid, with the assistance of the Legislative Counsel of the House of Commons.

Response:
The Minister responded to this recommendation. This response was presented to the House on March 30th 2007 and is available via the links below.

Hotlink for English:
http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=10474&Lang=1&SourceId=199347
Hotlink for French:
http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=10474&SourceId=199347&SwitchLanguage=1

Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics
- Report 2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session)
http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=10473&Lang=1&SourceId=183188

Summary:
This report, entitled Study on issues related to the alleged disclosure of the names of Access to Information applicants (Adopted by the Committee on November 8th, 2006; Presented to the House on November 22nd, 2006), describes the Committee’s findings regarding the Alleged Disclosure of the Names of Access to Information Requesters. The Committee puts forth one recommendation which is directed at the Department of Justice.

Recommendations:
This study brought to light certain practices related to the implementation of the Access to Information Act that are of concern both to our witnesses and to the Members of this Committee. In order to ensure that the broader issues of requester categorization and tracking are addressed, we recommend that the Minister of Justice, when drafting amendments to the Access to Information Act, take into consideration the concerns that we heard about the practice of categorizing and tracking the identities of access to information requesters within government departments, and include in a draft bill measures under the ATIA to protect the identity of all access requesters.

Hotlink for English:
http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=10473&Lang=1&SourceId=197762
Hotlink for French:
http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=10473&SourceId=197762&SwitchLanguage=1

None during the reporting period; no recommendations were received.

1. Contracting for Services (March 2007)
The audit assessed the adequacy of the control framework for the contracting function, including processes and practices related to the overall management of this function. The audit examined the extent of compliance with Government Contracts Regulations, Treasury Board Secretariat policy, and PWGSC rules pertaining to contracting; the effectiveness of the Department’s Contracting Policy and its review/challenge mechanisms, including the Regional Contracts Review Committees; the appropriateness of Department-wide performance monitoring reports and the extent to which these are used for management decision making; the reliability of information systems for decision making; the appropriateness of interfaces (including advice and assistance) with departmental staff; and the level of functional direction provided to regional office personnel.

2. Integrated Financial and Material System(IFMS) (February 2007)
The audit reviewed and assessed the adequacy of the framework in place for the system’s operations, maintenance and enhancements; the extent to which the system meets user requirements; the reliability and usefulness of the information produced by the system; the suitability of technical support for users; the appropriateness of the budgetary allocations for the operations, maintenance and enhancements to the system; the extent to which resources assigned to the system are appropriately managed; and the adequacy of the security measures for safeguarding information.

3.Management of Electronic Information (November 2006)
The audit reviewed and assessed the adequacy of the framework in place for the management of electronic information; the extent to which the management of electronic information complies with the Policy on the Management of Government Information (MGI) and the Library and Archives of Canada Act; the extent of compliance with the Access to Information Act, Privacy Act, and the Government Security Policy issued by Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS); and the adequacy of linkages with Library and Archives Canada, Treasury Board Secretariat, departmental regional offices, and DLSUs. The audit covered the management of electronic information at headquarters; the regional offices of Edmonton, Toronto, and Montreal; and the following DLSUs: Fisheries and Oceans, Health Canada, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Agri-Food, Citizenship and Immigration, and Treasury Board Secretariat.

4. British Columbia Regional Office (August 2006)
The audit reviewed and assessed the adequacy of the management framework in place; the reliability of information systems available for decision making and for accountability purposes; the extent of compliance of procedures and practices with applicable legislation, regulations and key central agency/department policies, including the FAA; the level of service provided by regional office staff; the appropriateness of interfaces with other sections of the regional office and the DOJ Headquarters and the extent and nature of functional direction received from Headquarters for each of the major functions
performed by the Business Management Group.

5. Northern Region (June 2006)
The audit addressed the extent to which the overall level of resources was appropriate to meet the Northern Region’s needs; the level of integration and linkages between the regional offices in the Northern Region with respect to the delivery of legal and corporate services; the ability of the regional offices in the Northern Region to respond to increases in activity in the Territories (i.e. meet the needs of the clients or the public with respect to criminal and civil matters); the mix of resources (including use of paralegals); the adequacy of workflow processes; and the impact of unique pressures faced by these Offices due to distinct mandate, location, and distance from one another. The audit also reviewed and assessed the appropriateness of the linkages between the regional offices in the Northern Region
and Headquarters (legal and corporate services areas); the extent to which the management team structure is efficient and effective; and the adequacy and effectiveness of the provision of corporate services to the Northern Offices.

6.Travel and Hospitality (April 2006)
The audit reviewed and assessed the adequacy of the management framework in place pertaining to travel and hospitality, including processes and practices related to planning, organizing, controlling, directing, communicating, and themanagement of human, financial, and materiel resources; the extent to which the Department’s policies and directives relating to travel (including those relating to the Blanket Travel Authority) and hospitality comply with TB requirements and are communicated to regional departmental personnel; the extent to which departmental guidelines and procedures relating to travel (including, for example, the request for travel authority and advance, approval of travel, use of travel cards, the verification of expenses, and the issuance of payment) comply with all aspects of the TB Travel Directive and are being adhered to; and the appropriateness and adequacy of the travel and hospitality procedures followed by regional accounting operations.

7. Competition Law Division (April 2006)
The audit reviewed and assessed the framework within which services are delivered by the DLSU to its clients. The audit examined practices and processes related to planning, organization, performance monitoring, communications, the management of financial, human and material resources, information systems, compliance with legislation and policies, interfacing with other sections of the Department, and relationships with clients.

8. Regional Corporate Services (April 2006)
The audit reviewed and assessed the extent, appropriateness, and consistency of functional direction provided by Headquarters to regional offices; the appropriateness of the interfaces between Headquarters functional centres and their counterparts in regional offices, and the clarity of roles and responsibilities of regional and Headquarters staff. The audit also undertook a comparative analysis of the adequacy of regional office resource levels for each of the major corporate services functions.

9. PWGSC Legal Services Unit (March 2006)
The audit reviewed the management framework within which services are delivered by the DLSU to its clients. As part of this, the audit examined the various practices, processes and procedures in support of activities related to planning, information management, performance monitoring, communications, and the administration of financial, human and material resources as well as the extent of compliance to applicable legislation and policies. The level of client satisfaction and the extent and nature of interfaces with other sections of the Department were also assessed.

The Federal Legal Aid Renewal Strategy, Formative Evaluation (December 2006)
This evaluation aimed to assess the appropriateness of program design and implementation to support the achievement of the Strategy's objectives; to examine the extent to which the recommendations made in the 2001 evaluation of the Legal Aid Program have been implemented; to examine whether these improvements have contributed to increased program effectiveness; and to provide program management with useful information for the future of the Strategy.

• It is recommended that the Department of Justice (DOJ) seek authority for longer-term funding agreements with respect to legal aid.
• It is recommended that the DOJ consider approaches to enhancing legal aid funding that would require that provincial/territorial governments participate in the development of a mutually agreeable approach to report on legal aid outcomes.
• It is recommended that the DOJ work with the provinces and territories to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Permanent Working Group (PWG).
• It is recommended that the DOJ continue to work with the provinces to develop fair and equitable funding formulae.
• It is recommended that the FPT PWG on Legal Aid, in collaboration with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), discuss whether the criminal legal aid agreement continues to be the agreed upon mechanism for providing I&R legal aid funds.
• It is recommended that DOJ, in collaboration with CIC, continue to monitor impact of I&R services on funding levels.

Hotlink for English: http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/eval/reports/06/legaid/sum/table.html
Hotlink for French: http://www.justice.gc.ca/fr/ps/eval/reports/06/legaid/sum/table.html

Justice Partnership and Innovation Program, Summative Evaluation (September 2006)

This evaluation aimed to provide an assessment of the Program's success to date in achieving its outcomes and address issues of relevance, cost-effectiveness and alternatives; assess whether the Program has met its objectives; provide information that can be used by Program staff to improve the results of the Program; and to examine the extent to which a performance measurement mechanism to ensure that data are systematically collected and disseminated has been put in place.

• Re-examine the Programobjective of contributing to policy development in the Department.
• Continue efforts to strengthen JPIP performance monitoring.
  Hotlink for English: http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/eval/reports/06/jpip/table.html
  Hotlink for French: http://www.justice.gc.ca/fr/ps/eval/reports/06/jpip/table.html

Public Safety and Anti-terrorism (PSAT) Initiative

Recommendations:

• Members of the PSAT Steering Committee should play a greater oversight and coordinating role to ensure that the full implications of the PSAT work of the Department are understood and appropriately funded.
• Budgets should be allocated earlier in the fiscal year to allow managers to implement business plans and activities.
• The Department should ensure that financial information is available by all sectors so that efficiency and effectiveness can be assessed during the final evaluation.
• Current and anticipated performance information needs should be examined and addressed to ensure that the Department's performance reporting obligations can be met in 2007.
• A detailed evaluation study should be undertaken to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the Airport Project at Dorval prior to expanding it to other Canadian airports.

Hotlink for English: http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/eval/reports/05/psatsum/index.html
Hotlink for French: http://www.justice.gc.ca/fr/ps/eval/reports/05/psatsum/index.html

Formative Evaluation of the Contraventions Act Fund (March 2006)

As part of the Department of Justice’s performance measurement strategy, this formative evaluation aims to review implemented activities related the Contraventions Act Fund.

• The Department of Justice explore, in partnership with provinces, options for tracking and reporting complaints.
• The Department of Justice monitor timelines for receiving reports from Ontario.
• The Department of Justice continue to monitor the volume of French trials to determine if there is a need to provide funding to modify provincial databases to meet federal reporting requirements.

Hotlink for English: http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/eval/reports/06/caf/index.html
Hotlink for French: http://www.justice.gc.ca/fr/ps/eval/reports/06/caf/index.html

Summative Evaluation of the Family Law Assistance Section (FLAS) (March 2006)

This evaluation addressed issues related to the rationale and the continued relevance of the three programs related to FLAS: the Family Orders and Agreement Enforcement Assistance (FOAEA) program, the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act (GAPDA) program and the Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings Program (CRDP).

Recommendations:

• The FLAS section continues to function as a consolidated unit within the Department of Justice, providing FOAEA, GAPDA and CRDP services.
• The FLAS section review its organizational location in order to address the lack of sufficient linkage between FLAS and FCY, and the need for a more strategic approach to the planning of FLAS services and collaboration with provinces/territories and partners.
• FLAS take measures to ensure that data is readily available on an annual basis to document the extent to which FLAS enforcement related services are contributing to the successful enforcement of child and family support orders.
• DOJ clarify its role and responsibilities to manage GAPDA or consider centralizing management in order to strengthen coordination among existing GAPDA Registries and to enable regular reporting at a national level.
• The GAPDA service document, nationally and by province/territory, the number and percentage of valid applications that result in a garnishment of debtor wages; and the amount of revenue generated.
• FLAS establish a systemcapable of tracking duplicate divorce proceedings on an ongoing basis.
• FLAS work with Statistics Canada and Justice Research and Statistics Officials to strengthen the quality of CRDP data, and to ensure that the FLAS Section has the capacity to provide the type and quality of divorce data that its clients require.

• Training on Cabinet Directive on the environmental assessment of policy, plan and program proposals; and
• Develop tools to communicate information on sustainable development issues to employees

• Consider Department’s policy and legal services work through sustainable development lens; and
• Make sustainable development a departmental priority

• Promote greater use of electronic information
• Improve conservation and waste management practices
• Increase green procurement

Strategic Outcome 1: A fair, relevant and accessible justice systemthat reflects Canadian values
Funding of programs and development of policies support a better access to justice system and the cultivation of sustainable communities.

Strategic Outcome 2: A federal government that is supported by effective and responsive legal services
Through special training and the provision of practical tools, legal advisor, legislative counsel and litigator can better support client departments and agencies in incorporating sustainable development

• Greater focus has been given to identify and develop more concrete performance measures to clearly demonstrate improvements and progress on all aspects of sustainable development efforts in the Department; and
• The Chief Legislative Counsel has been named as the departmental champion for Sustainable Development.

An adequate range of programs is sustained that assist in minimizing the degree of reliance on the formal court system, detention and custody

Programs are in place to deal with offenders receiving an IRCS sentence

New and enhanced alternative approaches for youth justice practices are developed and used by the youth justice system.

Encourage effective rehabilitation and reintegration of young persons back into their communities.

Through the Fund, 51 projects, totalling over $2,320,000 (or 80% of all projects supported) were funded that supported the development and implementation of alternative youth justice programs and services.
Funding priorities for the year included chronic offenders and bail supervision programs.

A wide range of activities were supported that have encouraged effective rehabilitation and reintegration of youth.   Of the 51 projects, 34 were for the delivery of new or specialized programs to help youth in conflict with the law.  The remaining projects included training, program development work, and creating awareness across youth justice stakeholders.