From the Minister

I am pleased to present the Department of Justice Canada’s 2023–24 Departmental Plan.

This annual report sets out the Department’s key priorities and objectives and describes the results we hope to achieve over the next fiscal year. It provides details on initiatives and activities we will undertake to support the Government of Canada and ensure a fair, accessible and relevant justice system for all Canadians.

Keeping Canadians safe is always a top priority for the Department of Justice Canada. To that end, one of the important Government of Canada objectives for 2023-2024 is to develop and introduce legislation to combat the proliferation of hate and the abuse and exploitation of children online. The Department of Justice Canada will also continue to support work to keep our communities safe, including through the development of legislation, as needed. The Department of Justice Canada will continue to provide support to victims of crime, and seek ways to ensure that victims are treated with dignity and respect in the criminal justice system.

The Department of Justice Canada will also continue to further meaningful reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The Department of Justice Canada is actively involved in the Government’s efforts to strengthen and renew relationships based on the upholding of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership. We continue to play a key role in the ongoing work to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the legislative reforms to support Indigenous child and family services, and ongoing development of the Indigenous Justice Strategy. We will also continue to support the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Calls for Justice, the National Action Plan and Federal Pathway, as well as the work of the Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools.

Over the next year, the Department will continue work to address systemic discrimination in the justice system, particularly the overrepresentation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis, racialized Canadians, and members of marginalized communities, including as victims of crime. This will include developing, in consultation and collaboration with Indigenous peoples, provinces, territories and other partners, an Indigenous Justice Strategy and Canada’s Black Justice Strategy.

As Canada continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Justice Canada will support the ongoing work of the Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19, which is studying the legacy of the pandemic in Canada’s courts. Our courts and others working in the justice system have shown great resilience and innovation in responding to these unprecedented challenges. In the process, they have revealed possibilities for improving access to justice and service to the public. Justice Canada can learn from the experience too, and we will continue to seek opportunities to improve the delivery of legal services by exploring emerging and innovative technologies as we adapt and modernize our justice system.

As usual, during this new fiscal year, the Department will support a wide range of Government of Canada priorities by providing legal advice, litigation, legislative and other expert services, as well as funding for programs and services to support the Canadian justice system.

I encourage everyone to read this Departmental Plan to learn more about what we are doing to deliver on mandate commitments. I have full confidence that the Department of Justice Canada will continue to provide excellent service to the Government and to the Canadian public in the year ahead.

The Honourable David Lametti, P.C., K.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada