ARCHIVED - Department of Justice Canada

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page

This page has been archived.

MINISTER’S MESSAGE

I am pleased to present the Department of Justice’s strategic plan for 2009-2010.

This document outlines how the Department intends to deliver on its dual mandate – maintaining the integrity of the justice system and helping improve access to justice; and providing effective and responsive legal and legislative services to the federal government.

Over the coming year, tackling crime and ensuring safe and secure communities will remain a priority for our Government. Legal provisions will continue to be strengthened in key areas such as organized crime, gang violence, gun crimes, identity theft, drug-related offences and youth crime. These provisions, while helping to promote efficiencies in the criminal justice system, will also better protect Canadians.

The Department will continue to provide legal support to departments and agencies that work to ensure sound budgeting, secure jobs for Canadians, expand investment and trade and play a key role in reforming global finance.

The Department also remains committed to management excellence through participating in initiatives to improve transparency and accountability to Parliament and Canadians. I am pleased to say that my Department’s management performance ratings have been steadily increasing, and I recognize the professionalism and expertise of our employees.

I look forward to continuing to work with our partners in all levels of government, the legal community and all Canadians toward an efficient and accessible justice system.

The Honourable Rob Nicholson

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

SECTION I—DEPARTMENTAL OVERVIEW

Summary Information

Raison d’être

The justice system defines and prescribes the balance between collective and individual rights and responsibilities that ensure a well-ordered society. As such, it affects almost every facet of Canadians’ daily lives; from guiding everyday activities that ensure our safety to supporting social policies and social benefits, regulating our economy, and offering ways to resolve disputes peacefully where there are disagreements or conflicts between individuals, organizations or governments.

Maintaining a system that serves all Canadians is a central focus for the Department of Justice Canada, which strives to ensure that the system remains fair, accessible and efficient as it evolves in response to social change.

The Department of Justice plays an important role in supporting the Government of Canada’s priority of protecting Canadian families and communities. Furthermore, as a federal organization, the Department supports all of the Government’s priorities, directly or indirectly, by providing an integrated suite of common legal services to federal departments and agencies.

Responsibilities

The Department of Justice is headed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. The responsibilities associated with the dual role of Minister of Justice and Attorney General are set out in the Department of Justice Act and some 47 other Acts of Parliament. The Department of Justice fulfils three distinctive roles within the Government of Canada, acting as:

• a policy department with broad responsibilities for overseeing all matters relating to the administration of justice that fall within the federal domain;
• a provider of a range of legal advisory, litigation and legislative services to government departments and agencies; and
• a central agency responsible for supporting the Minister in advising Cabinet on all legal matters, including the legality of government initiatives and activities.

Strategic Outcomes and Program Activity Architecture

In supporting the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Department of Justice strives to attain two strategic outcomes: (i) a fair, relevant and accessible justice system that reflects Canadian values; and (ii) a federal government that is supported by effective and responsive legal services.

The Department of Justice’s two strategic outcomes reflect the dual responsibilities of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. While the Minister of Justice is concerned with questions of policy, particularly as these relate to his role as a steward of the Canadian justice system, the Attorney General is the chief law officer for the Crown.

In support of the first strategic outcome, the Department has two program activities — Justice policies, laws and programs, and the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime. The Department’s program sub-activities (i.e. criminal justice, family justice, access to justice, Aboriginal justice, and private international and public law) in support of the first strategic outcome reflect the specific domains within which the Department supports the government’s legal policy and program initiatives.

In support of its second strategic outcome, the Department has one program activity — Services to government. Through this program activity, the Department delivers an integrated suite of common legal advisory, litigation and legislative drafting services through a portfolio structure to government departments and agencies. These services support overall government priorities and promote respect for the rule of law and the Constitution.

Finally, in support of both strategic outcomes, the fourth program activity — Internal Services — provides governance and management support, resources management services as well as asset management services to the Department.

The graphic presentation of the Program Activity Architecture provided below gives an overview of the activities and programs for which the Department is responsible, and reflects how strategic outcomes, program activities, and sub-activities are linked to provide results for Canadians.

Department of Justice Program Activity Architecture

Strategic Outcomes	A fair, relevant and accessible justice system that reflects Canadian values	A federal government that is supported by effective and responsive legal services
	A1 Justice policies, laws and programs	B1 Services to government	C1 Internal services
	A1.1 Criminal justice A1.2 Family justice A1.3 Access to justice A1.4 Aboriginal justice A1.5 Private international and public law	B1.1 Legal services to government-at-large and the Justice Portfolio B1.2 Legal services to the Aboriginal Affairs Portfolio B1.3 Legal services to the Business and Regulatory Law Portfolio B1.4 Legal services to the Central Agencies Portfolio B1.5 Legal services to the Citizenship, Immigration and Public Safety Portfolio B1.6 Legal services to the Tax Law Portfolio	C1.1 Governance and Management Support C1.2 Resource Management Services C1.3 Asset Management Services
	A2 Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime

Planning Summary

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2009-2010	2010-2011	2011-2012
924.5	907.0	898.5

Human Resources (FTEs)

2009-2010	2010-2011	2011-2012
4,520	4,520	4,512

For fiscal year 2009-2010, departmental planned spending is estimated as $924.5M. In order to deliver on its mandate, the Department will employ approximately 4,520 full-time equivalents (FTE). The table below outlines what results will be achieved for Canadians with the resources appropriated by Parliament.

Strategic Outcome I:
A fair, relevant and accessible justice system that reflects Canadian values

Performance Indicators	Targets
Level of confidence in the justice system Canada's relative international ranking with respect to fairness of the justice system Bills and initiatives to address justice system issues	Level of public confidence in the justice system remains stable or improves To maintain or improve Canada's high relative international ranking on justice issues

Program Activity	Forecast Spending 2008-2009 ($ millions)	Planned Spending			Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		2009-2010	2010-2011	2011-2012
A1. Justice policies, laws and programs	436.9	431.5	424.1	417.4	Safe and secure communities
A2. Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime	1.2	1.3	1.3	0.0	Safe and secure communities
Total Planned Spending	438.1	432.8	425.4	417.4

Strategic Outcome II:
A federal government that is supported by effective and responsive legal services

Performance Indicators			Targets
Levels of effort (number of files, time) devoted to the three types of legal services provided: civil litigation, advisory and legislative/regulatory drafting Risk management of litigation inventory (level of effort by risk) Use of alternative dispute resolution to resolve disputes

Program Activity	Forecast Spending 2008-2009 ($ millions)	Planned Spending			Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
B1. Services to government	483.6	381.3	372.2	372.0	Provision of government services
Total Planned Spending	483.6	381.3	372.2	372.0

In addition to and in support of these Strategic Outcomes, the Department allocates significant financial and human resources to Program Activity C1. Internal Services.

Program Activity	Forecast Spending 2008-2009 ($ millions)	Planned Spending			Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
C1. Internal Services1	0.0	110.4	109.4	109.1	Safe and secure communities Provision of government services
Total Planned Spending	0.0	110.4	109.4	109.1

¹ Starting in 2009-2010, departments are required to report internal services separately. In previous years, funding for internal services was embedded in Strategic Outcomes I and II.

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcomes

Operational Priorities	Type	Linked to Strategic Outcome:	Description
Develop law reform proposals in support of safe and secure communities	Previously committed to	SO I	Strengthen the law in key areas such as youth crime, organized and gang-related crime, identity theft and drug-related offences.
Directly and indirectly support implementation of government priorities through the provision of high-quality legal services	Ongoing	SO II	On a portfolio-by-portfolio basis, provide critical legal services that support client departments to implement government priorities.

Management Priorities	Type	Linked to Strategic Outcome:	Description
Transform the Departmental Law Practice Model for the delivery of legal services across government	New	SO II	Creating efficiencies in the management of resources devoted to the delivery of legal services across government through closer monitoring and matching of assigned work based on required legal practitioner competencies.
Improved support for law practice management across government	Ongoing	SO II	Enhance law practice management capacity and practices through the development and enhancement of tools and processes related to knowledge management, legal risk management, legal information and systems and quality assurance.
Renewal of our legal practitioner work force	Previously commited to	SO I and SO II	Renewing the legal practitioner work force in light of demographic changes will require integrated planning, targeted recruitment, employee development and retention strategies and a commitment to diversity in the workplace.

Risk Analysis

Legal services to government

There are three interrelated sets of risks that can have significant impacts on our capacity to continue to deliver high-quality legal services to government. The first risk revolves around our ability to continue to retain and recruit the best and the brightest legal professionals in the face of significant competitive pressures from other public sector organizations — particularly the provincial governments. To mitigate the potential negative impacts, we are developing initiatives to renew our work force in light of the significant demographic shifts in Canada, including the aging of the work force and the increasingly diverse nature of the population.

A second area of risk is our capacity to continue to adapt effectively to the rapidly evolving nature and complexity of the substantive issues and priorities of the government and the associated need for legal services. To mitigate this set of risks the Department works closely with client departments to identify legal risks and to jointly develop mitigation strategies. In addition, the Department is transforming its law practice model in order to address the changing nature of our work.

The third set of risks concerns our capacity to address the rapid changes in law practice management — particularly the sheer growth in the speed and volume of information that is crucial to effective management of the government’s law practice. In this regard, the Department focuses on developing and enhancing tools and systems to support effective knowledge management, legal risk management, and quality assurance.

Justice policies, laws and programs

Many factors influence our operating environment and thus pose potential risks to our capacity to effectively deliver on Justice policies, laws, and programs. Primary among these is the increasingly complex and interrelated nature of the issues and pressures for which Canadians rely on the justice system, which in turn has significant impacts on the processes of policy development and law reform.

To mitigate the associated risks, and in recognition that the justice system is multi-tiered and beyond the capacity of the Department alone to influence, we work with others, including the police, the judiciary, provincial governments, and non-governmental and community-based organizations to develop innovative ideas about how to improve access to justice, while respecting Canadians’ the diverse nature and needs.

Expenditure Profile

As may be seen in the following chart, with the exception of fiscal year 2007-2008, the Department has consistently experienced a slight increase in spending. This constant growth is primarily the result of increasing demand for legal advisory, litigation and legislative services from other government departments and agencies, and transfers to provinces and territories.

In 2007-2008, the Department of Justice’s budgets and spending were reduced by $102 million as a result of the creation of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) in December 2006.

In 2008-2009, the Department is forecasting an increase in spending of $54 million. These additional costs supported the implementation of programs to promote access to the justice system in both official languages, to provide legal aid for those facing charges under the Public Safety and Anti-Terrorism Act and support the National Anti-Drug Strategy. The Department also saw an increase in spending on legal services to other departments in support of government priorities in the areas of Aboriginal affairs, the environment, health, and public safety and security.

In fiscal year 2009-2010, the Department plans to spend $432.8 million to promote a fair, relevant and accessible justice system that reflects Canadian values; $381.3 million (including cost recoveries) to ensure that the federal government is supported by effective and responsive legal services; and $110.4 million for internal support services.

Voted and Statutory Items

This table illustrates the way in which Parliament approved Justice resources, and shows the changes in resources derived from supplementary estimates and other authorities, as well as how funds are to be spent.

Voted and Statutory Items displayed in the Main Estimates
($ millions)

Vote # or Statutory Item (S)	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	2008-09 Main Estimates	2009-10 Main Estimates
1	Operating expenditures	265.4	257.4
5	Grants and contributions	367.5	370.5
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	63.3	61.4
(S)	Minister of Justice—Salary and motor car allowance	0.1	0.1
Total Department of Justice2		696.3	689.4

² Main estimates exclude the funds provided under Net Voting Authority (cost recoveries) except EBP portion.

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page