ARCHIVED - Department of Justice Canada

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Minister's Message

I am pleased to report on the achievements of the Department of Justice for 2008-09 in meeting its strategic outcomes:

• ensuring that Canada’s justice system is fair, relevant, accessible and reflects Canadian values; and
• supporting the federal government with effective and responsive legal advisory, legislative and litigation services.

As Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, I deeply appreciate the support I have received over the past year from the Department of Justice, which includes developing policy initiatives aimed at reducing instances of violent crime, organized crime and gang violence, curbing the supply of and demand for illicit drugs and making the justice system more sustainable and efficient. Thanks to the professionalism and expertise of the Department’s public servants, our Government has been able to continue pursuing its tackling-crime agenda, thus ensuring safer communities for Canadians.

To further improve the justice system, the Department continues to work with the provinces and territories to respond to issues involving victims of crime, access to justice, family justice and Aboriginal involvement in the administration of justice.

The Department’s legal support to various federal departments and agencies over the last year has helped the government to ensure the stability of our financial system during the global economic recession, in addition to successfully representing the interests of the Crown in significant litigation cases.

On the management side, the Department is pursuing a set of initiatives in managing legal risk and law practice, measuring performance and renewing and developing its workforce, so that it can better meet the challenges of the coming years.

I invite you to read this report for further details regarding the Department’s performance over the past year in strengthening and updating our justice system, and to implementing the priorities of the Government of Canada.

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, including the legality of government initiatives and activities.

Strategic Outcomes and Program Activity Architecture

The Department’s two strategic outcomes reflect the dual responsibilities of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. While 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 presentation of the Program Activity Architecture (PAA) provided on the next page gives an overview of the activities and programs for which the Department is responsible. It reflects how strategic outcomes and program activities and sub-activities are linked to provide results for Canadians.

Program Activity Architecture

Summary of Performance

2008-2009 Financial Resources ($ millions)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
897.0	773.2	737.1

The Department’s resources have a direct impact on its ability to achieve strategic outcomes and to deliver the expected results. At the outset of the 2008-09 fiscal year, the Department’s planned spending was $897M. Through Main and Supplementary Estimates, the Department was allocated $773.2M in spending authorities. As reported in the Public Accounts, actual departmental spending was $737.1M¹.

2008-2009 Human Resources (FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
4,306	4,420	114

The Department’s ability to achieve its mission and mandate is directly tied to the professionalism, creativity, knowledge, expertise, and dedication of its employees. During 2008-09, the Department employed 4,420 full-time equivalents (FTEs). Roughly one half of departmental staff are lawyers. The difference between the planned and actual number of FTEs was due to an increase in legal services provided to clients².

Performance Summary

Strategic Outcome 1: Fair, relevant and accessible justice system that reflects Canadian values

Performance Indicators	Performance Summary
Public Confidence3 Adult criminal justice system Youth criminal justice system	70% 59%
Canada’s international ranking on whether or not “justice” is “fairly administered”4	10th (of 55 countries)
Number of Bills tabled in Parliament	6
Summary of Achievements The Department of Justice: supported the Minister in implementing the comprehensive Tackling Violent Crime Act, targeting dangerous offenders, impaired drivers, adult sexual predators and those who commit serious gun crimes; developed new offences for trafficking in property obtained by crime, specifically targeting property and auto theft, which finance organized crime and gang violence. These offences support the tackling-crime agenda; led implementation of the National Anti-Drug Strategy to curb the supply and demand for illicit drugs5; consulted widely with provinces, territories and stakeholders to identify issues related to the Youth Criminal Justice Act; developed strategies and projects in concert with other G8 members and the United Nations to respond to crime, including a framework on economic fraud and identity-related crime and a project to enhance Internet tracing abilities to be able to better address criminal activities on the Internet. This range of collaborative work will help respond more effectively to transnational organized crime, identify theft, cybercrime and terrorism; improved access to the criminal justice system for victims of crime by providing $2M of funding to provinces and territories to help meet the needs of underserved victims of crime and to implement victims legislation; and intercepted $140.9M through its Maintenance Enforcement Programs, supported by Family Law Assistance Services, and provided these funds to Canadian families in need. This represents a 17% increase over funds intercepted the previous year.

($ millions)

Program Activity	2007-08 Actual Spending	2008-09				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending6
A1. Justice policies, laws and programs	408.3	415.2	423.9	447.8	423.6	Safe and secure communities
A2. Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime	0.7	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.4	Safe and secure communities
Total	409.0	416.7	425.4	449.4	425.0

Strategic Outcome 2: Federal government supported by effective and responsive legal services

Performance Indicator	Performance Summary
Client feedback on delivery of legal services7, scale of 10	Advisory services	Litigation services	Legislative services
Accessibility / responsiveness	8.7	8.6	8.6
Timeliness	7.9	8.3	7.8
Usefulness	8.1	8.2	8.0
Summary of Achievements Survey results demonstrate that the Department provided timely, useful and responsive legal services that met clients’ needs and expectations. The Department provided legal policy advice to support client departments responsible for delivering on Speech from the Throne Commitments including: implementing Canada’s Economic Action Plan; tackling climate change; contributing to global security; building stronger institutions; and making government more effective. To better respond to the economic crisis, the Department retained expert senior advisors from outside government to bolster capacity to address complex commercial law and financial sector issues. The Department supported client departments in delivering on the Government’s comprehensive legislative agenda. The Department represented the Crown’s interests in litigation involving billions of dollars in potential liabilities. The Supreme Court of Canada rendered 70 judgments on appeal for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. Department of Justice counsel represented the Government in 19 of these cases.

($ millions)

Program Activity	2007-08 Actual Spending	2008-09				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
B1. Services to government	277.2	279.6	471.6	323.8	312.1	Provision of government services
Total	277.2	279.6	471.6	323.8	312.1

Expenditure Profile

As seen in the chart below, the Department had a very slight year-over-year increase in spending from 2005-06 to 2006-07. The sharp decline in year-over-year spending in 2007-08 reflects the $102 million reduction in the Departmental budget that was used to create the independent Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) on December 12th 2006. The remainder of the reduction reflects the introduction of the net vote funding regime in which a portion of the total cost for the delivery of legal services across government is paid directly by the client departments receiving those services. As a result, rather than the funding being portrayed in the authorities and expenditures of the Department of Justice, they are portrayed in the authorities and expenditures of the client departments from which costs are recovered through vote netting authorities.

In 2008-09, the Department’s year-over-year spending increased by $51M. This increase was used to support the implementation of programs to promote access to justice system in both official languages, provide legal aid for those facing charges under the Public Safety and Anti-Terrorism Act and to support activities under the National Anti-drug Strategy. Changes in government priorities and in the economic environment resulted in an increase in legal services within several areas such as: the safety and security of Canadians, Aboriginal communities and infrastructure investments. Fiscal year 2008-2009 also saw the ratification of multiple collective agreements resulting in a direct increase in Department’s salary expenditures.

Voted and Statutory Items
($ millions)

Vote # or Statutory Item (S)	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	2006-2007 Actual Spending	2007-2008 Actual Spending	2008-2009 Main Estimates	2008-2009 Actual Spending
1	Operating expenditures	546.4	268.4	265.4	299.8
5	Grants and contributions	355.0	362.3	367.5	374.4
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	72.7	55.4	63.3	62.8
(S)	Minister of Justice—Salary and motor car allowance	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Total		974.2	686.2	696.3	737.1

Note 1: Actual spending differs from amount reported in financial statements as net cost of operations ($765.9 M) as a result of different reporting requirements.
Sources: Main Estimates manuscript 2008-09; RPP tables 1 and 5 p.33 and 35 for planned spending, and PA Plate A; PA plate A for authorities and actual spending

Risk Analysis

There are three main factors that influence the Department’s operating environment and in turn can affect the delivery of justice policies, laws and programs. First is the increasingly complex and interrelated nature of the issues that Canadians look to the justice system to address. Second are the increasing cost pressures on the justice system. Third is the multi-tiered nature of the justice system, where all parts are interconnected but some may be beyond the control of any one part to influence in isolation.

In addition, there are three key risks that can significantly affect the Department’s capacity to continue to deliver high-quality legal services to government. The first revolves around the Department’s ability to continue to retain and recruit the best and the brightest legal professionals in the face of competitive pressures from other public and private sector organizations. To mitigate the potential negative impacts, we are developing initiatives to realign the Department’s work force in light of the significant demographic shifts in Canada, including the aging of the work force and the increasingly diverse population.

Second is the Department’s ability to continue to adapt effectively to the rapidly evolving nature and complexity of the substantive issues and priorities of the government and the associated need for legal services. To address this risk, Justice works closely with client departments to identify legal risks and to jointly develop mitigation strategies. In addition, the Department is adjusting its legal practitioner model to address the changing nature of its work.

The third set concerns the Department’s ability to address the rapid changes in law practice management – particularly the sheer growth in the volume of rapidly available information that is crucial to the effective management of the government’s law practice. In this regard, the Department has focused on developing and enhancing tools and systems to support effective knowledge management, legal risk management, and quality assurance.

To mitigate the associated risks, and recognizing that these factors are beyond the capacity of the Department alone to address directly, Justice works with others, including law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, provincial governments, and non-governmental and community-based organizations to develop innovative ideas about how to improve access to justice.

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome(s)

Priority/Performance Highlights	Type	Status	Linkages to Strategic Outcomes
Public Service Renewal10 The Department has undertaken many initiatives in support of Public Services renewal, notably: Recruitment: Workforce renewal through the launch of the National Outreach and Recruitment Strategy for legal stream professionals, a new visual identifier for branding, various staffing strategies, strong focus on post-secondary recruitment outreach, and leveraging technology to streamline HR business processes (e.g. HR Fast Track) Management Accountability and Capacity: Enhancement of management development through training on responsibilities and accountabilities, including labour relations training in preparation for managing in a unionized work environment, and development of learning roadmaps for managers. Leadership Development: Enhancement of leadership development through the completion and graduation of the first cohort from the Justice Leaders of Tomorrow Program pilot, and the launch of the new National Mentoring Program Succession Planning: Implementation of new talent management processes for senior management, as well as a specific process for Employment Equity designated group members	Ongoing	Met	Fair, relevant and accessible justice system Effective and responsive legal services
Effective and responsive legal services The Department improved the overall representation of EE designated group members, with all four groups at or exceeding workforce availability: women (68.2%), visible minorities (13.8%), Aboriginal persons (3.7%) and persons with disabilities (6%). Continued progress to improve representation across occupational groups and levels. Three year diversity awareness training roll-out to all employees commencing with managers in 2008-09, followed by all employees in the remaining two years.	Ongoing	Met	Fair, relevant and accessible justice system Effective and responsive legal services
Performance and Reporting Continued progress in building tools and capacity for integrated planning, ongoing monitoring of performance and reporting on results. Completed the corporate risk profile as a preliminary step in enhancing integration of risk analyses in business planning structure. Reviewed and enhanced processes and practices for ensuring the Department is able to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act to ensure accessibility of information to the public.	Ongoing	Partially Met	Fair, relevant and accessible justice system Effective and responsive legal services
Law Practice Management Developed standardized templates for Memoranda of Understanding with client departments for provision of legal services. Developed a core set of common service standards for delivery of legal services. Initiated the Legal Knowledge Management Strategy. Developed an Action Plan to respond to an internal evaluation of the Legal Risk Management program. Initiated early development phases for the identification of needed enhancements for the next generation of tools to support law practice.	Ongoing	Met	Effective and responsive legal services
Sustainable Development Held the second Sustainable Development Conference, Justice for the Future: Department of Justice’s Sustainable Development Strategy Creation of “Green Teams” in offices across the country	Ongoing	Partially Met	Fair, relevant and accessible justice system

Lessons Learned

Public Service Renewal

Over the past two years the Department has made strides with the Public Service Renewal agenda. However, recent activities underlined the importance of senior management engagement in providing vision, active leadership and demonstrating commitment to the renewal of the Department. For example, active engagement and accountability has led to successes in developing and launching a national mentoring program, and promoting the Department at various recruitment events as well as opening dialogues with new graduates from law programs across the country, in support of renewing our workforce.

Employment Equity and Diversity

The Department is committed to maintaining a workforce representative of Canada’s diversity. During 2008-09, the Department launched a self-identification campaign in order to ensure that we have an accurate portrait of our current work force and to assist in developing concrete goals and targets. As follow-up, the Department developed a model of shared and individual accountability that cascades throughout the organization to raise awareness of and make concrete progress in meeting our employment equity objectives and to ensure a workplace supportive of diversity.

Performance Measurement and Access to Information

In response to criticisms from the Office of the Information Commissioner, the Department re-examined the processes and tools that support timely public access to departmental information under the Access to Information Act (ATIP). As a result, the Deputy Minister authorized the investment of resources to modernize equipment, enhanced the staff complement, and streamlined internal ATIP processes. In 2008 the Department of Justice achieved the top score across government, an “A”, with a five-star rating from the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada, and was identified as a model of best practices for other government departments.

Strategic Review

Further to these management priorities and during the course of fiscal year 2008-09, the Department underwent a Treasury Board directed Strategic Review that assessed all direct program spending and operating costs along the following five core dimensions:

• Linkages to Government Priorities
• Extent to which activities represent core federal roles
• Responsiveness to Canadians
• Effectiveness and efficiency
• Management effectiveness

Through this exercise, the Department identified opportunities to realize efficiencies and productivity enhancements in the delivery of legal services across government of $12.5 million annually once fully implemented in 2011-12. As a first step in realizing such efficiencies and enhancements, the Department will tailor its current mix of senior, middle level and junior counsel dedicated to the delivery of legal advisory, litigation and legislative services across government. In particular, the proportion of junior counsel will be increased with a view to ensuring that work is appropriately assigned to counsel with the requisite skills and experience.

The changes are intended to support the Department’s longer-term agenda through which other avenues for realizing efficiencies and productivity enhancements will be explored.

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