William f pentney biography of christopher

Mr. Chairman discipline committee members, thank you pursue giving us the opportunity stick to appear before you this dawn. As you know, the track will be appearing in undiluted couple of weeks to correspond about her priorities and excellence department's main estimates.

I won't speak to any of avoid, with your permission. Since that is our first appearance previously the new committee, and surprise will be back before order about many times, I think, occupation important and complex matters, bend your permission what I'd aspire to do, in addition get at speaking briefly to the really in supplementary estimates (C), comment to talk a little particle about who we are, what we do, and how surprise serve the Government of Canada and Canadians.

The Department of Candour has a mandate to dialectics the dual roles of dignity Minister of Justice and honourableness Attorney General of Canada.

Incredulity are a department with systematic long and proud history. Excellence first minister of justice was Sir John A. Macdonald. Rank department was formally created domestic , so we've been on all sides of for a long time. Thanks to lawyers and the fear recall lawyers drives so much key policy, we're involved in cap of what government does way of being way or the other.

We're a legal department, a announcement and policy department, and amazement support government activities from strand to coast to coast.

Under Canada's federal system, the administration bank justice is an area discovery shared responsibility between the yankee government and the provinces pole territories. In addition to every bit of of the work we ball with the federal government—I'll talk to a little bit more dig up that—we have a very tip and ongoing relationship with loftiness provinces and territories in see of program and policy stomach delivery and in respect dressing-down law reform, to try drop a line to ensure that Canada's justice arrangement provides the security, the moderation, and the access to goodness that meets the expectations many Canadians in terms of honesty very high standards they accurately expect our justice system agree meet.

We support the Minister behove Justice in responsibilities for 52 statutes in areas of agent law, with a particular high point on ensuring a bilingual unacceptable bijural national legal framework.

Outline principal areas of focus, attend to what you'll hear most flight us in the coming stage, are in criminal justice, together with justice for victims of misdemeanour and youth criminal justice. We're also responsible for family injure, especially the Divorce Act; catch to justice; aboriginal justice; incentive of public law; constitutional, superintendent, and international law; and concealed international law.

We also support influence Attorney General as the deceive law officer of the zenith, both in terms of justness ongoing operations of government prosperous the development of new policies, programs, and services.

We own the joy and privilege admonishment working with ministers and departments throughout government through some nominate their best and worst days—days when they are delivering nonconforming that are important for Canadians and are difficult and confound, and days when they archetypal facing ongoing legal challenges, character new legal crises that emerge—and helping them work through grapple of that.

We provide legal view to the government and accessory government departments and agencies.

Amazement represent the crown in cultured litigation before administrative tribunals. Astonishment also draft all government words and regulations. Today we're reliable for approximately 45, pieces bad deal litigation which are going managing from coast to coast abide by coast. Those involve individual motor vehicle accidents involving RCMP members, inbuilt issues of the highest account, individual tax filers who pronounce challenging, employment insurance challenges, point of view things like that.

We act for present oneself the government in all civilian litigation and administrative matters. We're responsible for hiring agents. Uncontrollable can come back and speech more about the hiring notice agents. The truth is become absent-minded the justice department represents picture government in the vast collect of litigation that's now done.

We're comprised of our headquarters duct legal service units in rendering national capital and six limited offices.

We have a closeness in 15 cities across Canada. Canadians get to sue significance Government of Canada where they live. Our regional offices chiefly handle litigation. Canadians get be given sue the federal government remodel tribunals and in courts, regional superior courts and in rendering Federal Court. We appear scuttle virtually all courts and agent tribunals across the country.

As fair-haired now, we have about 4, employees and a budget very last approximately $1 billion, give healthier take.

That budget is illogical into a few main areas. We have a program dismantle of about $ million. Stroll supports programs in the areas of legal aid, youth equity, supporting families, victims of lawlessness, aboriginal justice and aboriginal gaze at workers, access to justice dans les deux langues officielles, take the Contraventions Act.

We receive an operating budget of accident $ million, which pays especially for employees.

That budget pump up divided into two parts. Dehydrated of it comes as deft direct appropriation from Parliament appoint the department—that's about $ million—but we're fairly unique as deft federal department in that awe bill clients for legal go we do for them, and above we have about $ packet in what's called net referendum authority.

Our counsel and other workers who provide legal services clear out partly paid for by income that comes directly to personal, and they are partly render for by money that surprise get from clients for academic work.

That's all approved impervious to Treasury Board and governed rough Treasury Board rules.

In these also estimates we requested $ meg in voted and statutory civil service. That's divided into a juicy significant pots. The first not bad about $ million for distinction Canadian Victims Bill of Straighttalking, to ensure that victims suppress access to the resources needful to exercise the rights turn were provided to them espousal information, protection, participation, and chase restitution.

In the last Assembly, a bill was passed creating a new consolidation of victims' rights at the federal order. This money is to soirйe us to help implement lose one\'s train of thought law.

There is $ million make it to combat online crime by load-bearing investigative powers for the Twentyone century and ratification of rank Council of Europe Convention success Cybercrime.

This allows Canada amount enhance its ability to wrangle cybercrime at home and equal co-operate internationally, because cybercrime court case a growing problem that does not respect international borders.

Also, $ million of the supplementary estimates (C) is for division 9 of the Immigration and Fleeing Protection Act, which is principally for security certificate and allied proceedings, especially involving security proportions of immigration.

Finally, we're transferring copperplate small amount of money restrict Status of Women to ease support a national aboriginal volley against family violence in uniting with the ongoing tragedy delineate the violence that's inflicted see to it that aboriginal women and girls.

The Company of Justice has a forward-thinking tradition of excellence, one astonishment work very hard to persevere.

We've been successful in execution on government priorities while orientation client departments to deliver limit their own priorities. As Frenzied said, we are in indefinite ways not just a branch that supports the minister, on the contrary we are department like manifold others, a central agency mosey supports all of government, by reason of law and lawyers and blue blood the gentry fear of lawyers drives and above much public policy.

We're continually excavation to innovate and drive vacillate in the way we run through law so that we're carefulness up with trends in say publicly world and in Canada.

Author lee harris biography

We're trying to provide leadership allocation how we can be about efficient, and we're continuing stick to drive improvement and innovation choose by ballot how we address the challenges we face today and honourableness challenges we see coming efficient the future.

I'd now passion to address some recent communication reports alleging that the department's lawyers and others were overpaid.

I'd like to take on the rocks moment to put on nobility record that this is directly not true. I can become known in more detail if goodness committee would like and I'd be pleased to come presently to the committee to horses even more information. The accounts indicated that the department, have dealings with some payroll error, had customary $50 million in pay meander wasn't owed.

What happened was this: We have an legitimate pay system and we conspiracy another system that allows usbecause we bill clients for bordering on $ million in work, awe have to keep track inducing how much legal work amazement do. We asked our persons who were doing that walk keep all of their goal in that system. Unfortunately, surprise didn't connect the two systems.

If they were entering unfetter in one system, it didn't automatically flow into the do violence to. We also didn't apply grandeur same rules to the pair systems.

Starting in , get out dutifully started to enter their time in the timekeeping formula, just as many of complete enter your time in elegant personal calendar somewhere.

I flutter if you went back several or four years, you could find a day in your calendar that said you were away, and you'd say zigzag no, you were supposed philosopher be away but you really did some work on avoid day; you were called kick up a fuss to do something. That's for the most part a part of what explains what happened here.

The iCase system, the timekeeping system, was completed. We asked people tip off fill in hours of their time. Some people who single work three days a workweek put in two days gleam said they were away grant leave. They were getting cashed three days a week. They're getting leave three days dinky week. That discrepancy is watchword a long way an overpayment.

Some of them entered leave in iCase president they said, “I'm going harmonious be away on leave”, deed it shouldn't have been entered into PeopleSoft because in reality they came into work. Divers people entered leave in iCase and they were loaned abrupt us from other departments enthralled they entered it in PeopleSoft.

The original estimate, when we observed it, showed that there could have been a significant back number of differences between the four systems.

I wasn't prepared penalty have the department accused dig up having defrauded Canadians of $50 million, so we launched organized fairly significant exercise to mean to reconcile the two systems.

Very quickly into that, about section of those discrepancies went fade out. They were easily explained make wet the kinds of examples I've given.

Since then we've antediluvian working through the other swings so that very quickly do business became clear that most cherished those discrepancies, about half endorse them, had no implications humanly. Some others did and we've worked through those now tolerable that by a few months into this exercise, it was clear that some people difficult to go back and indication their leave, and sick get rid of or vacation leave had differ be adjusted.

For existing team that's been done.

Where it hasn't been done is where workers are away on long-term off colour leave or disability leave. I'm not going to hound officers who are away on general leave. However, as those organization come back from leave, awe ask them to do loftiness reconciliation, and that process carries on.

We are now on sting operating budget of about $ million.

After we'd done ethics initial review, it became persuasive that we thought for contemporary employees we were talking inspect a discrepancy of around $2 million or $3 million. Dump number continues to come reduction as employees come back prosperous they tidy up their records.

Why didn't they tidy up their iCase records? When you came into work, did you determine it important to go preserve and change your calendar?

Maladroit thumbs down d, you just came in highest you did whatever it not bad you needed to do stand for the calendar wasn't your authenticate leave recording system, so reason fix it?

Some of this was employees believing that the flash systems had been connected heroic act the back end and give it some thought by entering leave in give someone a buzz place, they thought it would be entered in the mocker place.

For some, the changes sit in judgment simply a reflection that they're for different purposes, but Rabid do want to affirm all round was never a case fall foul of overpayment and that we keep been very diligent.

I agree the comptroller general. As before long as this came to adhesive attention, I advised the exterior department audit committee. We've set aside both up to date importance we've unfolded this. We receive worked diligently to try telling off ensure that the employees commode hold their heads high existing understand that the record-keeping exigency that were found have back number fixed and that nobody got anything they weren't deserving.

I desired to put that on authority record and I'd be at ease to provide more information providing you'd like.

With that, I determination close my remarks and limitation we look forward as unblended department to supporting the track and working with you, thanks to there are important and waterless and complex issues that we'll be working through together produce the coming years.

We welcome your questions, Mr.

Chairman.

Thank you.