Department of Justice Component of Canada’s Action Plan Against Racism

2. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COMPONENT OF THE ACTION PLAN

This section of the report describes the Justice component of CAPAR, including its goals, activities, management structure and resources.

2.1. Program Logic

This sub-section describes the program logic linking the types of activities that the Justice Department undertakes as part of CAPAR and their expected results. Activities and outputs have been revised since the previous formative evaluation to better reflect the capacity of the Department of Justice to undertake activities under CAPAR and accurately capture the work the Department has been doing.

2.1.1. Program Activities and Outputs

As one of the federal partners in implementing CAPAR, the Department has one strategy and has concentrated its efforts on activities in the three following areas:

Addressing race-based issues in the justice system
developing and supporting projects, and conducting research and consultations to assess the problem of overrepresentation of certain groups in the justice system.
Interventions for victims and perpetrators of hate crimes
exploring initiatives that respond to the special needs of victims of hate crimes and interventions that reduce recidivism in those who commit such crimes by conducting consultations and research.
Countering Internet-based hate crime
investigating the problem of borderless communication of hate propaganda through the Internet.

2.1.2  Expected Results

The implementation of the activities noted above is expected to contribute to the achievement of a series of immediate, intermediate and long-term outcomes.

In the short term, the Department’s activities under the Action Plan are expected to result in:

In the medium term, the Department’s activities under the Action Plan are expected to result in:

In the long term, the Department’s activities under the Action Plan are expected to result in:

Finally, the Department’s activities under CAPARare ultimately expected to contribute to the government-wide objective of the elimination of racism and the achievement of equitable socio-economic outcomes for all Canadians.

2.2. Management Structure

The overall success of and accountability for the Justice-led activities under CAPAR rest with the Director General, Youth Justice, Strategic Initiatives and Law Reform Unit within the Policy Sector of the Department. In March 2006, the Director General appointed a Justice Coordinator for CAPAR, who is responsible for overseeing the Justice component of the Action Plan and acting as the principal point of contact for the Department on this file. The Justice Coordinator reports directly to the Director General; liaises with the departmental CAPAR Steering Committee and establishes mechanisms within the Department that facilitate work under CAPAR (e.g. funding criteria with the Programs Branch of the Department); and also coordinates projects and activities with colleagues within the Department and represents the Department at interdepartmental meetings regarding this program.

The Justice Steering Committee for CAPAR has been in place since March 2006. Steering Committee meetings occur several times a year and provide members with the opportunity to submit an update on the status of CAPAR activities and to discuss upcoming priorities and events. Additionally, Committee members work with the Justice Coordinator on a frequent and ad hoc basis to create objectives and goals for the implementation of activities under CAPAR, to review proposals, submissions and research initiatives for funding through CAPAR, act as a sounding board for departmental activities and priorities, and advise on departmental obligations and links to other relevant work. This approach is key to ensuring that linkages are made within the Department. For the most part, the Committee is comprised of employees from other areas within Justice who receive funds to undertake activities under the Action Plan (e.g. Research and Statistics Division, Public Law Policy, Human Rights Law Section, Aboriginal Justice Strategy, Evaluation Division, Programs Branch) or who are working on files that are relevant to the Department’s work under the Action Plan (Anti-terrorism Act Review Team, Office of the Northern Region). The Committee is chaired by the CAPAR Justice Coordinator.

The Department receives funds directly from Treasury Board to operate its specific initiatives. Funds are then distributed through the Policy Sector Senior Assistant Deputy Minister’s office to the Strategic Initiatives Unit, Public Law Policy Section, Research and Statistics Division, and Programs Branch and within the Department for their initiatives under the Action Plan.

Funding for Justice initiatives under CAPAR is distributed through a variety of mechanisms, including contracts, contribution agreements and memoranda of understanding.

G&C funding provided through the Justice component of CAPAR is administered through the Programs Branch Justice Partnership and Innovation Program (JPIP), a G&C program that allows the Department to develop and test approaches in relation to newly reformed justice systems and improvements to the delivery of justice services in collaboration with organizations, as well as other levels of government and individuals whose technical expertise is valued. Interested organizations submit their funding proposals to the Department’s Programs Branch for review and consideration. The Program Analyst with the Innovations, Analysis and Integration Directorate of the Programs Branch then facilitates the review of each project proposal to ensure that it is complete and consistent with the Terms and Conditions of the JPIP. When a proposal is incomplete, a letter is sent to the applicants requesting that they provide additional information. Completed applications are then reviewed by members of the Justice Steering Committee for CAPAR, who determine whether the proposal is consistent with departmental priorities under the Action Plan and merits funding. When this is the case, departmental approval is sought to fund the project.

2.3. Resources

As part of the Action Plan, the Department of Justice received a total of $6.7 million over five years (2005-2006 to 2009-2010). Table 1 (below) illustrates the annual distribution of Vote 1 (Salaries and Operations) and Vote 5 (G&C) funds for the Justice component of the Action Plan.

Table 1: Distribution of funds for Justice Component of the Action Plan Against Racism


Year

Vote 1

Vote 5

Subtotal

Accommodation
13%

Total

Grants

Contributions

2005-2006

1,249,377

50,000

50,000

1,349,377

50,623

1,400,000

2006-2007

999,377

100,000

250,000

1,349,377

50,623

1,400,000

2007-2008

807,270

100,000

750,000

1,657,270

42,730

1,700,000

2008-2009

807,270

100,000

750,000

1,657,270

42,730

1,700,000

2009-2010 and ongoing

50,000

 

450,000

500,000

 

500,000

TOTAL

3,913,294

350,000

2,250,000

6,513,294

186,707

6,700,001

Although CAPAR was announced on March 21, 2005, the Department did not receive approval for the Justice component of the initiative until November 1, 2005 and the appointment of a Justice Coordinator for the Action Plan did not occur until March 6, 2006 due to required staffing processes. As such, the Department did not actually receive funds in 2005-2006 to support activities under the Action Plan. As a result, actual expenditures associated with the Justice’s component of the Action Plan were lower than expected during the first two years of program implementation.