MESSAGE FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA
In a relatively short period, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada has demonstrated its important contribution to the Government of Canada's efforts at tackling crime, and its support of the
work of police and law enforcement agencies across Canada to defend the law and create safer, stronger communities.
The primary responsibility of the Public Prosecution Service continues to be the initiation and conduct of prosecutions under federal jurisdiction, and intervention in cases affecting prosecutions and investigations.
This Report on Plans and Priorities shows how the Public Prosecution Service is on track, dealing with the challenges posed by varied internal and external factors.
I would like to acknowledge the ongoing efforts of PPSC staff, who have maintained the high level of professionalism which has always marked the work of federal prosecutors in Canada.
The Honourable Robert Douglas Nicholson
Attorney General of Canada
MESSAGE FROM THE ACTING DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS
I am pleased to present the 2009-10 Report on Plans and Priorities for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC). Created by the Director of Public Prosecutions Act in 2006, the PPSC prosecutes federal offences on behalf of the Crown and provides legal advice to investigative and law enforcement agencies as an
independent, transparent and accountable organization, working in the public interest.
This report outlines an adjustment to the corporate priorities of the PPSC, as approved by the Executive Council. For the period covering 2009-10, Knowledge Management replaces the establishment of a corporate structure as a corporate priority and joins ensuring the safety and security of our employees, implementing a recruitment and
retention strategy, and developing performance measures.
This report charts an ambitious course for the organization for the coming year. I am confident that we will continue to meet the challenges ahead, while providing benefits to Canadians as a full partner in Canada's criminal justice system.
Brian Saunders
Acting Director of Public Prosecutions
SECTION I—OVERVIEW
1.1 Summary Information
Raison d’être
The mandate of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) is set out in the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1 . The Act calls on the PPSC to provide prosecutorial
advice to law enforcement agencies, and to prosecute matters on behalf of the Crown that are within the jurisdiction of the Attorney General of Canada. The PPSC's sole strategic outcome is the independent, impartial and fair prosecution of criminal and regulatory offences under federal law.
The PPSC plays an integral role in the criminal justice system, promoting due process and working to safeguard the rights of all those who come into contact with the system. The benefits to Canadians from the work carried out by the PPSC include:
- Provision of legal advice to federal investigative agencies and government departments on the criminal law implications of investigations and prosecutions;
- Appropriate enforcement of federal laws through principled and independent decisions by prosecutors; and
- Confidence in the administration of justice through professionally conducted prosecutions that result in a judicial determination on the merits of the evidence.
The PPSC is a national prosecution service with a network of offices located throughout Canada. Of its approximately 900 employees, the majority are staff prosecutors supported by other professionals including senior managers, paralegals, administrators, and corporate services staff. In addition, the PPSC employs the services of private
sector legal agents in locations where it is more cost-effective than to have an office or staff counsel on travel status, or where the demand for prosecution services exceeds available staff resources. The PPSC currently retains some 210 standing agent firms across Canada, representing approximately 730 individually appointed counsel.
Responsibilities
The PPSC undertakes key duties on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada. These key duties, to be carried out in an objective and non-partisan manner, are:
- The duty to act independently in making decisions related to criminal prosecutions – This constitutional principle recognizes that decisions to prosecute, stay proceedings or launch an appeal must be made in accordance with legal criteria. The public interest must be taken into account, but not considerations
of a partisan political nature.
- The duty to act independently in providing prosecution-related legal advice – While prosecution-related advice to law enforcement and other federal investigative agencies will take into account the agency's legal and policy setting, prosecutors cannot be drawn into the agency's policy making and program
administration such that their ability to provide impartial, accurate and effective legal advice is undermined.
The PPSC prosecutes cases under federal statutes that are referred to it by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), other federal investigative agencies, provincial police forces and municipal police forces.
The PPSC's prosecution-related work is part of the criminal justice continuum, which includes investigative agencies, law enforcement, courts and other parts of the criminal justice system. Prosecution-related advice during the police investigation has become crucial to ensure that police techniques and procedures are consistent with
evolving rules of evidence and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms' protections. The advantage of early prosecutorial advice includes reducing the risk that operational decisions, such as those about methods of obtaining evidence, will detrimentally affect the admissibility of evidence at trial.
Strategic Outcome
The PPSC has one Strategic Outcome:
|
Criminal and regulatory offences under federal law are prosecuted in an independent, impartial and fair manner
|
Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
The following chart presents the PPSC's framework of program activities, which together contribute to achieving the organization's Strategic Outcome.
PAA Crosswalk
On May 5, 2008, the PPSC received approval from the Treasury Board to modify its PAA for 2009-10. The following table provides a crosswalk between the PPSC's former and new PAA.
Planned Spending 2009–10
| ($ thousands) |
Drug, Criminal Code and terrorism prosecution program (new) |
Regulatory offences and economic crime prosecution program (new) |
Internal Services (new) |
Total |
| Prosecution of drug, organized crime and Criminal Code offences (old) |
112,237 |
− |
23,637 |
134,712 |
| Prosecution of federal offences to protect the environment, natural resources, economic and social health (old) |
− |
16,220 |
2,871 |
19,091 |
| Addressing criminal issues in the context of prosecutions, to contribute to a safer world for Canada (old) |
3,925 |
− |
1,090 |
5,016 |
| Promoting a fair and effective justice system that reflects Canadian values within a prosecutorial context (old) |
2,151 |
− |
567 |
2,718 |
| Total |
118,414 |
16,220 |
28,165 |
162,799 |
1.2 Planning Summary
Financial and Human Resources
The following financial and human resources tables provide a summary of the total planned spending for the PPSC for the next three fiscal years.
Financial Resources ($ thousands)
| 2009-10 |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
| 162,799 |
161,427 |
161,249 |
Human Resources (FTEs)
| 2009-10 |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
| 998 |
1,042 |
1,028 |
Risk Analysis
Operational Trends
As of January 2009, the PPSC's total estimated volume of litigation files for 2008-09 was 74,4073, compared to 67,901 litigation files handled in 2007-08. Of this total, approximately 88% are within the drug, Criminal Code and terrorism
offences prosecution program (which includes organized crime offences), whereas close to 12% involve the prosecution of federal regulatory offences and economic crime.
A small percentage of highly complex cases absorb a disproportionate share of the total resources of the PPSC. By way of example, organized crime cases represented approximately 3.3% of the litigation caseload in 2007-08 but approximately 23% of the recorded litigation time of PPSC counsel and paralegals. A relatively small increase in
the number of organized crime cases, in response to strengthened law enforcement efforts across Canada, may have a disproportionate impact on the demand for prosecutorial resources. A single mega-case can absorb more prosecutorial resources than several hundred low-complexity cases.
Since federal and provincial prosecution services face shared issues and challenges, both levels of government benefit from collaboration under the leadership of the Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Heads of Prosecutions Committee. The Committee works to promote inter-jurisdictional cooperation and assistance on operational issues
such as quality assurance, organized crime prosecutions, concurrent jurisdiction, proceeds of crime, expert witnesses and prosecutor training and security. This collaboration with key stakeholders in the criminal justice system is an important element of the operating context of the PPSC. In addition, the PPSC works closely with the Securities Fraud and Economic Crime Prosecutors
Affiliation, a sub-committee of the FPT Heads of Prosecution Committee and inter-jurisdictional network of prosecutors.
3 This is a count of litigation files carried over from previous fiscal years and worked on during 2008-09 as well as new files assigned throughout the fiscal year, including an estimate to year-end.
External and Internal Influences Facing the PPSC
The PPSC is subject to a variety of external and internal influences, described below.
Workload and rising operational costs: Because the PPSC's workload is generated by police forces laying charges under federal statutes, it is largely based on police decisions regarding investigative priorities, tactics and allocation of resources. Increases in drug enforcement or policing resources significantly affect the
nature and volume of the PPSC caseload. Similarly, changes in police tactics to focus on the upper echelons of organized crime groups to maximize deterrence, disruption and dismantling rather than on individuals in the lower ranks, affect the complexity and cost of prosecutions. The cost of prosecuting organized crime and mega-cases is far greater than simple possession drug
cases, since the former types of cases often involve multiple accused and charges, complex evidence (both factually and legally), international dimensions, extensive disclosure and numerous pre-trial applications.
Government initiatives: The PPSC has an important role to play in supporting several government initiatives announced in Budgets 2006 and 2007 and in the November 2008 Speech from the Throne. These initiatives include ensuring the integrity of all components of the federal justice system, tackling crime, strengthening national
security and increasing the efficiency of Canada's criminal justice system.
Provision of Support Services: The PPSC is in large part still dependent on the Department of Justice Canada for transactional services in the areas of human resources, financial management, information technology and information management. Conversely, the PPSC provides these services to Department of Justice offices located
in the northern territories where the PPSC has a larger presence.
Sustainability: The PPSC must not only ensure that it has the capacity to respond to and support new government initiatives, but that it has access to resources that will allow it to ensure its long-term stability as a new organization. The PPSC will assess resource gaps relating to its capacity to deliver strategic corporate
services and to conduct effective prosecution services. A resourcing strategy to support the operational requirements of the organization will be developed.
The North: Crown prosecutors assigned to the northern territories face stressful working conditions and pressures associated with isolation, cultural differences, geography and the socio-economic conditions that give rise to higher crime rates. Northern prosecutors who are required to travel on court circuits often spend many
days away from their home and families and can be left stranded for extended periods due to extreme and unexpected weather conditions. Prosecutors and Crown Witness Coordinators involved in the prosecution of violent crimes often suffer the effects of vicarious trauma.
Competition for scarce resources: The salaries paid to provincial prosecutors and private sector lawyers exceed those paid to PPSC lawyers in certain regions of Canada. This affects the PPSC's ability to retain both its highly skilled prosecutors and legal agents.
International crime networks: The globalization of crime networks has introduced new and powerful dangers to national and global security. These networks are involved in organized crime, trafficking in human beings, telemarketing fraud, money laundering and drug trafficking. International criminal networks exploit national
borders in an attempt to thwart the efforts of authorities in their battle to prevent transnational crime. This reality has made it imperative for the PPSC to work more effectively with international partners to address the threats posed by these international criminal networks, to uphold the rule of law, and to enhance safety and security at home and abroad.
Security of staff: Due to the nature of their work, PPSC employees face the risk of direct and indirect threats to their safety. Ensuring the safety and security of its employees is a PPSC priority. The PPSC has established a Security Committee to ensure that appropriate security measures are developed and implemented to
protect its prosecutors and other employees.
Spending Profile
For the 2009-10 fiscal year, the PPSC plans to spend $162.8 million to meet the expected results of its program activities and contribute to the strategic outcome. The following chart illustrates the PPSC's spending trends from 2007-08 to 2011-12.
Since 2007-08, the PPSC's core spending increased mainly due to the implementation of higher rates paid to legal agents. Agent rates had remained unchanged since 1990. As well, the PPSC received new funding for the implementation of key government initiatives such as Restoring the Effectiveness of Federal Policing and the National Anti-Drug Strategy 4.
Voted and Statutory Items
The following table illustrates the way in which Parliament approved PPSC resources, and shows the changes in resources derived from supplementary estimates and other authorities, as well as how funds were spent.
4 See the following website for more information on the National Anti-Drug Strategy http://www.nationalantidrugstrategy.gc.ca
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