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Section II—Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

This section describes the PPSC’s three program activities as well as its priorities and plans for 2011-12.

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

Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ millions)

2011-12		2012-13		2013-14
FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending
616	121.0	616	118.1	615	117.8

 

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Litigation files that are prosecuted are decided on merit5	Percentage of all litigation files pursued for prosecution that are decided on merit (i.e., by most serious outcome)	Not applicable
Disposition of cases that are not decided on merit6	Percentage of litigation files not decided on merit	Not applicable

Description of Activity

Under this program activity, the PPSC provides prosecution-related advice⁷ and litigation support during police investigations, and prosecutes all drug charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, regardless of whether a federal, provincial or municipal police agency lays the charges, except in the case of Quebec and New Brunswick, where the PPSC only prosecutes drug charges laid by the RCMP. Many of these cases involve organized crime, as well as proceeds of crime.

In the three territories, the PPSC prosecutes all Criminal Code offences. In the provinces, pursuant to arrangements with provincial prosecution authorities, the PPSC may prosecute Criminal Code offences where drug charges form the major part of the case.

The PPSC employs Crown Witness Coordinators (CWC) in the three territories as part of a program that is unique within Canada. The CWCs help explain to victims and witnesses how the court process works and support them during their involvement with the criminal justice system.

The PPSC also provides prosecution-related advice and litigation support during police investigations and prosecutes charges relating to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and charges pursuant to Part II.1 of the Criminal Code (Terrorism) to combat terrorism.

This program activity also includes the PPSC’s Agent Affairs Program, established to enhance the quality of legal services provided by agents and to ensure cost-effective service delivery. The Program includes a centralized support unit at PPSC headquarters, namely the Agent Affairs Unit, and Agent Supervision Units located in each regional office, which are responsible for the day-to-day management of agents.

During 2009-10, this program activity involved approximately 66,672 litigation files. The projected volume of litigation files for 2010-11 is 67,788.

Planning Highlights for 2011-12

Within this program activity, two ongoing priorities relate to organized crime and terrorism-related offences.

The ongoing focus on organized crime reflects the priority given to this issue by federal police and other law enforcement authorities. The PPSC will continue to emphasize inter-jurisdictional cooperation within the prosecutorial community and with investigative agencies federally, nationally and internationally; provide advice and litigation support during the investigative stage, especially on highly complex cases; prosecute organized crime cases on behalf of the federal Crown; and pursue proceeds of crime and offence-related property. While all PPSC regional offices prosecute organized crime cases, a number of them are involved in highly complex and resource-intensive cases that will continue through 2011-12, and will require dedicated teams of experienced counsel.

The priority given to terrorism-related offences reflects the gravity with which national security matters are viewed. These cases are usually resource-intensive. The PPSC has prosecuted four terrorism offence cases in which verdicts have been delivered on the evidence, and is currently prosecuting a fifth case in Ontario. In addition, PPSC counsel play an active role during the course of investigations in providing advice to police.

During 2011-12, the PPSC will continue to work closely with federal/provincial/territorial heads of prosecution on issues and challenges of common interest. As part of this work, the PPSC will continue to co-chair, and provide secretarial and administrative support to, the FPT Heads of Prosecution Committee and to ensure ongoing linkages between the Committee and partners from outside the prosecution community such as the Canadian Bar Association and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. The PPSC will also continue to participate in the work of the Heads of Prosecuting Agencies Conference and the International Association of Prosecutors.

During 2011-12, the PPSC again expects to receive foreign delegations interested in criminal justice and who are seeking to deepen their understanding of the Canadian justice system and Canadian prosecution approaches, particularly in relation to drug and terrorism prosecutions, and with respect to areas of the Criminal Code.

The PPSC will continue to expand the CWC Program in collaboration with the Department of Justice, in order to better serve the needs of northern communities. It will also offer training to CWCs, as well as to Crown prosecutors working in the territories, to help them address the vicarious trauma issues they may face from dealing with cases of spousal and sexual abuse.

The PPSC’s Agent Affairs Program will continue to implement fixed-term agreements for agents, replacing indeterminate appointments which were subject to termination without notice. This multi-year transition began in 2009; fixed-term agreements will be in place in all jurisdictions across Canada by 2014. Under the new regime, any law firm or lawyer interested in becoming a federal prosecution agent can apply for a five-year term when an opening occurs in a jurisdiction. Agents are selected pursuant to a competitive process that includes screening and reference checks. Further information about the fixed-term regime is available on the PPSC’s website at http://www.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca/eng/pub/tcfa-cetf/part3.html.

Benefits to Canadians

This program activity contributes to ensuring a safe and secure Canada through the prosecution of a broad range of criminal activities. It deals with drug-related offences, complex organized crime cases, terrorism offences as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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

Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ millions)

2011-12		2012-13		2013-14
FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending
239	19.6	239	19.0	240	19.0

 

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Litigation files that are prosecuted are decided on merit	Percentage of all litigation files pursued for prosecution that are decided on merit (i.e., by most serious outcome)	Not applicable
Disposition of cases that are not decided on merit	Percentage of litigation files not decided on merit	Not applicable

Description of Activity

Under this program activity, the PPSC provides prosecution-related advice and litigation support to federal investigative agencies, and prosecutes all non-drug cases under approximately 60 federal statutes, including regulatory offences and economic crimes. Examples include offences under the Income Tax Act, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Competition Act, the Fisheries Act the Corruption of Foreign Public Officals Act, and the Canada Elections Act, as well as offences under the Customs Act, the Excise Act and the Excise Tax Act.

Specialized teams are dedicated to prosecutions in areas where a specialized knowledge of legislation is required. By way of example, several PPSC offices have teams of prosecutors dedicated to economic crimes prosecutions, and the Atlantic Regional Office has a team of counsel devoted full-time to regulatory prosecutions, with fisheries offences accounting for up to 75% of the workload. The British Columbia Regional Office has a team of counsel and legal assistants specializing in the provision of pre-charge legal advice and the prosecution of regulatory offences, such as pollution-related offences and the protection of the environment. As well, a group of PPSC prosecutors provides services under statutes that are the responsibility of the Commissioner of Competition.

PPSC counsel also provide advice on and prosecute complex capital market fraud cases as part of the RCMP’s Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (IMETs) that investigate suspected capital market fraud offences. Pursuant to arrangements with the provinces, the provincial prosecution authorities have the right of first refusal to conduct prosecutions of IMET cases. The PPSC prosecutes such cases where provincial Attorneys General decline to prosecute.

The Supreme Court of Canada Coordinator acts as the PPSC’s agent for the Supreme Court and is responsible for coordinating all litigation the PPSC conducts before the Court.

The PPSC is also responsible for recovering outstanding fines related to various federal offences.

During 2009-10, this program activity involved approximately 9,620 litigation files. The projected volume of litigation files for 2010-11 is 11,036.

Planning Highlights for 2011-12

A priority for 2011-12 will be to further develop and implement the PPSC’s vision for Law Practice Management. This will include continuing to update the Federal Prosecution Service Deskbook⁸ and once again offering training through its School for Prosecutors. An extensive module on written advocacy that was introduced in 2010 as a component of the Advanced Issues for Prosecutors course will be repeated in 2011 as a stand-alone course. The School will also continue to offer an advanced course for senior prosecutors on wiretap and complex case issues in addition to the Prosecution Fundamentals course for new prosecutors. In order to facilitate the sharing of training materials, the School will also continue to develop its web-based and physical repository of training materials.

In addition, the PPSC will continue to work closely with federal/provincial/territorial heads of prosecution on issues and challenges of common interest in the areas of regulatory offences and economic crime. The Securities Fraud and Economic Crime Prosecutors Affiliation will be focusing on the training of prosecutors who handle capital market offences cases and the development of best practices in areas such as information sharing and immunity agreements.

The PPSC will continue to work with the RCMP and its international partners in support of Canada’s efforts to combat foreign corruption. Since 2009, the PPSC has been working closely with the RCMP International Anti-Corruption teams, providing advice on investigations and anticipated complex prosecutions under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act.

The PPSC will also actively participate in symposia, conferences and committees that focus on regulatory offences and economic crime prosecutions, and to host delegations interested in regulatory prosecutions. This work includes continued participation in the activities of the Heads of Prosecuting Agencies Conference and the International Association of Prosecutors.

The PPSC’s Supreme Court of Canada Coordinator will prepare directives for federal prosecutors regarding litigation in the Supreme Court and templates for commonly used documents such as facta and memoranda of law.

Benefits to Canadians

This program activity contributes to protecting the health, safety and general welfare of Canadians through the prosecution of offences that regulate individual and corporate conduct. It also contributes to maintaining a secure, fair marketplace by enhancing compliance with and enforcement of marketplace rules and regulations.

2.3 Program Activity #3: Internal Services

Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ millions)

2011-12		2012-13		2013-14
FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending	FTEs	Planned Spending
145	27.3	145	20.5	145	20.4

Program Activity Summary and Planning Highlights

Internal services comprises groups of related activities that support the above two program activities and other corporate accountabilities. The planning highlights of Internal Services also contribute to the management priorities presented earlier under Section I, and include the following:

• Financial Management and Acquisition (Procurement and Assets Management): The Finance and Acquisition Directorate will continue to strengthen its financial management and acquisition functions through the provision of support, advice and training and to improve internal processes to better support managers.
  
  It will also focus its efforts on implementing the Treasury Board policy suite, particularly the Policy on Internal Control, the Policy on the Management of Material, the Policy on Investment Panning - Assets and Acquired Services, the Directive on the Management of Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences, the Departmental and Agency Quarterly Financial Report, the Future-oriented Financial Statements and their specific requirements relating to financial reporting. These include impact analysis, amendments to existing internal processes and practices, development of new, or amendments to, existing directives and procedures, communications, monitoring and training.
  
  
• Human Resources Management: The PPSC’s People Management Strategy will continue to focus on organizational management and talent management and the improvement of human resources management practices. One of the highlights is the LA (Law Group) Framework – Ensuring Excellence Initiative, which targets the recruitment, learning and development, advancement and overall management of prosecutors. Strategic frameworks will also be implemented for the Employment Equity, Diversity and Official Languages programs. The implementation of these frameworks reflects the importance of recognizing the diversity of our workforce and fostering an organizational culture that respects people’s differences.
  
  
• Management and Oversight: A multi-disciplinary committee will continue to advance the organization’s performance measurement framework, further improving the capabilities of the PPSC’s internal systems to supply the required data to support indicators relating to corporate functions and prosecution activities.
  
  
• Communications: As PPSC communications efforts and mainstream media coverage continue to grow, the Communications Group will seek to identify more proactive communications opportunities in respect of prosecution-related matters, to increase transparency and help strengthen public confidence in the administration of justice.
  
  
• Administration: The PPSC’s Administration Services will concentrate on the following priorities:
  • Accommodations – Pursue planning and implementation of the establishment of a single headquarters office location in the National Capital Region.
  • Security – Implement an Employee Protection Plan and develop and implement a Security Awareness Program.
  • Informal Conflict Management – Implement an Informal Conflict Management System in collaboration with bargaining agents as required by federal legislation.
    
    
• Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office: The PPSC’s ATIP Office will focus on developing policies and procedures to assist PPSC personnel in meeting their obligations under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

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