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II: Performance by Strategic Outcome and Results

1. The Office of the Registrar’s Strategic Outcome and Program Activity

The Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court has a single strategic outcome - to provide the best possible decision-making environment for the Supreme Court of Canada. This single strategic outcome is supported by one Program Activity - Process hearings and decisions, defined as the provision of 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.

The expected results in support of this are:

  • To process hearings and decisions promptly;
  • To ensure the independence of the Court as an institution within the framework of sound public administration;
  • To improve access to the Court and its services;
  • To provide the information base that the Court needs to fulfill its mandate; and
  • Reliable payment process for payments pursuant to the Judges Act.

The following table summarizes the resources planned and utilized in carrying out this program activity.


Program Activity: Process hearings and decisions
 
Planned Resources
Actual Resources
Financial resources
($ millions)
$31.8
30.7
Human resources (FTE)
191
194

2. The Office of the Registrar’s Performance

Performance indicators have been developed for each of the expected results. This section reports on the Office of the Registrar’s performance against each indicator, and in so doing, against each expected result.

A. Process hearings and decisions without delay


Activity
Expected result
Performance indicator
Process hearings and decisions Process hearings and decisions without delay
  • Feedback re quality of service
  • Quality and availability of technology
  • Elapsed time for processing cases
  • Quality of library services

Since the fundamental and on-going priority of the Supreme Court is to hear cases and render decisions, it follows that the ultimate and fundamental priority of the Office of the Registrar is to process cases without delay. Key performance indicators are feedback regarding quality of service, elapsed time for processing cases, the quality of technology in place, and the quality of library services.

Feedback regarding quality of service. Stakeholder satisfaction is monitored on a qualitative basis through feedback from the Judges and the legal profession. During 2006/07, this was supplemented by a formal survey of clients’ (counsel, agents and self-represented litigants) satisfaction with various Registry Branch services, including assessment of the scope, quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the services and information provided.

  • Feedback from the Judges. The Registrar regularly confers with the Judges to assess their level of satisfaction regarding the quality and timeliness of professional and administration services provided to them by Court staff. Feedback has generally been very positive. In particular, in 2007-08 when significant changes were made to the courtroom, judges expressed overall satisfaction with the technology introduced, and with the improved broadcast quality that resulted from audio visual upgrades.
  • Feedback from legal community. The Registrar regularly meets with external legal agents to obtain feedback on service delivery. For example, feedback is obtained through the Canadian Bar Association/Supreme Court of Canada (CBA/SCC) Liaison Committee, as well as committees such as the Court Ottawa Agents Practice and Procedures Committee (COAPP) and other informal communications with the legal community. Key ongoing requirements from counsel are the need for responsive and efficient service, and the demand for electronic access to information. Counsel have expressed their appreciation for the new technologies available to them in the courtroom, including wireless internet access.
  • Feedback from clients. A survey of Registry Branch clients was conducted between February 1st and 23rd 2007. Clients were asked to provide feedback on the quality of Registry Branch services, hours of operation, communication channels, Registry Branch staff, and the SCC website. Their feedback was very positive. Three out of four respondents stated they were "very satisfied" with the service they received, while virtually all respondents (99%) were "satisfied" or "very satisfied". Areas for improvement were found to be the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada, which could be more complete and clear, as could the guidelines for preparing the electronic copy of the factum on appeal. A self represented litigant portal was developed and feedback has been extremely positive. All self represented litigants who contact the Court receive an information and instruction guide which helps them to prepare documents that conform to the requirements of the Rules of the Supreme Court.

    The Court revised the Guidelines for Preparing the Electronic Appeal Documents and provided training for counsel and their agents in fall 2007. Questions and answers on how to prepare electronic appeal documents have recently been posted on the Court's website. In an effort to continue to offer the same level of service for in-person counter services, the Registry continues to collect feedback through Client Satisfaction Forms.

    In April 2007, the Library participated in the LibQual+ Canadian Consortium benchmarking survey, as part of four Canadian government libraries involved in this major service quality study of over 200 academic and research libraries. The LibQual+ survey evolved from a conceptual model based on the SERVQUAL instrument, a popular tool for assessing service quality in the private sector. Only internal clients were surveyed. Participation rate, at 26%, was well above the consortial aggregated results of only 15%. The overall response was extremely positive, with no areas of library service rated below users’ expectations. Improvements to the Library Intranet and delivery of electronic resources to enable legal research at the desk top have been made in response to needs identified in the survey.

Elapsed time for processing cases. The Office of the Registrar maintains monthly statistics on the Court’s caseload, backlog and average time lapses between key events, and produces a public annual statistical report, which can be found at http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca.

Average time lapses over time for processing cases in 2007 and in the preceding ten years are shown in the table below. Even with a significant increase in the number of cases filed (from 506 in 2006 to 602 in 2007), the average time between filing an application for leave and the decision increased only slightly in 2007 to 3.5 months, below the average for the past ten years of 4.3 months. The average time between the date leave is granted and the hearing increased more significantly, although this too is still below the average for the past ten years, which was 10.5 months. The average time between the hearing and the release of the judgment increased in 2007, representing the third consecutive year this has increased. The increase in the average time lapse between hearing and judgment can be attributed to different factors including the fact that very few judgments were delivered from the bench in 2007. The increase may also reflect the complexity of the cases heard by the Court. The Court works very hard to render judgments in a timely way, and it is expected that the average time lapse in 2008 will be below the six month standard.

 


Average Time Lapses 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
(in months)
           
Between filing of application for leave and decision on application for leave 3.5 3.9 5.2 5.4 4.3 5.7
Between date leave granted (or date notice of appeal as of right filed) and hearing 10.9 12 11.1 12.5 11.4 12.2
Between hearing and judgment 2.8 2.8 5.4 5.8 5.6 5.6


Average Time Lapses
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
(in months)
         
Between filing of application for leave and decision on application for leave 3.9 3.7 3.7 3.4 3.5
Between date leave granted (or date notice of appeal as of right filed) and hearing 10.5 9.4 9.1 7.7 9
Between hearing and judgment 5.1 4 5.2 5.9 6.6

Quality and availability of technology. Information technology continued to be a major focus during 2007-2008. Existing technology groupings include standard office/desktop tools, courtroom technology (e.g., Audio Visual equipment), in-house applications such as the Case Management System, off-the-shelf commercial applications (e.g., Human Resource Information System (HRIS), Free Balance, Library Management System), security, web applications and support hardware and infrastructure. Major modernization projects are underway. During this period, the courtroom’s audio-visual systems were completely revamped and information technology was introduced in thecourtroom. Still in progress are the introduction of an enterprise-wide EDRMS, a means to support electronic filing, and an upgrade to the Court’s word processing software, in addition to regular ongoing updates and upgrades to IT infrastructure and desk top applications. In 2007-08, the Office of the Registrar introduced new IT Management approaches such as virtualization, moving to a “.Net” development standard, as well as implementing several enhancements to its IT security framework. The Microsoft Office Share Point Server 2007 Framework was introduced, and a successful IT Internal Audit was completed. All of these are in line with and directly contribute to the Office of the Registrar’s modernization efforts.

Quality of library services. In addition to serving the Supreme Court, the Library provides services to lawyers appearing before the Court, to the Federal Courts (Federal Court of Appeal, Federal Court, Tax Court of Canada), to members of the Bar and, by special permission, to others in the legal field. Through a variety of resource sharing agreements with Law Society and Courthouse Libraries and through inter-library loan networks, the Canadian public is able to benefit from the historical and current legal collections in common and civil law. In 2007-08 the Library reviewed its Library Use Policy and extended access to students enrolled in law faculties. Additional promotion in the Carleton County and Gatineau bar associations has increased in-person visits to the library significantly. An Open House was held in the Library in November and an historical exhibit on the evolution of the Court was hosted in cooperation with Library and Archives Canada.

B. Independence of the Court


Activity
Expected result
Performance indicator
Process hearings and decisions Ensure the independence of the Court
  • Perception of institutional independence
  • Identification of potential conflict of interest

At the apex of the judiciary, the Court decides cases of public importance that affect Canadian citizens and governments. In this context, the Office of the Registrar must ensure that the institutional independence of the Court is clearly safeguarded within the framework of sound public administration.

Perception of institutional independence. Appropriate arms-length relationships must be maintained with Parliament, the Department of Justice and the Central Agencies. The Registrar regularly confers with the Judges to assess their level of comfort that the Supreme Court is maintaining its institutional independence. The Office of the Registrar also receives informal feedback from ongoing relationships with international, federal and provincial jurisdictions, and takes action where appropriate. The need for institutional independence is generally understood and respected.

The Court indirectly supports its institutional independence by its active participation in the international community of judges and jurists, and by acting as a focal point for foreign visitors interested in the administration of justice in Canada. The Court's jurisprudence is regularly considered by courts in other countries. The Court receives and organizes visits for many delegations from around the world, for sharing of information on modern court management processes (47 official visits in 2007). The Office of the Registrar staff and the Judges have also been participating actively in international associations by providing a selection of decisions from the Court's database for distribution to their members and attending their meetings to discuss issues of common interest.

Identification of potential conflict of interest. The Office of the Registrar has put in place controls to identify and track potential conflicts of interest on the part of the Judges, the Registrar and the Deputy Registrar. The Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada have been amended to require litigants to advise the Court of any perceived potential conflict of interest when filing documents. An automated tracking system ensures that Judges are not placed in a situation of perceived conflict of interest.

C. Access to Court services


Activity
Expected result
Performance indicator
Process hearings and decisions Access to Court services
  • Time to respond to requests for information
  • Effectiveness of rules
  • Quality of protocol services
  • Quality of electronic access to Court services and information
  • System availability
  • Provision of media access
  • Physical security

The Office of the Registrar must ensure that the Court is accessible and that it provides services and information to litigants and counsel in a timely manner. The survey on Registry Branch services (summarized in Section A, above) provided useful feedback on how clients view the accessibility of Court information.

Time to respond to requests for information. In large part requests for information were answered within established service standards. Feedback from stakeholders has been positive. There were few complaints. Improvements have also been made to the web site to facilitate access to information on a self-serve basis. Enhancements made during 2007-2008 include media web portals, an educational web portal and video, information management business rules for Judges' papers and a reworked University of Montreal web site for Court decisions (LexUM). In 2007-08, the Library, working in cooperation with LexUM, and through the generosity of the Law Foundation of Ontario, enhanced the website for the Court’s decisions by commencing the digitization of the Supreme Court Reports from 1967 to 1985. In addition, through the generosity of the Law Foundation of Ontario and the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII), the Library added all decisions originating in Ontario from 1876 to the website.

General enquiries and requests for information by the public are increasing, resulting from a better-informed and demanding public and from the captivating issues debated in Court cases. In 2007, the Court Records staff responded to 2,637requests from internal and external clients for information on Court related files and documents, and 7,413 files or parts thereof were retrieved for these clients. Through improved statistical reports, Court Records is now able to monitor service standards. Over 90% of external requests were dealt with within the established service standard of 48 hours. Phone calls at the Registry were also answered within established service levels by the receptionist. Registry staff answered 413 e-mails and sent a total of 526 letters, including 386 letters to self-represented litigants. Only 5 to 6 % of the calls over a sample eight week period went to Registry voice mail. All calls, however, were returned within one business day.

The Court's web site provides the media and the public with current and complete information regarding the progress of all cases before the Court, parties and counsel involved, hearing timetables and all decisions on motions, applications for leave to appeal, and appeals. The Court issues regular news releases to announce major events in a case and schedules of hearings. As well the Court issues a Bulletin of Proceedings weekly during the Court year, which is mailed to subscribers and made available in electronic form through links on the web site. The Office of the Registrar also publishes the official Supreme Court Reports.

As is found to be the trend in most courts across the country, there are an increasing number of self represented litigants coming to the Court as shown on the table below. These litigants need more assistance than those who have counsel, putting extra demands on staff. The Office of the Registrar provides all self represented litigants who contact the Court with an information and instruction guide. The new 2007 guide includes samples of fill-in-the-blank application for leave, response and reply books that can be completed and filed with the Court. The self represented litigants who have access to the internet are referred to the Supreme Court of Canada website where they can access an information portal that allows them to download the PDF versions of sample books. The feedback has been positive and so far, 15 % of self represented litigants have used the samples in 2007 since the launch of the portal and new guide in June 2007. In 2007, 386 letters were sent to self represented litigants, 137 of them included information kits to assist them in putting together their application for leave to appeal.


Percentage of leave applications filed by self represented litigants



Years
Leave applications
filed by all
litigants
Leave applications
filed by self represented litigants
% filed
by self
represented litigants
1999
585
111
19%
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%

Effectiveness of rules. Effectiveness of rules. Periodic revisions are made to the Rules of Practice of the Supreme Court of Canada. These are drafted after consultations with outside lawyers on the Court Ottawa Agents Practice and Procedures Committee (COAPP) and the Canadian Bar Association/Supreme Court of Canada (CBA/SCC) Liaison Committee. Overall, Court rules are effective and up to date. Draft amendments to the Rules will be circulated next year. These amendments will take into account changes in process as a result of electronic appeal hearings and changes suggested following the Registry survey.

Quality of protocol services. Protocol services include organizing special events of the Court (including receptions, dinners, conferences, lectures, and unveilings), receiving dignitaries and visitors officially invited by the Court (national and international), and providing assistance to Judges when travelling internationally on behalf of the Court. Overall, the feedback regarding the protocol services has been positive. Events are successful, and no major concerns have been identified. Service improvements are made on an ongoing basis.

Quality of electronic access to Court services and information. The Supreme Court website continued to be the object of enhancements that aimed at improving the timely availability of information about cases and hearings. Bilingual summaries are prepared for each leave application and posted on the Court’s website, which is updated on a daily basis, with current case information. A web portal for self represented litigants was implemented in June 2007. Hard copy instruction packages were also updated. The Office of the Registrar continues to be fully committed to its phased approach to e-filing. With the successful implementation of the courtroom upgrades, and the pilot project for electronic hearings and counsel filing appeal documents on CD-ROM for all fall 2008 cases, the development of a web portal for electronic filing will be the next step.

Systems Availability. A key concern has been the dependability of audio-visual systems in the courtroom. With the completion of the upgrade to the courtroom systems, together with the acquisition of an emergency back-up system, this concern has been alleviated. Incidents have been virtually non-existent since October 2007, when the new systems were implemented.

Provision of media access. The lock up process for important judgment releases is now well-entrenched and suggestions for improvements in media relations are received via the Court’s media committee. The upgrade to the courtroom audio visual systems has significantly enhanced the quality of broadcast hearings.

Physical security. Activities undertaken to maintain and improve security levels included:

  • Security Framework. Security policies and procedures for the Office of the Registrar were developed or enhanced as appropriate. Further updates to the Office of the Registrar’s Business Continuity Plan were undertaken.
  • Security awareness. A security awareness program delivery agenda was formulated. Furthermore, the Security Guide for the Judges of the Supreme Court of Canada was updated and distributed in conjunction with one-on-one security briefings conducted with each judge. In addition, security tips and emergency procedures were developed and communicated to all employees and judges. Internal resources have also been allocated for the elaboration and delivery of a complete and ongoing security awareness program.

D. Access to information


Activity
Expected result
Performance indicator
Process hearings and decisions Access to information
  • Access to case information
  • Quality of storage, retention and preservation of Court information
  • Library collection

The Office of the Registrar undertook a number of initiatives to develop and implement a strategy for managing and accessing information, including the Intranet/Internet, systems for communicating information, repositories for the storage and handling of archival information, and preservation of electronic information (e.g., VHS, DVD, microfiche). Implementation also includes the information infrastructure (e.g., governance, documentation, and training). These improvements will reduce duplication of information, improve access to information, ensure better presentation of information and support knowledge sharing and transfer.

Access to case information. The Office of the Registrar must ensure ease of public access to information such as Court decisions, as well as ease of access by Judges and employees to historical case information and other legal documents. Case information is available in electronic format, although there are still limits to accessing electronic versions of documents. Enhancements to the Court's Case Management System are ongoing as users rely heavily on this application. The Office of the Registrar currently provides access to selected information from the Case Management System database through the website, and is exploring the possibility of expanding this access to additional information and documents, including the electronic versions of factums. Online reports are being created to satisfy the growing demand from counsel for information. Although we expected that the draft policy for access to court records, including access to factums on the Court's website would be implemented during 2007-2008, implementation has been delayed as a result of ongoing consultation with stakeholders.

Quality of storage, retention and preservation of Court information. The Office of the Registrar has a well established records management function for Supreme Court of Canada case files. An audit of the information management function was undertaken in 2004-2005, addressing both case and administrative records. The audit made a number of recommendations to be implemented over a four year period intended to make improvements in governance structures, control mechanisms, policies and practices, risk management and information for decision-making. Implementation of most of the recommendations has been completed, including extensive preparations for implementation of an Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) in 2007-08. The EDRMS project has moved to implementation, and selected users can now use the system.

Library holdings. With approximately 350,000 volumes, the Library of the Supreme Court provides the research base for the Court. The Library's extensive collection comprises statutes, law reports, periodicals and treatises from major common and civil law jurisdictions, including Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France and Belgium. Its print and microform holdings are supplemented by access to a vast range of electronic legal resources and databases. It is also enriched by a valuable collection of rare books printed in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries pertaining to the common law of England and the civil law of France.

In 2007-08 the Library began a comprehensive review of its Collection Development Policy, which is intended to identify subject areas within the collection that may be accessed electronically without the need to preserve a print collection in perpetuity. At present, over 93% of the cited references in the Court’s decisions can be located in the Library’s print collection. With the addition of electronic resources, the Collection is able to meet the needs of the Court 98% of the time.

E. Reliable payment processes


Activity
Expected result
Performance indicator
Process hearings and decisions Reliable payment processes for payments pursuant to the Judges Act
  • Accuracy and timeliness of payments

Accuracy and timeliness of payments. The Judges Act is an Act respecting all federally appointed judges, and thereby applies to the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada. With respect to the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court the Judges Act specifies the salaries of the Supreme Court judges, and prescribes other payments to be made to judges, namely allowances, removal, meeting, conference and seminars and annuities. The Office of the Registrar processes these payments as required in the Judges Act. Direct deposits have been implemented for these payments to improve their timeliness. Accuracy of these payments is monitored on a regular basis.

F. Other indicators

Productive workforce. The key indicators are a motivated, committed and skilled workforce.

  • Motivated, committed workforce. The most recent Public Service Employee Survey indicated a continued high level of commitment to the organization. Responses were positive across all areas of the survey. Of particular note are responses indicating that 99% of employees responding are strongly committed to making their organization successful and agree that their organization is a good place to work, and that 97% of respondents are proud of their work units. However, while the overall responses are positive, the Office of the Registrar recognized areas for improvement, and identified three priorities for action: learning and career development, human resource training for employees and managers; and communications between employees and supervisors and from senior management. In order to address these challenges, the Office of the Registrar, along with other member organizations of the HR Co-op under a Collaborative Learning Management Framework project, has trained managers on how to manage learning and define learning needs of their respective branches/sectors. This has enabled employees to link their learning plan activities to the strageic business and operational needs of the organization. Although business and operational needs are important, the Office of the Registrar also recognizes the importance of retaining our staff; to do so, managers are encouraged to support the personal development needs of their employees through their personal learning plan. In building employee learning plans, the communication challenges highlighted above are also addressed.
  • Skilled workforce. As is the case with many small agencies, the Office of the Registrar has difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff. Historically, recruitment has been difficult for specialty positions, namely among librarians and jurilinguists. Retention is an issue in support categories, as the Office of the Registrar is not able to offer many opportunities for career advancement, and employees leave to obtain promotional opportunities. The Court Modernization program adds to this difficulty with the creation of new responsibilities and new positions. These challenges have been identified and reflected in a staffing plan, and have been further highlighted in the Office of the Registrar's human resource plan. In terms of staffing, plans put in place during the previous fiscal year for the recruitment of new jurilinguists to fill the gaps left by anticipated retirements have been successfully implemented. Additionally, collective staffing for library managers through a shared process between the Department of Justice and the Supreme Court was used successfully in 2007-08. A more formal agreement to undertake collective staffing will be explored through a Memorandum of Understanding with other federal gcvernment law libraries in 2008-09. In terms of development of skills, training on the management of learning has been provided to our management team and learning plans were developed for all employees.
  • Sound management. The key indicator is conformity to the Management Accountability Framework (MAF). The Office of the Registrar has continued to improve its management practices, and carries out a yearly assessment of its practices against the government-wide Management Accountability Framework. During 2007-08, the Office of the Registrar underwent a formal MAF assessment. The overall observations were generally positive, with the Office of the Registrar receiving two strong ratings, 11 acceptable ratings, four opportunities for improvement ratings and two attention required ratings. The areas of management noted as strong were the corporate performance framework and the extra-organizational contribution. Areas for improvement included reporting to Parliament, risk management, information management, information technology management, and the productive, principled, sustainable and adaptable workforce. The Treasury Board Portfolio identified the latter area as the management improvement priority for the coming year.