Departmental Financial Statements for the Year Ended March 31, 2025

Statement of Management Responsibility including Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Responsibility for the integrity and objectivity of the accompanying financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2025, and all information contained in these financial statements rests with the management of the Department of Justice. These financial statements have been prepared by management using the Government of Canada’s accounting policies, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards.

Management is responsible for the integrity and objectivity of the information in these financial statements. Some of the information in the financial statements is based on management’s best estimates and judgment, and gives due consideration to materiality. To fulfill its accounting and reporting responsibilities, management maintains a set of accounts that provides a centralized record of the Department of Justice’s financial transactions. Financial information submitted in the preparation of the Public Accounts of Canada, and included in the Department of Justice’s Departmental Results Report, is consistent with these financial statements.

Management is also responsible for maintaining an effective system of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) designed to provide reasonable assurance that financial information is reliable, that assets are safeguarded and that transactions are properly authorized and recorded in accordance with the Financial Administration Act and other applicable legislation, regulations, authorities and policies.

Management seeks to ensure the objectivity and integrity of data in its financial statements through careful selection, training and development of qualified staff; through organizational arrangements that provide appropriate divisions of responsibility; through communication programs aimed at ensuring that regulations, policies, standards, and managerial authorities are understood throughout the Department of Justice and through conducting an annual risk-based assessment of the effectiveness of the system of ICFR.

The system of ICFR is designed to mitigate risks to a reasonable level based on an ongoing process to identify key risks, to assess effectiveness of associated key controls, and to make any necessary adjustments.

A risk-based assessment of the system of ICFR for the year ended March 31, 2025 was completed in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Financial Management and the results and action plans are summarized in the annex.

The annex also provides information on the status of the risk-based assessment of the controls over enterprise services provided by the department that have a bearing on a recipient’s departmental financial statements.

The effectiveness and adequacy of the Department of Justice’s system of internal control is reviewed by the work of internal audit staff, who conduct periodic audits of different areas of the Department of Justice’s operations, and by the Departmental Audit Committee, which oversees management’s responsibilities for maintaining adequate control systems and the quality of financial reporting, and which recommends the financial statements to the Deputy Minister of the Department of Justice.

The financial statements of the Department of Justice have not been audited.

Original signed by Shalene Curtis-Micallef

Shalene Curtis-Micallef
Deputy Minister and
Deputy Attorney General of Canada

Original signed by Bill Kroll

Bill Kroll, CPA, CMA
Assistant Deputy Minister and
Chief Financial Officer

Ottawa, Canada
Date: September 5, 2025

Statement of Financial Position (Unaudited)
As at March 31 (in thousands of dollars)

Statement of Financial Position (Unaudited) As at March 31 (in thousands of dollars)
2025 2024
Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (note 4) 194,476 103,730
Family law account (note 6) 5,683 5,368
Transfer payments payable 369,994 333,838
Vacation pay and compensatory leave 50,686 48,291
Employee future benefits (note 7) 17,381 15,053
Total liabilities 638,220 506,280
Financial assets
Due from Consolidated Revenue Fund 558,002 427,776
Accounts receivable and advances (note 8) 26,828 31,927
Total gross financial assets 584,830 459,703
Financial assets held on behalf of Government
Accounts receivable and advances (note 8) (336) (219)
Total net financial assets 584,494 459,484
Departmental net debt 53,726 46,796
Non-financial assets
Prepaid expenses 12 42
Tangible capital assets (note 9) 19,808 19,442
Total non-financial assets 19,820 19,484
Departmental net financial position (33,906) (27,312)

Contractual obligations (note 10)

Contingent liabilities (note 11)

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Original signed by Shalene Curtis-Micallef

Shalene Curtis-Micallef
Deputy Minister and
Deputy Attorney General of Canada

Original signed by Bill Kroll

Bill Kroll, CPA, CMA
Assistant Deputy Minister and
Chief Financial Officer

Ottawa, Canada
Date: September 5, 2025

Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position (Unaudited)
As at March 31 (in thousands of dollars)

Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position (Unaudited) As at March 31 (in thousands of dollars)
2025
Planned Results
2025 2024
Expenses
Legal services 693,362 951,938 726,778
Justice system support 605,798 796,023 752,415
Internal services 169,296 211,421 207,196
Expenses incurred on behalf of Government (4,454) (4,283) (4,444)
Total expenses 1,464,002 1,955,099 1,681,945
Revenues
Legal services 544,968 583,317 567,137
Family law fees 6,478 6,396 6,527
Internal support services 2,548 3,049 2,981
Miscellaneous revenues 836 1,817 2,667
Revenues earned on behalf of Government (112,830) (111,827) (108,199)
Total revenues (note 5) 442,000 482,752 471,113
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 1,022,002 1,472,347 1,210,832
Government funding and transfers
Net cash provided by Government of Canada 1,209,309 1,047,204
Change in due from Consolidated Revenue Fund 130,226 49,046
Services provided without charge by other government departments (note 12a) 126,329 111,034
Transfer of the transition payments for implementing salary payments in arrears 0 (4)
Transfer of capital assets (to) / from other government departments (14) 0
Other transfers of assets from / (to) other government departments (97) 54
Total government funding and transfers 1,465,753 1,207,334
Net cost of operations after government funding and transfers 6,594 3,498
Departmental net financial position – Beginning of year (27,312) (23,814)
Departmental net financial position – End of year (33,906) (27,312)

Segmented information (note 13)

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Statement of Change in Departmental Net Debt (Unaudited)
As at March 31 (in thousands of dollars)

Statement of Change in Departmental Net Debt (Unaudited) As at March 31 (in thousands of dollars)
2025 2024
Net cost of operations after government funding and transfers 6,594 3,498
Change due to tangible capital assets
Acquisition of tangible capital assets (note 9) 5,771 4,543
Amortization of tangible capital assets (note 9) (5,377) (6,828)
Net (loss) or gain on disposal of tangible capital assets including adjustments (14) (1)
Transfer of tangible capital assets to other government departments (14) 0
Total change due to tangible capital assets 366 (2,286)
Change due to prepaid expenses (30) 17
Net increase (decrease) in departmental net debt 6,930 1,229
Departmental net debt – Beginning of year 46,796 45,567
Departmental net debt – End of year 53,726 46,796

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Statement of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
As at March 31 (in thousands of dollars)

Statement of Cash Flows (Unaudited) As at March 31 (in thousands of dollars)
2025 2024
Operating activities
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 1,472,347 1,210,832
Non-cash items:
Amortization of tangible capital assets (note 9) (5,377) (6,828)
Gain (loss) on disposal of tangible capital assets (14) (1)
Services provided without charge by other government departments (note 12a) (126,329) (111,034)
Transition payments for implementing salary payments in arrears 0 4
Variations in Statement of Financial Position:
Increase / (decrease) in accounts receivable and advances (5,216) (2,467)
Increase / (decrease) in prepaid expenses (30) 17
Decrease / (increase) in accounts payable and accrued liabilities (90,746) (2,429)
Decrease / (increase) in family law account (315) (1,589)
Decrease / (increase) in transfer payments payable (36,156) (44,283)
Decrease / (increase) in vacation pay and compensatory leave (2,395) 120
Decrease / (increase) in employee future benefits (2,328) 373
Other transfer of assets (from) / to other government departments 97 (54)
Cash used in operating activities 1,203,538 1,042,661
Capital investing activities
Acquisition of tangible capital asset (note 9) 5,771 4,543
Cash used in capital investing activities 5,771 4,543
Net cash provided by Government of Canada 1,209,309 1,047,204

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Notes to the Financial Statements (Unaudited)
As at March 31

1. Authority and objectives

Under Canada’s legal system, the administration of justice is an area of shared jurisdiction between the federal government and the provinces and territories. The Department supports the Minister of Justice’s responsibilities for statutes and areas of law that fall under federal jurisdiction by ensuring a bilingual and bijural national legal framework, principally within the following domains: criminal justice (including justice for victims of crime and youth criminal justice), family justice, access to justice, Indigenous justice, public law, and international private law. This responsibility is fulfilled through the development of laws, justice policies, programs and services for Canadians. The Minister is the legal advisor to Cabinet and ensures that the administration of public affairs is in accordance with the law.

The Department also supports the role of the Attorney General of Canada as the chief law officer of the Crown. In carrying out this role, the Attorney General represents the Crown and not individual departments and agencies and, therefore, seeks to protect interests for the whole of the Government of Canada.

The Department’s key priorities are delivered through the following core responsibilities, as well as internal services:

Legal services

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada provides legal services to the federal government and its departments and agencies. The Minister is responsible for seeing that the administration of public affairs is in accordance with the law. The Minister is also responsible for examining all government bills and regulations for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Additionally, the Attorney General is responsible for advising the heads of departments on all matters of law and for conducting all litigation for federal departments and agencies on subjects within the authority or jurisdiction of Canada.

Justice system support

The Department plays an essential role in ensuring a fair, relevant and accessible Canadian justice system. This is a shared responsibility among a broad range of players, including Parliament; the judiciary; federal departments and agencies; partners in provincial, territorial and municipal governments; a broad range of non-governmental organizations and stakeholders; and, ultimately, all Canadians.

Internal services

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services: Management and Oversight, Communications, Legal, Human Resources Management, Financial Management, Information Management, Information Technology, Real Property Management, Materiel Management, and Acquisition Management.

2. Summary of significant accounting policies

These financial statements are prepared using the department’s accounting policies stated below, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards. The presentation and results using the stated accounting policies do not result in any significant differences from Canadian public sector accounting standards.

Significant accounting policies are as follows:

(a) Parliamentary authorities

The Department is financed by the Government of Canada through Parliamentary authorities. Financial reporting of authorities provided to the Department do not parallel financial reporting according to generally accepted accounting principles since authorities are primarily based on cash flow requirements. Consequently, items recognized in the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and in the Statement of Financial Position are not necessarily the same as those provided through authorities from Parliament. Note 3 provides a reconciliation between the basis of reporting. The planned results amounts in the “Expenses” and “Revenues” sections of the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position are the amounts reported in the Future-Oriented Statement of Operations included in the 2024-2025 Departmental Plan. Planned results are not presented in the “Government funding and transfers” section of the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and in the Statement of Change in Departmental Net Debt because these amounts were not included in the 2024-2025 Departmental Plan.

(b) Net cash provided by Government of Canada

The Department operates within the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), which is administered by the Receiver General for Canada. All cash received by the Department is deposited to the CRF, and all cash disbursements made by the Department are paid from the CRF. The net cash provided by Government is the difference between all cash receipts and all cash disbursements, including transactions between departments of the Government.

(c) Amounts due from or to the CRF

Amounts due from or to the CRF are the result of timing differences at year-end between when a transaction affects authorities and when it is processed through the CRF. Amounts due from the CRF represent the net amount of cash that the Department is entitled to draw from the CRF without further authorities to discharge its liabilities.

(d) Revenues

Revenues derived from the provision of advisory, litigation and legislative services provided by the Department’s law practitioners are recognized in the year the services are rendered. These revenues are based on legal services rates approved by Treasury Board in accordance with the Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities, for non-appropriated mandatory legal services to government departments and agencies as well as legal services to crown corporations and non-federal organizations.

Service and administration fee revenues under the family law programs are recognized based on services provided in the year, such as upon validation of the garnishment application or upon issuance of the divorce clearance certificate. As prescribed by the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act, a fee is chargeable in respect of the processing of every garnishee summons served on the Minister.

Internal support services revenues are derived in accordance with the Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities for specific internal services provided in the year to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and the Law Commission of Canada.

Fines, forfeitures and awarded court costs provided under the Contraventions Act are recognized upon receipt of payment by the Department. Fines and forfeitures are in effect penalties for illegal actions, rather than fees. These revenues are reported in the category "miscellaneous revenues".

Revenues that are non-respendable are not available to discharge the Department’s liabilities. While the Deputy Minister is expected to maintain accounting control, she has no authority regarding the disposition of non-respendable revenues. As a result, non-respendable revenues are considered to be earned on behalf of the Government of Canada and are therefore presented as a reduction of the Department’s gross revenues.

(e) Expenses

Expenses are recorded on the accrual basis.

Transfer payments are recorded as an expense in the year the transfer is authorized and all eligibility criteria have been met by the recipient.

Vacation pay and compensatory leave are accrued as the benefits are earned by employees under their respective terms of employment.

Expenses related to the provision of legal services are limited to those costs borne and settled directly by the Department. The cost of legal services which are paid directly by client departments to outside suppliers such as legal agents, are not included in the expenses of the Department.

Services provided without charge by other government departments for accommodation, employer contributions to the health and dental insurance plans, and workers’ compensation are recorded as operating expenses at their carrying value.

Expenses related to transactions arising from the recording of accounts receivable generated from non-respendable revenues, such as bad debt expense resulting from valuation allowances, are considered to be incurred on behalf of the Government of Canada and are therefore presented as a reduction to the Department’s gross expenses.

(f) Employee future benefits

  1. Pension benefits: Eligible employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, a multiemployer pension plan administered by the Government. The Department’s contributions to the Plan are charged to expenses in the year incurred and represent the total departmental obligation to the Plan. The Department’s responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan’s sponsor.
  2. Severance benefits: The accumulation of severance benefits for voluntary departures ceased for applicable employee groups. The remaining obligation for employees who did not withdraw benefits is calculated using information derived from the results of the actuarially determined liability for employee severance benefits for the Government as a whole.

(g) Accounts receivable

Receivables are recorded at cost and an allowance for doubtful accounts is made for receivables where recovery is considered uncertain. The allowance for doubtful accounts represents management’s best estimate of probable losses in receivables. The allowance is determined based on an analysis of historical loss experience and an assessment of current conditions.

Under the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and pursuant to Order in Council P.C. 2019-0136, outstanding receivables are written off once the garnishee application has terminated or when any amount remains unpaid at the end of a year during the five-year garnishee summons. The application terminates when the five-year life of the garnishee summons expires or when the province or territory requests that the application be cancelled.

Receivables that are not available to discharge the Department’s liabilities are considered to be held on behalf of the Government of Canada.

(h) Non-financial assets

The costs of acquiring equipment and other capital property are capitalized as tangible capital assets and are amortized to expense over the estimated useful lives of the assets. All tangible capital assets and leasehold improvements having an initial cost of $10,000 or more are recorded at their acquisition cost. Amortization of tangible capital assets is done on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset as follows:

Asset Class Amortization Period
Office and other equipment 5 to 10 years
Informatics hardware 3 to 5 years
Informatics software 3 to 5 years
Motor vehicles 5 years
Leasehold improvements Lesser of useful life or remaining term of the lease
Assets under construction Once in service, in accordance with asset class

Assets under construction are recorded in the applicable asset class and amortized when they become available for use.

(i) Contingent liabilities

Contingent liabilities are potential liabilities which may become actual liabilities when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. If the future event is likely to occur or fail to occur, and a reasonable estimate of the loss can be made, a provision is accrued and an expense is recorded to other expenses. If the likelihood is not determinable or an amount cannot be reasonably estimated, the contingency is disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.

(j) Measurement uncertainty

The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported and disclosed amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes at March 31. The estimates are based on facts and circumstances, historical experience, general economic conditions and reflect the Government’s best estimate of the related amount at the end of the reporting period. The most significant items where estimates are used are contingent liabilities, the liability for employee future benefits, salary overpayments and underpayments, allowance for doubtful accounts, and the useful life of tangible capital assets. Actual results could significantly differ from those estimated. Management’s estimates are reviewed periodically and, as adjustments become necessary, they are recorded in the financial statements in the year they become known.

(k) Related party transactions

Related party transactions, other than inter-entity transactions, are recorded at the exchange amount.

Inter-entity transactions are transactions between commonly controlled entities. Inter-entity transactions, other than restructuring transactions, are recorded on a gross basis and are measured at the carrying amount, except for the following:

  1. Services provided on a recovery basis are recognized as revenues and expenses on a gross basis and measured at the exchange amount.
  2. Certain services received on a without charge basis are recorded for departmental financial statements purposes at the carrying amount.

3. Parliamentary authorities

The Department receives most of its funding through annual parliamentary authorities. Items recognized in the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and the Statement of Financial Position in one year may be funded through parliamentary authorities in prior, current or future years. Accordingly, the Department has different net cost of operations for the year on a government funding basis than on an accrual accounting basis. The differences are reconciled in the following tables:

(a) Reconciliation of net cost of operations to current year authorities used
(in thousands of dollars)

(a) Reconciliation of net cost of operations to current year authorities used (in thousands of dollars)
2025 2024
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 1,472,347 1,210,832
Adjustments for items affecting net cost of operations but not affecting authorities:
Amortization of tangible capital assets (5,377) (6,828)
Decrease / (increase) in vacation pay and compensatory leave (2,395) 120
Decrease / (increase) in employee future benefits (2,328) 373
Gain (loss) on disposal of tangible capital assets (14) (1)
Refunds of previous years expenditures 9,082 11,205
Bad debt expense (2,297) (2,607)
Services provided without charge by other government departments (126,329) (111,034)
Decrease / (increase) in accrued liabilities not charged to authorities 0 303
Increase in salary overpayments to be recovered and refunds of program expenditures 431 300
Total items affecting net cost of operations but not affecting authorities (129,227) (108,169)
Adjustments for items not affecting net cost of operations but affecting authorities:
Acquisition of tangible capital assets 5,771 4,543
Transition payments for salary payments in arrears 0 4
Increase / (decrease) in prepaid expenses (30) 17
Salary overpayments related to pay system implementation 1,868 2,561
Other 212 198
Total items not affecting net cost of operations but affecting authorities 7,821 7,323
Current year authorities used 1,350,941 1,109,986

(b) Authorities provided and used
(in thousands of dollars)

(b) Authorities provided and used (in thousands of dollars)
2025 2024
Authorities provided:
Vote 1 – Operating expenditures 514,344 346,229
Vote 5 – Grants and contributions 729,172 691,665
Statutory amounts 124,226 103,046
Less:
Authorities available for future years (2) (2)
Lapsed: Operating expenditures (5,258) (20,798)
Lapsed: Grants and contributions (11,541) (10,154)
Current year authorities used 1,350,941 1,109,986

4. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

The following table presents details of the Department’s accounts payable and accrued liabilities (in thousands of dollars):

2025 2024
Accounts payable – Other government departments and agencies 44,032 16,734
Accounts payable – External parties 8,228 9,896
Total accounts payable 52,260 26,630
Accrued liabilities 142,216 77,100
Total accounts payable and accrued liabilities 194,476 103,730

5. Revenues

The Department has the following major types of revenues: legal services revenues, family law fees, internal support services revenues, and miscellaneous revenues. Legal services revenues, family law fees, and internal support services revenues are recorded as performance obligations are satisfied. Miscellaneous revenues include fines and forfeitures, rental of dwellings and utilities, court award proceeds, and other fees and charges. Revenue from the rental of dwellings and utilities is recorded as performance obligations are satisfied. Revenue from the remaining sources of miscellaneous revenue is recorded when the authority to claim or retain payment is held and payment is received.

2025 2024
Revenues (in thousands of dollars)
Legal services (exchange) 583,317 567,137
Family law fees (exchange) 6,396 6,527
Internal support services (exchange) 3,049 2,981
Miscellaneous
Fines and forfeitures (non-exchange) 1,606 2,497
Court award proceeds (non-exchange) 179 143
Rental of dwellings and utilities (exchange) 25 22
Other fees and charges (exchange and non-exchange) 7 5
Total miscellaneous 1,817 2,667
Revenues earned on behalf of Government (exchange and non-exchange) (111,827) (108,199)
Total revenuesFootnote 1 of Table 482,752 471,113

6. Family Law account

Under the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act, the Department assists provinces and territories in the enforcement of family support orders and agreements by providing garnishment assistance through the interception of designated federal moneys payable to individuals in order to satisfy family support debts. These intercepted moneys (consisting of garnisheed moneys such as income tax refunds, employment insurance benefits, etc.) are deposited into the Family law account from which payments to the provinces and territories are then made. The provinces and territories distribute these payments to the beneficiaries.

(in thousands of dollars)

2025 2024
Family Law account – Beginning of year 5,368 3,779
Receipts 214,222 214,703
Payments (213,907) (213,114)
Family Law account – End of year 5,683 5,368

7. Employee future benefits

(a) Pension benefits

The Department’s employees participate in the public service pension plan (the "Plan"), which is sponsored and administered by the Government of Canada. Pension benefits accrue up to a maximum period of 35 years at a rate of 2 percent per year of pensionable service, times the average of the best five consecutive years of earnings. The benefits are integrated with Canada/Québec Pension Plan benefits, and they are indexed to inflation.

Both the employees and the Department contribute to the cost of the Plan. Due to the amendment of the Public Service Superannuation Act following the implementation of provisions related to Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2012, employee contributors have been divided into two groups – Group 1 relates to existing plan members as of December 31, 2012 and Group 2 relates to members joining the Plan as of January 1, 2013. Each group has a distinct contribution rate.

The 2024-25 expense amounts to $79,610,241 ($60,955,989 in 2023-24). For Group 1 members, the expense represents approximately 1.02 times the employee contributions (same as in 2023-24), and, for Group 2 members, approximately 1.00 times (same as in 2023-24) the employee contributions.

The Department’s responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the Financial Statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan’s sponsor.

(b) Severance benefits

Severance benefits provided to the Department’s employees were previously based on an employee’s eligibility, years of service and salary at termination of employment. However, since 2011 the accumulation of severance benefits for voluntary departures progressively ceased for substantially all employees. Employees subject to these changes were given the option to be paid the full or partial value of benefits earned to date or collect the full or remaining value of benefits upon departure from the public service. By March 31, 2025, substantially all settlements for immediate cash out were completed. Severance benefits are unfunded and, consequently, the outstanding obligation will be paid from future authorities.

The changes in the obligations during the year were as follows (in thousands of dollars):

2025 2024
Accrued benefit obligation – Beginning of year 15,053 15,426
Expense for the year 3,974 3,833
Benefits paid during the year (1,646) (4,206)
Accrued benefit obligation – End of year 17,381 15,053

8. Accounts receivable and advances

The following table presents details of the Department’s accounts receivable and advances balances (in thousands of dollars):

2025 2024
Receivables – Other government departments and agencies 11,718 15,151
Receivables – External parties:
Family Law 4,952 5,126
Allowance for doubtful accounts from Family Law (4,832) (5,007)
Total accounts receivable from Family Law 120 119
Other receivables and advances 19,909 19,310
Allowance for doubtful accounts on receivables from external parties (4,919) (2,653)
Total other receivables and advances 14,990 16,657
Gross accounts receivable 26,828 31,927
Accounts receivable held on behalf of Government (336) (219)
Net accounts receivable and advances 26,492 31,708

9. Tangible capital assets

The following table presents details of the tangible capital assets:

Cost (in thousands of dollars)

Cost (in thousands of dollars)
Opening Balance Acquisitions Disposals, Write-offs, and Adjustments Closing Balance
Office and other equipment 442 106 37 585
Informatics hardware 2,472 114 (215) 2,371
Informatics software 42,430 21 3,257 45,708
Motor vehicles 85 37 (45) 77
Leasehold improvements 42,791 0 1,345 44,136
Assets under construction – software development 3,605 3,416 (3,278) 3,743
Assets under construction – leasehold improvements 4,188 2,077 (1,473) 4,792
Total 96,013 5,771 (372) 101,412

Accumulated amortization (in thousands of dollars)

Accumulated amortization (in thousands of dollars)
Opening Balance Current year amortization Disposals, Write-offs, and Adjustments Closing Balance
Office and other equipment 213 54 (80) 187
Informatics hardware 1,639 224 (215) 1,648
Informatics software 36,219 3,518 (7) 39,730
Motor vehicles 62 11 (31) 42
Leasehold improvements 38,438 1,570 (11) 39,997
Total 76,571 5,377 (344) 81,604

Net book value (in thousands of dollars)

Net book value (in thousands of dollars)
2025 2024
Office and other equipment 398 229
Informatics hardware 723 833
Informatics software 5,978 6,211
Motor vehicles 35 23
Leasehold improvements 4,139 4,353
Assets under construction – software development 3,743 3,605
Assets under construction – leasehold improvements 4,792 4,188
Total 19,808 19,442

Disposals, Write-offs and Adjustments include assets under construction of $4,750,744 that were transferred to the other categories upon completion of the assets.

10. Contractual obligations

The nature of the Department’s activities results in some large multi-year contracts and obligations whereby the Department will be obligated to make future payments in order to carry out its transfer payment programs or when the services and/or goods are received.

Significant contractual obligations that can be reasonably estimated are summarized as follows (in thousands of dollars):

2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 2028-29 2029-30 and thereafter Total
Transfer payments 676,433 594,942 64,950 22,377 13,159 1,371,861

11. Contingent liabilities

Claims and litigation

Claims have been made against the Department in the normal course of operations. These claims include items with pleading amounts and others for which no amount is specified. While the total amount claimed in these actions is significant, their outcomes are not determinable. Claims and litigations for which the outcome is not determinable and a reasonable estimate can be made by management amount to $0 at March 31, 2025 ($0 in 2023-24).

12. Related party transactions

The Department is related as a result of common ownership to all government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations. Related parties also include individuals who are members of key management personnel or close family members of those individuals, and entities controlled by, or under shared control of, a member of key management personnel or a close family members of that individual.

The Department enters into transactions with these entities in the normal course of business and on normal trade terms.

(a) Enterprise services provided without charge by other government departments

During the year, the Department received services without charge from certain organizations, related to accommodation, the employer’s contribution to the health and dental insurance plans, and workers’ compensation coverage. These services provided without charge have been recorded at the carrying value in the Department’s Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position as follows:

(in thousands of dollars)

2025 2024
Accommodation 47,606 47,265
Employer’s contribution to the health and dental insurance plans 78,720 63,766
Workers’ compensation 3 3
Total 126,329 111,034

The Government has centralized some of its administrative activities for efficiency, cost-effectiveness purposes and economic delivery of programs to the public. As a result, the Government uses central agencies and organizations that have the mandate to provide enterprise services to other government departments so that one department performs services for all other departments and agencies without charge. The costs of these services, such as the payroll and cheque issuance services provided by Public Services and Procurement Canada and audit services provided by the Office of the Auditor General are not included in the Department’s Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position. The costs of information technology infrastructure services provided by Shared Services Canada, following the transfer of responsibilities in November 2011 and April 2013, are also not included in the Department’s Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position.

(b) Enterprise services provided without charge to other government departments

In addition, the Department has provided legal services, such as advisory, litigation and legislative services, without charge to other government departments for a total amount of $112,767,076 ($116,602,854 in 2023-24). The amount is determined based on actual salary and operating expenses attributed to non-recoverable services provided to other government departments.

(c) Other transactions with other government departments and agencies (in thousands of dollars)

(c) Other transactions with other government departments and agencies (in thousands of dollars)
2025 2024
Accounts receivable 11,718 15,151
Accounts payable 44,032 16,734
Expenses 145,552 121,691
Revenues 584,977 569,028

Expenses and revenues disclosed in (c) exclude common services provided without charge, which are already disclosed in (a) and (b).

13. Segmented information

Presentation by segment is based on the Department’s core responsibility, as well as its internal services. The presentation by segment is based on the same accounting policies as described in the summary of significant accounting policies in note 2. The following table presents the expenses incurred and revenues generated for the core responsibilities and internal services, by major object of expense and by major type of revenue. The segment results for the period are as follows:

(in thousands of dollars)

Legal services Justice system support Internal services 2025 2024
Operating expenses
Salaries and employee benefits 883,484 69,185 160,195 1,112,864 871,112
Accommodation 38,232 3,239 9,687 51,158 50,893
Professional and special services 20,100 7,302 19,198 46,600 48,675
Utilities, materials and supplies 1,056 62 6,557 7,675 10,631
Bad debts 1,680 4,430 469 6,579 7,051
Travel and relocation 5,089 1,144 323 6,556 7,918
Rentals 185 53 5,149 5,387 5,060
Amortization of tangible capital assets 0 0 5,377 5,377 6,828
Information 1,532 626 2,369 4,527 4,654
Communications 365 143 634 1,142 1,179
Repair and maintenance 131 9 876 1,016 1,331
Claims, ex-gratia payments, and court awards 44 88 643 775 76
Other 40 194 (56) 178 183
Expenses incurred on behalf of Government 0 (4,283) 0 (4,283) (4,444)
Total Operating expenses 951,938 82,192 211,421 1,245,551 1,011,147
Transfer payments
Provinces and territories 0 605,628 0 605,628 564,918
Non-profit institutions and organizations 0 102,362 0 102,362 103,552
International organizations 0 853 0 853 804
Individuals 0 705 0 705 1,524
Total transfer payments 0 709,548 0 709,548 670,798
Total expenses 951,938 791,740 211,421 1,955,099 1,681,945
Revenues
Legal Services 514,470 0 68,847 583,317 567,137
Family Law fees 0 6,396 0 6,396 6,527
Internal support services 135 0 2,914 3,049 2,981
Miscellaneous revenues 204 1,607 6 1,817 2,667
Revenues earned on behalf of Government (91,169) (8,001) (12,657) (111,827) (108,199)
Total revenues 423,640 2 59,110 482,752 471,113
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 528,298 791,738 152,311 1,472,347 1,210,832

Annex to the Statement of Management Responsibility including Internal Control over Financial Reporting of Justice Canada for Fiscal Year 2024-25 (Unaudited)
As at March 31

1. Introduction

This document provides summary information on the measures taken by the Department of Justice Canada (the Department) to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), as well as information on internal control management, assessment results and related action plans.

Detailed information on the Department’s authority, mandate and core responsibilities can be found in the 2024-25 Departmental Plan and the 2024-25 Departmental Results Report.

2. Departmental system of internal control over financial reporting

2.1 Internal control management

The Department has a well-established governance and accountability structure to support departmental assessment efforts and oversight of its system of internal control.

A departmental internal control financial management framework, approved by the Chief Financial Officer, is in place and includes:

The DAC is an independent and objective committee that provides advice to the Deputy Minister on the adequacy and functioning of the Department’s governance, risk management and control frameworks and processes.

2.2 Service arrangements relevant to financial statements

The Department relies on other organizations to process certain transactions that are recorded in its financial statements, as follows:

Enterprise Arrangements within the Government of Canada

Readers of this Annex may refer to the Annexes of the above-noted organizations for a greater understanding of the systems of ICFR related to these specific services.

Specific Arrangements for the Department

The Department provides certain corporate (internal) services to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) and the Law Commission of Canada (LCC) through a human resource management system and an SAP financial system platform to capture and report all financial transactions. A legal case management system (iCase) is also provided to PPSC.

As per agreements in place, the Department provides assurance on internal controls in place for these systems and their respective oversight.

With the upcoming establishment of the Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission, the Department of Justice anticipates that similar corporate services will be provided and as such, a similar approach to the monitoring of ICFM will be applied as appropriate.

Enterprise Services provided by the Department

3. Departmental assessment results for the 2024-25 fiscal year

The following table summarizes the status of the ongoing monitoring activities according to the previous fiscal year’s rotational plan.

Previous fiscal year’s rotational ongoing monitoring plan for current fiscal year Status
Integrated Financial and Materiel System (IFMS-SAP) Completed as scheduled; remedial actions not started.
Enterprise Grants and Contributions System (EGCS) Completed as scheduled; remedial actions not started.
Grants & Contributions Completed as scheduled; remedial actions not started.
Manage Vendor Master Data Completed as scheduled; remedial actions not started.
Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting Assessment initiated in 2024-25 and completed in 2025-26. Remedial actions not started.

The key findings from the current fiscal year’s assessment activities are summarized in the subsections below.

3.1 New or significantly amended key controls

In the current year, there were no significantly amended key controls in existing processes that required a reassessment.

3.2 Ongoing monitoring program

In accordance with its rotational ongoing monitoring plan, the Department finalized its first formal assessment of Information Technology General Controls (ITGC) for the Enterprise Grants and Contributions System (EGCS).

The Department also completed the re-assessment of:

The assessment of the Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting business process was initiated in fiscal year 2024-25 and is to be completed in 2025-26.

The majority of key controls that were tested performed as intended, with remediation required as follows:

Key control areas Areas for improvement
Integrated Financial and Materiel System (IFMS – SAP)
  • The Department should create a composite roles procedure that includes role assignment and approval, role maintenance and review, segregation of duties risk analysis and mitigation, and regular audits of user accesses. This procedure should be incorporated into the existing IFMS User Identity Management and Logical Access Governance Instrument.
  • It is recommended that the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) be finalized and formally approved by the Director General, Finance and Planning Branch, and that relevant BCP readiness testing exercises, including a Tabletop exercise, be scheduled.
Enterprise Grants and Contributions System (EGCS)
  • The Department should, as the system matures, establish formal documentation, and a structured monitoring framework to ensure ongoing performance, compliance and efficiency
  • The Department should formally document the data quality control process as a policy or procedure to ensure adherence to controls and safeguarding of organizational knowledge against turnover and procedural drift.
  • The Department should formally document the Data Cleansing Policy including roles and responsibilities, security controls, and automated processes governing data cleansing. This will provide a standardized framework and ensure continuity in data maintenance practices.
  • The Department should enhance security through automated access reviews, regular segregation of duties audits, improved documentation, role-based training, and independent validation.
  • The Department should formalize the Emergency Change Management Policy to enhance traceability, reduce risks, and provide a framework for urgent fixes. The policy should include criteria for emergency changes, approval workflows, documentation standards, and compliance measures.
  • The Department should complete the Business Continuity Plan and Disaster Recovery Plan to include EGCS by establishing a clear roadmap, allocating necessary resources, and ensuring proper monitoring to enhance preparedness and resilience.
Grants & Contributions
  • The Department should review how it manages the risk profile of applicants, the reliability of their estimated cash flow requirements, and the ongoing monitoring in support of the approval of payment requests from recipients.
  • The Department should modify how it is recording and tracking recoveries. This could be done via any of the following: Implementing the Accounts Receivable module in SAP; linking the Vendor Master and Customer Master records; Updating and Improving the Accounts Receivable Log.
  • The Department should ensure that the recipient audit planning extract, used for selecting recipient audit candidates, includes completed vs in-flight projects, Project Risk Assessment Tool (PRAT) scores for in-flight projects and PRAT/Audit Risk Model (ARM) scores for completed projects. It should also ensure that Programs Directors
  • document their rationale for excluding a project identified in the extract.
Manage Vendor Master Data
  • Vendor Master Data procedures should be updated and streamlined to include information on, but not limited to, roles and responsibilities for stakeholders, profile reactivations, vendor naming conventions and Digital Workspace information & access management.
  • The Department should ensure that there is strong auditable evidence and certification of the work completed of the periodic reviews including completion dates and by whom, test runs, analyses, and changes made. An approval process should also be put in place
  • All periodic reviews should be completed as scheduled; quarterly for the inactive vendors and annually for the Statement of Accuracy and Duplicate vendor clean-up.
  • The Department should ensure that all vendors marked for deletion in the system are consistently blocked for posting and purchasing.

Process owners have developped management responses and action plans to address the recommendations stated above.

4. Departmental action plan for the next fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years

Given that the Department has completed a full assessment of the whole departmental system of ICFR in the past, it is at a state of ongoing monitoring. Building on progress to date, the Department will continue its broader assessment of Internal Controls over Financial Management (ICFM), which commenced during the 2019-20 fiscal year.

As part of the new three-year plan, the Department conducted a detailed risk assessment in order to establish the scope of ICFM monitoring that will be conducted over fiscal years 2025-26 to 2027-28.

The rotational schedule is shown in the following table.

Key control areas 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 Future Years
Entity level controls Yes N/A N/A N/A
Information Technology General Controls (ITGC) Human Resources Management System (HRMS-MyGCHR) N/A N/A Yes N/A
Legal Case Management System (LCMS-LEX) N/A Yes N/A N/A
Integrated Financial and Materiel System (IFMS-SAP) N/A N/A Yes N/A
Process Level Controls (PLC) Legal Service Revenues N/A Yes N/A N/A
Pay Administration N/A N/A Yes N/A
Financial Close & Reporting Yes N/A N/A N/A
Family Law Revenues & Liabilities Yes N/A N/A N/A
Travel, Hospitality, Conferences & Events (THCEE) YesFootnote 1 of Table N/A N/A YesFootnote 1 of Table
Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting Yes N/A N/A N/A
Legal Agents YesFootnote 2 of Table N/A N/A N/A
Procurement to Payment (excludes Legal Agents, THCEE and Acquisition Cards) N/A YesFootnote 3 of Table N/A N/A
Assets Management N/A Yes N/A N/A
Other Accounts Receivables (excludes Legal Service and Family Law Revenues) N/A N/A Yes N/A
Grants & Contributions (Transfer Payments) N/A N/A N/A Yes
Budget Proposals and Cabinet Submissions (includes CFO attestation) N/A N/A N/A Yes
Manage Vendor Master Data N/A N/A N/A Yes

In the interim years between undertaking a detailed risk assessment, environmental scans are conducted to validate high-risk processes, applications and controls and adjustments to the ongoing monitoring plan and its rotational schedule are made as required. The plan is comprehensive of ICFM elements to meet the Treasury Board Policy on Financial Management requirements.

5. Departmental assessment results for enterprise services during the 2024-25 fiscal year

The Department of Justice Canada, as an enterprise service provider of legal services, uses a risk-based approach when conducting assessments of the internal controls related to the legal services it provides.

Key control areas Design effectiveness testing and remediation Operational effectiveness testing and remediation Ongoing monitoring rotation
ITGC – Legal case Management system (LCMS-LEX) Complete Complete 2026-27
Legal Service RevenuesFootnote 1 of Table Complete Complete 2026-27
Legal Agents StartedFootnote 2 of Table 2025-26Footnote 3 of Table 2025-26Footnote 3 of Table
Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting (i.e. legal service revenue forecasting) Complete 2025-26 2025-26