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Expenditure Management

Reports on Plans and Priorities

2010-11

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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 2010-11.

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


Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ millions)
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending
625 130.2 627 132.3 627 134.1

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, by most serious outcome (ie., guilty plea, guilty plea (other / lesser offence), conviction and conviction (other / lesser offence), discharge, acquittal)
  • Not applicable
Disposition of cases that are not decided on merit
  • Percentage of litigation files not decided on merit:  withdrawal, stay of proceedings (Court), stay of proceedings (Crown), quashed
  • Not applicable

Description of Activity

Under this program activity, the PPSC provides prosecution-related advice and litigation support during the police investigation, 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.  Some of these cases involve organized crime.

Pursuant to agreements and arrangements with the provinces, the PPSC also prosecutes Criminal Code offences where they are related to drug charges and the drug charges form the major part of the case. In the three territories, the PPSC prosecutes all Criminal Code offences.

The PPSC also provides prosecution-related advice and litigation support during police investigations4, and prosecutes charges under the Part II.1 of the Criminal Code (Terrorism) to combat terrorism.

Finally, this program activity involves the promotion of federal/provincial/territorial cooperation on criminal justice issues of mutual concern. This work is carried out through the PPSC's participation in the Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Heads of Prosecution Committee which supports and promotes effective horizontal linkages between various stakeholders involved in the administration of criminal justice in Canada.  The PPSC also participates in dialogue with other stakeholders involved in the criminal justice field.  These activities ensure that key linkages are developed and maintained with relevant professional and governmental organizations, both nationally and internationally.

During 2008-09, this program activity involved approximately 65,992 litigation files. The projected volume of litigation files for 2009-10 is 69,444.

Planning Highlights for 2010-11

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

The focus on organized crime reflects the priority given to this issue by the federal police and other law enforcement authorities. The PPSC will continue to emphasize inter-jurisdictional cooperation within the prosecutorial community and with investigative agencies both 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 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 2010-11, 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.  Three PPSC regional offices are currently prosecuting cases in which charges of terrorism have been laid. In addition, PPSC counsel play an active role during the course of investigations in providing advice to police. 

During 2010-11, the PPSC will continue to work closely with federal-provincial-territorial heads of prosecution on issues and challenges of common interest, to co-chair the FPT Heads of Prosecution Committee and to offer secretarial and administrative support, in addition to renewing efforts 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 (HOPAC) and the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP). 

During 2010-11, the PPSC will continue 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 of Canada.

An evaluation of the Crown Witness Co-ordinator program, which operates in the northern territories, is being conducted as part of the Federal Victim Strategy. The PPSC will use the information collected through this evaluation to assess future steps towards enhancing the program.

Benefits to Canadians

This program activity contributes to ensuring a safe and secure Canada through the prosecution of a broad range of criminal activities, including drug-related offences, complex organized crime cases, and terrorism offences.  Also, as a result of the many instances of close cooperation between the PPSC and various organizations, both in Canada and abroad, this program activity promotes the rule of law through increased coordination in the administration of criminal justice.

4  The operational priority for prosecution-related advice during the investigative stage is primarily on highly complex cases.

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


Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ millions)
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending
187 17.3 187 17.3 187 17.3

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, by most serious outcome (ie., guilty plea, guilty plea (other / lesser offence), conviction and conviction (other / lesser offence), discharge, acquittal)
  • Not applicable
Disposition of cases that are not decided on merit
  • Percentage of litigation files not decided on merit:  withdrawals, stays of proceedings (Court), stays of proceedings (Crown), quashed
  • Not applicable

Description of Activity

Under this program activity, the PPSC provides prosecution-related advice and litigation support to federal investigative agencies, and prosecutes cases under more than 60 federal statutes, including regulatory offences and economic crimes. Examples include offences under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Income Tax Act, the Competition Act, and the Fisheries Act, as well as offences under the Customs Act, the Excise Act and the Excise Tax Act.

This program activity involved a work volume of approximately 8,682 litigation files in 2008-09, which represented about 13% of the PPSC's total number of files.  The projected volume of files for 2009-10 is 9,883.

Specialized teams are dedicated to prosecutions where a specialized knowledge of legislation is required.  For example, several PPSC offices have teams of prosecutors dedicated to economic crime prosecutions, whereas 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 PPSC also provides advice on and prosecutes complex capital market fraud cases.  PPSC legal advisors are part of the RCMP's Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (IMETs) that investigate suspected capital market fraud offences. 

As well, a group of PPSC prosecutors provides services in highly specialized areas relating to offences under the Competition Act, the Textile Labelling Act, the Precious Metals Marking Act, and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act. The criminal investigations under these statutes are the responsibility of the Commissioner of Competition. The PPSC provides advice on investigations to Competition Bureau officers. The offences that are most often prosecuted under these statutes are false or misleading representations, deceptive telemarketing, cartel offences, and bid-rigging.

Another key component of this program activity is Law Practice Management (LPM), which includes all management activities such as the management of workload and staff management. The challenge for the PPSC will be to develop and implement an LPM vision and model that will meet its needs, while supporting the current organizational design and being responsive to financial challenges.

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.  It includes the Agent Affairs Unit at PPSC headquarters, and regional Agent Supervision Units responsible for the day-to-day management of agents.

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

The PPSC co-chairs the Securities Fraud and Economic Crime Prosecutors Affiliation, a subcommittee of the FPT Heads of Prosecution Committee.  This subcommittee is comprised of an inter-jurisdictional network of prosecutors, police officers and securities regulators. It improves the co-ordination of enforcement by developing best practices and implementing a seamless system for sharing prosecutorial expertise and education between jurisdictions for the investigation and prosecution of large economic crime cases.

The PPSC's mandate also includes the recovery of outstanding fines related to various federal offences.

Planning Highlights for 2010-11

A priority for 2010-11 will be to further develop and implement the PPSC's vision for Law Practice Management. This will include continuing to update the (FPS) Deskbook5 and once again offering training through its School for Prosecutors.  A new component of the Advanced Issues for Prosecutors course, currently under development, is an extensive module on written advocacy that will be offered for the first time in 2010. A needs assessment is under way to determine the enrolment capacity for the August 2010 session.  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 also continue to actively participate in symposia and conferences which focus on regulatory offences and economic crime prosecutions, and to host delegations interested in regulatory prosecutions.

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.

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 website at http://www.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca/eng/aaf-man/index.html.

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.

5  The Federal Prosecution Service (FPS) Deskbook is a policy manual governing all PPSC staff prosecutors and legal agents.

2.3 Program Activity #3: Internal Services


Financial Resources ($ millions)
2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013
25.2 27.2 21.4


Human Resources (Full Time Equivalents-FTEs)
2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013
128 128 128

Program Activity Summary and Planning Highlights

Internal services comprises groups of related activities that support the above two program activities and other corporate obligations. The planning highlights of Internal Services include the following:

  • Human Resources (HR) Management: The PPSC will implement a People Management Strategy that will focus primarily on organizational management and talent management and the improvement of human resources management practices. The strategy includes a national review of work streams, as well as a review of the PPSC's resource mix for consistency and relativity.
  • Management and Oversight: A multi-disciplinary committee will continue to advance the organization's performance measurement framework, including the implementation of additional performance indicators.
  • Administration:  The PPSC's Administration Services will concentrate on the following priorities during 2010-11:
    • Accommodations – pursue planning and implementation of several regional relocations and the establishment of a single headquarters office location in the National Capital Region.
    • Security - establish a PPSC security program including an Employee Protection Program and a Business Continuity Plan.
    • Occupational Safety and Health - strengthen the PPSC policy capacity in consultation with bargaining agents. 
    • Informal Conflict Management - develop an Informal Conflict Management System in collaboration with bargaining agents as required by federal legislation.
These Internal Services planning highlights also contribute to the management priorities presented earlier under Section I.


Date Modified: 2009-11-13
 
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