2020-21 Departmental Plan
Plans at a Glance
Established in 1868, the Department of Justice Canada (the Department) supports the dual roles of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada. Under the Department of Justice Act, the Minister is the legal advisor to Cabinet and ensures that the administration of public affairs is in accordance with the law. The Minister of Justice is responsible for matters connected with the administration of justice that fall within federal jurisdiction and fulfils this responsibility by developing policies, laws, and programs to strengthen the national framework.
Under the Department of Justice Act, the Attorney General of Canada is the chief law officer of the Crown. The Attorney General provides legal services to the government and its departments and agencies. These services include the provision of legal advice, the conduct of litigation and the drafting of legislation and regulations. The Attorney General also oversees federal prosecutions within the framework of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act. The Attorney General represents the Crown and not individual departments or agencies. Therefore, the Attorney General seeks to protect interests for the whole of government when providing legal advice and conducting litigation.
Through its core responsibilities of legal service delivery and justice system support, the Department supports a broad range of government initiatives and ministerial mandate letter commitments.
The Department applies a range of critical considerations to ensure strong and evidence-based public policy and good governance. These considerations include legal risk analysis; gender and diversity such as Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+); privacy; modern treaty implications; and strategic environmental assessment.
The following provides an overview of the Department’s key priorities in 2020-21 for each of its core responsibilities as well as its internal services.
Legal Services
The Department will support the implementation of many Government of Canada priorities through the delivery of high quality, integrated legal services – specifically, advisory, litigation, legal policy, and legislative services.
Key actions:
- Support the development of a proposal to establish an independent Criminal Case Review Commission to ensure that applications from potentially wrongfully convicted people are reviewed independently from the interests of the police and prosecution services who participated in the original trial process.
- Support the Government’s commitment to ban the practice of conversion therapy.
- Continue to integrate The Attorney General of Canada’s Directive on Civil Litigation Involving Indigenous Peoples, which establishes guidelines, which litigators must follow in the context of civil litigation involving section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and Crown obligations towards Indigenous peoples.
- Lead an immediate and inclusive process, supported by the Minister of Health, work with provinces to respond to the recent court ruling regarding the medical assistance in dying framework.
- Work with Public Safety Canada and related agencies to implement measures to reduce firearms-related crime.
Justice System Support
The Department will play an essential role in ensuring a fair, relevant and accessible justice system.
Key actions:
- Advance the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), including introducing co-developed legislation, and pursuing the negotiation of administration of justice agreements with Indigenous communities, as recommended in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.
- Contribute to building the National Action Plan on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls through increased access to culturally-grounded and trauma-informed services and support for families of missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls through the national Family Information Liaison Unit initiative.
- Promote greater use of restorative justice processes.
- Contribute funding to provinces and territories and organizations for public legal education and information and legal advice for those who have experienced workplace sexual harassment.
- Provide funding to support the long-term sustainability of the immigration and refugee legal aid program, given ongoing high numbers of asylum seekers.
- Develop proposals for reform of Canada’s system of judicial governance and discipline; for mandatory training for judges on sexual assault and on unconscious bias and cultural competency; and for new superior court judges to reduce delays across the court system.
- Identify opportunities to support Canadians and parliamentarians in better understanding the unique dual role of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney of General Canada.
Internal services
The Department will enable legal and business management excellence with a strategic focus on the workforce, innovation and collaboration, as well as open and accountable operations.
Key actions:
- Promote digital approaches and strategies for information sharing and collaboration, including communicating across multiple platforms to engage Canadians in conversations about key justice priorities.
- Minimize the impact of Pay Transformation implementation on Justice employees.
- Support the Department’s legal community and strengthen its focus on professional excellence, including training and the introduction of a development program for junior counsel.
- Implement a Psychological Health and Safety Management System and the Safe Workspace Action Plan, including the establishment of an Ombuds office.
For more information on the Department of Justice Canada’s plans, priorities and planned results, see the “Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks” section of this report.
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