Evaluation of the Investigative Powers for the 21st Century Initiative

1. Introduction

1.1. Purpose of the Evaluation

This report presents the results of an evaluation of the Investigative Powers for the 21st Century Initiative (IP21C), a horizontal initiative led by the Department of Justice Canada (Justice) in collaboration with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The evaluation was conducted in accordance with the Treasury Board’s Policy on Results (2016). The evaluation was undertaken by the Department of Justice Evaluation Branch between September 2018 and September 2019, as per the 2018-19 Departmental Evaluation Plan.

1.2. Evaluation Scope

The evaluation examined the relevance, performance and design of the Initiative and covered the period following the enactment of Bill C-13, the Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act (PCOCA), on March 10, 2015 up to March 31, 2019. The initial year, 2015-16, was treated as the baseline as the federal partners (IP21C officials) began to hire staff and implement the various funded activities. This also was the year in which Canada ratified the Budapest Convention (on July 8, 2015).