ARCHIVED - Department of Justice Canada - Report

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page

This page has been archived.

Minister's Message

I am pleased to present the Department of Justice's strategic plan for 2011-2012.

This document outlines how the Department will serve Canadians and meet its strategic outcomes - a fair, relevant and accessible justice system that reflects Canadian values; and a federal government that is supported by effective and responsive legal service.

Over the coming year, the Department will contribute its expertise in support of our Government's priority of better protecting Canadians. This will include legislative initiatives to protect our children from sexual offenders and promote fairness for victims of crime. As well, in the interests of ensuring that justice is delivered swiftly and effectively, our Government, with the assistance of the Department, will work to improve criminal procedures to reduce the number of long, drawn-out trials.

As the Government of Canada enters a period of expenditure restraint, the Department of Justice will do its part toward ensuring respect for taxpayer dollars. We have also committed to remaining transparent and accountable to Parliament and Canadians through reporting on the Department's contributions to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy.

I look forward to continuing to work with our partners in all levels of government, non-governmental organizations, the legal community, and with Canadians from all walks of life, toward fulfilling this plan over the coming year.

 

 

 

 

 

Section I - Departmental Overview

Raison d'être

Responsibilities

The Department of Justice is headed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. The responsibilities associated with the dual role of Minister of Justice and Attorney General are set out in the Department of Justice Act and some 49 other Acts of Parliament. The Department of Justice fulfils three distinctive roles within the Government of Canada, acting as:

• a policy department with broad responsibilities for overseeing all matters relating to the administration of justice that fall within the federal domain;
• a provider of a range of legal advisory, litigation and legislative services to government departments and agencies; and
• a central agency responsible for supporting the Minister in advising Cabinet on all legal matters.

Organizational Information

The Department of Justice is a medium-sized department with approximately 5,000 employees. Roughly one half of departmental staff are lawyers who provide legal services to client departments and agencies. The other half are made up of committed professionals in a range of fields including paralegals, social scientists, program managers, communications specialists, administrative services personnel, computer service professionals and financial officers. There are approximately 3,000 employees located in the National Capital Region and another 2,000 employees representing a strong regional presence through six regional offices positioned across the country.

Contribution to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy

The Department of Justice is a participant in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS). Its active involvement in Theme IV: Shrinking the Environmental Footprint - Beginning with Government is further explained in Section II, under Internal Services (PA C1). This logo is used throughout the RPP to indicate departmental activities that contribute to Theme IV of the FSDS¹.

Strategic Outcomes and Program Activity Architecture

The Department of Justice's two strategic outcomes reflect the dual role of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. The Minister of Justice is concerned with questions of policy, particularly as these relate to his role as a steward of the Canadian justice system. The Attorney General is the chief law officer for the Crown.

The graphic representation of the Program Activity Architecture (PAA) provided below presents an overview of the activities and programs for which the Department is responsible². In describing the links between these activities, the PAA illustrates how the programs are intended to provide results for Canadians.

Department of Justice Program Activity Architecture

[Description]

Planning Summary

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2011–12	2012–13	2013–14
$772.2	$715.2	$710.3

Note: Financial resources are based on Main Estimates and exclude respendable revenue. In addition, the estimated amount of Paylist requirements for all three years and the approximate amount of Operating Budget Carry-Forward for 2011-12 are included in the planned spending.

Human Resources (in full-time equivalents - FTE)

2011–12	2012–13	2013–14
5,272	5,272	5,272

Strategic Outcome I: A fair, relevant and accessible justice system that reflects Canadian values

Performance Indicator	Targets
Public confidence in the justice system	Level of public confidence in the justice system remains stable or improves
Canada's international ranking on whether or not justice is fairly administered	Canada's high relative international ranking on justice issues is maintained or improved
Number of bills tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Justice	The Minister's legislative agenda is largely driven by Parliamentary business. The Department seeks to fully support the Minister, however the identification of numerical targets is not possible.

 

(in millions of dollars)

Program Activity	Forecast Spending 2010–11	Planned Spending			Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		2011–12	2012–13	2013–14
A1 Justice Policies, Laws and Programs	$440.3	$432.0	$400.3	$395.6	A safe and secure Canada
A2 Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime	$1.4	*	*	*
Total Planned Spending		$432.0	$400.3	$395.6

* Note: The funding profile for the Office of the Federal Ombudsman reflects that the initiative is currently scheduled to sunset at the end of fiscal year 2010-11 however, its renewal is being sought by the Department.

Strategic Outcome II: A federal government that is supported by effective and responsive legal services

Performance Indicator	Targets
Client feedback on the quality of legal advisory, litigation, legislative and regulatory drafting services Client feedback on Department of Justice performance against service standards* for the delivery of legal services	Attain a mean score of at least 8.0 / 10 on each item for which client feedback is obtained

* For our service standards, see: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/dept-min/service.html

(in millions of dollars)

Program Activity	Forecast Spending 2010–11	Planned Spending			Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		2011–12	2012–13	2013–14
B1 Services to government	$188.4	$203.8	$192.7	$192.7	Government affairs - Ensuring well-managed and efficient government operations
Total Planned Spending		$203.8	$192.7	$192.7

Note: Forecast and planned spending of Services to government excludes respendable revenue. Planned spending for 2011-12 includes the estimated amount of Operating Budget Carry-Forward to be allocated to this program activity.

(in millions of dollars)

Program Activity	Forecast Spending 2010–11	Planned Spending
		2011–12	2012–13	2013–14
C1 Internal Services	$146.3	$136.4	$122.3	$122.1
Total Planned Spending		$136.4	$122.3	$122.1

 

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome(s)

Operational Priorities	Type	Links to Strategic Outcome(s)	Description
Development of law reform proposals to support Government priority of better protecting Canadians	Ongoing	SO I	Law reform proposals will include: supporting the passage of law reforms to better protect children from sexual offenders; developing security and anti-terrorism legislative reform proposals and supporting the passage of law reform to improve criminal procedure to reduce long drawn-out trials;
Active participation in initiatives to support Government priority of better protecting Canadians and promoting initiatives to respond to the concerns of victims of crime	Ongoing	SO I	Key initiatives will include: a roll-out of the Victims Fund through provinces, territories and non-governmental organizations for services dedicated to child victims and witnesses and Aboriginal women victims; and support for initiatives to safeguard Canada's national security, including modernizing judicial tools to fight terrorism.
Direct and indirect support for implementation of all Government priorities	Ongoing	SO II	Critical legal services will be provided to support client departments in implementing government priorities in the four core government spending areas - Economic Affairs, Social Affairs, International Affairs and Government Affairs - and in supporting initiatives in Budget 2011.

Management Priorities	Type	Links to Strategic Outcome(s)	Description
Public Service Renewal	Ongoing	SO I SO II	The Department is taking concrete steps to renew, develop and sustain a representative workforce to meet its business goals now and in the future.
Implementation of the Law Practice Model for the delivery of legal services across government	Ongoing	SO II	The Department has developed a comprehensive strategy to meet the Law Practice Model targets. Implementation is taking place according to plans and full implementation is to be completed during 2011-12. The Department is taking steps to get input from clients and employees in order to manage demand for legal services and increase efficiencies.
Sustainable development	Ongoing	SO I SO II	The Department will continue to establish departmental priorities, accountabilities, targets, timelines and reporting requirements in line with and in support of the Government-wide strategy to become a model of environmental excellence.

Risk Analysis

Risks to Justice policies, laws and programs

Many factors influence our operating environment and thus pose potential risks to our capacity to deliver effectively on Justice policies, laws, and programs. Primary among these is the ability to address funding challenges in light of current fiscal pressures and realities. A second area of risk is the increasingly complex and variable policy which is challenging our ability to develop long-term policy options. This complex operating environment partnerships required for effective justice policy development and program delivery.

To mitigate these risks, we are strengthening our business planning and budgeting to ensure that our finances are aligned with our high priority programs. We are taking steps to realign human resources to better address the shifting workload demands that result from the increasingly complex and more demanding policy process, including the requirements to consult and to incorporate gender-based analysis and sustainable development considerations. Finally, in recognition that the justice system is multi-tiered and influenced by many stakeholders, we are continuing our efforts to maintain and expand open dialogue with partners from across the justice spectrum to develop innovative ideas about how to strengthen the justice system while respecting Canadian values.

Risks to Legal services to government

There are four interrelated areas of risks that can have significant impacts on our capacity to deliver high-quality legal services to the government. The first area concerns succession planning and our ability to recruit and retain highly skilled legal professionals in a competitive environment. In response, we are continuing with initiatives to renew our workforce in light of significant demographic shifts in Canada, including the aging of the workforce and the increasingly diverse Canadian population.

A second area of risk pertains to capacity issues facing departmental corporate functions that support the delivery of legal services particularly in light of increasing demands for specialized and complex legal services. To mitigate this risk, the Department, through the administrative footprint exercise, is monitoring and assessing capacity with a view to ensuring balance across the Department.

The third risk area relates to our capacity to address the rapid changes in law practice management - particularly the sheer growth in the speed and volume of information that is crucial to effective management. In this regard, the Department is focusing on developing and enhancing tools, systems, processes and skills to support effective case management, knowledge management, legal risk management, dispute prevention and resolution, and quality assurance of legal services. This involves business alignment and prioritization of departmental information management and information technology initiatives.

The fourth risk relates to the Department's significant reliance on cost recovery to fund the legal services it provides to federal departments and agencies. In the context of fiscal restraint, all departments must reduce expenditures. This may result in downward pressure on the funding departments provide to Justice for legal services those departments receive in support of their efforts to manage their legal risk. To mitigate this risk the Department of Justice is working internally to achieve further efficiencies in its law practice model, and is working with clients to help them find sound ways of lowering their demand for legal services.

Expenditure Profile

As depicted in the chart below, the Department's net planned spending (excluding re-spendable revenue) for 2011-12 is expected to continue with the declining trend. The decline from 2011 to 2012 mainly reflects the impacts of the continued implementation of Budget 2010 cost containment measures and the sun setting of some of the initiatives.

[Description]

Justice has Net Vote Authority that allows the Department to collect revenues from other government departments and agencies for the provision of legal advisory, litigation and legislative services, and to re-spend the revenue collected. Effective 2010-11, the Net Vote Authority of the Department has increased by $75.0M to $290.0M, which is offset by increased expenditures incurred to meet increased demand for legal services.

In 2008-09, the Department's year-over-year net spending (excluding re-spendable revenue) increased by $51.0M. These additional costs supported the implementation of programs to promote access to the justice system in both official languages, provide legal aid for those facing charges under the Public Safety and Anti-Terrorism Act, and support the National Anti-Drug Strategy.

The Department's net spending increased by $61.4M in 2009-10. About $40.0M was provided to the Department as one-time funding to meet the financial implications resulting from the arbitral award granted to the Law Group. The Department received an additional $6.2M to cover the economic wage increases of other collective agreements that were ratified.

The projected net spending in 2010-11 is expected to decline compared to 2009-10. Even though $13.7M was received in 2010-11 to meet the collective agreement requirements of the excluded members of the Law Group, the net effect is a decrease in adjustments related to economic wages increases in 2010-11 compared to 2009-10. The implementation of the cost-containment measures announced in Budget 2010 is also contributing to the decline in forecasted spending. In addition, the increase in spending associated with the provision of legal services is offset by the higher re-spendable revenue anticipated.

In fiscal year 2011-12, the Department plans to spend $432.0M to promote a fair, relevant and accessible justice system that reflects Canadian values; $203.8M (excluding re-spendable revenue of $270M) to ensure that the federal government is supported by effective and responsive legal services; and $136.4M (excluding re-spendable revenue of $20M) for internal support services.

Estimates by Vote

Vote or Statutory Item	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	2010-11 Main Estimates ($ millions)	2011-12 Main Estimates ($ millions)
1	Operating expenditures	258.7	266.6
5	Grants and contributions	386.9	388.1
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	66.6	82.8
(S)	Minister of Justice salary and motor car allowance	0.1	0.1
Total Department of Justice		$712.3	$737.6

Note: Main Estimates exclude funds provided under Net Voting Authority (respendable revenue)

Estimates by Vote are presented in the 2011-12 Main Estimates, which are available from the Treasury Board Web site:
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/20112012/me-bpd/info/info-eng.asp.

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page