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SECTION IV - OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

Corporate Management:

Management Accountability Framework (MAF) Assessment

The Department’s corporate management activities fall under the umbrella of the Management Accountability Framework (MAF). The MAF establishes the standards for management in the Government of Canada and is the basis for management accountability between departments/ agencies and the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and the Canada Public Service Agency (CPSA). As such, on-going statements of progress provide the reader with details regarding the status and next steps for each activity area. In terms of performance, each year, our corporate management activities are classified and rated under the MAF Framework – 10 elements, 20 indicators and over 100 specific measures. Almost all federal government departments and agencies are subject to MAF assessment which is carried out mainly by Treasury Board Secretariat and the Canada Public Service Agency (formerly PSHRMAC). To date, over the past five cycles, the MAF assessment exercise has been an evolutionary one, therefore, we are not, at this time, able to provide data on year over year results. Last year, for the first time, the Treasury Board Secretariat made public the results of MAF III for all departments and agencies on its website.^32. MAF IV noted our progress on a number of items including:

• Knowing and responding to citizen/client needs and expectations – The overall rating reflects a strong performance in setting service standards and performance in providing services in both official languages is also strong.
• Managing Organizational Change – The Department worked successfully on two major change management initiatives over the assessment period: the process underlying the unionization of the Law Group (LAs) and the creation of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

The Department was also commended for advancing management priorities identified in the
previous year’s assessment including:

• Continued progress on the implementation of an integrated business planning and reporting framework – this has resulted in improved performance management capacity
• Progress towards implementing performance management practices within the department
• Completion of the review of legal services and presentation of findings and recommendations on mixed funding, costing and charging models to TBS in March 2007.

Our People

Given the considerable focus on human resources management (HRM) in the core public administration (CPA) overall and in the Department of Justice (DoJ), one of the priorities in 2006-2007 was the development of a departmental HRM Plan that identifies a vision for HRM, as well as the priorities and supporting initiatives that will be undertaken over the next three years (2007-2010). Many of the priorities and initiatives in the HRM Plan build upon the work that was undertaken in 2006-2007 that focused on the unionization of the LA Group, Classification Modernization, compliance with the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), achieving employment equity benchmarks, and fostering a culture of learning.

Unionization of the LA Group:

One of the most significant impacts in the area of HRM for the Department of Justice was the unionization of lawyers in the CPA and the certification of the Association of Justice Counsel (AJC) as the bargaining agent for the Law Group (LA) on April 28th, 2006. Several initiatives were undertaken to help managers operate in a new unionized environment including: information sessions and a major review of all positions against the exclusion criteria in the Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA). These activities are ongoing to ensure departmental managers understand the PSLRA provisions and embrace the change and spirit of collaborative labour-management relationships.

Classification Modernization:

Classification modernization affects how positions will be classified with the goal to enable the federal public service to recruit and retain the skilled employees needed to serve Canadians in the years ahead. During 2006-2007 there were two classification standard reform initiatives underway within DOJ, specifically the Law group (LA) and Economic and Social Science Services (EC), which includes our paralegals and policy analyst positions. The Department of Justice, being the prime users of lawyers and paralegals in the CPA, worked closely with the Canada Public Service Agency (CPSA) in designing the LA classification standard and testing the EC classification standard, as well as preparing the Department for the conversion to these two new standards. The new LA standard, affecting over 50 percent of the workforce, will result in clearer management and practitioner responsibilities and accountabilities that will also support the Federal Accountability Act (FAA) which puts in place specific measures to strengthen
accountability and increase transparency and oversight in government operations.

Compliance with the Public Service Employment Act:

Management accountabilities were defined and delegated to managers as the Department continued with activities to ensure compliance with the Public Service Employment Act PSEA. As well, a review was initiated to determine if departmental staffing policies and practices reflected readiness for PSEA implementation.

Employment Equity:

Although DoJ continues to exceed workforce availability for all designated groups (women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities), employment equity (EE) continues to be a priority for DoJ to ensure it continues to reflect the changing demographics of Canada’s population, as well as ensuring a supportive corporate culture. To sustain this effort, a departmental EE Plan 2006-2009 was launched and quantitative and qualitative goals were set in the areas of corporate culture, recruitment/representativeness, retention/promotion/development, and workplace wellness.

A Culture of Learning:

Recognizing that DoJ is a knowledge-based organization, the Department continued to be committed to the continuous learning and professional development of employees in order to effectively fulfill its mandate and business objectives, support public service wide learning priorities aimed at building a well-trained and professional workforce that is properly equipped to carry out its professional and legal responsibilities, as well as contributing to employees’ individual learning needs and career development. To this end, the Department undertook several initiatives.

Performance and Reporting

As evidenced throughout this report, the Department has been continuously assessing and improving its capacity to provide relevant and balanced performance information in order to provide senior management, central agencies, the Minister and Parliament with concrete results that illustrate the benefits of our work to Canadians. In line with this priority, we continued to refine our business planning processes to ensure that they respond to unit, Sector, Departmental and central agency requirements and are aligned with the MAF elements as well as the Department’s Program Activity Architecture.

Measuring Client Feedback:

During the course of the reporting period, the Department launched a standardized questionnaire for gauging client perceptions of three core elements of service quality – responsiveness, timeliness and usefulness.

Managing the Volume of Litigation

Over the reporting period, one of the focus of the Advisory Committee on Managing the Volume of Litigation was to improve the quality of information needed to manage litigation workload and resources more effectively. During the summer of 2006, a sub-committee comprised of Senior Managers, representatives from Dispute Resolution Services, officials from Strategic Planning and Performance Management, officials from the Legal Services Review Team and from IM/IT developed a set of standard department-wide performance indicators and measures. Where required, data capture system adjustments were made to facilitate the tracking of certain information elements, and directives from the DM and the Senior Management Board stated that entering timekeeping and case management information would become mandatory for legal service providers beginning April 1st, 2007. This requirement is now reflected in the performance agreements of senior managers where applicable.

While the Department continued to address technical issues relating to the capture and analysis of the existing timekeeping and case management data, there is now a much more thorough and clear picture of the breakdown of the levels of effort devoted to files, the number and types of files and a better picture of our risk assessment practices. With the April 1st compliance date, we anticipate that in next year’s report, we will have the complete picture and we will begin providing year over year analysis of how the Department is managing its litigation work.

Review of Legal Services and Sustainable Funding

The Review of Legal Services to Government was undertaken in collaboration with the Treasury Board Secretariat in 2004-2005 with the following two objectives:

• Improve the sustainability of the delivery of legal services in government by recommending strategies to improve legal services delivery and ensure a sustainable funding regime; and
• Identify approaches to effectively manage litigation in the federal government.

The Review was completed in 2006-2007 following extensive research, analysis and consultations with government departments and agencies.

To improve the sustainability of the Department’s delivery of legal services to government, the Review recommended that departments and agencies continue to contribute to the cost of the legal services provided by the Department of Justice. Treasury Board approved this recommendation and the application of a net voting regime that provides Justice with the authority to spend revenues received from departments and agencies for legal services rendered as well as the legal services rate structure and rates that were implemented on April 1st, 2007.

To further improve the sustainability of the delivery of legal services to government over time and to improve government’s capacity to manage its demand for legal services, the Review recommended that Justice increase its capacity to capture more complete business and strategic information on the services it provides to government. This will support informed decision-making on the nature and level of legal services required from Justice.

The Review also provided direction on the effective management of litigation in the federal government and recommended that Justice continue to lead the development of best practices in the management of disputes. These would include early intervention in policy and program design, other institutional measures designed to resolve disputes before they result in protracted litigation, and themanagement of litigation throughmeasures such as alternate dispute resolution processes. In addition, it was recommended that Justice buttress its research efforts in the monitoring of litigation trends and drivers in government.

With the development of targeted recommendations and a successful presentation of its key findings to Treasury Board and approval of the funding model for the delivery of legal services to government, the Review of Legal Services has successfully completed its mandate.

Access to Information and Privacy

With respect to the Department’s compliance in meeting its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act, the Information Commissioner recognized our efforts in his 2006-2007 Annual
Report to Parliament:
“There is reason to be optimistic that Justice Canada will succeed in improving its grade by next year. The department has put the necessary resources and processes in place, and senior management is closely monitoring progress.”

The Commissioner also included the DM’s statement in his follow-up status report "The Department has made a tremendous effort to improve its compliance rate and began fiscal year 2007-2008 with a "B" rating, with 9 percent of requests in deemed refusal. I assure you that senior management is fully aware of its ongoing responsibilities and measures were implemented to further improve the process in March 2007."^33.

V. Legislation for which the Department is Responsible:

The Department of Justice exists by virtue of the Department of Justice Act, first passed in 1868. The Act establishes the Department’s role and sets out the powers, duties and functions of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada.

In addition to this general enabling statute, theMinister and the Department have responsibilities under a number of other laws. These range from fairly routine matters, such as tabling the annual report of an agency in Parliament, to broader responsibilities, such as the obligation to review all government bills and regulations for compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Statutory Instruments Act. The laws for which the Minister has sole or shared responsibility to Parliament are listed below. ^8.

Access to Information Act, R.S. 1985, c. A-1
(responsibility shared with the President of the Treasury Board ).^35.
Annulment of Marriages Act (Ontario), R.S.C. 1970, c. A-14.
Anti-Terrorism Act, S.C. 2001, c. 41.
Bills of Lading Act, R.S. 1985, c. B-5 (responsibility shared with the Minister of Transport).
Canada Evidence Act, R.S. 1985, c. C-5.
Canada-United Kingdom Civil and Commercial Judgments Convention Act, R.S. 1985, c. C-30.
Canada Prize Act, R.S.C. 1970, c. P-24.
Canadian Bill of Rights, S.C. 1960, c. 44; reprinted in R.S.C. 1985, Appendix III.
Canadian Human Rights Act, R.S. 1985, c. H-6.
Commercial Arbitration Act, R.S. 1985, c. 17 (2nd Supp.).
Courts Administration Service Act, S.C. 2002, c. 8.
Contraventions Act, S.C. 1992, c. 47.
Criminal Code, R.S. 1985, c. C-46 (responsibility shared with the Solicitor General of Canada, ^36.
and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (s. 204)).
Crown Liability and Proceedings Act, R.S. 1985, c. C-50.
Department of Justice Act, R.S. 1985, c. J-2.
Divorce Act, R.S. 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.).
Escheats Act, R.S. 1985, c. E-13.
Extradition Act, S.C. 1999, c. 18. ^37.

Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act, R.S. 1985, c. 4 (2nd Supp.).
Federal Courts Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-7. ^38.
Federal Law-Civil Harmonization Act, No.1, S.C. 2001, c. 4.
Federal Law and Civil Law of the Province of Quebec Act -- 2001, c. 4, Part 1
Firearms Act, S.C. 1995, c. 39. ^39.
Foreign Enlistment Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-28.
Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-29.
Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act, R.S. 1985, c. G-2 (responsibility shared
with the Minister of National Defence,Minister of PublicWorks and Government Services, and
Minister of Finance ^40.).
Identification of Criminals Act, R.S. 1985, c. I-1.
International Sale of Goods Contracts Convention Act, S.C. 1991, c. 13.
Interpretation Act, R.S. 1985, c. I-21.
Judges Act, R.S. 1985, c. J-1.
Law Commission of Canada Act, S.C. 1996, c. 9.
Legislative Instruments Re-enactment Act, S.C. 2002, c. 20.
Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act, S.C. 1990, c. 46.
Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act, S.C. 2000, c. 12.
Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, R.S. 1985, c. 30 (4th Supp.).
Official Languages Act, R.S. 1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.).

Postal Services Interruption Relief Act, R.S. 1985, c. P-16.
Privacy Act,R.S. 1985, c. P-21
(responsibility shared with the President of the Treasury Board ^41.).

Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985 Act, R.S. 1985, c. 40 (3rd Supp.).

Security Offences Act, R.S. 1985, c. S-7.
Security of Information Act, R.S. 1985, c. O-5.
State Immunity Act, R.S. 1985, c. S-18.
Statute Revision Act, R.S. 1985, c. S-20.
Statutory Instruments Act, R.S. 1985, c. S-22.
Supreme Court Act, R.S. 1985, c. S-26.

Tax Court of Canada Act, R.S. 1985, c. T-2.

United Nations Foreign Arbitral Awards Convention Act, R.S. 1985, c. 16 (2nd Supp.).

Youth Criminal Justice Act, S.C. 2002, c. 1
(replaces Young Offenders Act, R.S. 1985, c.Y-1).

Contact Information

Media Inquiries:
Communications Branch
Telephone: (613) 957-4207
Fax: (613) 954-0811

Public Inquiries:

Communications Branch
Telephone: (613) 957-4222
TDD/TTY: (613) 992-4556
Fax: (613) 954-0811

Information Online

For more information about the management terms used in this document, please consult the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Lexicon for Reporting:
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/20052006/lex_e.asp

For more information about the Department of Justice, please consult
the following electronic publications:

About the Department of Justice
http://www.justice.gc.ca

Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/pb/prog/official_languages.html

Department of Justice Evaluation Reports
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/eval/index.html

Department of Justice Internal Audit Reports
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/audit_reports/index.html

Departmental Performance Report
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/dpr/home.html

Public Legal Education and Information
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/pb/prog/legal_ed.html

Report on Plans and Priorities, 2006-2007
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/rpp/index.html

Research and Statistics
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/rs/index.html

Sustainable Development Strategy, 2007-2009
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/sds/07_09/index.html

The Department of Justice produces many publications and reports on a variety of subjects. For a complete listing, please visit the Publications page on our Internet site:
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/subject_index.html

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^32. www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/maf-crg/Index_e.asp

^33. http://www.infocom.gc.ca/publications/2006-2007/Justice-e.asp

^34. This list, prepared in September 2004, is an unofficial version for information only.
^35. Responsibility shared with the President of the Treasury Board in the following manner: Minister of Justice (for
purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of “head” in section 3, subsection 4(2), paragraphs 77(1) (f ) and (g) and
subsection 77(2)); and the President of the Treasury Board (for all other purposes of the Act) (SI/83-108).
^36. The portfolio of the Solicitor General of Canada was replaced by the portfolio of Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness on December 12th, 2003.
^37. Section 84 of the new Extradition Act, 1999, c. 18, provides that the repealed Act (R.S. 1985, c. E-23) applies to a
matter respecting the extradition of a person as though it had not been repealed, if the hearing in respect of the
extradition had already begun on June 17, 1999.
^38. Formerly the Federal Court Act. The title was amended to the Federal Courts Act in the Courts Administration Service Act, S.C. 2002, c. 8, s. 14.
^39.The Firearms Program was transferred to the Solicitor General (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness as of December 12th, 2003, although the legislation has not yet been amended to reflect this change) as of April 14, 2003. See SOR/2003-145.
^40. Responsibility shared in the following manner: (a) Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, General (Part I) (SI/84-5), and for the purposes of sections 46 and 47 of the Act, items 12 and 16 of the schedule to the Act and the other provisions of Part II of the Act as those provisions relate to the Judges Act (SI/84-6); (b) the Minister of National Defence, for the purposes of the provisions, except sections 46 and 47, of Part II of the Act as those provisions relate to the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act and the Defence Services Pension Continuation Act (SI/84-6); (c) the Minister of Finance, for the purposes of the provisions, except sections 46 and 47, of Part II of the Act as those provisions relate to the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act (SI/84-6); and (d) the Minister of Public
Works and Government Services, for the purposes of the provisions, except sections 46 and 47, of Part II of the Act as those provisions relate to
(i) the Governor General's Act,
(ii) the Lieutenant Governor's Superannuation Act,
(iii) the Diplomatic Service (Special) Superannuation Act,
(iv) the Public Service Superannuation Act,
(v) the Civil Service Superannuation Act,
(vi) the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, Part I,
(vii) the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Continuation Act, Parts II and III,
(viii) the Currency, Mint and Exchange Fund Act, subsection 15(2) (R.S. 1952, c. 315)
(ix) theWar Veterans Allowance Act, subsection 28(10),
(x) regulations made under Vote 181 of Appropriation Act No. 5, 1961, and
(xi) the Tax Court of Canada Act (SI/84-6).

^41. Responsibility is shared in the following manner: Minister of Justice, for purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of “head” in section 3, subsection 12(3), paragraphs 77(1) (a), (d), (g) and (l) and subsection 77(2); President of the Treasury Board, for all other purposes of the Act (SI/83109).

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