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Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome

The PPSC has one Strategic Outcome: Criminal and regulatory offences under federal law are prosecuted in an independent, impartial and fair manner. It has identified three performance indicators to monitor the extent to which this outcome is achieved in the conduct of its prosecutorial duties, namely, the number of judicial stays for abuse of process, of successful malicious prosecution lawsuits, and of substantiated complaints regarding the PPSC’s independence, impartiality or fairness.

Performance Indicators	Targets	2010-11 Performance
Number and nature of judicial stays for abuse of process based on the conduct of a federal prosecutor.	Zero	Zero
Number and percentage of successful malicious prosecution lawsuits.	Zero	Zero
Number and nature of substantiated complaints regarding the ODPP’s independence, impartiality or fairness.	Zero	Zero

Judicial stays for abuse of process involve a disposition where the court does not allow a prosecution to proceed because of objectionable police or prosecutorial conduct and/or a violation of the rights of the accused.

Plaintiffs suing Crown prosecutors for malicious prosecution must prove, among other matters, that the prosecution was undertaken without reasonable and probable cause, and was motivated by malice or a primary purpose other than that of carrying the law into effect.

The nature of complaints regarding the PPSC’s independence, impartiality or fairness may include, but are not limited to, expressions of dissatisfaction with a PPSC service, procedure, policy or practice, or with the conduct of a PPSC employee or a Crown agent. Any complaints received by Chief Federal Prosecutors are investigated and responded to by regional offices and the Office of the Corporate Counsel.

The PPSC achieved its performance targets with respect to its Strategic Outcome, as indicated by the fact that no instances of these indicators have occurred during the period under review, or during any year since its creation.

Program Activities

The role of a prosecutor is not to win a conviction at any cost but to put before the court all available, relevant, and admissible evidence necessary to enable the court to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. Hence, the performance indicators and results for both the Drug, Criminal Code and Terrorism Prosecution Program (PA #1) and the Regulatory Crime and Economic Prosecution Program (PA #2) are based on the extent to which prosecutions result in a determination on the merits of the evidence.

A case is decided on its merits when:

• a judge or jury determines the guilt or innocence of an accused person after a trial;
• a judge determines after a guilty plea that a conviction is appropriate; or
• a Crown prosecutor stays or withdraws a charge as a result of an assessment that the case does not meet the test for prosecution, or as result of a plea of guilty being entered to a serious charge rendering proceedings on a less serious charge redundant.

Cases not decided on the merits are those that are stayed or quashed by the Court, and for which, as a result, there is no outcome decided by a judge or jury based on the evidence of guilt or innocence. A judicially imposed stay will generally mean discontinuance or permanent suspension of the proceedings.

The following pages describe the PPSC’s three Program Activities, as well as results achieved and performance highlights during 2010-11.

Program Activity #1: Drug, Criminal Code and terrorism prosecution program

This program supports the protection of society against crime through the provision of legal advice and litigation support during police investigations, and the prosecution of:

1. all drug offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and any related organized crime offences throughout Canada, except in Quebec and New Brunswick, where the PPSC prosecutes such offences only where charges are laid by the RCMP;
2. proceeds of crime offences;
3. pursuant to understandings with the provinces, Criminal Code offences where they are related to drug charges;
4. all Criminal Code offences in the three territories;
5. terrorism offences; and
6. war crimes and crimes against humanity offences.

This program activity also involves the promotion of federal/provincial/territorial cooperation on criminal justice issues of mutual concern.

2010-11 Financial Resources ($ millions)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending8
130.2	130.5	111.9

2010-11 Human Resources (FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
625	613	12

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Summary
			Decisions	# of files	% of total files
Litigation files that are prosecuted are decided on merit	% of all litigation files that are decided on merit (i.e., by most serious outcome of guilty plea (other / lesser offence), conviction, conviction (other / lesser offence), discharge, acquittal)	Not applicable	Guilty plea	16,957	53.5%
			Guilty plea (other/lesser offence)	1,029	3.3%
			Conviction	3,276	10.3%
			Conviction (other/lesser offence)	95	0.3%
			Withdrawal	6,026	19.0%
			Stay of proceedings (Crown)	3,419	10.8%
			Discharge	263	0.8%
			Acquittal	619	2.0%
			Total	31,684	100%
Disposition of cases that are not decided on merit	% of litigation files not decided on merit	Not applicable	Stay of proceedings (Court)	335	95.2%
			Quashed	17	4.8%
			Total	352	100%

Performance Summary and Analysis of Program Activity

Drug prosecutions – The PPSC handled 58,117 prosecution files related to offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Of these, 24,245 files were carried over from previous years, and 33,872 files were new. These files represented 72% of the files that the PPSC prosecuted. Drug prosecutions ranged from cases of simple possession of a few grams of marihuana to complicated schemes to import kilograms of cocaine or to export methamphetamine made in a clandestine laboratory. As a result, some cases were relatively straightforward, while others raised complex legal issues and required weeks, and sometimes months, of testimony. In 2010-11, approximately 33,000 of all drug prosecution files were handled by agents.

Organized crime – The RCMP and other police forces are increasingly focusing resources on organized crime. These investigations are usually complex. As a result, the PPSC is often called upon to work closely with the police during the investigative stage. This is particularly true of mega cases, that is, prosecutions of extraordinary scope and complexity that can require the full-time assignment of several prosecutors for lengthy periods. In 2010-11, the PPSC prosecuted 527 cases related to organized criminal activity. While this represented approximately only 2.28 per cent of the number of files prosecuted during the year, the time spent on them amounted to almost 13.15 per cent of total time recorded by PPSC counsel.

Proceeds of crime and offence-related property – As revenue generating crimes, drug offences continued to represent most of the offences that produced proceeds of crime or property used to commit crime (“offence-related property”). In 2010-11, the PPSC handled 2,176 cases involving one of these offences (1,296 were carried over from previous years and 880 were new). The proceeds at issue ranged from money used to buy drugs from an undercover officer to real estate bought with the proceeds of crime or used to produce drugs. A total of $35.6 million worth of proceeds of crime and offence-related property was forfeited during 2010-11.

Anti-terrorism – The Attorney General of Canada has concurrent jurisdiction with provincial attorneys general to prosecute terrorism offences. In 2010-11, the PPSC continued to strengthen its approach on national security prosecutions. Regional Terrorism Prosecutions Co-ordinators were appointed in each region of Canada. A national co-ordinator was also appointed. These individuals make up the Terrorism Prosecutions Co-ordination Committee, which works on issues of concern in terrorism prosecutions. At the time of publication, two terrorism-related prosecutions were ongoing. In August 2010, charges were laid against three individuals in Ottawa and in March 2011, unrelated charges were laid against a single individual in Brampton, Ontario.

War crimes and crimes against humanity – The PPSC has the responsibility of prosecuting offences under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. The PPSC’s first prosecution under the Act resulted in the conviction of Désiré Munyaneza of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Mr. Munyaneza received a life sentence on October 29, 2009. An appeal is ongoing. A second case, R. v. Mungwarere, concerns a Rwandan national residing in Windsor, Ontario who was charged in 2009 with genocide. Additional charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity were added in 2010. A trial date of April 2, 2012 has been set. The accused, Jacques Mungwarere, remains in custody.

Prosecutions in Canada’s North – In 2010-11, PPSC prosecutors handled 10,023 files in the territories, of which 9,109 involved Criminal Code offences. As in the past, a large number of charges involved family violence and sexual assault. The Northern regional offices also handled a total of 33 homicide files, 19 of which were carried over from the previous fiscal year. As well, Northern prosecutions involved 529 CDSA offences, 349 regulatory offences and 366 territorial offences.

Lessons Learned

In 2010-11, the PPSC participated in a Treasury Board-mandated horizontal evaluation of the Integrated Proceeds of Crime Initiative, which was coordinated by Public Safety Canada. The evaluation found that the underlying objectives of the Initiative remain relevant today, and respond to Canada’s national and international commitments against organized crime. The evaluation also found that the Initiative has had an impact on organized crime and crime groups through seizures, forfeitures and convictions.

At the same time, the evaluation concluded that the Initiative is not as efficient or effective as it could be, and that it requires closer communications and collaboration among its partners, as well as better performance monitoring. The PPSC supports the recommendations of the evaluation and will work with the RCMP to renew the 1997 Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations in order to clarify their respective roles and responsibilities.

The PPSC also participated in a Treasury Board-mandated horizontal evaluation of the Anti-Money Laundering/Anti-Terrorist Financing Regime, which was coordinated by the Department of Finance Canada. The study concluded that Canada’s efforts in this area continue to be needed to combat the threat from money laundering and terrorist financing, which has not diminished since the Regime’s implementation in 2000. The study further recommended that a number of issues, including inconsistencies in performance data, be addressed to improve the Regime’s compliance with international commitments. The PPSC will work with its partners to further consider and address the issues identified in the evaluation.

In January 2011, the PPSC held a two-day training session for Crown Witness Coordinators, specifically to address issues such as best practices in providing support to victims and witnesses, vicarious trauma, personal safety and preparedness, and Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Program Activity #2: Regulatory offences and economic crime prosecution program

This program supports the protection of society against crime through the provision of legal advice and litigation support to police and federal investigative agencies, and the prosecution of:

1. offences under federal statutes aimed at protecting the environment and natural resources as well as the country’s economic and social health (e.g., Fisheries Act, Income Tax Act, Copyright Act, Canada Elections Act, Canadian Environmental Protection Act, Competition Act, Customs Act, Excise Act, and Excise Tax Act);
2. offences involving fraud against the federal government;
3. capital market fraud offences; and
4. conspiracies and attempts to violate any of these statutes.

This program also includes the recovery of outstanding federal fines and the promotion of federal/provincial/territorial cooperation on criminal justice issues of mutual concern.

2010-11 Financial Resources ($ millions)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending9
17.3	17.3	13.1

2010-11 Human Resources (FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
187	146	41

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Summary
			Decisions	# of files	% of total files
Litigation files that are prosecuted are decided on merit	% of all litigation files that are decided on merit (i.e., by most serious outcome of guilty plea (other / lesser offence), conviction, conviction (other / lesser offence), discharge, acquittal)	Not applicable	Guilty plea	1,217	61.2%
			Guilty plea (other/lesser offence)	3	0.2%
			Conviction	389	19.6%
			Conviction (other/lesser offence)	4	0.2%
			Withdrawal	162	8.2%
			Stay of proceedings (Crown)	152	7.6%
			Discharge	4	0.2%
			Acquittal	55	2.8%
			Total	1,986	100%
Disposition of cases that are not decided on merit	% of litigation files not decided on merit	Not applicable	Stay of proceedings (Court)	11	100.0%
			Quashed	0	0.0%
			Total	11	100%

Performance Summary and Analysis of Program Activity

Regulatory and economic offences comprise the second largest category of offences prosecuted by the PPSC, after drug prosecutions, and may involve complex and resource-intensive prosecutions. As a result, several regional offices have established specialized teams of prosecutors to deal with specific types of regulatory and economic prosecutions. In 2010-11, the PPSC handled 9,863 files under this program activity. Over $22 million in fines and surcharges and remedial and preventative orders that enhance public and environmental health, safety and security were imposed by the courts in relation to these offences.

Environmental offences – In 2010, Syncrude Canada Ltd. was found guilty of offences under Alberta provincial legislation and the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act arising out of the deaths of 1,600 ducks in a Syncrude tailings pond. The Court imposed a sentence reflecting a plea negotiated between the Crown and the defence, and consisting of a global penalty of $3 million that included fines of $800,000 and another $2.2 million for a variety of initiatives designed to benefit migratory and shore birds in Alberta. A group of prosecutors at the Alberta Regional Office with expertise in environmental offences handled this prosecution.

Canada Labour Code offences – In October 2009, a boiler at a plant that heats many downtown Ottawa buildings, including those on Parliament Hill, exploded, killing an engineer working at the plant. After an investigation, charges were laid under the Canada Labour Code against Public Works and Government Services Canada. The PPSC has carriage of this prosecution, which will continue into 2011-12.

Fisheries offences – In 2010-11, the PPSC handled 2,189 files dealing with fisheries-related offences. These stem from the mandate of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to manage Canadian fisheries. The Atlantic and the British Columbia regional offices each have a team of counsel devoted full-time to regulatory prosecutions, with fisheries offences accounting for the greater part of their workload.

Competition law – A group of PPSC prosecutors provides prosecution services under the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act, and the Precious Metals Marking Act which are administered and enforced by the Commissioner of Competition, who oversees the Competition Bureau. The PPSC advises at the investigative stage on Competition Bureau files that may lead to prosecutions.

In 2010-11, the PPSC advised on 60 investigations and conducted 19 prosecutions, appeals and related proceedings, primarily related to alleged violations of the Competition Act. PPSC counsel also represented the Commissioner in her defence of a constitutional challenge of s.11 of the Act.

In 2010, the Commissioner and the Director of Public Prosecutions entered into a memorandum that sets out their respective organizations’ roles and responsibilities at the investigative and prosecution stages of a case.

Revenue offences – The PPSC prosecutes offences under all statutes administered by the Canada Revenue Agency. Most of the prosecutions under the Income Tax Act involve tax evasion offences. Specialized PPSC prosecutors provide advice at the investigative stage and conduct prosecutions. For example, the Ontario Regional Office has established a revenue prosecutions unit to deal with its volume of prosecutions in this area. In 2010-11, the PPSC handled a total of 584 files under the Income Tax Act, and concluded 286 prosecutions.

Capital market fraud offences – PPSC counsel assigned to Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (IMETs) work with members of the RCMP and other investigators and subject-matter experts responsible for the investigation of serious capital market fraud cases under the Criminal Code. The IMETs operate in Vancouver, Calgary Toronto, and Montreal. PPSC counsel provide pre-charge and general legal advice and support to the IMETs, as well as training. In their role as legal advisors, PPSC counsel were consulted on 33 investigations in 2010-11.

The PPSC also prosecutes IMET cases where provincial attorneys general decline to do so, or where they seek the PPSC’s participation. PPSC prosecutors were involved in two significant IMET-related prosecutions in 2010-11. One was co-counsel in the prosecution of Vincent Lacroix, former president of the Norbourg investment firm, and his five associates. A PPSC team also conducted the prosecution of six corporate officers and executives of Royal Group Technologies, who were acquitted.

Charges have been laid in four other investigations of alleged capital market fraud in British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Those matters are currently before the courts. The PPSC has carriage of three of the prosecutions. The fourth is being prosecuted by the British Columbia prosecution service.

Corruption of foreign public officials – The PPSC is responsible for the prosecution of offences under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA). The PPSC also provides pre-charge advice to the two RCMP units dedicated to the investigation of alleged offences under this act. The CFPOA was enacted to implement the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, which was signed by Canada in 1997. The PPSC was part of the team which represented Canada before the OECD during the evaluation process. There is currently one ongoing CFPOA prosecution, and pre-charge advice is being provided to the RCMP on a number of ongoing investigations.

Fine recovery – The PPSC National Fine Recovery Program is responsible for recovering outstanding court-ordered fines imposed in relation to various federal offences. Through the efforts of eight fine recovery units located in PPSC regional offices, the Program recovered over $5 million in fines and closed over 1,600 files in 2010-11. The monetary value of fines recovered decreased by 15% compared to the previous year given that 95% of the fines collected were in the amount of $5,000 or less. However, 56% of the total amount recovered stemmed from fines of $5,000 and up. Some 150 individuals were incarcerated for refusing to pay their fines despite their ability to pay. Since the national program was first introduced in 2002, more than $56 million in outstanding fines has been recovered.

Lessons Learned

The PPSC participated in the evaluation of the IMET initiative coordinated by Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada. The evaluation, which was completed in 2010, concluded that there is an ongoing need to prevent, investigate and prosecute serious capital market fraud in Canada. The evaluation also found that considerable, sustained effort is still required by the RCMP and the PPSC to monitor the progress of investigations and prosecutions, and identify the reasons for any extraordinary delays. The PPSC worked with the RCMP to develop and implement improved case monitoring procedures.

Program Activity #3: Internal Services

2010-11 Financial Resources ($ millions)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending10
25.2	25.1	21.3

2010-11 Human Resources (FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
128	117	11

Performance Summary and Analysis of Program Activity

Internal Services are comprised of a range of corporate sectors performing activities that support the above two program activities and ensure that the PPSC’s corporate accountabilities are met. Some key performance highlights for 2010-11 included the following:

Internal Audit – The PPSC continued with the development of its internal audit function. An internal audit of the account verification framework, conducted and published in 2010-11, is available at Audit of the Account Verification Framework

Finance and Acquisitions – In 2010-2011, in addition to its ongoing commitments, the Directorate implemented the Comprehensive Land Claim Agreements procurement requirements; took over responsibility for account verification at Headquarters as well as materiel management, both of which had previously been handled by the Department of Justice; developed a succession plan for key positions; rolled out the government-wide expenditure management tool; and implemented changes to the chart of accounts and salary forecast system.

Corporate Counsel – The Office of the Corporate Counsel (OCC) provided advice on the proposed new federal Code on Values and Ethics, and the conditions that apply to employee participation in political activities. The OCC also conducted extensive research that ultimately will lead to the implementation of a Code of Conduct for the PPSC, and directly supported the development of a strategy for corporate and legal risk management activities.

Lessons Learned

The PPSC participates in the annual Management Accountability Framework (MAF) assessment led by the Treasury Board Secretariat. The MAF process helps departments and agencies measure how well they meet expectations for good public service management. In 2010-11, the PPSC’s assessment was positive overall and indicated that its management capacity was improving. The PPSC is moving forward with a MAF action plan focused on increasing its capacity in management processes, particularly in regard to financial management and control, procurement, integrated risk management, information management and investment planning.

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