From the Minister

The Hon. Arif Virani, P.C., M.P.

I am pleased to present the Department of Justice Canada’s 2022-23 Departmental Results Report for the reporting period of April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023.

I am tremendously proud of the Department’s work over the past year in support of the Government of Canada’s priorities. In all of this work, we took into consideration aspects such as Gender-based Analysis Plus, privacy, modern Indigenous treaty implications, and strategic environmental assessments. These efforts had a meaningful impact on our justice system by making it fairer and more accessible to Canadians.

Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples was a major priority for our department. We reached two significant milestones along this journey in 2022-23.

In June 2022, the Government announced the appointment of Kimberly Murray as the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools. The Independent Special Interlocutor is working closely and collaboratively with Indigenous leaders, communities, survivors, families and experts to identify needed measures and recommend a new federal legal framework to ensure the respectful and culturally appropriate treatment and protection of unmarked graves and burial sites of children at former Indian Residential Schools.

In March 2023, we released a draft Action Plan to advance implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. This was an important step to further support the development, in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples, of a comprehensive and final action plan to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by June 2023.

We also continued to make progress on other Indigenous justice priorities, including revitalizing Indigenous laws, legal systems and traditions, and negotiating administration-of-justice agreements in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. The Department is working in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples, as well as provincial and territorial partners to develop an Indigenous Justice Strategy to address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis in our criminal justice system.

More broadly, the Department continued to support First Nations, Inuit and Métis, Black and other racialized people, and marginalized populations through amendments to the Criminal Code. Parliament repealed certain mandatory minimum penalties to allow for greater judicial discretion and an increased use of conditional sentences. We are committed to the development of Canada’s Black Justice Strategy to address the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, and are leading the work to establish an independent Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission with the introduction of Bill C-40 (David and Joyce Milgaard’s Law). These measures are steps toward a strengthened and more equitable justice system.

We also worked to make the family justice system more accessible and responsive to the needs of Canadian families. Through the innovative Community Justice Centre pilot projects, we are focusing on providing culturally appropriate legal information and resources and improving access to justice for modern diverse communities.

In addition, the Department played an active role in advancing major Government of Canada efforts to secure the long-term safety of Canada’s telecommunications infrastructure, to combat online hate, harassment and ideologically motivated extremism, and to address key issues such as firearms control.

While we have made great progress, we have much work to do. We are committed and inspired to build upon this momentum and bring about real change for all. We will continue to advance the important and complex work of reconciliation with our First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners, and we will continue to reform and modernize the criminal justice system to help ensure that every person in Canada has equal access to justice.

I would like to thank all Department of Justice Canada employees for their professionalism, support, and steadfast dedication to building a more efficient and accessible justice system for all.

The Honourable Arif Virani, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada