Mandate, Mission and Values

Mandate

The Department of Justice has the mandate to support the dual roles of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada.

Under Canada’s federal system, the administration of justice is an area of shared jurisdiction between the federal government and the provinces and territories. The Department supports the Minister of Justice in his responsibilities for 49 statutes and areas of federal law by ensuring a bilingual and bijural national legal framework principally within the following domains: criminal justice (including youth criminal justice), family justice, access to justice, Aboriginal justice, public law and private international law.

The Department also supports the Attorney General as the chief law officer of the Crown, both in terms of the ongoing operations of government and of the development of new policies, programs and services for Canadians. The Department provides legal advice to the Government and federal government departments and agencies, represents the Crown in civil litigation and before administrative tribunals, drafts legislation and responds to the legal needs of federal departments and agencies.

Mission

The Mission of the Department of Justice is to:

• support the Minister of Justice in working to ensure that Canada is a just and law-abiding society with an accessible, efficient and fair system of justice;
• provide high-quality legal services and counsel to the government and to client departments and agencies; and
• promote respect for rights and freedoms, the law and the Constitution.

Values

People

The Department's strength comes from all members of the organization, who are committed to working together on the basis of mutual trust, support and respect.

Integrity and fairness

As public servants supporting the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, we are committed to respecting and obeying the law and upholding the highest standards of integrity and fairness.

Service

We aim for excellence and constructive contributions in serving our Minister, the government and our clients.

The Department is committed to delivering high quality legal advisory, litigation, and legislative and regulatory drafting services as demonstrated by timeliness, responsiveness and usefulness in accordance with established service standards.