The Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada’s 2023-24 Departmental results report

On this page:

From the Commissioner

I am pleased to submit the Departmental Results Report for the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada (FJA) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. This report provides parliamentarians and Canadians with information regarding what we accomplished and achieved in the last year.

My office undertook a number of initiatives in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, with the intention of streamlining our service delivery, not only to federally appointed judges but to the Canadian public, in order to meet the priority of maintaining and enhancing public confidence in the administration of justice.

In response to Bill C-9, an Act to Amend the Judges Act, which received Royal Assent on June 22, 2023, the personnel of the Canadian Judicial Council Secretariat developed and implemented new procedures and guidelines to complement the new provisions of the Act. Bill C-9 reformed the judicial conduct regime in order to bring more efficiencies, both in terms of time and cost.

The timely evaluation of applications for the superior courts is key to the creation of a broad pool of eligible candidates from which judges may be appointed. In the past year, we therefore increased the number of meetings held by the seventeen (17) Judicial Advisory Committees charged with assessing such applications.

In 2006, this Office created and launched a designated platform (JUDICOM) to facilitate collaboration and connectivity amongst superior court judges across the country. This existing legacy system was outdated and lacked agility. In collaboration with our JUDICOM Advisory Board, comprised of chief justices and judges from some of these courts, our Information and Technology personnel finalized the development of a new and modernized platform to better meet the evolving technological needs of judges, and progressed to a pilot project during the year. By the end of FY2023-24, plans were underway to proceed with the full roll-out of the project.

The commitment and innovative initiatives towards continued improvement demonstrated by our personnel at all levels are key to the successful outcomes we achieve year after year.

I thank all members of our personnel for their continued dedication.

Marc A. Giroux
Commissioner

 

Results – what we achieved

Core responsibility and internal services

Core responsibility: Support to federally appointed judges

In this section

Description

To provide services and support to the federally appointed judges in a manner which contributes to the independence of the judiciary and the confidence of Canadians in our judicial system.

Progress on results

This section presents details on how the department performed to achieve results and meet targets for Support to federally appointed judges. Details are presented by departmental result.

Table 1: Targets and results for Support to federally appointed judges

Table 1 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Support to federally appointed judges.

Federally-appointed judges are provided with centralized services in a timely and effective manner

Departmental Result Indicators

Target

Date to achieve target

Actual Results

% of judges’ allowances processed within the 10-day service standard

90%

March 2024

2021–22: 76%

2022–23: 43%

2023–24: 80%
The judicial appointments process is managed efficiently

Departmental Result Indicators

Target

Date to achieve target

Actual Results

% of candidate applications ready to be evaluated within 3 months of reception

Over 95%

March 2024

2021–22: Over 95%

2022–23: Over 95%

2023–24: Over 95%
The judicial conduct review process is completed in a timely and effective manner

Departmental Result Indicators

Target

Date to achieve target

Actual Results

% of complaints reviewed within six months

80%

March 2024

2021–22: 92%

2022–23: 94%

2023–24: N/A*
*Fiscal year 2023-24 was a transitional year as the Canadian Judicial Council implemented the provision of Bill C-9, an Act to amend the Judges Act, to replace the process through which the conduct of federally appointed judges is reviewed. The amendment received Royal Assent, June 22, 2023. The overlap and differences between the old and new regime, are such that accurate statistics on percentage of files closed within six months during this reporting period are not available. These statistics are expected to be reported annually going forward based on the calendar year, in keeping with mandatory legislated reporting requirements.
CJC ensures that federally-appointed judges have access to relevant training and learning opportunities

Departmental Result Indicators

Target

Date to achieve target

Actual Results

% of judges who reported to the CJC that their training and learning needs were met

90%

March 2024

2021–22: 90%

2022–23: 90%

2023–24: 90%

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for FJA’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

 

Details on results

The following section describes the results for Support to federally appointed judges in 2023–24 compared with the planned results set out in FJA’s departmental plan for the year.

 

Federally appointed judges are provided with centralized services in a timely and effective manner

During fiscal year 2023-24, we experienced an increase and processed 4,000 more claims than in the prior year. As we continued to maintain our commitment to a 100% verification of all claims in relation to payments pursuant to the Judges Act, the increase had an initial impact on our 10 business day turn-around for processing claims, being lower in the opening quarters, but we rebounded to our target (90%) standard as the year progressed.

 

The judicial appointments process is managed efficiently

The Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs administers seventeen (17) Judicial Advisory Committees across Canada, who have as responsibility the evaluation of applications received from candidates seeking appointment to the superior courts in Canada. During fiscal year 2023-24:

  • Members were appointed to re-establish nine (9) of the previously expired committees (members are appointed for a 3-year term);
  • 391 new applications were received from candidates seeking nomination;
  • 372 applications (including residual applications from the prior year) were evaluated according to established assessment criteria for inclusion in the pool from which candidates may be selected for federal judicial appointment.

More information on the appointments process, assessment criteria and statistical reporting on applications and diversity of candidates can be found on FJA’s website.

 

The judicial conduct review process is completed in a timely and effective manner

The Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) and its Secretariat continued their work to ensure that all complaints made to the Council were consistently reviewed in a timely manner.

Bill C-9 received Royal Assent June 22, 2023 and brought major amendments to the judicial conduct review process including the manner in which Council reports on its work. The addition of section 160 to the Judges Act details the timing of Council reports (based on a calendar year) as well as the composition of statistics to be reported.

The first report as required by Bill C-9 was published on March 1, 2024, and can be found here. Council reported the following from June 23 to December 31, 2023 (the effective period of the amendments to the Act):

  • Council received 621 correspondences under the new regime.
  • From those correspondences, there were 480 complaint files.
  • 285 complaints were closed by a screening officer.
  • 58 complaints were referred to a reviewing member and 3 of those files were closed before the end of 2023.

Section 160 of the Act  does not apply to complaint files prior to its effective date; as such, from April 1, to December 31, 2023, the following number of files were reviewed according to the prior provisions of the Act:

  • 326 complaints were closed under section 5 of the former Review Procedures.
  • 11 complaints were closed by a screening review member.

 

CJC ensures that federally appointed judges have access to relevant training and learning opportunities

In this reporting period, the Council and its key education partners, including the National Judicial Institute, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, and others, delivered 138 educational programs, which included national programs, court-requested programs, and other more informal sessions such as court-based lunch and learn lectures.

 

Supreme Court of Canada Appointment Process

Our Office provided support to the Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments, mandated with providing non-binding merit-based recommendations to the Prime Minister on Supreme Court of Canada appointments, and prepared the Honourable Mary T. Moreau for her appearance before parliamentarians.

On June 20, 2023, the Prime Minister launched the appointment process to select a justice for the Supreme Court of Canada, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Russell Brown. The Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs administered the application process, including assessing the functional bilingualism of candidates. This office accepted candidate applications until July 21, 2023. This office also provided the necessary tools and resources to support the Independent Advisory Board’s work, and follow-on activities, including actions to prepare the nominated candidate for appearance before parliamentarians.

 

Judges’ Language Training

FJA continued to provide a high quality service to judges in maintaining and improving their proficiency in their second official language. Our services also extended to implementing systematic assessments of judicial candidates seeking nomination to the superior courts in Canada who self-identify as bilingual.

In response to Canada’s ethnic and cultural diversity, focus was placed on updating the curriculum for judges to include amongst other improvements four modules on Rights and Diversity. The modules cover various topics dealing with terminology for First Nations Peoples, racialized persons, 2LBGTQ+ communities and other marginalized groups.

During the year, FJA delivered approximately 10,000 hours of individual training courses to 297 judges as well as coordinated 5 immersion sessions in which 281 judges participated.

 

Federal Courts Reports (FCR)

FJA, pursuant to section 58 of the Federal Courts Act, which provides that only the decisions or the parts of them that, in the editor’s opinion, are of sufficient significance or importance to warrant publication in the Reports shall be included therein, publishes the Federal Courts Reports. These official reports of the decisions of the Federal Court of Appeal and of the Federal Court, are published in both official languages in a side-by-side format.

During fiscal year 2023-24, FCR received 2174 decisions to review. Of those, 106 were selected for full-text publication. Another 96 decisions were selected for publication as digests (a brief summary of the decision). We published 9 editions of the Federal Court Reports, each edition containing both full-text and digested decisions. These books are distributed in print to various stakeholders such as law libraries across the country, and are also available digitally on FJA’s website.

Additionally, the FCR section provided its expert services to the Commissioner on a number of initiatives. Most specifically, editorial assistance to the Independent Advisory Board for the Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments with respect to the issuance and publication on FJA’s website of its final report to the Prime Minister. The section also helped FJA’s Judges’ Language Training section administer the functional bilingualism evaluations of candidates.

 

International Cooperation

During the 2023-24 fiscal year, our office continued its efforts in advancing the international engagement of Canadian judges, aligning closely with departmental and government-wide priorities, focused on human rights and the rule of law.

We engaged in initiatives with:

  • Lithuania: Judicial Administration and Communication Project Technical Exchange (2024) –focusing on judicial and court administration, judicial communication: we hosted a delegation led by the Chief Justice of Lithuania and promoted effective court management and transparent judicial processes.
  • Moldova: Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) (2022–2025) – focusing on enhanced judicial ethics and improved judicial and court communications, including interdepartmental communications: we delivered webinars, facilitated missions, and provided technical assistance, enhancing transparency and public trust in the judiciary.
  • Mongolia: Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) (2021–2024) – focusing on judicial accountability and public communication: we assisted in the development of the first ever Mongolian Ethics Guide for Judges, the establishment of an Ethics Advisory Committee, and the improvement of their communication strategies, strengthening public confidence in the judiciary.
  • South Africa: Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) (2023–2024) – focusing on Intra-judicial communications: we facilitated a high-level exchange between the Chief Justices of Canada and South Africa, establishing a durable judicial dialogue.

These initiatives involved the direct participation of over 30 Canadian chief justices and judges, who either traveled to these countries or hosted foreign delegations in Canada. These engagements facilitated significant judicial exchanges and bolstered international legal understandings.

 

Resources required to achieve results

Table 2: Snapshot of resources required for Support to federally appointed judges

Table 2 provides a summary of the planned and actual spending and full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to achieve results.

Resource

Planned

Actual 

Spending

$732,724,075

$751,993,164

Full-time equivalents

60.5

59.5

Complete financial and human resources information for FJA’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

 

Related government-wide priorities

Information on FJA’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

 

Program inventory

Support to federally appointed judges is supported by the following programs:

  • Payments pursuant to the Judges Act
  • Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs
  • Canadian Judicial Council

Additional information related to the program inventory for Support to federally appointed judges is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Internal services

In this section

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:

  • 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

 

Progress on results

This section presents details on how the department performed to achieve results and meet targets for internal services.

We continued to work in a hybrid model of a minimum of 2 days a week in the office while ensuring that employees had the tools and resources required to deliver services to our clients at home and in the office. In addition to a number of staffing actions initiated in response to staff turnover and classification actions, we successfully completed the CT classification conversion.  

In preparation for the implementation of the modernized Official Languages Act, requiring that all employees in bilingual regions be supervised in the official language of their choice and supervisors of these employees to be bilingual with a linguistic profile of at least CBC by June 2025, we supported and encouraged employees for immediate needs and career progression to improve and maintain their proficiency via language training.

The transition of the Public Service Health Care Plan to Canada Life, proved to be challenging for the compensation personnel as we assisted a large number of our more than 1,200 federally appointed judges, and more than 1000 retired judges and their survivors, in trouble shooting various issues including access to the platform itself, claim delays and changes to eligible medications.

FJA has continued to provide compensation, pension and benefits services to federally appointed judges, retired judges and their survivors. During 2023-24, this included onboarding 110 new appointments, initiating pensions for 70 retirements and processing survivor benefits for 57 deaths (active judges, retired judges and survivors).

As with all GC departments, the journey to the Cloud continued, focusing on securing the platforms on which several business functions, including e-learning and virtual committee meetings, are being hosted. Priority was placed on transitioning from the current server based (JUDICOM) to a cloud-based platform (JUDICLOUD) for which the pilot phase commenced in the fall of 2023 and officially launched in March 2024. This new platform leveraging MS 365 technology and tools was implemented to provide a higher level of agility to our judicial community to access/work from any mobile platform/devices - roll out will persist into the 2024-25 fiscal year. The risks associated with information classification continued to be addressed. In alignment with these activities, we also commenced the review and update of our information management policy suite including retention and disposition. During the 2023-24 fiscal year, FJA IT personnel commenced and continued in various aspects to assess, analyze and prioritize the need to upgrade and modernize our aging infrastructure (including in-house systems) with an aim to realize increased efficiencies and flexibilities in reporting requirements and overall how we do business – this included increasing our personnel complement to meet workload impacts associated with these initiatives.

 

Resources required to achieve results

Table 3: Resources required to achieve results for internal services this year

Table 3 provides a summary of the planned and actual spending and full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to achieve results.

Resource

Planned

Actual 

Spending

$726,800

$726,800

Full-time equivalents

5.5

5.5

The complete financial and human resources information for FJA’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Government of Canada departments are to meet a target of awarding at least 5% of the total value of contracts to Indigenous businesses each year. This commitment is to be fully implemented by the end of 2024–25.

FJA is a Phase 3 department and is aiming to achieve the minimum 5% target by the end of 2024–25. During the 2023-24 fiscal year, FJA developed procurement plans to meet the target. FJA reviewed its activities to identify areas where opportunities existed for increased contracts awarded to Indigenous suppliers. FJA also amended its internal processes to ensure the Indigenous Business Directory is being reviewed to identify Indigenous suppliers with the capacity to provide goods or services. In addition to these targeted activities, our employees involved in the procurement function completed training on federal procurement policy obligations and considerations that should be applied to increase opportunities for Indigenous businesses in Canada.

 

Spending and human resources 

In this section

Spending

This section presents an overview of the department’s actual and planned expenditures from 2021–22 to 2026–27.

Budgetary performance summary

Table 4: Actual three-year spending on the core responsibility and internal services (dollars)

Table 4 presents how much money FJA spent over the past three years to carry out its core responsibility and for internal services.

Core responsibility and internal services

2023–24 Main Estimates

2023–24 total authorities available for use

Actual spending over three years (authorities used)

Support to federally appointed judges

732,736,419

753,240,921

· 2021–22: 670,056,134

· 2022–23: 711,434,952

· 2023–24: 751,993,164

Subtotal

732,736,419

753,240,921

· 2021–22: 670,056,134

· 2022–23: 711,434,952

· 2023–24: 751,993,164

Internal services

726,800

726,800

· 2021–22: 726,800

· 2022–23: 726,800

· 2023–24: 726,800

Total

733,463,219

753,967,721

· 2021–22: 670,782,934

· 2022–23: 712,161,752

· 2023–24: 752,719,964
Analysis of the past three years of spending

The actual spending for the department shows a continual increase over the reporting periods resulting from the annual increase in judges’ salaries based on the industrial aggregate index as provided for in the Judges Act, and an increase in the number of judges appointed to the bench and the number of pensioners receiving benefits under the Judges Act.

More financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase. 

 

Table 5: Planned three-year spending on the core responsibility and internal services (dollars)

Table 5 presents how much money FJA plans to spend over the next three years to carry out its core responsibility and for internal services.

Core responsibility and internal services

2024–25 planned spending

2025–26 planned spending

2026–27 planned spending

Support to federally appointed judges

788,073,257

 

834,424,455

871,453,414

Subtotal

788,073,257

834,424,455

871,453,414

Internal services

726,800

726,800

726,800

Total

788,800,057

835,151,255

872,180,214

Analysis of the next three years of spending

The planned spending for the department shows a continual increase over the reporting periods resulting from the annual increase in judges’ salaries based on the industrial aggregate index as provided for in the Judges Act, and an increase in the number of judges appointed to the bench and the number of pensioners receiving benefits under the Judges Act.

More detailed financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.

Information on the alignment of FJA’s spending with Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available on GC InfoBase.


Funding

This section provides an overview of the department’s voted and statutory funding for its core responsibility and for internal services. For further information on funding authorities, consult the Government of Canada budgets and expenditures.

Graph 1: Approved funding (statutory and voted) over a six-year period

Graph 1 summarizes the department’s approved voted and statutory funding from 2021-22 to 2026-27.

Analysis of statutory and voted funding over a six-year period

Spending for the department increases over each reporting period largely is a result of statutory provisions in the Judges Act as they relate to the annual increase in the salaries of federally appointed judges as a function of the industrial aggregate index applied on April 1 of each year and the increase in pension payments to retired judges and survivors as a function of the annual indexation applied on January 1 of each year.

For further information on FJA’s departmental voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada.


Financial statement highlights

FJA’s complete financial statements (unaudited or audited) for the year ended March 31, 2024, are available online.


Table 6: Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited or audited) for the year ended March 31, 2024 (dollars)

Table 6 summarizes the expenses and revenues for 2023–2024, which net to the cost of operations before government funding and transfers.

Financial information

2023–24 actual
results

2023–24 planned results

Difference (actual results minus planned)

Total expenses

754,226,819

734,345,000

19,881,819

Total revenues

20,216,956

19,563,000

653,956

Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers

734,009,863

714,782,000

19,227,863

The 2023–24 planned results information is provided in FJA’s Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2023–24.

 

Table 7 summarizes actual expenses and revenues, which net to the cost of operations before government funding and transfers.

Financial information

2023–24 actual results

2022–23 actual results

Difference (2023-24 minus 2022-23)

 

Total expenses

754,226,819

713,784,623

40,442,196

Total revenues

20,216,956

19,343,822

873,134

Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers

734,009,863

694,440,801

39,569,062

 

Table 8: Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited or audited) as of March 31, 2024 (dollars) 

Table 8 provides a brief snapshot of the department’s liabilities (what it owes) and assets (what the department owns), which helps to indicate its ability to carry out programs and services.

Financial information

Actual fiscal year (2023–24)

Previous fiscal year (2022–23)

Difference (2023–24 minus 2022–23)

Total net liabilities

314,070,477

294,801,137

19,269,340

Total net financial assets

5,959,555

5,637,399

322,156

Departmental net debt

308,110,922

289,163,738

18,947,184

Total non-financial assets

264,760

74,610

190,150

Departmental net financial position

(307,846,162)

(289,089,128)

(18,757,036)

 

Human resources

This section presents an overview of the department’s actual and planned human resources from 2021‑22 to 2026–27. 

Table 9: Actual human resources for the core responsibility and internal services

Table 9 shows a summary of human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for FJA’s core responsibility and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years.

Core responsibility and internal services

2021–22 actual FTEs

2022–23 actual FTEs

2023–24 actual FTEs

Support to federally appointed judges

60.5

56.5

59.5

Subtotal

60.5

56.5          

59.5

Internal services

5.5

5.5

5.5

Total

66

62

65
Analysis of human resources over the last three years

There have been no significant changes in human resources over the last three fiscal years.

 

Table 10: Human resources planning summary for the core responsibility and internal services

Table 10 shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for FJA’s core responsibility and for its internal services planned for the next three years. Human resources for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on year to date. 

Core responsibility and internal services

2024–25 planned FTEs

2025–26 planned FTEs

2026–27 planned
FTEs

Support to federally appointed judges

60.5

60.5

60.5

Subtotal

60.5

60.5

60.5

Internal services

5.5

5.5

5.5

Total

66

66

66
Analysis of human resources for the next three years

No significant changes in human resources are expected over the next three fiscal years.

 

Corporate information

Departmental profile

Appropriate minister(s): The Honourable Arif Virani, P.C., K.C., M.P.

Institutional head: Marc A. Giroux, Commissioner

Ministerial portfolio: Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Enabling instrument(s): Judges Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. J-1)

Year of incorporation / commencement: 1978

Other: Information about the Canadian Judicial Council, its mandate and programs are found at the Council’s website: https://cjc-ccm.ca/en

Departmental contact information

Mailing address:

Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada
99 Metcalfe Street, 8th floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1E3

Telephone: 613-995-5140 or 1-877-583-4266 (toll free)

Fax: 613-995-5615

Email: info@cmf-fja.gc.ca

Website(s): https://www.fja.gc.ca/, https://cjc-ccm.ca/en

 

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on FJA’s website:

 

Federal tax expenditures

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 Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

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, departments 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 an appropriated department over a 3year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité)

A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. 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 quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its 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.

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. For a particular position, the full-time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.

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

An analytical tool used to assess support the development of responsive and inclusive how different groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and policies, programs, and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2023–24 Departmental Results Report, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the November 23, 2021, Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fight harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation; and fighting for a secure, just and equitable world.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more federal departments 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 a department did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the department 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 department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how a department 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 to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in 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 the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to an department, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single department, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the department’s influence.

Indigenous business (entreprise autochtones)

For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses and the Government of Canada’s commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses, a department that meets the definition and requirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory. 

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.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that a department, 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.