Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Symbol of the Government of Canada

ARCHIVED - Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada - Report


Warning This page has been archived.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.

Deputy Commissioner's Message

I am pleased to submit the Performance Report for the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs for the period ending March 31, 2010.

This report demonstrates that 2009-2010 was another busy fiscal year for our office, and that our personnel were able to overcome the many challenges that arose during that period.

We pride ourselves on being responsive to the needs of our clientele and in promoting judicial independence.  In our responsibility of administering the Judges Act, we continued during the past year to provide timely and efficient services to judges in various areas.  Amongst other matters, we also continued to serve the Minister of Justice and candidates for judicial appointment in managing the judicial advisory committees process.

The following pages also provide more information on some of the other activities we undertook in 2009-2010.  These include: reviewing and amending our strategic plan, bringing significant upgrades to our core information technology systems, improving the integrated business and workforce management plans of all sections of the office, implementing succession planning in some key areas, as well as planning new information management initiatives.

In closing I wish to commend the professionalism and commitment of the employees of our office in supporting the needs of the Canadian judiciary.  We continually aim to improve our practices in order to be more efficient, and we stand ready to meet new challenges.

 

Original copy signed by

Marc A. Giroux
Deputy Commissioner



Section I – Overview

1.1 Summary Information

Raison d’être

FJA envisions itself as a unique service provider to the Canadian judiciary, renowned for efficiency, sound management and a good working environment.

Mission Statement

To promote the independence of the federal judiciary in order to maintain the confidence of Canadians in our judicial system.

 

Responsibilities

Section 73 of the Judges Act provides for the establishment of an officer, called the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs, who shall have the rank and status of a deputy head of a department.  Section 74 sets out the duties and functions of the Commissioner.

The Office of the Commissioner :

  • administers Part I of the Judges Act by providing judges of the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Tax Court of Canada and federally appointed judges of provincial and territorial superior courts with salaries, allowances and annuities in accordance with the Judges Act;
  • prepares budgetary submissions and provides administrative services to the Canadian Judicial Council; and
  • undertakes such other missions as the Minister of Justice may require in connection with any matters falling, by law, within the Minister's responsibilities for the proper functioning of the judicial system in Canada which includes; the operation of the Judicial Appointments Secretariat; the publication of the Federal Courts Reports; the provision of language training for judges; and the coordination of judicial international cooperation activities.

 

Strategic Outcomes

FJA seeks to deliver high-quality services to the Canadian Judiciary in order to support and promote judicial independence.  In this regard, FJA contributes to the following strategic outcome:

An independent and efficient federal judiciary.

Program Activity Architecture

 

Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada's Program Activity Architecture

[D]

1.2 Performance Summary


2009-10 Financial Resources ($ millions)
Planned Spending Total Authorities Actual Spending
$434 120 217 $439 049 375 $438 330 560

At the outset of the 2009-2010 fiscal year, FJA’s planned spending was $434.1 million. Through Main Estimates, Supplementary Estimates and other adjustments to the statutory expenditures, FJA was allocated $439.1 million and the actual spending was $438.3 million.


2009-10 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Actual Difference
76 67 9

The decrease in the number of Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) is primarily due to the additional time required to staff skilled positions from the departures of employees. In the next fiscal year planned FTEs will come into balance with actual FTEs as succession plans are implemented.


Strategic Outcome: An independent and efficient federal judiciary.
Performance Indicators Targets 2008-09 Performance

Independent Judiciary

Judges’ view on the contribution of the Office to judicial independence by providing high quality services.

90% of Judges satisfied with the administration of the judiciary and feel it effectively contributes to their independence.

93% of judges were satisfied with the services provided by FJA. Generally, satisfaction score were consistently high across all FJA service areas.

With respect to the strategic outcome 88% of survey respondents rated the Office as excellent or good in supporting and promoting judicial independence by providing quality services to federally appointed judges.

Efficient Judiciary

Compliance with service standards for efficient delivery of service

90% compliance with established service standards. Each FJA unit collects information to demonstrate performance against standards for efficient delivery of service. Overall, the target of 90% compliance with these standards was fully met.

($ millions)
Program Activity 2008-09
Actual
Spending
2009-10 Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
Main
Estimates
Planned
Spending
Total
Authorities
Actual
Spending
Payments Pursuant to the Judges Act $410 482 874  $414 853 000  $422 282 000  $427 367 849 $427 367 849 Strong and independent democratic institutions
Canadian Judicial Council $1 643 318 $1 680 000 $1 949 481 $1 860 796 $1 723 353

Strong and independent democratic institutions

Federal Judicial Affairs $9 299 277 $8 202 661 $8 975 736 $9 225 730 $8 369 358

Strong and independent democratic institutions

Internal Services     $913 000 $870 000 $870 000  
Total Planned Spending $421 427 469 $424 735 661 $434 120 217 $439 049 375 $438 330 560  

Summary of Achievements against Priorities

 

  • Client Services: FJA continued to provide high levels of service to clients in the provision of the core services such as judges’ salaries, allowances and annuities. The Client Satisfaction Survey indicated a 93% satisfaction level with services provided by the organization.
  • Corporate Planning: In the recent Management Accountability Framework (MAF) process FJA received a rating of “strong” under the measure of Effectiveness of the Corporate Management Structure. This measure assessed both the Corporate Planning and Governance Structure of the organization.
  • Communications:The client survey indicated a high satisfaction rating with the quality of the communications from the department. FJA also embarked on an initiative to improve communications as a result of an internal survey conducted of staff. The Departmental internal communications network was enhanced by adding information and copies of all departmental business plans, strategic plans and other planning documents.
  • Information Management and Systems:Information Technology was sustained at a high level of availability and quality of operation, and various upgrading initiatives were undertaken.  Although work has progressed, the recent MAF assessment indicated that FJA needed further work in implementing an information management strategy. As a result of a preliminary review,  a five year plan has been developed to assess and implement an Information Management solution.
  • Security:Work progressed to upgrade security through enhancements in software and the network intrusion system.  Training and awareness was provided to departmental staff through activities conducted during the Security Awareness Week. Although FJA is compliant with the Government Security Policy and fully meets the Security policy, the MAF assessment indicated that additional work is required to meet the requirements of the MITS (Management of Information Technology Security) and, therefore, rated this area as “attention required”.

Commencing in the 2009-10 Estimates cycle, the resources for the Internal Services Program activity are displayed separately from other program activities; they are no longer distributed among the remaining program activities, as was the case in previous Main Estimates. This has affected the comparability of spending and FTE information by program activity between fiscal years.

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome(s)


Operational Priorities Type Status Links to Strategic Outcome(s)

Client Services – By providing administrative support services to federally appointed judges, FJA allows judges to fully carry out their judicial mandate. By listening to its clients and monitoring the judicial environment, FJA identifies the judges’ needs, present and future, and effectively adjusts resources and operations to meet them.  In the last year a key initiative was a refinement of the performance measurement system to collect and report on operational (program activity) performance.  The Client Satisfaction survey was conducted to assess achievement of the strategic outcome as well as levels of client satisfaction with service.  Opportunities for improvement and lessons learned were identified.

Ongoing

Met all

The Client Satisfaction Survey conducted in 2008 revealed a better than 93% level of satisfaction among judges with FJA services.
S.O. An independent and efficient judiciary is assured through continuous refinement of service delivery in response to client needs.
Management Priorities Type Status Links to Strategic Outcome(s)
Corporate Planning and Reporting –FJA has developed an Integrated Business and Workforce Management Plan which allows for a formal system of corporate policy development, planning, and performance management which integrates Human Resource Planning.  In the last year, plans were developed, implemented and monitored to ensure resources were well spent. Ongoing

Met all

As part of the Management Accountability Framework review (MAF), FJA received a grade of “strong” in the area of Effectiveness of the Corporate Management Structure.

S.O. An independent and efficient judiciary is assured through effective governance of service delivery.

Communications – The goal of the Communications initiative is to continuously improve how effectively FJA managers, employees, clients (judges) and partners communicate with each other.  Communications strategies, awareness building and training were completed in the last year in areas such as values and ethics and the implementation of policies and changes in procedures.

Ongoing

Met all

The Client Satisfaction Survey indicated a very high satisfaction level (88%) with FJA communications with judges.

S.O. An independent and efficient judiciary is assured through a judiciary well informed about FJA services.

Information Management and Systems – Maintaining and modernizing FJA’s infrastructure is a high priority as well as ensuring the effective management of information. In the last fiscal year FJA completed key IT projects for upgrading and securing the infrastructure. Our internet Web site achieved Common Look and Feel (CLFv2) compliance.  The main internal operational systems, Human Resource Information System (HRIS) and financial system (Freebalance) and the e-mail and collaboration environment for the judges were all successfully upgraded.  The failing air conditioning units dedicated to the server room were replaced.  Since FJA’s key management information system (Phoenix) is more than 15 years old and is based on a non-mainstream application, FJA ensured its continued availability and made preparations for the future migration of the system to a MS Windows and SQL platform.  Ongoing

Not met

The results of the Management Accountability Framework (MAF) assessed this priority as “attention required”.  Although information technology was considered acceptable, as shown in the achievements of the last year, FJA was found to need much more work and resources to implement an information management strategy.

S.O. An independent and efficient judiciary is assured through a ‘backbone’ of efficient systems.

Security – The goal of the Security initiative is to create a single point of reference for all aspects of security, including physical security of FJA clients, employees, visitors, facilities, data, information and systems.   In the last fiscal year key security projects were completed in IT such as the implementation of the Software Patch Management system and the Network Intrusion Prevention System.

Ongoing

Somewhat met

FJA is compliant with the Government Security Policy and fully meets the Security policy. Training and awareness activities were offered to departmental staff during Security Awareness week .

 
S.O. An independent and efficient judiciary is assured through the protection of client information and facilities.


 

Risk Analysis

FJA’s environment is complex due in part to the small size of its organization, the range of services it provides (compensation, benefits, language training, etc.) and the large number of clients served.  FJA is also one of the only organizations in government with the delicate task of regularly interacting with three branches of government:  legislative for changes to the Judges Act; judicial for a wide range of services; and the executive with respect to managerial and central agency requirements.

With only 76 employees, the Office serves more than 1 093 judges, 828 pensioners and survivors, 133 Advisory Committee members and between 500 and 600 applicants for judicial appointment.  FJA administers a budget in excess of $435 million annually which pays for judges’ salaries, allowances and annuities, relocation and travel expenses as well as covering the costs of running the Office (informatics, training, finance, administration and other related expenses).  It provides services to judges including language training.  It informs the legal community as well as the general public through the publication of the official reports of the decisions of the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Courts Reports, thus promoting access to justice and ensuring a permanent record of these decisions.  FJA also serves the requirements of the Minister of Justice through the operation of the Judicial Appointments Secretariat.

Recognizing this context, FJA has developed a risk profile and actively monitors through its management team external and internal risks. Outlined below are the risks FJA managed in the 2009-10 fiscal year.

External Risks –Workload demand for FJA services are increasing in line with demographic changes in the client base, which brings additional operational demands.  Compared to the previous fiscal year, in 2009-10 there was a 2.5% increase in the number of judges and a 2.7%  increase in the number of pensioners in receipt of a pension pursuant to the Judges Act.  Requirements also increased for administering the reimbursement of travel and other allowances to federally appointed judges, in the number of participants in the judges language training program, in the number of applicants for judicial positions and in the number of judges participating in International Cooperation activities. FJA actively monitored and managed risks related to managing additional workload to ensure judges received timely reimbursement of their salaries, allowances and annuities, in accordance with the Act. 

Part of the role of FJA is to provide administrative services to the Canadian Judicial Council which has, as part of its mandate, the responsibility for receiving complaints against members of the judiciary.  The complexity and volume of complaints have been steadily increasing and accordingly, the resources required for conducting the necessary analysis and review of these files has also been increasing.  It is possible that some of these complaints could result in full inquiries which would require substantial resources to ensure that a fair and objective inquiry be undertaken.

FJA must comply with the same central agency expectations and requirements (comptrollership, management and accountability systems, etc.) as do larger departments that enjoy core, specialized resources in the fields of planning, communications, human and financial administration and evaluation.  Policy requirements add to existing managerial demands and the extra requirements for internal procedure development and alignment of practices that may be more suitable for a larger department than a small agency.  FJA has a small management team and more informal and hands-on day-to-day monitoring and management functions which provides the flexibility and responsiveness required to effectively manage risk in relation to standard processes supporting a client base of federally appointed judges.

Internal Risks –FJA recognizes that it operates within a technology-driven world economy and must meet evolving expectations, including those set by the federal government and the Management Accountability Framework (MAF).  The MAF provides a very effective reality check on key areas of risk with respect to information management and technology which are important to the effective administration of service to judges.

From an information management perspective, FJA faces the risk of not being able to keep up with the technological advancements being made. Although we have successfully upgraded one of our core applications, substantial work and investment is still necessary in order to ensure that we can provide an efficient and productive service to our clients.

From a human resources perspective the principal risk FJA faces is the loss of expertise and corporate memory from the retirement of long-serving experienced staff.  As with most government organizations, short and medium-term retirement of managers and staff members may exacerbate the Office’s vulnerability.  Although efforts have been made to develop succession plans, the reality is that there is a shortage of skilled resources available in the staffing marketplace suitable for the activities of FJA.  Therefore, the time involved in recruitment is usually longer than normal.  

From a financial perspective, FJA maintains and updates a sophisticated work planning process which defines key initiatives and resource requirements.  Financial forecasting and expenditure reporting is actively monitored.  Judges are reimbursed their actual and reasonable expenses incurred under the authority of the Judges Act. The work schedules for judges are organized by their Chief Justices based on the caseload before the court and accordingly, the Office has no input or control on the scheduling process. Any forecast of expenses incurred by judges is based on historical trends which can result in fluctuations from the amount of actual expenses incurred. 

From an operational perspective, FJA faces the challenge/risk of balancing resources for ongoing activities with the requirements of implementing international programming and hosting international delegations. In 1995, FJA initiated international judicial partnerships fully funded through the Canadian International Development Agency. Commencing with Ukraine, partnerships with Russia, Ethiopia, China and other countries quickly followed. The project with Russia has now been completed and the project with the Ukraine is moving into its final year. FJA remains involved in promoting and facilitating participation by members of the Canadian judiciary in a number of international co-operation projects.  FJA regularly receives/hosts international delegations to share its core expertise, for example, FJA and the Department of Justice participated in a joint project with Mexico.

Expenditure Profile

Expenditure Profile - Spending Trend Graph

[D]

The total spending for the department shows a continual increase over the planning period. This increase is as a result of a provision in the Judges Act which allows for an annual increase in salaries to judges based on the Industrial Aggregate.

($ millions)
Program Activity Actual
Spending
2007-08
Actual
Spending
2008-09
Main
Estimates
2009-10
Planned
Spending
2009-10
Total
Authorities
2009-10
Actual
Spending
2009-10
Payments Pursuant to the Judges Act 390.2 410.5 414.9 422.3 427.4 427.4
Canadian Judicial Council 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.9 1.9 1.7
Federal Judicial Affairs 8.1 9.3 8.1 9.0 8.9 8.3
Internal Services - - .9 .9 .9 .9
Total 400.0 421.4 424.7 434.1 439.1 438.3

The major reason for the variance in the Actual Spending versus the Planned Spending is attributable to an increase in: the number of judges; the number of pensioners in receipt of annuities under the Judges Act; and the travel and other allowances reimbursed to federally appointed judges.

Voted and Statutory Items

($ millions)
Vote # or Statutory Item (S) Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording 2007-08 Actual Spending 2008-09 Actual Spending 2009-10 Main Estimates 2009-10 Actual Spending
20 Operating expenditures $7 461 007 $8 559 913 $7 503 659 $8 329 525
25 Operating expenditures Canadian Judicial Council $1 564 231 $1 556 318 $1 594 000 $1 637 353
(S) Payments pursuant to the Judges Act $390 180 386 $410 482 874 $414 853 000 $427 367 849
(S) Contributions to employee benefit plans $726 007 $828 364 $785 002 $995 833
Total $399 931 631 $421 427 469 $424 735 661 $438 330 560

The major reason for the variance in the Actual Spending from 2008-09 to 2009-10 is attributable to an increase in:  the number of judges; the number of pensioners in receipt of annuities under the Judges Act; and the travel and other allowances reimbursed to federally appointed judges.