2020-21 Departmental Plan

Cat. No. J76-5E-PDF

ISSN 2371-7408

Table of contents

• From the Director of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada
• Plans at a glance
• Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks
  • Prosecution Services
• Internal Services: planned results
• Spending and human resources
  • Planned spending
  • Planned human resources
  • Estimates by vote
  • Condensed future-oriented statement of operations
• Corporate information
  • Organizational profile
  • Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
  • Operating context
  • Reporting framework
• Supporting information on the program inventory
• Supplementary information tables
• Federal tax expenditures
• Organizational contact information
• Appendix: definitions
• Endnotes

From the Director of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada

I am pleased to present the Public Prosecution Service of Canada's (PPSC) 2020-21 Departmental Plan.

The PPSC is an organization with essentially one line of business, namely the prosecution of offences that fall under the mandate of the Attorney General of Canada. While that seems simple, the operating context differs from region to region across Canada. For example, in the three territories, our staff prosecute all Criminal Code offences; by contrast, in the Prairies, over 80% of our work is drug-related; in larger urban centres, the work is often diverse, with a mix of regulatory and drug offences. Travel is a reality in each of our regions, although distances and availability of roads vary. In the North, victims are front and centre of our practice; in the south, many of our witnesses are police, which brings about its own dynamic with respect to relationship building.

Despite our differences, the challenges faced by front-line prosecutors and the legal professionals that support them, are often very similar. Some of those challenges relate directly to the work, and others seem to be endemic to the legal profession as a whole. For those of us who provide corporate services to support our operations, understanding the work and its place in respect of public safety is key.

It is against this backdrop that our management team re-examined its priorities and risks in 2019. Obviously, our first priority is always to provide professional prosecution services in order to enhance the safety of Canadians. But to get there, we must look after our people, not only from the standpoint of their personal safety, but by creating a culture that fosters civility, mental health and wellness.

In 2019, the government provided the PPSC with funds to ensure that it could sustain its operations. These funds, beyond allowing the PPSC to maintain appropriate staffing levels, allow us to look to the future and to find tools to help us do our jobs better. Of course, it is also incumbent on us to examine how we spend the funds provided by Parliament, in order to show value for money and appropriate stewardship.

The risks faced by the PPSC change only marginally from one year to the next, so closely linked are they to our practice. While we may make continual progress that will inform the risk ranking, the protection of our people and of the information we manage will always be at the forefront of risk mitigation measures.

When we started last year, we wondered whether the Cannabis Act would have much impact on our people and operations. As it turned out, the impact for us has been manageable. As we begin 2020, we obviously wonder what other legislative changes will impact our mandate. I am confident, regardless of what the year will bring, that the people of the PPSC will continue to serve their country diligently and in the public interest.

Kathleen Roussel
Director of Public Prosecutions
Deputy Attorney General of Canada

Plans at a glance

The PPSC^Endnote1 has developed new priorities for 2020-21 and 2021-22 that reflect its evolving environment and organizational needs. These priorities focus on strengthening and improving the work environment, as well as conducting its business with increased transparency and accountability. The PPSC also seeks to improve its efficiency and promote innovation through the adaptation of new tools and technologies.

Nurture a Culture of Civility, Wellness and Inclusion

This PPSC priority focuses on the well-being of employees and the culture of the organization. The 2018 Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) results identified areas of concern related to employee wellness and behaviours in the workplace. The PPSC's approach for continuing to improve in these areas is through encouraging a cultural shift towards embracing and nurturing civility, wellness and inclusion.

Key activities for 2020-21 include:

• identifying actions to respond to PSES results and providing educational/awareness sessions to address areas of concern such as harassment and discrimination, as well as pay and compensation;
• removing and preventing barriers to accessibility and diversity by reviewing PPSC policies to comply with the obligations under the Accessible Canada Act and developing a national approach to Indigenous recruitment, retention and development;
• continuing to promote healthy workplace services and personal safety; and
• celebrating the people behind the good work directed at improving the workplace and nurturing this cultural shift.

Strengthen Accountability and Transparency

This priority focuses on the need for transparency of decision making in the criminal justice system and the management of PPSC employees and resources, as well as for strong stewardship in handling public funds.

Key activities for 2020-21 include:

• implementing and ensuring the consistent application of the policy concerning misconduct of justice system participants;
• strengthening the concepts of accountability and transparency in human resources training for managers (for example, training on staffing and labour relations); and
• efficiently managing the resources and processes of the PPSC national programs: the Agents Affairs Program (managing private-sector prosecutors) and the National Fine Recovery Program (NFRP).

Foster Efficiency and Innovation

This priority focuses on positioning the organization to become more efficient and innovative, from the way we work, to the tools and technologies we adapt or develop.

Key activities for 2020-21 include:

• supporting employees' professional development and learning;
• designing work environments to optimize performance;
• exploring a new digital and data strategy by adapting to new technologies and new ways of managing information;
• reviewing business processes and ensuring effective use of resources in the regions; and
• sharing best practices between regional offices.

For more information on the PPSC's plans, priorities and planned results, see the "Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks" section of this report.

Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks

Prosecution Services

Description

The PPSC prosecutes criminal and regulatory offences under federal law in an independent, impartial and fair manner. It also provides prosecutorial legal advice to investigative agencies.

Planning highlights

In 2020-21, the organization will continue to focus on improving its prosecution management practices, including the way files are assigned and how work is managed and tracked throughout the lifecycle of a prosecution. The PPSC will also continue to identify and learn from best practices and recommendations developed by its partners, including provincial and national prosecution services.

The PPSC will continue to provide its prosecutors with access to learning tools and opportunities necessary to continue to improve their skills, further their professional development, and tackle the complex challenges of today's prosecutions and operational requirements. The provision of targeted legal training to prosecutors will ensure that they meet the requirements set by provincial and territorial bar law societies.

In addition, the PPSC is committed to strengthening its relationships with investigative agencies through effective communication at the local, national, and international levels. While recognizing the independent roles of investigators and prosecutors, collaboration will continue to underpin these relationships at the investigative and prosecution stages. The PPSC will continue to promote the PPSC Service Standards to ensure investigators receive advice that is timely, consistent, complete, and promote respect for the rule of law.

As the decision to initiate an investigation resides exclusively with investigators, effective and ongoing communications regarding investigative and enforcement priorities will continue to assist the PPSC in predicting demands for prosecutorial services.

The PPSC, with the assistance of investigative agencies, will develop training programs to assist investigators and prosecutors to address current and emerging trends in criminal and constitutional law, including those arising from the ongoing evolution of investigative tools and techniques.

The new Remediation Agreement Regime enacted under Part XXII.1 of the Criminal Code seeks to denounce corporate criminal wrongdoing by encouraging disclosure, holding organizations accountable and providing reparations while reducing the negative impact that prosecutions might have on innocent stakeholders. To engage in the effective implementation of this regime, efforts will be deployed to work with foreign counterparts who already have such regimes in place, and to educate stakeholders about the objectives and their obligations under the regime. The PPSC will also work closely with relevant law enforcement agencies in charge of investigating corporate wrongdoing to identify priorities and will align resources accordingly. A team at PPSC's headquarters is being tasked with the coordination of the regime, including the negotiation of agreements and their implementation going forward, as these agreements are reached with corporate defendants.

Gender-Based Analysis Plus

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) goes beyond biological and socio-cultural differences to consider many other identity factors, like race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability. In 2020-21, the PPSC will review various guidelines and policies to ensure that the organization considers the GBA+ factors in its decision-making and that it promotes inclusiveness. The PPSC will also examine the application of the new government-wide policy direction on Modernizing the Government of Canada's Sex and Gender Information Practices.

Experimentation

For smaller organizations such as the PPSC, experimentation is a viable way to explore different avenues for enhancing processes or procedures, to see what works and does not work. In 2020-21, the PPSC has identified two areas in which it will seek to experiment: National programs and digital innovation.

In 2020-21, the PPSC will explore new ways to manage its national programs more efficiently. In addition, the PPSC will establish a new centre for innovation and technology to undertake various micro-innovation business projects as well as continue its efforts towards information management service transformation.

Key risks

The PPSC actively monitors its operating environment to identify and manage risks that may affect progress in achieving its strategic outcome and organizational priorities. For 2020-21, the organization has identified the following key risks:

Risk to Stewardship

The current state of the PPSC national programs (Agent Affairs Program and NFRP) could negatively impact the PPSC's ability to manage funds. To mitigate this risk, the PPSC will strengthen the financial accountabilities of the programs and related policies, procedures and delegations. The PPSC will also develop new approaches to create efficiencies in its processes and operations.

Risk to the Security of Information

Given the nature of the PPSC's core mandate, employees are required to receive and handle a high volume of records from investigators that contain sensitive information. This, in turn, increases the risk that sensitive information could be inadvertently disclosed or lost, resulting in a potential privacy breach, a threat to the security and safety of individuals, and/or the public questioning the ability of the organization to adequately protect the information under its control.

Risk to the Safety of Staff

Employees and Agents (private sector prosecutors) could be exposed to incidents of threat and intimidation due to the nature of their work for the PPSC.

Both the security of information and the safety of staff risks will be mitigated by developing and implementing a long-term security awareness strategy aimed at improving the departmental security posture in the areas of physical security, information security and personnel security.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the PPSC's program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase^Endnotei.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the PPSC's program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase^Endnoteii.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the PPSC's program inventory is available in the GC InfoBase^Endnoteiii.

Internal Services: planned results

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of Programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. These services are:

• Management and Oversight Services
• Communications Services
• Legal Services
• Human Resources Management Services
• Financial Management Services
• Information Management Services
• Information Technology Services
• Real Property Management Services
• Materiel Management Services
• Acquisition Management Services

Planning highlights

The mission of the Corporate Services Branch (CSB) is to strive for excellence as trusted business partners in the delivery of sustainable, modern and innovative services to the PPSC. In 2020-21, CSB will again focus on three priorities, namely: promoting a culture of collaboration, promoting efficiencies and effective corporate programs, and promoting a high performing organization.

A high performing organization is one that encourages a culture of learning and development, manages performance, recognizes successes and invests in leadership. Consequently, CSB will build on the work completed in 2019-20 to review its distribution of functions and structures to ensure service excellence, clarity of roles and responsibilities, and support a culture of learning, development and talent management. CSB will continue to invest in highly competent professionals and create a healthy and respectful workplace that is diverse and inclusive.

The PPSC will continue to innovate in developing and implementing a customized, prosecution-specific legal case management system (LCMS) to better meet the needs of the organization. This initiative will further contribute to the PPSC's efforts to foster a digital work environment and leverage technology as part of a transformation for better business outcomes. While the PPSC continues with the implementation of its foundational digital platform; LCMS and GCDocs, it will look ahead to planning for the future of prosecution services by continuing with its ongoing implementation of a modern workplace. The PPSC will begin to explore how the use of innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, would impact the future of prosecutions and how these could be leveraged to ensure that the PPSC remains an organization of excellence.

With an emphasis on modernization for the years ahead, the PPSC will dedicate efforts to improving communications, collaboration, awareness and the digital literacy of its workforce. With these ongoing efforts, the PPSC will ensure that its prosecution practice continues to progress towards a dynamic and digital environment to allow the organization to provide services and fulfill its mandate as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of PPSC's planned spending and human resources for the next three consecutive fiscal years, and compares planned spending for the upcoming year with the current and previous years' actual spending.

Planned spending

Departmental spending 2017–18 to 2022–23

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory) spending over time.

Note: The planned spending for 2020-21 and ongoing has been updated in the chart above and it includes the program integrity funding that was secured through Budget 2019. For more detailed information see the "Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and Internal Services" section of this report.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and Internal Services (dollars)

The following table shows actual, forecast and planned spending for each of PPSC's core responsibilities and to Internal Services for the years relevant to the current planning year.

Prosecution Services and Internal Services: The planned spending includes an increase in both salary and operations and maintenance (O&M) to continue the delivery of prosecution programs and services at current level since program integrity funding was secured through Budget 2019.

Electoral Compliance and Enforcement: On April 1, 2019, a notice was given in the Canada Gazette, making it official that the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections (OCCE) was transferred back to Elections Canada, pursuant to section 401 of An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and other Acts.

2020–21 Budgetary planned gross spending summary (dollars)

The following table reconciles gross planned spending with net planned spending for 2020–21.

Planned human resources

The following table shows actual, forecast and planned full-time equivalents (FTEs) for each core responsibility in PPSC's departmental results framework and to Internal Services for the years relevant to the current planning year.

Prosecution Services: The increase in 2020-21 full-time equivalents is for the delivery of prosecution programs and services at current level since program integrity funding was secured through Budget 2019.

Electoral Compliance and Enforcement: On April 1, 2019, a notice was given in the Canada Gazette, making it official that the OCCE was transferred back to Elections Canada, pursuant to section 401 of An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and other Acts.

Internal Services: The increase in 2020-21 full-time equivalents is due to the repatriation of services previously provided by the Department of Justice and the implementation of a new LCMS.

Estimates by vote

Information on the PPSC's organizational appropriations is available in the 2020–21 Main Estimates^Endnoteiv.

Condensed future-oriented statement of operations

The condensed future oriented statement of operations provides an overview of the PPSC's operations for 2019–20 to 2020–21.

The amounts for forecast and planned results in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The amounts for forecast and planned spending presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

A more detailed future oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on the PPSC's website.

The total planned expenses are projected to be higher in 2020-21 to continue the delivery of prosecution programs.

The total planned revenues will be higher in 2020-21 due to an anticipated increase in time spent on prosecution services.

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: The Honourable David Lametti

Institutional head: Kathleen Roussel, Director of Public Prosecutions and Deputy Attorney General of Canada

Ministerial portfolio:Justice

Enabling instrument: Director of Public Prosecutions Act

Year of incorporation / commencement: 2006

Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

"Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do" is available on the PPSC's website.

For more information on the department's organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister's mandate letter.

Operating context

Information on the PPSC's operating context is available on the PPSC's website.

Reporting framework

The PPSC approved departmental results framework and program inventory for 2020–21 are as follows.

Text Version

PPSC's Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2020–21

Departmental Results Framework	Core Responsibility: Prosecution Services		Internal Services
	Departmental Result: Timely and comprehensive legal advice is provided to investigative agencies.	Indicator: Percentage of respondents satisfied with the timeliness of legal advice.
		Indicator: Percentage of respondents satisfied with the comprehensiveness of legal advice.
	Departmental Result: Federal prosecutions are completed in a timely manner.	Indicator: Number and percentage of cases that went to trial and resulted in a judicial stay of proceedings due to Crown delay.
		Indicator: Number and percentage of cases that went to trial and resulted in the Crown directing a stay of proceedings due to Crown delay.
	Departmental Result: Through professionally conducted prosecution related work, the ODPP contributes to the administration of justice.	Indicator: Number and percentage of prosecutions that result in a determination on the merits of the evidence.
		Indicator: Number and nature of judicial stays for abuse of process based on the conduct of a federal prosecutor.
		Indicator: Number and nature of successful malicious prosecution lawsuits.
		Indicator: Number and nature of substantiated complaints made pursuant to the ODPP's Complaints Policy
Program Inventory	Program: Federal Prosecutions

Changes to the approved reporting framework since 2019–20

On October 1, 2014, pursuant to amendments to the Canada Elections Act, the OCCE was transferred from Elections Canada to the ODPP. The Commissioner of Canada Elections and the Director of Public Prosecutions exercised their statutory duties independently from each other while operating within the same organization. On April 1, 2019, following the passage of Bill C-76, the OCCE was transferred back to within the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer. For this reason the OCCE is no longer reflected in the PPSC Reporting Framework.

Supporting information on the program inventory

Financial, human resources and performance information for PPSC's Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase^Endnotev.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the PPSC's website:

• Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
• Gender-based analysis plus

Federal tax expenditures

PPSC's Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures that relate to its planned results for 2020–21.

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance, and the Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government-wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures^Endnotevi. This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis. The tax measures presented in this report are solely the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Organizational contact information

Public Prosecution Service of Canada

160 Elgin Street, 12th Floor

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8

613-957-7772

1-877-505-7772

info@ppsc.gc.ca

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of appropriated departments over a three-year period. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité ministérielle)

A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Departmental priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments' immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that consists of the department's core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department's actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

experimentation (expérimentation)

The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare, the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works and what doesn't. Experimentation is related to, but distinct form innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.

full time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. Full time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])

An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2020–21 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities refers to those high-level themes outlining the government's agenda in the 2015 Speech from the Throne, namely: Growth for the Middle Class; Open and Transparent Government; A Clean Environment and a Strong Economy; Diversity is Canada's Strength; and Security and Opportunity.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

AAn initiative in which two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)

The process of communicating evidence based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision-making, accountability and transparency.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all of the department's programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department's core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization's influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

strategic outcome (résultat stratégique)

A long-term and enduring benefit to Canadians that is linked to the organization's mandate, vision and core functions.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.