2017-18 Departmental Plan
Planned Results: what we want to achieve this year and beyond
Strategic Outcome 1: A Fair, Relevant and Accessible Canadian Justice System
The Department plays a stewardship role in ensuring a fair, relevant and accessible Canadian justice system. This Strategic Outcome 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.
Program 1.1: Stewardship of the Canadian Legal Framework
Description
The Department fulfills its stewardship role by ensuring a bilingual and bijural national legal framework for the administration of justice that contributes to a safe and just society for all Canadians and confidence in Canada’s justice system. The Department develops and tests innovative approaches to strengthen the legal framework within various domains: criminal law, youth criminal justice, sentencing, official languages, marriage and divorce, access to justice, bijuralism, human rights, privacy, access to information and Aboriginal justice. In addition, in view of the federal government’s shared interest in a sustainable justice system, the Department promotes and facilitates ongoing dialogue with the provinces and territories in the areas of shared jurisdiction and provides funding for the delivery of programs that directly support federal policy objectives.
Planning Highlights
In carrying out its role as steward of the Canadian legal framework, the Department will work to achieve three organizational priorities: ensuring the safety and security of Canadians through a transformation of the criminal justice system; advancing reconciliation; and strengthening human rights governance and the rule of law.
Through coordination and/or collaboration with various stakeholders in the development and implementation of legislative reforms, policy options and initiatives, the Department will promote a fair, relevant and accessible Canadian justice system.
The Department will continue to develop legal policies and laws as required and to support mandate letter initiatives as well as various Government of Canada initiatives, including transforming the criminal justice system; legalizing and regulating cannabis and revising the relevant provisions in the Criminal Code; repealing key elements of Bill C-42, the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act, and introducing regulations dealing with imported guns and purchasing; implementing Medical Assistance in Dying legislation; toughening criminal laws and bail conditions for intimate partner violence; and reviewing the current litigation strategy. Justice will also continue to work with its partner, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, on repealing problematic elements of Bill C-51, the Anti-Terrorism Act 2015, and introducing new legislation that better balances security, rights and freedoms; making immigration and refugee protection changes that support Canada’s humanitarian tradition; revising the Canada Labour Code; and promoting official languages support for linguistic minorities. This varied agenda builds on work undertaken in 2016-17.
The Department will support a strong, independent, meritorious and diverse judiciary, and a fair, efficient and accessible court system that responds to the needs of Canadians. The Department will support the Minister in her role as primary interlocutor with the judiciary and in ensuring respect for judicial independence. In addition to ongoing policy matters such as judicial compensation and judicial conduct, a key initiative in 2017-18 involves delivering the commitment to expanding Unified Family Courts. Reflecting the Government’s wider commitment to consultation and appropriate stakeholder engagement, this will include coordinated outreach to the provinces and territories. In 2017-18, the Department will continue to support the Department of Canadian Heritage to restore a modern Court Challenges Program.
In the area of human rights policy, Justice will support the Minister in her policy responsibility for the Canadian Human Rights Act, including supporting the Government’s commitment to adding gender identity as a prohibited ground of discrimination through the passage of Bill C-16. Justice Canada will provide ongoing support to the Minister to help ensure that the Government demonstrates the greatest possible commitment to respecting the Charterand to fulfilling policy goals (including support for Canada’s implementation of international human rights obligations) with the least possible interference with the rights and privacy of Canadians.
In support of open and transparent government, the Department will provide policy support to the Government’s review of the Access to Information Act, including the proposal to apply the Act appropriately to administrative bodies that support federal courts. The Department will continue to support projects and reforms relating to the protection of personal information in the public sector, including policy advice about the Privacy Act. In addition, Justice will support the Government’s horizontal strategy on official languages for 2018-23.
In 2017-18, Justice Canada will continue work, in cooperation with the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs and other ministers, First Nations, the Métis Nation, the Inuit, parties to the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, and other key partners, to advance the Government of Canada’s objective of renewing its relationship with Indigenous peoples in Canada. It will continue work that began in 2016-17 to support the Government of Canada’s participation in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The National Inquiry is led by five independent commissioners and was launched by the Government of Canada in September 2016. In conjunction with the review of the criminal justice system, the Department will examine ways to address service gaps for Indigenous people and reduce Indigenous over-representation in the justice system. For example, the Indigenous Justice Program has conducted a series of Stakeholder Engagement Sessions across the country with Indigenous communities, program funding recipients, provincial and territorial partners, and other justice stakeholders in order to explore causes and potential solutions to reducing Indigenous over-representation in the mainstream justice system, gaps in service and emerging justice issues. Justice will also support the Government in its commitment to a review of laws and policies to ensure consistency with constitutional and international human rights obligations, such as with Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Justice will continue to support a variety of ongoing initiatives, including supporting rights at the federal level for victims of crime through the implementation of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights and advancing the Action Plan to Address Family Violence and Violent Crimes Against Aboriginal Women and Girls. These initiatives will inform the policy and program activities of the Federal Victims Strategy.
Through the Special Advocates Program, the Department supports the Minister of Justice in meeting the legislated responsibilities in proceedings under Division 9 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and contributes to the fairness of these proceedings. Justice Canada completed an evaluation of the Program in 2016 and will continue to work to implement the recommendations in 2017-18. In tandem, the Department will be working to implement recommendations from the evaluation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act Division 9/National Security Inadmissibility Initiative led by Public Safety Canada. Finally, policy changes will be considered in consultation with other stakeholders following the consultation process associated with the National Security Green Paper, 2016.
In leading the National Anti-Drug Strategy, Justice Canada will work with other federal government departments and agencies to address emerging issues pertaining to illicit drug use, such as the abuse of prescription drugs. The Department will implement its two programs under the National Anti-Drug Strategy: the Drug Treatment Court Funding Program and the Drug Treatment component of the Youth Justice Fund.
The Department will work in partnership with Health Canada and Public Safety Canada, and in consultation with provinces and territories, toward the introduction of legislation in spring 2017 that will strictly regulate access to cannabis, keep it out of the hands of children and keep profits out of the hands of criminals.
For 2017-18, Justice Canada will also promote initiatives in support of family justice, Indigenous and Northern justice, and justice in official languages. This will include continued delivery of the Indigenous Justice Program (formerly Aboriginal Justice Strategy), the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, the Contraventions Act Fund and, subject to the program’s renewal, the Supporting Families Fund.
The Department will work in the international community as a leader in criminal justice system fairness. Justice will continue its international law responsibilities in trade law (leading and supporting negotiations including the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the Organization of American States, the World Trade Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement), as well as human rights. Justice Canada will work to support Government priorities in support of a strong international business environment and a stable financial system through the negotiation and/or implementation of international financing and commerce agreements.
For more information on Department of Justice priorities, see the Minister’s mandate letter on the Prime Minister of Canada’s website.
| Expected results | Performance indicators | Target | Date to achieve target | 2015-16 Actual results | 2014-15 Actual results | 2013-14 Actual results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justice laws and policies promote a fair, accessible and relevant justice system in Canada | Canada’s international ranking with respect to fairness of the justice system | 10Table note i | March 2018 | 11 | 15 | 9 |
- Table note i
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The Department’s performance target is an international ranking of 10th place or better for Canada (source: World Competitiveness Year Book).
| 2017–18 Main Estimates | 2017–18 Planned spending | 2018–19 Planned spending | 2019–20 Planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 385,118,141 | 385,118,141 | 386,176,639 | 384,478,149 |
| 2017–18 Planned full-time equivalents | 2018–19 Planned full-time equivalents | 2019–20 Planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|
| 254 | 254 | 254 |
Information on the Department of Justice’s lower-level programs is available on the Justice website and TBS InfoBase.
Program 1.2: Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime
Description
The Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime (OFOVC) was created to provide a voice for victims of crime at the federal level and to ensure that the federal government meets its commitments to victims. The Office provides direct information, referral and complaint‑review services to its primary clients: victims, victims’ family members or representatives, victim‑serving agencies, and other related stakeholders. The Office also helps raise awareness of systemic issues among all criminal justice and victim‑serving personnel, and provides related recommendations and advice to the Government of Canada through the Minister of Justice. In order to fulfill its mandate, the Office promotes access by victims to existing federal programs and services for victims; addresses complaints of victims about compliance with the provisions of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act; promotes awareness of the needs and concerns of victims and the applicable laws that benefit victims of crime, including Canadian Victim Bill of Rights and the principles set out in the Canadian Statement of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime; identifies and reviewsemerging and systemic issues that negatively impact victims of crime; and facilitates access by victims to existing federal programs and services by providing them with information and referrals. The Ombudsman reports directly to the Minister of Justice and, as such, the Office falls outside the Department’s governance framework.
Planning Highlights
For further information regarding the activities of the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime, please visit the Office’s website.
| Expected results | Performance indicators | Target | Date to achieve target | 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 Actual results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victims of crime access information on their rights and the federal programs and services that are available to them and/or access a complaint review process to address complaints about federal programs, services, laws or policies regarding victims of crime | Year-over-year percentage increase of client contacts with OFOVC | 2 | March 2018 | Not available. Please see the note below. |
| Federal departments, agencies and other stakeholders are provided with OFOVC recommendations on how to effect change for victims of crime | Percentage of OFOVC recommendations submitted and acknowledged and/or acted upon | 100 | March 2018 | Not available. Please see the note below. |
| Stakeholders have access to timely and relevant information about the Office and its activities | Percentage of all pre-identified key stakeholders contacted annually | 100 | March 2018 | Not available. Please see the note below. |
| Year-over-year percentage increase of visits to the OFOVC website | 5 | March 2018 | Not available. Please see the note below. |
Note: The Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime falls outside the Department’s governance framework. Information regarding activities performed in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 are made available in the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime Annual Report for 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2015-16 respectively. For further information regarding activities, please see the Office’s website.
| 2017–18 Main Estimates | 2017–18 Planned spending | 2018–19 Planned spending | 2019–20 Planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,312,105 | 1,312,105 | 1,312,105 | 1,312,105 |
| 2017–18 Planned full-time equivalents | 2018–19 Planned full-time equivalents | 2019–20 Planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 9 | 9 |
Strategic Outcome 2: A Federal Government that is Supported by High-Quality Legal Services
Under the Department of Justice Act, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada provides high-quality legal services to the federal government and its departments and agencies. According to section 4 of the Act, the Minister is the legal member of the Queen’s Privy Council responsible for seeing that the administration of public affairs is in accordance with the law. Under section 4.1 of the Act, the Minister is responsible for examining all government bills introduced in or presented to the House of Commons and, subject to the Statutory Instruments Act, all government regulations to ascertain whether any of their provisions are inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Additionally, under section 5 of the Department of Justice Act, the Attorney General is responsible for advising the heads of government departments on all matters of law and for conducting all litigation for any federal department or agency of the Crown with respect to any subject within the authority or jurisdiction of Canada.
Program 2.1: Legal Services to Government Program
Description
The Department of Justice provides an integrated suite of high-quality legal advisory, litigation and legislative services to the Minister of Justice and to all federal departments and agencies to support them in meeting the Government’s policy and programming priorities and to advance the overall objectives of the Government. Services are provided through a network of departmental legal services units co-located with client departments and agencies, specialized legal capacities within national headquarters, and a network of regional offices and sub-offices providing legal advisory and litigation services to federal departments and agencies across the country.
Planning Highlights
In line with its mandate and the priority “to support the Government of Canada’s priorities through the delivery of high-quality legal services,” the Department will continue to support federal departments and agencies in the delivery of their legislative agenda in the areas of economic affairs, social affairs, international affairs and government affairs.
Economic Affairs
In support of economic affairs, Justice Canada will provide high-quality legal services to help implement initiatives that promote economic growth, job creation and broad-based prosperity. These include major infrastructure investments to support future prosperity, as well as efforts to remove barriers to Canadian trade between provinces and territories and with foreign trading partners. Justice will support the implementation of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, as well as exploratory trade agreement talks with China. In addition, the Department will provide legal support for five-year reviews of financial institutions statutes including the Bank Act and Insurance Companies Act.
Additionally, the Department will provide legal services to client departments that engage in activities to support the economic development of Indigenous peoples through various initiatives such as the Federal Framework for Aboriginal Economic Development, the Specific Claims Action Plan: Justice at Last Initiative, the Comprehensive Land Claims Policy, exploratory tables and tools with Indigenous groups, and major resource development projects.
Justice Canada will support the Government’s continued priority of border security (Beyond the Border Action Plan, such as passenger screening and preclearance) to ensure the safe and legitimate flow of people, goods and services. The Department will work with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to implement the Global Talent Strategy (including increased admissions for temporary and permanent residents), assist with making Express Entry more responsive to Canada’s economic needs, and implement Electronic Travel Authorization.
Justice will continue to support the regulatory framework for food safety and the strengthening of safety and security oversight for the transportation of dangerous goods by rail. The Department will support client departments in investing in agricultural research, including discovery science, and support the implementation of a new multi-year agricultural policy framework. Environmental legal services will also be provided to implement the Government of Canada’s plan for environmental stewardship and a sustainable economy, including carbon pricing.
Justice Canada will support Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada in advancing the Innovation Agenda, supporting Canadian enterprises in increasing business, and taking advantage of trade agreements and modernized internal trade. The Department will support the establishment of an infrastructure bank, including drafting new departmental legislation, as part of the Government’s development of a 10-year plan on infrastructure funding. In terms of procurement, Justice will work with Public Services and Procurement Canada to replace CF-18 fighter aircraft and support the renewal of the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Coast Guard fleet through the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.
Social Affairs
In the area of social affairs, the Department will continue to provide legal services in support of the Government’s key public safety priorities, including reforms to the Anti-Terrorism Act 2015, the creation of a statutory committee of Parliamentarians to review the work of national security agencies, and firearms control reform. Justice will support its departmental clients in the areas of public safety and national security in renewing Canada’s Cyber Security Strategy. Justice will also work with the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and the Minister of Health on efforts that will lead to the legalization and regulation of cannabis. The Department will work with the Minister of Health and provinces and territories to implement Bill C-14 Medical Assistance in Dying legislation. Justice Canada will support the five-year review of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. Justice will also assist the Government in planning and organizing Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations through collaboration with federal, provincial, territorial and municipal partners and partners from the private and not-for-profit sectors, including the 35th Anniversary of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Justice will continue to support the Government in its review of the criminal justice system with deliberate efforts to link to other social system constituencies such as health, housing, and child welfare. An ability to work and exchange across sectors will be the key to the long-term success of this initiative and wider societal benefits. The need for more integrated data and information, to support action and that decision makers require, is also an area of focus. In supporting workers and employers, the Department will work with Employment and Social Development Canada to improve the Employment Insurance system so that it is better aligned with the realities of today’s labour market, including reducing the waiting period for benefits from two weeks to one week.
The Department will provide legal services to all federal departments and agencies to advance the Government’s priorities of reconciliation through renewing a nation-to-nation relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples, implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples informed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, and progressing with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Justice will also work with the Minister of Canadian Heritage to promote, preserve and enhance Indigenous languages and culture.
International Affairs
Initiatives supported by Justice Canada in the area of international affairs include the application of a thoughtful approach to the fight against terrorism, the implementation of a new agenda to combat tax evasion and avoidance, and extradition and mutual legal assistance measures that are in keeping with Canadian values, balancing rights and security. The Department will also support a re‑energized Canadian diplomacy and leadership on key international issues and in multilateral institutions including championing values of inclusive and accountable governance, respect for diversity and human rights, and the rights of women and refugees.
Justice will engage in activities in international public, private, human rights and trade law in leading or supporting negotiations, including representing Canada’s interests in international organizations such as the United Nations Human Rights Council, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law and the Organization of American States. Justice will work to give effect to provisions of the Canada-European Union Strategic Partnership Agreement that promote continued cooperation. The Department will continue contributing to the development of international conventions in such areas as establishing parentage for children, including children born out of international surrogacy arrangements; the cross-border recognition and enforcement of civil protection orders; and facilitating access to credit and secured lending internationally for equipment in the mining, agricultural and construction sectors. Additionally, the Department will support the Government’s implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, including the Pan‑Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.
Justice Canada will support Global Affairs Canada in attracting global investment that can create jobs and opportunities for middle class Canadians. Justice Canada will also support the Government’s refocusing of Canada’s development assistance. The Department will work with Canada Border Services Agency to support the marine arrival of undocumented foreign nationals and the review of overseas activities that protect the integrity of Canada’s borders. Justice will continue providing legal services for the transfer of advance passenger information and air passenger records agreements with the European Union to support the safety of international travel.
Government Affairs
Justice Canada will support initiatives in the area of government affairs, such as providing legal services related to labour negotiations for Public Service collective agreements, and amendments to private and public pension legislation and regulations. Justice will also assist the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with implementing the Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act and Bill C-7 (An Act to amend the Public Service Labour Relations Act, the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board Act and other Acts and to provide for certain other measures), if adopted by Parliament. The Department will continue to provide legal and policy advice in the areas of privacy and access to information, further supporting the Government’s initiatives to advance openness and transparency.
The Department will provide litigation services, endeavouring to support equity, fairness and respect for the Charter in the Government’s response to Charter challenges. Justice Canada will continue its litigation strategy review, integrating it into government public policy‑making whereby monetary and non-monetary litigation risks are considered in the planning and implementation of new policies and legislation. Justice will work with departments to collaborate on litigation positions that consider all government departments and include early resolution, resolution through government initiatives and programs or legislative and regulatory reform. A cross-governmental approach will continue to be applied in litigation that may impact several departments, Indigenous groups, provinces, territories, industry and other stakeholders.
The Department will support the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in ensuring the fairness and integrity of the tax system with the implementation of Budget 2016 investment of $444 million over five years to enhance CRA efforts to combat tax avoidance. Justice Canada will also support the CRA in implementing the Budget 2016 investment of $351.6 million over five years to strengthen its ability to collect outstanding debt. Legal services will continue to be provided on an increasing volume of complex and high-risk collections files. Additionally, following an audit by the Office of the Auditor General of the Income Tax Objections, the Department will work with the CRA to reduce its backlog of files, including national group files. Justice will support the CRA in dealing with the anticipated increased volume of litigation files across the country over the next few years.
The Department will continue to refine and improve upon recommendations stemming from the Legal Services Review by continuing to increase the use of paralegals, using virtual teams, investing in new processes and technology, promoting effective legal risk management, and better aligning human resources with priorities. Justice will continue streamlining the organization including the creation of Centres of Expertise in Procurement Law as well as Labour and Employment Law and the centralization of legal advice on Official Languages Law matters. Justice Canada will also continue to support the horizontal initiative on official languages led by Canadian Heritage.
For more information on Department of Justice priorities, see the Minister’s mandate letter on the Prime Minister of Canada’s website.
| Expected results | Performance indicators | Target | Date to achieve target | 2013-14 Actual results | 2014-15 Actual results | 2015-16 Actual results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal departments and agencies receive high-quality legal services | Client satisfaction mean rating on the overall quality of legal advisory, litigation, legislative, and regulatory drafting services on a 10-point scale | 8 | April 2020 | Advisory: 8.4Table note ii |
Advisory: 8.4Table note ii |
Advisory: 8.4Table note ii |
| Client satisfaction mean rating on the Department of Justice Canada performance against service standards for the delivery of legal services on a 10-point scale | 8 | April 2020 | Responsiveness/ Accessibility: 8.6Table note ii |
Responsiveness/ Accessibility: 8.6Table note ii |
Responsiveness/ Accessibility: 8.6Table note ii |
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| The Crown’s interest is represented before courts and tribunals | Percentage of litigation files that have a successful outcome (settled and adjudicated) | 70 | April 2017 | 72.1 | 71.1 | 81Table note iii |
- Table note ii
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The results presented reflect feedback collected during Cycle II of the Client Feedback Survey (2009-2012). The Survey resumed in 2016-17.
- Table note iii
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All settlements of litigation are included as successful outcomes. Previously, there was a separation between settlements considered successful and others. As a result of the clarified methodology, there is a year-over-year increase in successful outcomes. The Department will be establishing a new target threshold for future years to reflect this clarified methodology.
| 2017–18 Main Estimates | 2017–18 Planned spending | 2018–19 Planned spending | 2019–20 Planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 195,920,770 | 195,920,770 | 191,669,494 | 191,669,494 |
Note: Planned spending is net of respendable revenues. Planned spending for 2017-18 and beyond excludes all Treasury Board central votes funding.
| 2017–18 Planned full-time equivalents | 2018–19 Planned full-time equivalents | 2019–20 Planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|
| 3,089 | 3,089 | 3,089 |
Information on the Department of Justice’s lower-level programs is available on the Justice website and TBS InfoBase.
Internal Services
Description
Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. Internal services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization, and not those provided to a specific program. The groups of activities are Management and Oversight Services, Communications Services, Legal Services (Corporate Counsel), Human Resources Management Services, Financial Management Services, Information Management Services, Information Technology Services, Real Property Services, Materiel Services and Acquisition Services.
Planning Highlights
The services grouped under the Internal Services Program (including Investment Planning, Risk Management, Internal Audit and Evaluation) wholly enable the Department’s efforts to achieve its two strategic outcomes: a fair, relevant and accessible Canadian justice system, and a federal government that is supported by high-quality legal services. The Internal Services Program will actively contribute to achieving the Justice priority “to manage organizational transformation in support of business and legal excellence.”
In 2017-18, Justice Canada will promote the Blueprint 2020 Government renewal priorities to advance Justice’s “Canada’s Legal Team” vision. A continuing departmental priority is to have the people, the work environment, the capacity and leadership that will assure a successful future. With many employees and 45 percent of executives eligible to retire by March 2020, renewal through recruitment and knowledge transfer strategies remains a high priority. This will be supported by developing and implementing an integrated approach to performance management, talent management, and succession planning. The Department will continue to enhance professional excellence within its legal community and other professional groups through in-house peer-to-peer training, on-line training, legal practice groups and joint training. Professional development initiatives for all employees will also continue to be secured in partnership with the Canada School of Public Service.
Justice Canada will provide strategies to help employees maintain work-life balance. The Department will implement the Federal Public Service Workplace Mental Health Strategy adopted by the Government of Canada in 2016. Justice will continue with its mental health learning strategy across the organization, with compassionate support of individuals struggling with mental health. As well, employee coaching about safe and secure work environments will be provided. The Department supports the Government’s pledge “to strive to create a culture that enshrines psychological health, safety and well-being in all aspects of the workplace through collaboration, inclusivity and respect.”
Through three pillars (a whole-of Justice-approach, legal and business excellence, and applying new ways of working through talent, innovation and technology), Justice will advance its Canada’s Legal Team vision—centred on the Justice-client partnership, innovation, integrated expertise, the leveraging of technology, and evidence-based decision-making. The Department will refine and improve upon recommendations from the Legal Services Review and modernize its service delivery model. It will also continue its initiatives to streamline and automate internal operations and enhance productivity. Justice will use business analytics to leverage performance data and trends to inform operational and strategic decision-making. This will include continued development of a system that integrates data from corporate systems that will produce information that helps client organizations to better manage their demand for legal services. These efforts will support the Clerk’s call to review what work is done and how it is done, and to streamline workflows and processes.
In support of enhanced and engaged communications, Justice Canada will continue transitioning toward a digital-by-design approach to efficiently and effectively deliver communications services to the Department, to government partners, and to Canadians. This includes employing analytics to drive operations and inform decision-making and to offer integrated content across multiple channels in order to meet the broad range of Canadians’ information needs.
Through the realization of its Information@Justice Strategy, the Department will transform its information management practices by adopting a digital standard and improving the sharing of information through the implementation of the Department-wide Digital Workspace. Justice will support Open Government by creating a culture of open and shared information by default. In addition, the Justice Legal Case Management solution will provide a modern and agile system that aligns with Government of Canada information technology standards. Justice Canada will support the various Government of Canada Information Management/Information Technology initiatives, including those for cyber-security, email transformation and telecommunications.
The Department will support the transition and implementation of the new Treasury Board Secretariat Policy on Results, working to continually improve its approach to performance measurement. This will enhance Justice’s ability to demonstrate progress and results against commitments.
In support of government-wide initiatives, the Department will advance Workplace 2.0 by implementing measures to optimize space utilization while fostering a healthy and modern workplace for employees. Workplace 2.0 initiative implementation will include creating an environment conducive to mental well-being and inclusiveness. Justice Canada will also support the roll-out of the 2016-19 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy after closing out the 2013-16 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. The 2017-20 Justice Sustainable Development Strategy will ensure that new innovative standards and practices incorporate the shift to low-carbon government.
| 2017–18 Main Estimates | 2017–18 Planned spending | 2018–19 Planned spending | 2019–20 Planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73,808,640 | 73,808,640 | 73,228,692 | 73,220,582 |
Note: Planned spending is net of respendable revenues. Planned spending for 2017-18 and beyond excludes all Treasury Board central votes funding.
| 2017–18 Planned full-time equivalents | 2018–19 Planned full-time equivalents | 2019–20 Planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|
| 948 | 948 | 948 |
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