ARCHIVED - RCMP External Review Committee

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CHAIR'S MESSAGE

The ERC is a very small independent agency of the government, made up of myself, who is the the sole member and Chair as well as the Chief Executive Officer, one Executive Director/Senior Counsel, and four permanent staff members.  In recent years, the ERC has benefited from the addition of temporary positions.  The ERC has a very specific mandate.  Its role is to conduct impartial and independent reviews of RCMP labour relations cases.  In doing so, and with the help of a strong outreach program, it aims to positively influence the manner in which labour relations issues are addressed within the RCMP.

In addition to reporting its findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP, the ERC also engages in important outreach and information dissemination to ensure that its work is reliably known and understood by RCMP members.

Proudly the ERC continues to meet all of its corporate reporting responsibilities.  This is significant because increased accountability measures across the public service generally have presented an increased amount of work in the areas of staffing, resource management, management accountability and human resources planning. 

In support of the ERC's commitment to improving the timeliness of its findings and recommendations, it has proposed the combination of a long term funding increase and streamlined internal processes.  The latter have resulted in permanent improvements - to a point.  Also, improvements resulting from a short term funding increase are short-lived.

The evidence found through the exercise of the ERC's performance review process directly links its improved timeliness and production to the increase in its resources.  I am pleased that the ERC has been able to make effective use of these resources.

 

Catherine Ebbs
Chair

 

SECTION I:  DEPARTMENTAL OVERVIEW

Raison d'être

The RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) is an independent federal tribunal that helps to ensure fair and equitable labour relations within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).  The ERC does this by conducting thorough impartial reviews of certain types of grievances, as well as disciplinary appeals, and discharge and demotion appeals.

The ERC's reviews contribute to transparency, fairness, and impartiality in RCMP labour relations processes for regular and civilian members.  The ERC's jurisdiction is restricted to regular members and civilian members only.  Public servants employed by the RCMP have a separate labour relations process.

As one of two oversight/review bodies over the RCMP (the other being the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC)), the ERC plays an important role in maintaining public confidence in the RCMP and ensures that it respects the law and human rights.

For more information on the ERC, visit the website at: www.erc-cee.gc.ca.

Responsibilities

The ERC was established in 1988 under Part II of the RCMP Act with a distinct mandate.  Its role is to conduct impartial and independent reviews of RCMP labour relations cases. These cases include grievance reviews in areas such as harassment, travel entitlements and relocation as well as appeals involving disciplinary measures, discharge and demotion.

Once a review is completed, the ERC provides its findings and recommendations on the case to the Commissioner of the RCMP.  The ERC provides findings and recommendations only.  The Commissioner of the RCMP takes the final decision and should the decision not follow the ERC's recommendations, the law requires that the Commissioner give reasons for not doing so.

In addition, the ERC engages in outreach activities designed to educate the RCMP and the public about its activities. The ERC issues a quarterly Communiqué and maintains a website (www.erc-cee.gc.ca) that includes summaries of all cases that the ERC has reviewed as well as articles of interest.

Strategic Outcome and
Program Activity Architecture

 

Performance Summary

2008-09 Financial Resources ($ thousands)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
1,485	1,559	1,393

2008-09 Human Resources (FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
10 *	9 **	1

* 1 FTE is for 9/12th of the year.
** External service provider was used in place of 1 planned FI FTE in this fiscal year.

($ thousands)

Strategic Outcome: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police External Review Committee aims to positively influence the manner in which labour relations issues are addressed within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Program Activity	2007-08 Actual Spending	2008-09				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
Independent and impartial case review	1,016	1,189	1,189	1,235	1,191	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; - a fair and secure marketplace. 2.  Social Affairs - healthy Canadians; - safe and secure communities; - a diverse society that promotes linguistic duality and social inclusion; - a vibrant Canadian culture and heritage. 3.  International Affairs - a safe and secure world through international cooperation. 4.  Government Affairs
Outreach and information dissemination	198	296	296	317	202
Total	1,214	1,485	1,485	1,552	1,393

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome(s)

Operational Priorities	Type	Status	Links to Strategic Outcome(s)
Continue to deliver on statutory mandate	ongoing	Successfully met - Despite staffing challenges, reviews continued unabated	Strategic Outcome 1 and Program Activity 1
Raising awareness through outreach	ongoing	Successfully met - outreach activities were combined with other activities in order to maintain visibility within community - website traffic increased due in part to enhancements concurrent with Common Look and Feel enhancements	Strategic Outcome One, and Program Activity 2

Management Priorities	Type	Status	Links to Strategic Outcome(s)
Enhancement of the corporate management framework and infrastructure	ongoing	Not met - unable to classify position for dedicated professional	Strategic Outcome1 and Program Activity 1 and 2
Continue to invest in our people	ongoing	Successfully met - continuing professional development delivered - acting opportunities provided	Strategic Outcome 1 and Program Activity 1 and 2

Expenditure Profile

The ERC was successful in achieving its targets partly because of temporarily increased authorities.  The charts below reflect the lag in spending due to challenges in staffing positions.

Fiscal Year	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
2006-07	895	985	909
2007-08	1,192	1,606	1,214
2008-09	1,485	1,559	1,393

Voted and Statutory Items

($ thousands)

Vote # or Statutory Item (S)	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	2006-07 Actual Spending	2007-08 Actual Spending	2008-09 Main Estimates	2008-09 Actual Spending
65	Program expenditures	815	1,062	1,333	1,234
(S)	Contributions to employee benefits plans	94	152	152	159
Total		909	1,214	1,485	1,393

As indicated above, actual spending increased in 2008-2009 further to temporarily increased authorities in order to meet statutory obligations.

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