2018–2019 Departmental Results Report - Supplementary Information Tables
Response to Parliamentary Committees and External Audits
Response to parliamentary committees
Moving Forward in the Fight against Human Trafficking in Canada
At its June 8, 2017, meeting, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights (the Committee) unanimously agreed to a motion that it “conduct a study, at the earliest opportunity, into the issue of human trafficking in Canada, and that it report its findings to the House.” Between February 15 and May 22, 2018, the Committee held eight meetings in Ottawa to hear evidence from a wide variety of stakeholders. The Committee also travelled to five Canadian cities—Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver—from March 18 to 23, to hear evidence from human trafficking survivors and local stakeholders. In total, the Committee heard from more than 50 witnesses and received close to 60 written submissions.
On December 11, 2018, the Committee released its 24th Report titled Moving Forward in the Fight against Human Trafficking in Canada. The Report provided 17 recommendations aimed at strengthening Canada’s actions to eradicate human trafficking in Canada. In the Government Response, presented to the House on April 10, 2019, Public Safety Canada and the Department of Justice Canada highlighted domestic and international efforts across Government that address human trafficking.
Improving Support for Jurors in Canada
On June 8, 2017, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights unanimously agreed to a motion that it “conduct a study, at the earliest opportunity, into counselling and other mental health supports for jurors and that it report its findings to the House.” Between November 22, 2017 and February 8, 2018, the Committee held eight meetings to hear evidence from witnesses, which included former jurors, Canadian and foreign government representatives who work directly with juries or in justice departments, and Canadian and international lawyers amongst other experts interested in the stressors associated with jury duty.
The objective of this Report was to provide a solid foundation to allow the implementation of approaches that would offer adequate support to jurors across the country, while recognizing the need to tailor approaches to local needs.
On May 22, 2018, the Committee released its 20th Report titled Improving Support for Jurors in Canada. This Report provided 11 recommendations to improve support for jurors across the country. In the Government Response, presented to the House of Commons on July 18, 2019, the Department of Justice Canada agreed that meaningful support to jurors, who play an essential role in the Canadian justice system, is needed to ensure that they can effectively perform this civic duty and limit negative consequences. However, it also recognized that the issue of juror support falls within provincial and territorial jurisdiction and highlighted actions taken by those jurisdictions to aid jurors. The Response also reiterated the Government of Canada’s commitment to working with the provinces and territories to import support measures for jurors, and facilitate the sharing of best practices between jurisdictions.
On June 20, 2017, the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women agreed to conduct a study on Indigenous Women in the Federal Justice and Correctional Systems. Between November 28, 2017, and February 13, 2018, the Committee held nine meetings to hear evidence from witnesses, officials from six departments and agencies, and the Auditor General of Canada.
On June 19, 2018, the Committee released its 13th Report titled A Call to Action: Reconciliation with Indigenous Women in the Federal Justice and Correctional Systems. This report provided 96 recommendations to the Government to “help improve Indigenous women’s access to and treatment in the federal justice system, as well as their treatment in the federal correctional system.” In the Government Response, presented to the House on October 16, 2018, the Department of Justice Canada and the Department of Public Safety Canada supported the objectives, recognizing that factors contributing to Indigenous women's interactions with the criminal justice system are broad and cross cutting. Both departments provided information on existing programs and services available within the federal government, which address several of the recommendations and themes identified in the Report.
Accessibility of Documents Incorporated by Reference in Federal Regulations
On May 25, 2018, the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations issued its 92nd Report, titled Accessibility of Documents Incorporated by Reference in Federal Regulations. This was in reply to the Government Response to Report No. 90. In the Report, the Committee resubmitted the four recommendations to amend the Statutory Instruments Act included in Report No. 90 and submitted three new recommendations, which are administrative measures that the Government could take to improve the accessibility of documents incorporated by reference into federal regulations.
In the Government Response, presented to the House on July 18, 2019, the Department of Justice Canada maintains the Government’s position on the meaning of accessibility in the Statutory Instruments Act, but also notes that the Government welcomes the opportunity to consider carefully the additional recommendations made in Report No. 92 to improve accessibility. In a follow-up letter dated December 21, 2018, the Department informed the Committee that the Cabinet Directive on Regulation and its four associated policies had been fully implemented and that several additional initiatives with completion dates anticipated over the course of the next year had started. These initiatives include the Artificial Intelligence Pilot Project, the Justice Inventory of Documents Incorporated by Reference, the Guidelines of Incorporation by Reference for Federal Regulators and others.
Ensuring Justice is Done in Both Languages
In the spring of 2017, the Standing Committee on Official Languages launched its study on access to justice in both official languages. The purpose of the study was to review this issue of major importance to Canadians, particularly members of official language minority communities, and to prepare recommendations to help the Government of Canada achieve equal access to justice in both official languages. Between March 7, 2017, and November 28, 2017, the Committee held 13 meetings on this issue.
On December 12, 2017, the Committee presented its 8th Report: Ensuring Justice is Done in Both Official Languages. The Report provided the Government with 10 recommendations to help improve the Canadian justice system. In the Government Response, presented to the House of Commons on March 29, 2018, the Department of Justice Canada agreed to begin and continue the work to meet the recommendations set out in the Committee’s report.
Response to audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (including audits conducted by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)
Departmental Progress in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies
Between 2013 and 2017, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) audited the progress of selected federal organizations in implementing the Cabinet directive. This work showed that on the whole, most organizations had not made satisfactory progress. As a result in 2018, the OAG decided to examine 26 organizations, including the Department of Justice Canada, to determine whether they had adequately applied the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals for the period of January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017.
The report concluded that organizations examined had adequately applied the Cabinet Directive and had made satisfactory progress in strengthening their strategic environmental assessment practices. The report did not include recommendations for the Department of Justice Canada.
Response to audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages
Public Service Commission (PSC) System-Wide Staffing Audit
This audit was approved in December 2018. Overall findings indicate full compliance with staffing system requirements, with all 25 participating departments and agencies having made the changes to their staffing systems as required by the New Direction in Staffing. With regard to appointments, the Public Service Commission (PSC) found high levels of compliance with legislative, regulatory and policy requirements with respect to merit, consideration of persons with a priority entitlement, and appointment related authorities (Attestation Form and Oath/Solemn Affirmation). The audit also pointed to some areas for improvement, however, particularly related to official languages obligations and the application of the order of preference.
A questionnaire was administered to staffing advisors and hiring managers associated with the sample of appointments covered by the audit to gauge their awareness and understanding of their organizational appointment framework. The PSC’s results revealed general awareness and understanding of their framework’s requirements, but only a modest indication of staffing culture change at the time of the audit.
There were no recommendations for the Department of Justice Canada.
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