4. Resources

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page

2021-2022 Financial Resources

The Department of Justice Canada’s total estimated spending authority for 2021-2022 amounts to $1,161.3 million. Of that, $794.5 million was received through the Voted and Statutory Authority and $366.8 million in Vote Netted Revenue to allow the Department to collect revenue from other government departments and agencies for all types of legal services delivered, including advisory, litigation, and legislative/regulatory drafting.

Justice Estimated Spending by Vote

Operating Resources (Vote 1)

Operating resources in the amount of $268.1 million, supplemented by revenues of $366.8 million, account for approximately 55 percent of the Department’s total estimated spending authority. These resources pay for salaries and other operating costs such as training, travel, service contracts, maintenance, and supplies.

Grants and Contributions (Vote 5)

Grants and contributions account for $443.0 million, or 38 percent of the overall spending authority. Contribution programs relating to Youth Justice Programs and Legal Aid programs account for approximately 75 percent of the total grants and contributions.

Statutory Resources

Statutory resources amount to $83.3 million, most of which are for the Employee Benefits Plan.

Justice Estimated Vote 5 (Grants and Contributions) spending by programs

The Department of Justice Canada provides funding to community organizations and other levels of government that are working to support its mandate, mission and values. The Department’s funding programs are designed to support Indigenous communities, victims of crime, people with lower incomes, families and young people. The Department also supports projects that help Canadians understand the law and access the justice system in both official languages.

Legal Aid Programs ($174.4 million)

The Legal Aid Program consists of four components and delivers funding through contribution agreements. Details of the four components are described below.

Criminal Legal Aid ($136.8 million)

Criminal Legal Aid funding helps to ensure access to legal services for economically disadvantaged persons in Canada accused of serious or complex criminal offences and facing the likelihood of incarceration, as well as youth charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Both levels of government have a mutual interest in ensuring that the criminal justice system, including criminal legal aid, is fair, effective, and efficient, and that public confidence in the justice system is maintained. Responsibility for the provision of criminal justice is divided between the federal government, under its constitutional authority for criminal law and procedure, and the provincial governments, under their authority for the administration of justice and for property and civil rights.

Immigration and Refugee Legal Aid ($28.2 million)

Immigration and refugee legal aid funding is provided to the six jurisdictions that deliver such services: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Pursuant to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, individuals have the right to be represented at immigration and refugee proceedings.

The immigration and refugee legal aid addresses the unique needs of refugee claimants (e.g. the need for interpreters or to clarify the overall refugee process) and ensures that claimants who qualify for legal aid are prepared and able to advance their cases before the Immigration and Refugee Board and the Federal Court. This supports decision makers in making timely decisions and contributes to the fairness and efficiency of the asylum system.

An additional benefit of the immigration and refugee legal aid is that claimants are more likely to feel that they have experienced a fair process, which helps to decrease the number of appeals and prevents orders against the federal government to provide funded counsel.

State-Funded Counsel ($3.6 million)

The State-Funded Counsel component of the Legal Aid Program supports proceedings involving national security issues, including terrorism-related cases, and proceedings where the Federal Crown has been ordered to fund counsel by a court.

This includes orders for defence counsel granted in serious federal cases where counsel is necessary to ensure a fair trial and where the accused lacks the resources to pay for counsel and is ineligible for criminal legal aid; and orders for amicus curiae.

Legal Advice for Complainants of Workplace Sexual Harassment($5.7 million)

The Legal Advice for Complainants of Workplace Sexual Harassment component of the Legal Aid Program supports projects that provide legal advice to persons who have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. Funding is available from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024.

Youth Justice Program ($157.3 million)

The Youth Justice Program consists of three components and delivers funding through contribution agreements. Details of the three components are described below.

Youth Justice Services Funding Program ($141.7 million)

The Youth Justice Services Funding Program is a cost-shared contribution program with all provinces and territories for the delivery of youth justice programs and services. The overall objective of the Program is to support the policy directions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Priority funding areas include diversion/extrajudicial measures and extrajudicial sanctions programs; rehabilitative and reintegration services; judicial interim release programs; reports and assessments; intensive support and supervision and attendance programs; and conferencing and other community-based sanctions.

Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision Program ($11 million)

The Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision Program supports all provinces and territories in the delivery of specialized therapeutic programs and services for youth with mental health needs who are convicted of a serious violent offence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

More particularly, the Program ensures that provinces and territories have the capacity to both assess and treat young persons as required by the intensive rehabilitative custody and supervision sentencing provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. In addition, the Program provides funding for other cases of serious violence committed by young persons who are suffering from a psychological disturbance or mental/mood disorder, but who were not sentenced under the aforementioned Youth Criminal Justice Act provisions.

Youth Justice Fund ($4.5 million)

The Youth Justice Fund is a discretionary demand-driven grants and contributions program that supports projects encouraging a more effective youth justice system, respond to emerging youth justice issues, and enable greater citizen and community participation in the youth justice system. More specifically, the Fund supports the development, implementation, and evaluation of pilot projects that provide programming and services for youth in conflict with the law. It supports professional development activities, such as training and conferences, for justice professionals and youth service providers. Additionally, it funds research on the youth justice system and related youth justice issues. Community organizations, Indigenous organizations, educational institutions, other levels of government, and individuals are all eligible for funding.

Victims Fund ($25.4 million)

The objective of the Federal Victims Strategy is to give victims a more effective voice in the criminal justice and federal correctional systems. The Strategy is a horizontal initiative led by the Department’s Policy Centre for Victim Issues and includes the Correctional Service of Canada, the Parole Board of Canada, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime.

The Strategy also includes the Victims Fund, which provides grants and contributions funding to victims of crime, provinces, territories and non-governmental organizations to develop or enhance victim services and to research victim-related issues.

The Fund provides support to a wide range of organizations. For example, the Fund supports Child Advocacy Centres, which address the needs of children, youth, and their families in cases where abuse is suspected, by providing a child-friendly facility where they can seek services, ideally under one roof. The Fund also supports projects that help victims of human trafficking and victims of sexual offences, and supports Family Information Liaison Units and community-based supports for families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Two elements of the Fund also provide funding directly to individual victims. The Victims Abroad component provides financial assistance to Canadians who are victims of crime abroad and who do not have other means. The Parole component provides financial assistance to federally registered victims who wish to attend the parole hearings of their offenders.

Canadian Family Justice Fund ($18.4 million)

The Canadian Family Justice Fund facilitates access to the family justice system for families experiencing separation and divorce through various services, programs, and information resources. The Fund addresses the following priorities: fostering federal, provincial and territorial collaboration; supporting the well-being of family members; reaching diverse and underserved populations; supporting alternatives to court for family law matters; and improving and streamlining family justice system links/processes.

The Fund comprises two components. The Family Justice Activities component supports provincial and territorial programs and services assisting families experiencing separation and divorce. Examples include parent information programs, mediation, administrative child support recalculation, and maintenance enforcement programs. The Projects component supports provincial and territorial governments, not-for-profit organizations, associations, academic institutions, and individuals. Examples of activities include informing Canadians about family law issues and developing new strategies, models and tools intended to improve access to family justice.

Indigenous Justice Program ($12.7 million)

The Indigenous Justice Program is a federally led initiative delivered in partnership with Canada’s provincial and territorial governments and Indigenous communities. The Program was created in 1991 as part of an overall federal Indigenous crime reduction strategy to address the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system as accused, offenders, and victims. The Program supports Indigenous community-based justice programs that offer alternatives to the mainstream justice process in appropriate circumstances. Each funded program is unique, as it is designed, developed, and implemented according to the needs and priorities of the communities that it serves. Currently, the Program funds approximately 197 community-based justice programs that serve over 650 urban, rural, and Northern communities, both on- and off-reserve.

Justice Partnership and Innovation Program ($12.5 million)

The Justice Partnership and Innovation Program provides resources to facilitate access to justice through various means, including the development of new approaches, the dissemination of law-related information, and the testing of pilot projects. The overall goal of the Program is to contribute to policy development to ensure that the justice system remains accessible, efficient, and effective. The components under the Program include the Family Violence Initiative; Public Legal Education and Information; grants to five selected organizations; the Public Legal Education and Information—Workplace Sexual Harassment component; and the Revitalization of Indigenous Laws Initiative.

Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund ($12.7 million)

The Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund supports the Department’s commitments under the Government of Canada’s Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023 by providing resources to facilitate access to justice for members of official language minority communities.

The Fund is based on two pillars. The Information pillar supports projects that provide quality legal information to members of official language minority communities, including legal information hubs that are now present in five provinces. The Training pillar focuses on supporting language training for justice system professionals to enhance the justice system’s capacity to better serve Canadians in both official languages. In addition, the Action Plan provides core funding to eligible organizations working in the field of access to justice for official language minority communities and supports translation of significant legal texts, such as precedent-setting provincial court decisions.

Implementation of Official Languages Requirements under the Contraventions Act ($9.1 million)

The Contraventions Act provides an alternative to the summary conviction process as set out in Part XXVII of the Criminal Code for the prosecution of federal regulatory offences that are minor in nature. This is accomplished by designating these offences as “contraventions” and allowing for their prosecution through a ticketing scheme. This approach ensures a more effective application of federal statutes and reduces the workload of the courts by allowing for the voluntary payment of fines in lieu of prosecuting them through the Criminal Code summary conviction process.

The Contraventions Act Fund provides funding to provinces, territories and municipalities who, on behalf of the federal government, administer federal contraventions through provincial ticketing regimes. The Fund provides the funding for the necessary measures to ensure that the language rights provided by sections 530 and 530.1 of the Criminal Code and Part IV of the Official Languages Act, for persons who are prosecuted for contraventions of federal statutes or regulations, are respected. Such measures include among others the hiring of bilingual staff, language training, and bilingual signage and documentation.

Indigenous Courtwork Program ($8 million)

The Department contributes funding to participating provinces for the provision of Indigenous Courtworker services in criminal justice proceedings. The Program is supported by federal, provincial and territorial governments in partnership with the Indigenous communities and delivery agencies. Similar funding is provided in the territories through Access to Justice Services Agreements.

The objective of the Program is to ensure that Indigenous people in contact with the criminal justice system (whether as accused persons, victims, witnesses or family members) have access to fair, equitable, culturally relevant treatment throughout the criminal justice process. Indigenous Courtworkers assist in holding offenders accountable by encouraging them to participate fully in the criminal justice process and ensuring that they understand their responsibilities and the direction given by the court (often in the Indigenous language spoken in the community). In addition, as “friends of the Court”, Indigenous Courtworkers provide courts with information needed for sentencing and bail purposes while also connecting victims, witnesses and family members to culturally safe assistance and resources.

In providing these services, Indigenous Courtworkers have been pioneers in using trauma-informed and healing-centred approaches which link both health and justice services. Annually, approximately 200 Indigenous Courtworkers provided services to approximately 75,000 Indigenous adults and youth involved with the criminal justice system (as accused persons, victims, witnesses and family members) in 435 communities across Canada.

Access to Justice Services Agreements for the Territories ($7.6 million)

The Access to Justice Services Agreements are contribution agreements between the federal government and Canada’s three territories. They are the means by which the federal government supports the territories in delivering access to justice-related services, which include legal aid (both criminal and civil), Indigenous courtworker services, and public legal education and information. The Agreements provide consolidated program funding for each of the three aforementioned program areas. This consolidated approach ensures accountability, while allowing the territories the flexibility to deliver justice-related programs as required by the unique needs and circumstances of their communities.

Other ($5.1 million)

This category is used for presentation purposes in the chart and groups the following programs with annual contributions under $5 million.

Drug Treatment Court Funding Program ($3.7 million)

The Drug Treatment Court Funding Program, a component of the Treatment Action Plan of the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, contributes funding to participating provinces and territories for the development, delivery, and evaluation of drug treatment courts. These are dedicated courts with the objective of reducing crime committed as a result of drug dependency through court-monitored treatment and community service support for non-violent offenders with problematic substance use.

Integrated Market Enforcement Teams Reserve Fund ($0.6 million)

The Integrated Market Enforcement Teams Reserve Fund funds extraordinary prosecution expenses incurred in integrated market enforcement team-generated cases of national significance being prosecuted by provincial attorneys general. These Teams are special RCMP-led units that investigate capital markets fraud.

The Reserve Fund will provide funding for expenses incurred as a result of (1) exceptional court ordered disclosure; (2) specialized contracts, for example, forensic experts and language/interpretation; and (3) technical and/or equipment requirements including scanning equipment, computers, and audio/video technology.

Hague Conference on Private International Law ($0.3 million)

The purpose of the Hague Conference is to work for the progressive unification of the rules of private international law. The Department pays an annual assessed contribution to enable Canada to meet its financial obligations to the Conference, as well as to help fulfil Canada’s international policy objectives by participating in the work of the organization. The unification of private international law has great importance, both in a national and international context, particularly because it facilitates the resolution of disputes involving two or more jurisdictions that may have conflicting legal rules relating to various private law matters. The development of uniform legislation reduces the risks of such conflicts.

Special Advocates Program ($0.3 million)

The Special Advocates Program was established to support the Minister of Justice in implementing the 2008 amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. These amendments created a special advocates regime, which ensures a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms compliant procedure for removing inadmissible non-Canadians from Canada while using and protecting national security information. Special advocates are appointed by a court or tribunal to protect the interests of named persons during in camera Immigration and Refugee Protection Act Division 9 proceedings. Infrequently, these proceedings are used to permit the use of national security information to determine detention and the substantive merits of admissibility proceedings.

The Program ensures that the Minister of Justice meets the following requirements of the amended Act: establishing a list of persons who may be appointed as special advocates; publishing the list in a manner that facilitates public access to it; and ensuring that special advocates are provided with adequate administrative support and resources.

International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (Unidroit) ($0.2 million)

The purposes of Unidroit are to examine ways of harmonizing and coordinating the private law of States and groups of States, and to prepare gradually for the adoption by the various States of uniform rules of private law. The Department pays an annual assessed contribution to enable Canada to meet its financial obligations to Unidroit, as well as to help fulfil Canada’s international policy objectives by participating in the work of the organization.

European Commission for Democracy through Law-Venice Commission ($0.1 million)

The European Commission for Democracy through Law (known as the Venice Commission because it meets in Venice) is a legal advisory body established in 1990 under the Council of Europe. The Commission has expanded to include a Sub-Commission on Latin America and the provision of advice to North Africa. The Commission is an important body in the effort to maintain and promote democracy and the rule of law in the face of a rising populist tide. Canada was an observer at the Commission beginning in 1990. In 2019, Canada became a full Member. The Department pays an annual assessed contribution to enable Canada to meet its financial obligations to the Commission as well as to help fulfil Canada’s international policy objectives by participating in the work of the organization.

2021-2022 Human Resources (Full-Time Equivalents as of April 1, 2021)

The Department’s workforce, as of April 1, 2021, was comprised of 4,722 Full-Time Equivalents (FTE). The breakdown per region is presented in the map below.

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page