2015-16 Report on Plans and Priorities

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page

Section I: Organizational Expenditure Overview

Organizational Profile

Minister:

Deputy Head: William F. Pentney

Ministerial portfolio: Justice

Year established: 1868

Main legislative authorities: Department of Justice Act

Organizational Overview

Raison d'être

The Department of Justice has the mandate to support the dual roles of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada.

Under Canada's federal 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 in his responsibilities for 51 statutes and areas of federal law by ensuring a bilingual and bijural national legal framework, principally within the following domains: criminal justice (including youth criminal justice), family justice, access to justice, Aboriginal justice, public law, and private international law.

The Department also supports the Attorney General as the chief law officer of the Crown, both in terms of the ongoing operations of government and of the development of new policies, programs, and services for Canadians. The Department provides legal advice to the Government and federal government departments and agencies, represents the Crown in civil litigation and before administrative tribunals, and drafts legislation.

Responsibilities

The Department of Justice was officially established in 1868, when the Department of Justice Act was passed in Parliament. The Act sets out the roles and responsibilities of the Department as well as those of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

The Department of Justice fulfills three distinctive roles within the Government of Canada. It acts as:

• a policy department with broad responsibilities for overseeing all matters relating to the administration of justice that fall within the federal domain - in this capacity, it strives to ensure a fair, relevant, and accessible Canadian justice system for all Canadians;
• 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.

The Department of Justice has approximately 4,500 dedicated, full-time equivalent employees. Some 58 percent of Justice employees are located in the National Capital Region. The other 42 percent provide a strong national presence through a network of regional offices and sub-offices positioned across the country.

Just over half of departmental employees are lawyers. The other half comprises a broad range of professionals, including paralegals, social scientists, program managers, communications specialists, administrative services personnel, and financial officers.

Strategic Outcomes and Program Alignment Architecture

• 1. Strategic Outcome: A Fair, Relevant and Accessible Canadian Justice System
  • 1.1 Program: Stewardship of the Canadian Legal Framework
    • 1.1.1 Sub-program: Legal Policies and Laws
    • 1.1.2 Sub-program: Justice System Support
      • 1.1.2.1 Sub-sub-program: Criminal Justice and Legal Representation
      • 1.1.2.2 Sub-sub-program: Victims of Crime
      • 1.1.2.3 Sub-sub-program: Youth Justice
      • 1.1.2.4 Sub-sub-program: Family Justice
      • 1.1.2.5 Sub-sub-program: Aboriginal and Northern Justice
      • 1.1.2.6 Sub-sub-program: Justice in Official Languages
  • 1.2 Program: Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime
• 2. Strategic Outcome: A Federal Government that is Supported by High-Quality Legal Services
  • 2.1 Program: Legal Services to Government Program
• Internal Services

Organizational Priorities

Risk Analysis

Key Risks

Risk	Risk Response Strategy	Link to Program Alignment Architecture
Responding to new and emerging policy priorities –The broad scope and complexity of the justice system pose ongoing challenges for timely policy and program responses.	Continue to monitor, research and analyze emerging trends to inform forward planning. Conduct regular departmental planning sessions to promote information sharing and coordinated consideration of key policy issues. Provide succession planning and knowledge management-activities.	SO 1 – A Fair, Relevant and Accessible Canadian Justice System P. 1.1 – Stewardship of the Canadian Legal Framework
Maintaining partnerships necessary for policy and program development and delivery – Relationships with essential justice system partners and stakeholders could weaken if not actively maintained.	Maintain a close dialogue with all partners (other federal departments, provinces and territories, and non-governmental organizations). Continue to develop and implement stakeholder engagement plans for funding programs.	SO 1 – A Fair, Relevant and Accessible Canadian Justice System P. 1.1 – Stewardship of the Canadian Legal Framework
Meeting evolving demands for legal services – 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.	Collaborate with client departments and agencies, including joint planning to meet government priorities and manage legal risks in a cost-effective manner. Continue to support professional development of legal staff. Continue to develop and enhance supporting tools and processes (e.g. litigation support services). Refine the Department's service delivery model based on findings of the recent Legal Services Review (LSR).	SO 2 – A Federal Government that is Supported by High-Quality Legal Services P. 2.1 – Legal Services to Government Program

The effective management and monitoring of key corporate risks will support the implementation of the Department's priorities in 2015-16.

Given that the administration of justice in Canada is an area of shared jurisdiction, the Department's stewardship of the Canadian legal framework requires close collaboration with the provinces and territories. The Department must also work with a broad range of stakeholders, including other federal departments, non-governmental organizations and international institutions. At times, relationships with these essential partners may be affected by the need to balance expectations and interests. An additional complexity, in the current era of electronic information and connectedness, is heightened expectations for rapid responses to emerging issues.

To manage these risks, the Department will continue to monitor emerging trends to inform its forward planning and maintain policy responsiveness. This will include conducting regular policy-focused planning sessions. The Department will also continue succession planning and knowledge-management activities to foster the proper knowledge, skills, and expertise to readily navigate within this complex operating environment.

In its role as a provider of legal advisory, litigation and legislative services to other federal departments and agencies, the Department must maintain appropriate delivery capacity to meet legal needs. This capacity is largely contingent on the recovery of costs from clients. Risk may be created as clients adjust priorities, particularly if there are unanticipated changes in the volume or nature of their legal service requests. The Department's ability to meet service demands may also be affected by changes in law practice management and the increasing volume of electronically stored information.

To address these risks, the Department will continue to focus on joint planning with clients, including sharing information on the effective management of legal risks, the triggers and costs of legal services, and the appropriate role of legal counsel. The Department will also continue to actively support ongoing professional development for its legal staff. In addition, the Department will continue to develop and enhance supporting tools and technologies, as well as enhance digital processes. These activities will be informed by the recent Legal Services Review (LSR) to improve the delivery of legal services across government. The LSR has been undertaken to manage the demand for legal services and to ensure the fiscal sustainability of those services in the long term. Over the next two years, the Department will work to refine its service delivery model based on the findings of this review.

Planned Expenditures

Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)

2015–16 Main Estimates	2015–16 Planned Spending	2016–17 Planned Spending	2017–18 Planned Spending
673,866,874	711,733,149	674,072,609	634,852,812

Note: Financial Resources for Planned Spending are based on Main Estimates and exclude respendable revenue. In addition, estimated amount of Paylist requirements for all three years and the approximate amount of Operating Budget Carry Forward for 2015-16 are included in the planned spending.

Human Resources (Full-Time Equivalents [FTEs])

2015–16	2016–17	2017–18
4,474	4,420	4,420

Budgetary Planning Summary for Strategic Outcome(s) and Program(s) (dollars)

Strategic Outcome(s), Program(s) and Internal Services	2012–13 Expenditures	2013–14 Expenditures	2014–15 Forecast Spending	2015–16 Main Estimates	2015–16 Planned Spending	2016–17 Planned Spending	2017–18 Planned Spending
Strategic Outcome 1: A Fair, Relevant and Accessible Canadian Justice System
Program 1.1: Stewardship of the Canadian Legal Framework	424,204,889	382,305,605	384,347,562	393,390,464	394,638,847	388,913,386	350,048,906
Program 1.2: Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime	1,178,161	1,195,444	1,254,727	1,320,994	1,320,994	1,320,994	1,320,994
Subtotal	425,383,050	383,501,049	385,602,290Footnote 1	394,711,458	395,959,841	390,234,380	351,369,900
Strategic Outcome 2: A Federal Government that is Supported by High-Quality Legal Services
Program 2.1: Legal Services to Government Program	191,992,179	191,292,725	164,576,113	192,604,324	198,250,530	186,770,969	186,770,967
Subtotal	191,992,179	191,292,725	164,576,113	192,604,324	198,250,530	186,770,969	186,770,967
Internal Services – Subtotal	116,607,619	162,247,090	153,477,787	86,551,092	117,522,777	97,067,259	96,711,944
Total	733,982,848	737,040,864	703,656,189Table note *	673,866,874	711,733,149Table note *	674,072,609Table note *	634,852,812Table note *

Note: Excludes respendable revenue. In addition, estimated amount of Paylist requirements for all three planning years and the anticipated amount of Operating Budget Carry Forward for 2015-16 are included in the planned spending.

Table note *

Differences may arise due to rounding.

Return to table note * referrer

As indicated in the above table, the Department of Justice’s forecasted expenditures are $703.7 million and $711.7 million for 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively. These spending figures are net of the Department’s Net Vote Authority, which allows the Department to collect and spend revenue for the delivery of legal services from other government departments. The $8.0 million variance of expenditures between 2014-15 and 2015-16 is primarily attributable to the following major factors:

Under the Stewardship of the Canadian Legal Framework, the planned increase in spending is primarily explained by the new funding in support of non-legislative measures to address prostitution and that 2015-16 planned spending is based on the assumption that total budgetary resources will be spent. It is offset by the sunsetting of other programs (i.e . the Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women Initiative and the Security Certificates Initiative ̶ the management of security inadmissibility cases under section 34 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and cases requiring the protection of information pursuant to Division 9 of the IRPA, as well as the pursuit of enhanced assurances against torture). Budget 2014 announced $25 million in new funding over five years beginning in 2015-16 to “continue efforts to reduce violence against Aboriginal women and girls” and funding will be made available through 2015-16 Supplementary Estimates.

Under the Legal Services to Government Program, the increase in planned spending relates mostly to collections from the delivery of legal services to other government departments and to the distribution between Program Activities. These amounts are offset by the sunsetting of the Security Certificates Initiative.

Under Internal Services, the reduction in Internal Services is primarily attributable to: the fluctuations in departmental expenditures such as severance pay, vacation credits payable upon termination of employment, parental benefits; the sunsetting of the mentioned above initiatives; the transfer to the Canada School of Public Service for the enterprise-wide approach to learning; the transfer for the Human Resources Modernization Initiative; and the Government of Canada’s transition to new payroll practices.

The Department has Net Vote Authority (NVA) of $296.2 million with a corresponding offset to the Operating Budget. The NVA included in the Main Estimates is notionally distributed between Program Activities of Legal Services to Government and Internal Services. The actual revenues collected between Program Activities could vary depending on numerous factors such as the Legal Service Rates approved by the Treasury Board annually and the actual amount of revenues collected over or below the authority (as per the TBS Guide on Financial Arrangements and Funding Options, departments may spend up to 125 percent of their authorities in revenues received for related costs).

Alignment of Spending With the Whole-of-Government Framework

Alignment of 2015-16 Planned Spending With the Whole-of-Government Framework ($ Dollars)

Strategic Outcome	Program	Spending Area	Government of Canada Outcome	2015-16 Planned Spending
SO 1: A Fair, Relevant and Accessible Canadian Justice System	Program 1.1: Stewardship of the Canadian Legal Framework	Social Affairs	A safe and secure Canada	394,638,847
	Program 1.2: Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime	Social Affairs	A safe and secure Canada	1,320,994
SO 2: A Federal Government that is Supported by High-Quality Legal Services	Program 2.1: Legal Services to Government Program	Government Affairs	Well-managed and efficient government operations	198,250,530

Total Spending by Spending Area (Dollars)

Spending Area	Total Planned Spending
Economic affairs	0
Social affairs	395,959,841
International affairs	0
Government affairs	198,250,530

Departmental Spending Trend

As depicted in the chart below, the Department’s total planned spending is expected to increase in 2015-16 to $711.7 million from a forecast spending of $703.7 million in 2014-15. In fiscal year 2015-16, the Department plans to spend $354.9 million on Grants and Contributions and $356.8 million on Operating Expenditures, and expects to receive $297.8 million in revenues. As the primary provider of legal services to other federal government departments and agencies, the Department of Justice has Net Vote Authority to collect and spend revenue for these services. For the purpose of departmental reporting, these respendable revenues reduce total departmental authorities and expenditures. The total amount in respendable revenues is expected to decrease by $2.0 million for a total of $297.8 million in 2015-16.

Departmental Spending Trend Graph

(Thousands of dollars)

Departmental Spending Trend

	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18
Sunset Programs - Anticipated	0	0	0	9,522	16,736	55,996
Statutory	78,287	83,175	83,469	77,169	75,753	75,545
Voted	655,696	653,866	620,188	634,564	598,319	559,308

Description

This stacked vertical bar graph represents departmental spending trends for six fiscal years for the Department of Justice Canada. The graph presents a timeline (in fiscal years) on the horizontal axis and amount of dollars (in thousands of dollars) on the vertical axis. The timeline on the horizontal axis shows six vertical bars; one for each fiscal year from 2012-13 on the left through to 2017-18. The amount of thousands of dollars on the vertical axis ranges from 0 to 800,000. Each vertical bar displays an accumulated total of departmental spending for three categories of funding: sunset programs – anticipated, statutory, and voted. These three categories of funding are also displayed numerically below each bar to indicate the precise dollar amount of funding for each of the six fiscal years presented.

The first vertical bar of the timeline, representing fiscal year 2012-13, displays a total of $0 for sunset programs – anticipated, $78,287,000 statutory, and $655,696,000 voted. The second bar of the timeline, representing fiscal year 2013-14, displays a total of $0 for sunset programs – anticipated, $83,175,000 statutory, and $653,866,000 voted. The third bar of the timeline, representing fiscal year 2014-15, displays a total of $0 for sunset programs – anticipated, $83,469,000 statutory, and $620,188,000 voted. The fourth bar of the timeline, representing fiscal year 2015-16, displays a total of $9,522,000 for sunset programs – anticipated, $77,169,000 statutory, and $634,564,000 voted. The fifth bar of the timeline, representing fiscal year 2016-17, displays a total of $16,736,000 for sunset programs – anticipated, $75,753,000 statutory, and $598,319,000 voted. The sixth and final bar of the timeline, representing fiscal year 2017-18, displays a total of $55,996,000 for sunset programs – anticipated, $75,545,000 statutory, and $559,308,000 voted.

Note: The funding associated with programs that are sunsetting are not included in planned spending, but rather shown in the above graph to demonstrate the impact of Sunset Programs funding over the three-year planning period.

In fiscal year 2015-16, the increase of $8.0 million in spending, from $703.7 million in 2014-15 to $711.7 million in 2015-16, is primarily attributable to the funding in support of non-legislative measures to address prostitution and that 2015-16 planned spending is based on the assumption that total budgetary resources will be spent. It will be offset by the sunsetting of the Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Security Certificates Initiatives and by the implementation of the horizontal review of legal services. However, Budget 2014 announced $25 million in new funding over five years beginning in 2015-16 to “continue efforts to reduce violence against Aboriginal women and girls” and funding will be made available through 2015-16 Supplementary Estimates.

Estimates by Votes

For information on the Department of Justice Canada's organizational appropriations, consult the 2015–16 Main Estimates on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat website.

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page