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Chair's Message
I am pleased to present this report to demonstrate measurements of the RCMP External Review Committee's (ERC) performance using the federal government's modern reporting framework. Despite the long history of the Departmental Performance Report, it continues to be a publicly relevant report given the updated mechanisms within the Report that now permit departments and agencies to determine valid indicators of performance and to set targets to be achieved. Through the development of its Program Activity Architecture, the ERC has identified a framework in which program activities are directly linked to its Strategic Outcome. The excellence of each of its program activities is assessed using measurable indicators. In its Report on Plans and Priorities published before the beginning of the 2010-11 fiscal year subject to this report, the ERC set attainable targets to achieve during the subsequent year. This present Departmental Performance Report tracks the ERC's progress toward these targets.
To best understand this Report the reader must be aware of the remarkably small size of the ERC relative to the vast majority of organizations within the greater federal public service that publish the same Report. The ERC is staffed by five (5) permanent public servants in addition to my position to which I am appointed for a term by Order-in-Council. Temporary funding has been provided to permit the retention of three (3) additional staff on a temporary basis. As the sole member of the ERC, I have the authority to reach findings and to make recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP, which is the essence of the ERC's statutory mandate.
At its core, the ERC's role is to conduct impartial and independent reviews of RCMP labour relations cases. Its aim is to positively influence the manner in which labour relations issues are addressed within the RCMP. This contributes to the confidence and trust that Canadians put in the administration of the Force, knowing that principles of fairness and statutory compliance are upheld in a transparent and credible manner.
In addition to reporting its findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP, the ERC's reports are accessible to all those who have an interest in resolving member grievances and appeals through rational decisions based on sound judgment. Members, managers, their representatives and Canadians at large have made frequent reference to the ERC's online repository of precedents to search for past findings and recommendations as well as RCMP Commissioners' decisions and authoritative case law. This is an excellent low-cost utility that supports the RCMP's grievance and discipline processes and that ultimately benefits all Canadians.
The ERC has continued to prudently use the resources entrusted to it.
The original version was signed by
Catherine Ebbs, Chair
Catherine Ebbs
Chair
Section I: Departmental Overview
Raison d’être and Responsibilities
The RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) 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 ERC conducts an independent review of appeals in disciplinary, and discharge and demotion matters, as well as certain categories of grievances that are referred to it pursuant to s. 33 of the RCMP Act and s. 36 of the RCMP Regulations.
The ERC reports directly to Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety. The ERC has a single member, the Chair, who is appointed by an Order-in-Council, and is supported by an Executive Director and a very small staff. The ERC's jurisdiction is restricted to employment and labour matters that relate to regular members and civilian members of the RCMP only. Public servants employed by the RCMP have separate labour relations processes. The role of the ERC in the Force's labour/management resolution process is a crucial one. Over the years, the RCMP has made changes in a variety of areas based on recommendations made by the ERC.
As one of two oversight/review bodies for the RCMP, the ERC plays an important role in maintaining public confidence in the RCMP and ensures that it respects the law and human rights.
The ERC is within the portfolio of Public Safety Canada whose Minister is the appropriate Minister responsible for the purposes of the Financial Administration Act. The ERC's mandate is simply put: the independent and impartial review of grievances as well as appeals that involve the discipline, discharge or demotion of RCMP members. Upon completing its review of a case, the ERC presents findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP for a final decision. The Commissioner is not bound by the recommendations of the ERC, but the Commissioner must provide reasons when there is disagreement with the recommendations of the ERC. In carrying out its mandate, the ERC ensures that its recommendations are solidly grounded in law and that members of the RCMP are treated in a fair and equitable manner, in keeping with the public interest.
Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
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 Architecture
| 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 1 Independent and impartial case review |
Program Activity 2 Outreach and information dissemination |
| Internal Services | |
Internal Services
In an agency as small as the ERC, individuals conduct duties that span program activities and similarly, supplies and equipment is shared among both program activities on a routine basis. Due to the impracticability of tracking internal services separately on an ongoing basis, the ERC has been granted an exemption until the end of the 2010-11 fiscal year from reporting on financial commitments to Internal Services as a separate program activity.
Organizational Priorities
| Priority | Type | Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Continue to deliver on statutory mandate | Ongoing | Strategic Outcome and Program Activity 1 |
| Status: Met all | ||
|
||
| Priority | Type | Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Raising awareness through outreach | Ongoing | Strategic Outcome and Program Activity 2 |
| Status: Met all | ||
|
||
| Priority | Type | Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Continue to improve on the corporate management framework and infrastructure | Ongoing | Strategic Outcome and Program Activity 1 and 2 |
| Status: Met all | ||
|
||
| Priority | Type | Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Continue to invest in our people | Ongoing | Strategic Outcome and Program Activity 1 and 2 |
| Status: Met all | ||
|
||
Risk Analysis
Since 2006, the ERC's base budget has been augmented by a series of temporary grants of funding from the Treasury Board's Management Reserve to allow it to meet the obligations of its mandate and to ensure the accountability of its operations. The terms of all of these temporary appropriations will expire at the end of fiscal year 2011-12.
Significantly, the most recent Treasury Board grant of temporary funding recognized the need to increase the ERC's services in order to achieve a permanent sustainable resourcing level. The funds were intended to bridge the ERC's operations until a permanent solution was achieved. The three-year strategy provided for additional staff in 2010-2011 as well as a consolidation of its office space to accommodate them. A Human Resources (HR) staffing strategy was designed to take effect at the beginning of this year. In the previous year in preparation for the changes, a project to make adequate space available was commenced in partnership with Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).
The ERC completed the office consolidation in 2010-11, however its staffing strategy was curtailed early in the year when a government bill proposing to dissolve the ERC was tabled in Parliament. Prudent fiscal management dictated that the ERC would not proceed with increasing its obligations in the circumstances. In fact, the ERC's obligations diminished as some staff sought to secure permanent employment elsewhere. The ERC continued with its operational priority of reviewing appeals of discipline with serious consequences, and successfully completed the most such cases within one year in its history. While the total number of reports declined, the significance and quality of those particular findings and recommendations remained high. This led to a consolidation of two quarterly Communiqué into one single issue. While the bill did not proceed to enactment, the events resulted in lower than planned expenditures and thus contributed to an unusually high return of funds to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
In addition to case reviews, the ERC workload also includes significant reporting and corporate requirements that apply to all public service organizations. Given its small size, the ERC does not employ staff solely tasked to exercising these reporting processes. The ERC often re-assigns operational staff to work on these corporate reports. This leads to a melding of expenditures on support services and operational mandate and it also contributes to delays in the case review process. To alleviate this pressure, the ERC makes use of contracted professional services to perform these internal corporate services whenever possible. To that end, among other specific contracts, the ERC has benefited from an arrangement through a Memorandum of Understanding with its host department, Public Safety Canada, to provide transactional support services in areas of information technology, HR and finance. Should the ERC be unsuccessful in achieving a permanent increase in its appropriation subsequent to 2011-12, these arrangements will be threatened. More staff time will be needed to maintain our corporate obligations which will likely lead to further delays in completing cases.
Summary of Performance
| Planned Spending | Total Authorities | Actual Spending |
|---|---|---|
| $1,811 | $2,371 | $1,784 |
| Planned | Actual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 7 | 1 |
| Performance Indicators | Targets | 2010-11 Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Issuance of findings and recommendations to the RCMP Commissioner and the parties | 100% | Maintained 100% performance level |
| Information to the public and the RCMP | 100% | Maintained 100% performance level |
| Program Activity | 2009-10 Actual Spending ($ thousands) |
2010-11 ($ thousands) | Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Estimates |
Planned Spending |
Total Authorities |
Actual Spending |
|||
| Independent and impartial case review | $1,457 | $1,449 | $1,449 | $1,892 | $1,463 | Well-managed and efficient government operations |
| Outreach and information dissemination | $157 | $362 | $362 | $479 | $321 | A transparent, accountable and responsive federal government |
| Total | $1,614 | $1,811 | $1,811 | $2,371 | $1,784 | |
Internal Services
In an agency as small as the ERC, individuals conduct duties that span program activities and similarly, supplies and equipment is shared among both program activities on a routine basis. Due to the impracticability of tracking internal services separately on an ongoing basis, the ERC has been granted an exemption until the end of the 2010-11 fiscal year from reporting on financial commitments to Internal Services as a separate program activity.
Expenditure Profile
The receipt of a temporary increase in spending authorities contributed to the ERC's success in achieving its targets. Staffing determinate positions in an uncertain environment led to a lag in spending evident in the chart below.
| Fiscal Year | Planned Spending ($ thousands) |
Total Authorities ($ thousands) |
Actual Spending ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | $1,485 | $1,559 | $1,393 |
| 2009-10 | $1,074 | $1,969 | $1,614 |
| 2010-11 | $1,811 | $2,371 | $1,784 |
Estimates by Vote
As indicated above, actual spending resulted in lower than planned expenditures due to an uncertain environment.
For information on our organizational votes and/or statutory expenditures, please see the 2010-11 Public Accounts of Canada (Volume II) publication. An electronic version of the Public Accounts is available on the Public Works and Government Services Canada website (see Public Accounts of Canada 2010,
http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/txt/72-eng.html).
