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Section III - Supplementary Information

Organizational Information

Our Organizational Structure

Members

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is a small, permanent organization, comprising a full-time Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson and up to 13 full- or part-time members (see Figure 3). Under the statute, both the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson must have been members of the bar for more than 10 years.

To be eligible for appointment by the Governor-in-Council, all members of the Tribunal are required to have expertise in, and sensitivity to, human rights issues. In addition, members attend regular meetings for training and briefing sessions on such topics as decision-writing techniques, evidence and procedure, and in-depth analysis of human rights issues. Throughout their three- or five-year terms, all tribunal members are given opportunities for professional development. The level of expertise and skill of members is undoubtedly at the highest level it has been since the creation of the Tribunal in 1978.

Registry Operations

Administrative responsibility for the Tribunal rests with the Registry. It plans and arranges hearings, acts as liaison between the parties and tribunal members, and provides administrative support. The Registry is also accountable for the operating resources allocated to the Tribunal by Parliament.

Corporate, Financial, Legal and Information Technology Services

Tribunal and Registry operations are supported by Corporate Services, Financial Services, Legal Services and Information Technology (IT) Services.

Corporate Services provides support to the Tribunal in facilities management, communications, material management, procurement of goods and services, information management, security, reception and courier services. It also assists the Registrar's Office in the development, implementation and monitoring of government-wide initiatives.

Financial Services provides the Tribunal with accounting services, financial information and advice.

Legal Services provides the Tribunal with legal information, advice and representation.

The main priority of IT Services is to ensure that the Tribunal has the technology required to perform efficiently and effectively. The section advises Registry staff and members on the use of corporate systems and technology available internally and externally, and offers training. It also provides procurement and support services for all computer hardware, software and information technology services. IT Services is involved in implementing government initiatives, such as Government On-Line, and represents the Tribunal on the Electronic Filing Project Advisory Committee, a committee that includes government agencies involved in either court or administrative legal activities.

Human resources services are contracted out to the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Table 4. Comparison of Planned to Actual Spending (including Full-Time Equivalents)

			2006-2007
($ millions)	2004-2005 Actual	2005-2006 Actual	Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Total Actuals
Public hearings under Canadian Human Rights Act	4.2	3.8	4.3	4.3	4.6	4.6
Total	4.2	3.8	4.3	4.3	4.6	4.6
Less: Non-Respendable revenue
Plus: Cost of services received without charge	1.1	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2
Total Departmental Spending	5.3	5.0	5.5	5.5	5.8	5.8
Full Time Equivalents	26	26				26

Table 5. Resources by Program Activity (Millions of Dollars)

2006–2007
	Budgetary						Plus: Non- Budgetary	Total
Program Activity	Operating	Capital	Grants  and  Contrib- utions	Total:  Gross Budgetary Expend- itures	Less: Respendable Revenue	Total:  Net Budgetary Expend- itures	Loans, Investments and Advances
Public hearings under Canadian Human Rights Act
Main Estimates	4.3			4.3		4.3		4.3
Planned Spending	4.3			4.3		4.3		4.3
Total Authorities	4.6			4.6		4.6		4.6
Actual Spending	4.6			4.6		4.6		4.6

Table 6. Voted and Statutory Items (Millions of Dollars)

		2006-2007
Vote or Statutory Item	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Total Actuals
15	Program expenditures	3.9	3.9	4.2	4.2
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4
	Total	4.3	4.3	4.6	4.6

Table 7. Services Received Without Charge

($ millions)	2006–07 Actual Spending
Accommodation provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada	1.0
Contributions covering employers' share of employees' insurance premiums and expenditures paid by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (excluding revolving funds). Employer's contribution to employees' insured benefits plans and associated expenditures paid by the Treasury Board Secretariat	0.2
Salary and associated expenditures of legal services provided by the Department of Justice Canada	0
Total 2006–2007 services received without charge	1.2

Financial Statements

Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with accrual accounting principles. The supplementary information presented in the financial tables in the Departmental Performance Report is not audited, rather prepared on a modified cash basis of accounting in order to be consistent with appropriations-based reporting. Note 3 of the financial statements reconciles these two accounting methods.

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Statement of Management Responsibility

Responsibility for the integrity and objectivity of the accompanying financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2007 and all information contained in these statements rests with departmental management. These financial statements have been prepared by management in accordance with Treasury Board of Canada accounting policies, which are consistent with generally accepted Canadian accounting principles for the public sector.

Management is responsible for the integrity and objectivity of the information in these financial statements. Some of the information in the financial statements is based on management's best estimates and judgment, and gives due consideration to materiality. To fulfill its accounting and reporting responsibilities, management maintains a set of accounts that provides a centralized record of the department's financial transactions. Financial information submitted to the Public Accounts of Canada and included in the department's DPR is consistent with these financial statements.

Management maintains a system of financial management and internal control designed to provide reasonable assurance that: financial information is reliable; assets are safeguarded; and transactions, in accordance with the Financial Administration Act, are executed in accordance with prescribed regulations, within parliamentary authorities, and are properly recorded to maintain accountability of Government funds.

Management also seeks to ensure the objectivity and integrity of data in its financial statements by careful selection, training and development of qualified staff, by organizational arrangements that provide appropriate divisions of responsibility, and by communication programs aimed at ensuring that regulations, policies, standards and managerial authorities are understood throughout the department.

The financial statements of the department have not been audited.

J. Grant Sinclair Chairperson Ottawa, Canada

Gregory M. Smith Registrar June 28, 2007

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31
(in dollars)

		2007	2006
Expenses
Operating Expenses:
	Salaries and employee benefits	2,564,490	2,616,790
	Rentals	1,320,641	1,120,483
	Professional Services	1,223,070	829,918
	Transportation and Telecommunications	452,578	268,546
	Materials and Supplies	68,982	85,731
	Amortization	51,545	38,413
	Communications	39,892	36,576
	Repair and Maintenance	25,469	15,250
	Miscellaneous	9,700	7,701
Total Expenses		5,756,367	5,019,408
Revenues
Other revenue		25	230
Total Revenues		25	230
Net Cost of Operations		5,756,342	5,019,178
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) at March 31
(in dollars)

		2007	2006
Assets
Financial assets
	Receivables from other Federal Government departments and agencies	48,279	19,342
	Receivables from external parties	4,692	964
	Employee Advances	500	500
	Total des actifs financiers	53,471	20,806
Non-financial assets
	Prepaid expenses	14,000	14,000
	Tangible capital assets (Note 4)	96,654	142,062
	Total des actifs non financiers	110,654	156,062
Total		164,125	176,868
Liabilities
	Accounts payable to other Federal Government departments and agencies	31,916	61,725
	Other accounts payable and accrued liabilities	351,087	210,722
	Vacation pay and compensatory leave	83,511	95,633
	Employee severance benefits (Note 5b)	431,825	431,825
	Total	898,339	799,905
Equity of Canada		(734,214)	(623,037)
Total		164 ,125	176,868
Contractual Obligations (Note 6) The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Statement of Equity of Canada (unaudited) for the year ended March 31
(in dollars)

	2007	2006
Equity of Canada, beginning of year	(623,037)	(656,263)
Net cost of operations	(5,756,342)	(5,019,178)
Current year appropriations used (Note 3)	4,561,439	3,804,022
Revenue not available for spending	(25)	(125)
Refund of previous year expenses	(4,300)	(6,305)
Change in net position in the Consolidated Revenue Fund (Note 3)	(77,891)	89,466
Services received without charge from other government departments and agencies (Note 7)	1,165,942	1,165,346
Equity of Canada, end of year	(734,214)	(623,037)
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Statement of Cash flow (unaudited) for the year ended March 31
(in dollars)

		2007	2006
Operating activities
	Net cost of operations	5,756,342	5 019,178
Non-cash items:
	Amortization of capital assets	(51,545)	(38,413)
	Services provided without charge by other government departments	(1,165,942)	(1,165,346)
Variations in Statement of Financial Position:
	Increase (decrease) in accounts receivables and advances	32,665	(114,346)
	Increase (decrease) in liabilities	(98,434)	109,453
Cash used by operating activities		4,473,086	3,810,526
Capital investment activities
Acquisitions of tangible capital assets		6,137	76,532
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by Government of Canada		4,479,223	3,887,058
The accompanying notes and schedules form an integral part of these Statements

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Notes to the Financial Statements (unaudited)

1. Authority and Objectives

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (the Tribunal) is a quasi-judicial body created by Parliament to inquire into complaints of discrimination and to decide if particular practices have contravened the Canadian Human Rights Act. The Tribunal may only inquire into complaints referred to it by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, usually after a full investigation by the Commission. The Commission resolves most cases without the Tribunal's intervention. Cases referred to the Tribunal generally involve complicated legal issues, new human rights issues, unexplored areas of discrimination, or multifaceted evidentiary complaints that must be heard under oath.

The Tribunal's mandate also includes hearing matters under the Employment Equity Act.

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Treasury Board of Canada accounting policies which are consistent with generally accepted Canadian accounting principles for the public sector.

Significant accounting policies are as follows:

a)  Parliamentary Appropriations – The Tribunal is primarily financed by the Government of Canada through parliamentary appropriations. Appropriations provided to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal do not parallel financial reporting according to generally accepted accounting principles since they are primarily based on cash flow requirements. Consequently, items recognized in the statement of operations and the statement of financial position are not necessarily the same as those provided through appropriations from Parliament. Note 3 provides a high level reconciliation between the bases of reporting.

b)  Net Cash Provided by Government – The Tribunal operates within the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), which is administered by the Receiver General for Canada. All cash received by the Tribunal is deposited to the CRF and all cash disbursements made by the Tribunal are paid from the CRF. The net cash provided by Government is the difference between all cash receipts and all cash disbursements including transactions between departments of the federal government.

c)  Change in Net Position in the Consolidated Revenue Fund is the difference between the net cash provided by Government and appropriations used in a year, excluding the amount of non-respendable revenue recorded by the department. It results from timing differences between when a transaction affects appropriations and when it is processed through the CRF.

d)  Revenues – These are accounted for in the period in which the underlying transaction or event occurred that gave rise to the revenues.

e)  Expenses – Expenses are recorded on the accrual basis:

• Vacation pay and compensatory leave are expensed as the benefits accrue to employees under their respective terms of employment.
• Services provided without charge by other government departments for accommodation, the employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plans and legal services are recorded as operating expenses at their estimated cost.

f)  Employee Future Benefits

1. Pension Benefits: Eligible employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, a multiemployer plan administered by the Government of Canada. The Tribunal's contributions to the Plan are charged to expenses in the year incurred and represent the total departmental obligation to the Plan. Current legislation does not require the department to make contributions for any actuarial deficiencies of the Plan.
2. Severance Benefits: Employees are entitled to severance benefits under labour contracts or conditions of employment. These benefits are accrued as employees render the services necessary to earn them. The obligation relating to the benefits earned by employees is calculated using information derived from the results of the actuarially determined liability for employee severance benefits for the Government as a whole.

g)  Accounts Receivable and Advances are stated at amounts expected to be ultimately realized; a provision is made for receivables where recovery is considered uncertain.

h)  Tangible Capital Assets – All tangible capital assets and leasehold improvements having an initial cost of $5,000 or more are recorded at their acquisition cost. Amortization of tangible capital assets is done on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset as follows:

Asset Class	Amortization Period
Machinery and equipment	5 to 10 years
Furniture and fixtures	10 years
Informatics Hardware & Software	3 years

i)   Measurement Uncertainty – The preparation of these financial statements in accordance with Treasury Board of Canada accounting policies which are consistent with generally accepted Canadian accounting principles for the public sector requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses reported in the financial statements. At the time of preparation of these statements, management believes the estimates and assumptions to be reasonable. The most significant items where estimates are used are the liability for employee severance benefits and the useful life of tangible capital assets. Actual results could significantly differ from those estimated. Management's estimates are reviewed periodically and, as adjustments become necessary, they are recorded in the financial statements in the year they become known.

3. Parliamentary Appropriations

The Tribunal receives most of its funding through annual parliamentary appropriations. Items recognized in the statement of operations and the statement of financial position in one year may be funded through Parliamentary appropriations in prior, current or future years. Accordingly, the Tribunal has different net results of operations for the year on a government funding basis than on an accrual accounting basis. The differences are reconciled in the following tables:

a) Reconciliation of net cost of operations to current year appropriations used

		2007	2006
Net cost of operations (in dollars)		5,756,342	5,019,178
Adjustments for items affecting net cost of operations but not affecting appropriations
Add:	Services provided without charge	(1,165,942)	(1,165,346)
	Amortization of tangible capital assets	(51,545)	(38,413)
	Vacation pay and compensatory leave	12,122	(16,579)
	Employee severance benefits	0	(77,885)
	Prepaid expenses	(14,000)	(14,000)
Add:	Other revenue	25	230
	Refund of previous year expenses	4,300	6,305
Adjustments for items not affecting net cost of operations but affecting appropriations
Add:	Acquisitions of tangible capital assets	6,137	76,532
	Prepaid expenses	14,000	14,000
Current year appropriations used		4,561,439	3,804,022

b) Appropriations provided and used

	Appropriations Provided
	2007	2006
	(in dollars)
Vote 15 – Program expenditures	4,289,378	4,324,000
Statutory Amounts	346,782	374,105
Less:
Lapsed appropriations: Operating	(74,721)	(894,083)
Current year appropriations used	4,561,439	3,804,022

c) Reconciliation of net cash provided by Government to current year appropriations used

	2007	2006
	(in dollars)
Net cash provided by Government	4,479,223	3,887,058
Revenue not available for spending	25	125
Refund of previous year expenses	4,300	6,305
Change in net position of the Consolidated Revenue Fund
Variation in accounts receivable and advances	(32,665)	114,346
Variation in accounts payable and accrued liabilities	110,556	(203,917)
Other adjustments	0	105
	77,891	(89,466)
Current year appropriations used	4,561,439	3,804,022

5. Employee Benefits

1. Pension benefits: Employees of Tribunal participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, which is sponsored and administered by the Government of Canada. Pension benefits accrue up to a maximum period of 35 years at a rate of 2% per year of pensionable service, times the average of the best five consecutive years of earnings. The benefits are integrated with Canada/Québec Pension Plans benefits and they are indexed to inflation.
   
   Both the employees and the department contribute to the cost of the Plan. The 2006-2007 expense amounts to $254,841 ($267,979 in 2005-06), which represents approximately 2.2 times (2.6 in 2005-06) the contributions by employees.
   
   The department's responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan's sponsor.
2. Severance benefits: The Tribunal provides severance benefits to its employees based on eligibility, years of service and final salary. These severance benefits are not pre-funded. Benefits will be paid from future appropriations. Information about the severance benefits, measured as at March 31, is as follows:

	2007	2006
	(in dollars)
Accrued benefit obligation, beginning of year	431,825	353,940
Expense for the year	61,340	111,327
Benefits paid during the year	(61,340)	(33,442)
Accrued benefit obligation, end of year	431,825	431,825

6. Contractual Obligations

The nature of the Tribunal activities can result in some large multi-year contracts and obligations whereby the department will be obligated to make future payments when the services/goods are received. Significant contractual obligations that can be reasonably estimated are summarized as follows:

	2008	2009 and thereafter	Total
	(in dollars)
Goods and services	118,462	8,620	127,082

7. Related party transactions

The Tribunal is related as a result of common ownership to all Government of Canada departments, agencies, and Crown corporations. The Tribunal enters into transactions with these entities in the normal course of business and on normal trade terms. Also, during the year, the Tribunal received services obtained without charge from other Government departments as presented in part (a).

a) Services provided without charge:

During the year the Tribunal received without charge from other departments, accommodation, and the employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plans. These services without charge have been recognized in the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Statement of Operations as follows:

	2007	2006
	(in dollars)
Accommodation	1,020,000	1,005,332
Employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plans	145,942	160,014
Total	1,165,942	1,165,346

The Government has structured some of its administrative activities for efficiency and cost-effectiveness purposes so that one department performs these on behalf of all without charge. The costs of these services, which include payroll and cheque issuance services provided by the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada are not included as an expense in the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's Statement of Operations.

Response to Parliamentary Committees and Audits and Evaluations for Fiscal Year 2006-2007

Response to Parliamentary Committees
No recommendations were received.

Response to the Auditor General including to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD)
No recommendations were received.

External Audits or Evaluations
No external audits or evaluations were conducted.

Internal Audits or Evaluations
No internal audits or evaluations were conducted.

Travel Policies
Comparison to the TBS Special Travel Authorities
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal follows the TBS Special Travel Authorities.

Comparison to the TBS Travel Directive, Rates and Allowances
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal follows the TBS Travel Directive, Rates and Allowances.

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