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Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome(s)

Strategic Outcome

The administration of Canada’s final court of appeal is effective and independent.

Program Activity: Court Operations

Program Activity Descriptions

In order to render decisions, the Court requires the support of the Office of the Registrar in the management of cases from the receipt of an application for leave to appeal up to and including the release of a judgment on appeal. This support includes providing services to the litigants; reviewing applications for leave to appeal and preparing advice as to whether leave to appeal should be granted; preparing summaries of the leave applications; providing procedural advice; reviewing and summarizing factums where leave to appeal is granted; receiving, controlling and preserving all incoming case documentation; tracking various time periods to ensure compliance by the parties with the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada; recording proceedings on appeals; answering queries with regard to cases; editing and summarizing decisions of the Court;  publishing decisions in the Supreme Court Reports, in accordance with the Supreme Court Act; and providing law library services with an extensive collection in both print and electronic formats to support legal research undertaken by users within the Court and members of the legal community.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
15.8	15.8	15.8

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
145	145	145

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Cases processed without delay	Number of weeks between filing of application for leave and decision on application for leave	14 weeks
	Number of months between hearing and judgment	6 months
Access to Court services and information	% of lawyers and unrepresented litigants that were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with Registry Services	95%
Courtroom systems reliability	Number of hearing disruptions for technical reasons per year	0
Access to reference information	% of factual/bibliographic requests for reference assistance responded to within service standard of 1 working day	95%
	% of complex/substantive requests for reference assistance responded to by date required by client	95%
	% of users that were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with library services	95%
	% of citations in judgments that are in the collection	85%

Planning Highlights

The Supreme Court has consistently met its performance targets in the areas of processing of cases without delay, providing effective access to Court services and programs, including reference information, and providing reliable courtroom services.  At the same time, the Office of the Registrar has maintained stakeholder satisfaction and high standards of service quality. In 2011-12, the Office of the Registrar concentrated its efforts on improving information management and launching its Business Transformation program.  During the coming fiscal year, a sustained focus on the Court’s Business Transformation Program will move the Court towards increased electronic access and processing of cases, more effective and efficient work processes, and the protection and preservation of historical information in electronic format.  Electronic records management will be investigated as a core foundation of business transformation.  Business process mapping will look at current processes and will identify workflows which may be streamlined or made more efficient through the introduction of new technologies.

Workload projections for 2012

Category	Projected workload
Leave applications filed	550
Leave applications submitted to the Court	550
Appeals as of right filed	10
Appeals heard	70
Judgments	70
Publication of Canada Supreme Court Reports	3 Volumes

Program Activity: Process payment of various allowances to Judges of the Supreme Court of Canada Pursuant to the Judges Act

Program Activity Descriptions

The Judges Act is an Act respecting all federally appointed judges, and thereby applies to the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada. With respect to the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court the Judges Act specifies the salaries of the Supreme Court judges, and prescribes other payments to be made to judges, namely allowances, removal, meeting, conference and seminars and annuities.  The Office of the Registrar processes these payments as required in the Judges Act.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
5.7	6.1	6.4

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
0	0	0

Note: No FTEs are assigned to this program activity because it relates to Judges who are not considered in the Supreme Court FTEs total

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Timely and accurate processing of payments	% of payments processed within service standards	95%
	% of errors on payments	2%

Planning Highlights

The timeliness for various payments to the judges is assessed internally through maintenance of receipt and processing dates for individual claims.  To assess accuracy, an independent organization was engaged to conduct a files review in 2010-11.  While the review concluded that the error rate on a dollar value basis was within target, it also identified some opportunities to change processes to further improve results.  The Office of the Registrar has implemented targets of 95% for the timely processing of payments pursuant to the Judges Act within the service standards of five days and of 2% in errors on the accuracy of the payment of these claims.

 

Program Activity: Internal Services

Program Activity Descriptions

The Internal Services Program Activity supports all strategic outcomes and is common across government.  Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization.  These groups are: Management and Oversight services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Material Services; Acquisition Services; and Travel and Other Administrative Services.  Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
8.3	8.3	8.3

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
69	69	69

Planning Highlights

Internal services support the Court by providing timely and responsive services that are effective and efficient as per established service standards. Some key initiatives planned for 2012-13 are:

• Assess the delivery of the security program, including delivery model options, the governance model, policies, procedures and practices, and training and awareness.
• Continue to strive for better integration of financial and non-financial information (e.g., HR, court operations) at all levels of the organization so as to strengthen planning and reporting.
• Collaborate with PWGSC in the delivery of a functional program regarding the SCC’s propose building rehabilitation project.
• Focus Human Resources (HR) efforts on  knowledge transfer/ succession planning, change management and HR support, in particular:
  • Renew efforts to replace employees who are leaving because of retirement or moving on to a position in a different organization, and implement a knowledge transfer and learning strategy that will help develop the next generation of key employees.  Adequate provision must also be made for back-up of staff.
  • Continue to develop change management skills and competencies needed to implement major business transformation, and develop better ways of engaging all staff in business process and change initiatives.
  • Clarify the role of human resources in supporting managers, with a particular emphasis on improving and streamlining hiring approaches.
• The IT Branch is an integral part of the Court’s business as a partner and enabler. Priorities for 2012-13 include:
  • Assist Court Operations in its business transformation objectives.
  • Prepare for the upgrade of key legacy applications (e.g., case management system).
  • Strive for greater interoperability between new and older systems, and focus on getting the most out of the investments made in technologies over the last few years.
• The Library and Information Management Branch supports the information management needs of the organization.  Priorities for 2012-13 include:
  • Completing the migration of documents on the various shared drives into a new drive structure mapped to the SCC’s File Classification Plan, and applying retention and disposition to legacy electronic records.
  • Preparing for the implementation of an electronic records management systems; and
  • Ensuring that the Office of the Registrar is able to meet its obligations under Recordkeeping Directive.

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