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Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome

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

Program Activity: Process hearings and decisions

Program Activity Description

The Office of the Registrar exists to provide the services the Court must have to render its decisions as the Court of last resort. The principal responsibilities of the Office of the Registrar are to provide a full range of administrative and support services to the Judges and to manage cases coming to the Court.

2010-11 Financial Resources ($ millions)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
21.5	23.1	19.7

2010-11 Human Resources (full-time equivalents - FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
147	145	2

Sub-Activity 1: Management of Court Cases

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Status
Cases processed without delay	Number of months between filing of application for leave to appeal and decision on application for leave to appeal	3.5 months	Mostly met
	Number of months between hearing and judgment	6 months	Not met*
Access to Court services and information	% of lawyers and unrepresented litigants that were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with Registry services	95%	Exceeded
Courtroom systems reliability	Number of hearing disruptions for technical reasons per year	0	Met all

Sub-Activity 2: Library Services

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Status
Access to reference information	% of factual/ bibliographic requests for reference assistance responded to within service standard of 1 working day	95%	Exceeded
	% of complex/ substantive requests for reference assistance responded to by date required by client	95%	Exceeded
	% of users that were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with library services	95%	Exceeded

Sub-Activity 3: Process Payments to the Supreme Court Pursuant to the Judges Act

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Status
Timely and accurate processing of payments pursuant to the Judges Act	% of payments processed within service standards	95%	Exceeded
	% of errors on payments	2%	Met all

 

Performance Summary and Analysis of Program Sub-Activities

Sub-Activity 1: Management of Court Cases

Cases processed without delay

Performance Summary

A high percentage of all applications for leave to appeal, 93.3%, were decided within six months of filing. The average time lapse between the hearing of an appeal and the judgment on the appeal was 7.7 months, with 35% of judgments being rendered within six months. The time lapses are consistent with the previous year.

Performance Analysis

The Office of the Registrar maintains monthly statistics on the Court's caseload, backlog and average time lapses between key steps in a case's history. It also produces a public annual statistical report.

 

Average Time Lapses (in months)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Between filing of application for leave and decision on application for leave	5.4	4.3	5.7	3.9	3.7
Between date leave granted (or date notice of appeal as of right filed) and hearing	12.5	11.4	12.2	10.5	9.4
Between hearing and judgment	5.8	5.6	5.6	5.1	4

 

Average Time Lapses (in months)	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Between filing of application for leave and decision on application for leave	3.7	3.4	3.5	3.2	3.2	3.4
Between date leave granted (or date notice of appeal as of right filed) and hearing	9.1	7.7	9	8.9	7.6	7.7
Between hearing and judgment	5.2	5.9	6.6	4.8	7.4	7.7

*In 2010, the Court maintained its average time lapse for deciding leave to appeal applications within the targeted levels. It also maintained its average time lapse between the date leave to appeal was granted (or a notice of appeal as of right was filed) and the hearing of a case at less than eight months. There was a minor increase in the time lapses between the hearing of a case and judgment, with some judgments being rendered over seven months after the hearing of the appeal. This is attributed to the growing complexity of many of the appeals in reserve. In 2010, the time lapse between filing of an application for leave to appeal and judgment on appeal was nineteen months, compared to eighteen in 2009.

Access to Court services and information

Performance Summary

The Registry solicits comments from users through client satisfaction cards. Very few clients took the opportunity to return the cards, but those that did indicated the users were “very satisfied”.

Performance Analysis

Litigants, the public and the media access Court services through the Registry or the Court Website. The public face of the Supreme Court of Canada is its Registry. Clients attending the Registry are encouraged to fill out a comment card in regard to their satisfaction level relating to various services offered and with respect to staff. Some clients attend to pick up judgments or review a case file, but most will come to the Registry to file documents or obtain information about bringing a proceeding before the Supreme Court of Canada. Registry staff must provide timely, accurate and easily understood information, and the comments received reflect positively on Registry performance in all areas including timely service, staff professionalism and knowledge, and overall level of satisfaction.

General enquiries and requests for Court information by the public are increasing, likely due to a better-informed and more demanding public, as well as from the captivating issues debated in Court cases. In 2010, the Court Records staff continued to respond to requests for documents from Court files in both electronic and paper format. A total of 2,724 requests from internal and external clients for Court files and documents were fulfilled. A total of 6,200 files or parts thereof were retrieved for these clients. Over 98% of external requests were dealt with within the established service standard of 48 hours.

Members of the public can now access with ease both appellants’ and respondents’ factum, online, through the Supreme Court of Canada’s Website. Plans to increase the number of document types accessible via the Website will decrease pressure to respond to external requests and improve access to the public. Also in 2010-11, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) reviewed the Court’s case and administrative records to determine if the collection presently stored at the LAC could be expanded, in the interests of preserving and extending access to this rich body of information on the Court’s internal work processes and the administration of cases of national importance. A Memorandum of Understanding is expected to be concluded in 2011-12.

The percentage of leave applications filed by self represented litigants decreased slightly in 2010, to 25%. All self represented litigants who contact the Court were provided with an information and instruction guide that includes samples of fill-in-the-blank applications for leave to appeal, response and reply books that a self represented litigant can complete and file with the Court. If a self represented litigant has access to the internet, he/she is referred to the Supreme Court of Canada Website where they can access an information portal that allows them to download PDF versions of the sample books.

Percentage of leave applications filed by self represented litigants

Years	Leave to appeal applications filed by all litigants	Leave to appeal applications filed by self represented litigants	% filed by self represented litigants
2000	642	117	18%
2001	621	117	19%
2002	523	106	20%
2003	550	92	17%
2004	568	114	20%
2005	544	103	19%
2006	506	115	23%
2007	602	149	25%
2008	529	128	24%
2009	545	143	26%
2010	488	122	25%

Courtroom systems reliability

Performance Summary

The IT Solutions and Development Sector is responsible for the management and the operation of all Audio-Visual equipment, as well as for the management of all IT systems in the Courtroom. The objective is to ensure that the proper support framework is in place and that sufficient redundancy is built into the Courtroom systems to ensure continuous availability and to avoid any disruptions to hearings. In 2010-11, only one incident of Courtroom equipment malfunction was reported. However, this incident did not cause disruptions to any Court hearings.

In the interest of ensuring that the Courtroom systems continue to be reliable, a complete review and assessment of Courtroom systems is being planned for 2011-12. This assessment will help identify opportunities for improvement as well as target pieces of equipment needing replacement as a result of their reaching the end of their life cycle.

Performance Analysis

In view of the fact that there was only one instance of courtroom equipment malfunction in 2010-11 and that no hearing was disrupted as a result of that incident, all expected performance levels for this priority have been met.

Sub-Activity 2: Library Services

Access to reference information

Performance Summary

Two client satisfaction surveys were administered in 2010-11, i.e. during the months of June and December 2010. The methodology changed due to very low survey returns in June 2010. The lack of responses (23% for the June survey) was attributed to survey fatigue and a lack of direct correlation to the Reference services provided. In December 2010, each specific factual or complex request was responded to and included a user satisfaction survey. The return rate improved significantly. In both surveys, client satisfaction exceeded our target, with close to 100% of respondents indicating that the requested information was received on time and was relevant to their work.

Performance Analysis

The major focus in the Library has been aimed at implementing a new organizational model with mixed library and information management responsibilities for staff, and in integrating the Records Office management team with that of the Library, into one cohesive group. There have been no significant changes in the delivery of library services to the members of the Court or to the internal staff of the Supreme Court.

We continue to monitor the impact of inflationary increases on the library’s collections, through statistical analysis of the citations which appear in the Supreme Court Reports. Based on this analysis, the percentage of case law and legislation available in the library’s print collection increased in 2010-11 (8.11% for case law and 0.7% for legislation). The percentage of secondary literature titles cited in the Reports and available in the print collection decreased by 9.4% in 2010-11. However, the majority of the citations to secondary sources not found in the print collection (57%) were available electronically. The balance of the citations not in our collection was located through interlibrary loans as well as from Court factums.

Overall access to the library collection remains consistently high (100% availability), through a combination of the print collection, Internet access, database subscriptions and interlibrary loans. In total, there were 1339 cited sources for the 67 Court cases published in 2010. Citations to foreign and international case law and legislation decreased, while citations of foreign secondary sources went up, putting additional pressures on the Library’s print collection.

On another front, the Court has implemented its new Electronic Resource Management System. As a result, trials are performed by Library staff to test new sources of information and collect feedback from users, ensuring that there is sufficient potential return on investment prior to entering into a license agreement in regard to new information sources.

Sub-Activity 3: Process Payments to the Supreme Court Pursuant to the Judges Act

Timely and accurate processing of payments pursuant to the Judges Act

Performance Summary

The Supreme Court of Canada achieved a level of 96% for the timely processing of payments pursuant to the Judges Act within the service standards of five days and incurred an error rate of 2% on the accuracy of the processing of these claims.

Performance Analysis

This represents a significant increase from 83% in the prior year. Significant effort was put into carefully monitoring outstanding payments so as to ensure timely reimbursement of judges’ expense claims. More frequent payments were issued in order to stay within the targeted timeframe. Efforts will continue to maintain or surpass the target of 95%.

Although an independent file review was not conducted in 2010-11, an assessment of the corrective entries was used as a basis in determining whether or not the SCC met its target of an error rate of 2% or less. Of 323 transactions, 7 adjusting entries were needed to correct various errors, resulting in an error rate of 2%, thus meeting the target. The adjustments consisted mostly of errors in financial coding. The SCC will continue to strive towards reducing that error rate.

Program Activity: Internal Services

Program Activity Description

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support Court programs and other corporate obligations of an organization such as the Court. These groups are: Governance and Management Support, Resource Management Services as well as Asset Management Services. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply to the entire Court and not those provided to a specific program.

2010-11 Financial Resources ($ millions)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
7.9	8.5	10.6

2010-11 Human Resources (full-time equivalents - FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
62	58	4

Performance Summary

The objective of the Office of the Registrar’s internal services is to support the Court’s core program activity by providing timely and responsive services that are effective and efficient as per the established service standards. Some key initiatives such as Quarterly Financial Reporting, Future-Oriented Financial Statements, as well as Internal Controls over Financial Reporting were started in 2010-11. An Independent review of statutory payments and an assessment of the security services were undertaken. While Human Resources worked on the talent management and the learning management framework.

Performance Analysis

• Work was undertaken in February 2011 to prepare for the upcoming Quarterly Financial Reports (QFR). A draft of the QFR, comparing the third quarter of 2010-11 vs. the same quarter in 2009-10 was prepared and submitted to the Office of the Comptroller General for review and feedback. Comments received will be incorporated into the first QFR of 2011-12, which will be available on the Court’s Internet site at the end of August 2011.
• Following the first publication of the Future-Oriented Financial Statements in the 2010-11 Report on Plans and Priorities, the Office continued to work in 2010-11 on the second set of Future-Oriented Financial Statements which were published in the 2011-12 RPP.
• In preparation for the implementation of the Treasury Board Policy on Internal Control in April 2011, the Court participated in the working group sessions provided by the Office of the Comptroller General. Work was undertaken to review the preliminary work started in 2009-10 and a strategy for the implementation of the policy was developed. Significant work will be required in 2011-12 to fully implement the new policy and ensure on-going compliance.
• The Court engaged the services of Audit Services Canada in 2010-11 to review the accuracy of the payments issued under the Judges Act. The review covered the period of 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10. The review did not cover the payments issued in 2010-11. The results of the review were previously communicated in the 2009-10 Department Performance Report.
• With the approval of a new governance model, the Court will continue to assess the delivery of security services, implement new policies and procedures as well as ensure the on-going progress of the Business Continuity Planning.
• In October 2010, a Learning, Training and Development Policy was developed and presented to and approved by the Executive Committee. This policy focuses on building leadership and meeting organizational learning needs. It provides a framework within which decisions about development and learning can be made and defines the support and resources provided to employees.
  The Learning, Training and Development Policy also addresses the need for appropriately transferring critical knowledge to ensure that future generations of employees have the skills required to fulfill the Court’s vision. Furthermore, Human Resources is currently working on analyzing employee Learning Statistics which will enable the Court to establish and implement a Corporate Learning Curriculum which essentially involves identifying a series of learning initiatives, provided Court wide to employees to ensure learning needs at a corporate level are met. A presentation is due in September/October 2011 to the Executive Committee for approval of the initiatives and delivery of the learning curriculum.
• By integrating the organizational vision and values within our Code of Conduct, we have ensured proper awareness by way of distribution to all employees and that these organizational values can be implemented in their work life. Furthermore, our organizational vision and values were shared during a training session given to all staff aimed at fostering a respectful workplace.

Lessons Learned

Information Management

The deployment of the Court’s electronic document management system and the continuing transition to the use of electronic documents, records and publications has brought to light the growing need to put in place a supportive Information Management framework and governance structure. Some considerable work has gone into the development of the Information Management program, including governance. More needs to be done to ensure that the Court is able to leverage the considerable investment in technology, especially in the area of requirements assessment and planning enhancements to program. In addition to an updated Enterprise Information Management Strategy, the need for sound business rules around information management, as well as improving the general understanding of all employees on their IM roles and responsibilities will be a focus in coming years. Business transformation is the key outcome. An Information Management Awareness Strategy and staff orientation and training is planned for 2011-12.

Enhance the security program to better meet the needs of the Court

In 2010-2011, the Court faced significant challenges in the area of Security, both as a result of the increasing threats in the area of IT Security and because of a lack of capacity due to high staff turnover. Efforts to enhance the Court’s overall security program to better meet the needs of the Court has progressed in the area of IT Security, where significant measures were put in place to ensure the safeguard of the Court’s information assets.

From a physical security standpoint, the new organizational structure will enhance the security program once new positions are staffed. The lack of resources in the Security Branch contributed to delay in implementing new policies, as well as in reviewing and assessing the present security program. Steps are being taken to address those matters. The Court will also review and renew its emergency procedures, as needed.

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