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Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome

Figure 3

[text version]

Program Activity: Review Canadian Forces grievances

Program Activity Description

The Chief of the Defence Staff refers grievances as prescribed under the Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces as well as every grievance concerning a decision or an act of the Chief of the Defence Staff in respect of a particular officer or non-commissioned member to the Board for its findings and recommendations. The Board conducts objective and transparent reviews of grievances with due respect to fairness and equity for each member of the Canadian Forces, regardless of rank or position. It ensures that the rights of military personnel are considered fairly throughout the process and that its Board Members act in the best interest of the parties concerned. The findings and recommendations it issues are not only based in law but form precedents that may facilitate change within the Canadian Forces. As an administrative tribunal designed to review grievances, the Board must ensure that its recommendations comply with the law and can be implemented in accordance with its enabling legislation, relevant human rights legislation and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Financial Resources ($ thousands)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
4,291	4,291	4,291

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
32	32	32

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Intermediate Outcome - Enhanced confidence in the grievance process and the administration of the affairs of the Canadian Forces.	% of stakeholders that agree that the external review provided by the CFGB adds to the adjudicative fairness of the process.	Data Source: Stakeholders Survey. 75% of stakeholders agree and strongly agree.
Immediate Outcome - The Chief of the Defence Staff is assisted in rendering decisions on grievances and is informed of systemic issues.	% of F&Rs with which the CDS disagrees on the basis of errors in law or fact.	Data Source: CDS Decisions. Less than 10% of the cases upon which the CDS disagrees, or 1% of all files.
Immediate Outcome - Stakeholders have an increased awareness and understanding of the CF grievance process, regulations, policies and guidelines affecting Canadian Forces members.	% of positive feedbacks from CF Initial authorities on the usefulness of publications of case summaries, systemic recommendations and lessons learned.	Data Source: Interviews of CF Initial Authorities. 75% of respondents agree and strongly agree.

Planning Highlights

In order to achieve the expected results, the following highlights some of the key activities which the Board plans to undertake during 2012-13:

Maintain operational efficiency

Operational efficiency remains a priority at the Board in order to respond to its obligation to review grievances "expeditiously" and to contribute to a fair and transparent military grievance process. The progress made by the Board in terms of efficiency validates the measures introduced to streamline its internal review processes while ensuring that the quality of the Board's work remains at a very high standard.

In light of these improvements, the Board is planning to review its productivity standards to better reflect its improved efficiency and support the CDS' intention to have the grievance process take less than one year from the time a member submits a grievance to his/her Commanding Officer to the point at which the final decision is rendered by the FA.²

Readiness to support the "principled approach".

In January 2011, the Board commenced a six month trial of a new approach for the referral of grievances, which had been approved by the AFC, the senior executive body of the CF. Under this "principled approach," the CF would refer to the Board all unresolved grievances that reach the FA level. Currently, the Board's review is limited to only four types of grievances, which represent approximately 40% of the total number of grievances that reach the FA level.

Regrettably, the CF suspended the pilot project in October with the intention of resuming the trial in 2012. The Board remains committed to the "principled approach" and is ready for a full-scale implementation of this new model which proved beneficial to all parties involved. The Board is hopeful that the CF will permanently adopt the "principled approach" or any similar model where all CF members whose grievances reach the FA level have equal access to an independent review of their cases.

Communicate the results of our review of grievances.

Communicating the Board's role and the results of its work remains a priority. Through its publication and articles, the Board provides real-time important information to senior leadership, decision makers, administrators and CF members as well as sharing with stakeholders its unique perspective on issues that come to its attention while reviewing grievances.

The Board's key communications activities include the following:

• Case summaries and recommendations on issues of systemic nature posted to the CFGB's Web site: summaries and recommendations of the last three years provide the reader with a wealth of information on policies and regulations as well as on grievance issues.
• Editions of Perspectives, a newsletter primarily directed to senior officers at DND Headquarters: through Perspectives, the Board shares with CF decision-makers valuable information about grievance trends and areas of dissatisfaction that come to the attention during the review of individual grievances.
• eBulletin: Electronic bulletin available exclusively through the Board's Web site which highlights current and interesting cases recently reviewed by the Board.
• Presentation Surveys: A survey developed for base personnel attending the Board's presentations during base visits.
• Stakeholders Surveys: As part of its Performance Measurement Framework, the Board will survey some key stakeholders on the usefulness of its publications as a tool for CF senior leadership, decision makers, administrators involved in the CF grievance process.

The Board will conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of communications activities and will continue to develop tools to obtain feedback from stakeholders and target audiences.

Internal Services

Program Activity Description

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations or an organization. These groups are: Management and Oversight Services; Communication Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel 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 ($ thousands)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
2,381	2,381	2,381

Human Resources (FTEs)

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

Planning Highlights

In order to achieve the expected results, the following highlights some of the key activities which the Board plans to undertake during 2012-13:

Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) Policies and Plan

The CFGB has aligned itself with the GoC's priorities and standards by complying with Treasury Board's IM/ IT policy suites in the establishment of the CFGB IT Plan. The CFGB IT Plan has positioned the Board to implement initiatives to increase productivity and efficiency, transform business processes and reduce costs. The key projects include leveraging the Board's virtualized server infrastructure and upgrading business software suites and piloting a desktop virtualization initiative.

Stewardship of Resources

The Treasury Board Policy on Internal Control of April 1, 2009, required all departments to ensure the establishment, maintenance, monitoring and review of their departmental system of internal control to mitigate risks in high level categories including the effectiveness and efficiency of programs operations; assets and resource management; the reliability of financial reporting; and compliance with legislation, regulations, polices and delegated authorities.

In 2012-13 the Canadian Forces Grievance Board (CFGB) will conduct testing of the documented control design of key business processes, such as financial management, reporting and systems, internal/external communication, and inventory and assets management. The purpose will be to verify the integrity of these processes and associated information, and ensure that the processes are consistent with established accounting standards and policies. This implementation will represent the final phase of a three year initiative to reduce risks related to the stewardship of financial resources through effective internal controls.

Focus on Productivity and Efficiency

The CFGB will support initiatives to improve the productivity and efficiency of operations and service delivery, transform business processes and identify savings.

The Board will support planned initiatives while implementing and maintaining new policy and reporting requirements in the areas of government security, information technology, information management, investment planning, financial reporting and internal control.

To achieve financial stability and maximize efficiency while maintaining essential core operations, Internal Services will expand the application of a risk-based and integrated approach to the implementation of proposed initiatives, with particular attention to physical and information security, information technology and information management.

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