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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, Senior Judges 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. FJA 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; 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.
Claude Provencher
Commissioner
FJA envisions itself as a unique service provider to the Canadian judiciary, renowned for efficiency, sound management and a good working environment. We are a federal agency statutorily created to support and promote judicial independence for the benefit of the public by providing a wide range of services to the Canadian judiciary.
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 :
[D]
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
---|---|---|
$424,735,661 | $438,705,182 | $453,225,182 |
The financial resources table above provides a summary of the total planned spending for the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs for the next three fiscal years.
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
---|---|---|
70 | 70 | 70 |
The human resources table above provides a summary of the total planned human resources for the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs for the next three fiscal years.
Performance Indicators | Targets |
---|---|
Compliance with service standards | 90% compliance with established service standards. |
Judges’ view on the contribution of the Office to judicial independence | 90% of Judges satisfied with the administration of the judiciary and feel it effectively contributes to their independence. |
Program Activity | Forecast Spending 2008-09 |
Planned Spending | Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |||
Payments Pursuant to the Judges Act | $403,971,000 | $422,282,000 | $436,829,000 | $451,869,000 | Safe and Secure Communities |
Canadian Judicial Council | $2,034,633 | $1,949,481 | $1,950,866 | $1,934,729 | Safe and Secure Communities Government Affairs |
Federal Judicial Affairs | $9,579,187 | $8,975,736 | $8,772,644 | $8,964,020 | Safe and Secure World Through International Cooperation. Government Affairs |
Internal Services | $1,048,000 | $913,000 | $913,000 | $913,000 | Government Affairs |
Total Planned Spending | $416,632,820 | $434,120,217 | $448,475,510 | $463,680,749 |
Operational Priorities | Type | Links to Strategic Outcome | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Client Services | Ongoing | SO 1 |
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. |
Management Priorities | Type | Links to Strategic Outcome | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Corporate Planning and Reporting | Ongoing | SO 1 |
In response to recent requirements of the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Corporate Planning initiative 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. |
Communications | Ongoing | SO 1 |
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. |
Information/ Management Systems |
Ongoing | SO 1 |
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. |
Security | Ongoing | SO 1 |
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. |
External Environment
In recent years, our world has had to deal with dramatic challenges. While security issues raised are not new to our country, Canada’s focus on and commitment to resolving them has 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 to the 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 1,064 judges and 793 pensioners and survivors, 138 Advisory Committee members and between 500 and 600 applicants for judicial appointment. FJA administers a budget in excess of $400 million annually out of which judges’ salaries, allowances and annuities, relocation and travel expenses are paid as well as 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, bilingual internal 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 the 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.
The total spending for the department shows a continual increase over the planning period. This increase is as a result of a provision in the Judges Act which allows for an annual increase in salaries to judges based on the Industrial Aggregate.
Vote # or Statutory Item (S) | Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording | 2009-10 Main Estimates |
2008-09 Main Estimates |
---|---|---|---|
20 | Operating expenditures | 7,503,659 | 7,772,000 |
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. | 414,853,000 | 397,971,000 |
(S) | Contributions to employee benefit plan | 785,002 | 824,000 |
Total | 424,735,661 | 408,161,000 |