2016–17 Departmental Results Report
Operating context and key risks
Operating context
The Department’s operating context is ever-evolving, with a few key factors in particular influencing Government and Department of Justice priorities.
Demographic realities continue to have an impact on access to justice and the Department’s delivery of programs. Canada’s society is aging, living longer and becoming more diverse culturally and linguistically. The Indigenous population is younger than the overall Canadian population and, while growing as a segment of the national population, are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. The intersection of race, ethnicity, gender, education, and differing social supports means that more complex legal policy approaches must be developed to best respond to Indigenous issues. This has required increased collaboration, consultation and partnership with various federal government departments, provinces, territories and other stakeholders. Examples of this collaboration include the work of the Task Force on Constitutional Relations with Indigenous Nations and the Working Group of Ministers on the Review of Laws and Policies Related to Indigenous Peoples. Also, the Criminal Justice System Review Secretariat was established to provide advice to the Minister on the direction of the criminal justice system review and to look at ways of reducing the overrepresentation of vulnerable populations in the criminal justice system.
Improvements in the sharing and management of information have enabled new ways of communicating and working, but have also created additional demands and pressures. The Department has continued to implement its Information at Justice Strategy, including Digital Workspace and other technological innovations to transform current work practices across the whole organization. Justice has continued to adopt new technologies while also being better prepared to respond to threats to privacy and information security.
Canadians have come to expect access to government and information 24 hours a day and seven days a week through a variety of communications channels including social media. In response, the Department continued to implement an open-by-default information environment, with digital-by-design approaches to information sharing and digital integration, offering integrated departmental content across multiple channels in order to meet the broad range of information needs from the public. Examples of this include new web sections for proposed legislation featuring user-friendly information architecture, plain language content, Charter statements, infographics, and social media, as well as Periscope and Facebook broadcasts of ministerial events.
Complex legal policy issues (such as medical assistance in dying, the legalization of cannabis, the response to violence against Indigenous women and girls, the protection of rights and freedoms, and trade liberalization) require a faster legislative response that must be balanced with the need to consult stakeholders and carefully develop legal positions to most appropriately respond to these issues. The Department continues to respond by improving consultation with client organizations, employing early intervention in the policy/regulation and/or legislative development process, and using diverse professionals including paralegals. In 2016-17, Justice continued to adapt to its operating context and improved the management of legal service needs by expanding the Centre for Labour and Employment Law, and by creating the Centre of Expertise in Procurement Law.
In 2016-17, the Department helped advance international human rights through policy advice and legal services in support of the negotiation of international norms, treaties, and conventions, the development of legal cooperation programs, and the provision of legal technical assistance to foreign countries seeking to reform their justice systems. This work contributed to the promotion of democracy, respect for human rights, effective governance and international security.
Key risks
The accelerated pace at which new policy issues emerge or unfold is an ongoing source of uncertainty, posing challenges for timely policy and program responses. Additionally, as noted in the description of the operating context, the broad scope of justice issues, and the multi-tiered nature of Canada’s justice system, require the involvement and collaboration of many partners and stakeholders, including the provinces and territories, other federal departments, non-governmental organizations, stakeholder communities, and international institutions. At times, these relationships may be affected by the need to balance expectations and interests.
To manage these existing risks, the Department has continued to monitor emerging trends to inform its forward planning and maintain policy responsiveness. This has included conducting regular policy-focused planning sessions. The Department has also continued succession planning and knowledge-management activities to develop the proper knowledge, skills, and expertise to readily navigate within this operating environment.
Another ongoing area of risk concerns the Department’s responsibility to provide effective and fiscally sustainable legal services to the federal government. A certain degree of uncertainty is inherent in this responsibility since legal work is increasingly complex and cross-cutting and the practice of law is not static. In addition, the Department’s workload is greatly shaped by the activities and decisions of client organizations, who share responsibility for managing legal risks. More specifically, demands for legal service may evolve, depending on the priorities clients pursue, their level of tolerance towards legal risk, and their choices about when to engage Justice’s services. Meeting these evolving legal needs is made more challenging as departments seek to contain spending on legal services.
To address this fundamental uncertainty, the Department has continued to focus on joint planning with clients, including the sharing of information on effective management of legal risks, the triggers and costs of legal services, and the appropriate role of legal counsel. This work has been informed by the Legal Services Review, which was undertaken to manage demand for legal services and to ensure the fiscal sustainability of those services in the long term. The Legal Services Review measures, approved by the Treasury Board Secretariat in June 2014, have been a major driver for efficiency in the Department. These measures focused on redefining legal services, building partnerships with clients, and streamlining business performance.
| Risks | Mitigating strategy and effectiveness | Link to the Department’s Programs | Link to mandate letter commitments or to government‑wide and departmental priorities |
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Responsiveness to new and emerging policy priorities. There is a risk that the broad scope and complexity of the justice system pose ongoing challenges for timely policy and program responses. (Existing Risk) |
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Program 1.1 – Stewardship of the Canadian Legal Framework |
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Maintaining partnerships necessary for policy and program development and delivery. There is a risk that relationships with essential justice system partners and stakeholders could weaken if not actively maintained. (Existing Risk) |
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Program 1.1 – Stewardship of the Canadian Legal Framework |
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Meeting evolving demands for legal services. There is a risk that unanticipated changes in the volume or nature of legal service requests, as well as changes in law practice management, could impact the Department’s ability to deliver effective and fiscally sustainable services. (Existing Risk) |
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Program 2.1 – Legal Services to Government Program |
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