Quarterly Financial Report for the Quarter ended June 30, 2022

ISSN 2561-7044

Statement outlining results, risks and significant changes in operations, personnel and programs

A. Introduction

This quarterly report has been prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act, and in the form and manner prescribed by the Treasury Board. It has not been subject to an external audit or review. This quarterly report should be read in conjunction with the Main Estimates.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) was created on December 12, 2006, with the coming into force of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act. The ODPP is an independent prosecution service mandated to prosecute offences that are under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General of Canada.

The ODPP has one core responsibility which is the provision of prosecution services in an independent, impartial and fair manner. The mandate of the ODPP includes:

• initiating and conducting federal prosecutions;
• intervening in proceedings that raise a question of public interest that may affect the conduct of prosecutions or related investigations;
• issuing guidelines to federal prosecutors;
• advising law enforcement agencies or investigative bodies on general matters relating to prosecutions and on particular investigations that may lead to prosecutions;
• communicating with the media and the public on all matters that involve the initiation and conduct of prosecutions;
• exercising the authority of the Attorney General of Canada in respect of private prosecutions; and
• exercising any other power or carry out any other duty or function assigned by the Attorney General of Canada that is compatible with the ODPP.

In addition, Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refer to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories 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; and Acquisition Services.

B. Basis of Presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the ODPP's spending authorities granted by Parliament, and those used by the ODPP consistent with the Main Estimates for the 2022-23 fiscal year. This quarterly report has been prepared using a financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before moneys can be spent by the Government. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authority for specific purposes.

When Parliament is dissolved for the purposes of a general election, section 30 of the Financial Administration Act authorizes the Governor General, under certain conditions, to issue a special warrant authorizing the Government to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. A special warrant is deemed to be an appropriation for the fiscal year in which it is issued.

The ODPP uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual departmental financial statements that are part of the departmental results reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

C. Highlights of Fiscal Quarter and Fiscal Year-to-date Results

This section highlights the significant items that have contributed to the net increase or decrease in resources available and actual expenditures for the year and for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 in comparison to the prior year.

The ODPP's financial structure is mainly composed of voted budgetary authorities namely; Vote 1 Program expenditures and vote-netted revenue (VNR) authority, as well as statutory authorities for contributions to employee benefit plans.

Similar to many other entities worldwide, the global COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the ODPP quarterly results. The impact on the remainder of the fiscal year is uncertain with potential factors for increased risk being discussed further in section D and E of this report.

1. Budgetary Authorities

At the end of the first quarter of 2022-23, the ODPP had total net spending authorities of $212.4 million available for use as detailed in Chart 1 and Appendix A. This amount represents the authorities provided in the 2022-23 Main Estimates.

The increase of $9.1 million (4.48%), compared to total net spending authorities at the same time in fiscal year 2021-22 ($203.3 million) is mainly due to increased salary, operating and maintenance funding to improve access to justice for Indigenous people and to address systemic barriers in the criminal justice system.

2. Gross Budgetary Expenditures

During the first quarter of 2022-23, the overall gross budgetary expenditures of $47.1 million in 2022‑23 are similar to that of the $47.0 million in 2021-22, as detailed in Appendix B. The breakdown differs nonetheless and the increase is mainly attributable to an increase in salary expenditures, predominantly due to a personnel increase ($1.1 million) offset by a decrease in other subsidies and payments primarily the result of lower expenditures for claims against the Crown ($0.8 million).

3. Revenues Netted Against Expenditures

The ODPP has the authority to respend revenues received for providing services to other government departments and agencies. There were no revenues applied towards expenditures during the quarter ended June 30, 2022, due to timing. The ODPP had recorded $2.4 million in respendable revenues during the same period the previous year, as detailed in Appendix B.

D. Risks and Uncertainties

The ODPP's key corporate risks are identified and assessed through an update of the Corporate Risk Profile (CRP). The ODPP will be implementing an updated CRP in 2022-23, which is scheduled to be completed in the winter of 2022. In addition to the risk identified as having a potential financial impact, COVID-19 will likely continue to impact the way prosecutions are conducted in 2022-23. The ODPP will keep using the strategies put in place to mitigate them. 

The ODPP does not determine the number or types of cases referred to it for prosecution, nor does it control all of the levers of the criminal justice system. This reality combined with the uncertainty of the impact of COVID-19 on the capacity of law enforcement agencies or investigative bodies contributes to a risk that the organization might experience declining revenues, which could affect the resources needed to meet its prosecutorial obligations. To address this risk, the ODPP is making key investments in its digital platform to ensure that its prosecution practice continues to progress towards a dynamic and digital environment, allowing the organization to provide services and fulfill its mandate as effectively and efficiently as possible. The ODPP continues to monitor its business practices to ensure resources are managed in a cost effective manner through caseload and resource planning. In addition, the ODPP has built flexibility within its budget management processes to allow for the adjustment of resources in the event that there is a requirement.

Given the nature of ODPP's core mandate, employees are required to receive and handle a high volume of records from investigators that contain sensitive information. This, in turn, increases the risk that sensitive information could be inadvertently disclosed or lost, resulting in a potential privacy breach, a threat to the security and safety of individuals, and/or the public questioning the ability of the organization to adequately protect the information under its control. In addition, employees and agents (private sector prosecutors) could be exposed to incidents of threat and intimidation due to the nature of their work for the ODPP. Both the security of information and the safety of staff risks are being mitigated by developing and implementing a long-term security awareness strategy aimed at improving the departmental security posture in the areas of physical security, information security and personnel security.

The current state of the ODPP national Agent Affairs Program could negatively impact the ODPP's ability to manage funds. To mitigate this risk, the ODPP will continue to strengthen the financial accountabilities of the program and related policies, procedures and delegations. 

E. Significant Changes in Relations to Operations, Personnel and Programs

Departmental processes and procedures have been developed to adjust to the new workplace landscape. New and revised controls have been put in place since fiscal year 2020-21 due to the implementation of the ODPP's Electronic Authentication and Authorization Directive and the impact of COVID-19. The ODPP is developing and implementing a hybrid workplace to support the delivery of remote and non-remote legal and administrative operations.

Approval by Senior Officials

Approved by:


________________________
Kathleen Roussel
Director of Public Prosecutions and
Deputy Attorney General of Canada


Ottawa, Canada


________________________
Date

_______________________
Mélanie Lamoureux, CPA
Chief Financial Officer

Appendix A

Appendix B

* Includes authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end.