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SECTION II: ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES BY STRATEGIC OUTCOME

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada supports the Attorney General of Canada in the discharge of his criminal law mandate – in particular its work supports the priorities of prosecuting criminal offences under federal law, and contributing to strengthening the criminal justice system. In total, over 250 federal statutes contain offences that fall under the PPSC’s jurisdiction to prosecute.  However, the PPSC regularly provides prosecution services and legal advice under only approximately 60 of those statutes.

In all provinces except Quebec and New Brunswick, the PPSC has responsibility for the prosecution of all drug offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, regardless of whether a federal, provincial, or municipal police agency lays the charges. In Quebec and New Brunswick, the PPSC is responsible for drug charges laid by the RCMP only.

In addition, in all provinces, the PPSC prosecutes violations of federal statutes such as the Fisheries Act, the Income Tax Act, the Excise Act, the Customs Act, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Elections Act, the Competition Act and the Canada Shipping Act.

Pursuant to agreements with the provinces, the PPSC also prosecutes Criminal Code offences where drug charges are involved and are the major focus of the case. In the three Territories, the PPSC is responsible for prosecuting all Criminal Code offences.

Hence, the PPSC performs a number of key national roles in fulfilling the criminal litigation responsibilities of the Attorney General of Canada, including:

• providing legal advice to law enforcement agencies and investigative bodies on the criminal law implications of investigations and prosecutions;

• providing litigation support during the investigative stage, including wiretap applications and orders to produce evidence;

• conducting charge reviews and exercising the Attorney General's discretion to prosecute;

• conducting legal risk assessment and management, and developing prosecution plans to manage mega cases;

• training prosecutors and investigators;

• communicating with the media; and

• playing a role as a centre of expertise for criminal law, national security and federal prosecution matters, and providing policy advice in the development of amendments to federal statutes relevant to the criminal justice system.

The following pages describe the PPSC’s three Program Activities and the results achieved during 2009-10.

 

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

2009-10 Financial Resources ($ millions)			2009-10 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending	Planned	Actual	Difference
118.4	127.9	108.1	684	564	120

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Summary
Litigation files that are prosecuted are decided on merit5	% of all litigation files that are decided on merit (i.e., by most serious outcome)	Not applicable	Decisions	# of files	% of total files
			Guilty plea	17,814	56.19%
			Guilty plea (other/lesser offence)	1,108	3.49%
			Conviction	2,441	7.70%
			Conviction (other/lesser offence)	89	0.28%
			Withdrawal	5,631	17.76%
			Stay of proceedings (Crown)	3,679	11.60%
			Discharge	295	0.93%
			Acquittal	647	2.04%
			Total:	31,704	100%
Disposition of cases that are not decided on merit6	% of litigation files not decided on merit	Not applicable	Stay of proceedings (Court)	409	94.46%
			Quashed	24	5.54%
			Total:	433	100%

Benefits for Canadians

This program activity contributes to ensuring a safe and secure Canada through the prosecution of a broad range of criminal activities. It deals with drug-related offences, complex organized crime cases, terrorism offences as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Performance Analysis

Under this program activity, the PPSC provides prosecution-related advice⁷ and litigation support during police investigations, 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 prosecutes drug charges laid by the RCMP.  Many 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 aspect forms the major part of the case. In the three territories, the PPSC prosecutes all Criminal Code offences. Finally, the PPSC also provides prosecution-related advice and litigation support during police investigations and prosecutes charges relating to war crimes and crimes against humanity and charges pursuant to Part II.1 of the Criminal Code (Terrorism) to combat terrorism.

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 a centralized support unit at PPSC headquarters, namely the Agent Affairs Unit, and Agent Supervision Units located in each regional office, which are responsible for the day-to-day management of agents.

Highlights of performance during 2009-10 are as follows:

Drug prosecutions – The PPSC handled 55,996 prosecution files related to offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. This number included cases prosecuted by staff counsel and by private-sector legal agents, and represented approximately 73 per cent of the files that the PPSC prosecuted. Drug prosecutions can range from a simple case of possession of a few grams of marihuana to a complicated scheme to import kilograms of cocaine or to export methamphetamine made in a clandestine laboratory in a suburban neighbourhood. Some cases were relatively straightforward, while others raised complex legal issues and required weeks and sometimes months of preparation and court proceedings.

Organized crime – In relation to drug investigations, the RCMP and other Canadian police forces are increasingly focusing resources on organized crime. The investigations are usually complex, requiring management of the disclosure of evidence throughout the investigative process. The PPSC is often called upon to work closely with the police during the investigative stage. The emphasis on organized crime investigations has lead to an increase in the complexity of prosecutions, including the phenomenon of mega cases, prosecutions of extraordinary scope and complexity that can require the full-time assignment of several prosecutors for lengthy periods. In 2009-10, the PPSC prosecuted 489 cases related to organized criminal activity. While this represented approximately only 2.36% of the number of files prosecuted during the year, the time spent on them amounted to almost 12% of total time recorded by PPSC counsel. 

Proceeds of crime and offence-related property – As revenue generating crimes, drug offences continued to represent most of the offences that produced proceeds of crime and property used to commit crime (“offence-related property”). In 2009-10, the PPSC handled 2,316 cases involving either proceeds of crime or offence-related property. The proceeds or property at issue ranged from money used to buy drugs from an undercover officer to real estate bought with the proceeds of crime or used to produce drugs. A total of $37.2 million worth of proceeds of crime and offence-related property was forfeited during the year.

Anti-terrorism – The Attorney General of Canada has concurrent jurisdiction with provincial attorneys general to prosecute terrorism offences. As of March 31, 2010, the PPSC had concluded trial proceedings for two prosecutions under the anti-terrorism provisions of the Criminal Code.  Two additional prosecutions that were ongoing in 2009-10 were Project Osage in Toronto and R. v. Thambithurai, a terrorist financing prosecution in British Columbia.

War crimes and crimes against humanity – The PPSC has the responsibility of prosecuting offences under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. The PPSC’s first prosecution under the Act resulted in the conviction of Désiré Munyaneza for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Mr. Munyaneza received a life sentence on October 29, 2009. An appeal is pending. On November 6, 2009, Jacques Mungwarere was arrested and charged with the crime of genocide, resulting in a second prosecution under the Act.

Prosecutions in Canada’s North – In the three Territories, the PPSC prosecutes all Criminal Code offences as well as offences under other federal legislation. In 2009-10, the PPSC prosecuted 9,909 files in the territories, of which 8,990 involved Criminal Code offences. Northern prosecutions also involved 508 drug offences, 474 regulatory offences and 417 territorial offences. As in the past, a large number of charges involved family violence and sexual assault. During 2009-10, the Northern regional offices handled a total of 25 homicide files.

Agent Affairs – Of the total PPSC caseload of 76,292 files in 2009-10, some 39,700 files (52%) were handled by private sector legal agents. In 2008-09, the PPSC introduced fixed-term agreements for agents, replacing indeterminate appointments. Under the new regime, any law firm or lawyer interested in becoming an agent can apply for a five-year term when an opening occurs. The PPSC’s transition to fixed-term agreements is being implemented over five years. Some 40 fixed-term agreements were entered into with agents during 2009-10. As of March 31, 2010, the PPSC retained the services of 590 agents from 226 law firms.

Lessons Learned

For the prosecution of complex cases, the PPSC follows a mega case policy, included in the Federal Prosecution Service Deskbook, which allows the organization to identify and implement the lessons learned in the management of these cases. These include the early involvement of prosecutors, the preparation of a prosecution plan at an early stage, and the review of each mega case prosecution plan by the PPSC’s Major Case Advisory Committee (formerly known as the National Prosecution Advisory Committee).

Crown Witness Coordinators (CWC) are employed by the PPSC in its Northern offices. The coordinators help explain to victims and witnesses how the court process works and support them during their involvement with the criminal justice system. CWCs assist the truth seeking function of the courts by encouraging them to come forward with their evidence in what are often extremely stressful circumstances. In 2009-10, the PPSC partnered with the Policy Centre for Victim Issues of the DOJ to hire a Northern Victim Services Coordinator (NVSC) to support and enhance Crown Witness Coordination Services in the three Northern territories. The NVSC is based in Ottawa at PPSC Headquarters and provides liaison, coordination, program development and advisory services to the regional offices in the North.

The PPSC is part of a community of prosecution services in Canada. It is an active participant in the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Heads of Prosecution Committee, and with the assistance of provincial prosecution officials, shares information, precedents, best practices and the outcome of discussions among prosecutors and police, relating to organized crime prosecutions. Such cooperation is essential to ensuring that all prosecutions are undertaken to the highest standard.

In the Agent Affairs Program, a comprehensive review of the Prosecution Code Set (PSC) used by agents to record their time in their accounts was carried out in consultation with counsel both internally and with the agent community. As a result, the PSC was simplified, thereby reducing the administrative burden and increasing transparency.

 

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

2009-10 Financial Resources ($ millions)			2009-10 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending	Planned	Actual	Difference
16.2	19.8	17.8	160	148	12

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Summary
Litigation files that are prosecuted are decided on merit	% of all litigation files that are decided on merit (i.e., by most serious outcome)	Not applicable	Decisions	# of files	% of total files
			Guilty plea	1,324	58.48%
			Guilty plea (other/lesser offence)	7	0.31%
			Conviction	377	16.65%
			Conviction (other/lesser offence)	1	0.04%
			Withdrawal	155	6.85%
			Stay of proceedings (Crown)	140	6.18%
			Discharge	223	9.85%
			Acquittal	37	1.63%
			Total:	2,264	100%
Disposition of cases that are not decided on merit	% of litigation files not decided on merit	Not applicable	Stay of proceedings (Court)	18	85.71%
			Quashed	3	14.29%
			Total:	21	100%

Benefits for 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.

Performance Analysis

Under this program activity, the PPSC provides prosecution-related advice and litigation support to federal investigative agencies, and prosecutes all non-drug cases under approximately 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, the Fisheries Act and the Canada Elections Act, as well as offences under the Customs Act, the Excise Act and the Excise Tax Act.

Specialized teams are dedicated to prosecutions where a specialized knowledge of legislation is required.  By way of example, several PPSC offices have teams of prosecutors dedicated to economic crimes prosecutions, and 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.

PPSC legal advisors also provide advice on and prosecute complex capital market fraud cases as part of the RCMP’s Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (IMETs) that investigate suspected capital market fraud offences.  Where provincial Attorneys General decline to prosecute, the PPSC may prosecute cases referred by the IMETs.

As well, a group of PPSC prosecutors provides services in highly specialized areas under statutes that are the responsibility of the Commissioner of Competition.

The Supreme Court of Canada Coordinator is responsible for the coordination of the PPSC’s litigation in the Supreme Court. This involves reviewing all documents to be filed by PPSC prosecutors as well as coordinating their internal review; providing logistical support for the preparation, service and filing of the documents; and acting as the PPSC’s Ottawa agent.

The PPSC is also responsible for recovering outstanding fines related to various federal offences.

Highlights of performance during 2009-10 are as follows:

Regulatory prosecutions – Regulatory prosecutions comprise the second-largest category of offences prosecuted by the PPSC, after drug prosecutions. In 2009-10, the PPSC handled 9,620 files involving regulatory offences. Outcomes in these cases may generate large fines and penalties, and can result in remedial and preventative measures that enhance public and environmental health, safety and security. For example, the prosecution of the Canadian National Railway (CNR) for spills caused by derailments into the Cheakamus River in British Columbia and Lake Wabamun in Alberta resulted in court-ordered fines and penalties of $1.4 million against the CNR in 2009-10. The penalties were ordered to be used to promote the conservation and protection of fish, fish habitat and migratory waterfowl. In addition, the Provincial Court of Alberta ordered the CNR to contribute information to Environment Canada’s Environmental Emergencies Management System related to bodies of water near CNR rail tracks in both provinces. The information for this environmental sensitivity mapping system aims to help prevent, contain, mitigate and clean up spills in the environment.

Revenue offences – As part of its work to fight economic crime, the PPSC prosecutes offences under all statutes administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The most common offences prosecuted are Income Tax Act offences such as tax evasion. The PPSC provides advice at the investigative stage, and prosecutions are conducted by specialized prosecutors throughout Canada. In 2009-10, 212 prosecutions were concluded in this area. A total of $11.6 million in fines was imposed by the courts.

Integrated Market Enforcement Teams – PPSC advisors assigned to Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (IMETs) work with RCMP members and other investigators, including investigative and forensic accountants, and are located in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montréal.  They provide legal advice to investigators during investigations. In 2009-10, these advisors were consulted on 26 investigations.

In 2009-10, PPSC prosecutors participated in two significant IMET-related prosecutions. One PPSC prosecutor was a member of the team prosecuting Vincent Lacroix and his associates in relation to a major financial scandal at the Norbourg Financial Group based in Montreal. The first trial began in the fall of 2009.  Mr. Lacroix entered a guilty plea and received a 13-year sentence. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on Mr. Lacroix’s co‑accused; a retrial is scheduled for the fall of 2010.

PPSC prosecutors also have carriage of the trial of six corporate officers and executives of Royal Group Technologies. The Superior Court of Ontario entertained pre-trial motions in the winter of 2010. The trial began on April 20, 2010 before the Ontario Court of Justice.

In addition, the PPSC worked closely with the Securities Fraud and Economic Crime Prosecutors Affiliation, an inter-jurisdictional network of prosecutors that form a sub-committee of the FPT Heads of Prosecution Committee,  This affiliation is co-chaired by the PPSC, and is comprised of representatives from the four provincial jurisdictions in which IMET units are located. It is mandated to develop best practices in this area of prosecutions.

Competition Law – The PPSC handles prosecutions under the Competition Act as well as the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act, and the Precious Metals Marking Act. These statutes are administered and enforced by the Commissioner of Competition, who oversees the Competition Bureau. The PPSC also provides legal advice at the investigative stage on Competition Bureau files that may lead to prosecutions. In 2009‑10, the on-site team of prosecutors at the Bureau advised on 66 investigations and assisted with 20 prosecutions, appeals and related proceedings, primarily related to alleged violations of the Competition Act, including price- and market-fixing conspiracies, bid‑rigging, deceptive telemarketing and aggravated situations of false or misleading advertising.

Since 2008, PPSC prosecutors in the Québec Regional Office have prosecuted 13 individuals and 11 companies accused of fixing the price of gas at pumps in Victoriaville, Thetford Mines, Magog and Sherbrooke, Quebec. As of March 2010, ten individuals and six companies had pleaded guilty in the case, with fines totalling over $2.7 million. Of the ten individuals who pleaded guilty, six have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 4 to 12 months.

Fine Recovery – The National Fine Recovery Program recovers outstanding court-ordered fines under federal statutes through the efforts of eight regional fine recovery units. The Program recovered over $6 million in fines in 2009-10, an increase of 20% over the previous year. Over 1,700 files were closed. Some 265 individuals were incarcerated for refusing to pay their fines despite their ability to pay. Since the national program was first introduced in 2002, more than $51 million in fines has been recovered as of March 31, 2010.

Lessons Learned

In September 2009, the PPSC completed its response to an assignment issued by the Attorney General to the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2007 to develop best practices for prosecuting fraud involving governments, based on an examination of the strategies used in other jurisdictions within Canada and abroad. The proposed best practices deal with detection, intervention and education in the area of frauds against governments, prosecutorial involvement in investigations and in the conduct of prosecutions, and performance measures.  They are available on the PPSC’s website at http://www.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca/eng/pub/pbp-mep/index.html.

Since 2008, the PPSC and CRA, acknowledging the importance of ongoing communication and liaison, renewed a memorandum of understanding regarding investigations and prosecutions in fiscal matters. Representatives of the two organizations met several times during 2009-10 to discuss issues of mutual interest, including joint planning, training and specific issues arising from revenue investigations and prosecutions. In April 2009, the CRA and the PPSC held their annual conference of investigators and prosecutors to further enhance cooperation between the two organizations.

In 2009-10, the PPSC continued its ongoing commitment to implement the recommendations of the Le Pan report⁸ on improving the IMET program.  For example, PPSC advisors participated in a timeliness and benchmarking study to develop timelines for investigations and prosecutions. The PPSC was also involved in an evaluation of the IMET program led by Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, which was completed in March 2010.

2.3 Program Activity #3: Internal Services

2009-10 Financial Resources ($ millions)			2009-10 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending	Planned	Actual	Difference
28.2	33.7	21.1	154	111	43

Performance Analysis

Internal Services comprise groups of related activities that are administered to support the needs of the above two program activities and other corporate obligations. For the first time, the PPSC participated in the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Management Accountability Framework assessment process in 2009-10 (MAF Round VII). The assessment pointed to several areas of management that presented some opportunities for improvement.  The required improvements generally reflected the fact that the PPSC, as a new organization, is still building capacity in management processes and structures.

Highlights of performance during 2009-10 are as follows:

Finance and Acquisition – The PPSC took over responsibility for contracting, which had previously been handled by the DOJ. It also updated delegation instruments and related records; and ensured closer monitoring of compliance with financial policies.

Human Resources Management – The Human Resources Directorate (HRD) introduced a five-year People Management Strategy to improve human resources practices at the PPSC. The strategy supports the federal government’s public service renewal agenda, with a focus on planning, recruitment and employee engagement. HRD continues to review work profiles and assess the PPSC’s workforce composition and task evaluation. HRD also took over responsibility for certain transactional services that had previously been provided by the DOJ, including organizational design and classification, official languages and diversity. The Delegation of Authorities Instrument – a document that defines and explains delegated authorities for finance and human resources to managers, supervisors and functional heads – was fully implemented and affected employees were advised of their accountabilities.

Internal Audit – In 2009–10, the PPSC appointed a Chief Audit Executive, and created a Departmental Audit Committee with three members appointed from outside the federal Public Service.  As its first internal audit, the PPSC audited the Account Verification Framework in 2009–10. It will be finalized and published on the PPSC website in 2010‑11.

Information Management and Technology  – The PPSC refreshed its technology and systems in accordance with its technology renewal plan. Investments were also made in new video-conference systems to reduce travel costs. Work continued on the national Knowledge Management system.  Work also began on ensuring that the PPSC’s records management program complies with the new Treasury Board Secretariat directive on recordkeeping.

Administration Services – The Administration Services Division is responsible for the delivery of programs and services in the areas of security, accommodations, conflict management as well as occupational health and safety. Key activities undertaken during the year included the ongoing planning and implementation of several regional office fit-ups and relocations and the preliminary work for the establishment of a Headquarters facility in the National Capital Region. The Division also strengthened  in-house delivery of security services, including personnel and physical security. The position of Departmental Security Officer was created and staffed and the Security Services Section was established. A pandemic plan was prepared in support of business continuity objectives.

Access to Information and Privacy – In early 2010, the PPSC’s Access to Information and Privacy Office launched an examination of the PPSC's privacy practices. The aim of the project was to assess and enhance the PPSC's compliance with the Privacy Act and Treasury Board Secretariat policies, directives and guidelines relating to the treatment of personal information. One of the main goals of the project is the preparation of a Privacy Management Framework for the PPSC.

School for Prosecutors – In 2009, the PPSC’s School for Prosecutors once again provided valuable in-house instruction tailored to the highly specialized work of federal prosecutors. Two intensive one-week courses—one at the fundamental level, the other advanced—were offered to 85 participants. Topics ranged from trial advocacy to wiretaps, search and seizure, criminal gangs, and national security prosecutions. The School’s faculty members are experts in criminal law drawn mainly from the PPSC’s senior ranks, with guest speakers including members of the judiciary, professors of law, and senior provincial prosecutors.

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