ARCHIVED - Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs

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SECTION I – OVERVIEW

Acting Commissioner's Message

The Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs (FJA) was created in 1978 to safeguard the independence of the judiciary and to put federally appointed judges at arm's length from the administration of the Department of Justice. It exists to promote the better administration of justice and focuses its efforts on providing a sound support role to the federal judiciary.

The office administers three distinct and separate components that are funded from three very distinct sources. Statutory funding is allocated for the judges' salaries, allowances and annuities and surviving beneficiaries' benefits. Voted appropriations are provided in two separate votes to support the administrative activities of the Office of the Commissioner and the administrative activities of the Canadian Judicial Council.

In terms of the Canadian Judicial Council, it is made up of the Chief Justices and Associate Chief Justices of Canada. The Council acts independently in the pursuit of its mandate of fostering the better administration of justice in Canada. The Council is served by a small office and its staff reports to the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs but is accountable to the Chief Justice of Canada in serving the needs of the Council. Our office provides administrative and financial support and advice to the Council in support of its mandate.

The administration of the Office of the Commissioner is structured to reflect the distinctiveness of its role in supporting federal judicial activities. Under the Program Activity Architecture, the organization is broken down into three program activities: Payments Pursuant to the Judges Act Judges Act; Canadian Judicial Council; and Federal Judicial Affairs (FJA).

These activities strive to meet our priorities of: client services; corporate planning and reporting; communications; information management; and security.

Success in fulfilling these priorities is determined through measurement strategies which assess the level of achievement of key results. FJA prides itself in providing a consistent, high level of service to federally appointed judges.

Marc Giroux
Acting Commissioner

Management Representation Statement

I submit for tabling in Parliament, the 2008-2009 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) for the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs.

This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2008-2009 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:

• It adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat guidance;
  
• It is based on the department's strategic outcome and Program Activity Architecture that were approved by the Treasury Board;
  
• It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and reliable information;
  
• It provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
  
• It reports finances based on approved planned spending numbers from the Treasury Board Secretariat.

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Name: Marc Giroux
Title: Acting Commissioner

Raison d'être

Section 73 of the Judges Act provides for the establishment of an officer called the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs who shall have the rank and status of a deputy head of a department. Section 74 sets out the duties and functions of the Commissioner. The Office of the Commissioner : administers Part I of the Judges Act by providing judges of the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Tax Court of Canada and federally appointed judges of provincial and territorial superior courts with salaries, allowances and annuities in accordance with the Judges Act; prepares budgetary submissions and provides administrative services to the Canadian Judicial Council; and undertakes such other missions as the Minister of Justice may require in connection with any matters falling, by law, within the Minister's responsibilities for the proper functioning of the judicial system in Canada.

Results for Canadians Under the Canadian constitution, the judiciary is independent from the executive and legislative branches of government. Judicial independence is intended to ensure that judges make decisions free of influence, based solely on the facts and the law. Once appointed, a judge is eligible to serve on the bench until retirement (age 75 for federally appointed judges). Judges must also receive adequate remuneration in such a manner that does not leave them in a position of dependence or subject to pressure. In Canada, governments cannot change judges' salaries or benefits or remove judges from office without going through an appropriate, independent procedure.

Organizational Information

Program Activity Architecture – Reporting Structure

Voted and Statutory Items listed in Main Estimates

Vote or Statutory Item	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	2008-2009 Main Estimates	2007-2008 Main Estimates
20	Operating expenditures	7,772,000	7,368,000
25	Canadian Judicial Council-Operating expenditures	1,594,000	1,594,000
(S)	Judges' salaries, allowances and annuities, annuities to spouses and children of judges, and lump sum payments to spouses of judges who die while in office.	397,971,000	390,465,000
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plan	824,000	847,000
	Total Department or Agency	408,161,000	400,274,000

Departmental Planned Spending Table and Full-time Equivalents

($ millions)	Forecast Spending 2007-2008	Planned Spending 2008-2009	Planned Spending 2009-2010	Planned Spending 2010-2011
Payments Pursuant to the Judges Act	390.5	398.0	412.2	425.9
Canadian Judicial Council	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7
Federal Judicial Affairs	8.1	8.8	8.4	8.4
Budgetary Main Estimates (gross)	400.3	408.5	422.3	436.0
Less: Respendable revenue	.2	.3	.3	.3
Total Main Estimates	400.1	408.2	422.0	435.7
Adjustment
Supplementary Estimates
Public Service Modernization Act	.2	0	0	0
Federal Accountability Act	.3	0	0	0
Compensation, Benefits and HR Unit	.2	0	.0	0
Succession Plan	(.1)	0	0	0
Other
Treasury Board Vote 15
Employee Benefit Plan (EBP)
Total Adjustments	.6	0	0	0
Total Planned Spending	400.7	408.2	422.0	435.7
Total Planned Spending	400.7	408.2	422.0	435.7
Less: Non-respendable revenue	12.3	12.9	13.4	13.9
Plus: Cost of services received without charge	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Total Departmental Spending	389.9	396.8	410.1	423.3
Full-time Equivalents	68	72	70	70

Summary Information

Financial Resources

2008-2009	2009-2010	2010-2011
$408,161,000	$421,971,000	$435,730,000

Human Resources

2008-2009	2009-2010	2010-2011
72	70	70

Departmental Priorities

Name	Type
1. Client Services	Ongoing
2. Corporate Planning and Reporting	Ongoing
3. Communications	Ongoing
4. Information/Management Systems	Ongoing
5. Security	Ongoing

Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome: An independent and efficient federal judiciary.	Planned Spending			Contributes to the following Priority
	2008-2009	2009-2010	2010-2011
Payments Pursuant to the Judges Act	$397,971,000	$412,185,000	$425,944,000	All priorities
Canadian Judicial Council	$1,683,000	$1,683,000	$1,683,000	All priorities
Federal Judicial Affairs	$8,507,000	$8,103,000	$8,103,000	All priorities

Departmental Plans and Priorities

External Environment

In recent years, our world has had to come to grips with dramatic challenges. While security issues raised are not new to our country, Canada's focus on and commitment to resolving them have intensified. The unprecedented emphasis the government now puts on security in all its operations is a result of this situation and is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

Attention must be drawn to other significant factors particular to FJA such as requests for services from provincial court judges and other key actors in the judicial community, including numerous opportunities for judicial partnerships both within and outside Canada. These new or growing priorities will continue to add more pressure on FJA to perform better and faster and to provide new services and to enhance existing ones.

FJA recognizes that it operates within a technology-driven world economy where mandates, demands, constraints, partnerships and the unforeseen are part of the landscape, and where the government sets the national priorities and management and accountability framework.

Internal Environment

FJA's internal environment is complex, due in part to the small size of its organization, which tends to understate the importance of its role within government. With only about 70 employees, the Office serves more than 1,053 judges and 777 pensioners and survivors, 138 Advisory Committee members and over 600 applicants for judicial appointment. FJA administers a budget in excess of $400 million annually which pays for judges' salaries, allowances and annuities, relocation and travel expenses as well as covering the costs of running the Office (informatics, training, finance, administration and other related expenses). It provides other services to judges including language training. It also provides services to the legal community through the publication of the Federal Courts Reports as well as services to the Minister of Justice through the operation of the Judicial Appointments Secretariat. FJA must comply with the same central agency expectations and requirements (comptrollership, management and accountability systems, etc.) as do larger departments that enjoy core, specialized resources in the fields of planning, communications, human and financial administration and evaluation.

These compelling responsibilities take a heavy toll on the human and financial resources that ought to be fully dedicated to serving the needs of FJA clients. Thus, the implementation of certain aspects of the modern comptrollership concept or the Public Service Modernization Act, by way of example, could be imperilled without the provision of resources.

Unanimous in praising the professionalism and remarkable work of departmental employees, senior management acknowledges that there is still room for improvement in providing them with the right tools and creating a work environment conducive to optimal performance. Such an environment encompasses strong leadership based on effective, bilingualinternal communication, clearly delineated responsibilities, agreed-upon expectations, staff/management training and employee participation in discussions and decisions that might have an impact on them, on their jobs or even on the future of this organization.

Short and medium-term retirement of managers and staff members may well exacerbate the Office's vulnerability. It is not unusual for small organizations that lack adequate succession planning or face employee turnover to experience sporadic organizational uncertainty.

In 1995, FJA initiated international judicial partnerships fully funded through the Canadian International Development Agency. Commencing with Ukraine, partnerships with Russia, Ethiopia, China and other countries quickly followed. FJA remains involved in promoting and facilitating participation by members of the Canadian judiciary in a number of international co-operation projects.

Management Priorities

FJA envisions itself as a unique service provider to the Canadian judiciary, renowned for efficiency, sound management and a good working environment. Five initiatives have been established as priorities. Implementing these priorities is expected to change the way FJA manages its operations, delivers its services, and facilitates the way FJA managers and employees relate to one another, their clients and partners. The impact of these initiatives on Human Resources will need to be assessed, planned and well integrated.

An environmental scan was completed by Consulting and Audit Canada in September 2004 which revealed that the organizational structure was sound, and client (judges) satisfaction was cited as high.

Client Services

FJA's primary duty and responsibility is to provide all federally appointed judges with administrative support services that they require to fully carry out their judicial mandate. By listening to its clients and monitoring the judicial environment, FJA can identify the judges' needs, present and future, and effectively adjust resources and operations to meet them.

FJA must also pay special attention to the needs of its other clients, i.e. pensioners and survivors, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Canadian Judicial Council, Parliament, Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee members and judicial candidates, and enhance the quality of existing services when needed and offer new services where feasible.

The core of FJA services to the judiciary is statutory in nature: judges salaries, allowances and annuities. However, the demand of the non-statutory portion that is departmental resources to support the members of the judiciary, grows each year due to requests from judges and other clients for improved or additional services or both.

The performance indicators associated with this priority would include:

• a high approval rating in a client satisfaction survey of members of the judiciary which will be undertaken in the near future.

Corporate Planning

In response to recent requirements of the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Corporate Planning initiative will create has created a formal system of corporate policy development, planning, performance management and program evaluation which integrates Human Resource Planning.

By having a formal system for corporate policy development, planning, performance management and program evaluation, FJA will be able to ascertain that the services it provides to judges, the Canadian Judicial Council, and to the Minister of Justice are in accordance with established policies and are effective and efficient.

The work plan includes the need for the development of a Corporate Policy, Planning and Evaluation Framework that describes and tracks a full range of initiatives contemplated within the scope of this initiative. This plan would include:

• initiatives contemplated within the scope of this priority
• defining critical success factors associated with this priority
• a description of interim and final deliverables
• a schedule of steps leading to the preparation of deliverables and identification of resource requirements; and
• a proposal of the internal and external resources required for each step in the schedule, quantified and qualified.

The performance indicators associated with this priority would include:

• an Approved Framework and Plan;
• an Evaluation of each initiative in Corporate Policy, Planning and Evaluation Framework; and
• Human resource planning integrated with corporate planning.

Communications

The goal of the Communications initiative is to improve how effectively FJA managers, employees, clients and partners communicate with each other. The primary goal is to improve and standardize internal communications throughout the various layers of the FJA organization, as well as across organizational boundaries.

The Communications initiative will propose and develop needs-based communications strategies, approaches, and vehicles to improve the way knowledge and information is developed and shared among FJA managers and employees. The scope of the initiative includes collection and dissemination of administrative and related information among managers and employees. It also includes the effective use of electronic communication channels and vehicles such as e-mails, e-surveys, e-learning, as well as communication events like committee meetings and Commissioner's Town Hall meetings. The development and enhancement of practical communication skills includes writing, editing , presentation, interviewing, listening, facilitation, team building, positive thinking, mentoring, and coaching.

The performance indicators for this initiative will be based on comments and feedback received from managers, employees, clients and partners on the success of this initiative.

Information Management/Systems

The goal of the Information Management/Systems initiative is to improve and develop information management systems that support business programs and to improve the effectiveness of FJA's management of information, data and knowledge resource holdings.

One of the expected benefits is to reduce FJA's heavy reliance on manual processes, and introduce efficiencies through the adoption of automated information transfer mechanisms.

This entails the creation of integrated systems to reduce manual processes, eliminate redundant and home grown systems, and facilitate automated information transfer. The design and implementation must follow the systems development approach required in TB procedures and guidelines for the management of information systems projects.

The Information Systems initiative includes a review of two legacy systems currently in place:

• Judicial Appointments Secretariat System
• Compensation and Benefits System.

The performance indicators for this initiative include:

• Conceptual design of revised Judicial Appointments Secretariat System
• Conceptual design of revised Judicial Compensation and Benefits System

Security

The goal of the Security initiative is to create a single point of reference for all aspects of security, including physical security of FJA clients, employees, visitors, facilities, data, information and systems and to ensure FJA is compliant with the Government Security Policy.

This initiative entails all current and foreseeable FJA roles and responsibilities for providing security to individuals, information, knowledge, data, systems, equipment, and facilities. The concerns for individual security extend to the security of clients, managers, employees, visitors, partners and suppliers. The range of issues includes FJA strategies, policies, procedures, and protocols, as well as all issues of accountability, responsibility, and authority for all aspects of security.

The performance indicators will include:

• Physical security in place
• Security concerns included in all workplans
• Documented security policies

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