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2010-11
Departmental Performance Report

Parole Board of Canada

The original version was signed by
The Honourable Vic Toews, P.C., Q.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety

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Table of Contents

• Chairperson's Message
• Section I - PBC Overview
  • Raison d'être and Responsibilities
    • Mandate and Organization
  • Our Mission
    • Organization
    • Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
    • Contributions of Priorities to Strategic Outcome
    • Risk Analysis
    • Summary of Performance
    • Expenditure Profile
    • Estimates by Vote
• Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
  • Strategic Outcome
  • Program Activity by Strategic Outcome
• Section III: Supplementary Information
  • Financial Highlights
    • Financial Highlights Chart
  • Financial Statements
  • List of Supplementary Information Tables
• Section IV: Other Items of Interest
  • Organizational Contact Information
  • Additional Information

Chairperson's Message

The Parole Board of Canada, as part of the criminal justice system, contributes to the maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society. In pursuing its mandate, the Board's work is grounded in two fundamental principles - a commitment to public safety and to operating in an open and accountable manner to the Canadian public that it serves.

In 2010-11, the Board demonstrated that it continues to meet its important mandate of delivering high-quality conditional release and pardon decisions and clemency recommendations, in support of the safe reintegration of offenders into the community. While following through on its identified plans and priorities, the PBC was also able to effectively support new government priorities in the areas of legislative change, as well as continue with efforts towards improving information services to victims of crime.

Continuing to operate under a challenging and shifting environment, the Board was able to achieve a number of initiatives during 2010-11. These included:

• Identification and implementation of key priority activities;
• The second Annual Training on Risk Assessment (ATRA) was held involving Board members and staff from all regions;
• Implementation of an interim increase to the pardon user fee of $150 to ensure the program's sustainability in the short-term;
• The redesign of the Pardon program's operations as a result of legislative change;
• Development of a Strategic Operating Concept and Investment Plan; and,
• Completion of the first phase of a joint PBC-CSC victim information streamlining pilot project to improve services to victims.

In terms of performance results, in 2010-11 the Board completed almost 17,000 conditional release reviews (federal and provincial offenders). Multi-year data continues to demonstrate that parole contributes to public safety: 94% of all parole releases do not result in a new offence, and 99% do not result in a new violent offence.

In addition, the Board received almost 32,000 new pardon applications, and began to significantly redesign its operations to bring them in line with new legislative requirements as a result of changes to the Criminal Records Act.

The Board also had more than 22,500 contacts with victims, more than 2,300 observers at its hearings, and released more than 5,700 decisions from its decision registry.

These results speak to the great dedication and commitment of our Board members and public service employees, and of our ability as an organization to adapt and innovate in response to our changing environment to ensure that we continue to foster safe and secure communities for Canadians.

Harvey Cenaiko
Chairperson, Parole Board of Canada

Section I - PBC Overview

Raison d'être and Responsibilities

Mandate and Organization

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC or "the Board")[1] is an agency within the Public Safety Portfolio, which also includes the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC).

The Board is an independent administrative tribunal that has exclusive authority under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to grant, deny, cancel, terminate or revoke day parole and full parole. The PBC may also order (on referral by CSC) that certain offenders be held in prison until the end of their sentence. This is called detention during the period of statutory release. In addition, the Board makes conditional release decisions for offenders in provinces and territories that do not have their own parole boards. Only the provinces of Ontario and Quebec currently have their own parole boards, which make parole decisions for offenders serving sentences of less than two years.

As well, the Board has extensive legislated responsibilities related to openness and accountability. This includes the provision of information and assistance to victims of crime, observers at hearings, access to the PBC's decision registry, and delivery of a program of public information.

The Board is also responsible for making decisions to grant, deny and revoke pardons under the Criminal Records Act (CRA) and the Criminal Code of Canada. A pardon is a formal attempt to remove the stigma of a criminal record for people who, having been convicted of an offence, have satisfied their sentence as well as a specified waiting period, and remained crime free. The Board also makes recommendations for the exercise of clemency through the Royal Prerogative of Mercy(RPM). The Governor General or the Governor in Council approves the use of the RPM for those convicted for a federal offence, following investigations by the Board, and recommendations from the Minister of Public Safety.

Outcomes of the PBC daily work can be found in the annual Performance Monitoring Reports. The report provides performance and statistical information for the past five years for the PBC's two legislatively based programs - conditional release and clemency and pardons.

Mission

The Parole Board of Canada, as part of the criminal justice system, makes independent, quality conditional release and pardon decisions and clemency recommendations. The Board contributes to the protection of society by facilitating, as appropriate, the timely integration of offenders as law-abiding citizens.

Our Mission provides clear direction and guidance to Board members and staff for the achievement of excellence in the field of corrections in general and in conditional release and pardons/clemency in particular. It provides guidance for today and a focus to meet the challenges of tomorrow. It also explains to offenders and ex-offenders, to our criminal justice partners, to interest groups, including victims, to Parliament and to the public, who we are, what we stand for, what we do and how we do it.

In making quality conditional release and pardon decisions, as well as recommendations in clemency cases, the Board's primary objective is the long term protection of society. Law-abiding behaviour can best be achieved by timely and supervised conditional release and the effective administration of sentences. During the course of rendering its decisions, the Board is autonomous and independent. However, it is accountable for its actions, by virtue of its guiding legislation, policies and internal framework. The Board is accountable to Parliament and ultimately, to all Canadians.

Achieving the mandate of the PBC is not easy. It involves the safeguarding of two of PBC's most precious values: public safety and personal freedom. "Making the Mission a Reality" therefore is a challenge that becomes the primary responsibility and obligation of all those associated with the Board.

The Mission of the PBC establishes four core values:

• Contributing to the attainment of a just, peaceful and safe society;
• Respect for the inherent potential and dignity of all individuals and the equal rights of all members of society;
• Belief that the contribution of qualified and motivated Board members and staff is essential to promoting the achievement of the Board's Mission; and,
• Commitment to openness, integrity and accountability in the execution of our mandate.

As an agency within the Public Safety Portfolio, the PBC works to advance the government's public safety priorities. The Board contributes to these priorities by making quality conditional release and pardon decisions and clemency recommendations that result in the safe reintegration of offenders in the community.

Organization

The Parole Board of Canada is an agency within the Public Safety Portfolio. The Board works in partnership with portfolio agencies in pursuit of priorities such as safer communities, but the PBC is unique in many ways. The PBC is headed by a Chairperson who reports to Parliament through Public Safety Canada. The Minister, however, does not have statutory authority to give direction to the Chairperson or other Board members of the PBC in the exercise of their decision-making powers. This structure helps to ensure the PBC's impartiality and the integrity of the parole decision-making process.

The Chairperson of the PBC is a full-time member of the Board and its chief executive officer. The Chairperson directs PBC's program delivery in keeping with government plans and priorities, reports to Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety on the fulfillment of the Board's mandate and is accountable for the effectiveness and efficiency of PBC policy and operations. The Chairperson is assisted in these responsibilities by the Executive Vice-Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson of the Appeal Division, and the Board's five regional vice-chairpersons. The Executive Director General of the Board is its senior staff member and chief operating officer. The Executive Director General, in support of the Chairperson, provides leadership for strategic and operational planning, resource management, performance measurement and administration as well as operation of the national office and the regions.

Organization Chart

[Text Equivalent]

The Board carries out its responsibilities through its national office in Ottawa, as well as five regional offices across the country (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairies, and Pacific).

PBC Locations

Conditional release decisions are made by Board members in the regions. Board members are supported by staff that schedule hearings, provide information for decision-making, ensure that information for decision-making is shared with offenders, and communicate conditional release decisions to the offender, CSC representatives and others as required. Regional staff also provide information to victims, make arrangements for observers at hearings, and manage requests for access to the Board's decision registry.

At the national office, Board members make pardon decisions and decisions related to the appeal of conditional release decisions. Staff at the national office deliver the pardons and clemency program; develop conditional release and pardon policy; coordinate Board member training; and deliver a program of public information. As well, the national office provides leadership for policy, strategic and operational planning, resource management, performance monitoring, case reviews and investigations, appeals and an array of internal services.

Consistent with the provisions of the Acts that govern the PBC, Board members are independent in their decision-making responsibilities, and free from interference of any type. As independent decision-makers, Board members are guided by legislation and policy and are responsible for:

• Reviewing all information for consideration in conditional release and pardon/clemency cases;
• Conducting in-depth analysis of each case, and requesting additional information, as necessary, to support quality decision-making;
• Assessing the risk and other factors related to cases, voting independently on the disposition of each case, and providing sound, well-documented, written reasons for decisions; and,
• Ensuring that hearings are conducted in accordance with the duty to act fairly, with respect for all procedural safeguards.

Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)

The Parole Board of Canada's Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA), reflect the key aspects of the PBC's legislated responsibilities for conditional release and pardons/clemency, and represent the areas of accountability and performance in which the public and Parliamentarians most frequently express interest. In this context, the Board's strategic outcome is the cornerstone of its public accountability. The PAA includes a single outcome and four program activities.

The following chart illustrates the PBC's complete framework of program activities and program elements, which roll up and contribute to the PBC's single strategic outcome:

[Text Equivalent]

Contributions of Priorities to Strategic Outcome

The following identifies the key priorities for the PBC during 2010-11, links them to the Board's strategic outcome and program activities and explains how these priorities contributed to progress made toward the strategic outcome.

Priority	Type	Performance Status	Links to Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity(ies)
Effectively fulfilling legislative responsibilities related to quality conditional release decision-making	Ongoing	Overall Status: Met All	Strategic Outcome: Conditional release and pardon decisions and decision processes that safeguard Canadian communities. Program Activity: Conditional release decisions. Priority contribution towards strategic outcome: Ensures public safety by providing quality decisions on the timing and conditions of release of offenders into the community. Important that the Board ensure credible decisions which withstand appeal and court challenges while respecting individual rights enshrined in law.

Planned Activities to Meet Priority:	Status
Conduct qualification processes to establish Board member eligibility list for Governor in Council appointment.	Several qualification processes were completed during 2010-11 and a pool of qualified candidates was established. The Board completed a review of the tools used in the qualification process.
Enhance training and information for current and newly appointed Board members, and staff.	Planning and arrangements were completed for a special project beginning in the upcoming 2011-12 fiscal year. This project will entail renewing the Board's training program, notably in the design and development of new orientation training modules for Board members. A system for collecting training resources and materials will also be developed as a part of this project. During 2010-11, the Board started to develop formal training modules for current and newly appointed Board members in order to respond to the new legislative requirements of the CRA (Pardons). Training was offered to staff in order to respond to incoming pardon applications and will continue in 2011-12. New tools were also developed to gather information for the Board member re-appointment process.
Conduct initiatives focusing on the creation of national standards to ensure that processes are consistent across all of the Board's regions.	The Board has completed a number of initiatives that target efforts at improving national consistency including creating a standardized panel package, reviewing and revising the policy development process, enhancing resource allocation formulas, developing a research and training communiqué, developing a training framework for Board members on Aboriginal issues, and preparing a handbook for use by interpreters at hearings.
Enhance information management and the sharing of information with CSC through the modernization of the Offender Management System (OMS) which supports PBC's conditional release responsibilities.	Several enhancements were made to the Victims Module within the OMS that serve to enhance the information collected by the Board. In addition, the PBC developed an application called Portal on Results, Information, Measurement and Evaluation (PRIME) to aid in statistical reporting, by region, on the number of contacts with victims, and the types of information being shared. The modernization of the Board's OMS legacy application is continuing as part of a multi-year project involving CSC which is the Board's IT service provider.
Refine policies/guidelines to support consistency in decision-making.	Highlights for 2010-11 include a number of revisions to the Board's policy on pardons as a result of legislative changes. In addition, the Board also refined its policies in a number of other areas including hearings for Aboriginal offenders, appeals and RPM. National training was conducted for hearing officers in the area of procedural safeguards to better support Board member decision-making. The Board implemented a new procedural safeguards form to improve the quality of information being collected in this area. Information sessions were also provided in the area of the Board's risk assessment framework, information management, as well as legal issues.
Manage resources strategically to address growing workload pressures with scarce resources.	Decisions taken through PBC's operational planning and resource allocation process ensured that resources (financial and human) were allocated based on corporate priorities. In 2010-11 the Board examined and revised various resource formulas. These revised resource formulas provide transparent indicators and measures that will be used to gauge performance over time and assist managers in assessing progress and strengthening accountability. In addition, the Board's financial monitoring regime included monthly budgeting and forecasting with subsequent analysis and reports to senior management. Also, the PBC corporate management committee and decision-making structure (i.e., Executive Committee, Senior Management Committee and various Advisory Committees) regularly met to discuss and address workload pressures throughout the year.
Conduct compliance reviews to ensure that regardless of case outcomes the law, policy and duty to act fairly are respected thereby ensuring quality decision-making.	The PBC reviewed specific cases that were brought to its attention for various reasons to ensure that the law, policy and duty to act fairly had been respected during parole decision-making. In addition, preparation commenced in 2010-11 to create a performance monitoring strategy.

Priority	Type	Performance Status	Links to Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity(ies) Status
Effectively fulfilling legislative responsibilities related to open and accountable conditional release processes	Ongoing	Overall Status: Met All	Strategic Outcome: Conditional release and pardon decisions and decision processes that safeguard Canadian communities. Program Activity: Conditional release openness and accountability. Priority contribution towards strategic outcome: Ensures the PBC operates in an open and accountable manner, consistent with the provisions of the CCRA. It is important for the PBC to remain open and accountable to the public, and to victims of crime.

Planned Activities to Meet Priority:	Status
Enhance information available to victims and the public.	In 2010-11, the Board had more than 22,500 contacts with victims, reflecting a 2% increase from 2009-10, and processed more than 5,700 requests for access to the decision registry. The Board offers victims who are unable to attend a hearing in person the opportunity to observe by way of video conference. The Board continues to meet with the CSC, Public Safety and the Department of Justice on an ongoing basis to discuss areas of common interest for improving information services to victims and the public. The Board, co-chairs with the CSC, a national joint steering committee, sub-working groups, as well as regional victim advisory committees to enhance the coordination of the information provided to victims. The Board updated a number of its publications that are provided to the general public and victims, including its flagship publication on parole and its information guide on victim services.
Strengthen our partnership with CSC to ensure clarity in our legislated roles and responsibilities regarding the provision of information.	The Board engages in regional and national Interlinkage meetings with CSC to strengthen the partnerships between our organizations. The Board consults with CSC regarding various operational and/or policy issues in common to enhance information sharing activities and clarity of legislated responsibilities. The PBC and CSC held its annual meeting of regional and national managers involved with victim information services.
Work with CSC to implement an action plan aimed at trying to reduce the number of waivers, postponements and withdrawals of hearings by offenders.	The Board and CSC partnered to produce a video as well as a brochure entitled "Your Guide to Parole", to increase offenders' understanding and awareness of the parole process and to reduce the number of waivers, postponements and withdrawals by offenders.
Communicate information about the parole process more effectively with offenders.	The Board routinely notifies offenders of various case specific aspects of their parole process as part of its operational procedures. In 2010-11, a number of forms and letters that are provided to offenders were amended to ensure that changes to the Board's applied title were communicated effectively to offenders. As noted above, the Board also produced a new publication as well as a video for offenders.

Priority	Type	Performance Status	Links to Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity(ies) Status
Effectively fulfilling legislative responsibilities related to the processing of pardon applications	Ongoing	Overall Status: Met All	Strategic Outcome: Conditional release and pardon decisions and decision processes that safeguard Canadian communities. Program Activity: Pardon decisions/clemency recommendations. Priority contribution towards strategic outcome: Supports rehabilitation and community reintegration by providing quality pardon decisions and clemency recommendations.

Planned Activities to Meet Priority:	Status
Continue efforts to achieve sustainability based on policy refinement, process streamlining, and the productive use of technology.	The Board refined and improved its policies, procedures, training and staffing actions as they relate to Pardons in order to respond to legislative change that occurred in June 2010. The legislative amendments were such that a redesign of the pardon process and the division was required. In addition, modifications to the informatics systems were made to address new requirements on a temporary basis. A review of information management is underway to permanently address the requirements.
Continuously improve and monitor service standards/efficiency in program delivery for application processing.	As a result of the amendments to the CRA in June 2010, service standards in place prior to that date are no longer valid. New service standards, as required under the User Fees Act (UFA), will be implemented once a fee reflecting the current costs of processing a pardon under the new CRA are approved and implemented.
Increase the user fee for processing a pardon application.	In April 2010, the Government of Canada announced its intent to increase the user fee for a pardon, to have users assume the cost of processing a pardon application. In September 2010, the Minister of Public Safety tabled an interim proposal in Parliament to increase the pardon user fee to $150. The $150 interim user fee was adopted by Parliament and came into effect on December 29, 2010. A cost-recovery proposal currently underway seeks an increase to the pardon user fee from $150 to $631. The proposed increase to $631 is based on a cost-recovery approach and represents the cost of processing a pardon application following the coming into force of Bill C-23A in June 2010. The increase is a required measure to provide the Board with the increased capacity to manage ongoing pardon workloads, and to address operational changes to the PBC's Pardon program as a result of legislative changes.

Priority	Type	Performance Status	Links to Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity(ies) Status
Strengthening stakeholder and community partnerships	Ongoing	Overall Status: Met All	Strategic Outcome: Conditional release and pardon decisions and decision processes that safeguard Canadian communities. Program Activity: Conditional release decisions. Conditional release openness and accountability. Priority contribution towards strategic outcome: Ensures the PBC operates in an open and accountable manner, consistent with the provisions of the CCRA. The Board must continue to foster, maintain and explore partnerships with organizations within and outside the public sector to broaden its scope and leverage opportunities for efficiencies toward fulfilling its strategic objective and contributing to public safety. Effective information sharing and accurate recording of offender information are essential for the Board to be able to make informed decisions.

Planned Activities to Meet Priority:	Status
Ongoing work towards enhancing partnerships at both the national and regional levels.	At the national level, the Board meets regularly to enhance partnerships with CSC, Public Safety, Department of Justice, and the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime. At the regional level, the Board enhanced partnerships through regular meetings with CSC, Victim Service Units (VSUs), Advisory Committees, and Provincial/Municipal government departments, and non-governmental organizations.
Meet with Aboriginal Circle to examine ways to improve access to services for Aboriginal offenders and victims.	The Board consulted with the Aboriginal Circle Advisory Committee seeking recommendations in the development of policies, operations and training. The Aboriginal Circle was consulted in the development of the Aboriginal Training Framework, the review of the Elder-Assisted Hearing process, and the revisions of policy, guidelines that enabled the Board to ensure it continues to provide a consistent service to victims and offenders at Elder-Assisted Hearings. The recommendations brought forward served to provide direction for the Board to continue improving access to services for Aboriginal offenders, victims and communities.
Develop a comprehensive outreach strategy outlining key objectives, target audiences and activities.	A national outreach strategy was developed to help meet the Board's responsibilities under legislation and policy to maintain a program of communications and public education around its policies and programs to offenders, victims and the general public, and to identify increased opportunities for collaboration on outreach activities with its partners.
Update media relations policy and distribute nationally.	The Board updated its media relations policy and distributed it to senior executives and designated spokespeople.
Development of communication packages to assist designated spokespeople to enhance media relations and public education.	In order to foster and enhance the effectiveness and openness of the Board's communications around its policies and programs to the media and the public, the Board is developing a media relations toolkit of standard information and background material to assist its spokespeople at headquarters and in the regions in their duties.
Conduct a pilot project in the Atlantic region to improve the quality of police information.	During 2010-11, a pilot project was completed in the Altantic region to inform and educate police on how to enhance information provided to the Board for decision-making purposes. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is in place between the PBC, CSC and the Halifax Police, and the Board continues to conduct informal sessions with various police departments throughout the region and work with the Halifax Police Service to ensure quality police information.
Conduct an initiative in the Ontario region to improve information sharing with victims of both federal and territorial offenders in Nunavut.	In the fall of 2010, regional staff attended and participated in a territorial government workshop in Nunavut that included representatives from all 25 communities. The Board's participation included outreach activities and the presentation of material on victim registration.

Priority	Type	Performance Status	Links to Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity(ies) Status
Improving information services for victims	Ongoing	Overall Status: Met All	Strategic Outcome: Conditional release and pardon decisions and decision processes that safeguard Canadian communities. Program Activity: Conditional release openness and accountability. Priority contribution towards strategic outcome: Ensures the PBC operates in an open and accountable manner, consistent with the provisions of the CCRA. As part of the government's initiative to provide victims with greater access to the justice system, and the Board's commitment to openness and accountability, it is important to ensure access to information for victims of crime who contact the PBC.

Planned Activities to Meet Priority:	Status
In collaboration with CSC, examine ways to more effectively and efficiently provide information services to victims.	Ongoing and regular collaborative meetings between the PBC and CSC continued to be fostered and expanded to look at ways to more effectively and efficiently provide information services to victims (e.g., joint victims steering committee, regional Interlinkages, national Interlinkages).
Strengthen partnerships with victim organizations to improve the provision of information to victims.	The PBC and CSC are implementing a joint action plan for work with victims. This includes: Victim Steering Committee; Victim Working Group; annual meetings with the PBC and CSC regional managers. The PBC regularly meets with the National Office for Victims (Public Safety), the Policy Centre for Victims Issues (Department of Justice), as well as participated in Federal, Provincial and Territorial (FPT) meetings. The Board meets on an ongoing basis with the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime. The PBC conducts joint meetings with CSC and a number of Regional Victim Advisory Committees.
Conduct community outreach to increase awareness and discuss issues so that victims, victim organizations and Aboriginal communities are aware of the information services provided by the Board.	The Board makes special efforts to reach out to diverse communities - Aboriginal, visible minority, northern, rural and small urban communities - recognizing the unique needs that these communities face. Special efforts are also made to reach out to victim organizations.
Work with CSC to develop a simplified and unified victim registration form that can be used by both organizations.	A unified CSC-PBC Victim Registration form has been completed to simplify the application process for victims.
Provide additional training for staff who work with victims.	The Board provided national training for staff who work with victims. The agenda included salient areas such as the principles of Gladue, the Victims Travel Fund, Information Management, Wellness and Vicarious Trauma, as well as information from the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime.

Priority	Type	Performance Status	Links to Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity(ies) Status
Pursuing strategic excellence in PBC governance	Ongoing	Overall Status: Met All	Strategic Outcome: Conditional release and pardon decisions and decision processes that safeguard Canadian communities. Program Activity: Conditional release decisions. Conditional release openness and accountability. Pardon decisions/clemency recommendations. Internal Services. Priority contribution towards strategic outcome: Supports the delivery of quality decisions on the timing and conditions of release of offenders into the community. A strong, robust and strategically focused governance structure ensures an integrated corporate system of decision-making which enables effective allocation of resources to priorities, alignment of activities to outcomes and management of accountabilities.

Planned Activities to Meet Priority:	Status
Continue work towards integrating Vision elements with operational plans (e.g., enhance Board member training, improve information for parole decision-making, enhance responses to increasing diversity within the offender population, strengthen partnerships with criminal justice agencies and key stakeholders to support the safe reintegration of offenders in the community).	The Board's Vision has been shaping and stimulating continuous improvement in PBC policy, training and operations, and links planning and performance reporting. Through the Vision, the Board has developed a solid foundation for enhancing its contribution to public safety, quality program delivery, and effective resource management.
Assess implications of government proposals for reform of corrections and criminal justice, including a review of related policy issues, anticipated workload pressures, resource needs, and training requirements for Board members and staff.	The Board responded to proposed changes to legislation over the last year (i.e., assessing, analyzing and formulating recommendations to various proposals). Board members and staff were consulted and updated on an on-going basis with regard to any changes in legislation and or policy that may have had an impact on decision-making and decision writing.
Conduct initiatives to address the need for strategic management of human, financial, information and technology resources to support quality program delivery. These include:
Strengthen and further develop linkages with the Program Activity Architecture (PAA), Management Accountability Framework (MAF) and Business Planning processes to support and integrate efforts to meet Treasury Board (TB) requirements.	The development of the Strategic Operating Concept (SOC) further developed and solidified linkages with the PAA, MAF, and the Board's planning and governance framework in support of TB requirements.
Develop an Integrated Planning Framework (i.e., plan, manage, monitor and report).	An Integrated Planning Framework was developed as a component of the SOC. The "PBC Planning and Governance Framework" section articulates the Board's integrated approach to planning.
Integration of business planning with human resources planning.	During 2010-11, considerable work was done to improve processes for the 2011-12 operational planning cycle (i.e., developed regional business models, revised planning templates, and improved direction/guidance to RC managers to facilitate improved integrated planning). In light of growing resource pressures updated resource formulas were created to develop business requirements and identify associated costs (both financial and human).
Pursue recruitment and retention strategies that attract quality staff to counter the anticipated impacts of departures in the workforce.	During 2010-11, human resources services were centralized in the national office in Ottawa. Additional Human Resource (HR) staff were hired and collective staffing processes were implemented. This increased PBC's compliance to HR policies, practices and procedures. As a result, the consistency in the statement of merit criteria of generic positions across the organization increased and managers became more involved in the decision process.
Establish a Human Resources Committee (HRC) to oversee, guide and challenge strategic human resources activities, priorities, vision and direction.	The HRC was established and a review of key staffing policies was conducted. The terms of reference for the committee will be amended to include a challenge function.
Closely monitor progress on PBC priorities to ensure that PBC programs derive maximum benefit from information systems and technology.	The Board's Information Technology (IT) priorities were closely monitored. Numerous IT working groups were established (which included Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) as the Board's information technology service provider) to ensure the work plans for each IT priority progressed as planned. In addition, the PBC's Executive Director General (EDG) was appointed as a Co-Chair of CSC's Information Management and Technology Advisory Board (IMTAB) Committee. This committee meets on a monthly basis to discuss IT issues.
Update resource formulas to enhance the Board's ability to more effectively and efficiently develop business requirements and identify associated costs.	During 2010-11, resource formulas were created for Board members, hearing officers, case review staff, community relations and training staff, and case and subject records clerks. Improved resource formulas will provide transparent indicators and measures that will be used to gauge performance over time and assist managers in assessing progress and strengthening accountability.
Enhance knowledge of management practices, training development (i.e., Board members and staff), and guidelines to help address corporate memory loss.	Workshops were held for employees and managers on many HR subjects. In addition, the HR section implemented a ''HR bulletin'' process to communicate new information (e.g., policies, guidelines, decisions, etc).
Continue with our Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) committee meetings to address issues.	Regular meetings occurred at national office and in the regional offices to address Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) issues.

Priority	Type	Performance Status	Links to Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity(ies) Status
Investing in our people	Ongoing	Overall Status: Met All	Strategic Outcome: Conditional release and pardon decisions and decision processes that safeguard Canadian communities. Program Activity: Conditional release decisions. Conditional release openness and accountability. Pardon decisions/clemency recommendations. Internal Services. Priority contribution towards strategic outcome: Supports the delivery of quality decisions on the timing and conditions of release of offenders into the community. Public service renewal remains a top priority for the federal public service. Not only must PBC focus on attracting new recruits to replace employees leaving on retirement, but we must also develop and renew the competencies of those continuing their careers so that they can respond to new ways of doing business and meet future challenges.

Planned Activities to Meet Priority:	Status
Work to ensure a sufficient number of qualified individuals are identified for consideration as Board member appointees.	Several qualification processes were completed during 2010-11 and a pool of qualified candidates was established. The Board completed a review of the tools used in the qualification process. New tools were also developed to gather information for the Board member re-appointment process.
Ongoing work on a number of initiatives towards improved knowledge management, training/learning and development systems and tools, and to address organizational needs in a more timely and effective manner. These include:
Develop new training modules for Board members.	As noted above, initial preparation and planning was completed in 2010-11 for a multi-year project to renew the Board's training program, notably in the design and development of new orientation training modules for Board members.
Conduct annual training on risk assessment for Board members and staff.	The Annual Training on Risk Assessment (ATRA) took place in February 2011. It provided training for Board members and staff on a variety of relevant topics including sessions on actuarial tools, best practices in decision writing and advanced interviewing skills among others. A "Train-the-Trainers" session focusing on implementation of a Risk Assessment Framework was offered to Regional Managers Community Relations and Training (RMCRTs) and Regional Vice-Chairpersons (RVCs) prior to ATRA. In addition, Risk Assessment Framework training was provided to Board members during ATRA and follow-up training in several regions was also provided.
Develop succession plans, including possibilities for internal secondments.	Initial preparation commenced in 2010-11 to put in place a structured process for HR planning, a component of which will encompass succession plan information. Through the HR planning process the Board will communicate with staff key competencies that are required and the strategies to fill vacant positions.
Examining ways to capture knowledge of retiring staff (i.e., knowledge transfer).	During 2010-11, the executive group used the special deployment for EX and SAPP for non-EX in order to help the organization with knowledge transfer in many areas. The organisation keeps track of the allowed quota established by TB.
Review/create staff orientation package.	Some preliminary work was completed in this area in 2010-11 and additional resources have been assigned to continue further development in 2011-12.
Create staff recognition options (i.e., instant awards, Chairperson's annual awards, etc.).	The Board's recognition program was launched in 2010-11 and consists of the Chairperson's award, Instant award and Long Service award.
Address issues related to diversity, language and gender in Board member and staff recruitment.	The PBC launched a targeted process in order to ensure the Board met employment equity group objectives. In order to standardize and provide accessibility of services the PBC reviewed and amended some linguistic profiles. The Board provided training on creating a respectful workplace for all staff and Board members, as well as additional training on leading in a respectful workplace for managers.

Risk Analysis

The PBC works in a challenging environment that demands effective alignment to the Government of Canada's outcome of a safe and secure Canada, and careful assessment of criminal justice issues and community concerns. The Board is expected to rigorously pursue innovation and improvements to meet heavy workload pressures, within the current resource allocation. Public safety remains the Board's primary consideration in all aspects of decision-making policy, training, and operations.

The Board delivers on two statutory responsibilities: conditional release; and pardons and clemency. The PBC also manages a range of internal services that provide critical support for program delivery. The conditional release area is the most complex and accounts for 86% of annual program expenditures (including conditional release and openness and accountability). Program delivery is labour-intensive, with salary costs accounting for approximately 86% of yearly program expenditures. Most of the remaining expenditures cover essential operating costs, such as travel to parole hearings.

Conditional Release

The PBC workloads are shaped by factors beyond its control. Legislation governing the Board (the CCRA) is prescriptive, specifying when and how the Board conducts its business (e.g., when a review is required by law, and when to use hearings). In addition, workloads are driven by the actions of offenders, victims and the community. In concrete terms, this means that the PBC must deal with high workload volumes (i.e., almost 17,000 conditional release reviews for federal and provincial offenders in 2010-11), involving critical issues of public safety, under tight timeframes, amid intense public scrutiny.

The Board must also continue to strengthen its capacity for quality conditional release decision-making to ensure that it responds to recent legislative changes. It must also respond to an increasingly challenging program environment characterized by a higher percentage of offenders with shorter sentences (i.e., sentences between 2-3 years in length), an increasingly difficult federal offender population (e.g., characterized by longer criminal histories, greater prevalence of violence, more gang affiliations, more serious substance abuse problems, and more serious mental health issues), and the growing diversity of the offender population.

The growing diversity in the offender population, as reflected in the continued over-representation of Aboriginal people and the growing numbers of offenders from diverse ethno-racial communities, demand that the Board continue to ensure policies, training and decision processes are reflective of present and future realities. Decision processes such as Elder-assisted hearings for Aboriginal offenders exemplify the PBC's efforts in this area.

The openness and accountability provisions of the CCRA continue to present important challenges for the Board with respect to:

• Sharing information with victims of crime;
• Provision of information and assistance for those who wish to observe PBC hearings or gain access to the Board's registry of decisions; and,
• Delivery of a program of public information.

Workloads in these areas have grown exponentially since the introduction of the CCRA in 1992. In 2010-11 for example, the Board had more than 22,500 contacts with victims, over 2,300 observers at hearings, and released more than 5,700 decisions from the decision registry. As with conditional release decision-making, the need for quality program delivery in this area is critical, given its implications for public confidence in corrections and conditional release. Ongoing public scrutiny and media interest in this area make program effectiveness crucial.

The Government is in the process of implementing its plan to tackle crime and strengthen community safety, including measures for reform of sentencing, corrections and conditional release. Effective support for these measures continues to be a focal point for the Board. The Board must manage the workload and cost implications of legislative amendments.

Pardons and Clemency

Recent legislative amendments to the CRA have led to process changes within the pardon program.

On June 29, 2010, Bill C-23A "Limiting Pardons for Serious Crimes Act" came into force, amending the CRA to:

• Increase the ineligibility period for a pardon for certain offences;
• Ensure that the Board has the authority to make inquiries with regard to pardon applications for all types of offences;
• Ensure that the Board has the discretion to consider additional factors in the decision-making process for pardons;
• Establish factors the Board may consider in determining whether the granting of the pardon would bring the administration of justice into disrepute; and,
• Implement the assessment of good conduct in all cases.

These legislative amendments significantly changed the operations of the Pardons program. Board staff are now required to obtain additional information from applicants, and research and investigate cases that include more in-depth inquiries with criminal justice partners. In addition, Board members require additional time to review cases and to make decisions.

Furthermore, the lengthening of the eligibility period for certain offences as a result of the amendments to the CRA has had direct implications for the Board's Clemency unit. In past years the Clemency Unit typically handled approximately 20 applications a year. Currently, the Unit is managing in excess of 50 active files and dealing with an increase in inquiries as a result of the new legislation. This has led to delays in processing requests for clemency under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM).

In order to ensure the program can continue to be delivered effectively without affecting budgets devoted to the Board's conditional release program, the Board is seeking to implement a cost-recovery model for the processing of pardon applications.

Strategic Resource Management

The Board must continue to address the need for strategic management of human, financial, information and technology resources to support quality program delivery. The PBC is committed to ensuring a strong, diverse and dynamic workforce that excels in delivering the Board's mandate to Canadians, today and in the years to come.

The Board's human resource challenge has two dimensions:

• Maintaining sufficient numbers of experienced Board members is an ongoing challenge because of their specified periods of appointment; and,
• Over the next few years, many senior and experienced staff at the Board will be able to retire without penalty to their pensions.

The first challenge involves Board members who are Governor-in-Council appointments. The CCRA specifies that the Board will comprise no more than 45 full-time members. The Act also provides for the appointment of part-time members to help manage conditional release decision-making workloads. Board members are usually appointed for three year terms. Each year, decision-making workloads require the use of significant numbers of part-time Board members (over the last five years the number has fluctuated between 20 to 25 full-time equivalents). Maintaining sufficient numbers of experienced Board members is a challenge because of the specified terms of appointment. The PBC must also deal with the reality that, following an initial orientation period of five weeks, newly appointed Board members still require three to six months of additional training and mentoring before they can manage the full scope of their decision-making responsibilities. In this context, the Board must ensure that it recruits sufficient numbers of qualified candidates for consideration for appointment as Board members, and provides effective ongoing training to ensure that Board members have the knowledge they need to apply PBC policies and assess risk in decision-making.

The Board faces another challenge with respect to succession planning with regard to its public service staff. Departures of experienced staff erode corporate memory and diminish critical knowledge of the law, policy, and training. The impact of this is especially acute in a small organization. Board staff provide the continuity of knowledge and information essential for quality program delivery. For this reason, development of an effective human resource plan for dealing with staff turnover is essential.

Timely access to relevant information provides the foundation for quality conditional release and pardon decision-making and ultimately for the Board's continuing contribution to public safety. In addition, the Board must deal with legislated responsibilities for sharing appropriate information with victims of crime, offenders, other criminal justice agencies, and the public. In this environment, strategic information management is crucial, requiring the Board to have the automated systems necessary to support effective collection, storage and sharing of information. Additionally the Board must have in place the policies and procedures necessary to ensure effective information management. Progress in these areas will require the assistance of the CSC who is the Board's information technology service provider.

In April 2007, the Commissioner of the CSC and the Chairperson of the Board entered into a Master Service Agreement (MSA) for the provision of IT services at the PBC. CSC agreed to provide future IT services to the PBC in exchange for the transfer of all PBC IT resources (human, financial and physical) to CSC. CSC is responsible for maintaining PBC's IT systems, infrastructure, business applications and corporate applications.

Strategic management of financial resources will also present important challenges. For the foreseeable future, the Board will face complex and growing workload pressures in areas of legislated responsibility. There is also a growing need to address Treasury Board and Public Service Commission monitoring and accountability mechanisms. The Board's resource capacity could be constrained by the need to address these new priorities in a period of restraint in which the focus of the federal government will be on efforts to stimulate economic recovery.

Summary of Performance

2010-11 Financial Resources ($ thousands)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
46,407	49,665	45,995

2010-11 Human Resources (full-time equivalent - FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
472	438	34

The following tables report back on the indicators and targets from the 2010-11 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) to provide information on whether progress on the Board's strategic outcome was achieved as planned.

Performance Summary Tables

Table 1

Strategic Outcome: Conditional release and pardon decisions and decision processes that safeguard Canadian communities
Performance Indicators	Targets	2010-11 Performance
The percentage of parole releases that did not result in a new conviction	Zero (0) re-offending by parolees prior to warrant expiry	97% of offenders who completed a parole supervision period in 2010-11 did not commit a new offence prior to warrant expiry.
The percentage of pardon recipients who have not had their pardon revoked	96% of all pardons awarded remain in force	Since the inception of the pardon program, 96% of pardons awarded have remained in force.
The percentage of victims who express satisfaction with the information and assistance they receive from the PBC	90% rate of client satisfaction[2]	In a victim's questionnaire conducted in 2009-10, 11% of respondents said that they were not satisfied with the services they received.

Table 2

Program Activity	2009-10 Actual Spending	2010-11 ($ thousands)				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
Conditional Release Decisions	33,101	33,887	33,887	36,305	33,780	Safe and secure Canada
Conditional Release Openness and Accountability	6,973	6,071	6,071	6,537	5,693	Safe and secure Canada
Pardon Decisions /Clemency Recommendations	1,429	1,449	1,449	1,853[3]	2,095[4]	Safe and secure Canada
Internal Services	4,675	5,000	5,000	4,970	4,427
Total Planned Spending	46,178	46,407	46,407	49,665	45,995

Expenditure Profile

In 2010-11, the Board's total authorities, consisting of Main Estimates, subsequent to Supplementary Estimates funding, were $49.7M. This consisted of $43.9 of operating resources and $5.8M for the Employee Benefit Plan (EBP).

Actual expenditures were $45.9M and resulted in a reported Public Accounts lapse of $3.7M. This lapse included $1.7M of frozen allotments that the Board could not spend, therefore resulting in a real lapse of $2.0M. The $2.0M lapse or approximately 4.0% of total authorities indicates that the Board was able to manage its resources successfully for 2010-11.

The Board applied its resources to the four following program areas: Conditional Release Decisions, Conditional Release Openness and Accountability, Pardon Decisions/Clemency Recommendations and Internal Services.

[Text Equivalent]

[Text Equivalent]

Estimates by Vote

For information on our organizational votes and/or statutory expenditures, please see the 2010-11 Public Accounts of Canada (Volume II) publication. An electronic version of the Public Accounts is available on the Public Works and Government Services Canada website^[5].

Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome

The Parole Board of Canada has a single strategic outcome:

Conditional release and pardon decisions and decision processes that safeguard Canadian communities.

Program Activity by Strategic Outcome

PBC program activities and priorities are designed to support continuous progress in achieving the strategic outcome. To support this outcome, PBC has four program activities:

• Conditional release decisions;
• Conditional release openness and accountability;
• Pardon decisions/clemency recommendations; and,
• Internal services.

The following section describes the PBC's program activities and identifies the expected results, performance indicators and targets for each of them. This section also explains how the PBC plans on meeting the expected results and presents the financial and non-financial resources that will be dedicated to each activity.

Program Activity 1.1: Conditional Release Decisions

2010-11 Financial Resources ($ thousands)			2010-11 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending	Planned	Actual	Difference
33,887	36,305	33,780	346	297	49

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Status	Performance Summary
Quality conditional release decisions that contribute to public safety	Multi-year information on the number and % of releases on parole that result in a new offence or a new violent offence	Zero (0) re-offending by parolees prior to warrant expiry	Mostly Met	Over the last ten years, 94% of parole supervision periods were completed without the offender being convicted of a new offence. Over a ten year period, 99% of releases on parole did not result in a conviction for a new violent offence prior to warrant expiry.
	Multi-year information on the number and % of offenders who complete their sentence on full parole and do not re-offend and return to a federal penitentiary	Zero (0) re-offending after warrant expiry by offenders who reach the end of their sentence on full parole	Mostly Met	Over the long-term (10 to 15 years after sentence completion), 90% of offenders who completed their sentences on full parole have not re-offended and returned to a federal penitentiary.

Program Activity Description and Benefits to Canadians: Conditional release is based on the principle that gradual release to the community, in conjunction with effective programs and treatment, quality assessments of the risk of re-offending and effective community supervision enhances community safety. This program activity supports public safety by providing quality decisions on the timing and conditions of release of offenders into the community. Through this program activity, PBC staff provide timely, and accurate information for Board member decision-making, and develop effective training and policies that are essential tools for quality risk assessment and decision-making. Effectiveness is assessed through monitoring of the outcomes of release on parole. This program activity is directly supported by the following priorities identified for 2010-11:

• Effectively fulfilling legislative responsibilities related to quality conditional release decision-making;
• Strengthening stakeholder and community partnerships;
• Pursuing strategic excellence in PBC governance; and,
• Investing in our people.

Performance Analysis

Information on performance demonstrates that the Board achieved the priorities and commitments identified in its Plans and Priorities for 2010-11. In 2010-11, the Board completed almost 17,000 conditional release reviews for federal and provincial offenders.

Multi-year data continues to confirm that parole contributes to public safety. Ninety-four percent (94%) of all parole releases do not result in a new offence, and ninety-nine percent (99%) do not result in a new violent offence.

Information on re-offending after completion of sentence illustrates that 9 of 10 offenders who reach the end of their sentences on full parole do not return to a federal penitentiary.

For more information, please access the Board's Performance Monitoring Reports at: http://pbc-clcc.gc.ca/rprts/rprt-eng.shtml.

Program Activity 1.2: Conditional Release Openness and Accountability

2010-11 Financial Resources ($ thousands)			2010-11 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending	Planned	Actual	Difference
6,071	6,537	5,693	65	57	8

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Status	Performance Summary
Conditional release processes that ensure that the PBC operates in an open and accountable manner, consistent with the CCRA	Average time required to respond to: requests for information and assistance from victims, requests to observe hearings; and requests for access to PBC's decision registry	Response to requests for information and assistance within 15 working days, on average	Met All	The PBC responded to all requests within an average of less than 15 days.
	Levels of satisfaction of victims, observers, and those who seek access to the decision registry with quality and timeliness of information and assistance provided by PBC	90% rate of client satisfaction	Met All	During the spring of 2009, the PBC and CSC developed and conducted a victim's questionnaire in order to examine the extent to which we are currently meeting the information needs of victims. Participants were asked to provide an overall rating for their level of satisfaction with PBC staff. In the questionnaire conducted in 2009-10, 11% of respondents said that they were not satisfied with the services they received. Results of surveys conducted of those who observe hearings, request access to the decision registry as well as victims who contact the PBC indicate that PBC response times are within acceptable ranges.

Program Activity Description and Benefits to Canadians: This program activity ensures that the PBC operates in an open and accountable manner, consistent with the provisions of the CCRA. This program activity consists of the provision of information for victims of crime; assistance for observers at hearings and those who seek access to the Board's registry of decisions; encouragement of citizen engagement; and performance monitoring and reporting on the release process. Results for this program activity are assessed by monitoring the timeliness of information shared and by selected surveys of those who receive information and assistance from the PBC. Work in this area recognizes that the PBC operates in a difficult environment in which timely sharing of accurate information is fundamental for effective partnerships and public trust.

This program activity is supported directly by PBC's priorities for:

• Effectively fulfilling legislative responsibilities related to open and accountable conditional release processes;
• Strengthening stakeholder and community partnerships;
• Improving information services for victims;
• Pursuing strategic excellence in PBC governance; and,
• Investing in our people.

Performance Analysis

The openness and accountability provisions of the CCRA continue to present important challenges for the Board with respect to: sharing information with victims of crime; provision of information and assistance for those who wish to observe PBC hearings or gain access to the Board's registry of decisions; and delivery of a program of public information. Workloads in these areas have grown exponentially since the introduction of the CCRA in 1992.

In 2010-11, for example, the Board had more than 22,500 contacts with victims, reflecting a 2% increase from 2009-10. As with conditional release decision-making, the need for quality program delivery in this area is critical, given its implications for public confidence in corrections and conditional release. Intense public scrutiny and extensive media interest in this area make program effectiveness crucial. Most of the over 22,500 contacts were with victims of violence, such as sexual assault or with the families of murder victims.

The Board had over 2,300 observers at its hearings in 2010-11, reflecting a 12% increase over the last five years and in 2010-11 victims made 237 presentations at 137 hearings. Most of these were family members of victims of murder (45%) or manslaughter (15%), or the victims of sexual assault (11%). Most of the presentations were made in person (89%), while the rest were on either by audio or video tape, or video conference.

The CCRA permits access to specific decisions and to decisions for research purposes through the Board's registry of decisions. For more information, please see http://pbc-clcc.gc.ca/media/dec-eng.shtml.

In 2010-11, the Board released over 5,700 decisions from its registry of decisions. Victims were the most frequent requestors of decisions (approximately 49%), followed by the media (approximately 33%).

For more information, please access the Board's Performance Monitoring Reports at: http://pbc-clcc.gc.ca/rprts/rprt-eng.shtml.

Program Activity 1.3: Pardon Decisions/Clemency Recommendations

2010-11 Financial Resources ($ thousands)			2010-11 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending	Planned	Actual	Difference
1,449	1,853	2,095	24	38	(14)

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Status	Performance Summary
Quality pardon decisions that support rehabilitation and community reintegration	The numbers and rates of revocation/ cessation of pardons	96% of all pardons awarded remain in force	Met All	Since the inception of the pardon program, 96% of all pardons awarded remain in force.
	The average time required to process pardon applications for cases involving summary convictions and convictions for indictable offences	Adherence to established service standards for processing pardon applications	Somewhat Met	The pardon program adhered to the established service standards for the first quarter of 2010-11. The established service standards were based on the following average processing times for pardon applications: Indictable offences (3.5 months); Summary convictions (1.2 months); and, Proposal to deny/denials (14.7 months). As a result of the amendments brought to the CRA in June 2010, the service standards in place prior to the amendments were no longer valid. New service standards, as required under the UFA, will be implemented once a fee reflecting the current costs of processing a pardon application is approved and implemented. While the Board has trained staff and is developing training for Board members, it remains under resourced to fully deliver the Pardons and Clemency programs. Consequently, the Board is facing a backlog of approximately 10,000 pardon applications. Until a new cost recovery user fee is tabled and in force the pardons program remains unsustainable.

Program Activity Description and Benefits to Canadians: A pardon is designed to recognize the successful reintegration of an individual into society. It is a formal attempt to remove the stigma of a criminal record for people found guilty of a federal offence and who, after satisfying their sentence and a specified waiting period, have shown themselves to be responsible law abiding citizens. Through this program activity, the PBC screens applications for eligibility and completeness, collects information for decision-making and develops policy to guide decision processes. The results of this program are assessed through ongoing review of the average time required to process pardon applications, and the rates of revocation of pardons granted. This program activity is supported by the following priorities:

• Effectively fulfilling legislative responsibilities related to the processing of pardon applications and clemency requests;
• Pursuing strategic excellence in PBC governance; and,
• Investing in our people.

This program activity is designed to support rehabilitation and community reintegration by providing quality pardon decisions. The benefits of the program include:

• Ensuring careful consideration is given to issues of public safety;
• Providing an opportunity for pardon recipients to contribute to their communities as law-abiding citizens;
• Those who receive a pardon have increased opportunities for employment, housing, insurance, and travel, allowing them to generate revenue, capital and contribute to economic growth; and,
• Most individuals (over 96%) who receive a pardon remain crime free, demonstrating the value of a pardon as a long-term measure of community reintegration.

The Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) or Clemency is a largely unfettered, discretionary power vested in the Office of the Governor General by virtue of the Letters Patent and the Governor in Council, under sections 748, 748.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada, who may apply exceptional remedies under exceptional circumstances to deserving cases.

The benefit of the program addresses instances of substantial injustice and instances of undue hardship.

Performance Analysis

During the reporting period, the Pardons Division received a total of 31,965 pardon applications and accepted 15,311 for processing. The low acceptance rate was because the majority of these applications did not meet the new requirement to provide information clearly demonstrating how receiving a pardon would provide the applicants with a measurable benefit and sustain their rehabilitation into society as a law abiding citizen.

The Board also had to contend with processing pardon applications received both prior to and after the coming into force of amendments to the CRA. This required that staff move between different statutory requirements, as pardon applications received by the Board before the coming into force of Bill C23-A on June 30, 2010, deemed eligible and complete, were processed under the requirements of the former CRA.

Staff familiar with a legacy system, also had to adapt to processing applications based on new and different methodologies, which caused delays in the processing of pardon applications. The absence of sufficient resources to manage the legislative changes compounded the overall pressures on the Board, and caused delays in the processing of pardon applications. During 2010-11, the government announced its intent to move to a full cost recovery approach for pardon applications.  The PBC has commenced the process to increase the user fee which, if approved, will alleviate this pressure.  Furthermore, the amended CRA made demonstrating merit on the applicant's part a fundamental component of assessing an application, and also provided more discretion to Board members in their decision-making. As Board staff required training to assess more complex cases according to the new requirements of the CRA, these applications were put aside to be processed once staff had received the necessary training. This resulted in a backlog of approximately 10,000 pardon applications.

During 2010-11, the Clemency program received 31 requests for the RPM and now has 58 active files. The increase in requests is largely attributable to the changes made to the CRA. Most requests are discontinued either because the applicant does not provide sufficient information or proof of excessive hardship to proceed with the request, or the Minister determines that the clemency request does not warrant investigation as the criteria have not been met. Nonetheless, unlike the CRA, the RPM is not based on timelines set in statute but rather on various remedies sought for very exceptional cases. Consequently, an exhaustive assessment of each request is essential in order to provide the Minister with a recommendation. The Clemency program has seen its volumes increase substantially with a corresponding increase in resource demand.

For more information, please access the Board's Performance Monitoring Reports at: http://pbc-clcc.gc.ca/rprts/rprt-eng.shtml.

Program Activity 1.4: Internal Services

2010-11 Financial Resources ($ thousands)			2010-11 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending	Planned	Actual	Difference
5,000	4,970	4,427	37	46	(9)

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Status	Performance Summary
Efficient and effective internal services that support quality program delivery	Performance indicators in this area are under consideration	Performance targets in this area are under consideration	Mostly Met	Progress made towards formalizing and strengthening performance indicators and targets. Mechanisms are in place but work continues to integrate and enhance the use of indicators and targets into the business reporting structure and the PAA.

Program Activity Description and Benefits to Canadians: This program activity includes the provision of financial, human resource, administration, security and modern management services and provides the basic operational services that enable the Board to function while ensuring compliance to new and existing central agency policies. This program activity is supported by the following priorities:

• Pursuing strategic excellence in PBC governance; and,
• Investing in our people.

Internal Services benefits Canadians by enabling the Board to deliver its program activities. Internal Services strives to:

• Ensure that the Board's governance structure facilitates the most effective and flexible decision making possible;
• Communicate information about the PBC to target audiences in an effective manner;
• Provide the right human and financial resources to advance the Board's key and ongoing priorities;
• Generate the most effective, results-based planning to ensure logic and cohesion in all PBC activities;
• Conduct reviews, monitoring and investigations to ensure that operations are transparent and accountable;
• Ensure that the technological tools that are essential to the Board's operations are in place; and,
• Maintain a culture of continuous innovation and improvement.

Reporting internal services through a common government-wide approach to planning, designing, budgeting, and reporting allows Canadians to see the full cost and proportion of resources spent at the Board and across the federal government for support activities.

Performance Analysis

Highlights of performance during the year include the following:

• A Strategic Operating Concept (SOC) and Investment Plan (IP) was developed to set out the Board's plans and priorities for achieving business and operational goals. The SOC/IP depicts and communicates the Board's overall strategic management (e.g., governance structure and planning framework). It supports: roles and responsibilities, including key points of accountability; effective and efficient allocation and reallocation of resources (financial and human); processes for integrating enabler functions (e.g., human resources, information technology, corporate services, etc); and, risk and performance management strategies. As a communication tool, it provides for greater flexibility and transparency.
• Considerable effort is dedicated to the budget management process to ensure PBC's funds are used to maximum advantage. A rigorous internal review and forecasting exercise begins in August and continues for the remainder of the fiscal year to facilitate this. In December 2010, PBC was required to provide a forecast of annual expenditures which would be used as a basis of comparison with final results. The difference between PBC's forecast and actual expenditures was less than 5%.
• The national office finance branch monitors, on a cyclical basis, regional Finance and Procurement operations, which are decentralized, to ensure consistency of procedures and compliance with the Financial Administration Act (FAA) and applicable Treasury Board policies. The second cycle began in 2010-11, and considerable improvement has been noted since the monitoring exercise began. Lessons learned from each year's monitoring exercise also lead to refinement of the monitoring procedures to make the exercise itself more effective and efficient.
• The Board conducted case reviews of Board member decisions to ensure that the conditional release decisions taken respect the law, policy, as well as the duty to act fairly. The Board also conducted statistical analysis to identify trends and inform decision-makers of any changes in the profile of the offender population. The PBC is in the process of building a more robust program monitoring function so that it can more fully demonstrate transparency and accountability to Parliament and the public by reporting on activities that support the key activities outlined in the Board's PAA.
• The PBC results on the Staffing Management Accountability Framework improved considerably in the areas of planning for staffing, HR support systems and accountability for results.

For more information, please access the Board's Performance Monitoring Reports at: http://pbc-clcc.gc.ca/rprts/rprt-eng.shtml.

Section III: Supplementary Information

Financial Highlights

Condensed Statement of Financial Position At March 31, 2011 ($ Thousands)	% Change	2010-11	2009-10
Total assets	(8.7)%	4,286	4,692
Total liabilities	(5.2)%	9,702	10,237
Equity of Canada	(2.3)%	(5,416)	(5,545)
Total	(8.7)%	4,286	4,692

Condensed Statement of Operations For the year ended March 31, 2011 ($ Thousands)	% Change	2010-11	2009-10
Total expenses	1.0%	52,839	52,294
Total revenues	(8.3)%	1,162	1,267
Net cost of operations	1.3%	51,677	51,027

Financial Highlights Chart

The figure below displays the allocation of PBC funding by program activity for 2010-11.

[Text Equivalent]

Close to three-quarters (74%) of the PBC's funding in 2010-11 was allocated to Program Activity 1 (Conditional Release Decisions), 12% was allocated to Program Activity 2 (Conditional Release Openness and Accountability) and 4% was allocated to Program Activity 3 (Pardon Decisions/Clemency Recommendations). In total, the Board's work relating to conditional release accounted for 86% of annual program expenditures. The remaining 10% was dedicated to Internal Services which supports the organization and its activities.

Financial Statements

For the Board's 2010-11 Financial Statements, please go to: http://www.pbc-clcc.gc.ca/rprts/dpr/2010/dpr10-eng.shtml.

List of Supplementary Information Tables

All electronic supplementary information tables found in the 2010-11 Departmental Performance Report can be found on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat website^[6].

1. Sources of Non-Respendable Revenue
2. User Fees Reporting
3. Horizontal Initiatives
4. Green Procurement
5. Internal Audits and Evaluations

Section IV: Other Items of Interest

Organizational Contact Information

Regular mail:

Communications Division
410 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0R1

E-mail: info@PBC-CLCC.gc.ca

Additional Information

Parole: Contributing to Public Safety

Vision 2020 - Public Safety, Public Service

Parole Decision-Making: Myths and Realities

Total annual expenditures on travel, hospitality and conferences

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[1] PBC was formerly the National Parole Board (NPB) although the legal name continues to be NPB until changed by legislation.

[2] Satisfaction threshold % is based on previous year survey result; to be used as a benchmark for future comparison.

[3] This amount is net of the net voting authority of $980K.

[4] This amount is net of the revenues collected of $838K.

[5] See Public Accounts of Canada 2010, http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/txt/72-eng.html.

[6] See 2010-11 Part III - Departmental Performance Reports (DPR): Supplementary Information (Tables), http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/dpr-rmr/2010-2011/index-eng.asp.