Report on Plans and Priorities 2014–15

ISSN 2292-3969

Erratum

Subsequent to tabling in Parliament and online publication of its 2014-15 Report on Plans and Priorities, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada identified an error in the French version. In Section 1 under Organizational Priorities, the date by which the analysis and publication of the results of the Survey of Investigative Agencies are to be completed has been corrected to indicate March 2015 rather than December 2013, in the HTML version posted online.

2014-15 Estimates

Part III – Departmental Expenditure Plans: Reports on Plans and Priorities

Purpose

Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPP) are individual expenditure plans for each department and agency. These reports provide increased levels of detail over a three-year period on an organization's main priorities by strategic outcome, program and planned/expected results, including links to related resource requirements presented in the Main Estimates. In conjunction with the Main Estimates, Reports on Plans and Priorities serve to inform members of Parliament on planned expenditures of departments and agencies, and support Parliament's consideration of supply bills. The RPPs are typically tabled soon after the Main Estimates by the President of the Treasury Board.

Estimates Documents

The Estimates are comprised of three parts:

Part I - Government Expenditure Plan - provides an overview of the Government's requirements and changes in estimated expenditures from previous fiscal years.

Part II - Main Estimates - supports the appropriation acts with detailed information on the estimated spending and authorities being sought by each federal organization requesting appropriations.

In accordance with Standing Orders of the House of Commons, Parts I and II must be tabled on or before March 1.

Part III - Departmental Expenditure Plans - consists of two components:

• Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP)
• Departmental Performance Report (DPR)

DPRs are individual department and agency accounts of results achieved against planned performance expectations as set out in respective RPPs.

The DPRs for the most recently completed fiscal year are tabled in the fall by the President of the Treasury Board.

Supplementary Estimates support Appropriation Acts presented later in the fiscal year. Supplementary Estimates present information on spending requirements that were either not sufficiently developed in time for inclusion in the Main Estimates or have subsequently been refined to account for developments in particular programs and services. Supplementary Estimates also provide information on changes to expenditure forecasts of major statutory items as well as on such items as: transfers of funds between votes; debt deletion; loan guarantees; and new or increased grants.

For more information on the Estimates, please consult the Treasury Board Secretariat website.^{Footnote 1}

Links to the Estimates

As shown above, RPPs make up part of the Part III of the Estimates documents. Whereas Part II emphasizes the financial aspect of the Estimates, Part III focuses on financial and non-financial performance information, both from a planning and priorities standpoint (RPP), and an achievements and results perspective (DPR).

The Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) establishes a structure for display of financial information in the Estimates and reporting to Parliament via RPPs and DPRs. When displaying planned spending, RPPs rely on the Estimates as a basic source of financial information.

Main Estimates expenditure figures are based on the Annual Reference Level Update which is prepared in the fall. In comparison, planned spending found in RPPs includes the Estimates as well as any other amounts that have been approved through a Treasury Board submission up to February 1^st (See Definitions section). This readjusting of the financial figures allows for a more up-to-date portrait of planned spending by program.

Changes to the presentation of the Report on Plans and Priorities

Several changes have been made to the presentation of the RPP partially to respond to a number of requests – from the House of Commons Standing Committees on Public Accounts (PAC - Report 15^{Footnote 2}), in 2010; and on Government and Operations Estimates (OGGO - Report 7^{Footnote 3}), in 2012 – to provide more detailed financial and non-financial performance information about programs within RPPs and DPRs, thus improving the ease of their study to support appropriations approval.

• In Section II, financial, human resources and performance information is now presented at the Program and Sub-program levels for more granularity.
• The report’s general format and terminology have been reviewed for clarity and consistency purposes.
• Other efforts aimed at making the report more intuitive and focused on Estimates information were made to strengthen alignment with the Main Estimates.

How to read this document

RPPs are divided into four sections:

Section I: Organizational Expenditure Overview

This Organizational Expenditure Overview allows the reader to get a general glance at the organization. It provides a description of the organization’s purpose, as well as basic financial and human resources information. This section opens with the new Organizational Profile, which displays general information about the department, including the names of the minister and the deputy head, the ministerial portfolio, the year the department was established, and the main legislative authorities. This subsection is followed by a new subsection entitled Organizational Context, which includes the Raison d’être, the Responsibilities, the Strategic Outcomes and Program Alignment Architecture, the Organizational Priorities and the Risk Analysis. This section ends with the Planned Expenditures, the Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes, the Estimates by Votes and the Contribution to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. It should be noted that this section does not display any non-financial performance information related to programs (please see Section II).

Section II: Analysis of Program(s) by Strategic Outcome(s)

This Section provides detailed financial and non-financial performance information for strategic outcomes, Programs and sub-programs. This section allows the reader to learn more about programs by reading their respective description and narrative entitled “Planning Highlights”. This narrative speaks to key services or initiatives which support the plans and priorities presented in Section I; it also describes how performance information supports the department’s strategic outcome or parent program.

Section III: Supplementary Information

This section provides supporting information related to departmental plans and priorities. In this section, the reader will find future-oriented statement of operations and a link to supplementary information tables regarding transfer payments, as well as information related to the greening government operations, internal audits and evaluations, horizontal initiatives, user fees, major crown and transformational projects, and up-front multi-year funding, where applicable to individual organizations. The reader will also find a link to the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations publication, produced annually by the Minister of Finance, which provides estimates and projections of the revenue impacts of federal tax measures designed to support the economic and social priorities of the Government of Canada.

Section IV: Organizational Contact Information

In this last section, the reader will have access to organizational contact information.

Definitions

Appropriation

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

Budgetary Vs. Non-budgetary Expenditures

Budgetary expenditures – operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to crown corporations.
Non-budgetary expenditures – net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

Expected Result

An outcome that a program is designed to achieve.

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. FTEs 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.

Government of Canada Outcomes

A set of high-level objectives defined for the government as a whole.

Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS)

A common approach and structure to the collection, management and reporting of financial and non-financial performance information.
An MRRS provides detailed information on all departmental programs (e.g.: program costs, program expected results and their associated targets, how they align to the government’s priorities and intended outcomes, etc.) and establishes the same structure for both internal decision making and external accountability.

Planned Spending

For the purpose of the RPP, planned spending refers to those amounts for which a Treasury Board (TB) submission approval has been received by no later than February 1, 2014. This cut-off date differs from the Main Estimates process. Therefore, planned spending may include amounts incremental to planned expenditure levels presented in the 2014-15 Main Estimates.

Program

A group of related resource inputs and activities that are managed to meet specific needs and to achieve intended results, and that are treated as a budgetary unit.

Program Alignment Architecture

A structured inventory of a department’s programs, where programs are arranged in a hierarchical manner to depict the logical relationship between each program and the Strategic Outcome(s) to which they contribute.

Spending Areas

Government of Canada categories of expenditures. There are four spending areas^{Footnote 4} (social affairs, economic affairs, international affairs and government affairs) each comprised of three to five Government of Canada outcomes.

Strategic Outcome

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

Sunset Program

A time-limited program that does not have on-going funding or policy authority. When the program is set to expire, a decision must be made as to whether to continue the program. (In the case of a renewal, the decision specifies the scope, funding level and duration).

Whole-of-Government Framework

A map of the financial and non-financial contributions of federal organizations receiving appropriations that aligns their Programs to a set of high level outcome areas defined for the government as a whole.

Table of Contents

• Message from the Director of Public Prosecutions
• Section I: Organizational Expenditure Overview
  • Organizational Profile
  • Organizational Context
    • Raison d’être
    • Responsibilities
    • Strategic Outcome and Program Alignment Architecture (PAA)
    • Organizational Priorities
    • Risk Analysis
  • Planned Expenditures
  • Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
  • Departmental Spending Trend
  • Estimates by Vote
• Section II: Analysis of Programs by Strategic Outcome
  • Strategic Outcome: Criminal and regulatory offences under federal law are prosecuted in an independent, impartial and fair manner
  • Program 1.1: Drug, Criminal Code, and terrorism prosecution program
  • Program 1.2: Regulatory offences and economic crime prosecution program
  • Internal Services
• Section III: Supplementary Information
  • Future-Oriented Statement of Operations
  • List of Supplementary Information Tables
  • Tax Expenditures and Evaluations
• Section IV: Organizational Contact Information
• Endnotes

Message from the Director of Public Prosecutions

I am pleased to present the 2014–15 Report on Plans and Priorities for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC).

The PPSC’s mandate is to prosecute offences under federal jurisdiction in a manner that is independent, impartial, and fair, and to provide legal advice to investigative agencies.

This report outlines how the PPSC will work to fulfill this mandate over the coming year across all of our areas of prosecution. It also sets out the strategic organizational priorities the PPSC has identified for 2014–15. These priorities build on work done in recent years, and will help to ensure that the PPSC continues to deliver on its mandate in a manner consistent with the organization’s key values of integrity, excellence, respect, and leadership.

For the coming years, the PPSC has identified certain risk factors that it may face, associated with the capacity of the criminal justice system and the PPSC’s own legal capacity, as well as the ongoing potential for threats and intimidation. The PPSC has developed strategies to address those challenges, and to ensure that, through the dedicated efforts of its prosecutors and other staff, it continues to help make Canada a safer and more just society.

Section I: Organizational Expenditure Overview

Organizational Profile

Minister: The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Deputy head: Brian Saunders, Director of Public Prosecutions

Ministerial portfolio: Justice

Year established: 2006

Main legislative authorities: Director of Public Prosecutions Act

Organizational Context

Raison d’être

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada^{Footnote 5} (PPSC) is an independent prosecution service mandated to prosecute criminal and regulatory offences under federal jurisdiction. Its sole strategic outcome is the prosecution of these offences in a manner that is independent, impartial and fair.

The PPSC plays an integral role in the criminal justice system, promoting due process and working to safeguard the rights of all those who come into contact with the justice system.

The benefits to Canadians from the work carried out by the PPSC include:

• provision of timely and independent advice to federal investigative agencies and government departments on the criminal law implications of investigations and prosecutions;
• principled and independent decisions by prosecutors; and
• confidence in the administration of justice through professionally conducted prosecutions that result in judicial determinations on the merits of the evidence.

Responsibilities

The PPSC undertakes key duties on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada and the people of Canada. These key duties, to be carried out in an objective and non-partisan manner, are:

• The duty to act independently in making decisions related to criminal prosecutions – This constitutional principle recognizes that decisions as to whether a prosecution should be initiated, continued or ceased, be made solely in accordance with legal criteria related to whether there is evidence that indicates a reasonable prospect of conviction and an assessment of whether the public interest requires a prosecution. Considerations of a partisan political nature are expressly excluded from the consideration of the public interest.
• The duty to act independently in providing prosecution-related legal advice – While prosecution-related advice to law enforcement and other federal investigative agencies will take into account the agency’s legal and policy setting, prosecutors cannot be drawn into the agency’s policy making and program administration such that their ability to provide impartial, accurate and effective legal advice is undermined.

Areas of Prosecution

The PPSC prosecutes cases under federal statutes that are referred to it by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), other federal investigative agencies, and provincial and municipal police forces.

It is responsible for the prosecution of all drug offences initiated on behalf of the government of Canada under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, regardless of whether a federal, provincial, or municipal police agency lays the charges, in all provinces except Quebec and New Brunswick^{Footnote 6}. In the latter two provinces, the PPSC is responsible for drug charges laid by the RCMP only.

In all provinces and territories, the PPSC prosecutes offences under federal statutes aimed at protecting the environment and natural resources as well as the country’s economic and social health (e.g., Fisheries Act, Income Tax Act, Copyright Act, Canada Elections Act, Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999, Competition Act, Customs Act, Excise Act, and Excise Tax Act), and includes offences involving fraud against the government, capital market fraud offences, along with conspiracies and attempts to violate any of these statutes. The PPSC routinely provides advice in relation to, and prosecutes offences under, approximately 40 of those statutes.

In the three territories, the PPSC prosecutes all Criminal Code offences as well as offences under all other federal legislation and certain territorial statutes. In the provinces, the PPSC has jurisdiction to prosecute certain Criminal Code offences, including those related to terrorism, criminal organizations, money laundering and proceeds of crime. Under arrangements with the provinces, the PPSC may prosecute Criminal Code offences that are otherwise within provincial jurisdiction when the accused also faces more serious charges within federal jurisdiction.

Performance information on each of these areas of prosecution can be found in Section II of this document.

While the PPSC does not have authority to direct investigations, its core mandate includes providing prosecution-related advice to investigators for prosecutions within its jurisdiction. Such advice is crucial to ensure that investigative techniques and procedures are consistent with evolving rules of evidence and with protections under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The advantage of early prosecutorial advice is that it reduces the risk that investigative decisions, such as those about methods of obtaining evidence, will detrimentally affect the admissibility of evidence at trial or the constitutional rights of Canadians.

Strategic Outcome and Program Alignment Architecture (PAA)

• 1 Strategic Outcome: Criminal and regulatory offences under federal law are prosecuted in an independent, impartial and fair manner.
  • 1.1 Program: Drug, Criminal Code, and terrorism prosecution program
  • 1.2 Program: Regulatory offences and economic crime prosecution program
  • Internal Services

Organizational Priorities

Risk Analysis

Planned Expenditures

Drug, Criminal Code, and terrorism program and the Regulatory offences and economic crime prosecution program:

The spending variance between the fiscal years relates to payments for new collective bargaining settlements including retroactive amounts, payments to terminate severance pay entitlements and additional staff.

Internal Services:

The spending variance between the fiscal years is related mainly to the relocation of offices.

Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes

Departmental Spending Trend

[Details]

As previously indicated, the spending variances over the fiscal years are mainly related to payments for new collective bargaining settlements including retroactive amounts, payments to terminate severance pay entitlements, additional staff, relocation of offices and include the government reductions.

Estimates by Vote

For information on the PPSC’s organizational appropriations, please see the 2014-15 Main Estimates publication.^{Footnote 8}

Section II: Analysis of Programs by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome: Criminal and regulatory offences under federal law are prosecuted in an independent, impartial and fair manner

Judicial stays for abuse of process involve a disposition where the court does not allow a prosecution to proceed because of objectionable police or prosecutorial conduct and/or a violation of the rights of the accused.

Plaintiffs suing Crown prosecutors for malicious prosecution must prove, among other matters, that the prosecution was undertaken without reasonable and probable cause, and was motivated by malice or a primary purpose other than that of carrying the law into effect.

Complaints regarding the PPSC’s independence, impartiality or fairness may be made to the courts or to the PPSC under its Complaints Policy. The PPSC Complaints Policy came into effect in October 2012, and is available on the PPSC’s Internet site.

Programs

The role of a prosecutor is not to win a conviction at any cost but to put before the court all available, relevant, and admissible evidence necessary to enable the court to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. Hence, the performance indicators and results for both the Drug, Criminal Code and Terrorism Prosecution Program (P 1.1) and the Regulatory Crime and Economic Prosecution Program (P 1.2) are based on the extent to which prosecutions result in a determination on the merits of the evidence.

The PPSC considers that a case is decided on its merits when:

• a judge or jury determines the guilt or innocence of an accused person after a trial;
• a judge determines after a guilty plea that a conviction or discharge is appropriate; or
• a Crown prosecutor stays or withdraws a charge as a result of an assessment that the case does not meet the test for prosecution, or as a result of a plea of guilty being entered to a serious charge rendering proceedings on a less serious charge redundant.

Cases not decided on the merits are those that are stayed by the Court, and for which, as a result, there is no outcome decided by a judge or jury based on the evidence of guilt or innocence. A judicially imposed stay will generally mean discontinuance or permanent suspension of the proceedings.

Program 1.1: Drug, Criminal Code, and terrorism prosecution program

Description: This program supports the protection of Canadian society against crime through the provision of legal advice and litigation support during police investigations, and the prosecution of: all drug offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and any related organized crime offences throughout Canada, except in Quebec and New Brunswick, where the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions prosecutes such offences only where charges are laid by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; proceeds of crime offences; pursuant to understandings with the provinces, Criminal Code offences where they are related to drug charges; all Criminal Code offences in the three territories; terrorism offences; and war crimes and crimes against humanity offences. This program activity also involves the promotion of federal/provincial/territorial cooperation on criminal justice issues of mutual concern.

Planning Highlights

Within this program, two ongoing priorities relate to organized crime and offences related to national security.

The ongoing focus on organized crime reflects the priority given to this issue by the police and other law enforcement authorities. The PPSC will continue to emphasize inter-jurisdictional cooperation within the prosecutorial community and with investigative agencies both federally, nationally and internationally; provide advice and litigation support during the investigative stage, especially on highly complex cases; prosecute organized crime cases on behalf of the Crown; and pursue proceeds of crime and offence-related property. While all PPSC regional offices prosecute organized crime cases, a number of them are involved in highly complex cases that will continue through 2014-15, and will require dedicated teams of experienced counsel.

The priority given to offences related to terrorism and espionage reflects the gravity of their impact on Canada’s national security, international relations and national defence. These cases are usually resource-intensive, requiring senior prosecutors, paralegals and support staff to devote significant energies to ensure that the cases can be decided on the merits.

In 2014-15, the PPSC again expects to prosecute cases relating to national security. Specifically, these include a case dealing with an attempt to communicate classified information to a foreign entity and another involving the kidnap of two Canadians in Niger in 2008. A terrorism-related prosecution relating to a plot to derail a Via Rail train is ongoing.

As in previous years, the PPSC will work closely with provincial and territorial prosecution authorities on issues and challenges of common interest. As part of this work, the PPSC will continue to co-chair, and provide secretarial and administrative support to, the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Heads of Prosecution Committee.

As well, the PPSC will ensure ongoing linkages between the Committee and partners from outside the prosecution community, and will also continue to participate in the work of the Heads of Prosecuting Agencies Conference and the International Association of Prosecutors.

Program 1.2: Regulatory offences and economic crime prosecution program

Description: This program supports the protection of Canadian society against crime through the provision of legal advice and litigation support to federal investigative agencies, and the prosecution of: offences under federal statutes aimed at protecting the environment and natural resources as well as the country’s economic and social health (e.g., Fisheries Act; Income Tax Act; Copyright Act; Canada Elections Act; Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999; Competition Act; Customs Act; Excise Act; and the Excise Tax Act); offences involving fraud against the government; capital market fraud offences; and any organized crime offences related to the foregoing offences. This program also includes the recovery of outstanding federal fines and the promotion of federal/provincial/territorial cooperation on criminal justice issues of mutual concern.

Planning Highlights

The further development and implementation of various elements of the PPSC’s vision for Law Practice Management are planned for 2014-15. This will include the continued development and distribution of knowledge management resources, including the revised PPSC Deskbook and other manuals for prosecutors, and enhanced delivery of training for prosecutors and paralegals through remote and on-line means.

The PPSC is responsible for the recovery of outstanding court-ordered federal fines under the terms of an assignment issued by the Attorney General of Canada in 2007. The National Fine Recovery Program was affected by the federal government’s 2010-11 strategic review exercise. As a result, a modified fine recovery program has been developed and will be implemented starting in 2014-15. It includes a new program delivery approach that will leverage the services of one or several collection agencies to recover the fines imposed under federal statutes. A newly created National Fine Recovery Division (NRFD) within the PPSC will be responsible for managing contracts with these service providers.

Two major trials in electoral matters are scheduled for 2014. In one of these cases, an individual is charged with using robocalls to willfully prevent or endeavour to prevent electors from voting. In the other case, two individuals are charged with willfully incurring election expenses in an amount that was more than the election expenses limit.

The PPSC will continue to support Canada’s efforts to combat the bribery of foreign public officials through the provision of pre-charge advice to the RCMP and the prosecution of offences under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act.

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. These groups are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel Services; Acquisition Services; and Other Administrative Services. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.

Planning Highlights

• The PPSC’s Finance and Acquisitions Directorate will continue to implement Treasury Board (TB) policy requirements, specifically the TB Policy on Internal Control (initiating phase 2) and the new government-wide Shared Travel Services systems. It will continue to examine internal processes with a view to further streamline and standardize financial management and acquisitions processes, and enhance approaches and tools for managing and sharing information. It will also develop and coordinate an internal client satisfaction survey.
• In 2014-15, the Human Resources Management group will focus on implementing the new Directive on Performance Management.
• The PPSC will continue to utilize the services of Justice Canada and Shared Services Canada for the majority of its information management and information technology requirements in 2014-15 and beyond. Government of Canada-wide initiatives that are targeted for implementation in 2014-15 at the PPSC include the Email Transformation Initiative and the Electronic Document and Records Management System (GCDOCS).
• The implementation of the Government of Canada’s new Workplace 2.0 Fit-Up standard in PPSC offices across the country will continue.
• The PPSC is preparing internal policy instruments in the area of access to information and privacy law. The work will continue during 2014-15. Specifically, the PPSC is preparing an internal manual on the processing of access to information requests and a similar manual on the processing of privacy requests. The PPSC is also looking to finalize a PPSC-specific Privacy Management Framework during fiscal year 2014-15.

Section III: Supplementary Information

Future-Oriented Statement of Operations

The future-oriented condensed statement of operations presented in this subsection is intended to serve as a general overview of the PPSC’s operations. The forecasted financial information on expenses and revenues are prepared on an accrual accounting basis to strengthen accountability and to improve transparency and financial management.

Because the future-oriented statement of operations is prepared on an accrual accounting basis and the forecast and planned spending amounts presented in other sections of this report are prepared on an expenditure basis, amounts will differ.

A more detailed future-oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net costs of operations to the requested authorities, can be found on the PPSC’s website.

The total expenses are higher in 2013–14 due to payments to terminate severance pay entitlements.

The total revenues are higher in 2014–15 due to increased demand for prosecution services, and an anticipated increase in legal rates.

List of Supplementary Information Tables

The supplementary information tables listed in the 2014–15 Report on Plans and Priorities can be found on the PPSC’s website.

• Upcoming Internal Audits and Evaluations over the next three fiscal years

Tax Expenditures and Evaluations

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures annually in the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations^{Footnote 9} publication. The tax measures presented in the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations publication are the sole responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Section IV: 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

Endnotes