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SECTION I: OVERVIEW

The Chair’s Message

The Departmental Performance Report (DPR) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police External Review Committee ("Committee") for 2006-2007 provides an overview of its work during this fiscal year. It also discusses the extent to which the Committee has met its objectives as set out in its 2006-2007 Report on Plans and Priorities.

The Committee has a very distinct mandate. Its role is to conduct impartial and independent reviews of RCMP labour relations cases. The Committee has consistently had a significant output, in spite of its very small size. This year, it issued a near record number of recommendations. The Committee dealt with areas such as harassment, travel entitlements, and relocation, and also examined a number of interesting questions in disciplinary appeals. In addition, the Committee has engaged in outreach. The Committee issues a quarterly Communiqué and has a Web site (www.erc-cee.gc.ca) with all case summaries and articles of interest. In addition, the Chair and staff members met with a variety of stakeholders throughout the year.

The Committee strives for even greater success in the areas of case review and outreach and adheres to its goal that the backlog be removed. It secured interim funding to assist in this process and is also exploring the possibility of additional financial support to meet its many corporate and operational demands.

In the area of labour relations oversight, an expanded outreach and research function would enhance the Committee's role. Furthermore, as is now the case, keeping oversight of the RCMP in the domain of labour relations separate and distinct from the domain of oversight in the area of public complaints is extremely important. The Committee’s view on this was confirmed this winter, in the Final Recommendations to the Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar, when Justice O’Connor stated that public complaints oversight and discipline review should be kept as separate functions.

My vision is for the Committee to expand its ability to meet its strategic outcome, through a continuation of its quality work in the area of case review and outreach, and to expand its ability to do so with longer term funding - to enhance the case review process and develop a more robust infrastructure to support the Committee in meeting standards of excellence in its mandate.

Catherine Ebbs signature

Catherine Ebbs
Chair

Management Representation Statement

I submit for tabling in Parliament the 2006-07 Departmental Performance Report (DPR) for the RCMP External Review Committee.

This report has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2006-2007 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:

  • It adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board Secretariat guidance;
  • It is based on the department’s approved Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture that were approved by the Treasury Board;
  • It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and reliable information;
  • It provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
  • It reports finances based on approved numbers from the Estimates and the Public Accounts of Canada.

Catherine Ebbs signature

Catherine Ebbs
Chair

September 14, 2007

Summary Information

Committee’s Raison d’être

The RCMP External Review Committee is an independent and impartial agency that aims to promote fair and equitable labour relations within the RCMP, in accordance with applicable principles of law. To this end the Committee conducts an independent review of appeals in disciplinary and discharge and demotion matters, as well as certain categories of grievances, in accordance with the RCMP Act ("Act").


Financial Resources ($thousands)
Planned Authorities Actual Spending
895 985 909


Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned * Actual * Difference
9 6 3

* From August 4, 2006 to March 31, 2007 one position was vacant.

* Until January 2007, our initial FTE planned was 6. Funding was received, effective January 2007 for 3 additional backlog resources (one for a two year term and two for a five year term).  Three positions could not be filled in this fiscal year.

Operating Environment and Context

A. Day-to-day Conditions of the Work of the Committee Pertaining to Performance

1) Case Review

Members of the RCMP are subject to distinct systems of grievance, discipline and discharge and demotion adjudication, as outlined in Parts II, III, IV and V of the Act. The internal RCMP labour relations system makes the initial decision in labour relations matters affecting members where the initial decision is challenged and the Act provides for referral to the Committee. The mandate of the Committee is to undertake an external review and issue findings and recommendations to the parties and the Commissioner of the RCMP. The Commissioner of the RCMP makes the final decision and should he not follow the Committee’s recommendation, the law requires that he give reasons for not doing so.

Grievances constitute the largest component of the Committee’s work. With grievances, the Committee does not have the statutory or regulatory authority to review every grievance that is subject to a Level II review. The Act and Regulations provide that only five categories of grievances must be referred to it for review:

  1. interpretation and application of government-wide policies that apply to members of the RCMP;
  2. stoppage of pay and allowances during suspension of a member;
  3. interpretation and application of the Isolated Posts Directive (IPD);
  4. interpretation and application of the Relocation Directive (RD);
  5. administrative discharge on grounds of physical or mental disability, abandonment of post, or irregular appointment.

With discharge and demotion matters, there is no restriction on what types of appeals will be referred. In the area of discipline, it is only when formal disciplinary proceedings have been taken, i.e. for more serious violations of the RCMP Code of Conduct that cases come before the Committee. The Committee does not undertake an external review of disciplinary measures arising from an informal disciplinary process as described by the Act.

2) Outreach and Communication Activities in 2006-2007

The Committee provides case review which is both impartial and arms length to the RCMP. In doing so, it aims to positively influence the RCMP labour relations environment. Likewise, information exchange and outreach with stakeholders is integral to this objective. The Committee utilizes a number of tools for outreach, including its Web site (www.erc-cee.gc.ca), its quarterly publication (Communiqué), requests for information, and ongoing training, meetings, and capacity building.

B. Internal and External Factors Affecting the Performance of the Committee

There are many factors that affect the performance of the Committee. These include the small size of the Committee, workload fluctuations, visibility of the Committee, the need for greater outreach and research, and increased corporate requirements.

1) The Small Size of the Committee

The Committee is a very small tribunal of 6 people. With the increase in interim funding it received in January 2007, it remains quite small at only 6 indeterminate and 3 temporary positions. Staff of the Committee must perform a variety of tasks in a number of different domains because there are no internal specialized human resources, financial and other corporate resources. The transactional responsibilities tied to corporate issues are carried out through shared service agreements which must be carefully monitored. For the most part, these shared service agreements do not address the multiple strategic considerations that must be integrated into the workplace. Notwithstanding the transactional support, in areas such as finance, procurement, information management and human resources, there is still significant work of a transactional nature that must be done in house.

In addition, the Committee is resourced only to address its immediate operational priorities and other corporate strategic priorities. As well, the nature of the Committee business is such that it is difficult to forecast the volume of work much in advance. The Committee’s relatively modest budget leaves little room to adapt and maneuver to adapt to changes in the federal sphere or sudden shifts in workload demands. The unpredictability of demands on the Committee has led to the need to constantly risk-manage the Committee budget throughout the fiscal year.

Notwithstanding these pressures, the Committee has moved toward becoming an even more corporately robust organization. It has also put into place or enhanced policies and procedures in areas such as human resources and finance, and has taken steps in requesting additional resources to assist in case review.

2) Visibility

The mandate of the Committee may not be known to the best extent possible by its client community in the RCMP, within the federal government and by the general public. When the Committee was first created, its mandate included a research function that may have assisted with its visibility. However, due to severe funding cuts in the 1990s and consequent reductions in its human resources, that research function was eliminated. The Committee currently has an outreach function as defined in its Program Activity Architecture. However, given its limited resources and need to place emphasis on its case review responsibilities, this function is not as expansive as the Committee would like it to be.

The Committee addresses this challenge by ensuring that it does as much outreach as possible, within its limited resources. The Committee maintains on-going communications with stakeholders, and shares knowledge and feedback with the small agency networks, where possible. The Committee also gains visibility through such activities as the provision of grievance training to RCMP officials, distribution of its Communiqué and through its Web site (www.erc-cee.gc.ca).

3) Workload Fluctuations

The Committee has no control from year to year over the number of cases that are referred to it. It has a small staff, operating with one member, who is also the Committee Chair and Chief Executive Officer, and five staff members with program and operational responsibilities, for a total complement of six full time equivalents (FTE). (As noted above, three additional interim FTEs will bring the number up to 9 and these resources will be hired in 2007-2008). At this time, the Committee has a backlog of cases . It continues to address this through integrated prescreening and peer review procedures in its operations. As well, it has received more funds to facilitate case review generally. The additional funding sources available to it have been limited to shorter term funding. It is therefore challenged in its staffing because it cannot attract indeterminate staff at the present time for these additional positions and cannot engage in longer term planning.

4) Reporting Demands and Other Requirements

Over the last few years, corporate requirements at the federal level have increased. The Committee regularly meets with other components of government to address various federal government reporting and accountability requirements. It places a high level of importance on these requirements. Given its limited resources, it sought ways to address this through other mechanisms, such as acquiring additional funds and improving its shared services agreements. It has also participated in a roundtable discussion of various government representatives, through the Canada School of Public Service, with a view to building common ground on resolving the reporting burden on small agencies.

The Public Service Modernization Act (PSMA) has also required significant additional attention and time to implement. The Committee has consulted staff on all policies and embarked on a number of initiatives including educating staff on the PSMA, and career planning and training needs in the 2006-2007 year. The Committee will ensure that all staff is fully informed of the general principles of the PSMA. Some strategic support has been forthcoming through the Canada Public Service Agency (formerly known as Public Service Human Resources Agency of Canada) through a working group called the Small Agency Transition Support Team. However, that assistance is limited to PSMA implementation issues – not other human resources issues - and is of an interim nature only.

This year, the Committee provided significant data and information to central agencies for their assessment of the Committee’s integration of the Management Accountability Framework (MAF). In doing so, the Committee undertook its own internal assessment of the work that it does and identified areas to address further. This has included finding ways to ensure a robust form of evaluation, in spite of its small size, and ongoing attention to its risk management function.

In the MAF process, the Treasury Board Secretariat recognized the Committee for its efforts to ensure effective corporate risk management; the extent to which the workplace is fair, enabling, health and safe; and the extent to which the workforce is productive, principled, sustainable and adaptable. Its recommendations to the Committee included making greater progress in areas such as the quality and use of evaluation; integration, use and reporting of performance information; and effectiveness of information management.


Link to the Government of Canada Outcome Areas
Strategic Outcome: The RCMP External Review Committee aims to positively influence the manner in which labour relations issues are addressed within the RCMP
Program Activity Type Planned Spending ($ thousands) Actual Spending ($ thousands) Expected Results and Current status
1.  Independent, timely, fair and impartial case review leading to the provision of quality findings and recommendations in all cases referred to the Committee ongoing 669 778 met-in progress
Priority 1 - Focus on effectiveness and quality of case management process met-in progress
Priority 2 – Maintain optimum environment for ERC staff met-in progress
Priority 3 – Ongoing evaluation of operations met-in progress
2.  Dissemination of information on the role of the Committee and its findings and recommendations, as well as on relevant legal principles ongoing   226   131 met-in progress
Priority 1 - Formalize outreach and raise awareness of the Committee's work met-in progress

Alignment of Strategic Outcome with Government of Canada Outcomes

The Committee's strategic outcome aligns with all four Government of Canada outcomes. Through its case review function of an independent and impartial nature it can contribute to employment security and a fair and secure marketplace, health of Canadians, a safe and secure world through international cooperation, government relations, and supporting a vibrant culture and heritage. It can do this directly, through supporting sound , arms-length oversight of employment relations decisions internal to the RCMP. By supporting employment relations in the RCMP, its activities will consequently indirectly support all Canadians in these outcomes.


Strategic Outcome Government of Canada Outcomes
The RCMP External Review Committee aims to positively influence the manner in which labour relations issues are addressed within the RCMP. The Strategic Outcome of the RCMP External Review Committee supports all government outcomes:

1.  Economic Affairs
  • income security and employment for Canadians;
  • strong economic growth; and
  • a fair and secure marketplace.
2.  Social Affairs
  • healthy Canadians;
  • safe and secure communities;
  • a diverse society that promotes linguistic duality and social inclusion; and
  • a vibrant Canadian culture and heritage.
3.  International Affairs
  • a safe and secure world through international cooperation.
4.    Government Affairs
 
Program Activity 1:
Independent, timely, fair and impartial case review leading to the provision of quality findings and recommendations in all cases referred to the Committee.
Program Activity 2:
Dissemination of information on the role of the Committee and its findings and recommendations, as well as on relevant legal principles.