Transition Book - 2025

Governance

Biographical Notes

George Dolhai, Director of Public Prosecutions

George Dolhai is the Director of Public Prosecutions. He was appointed on June 21, 2024.

George graduated from the University of Western Ontario Law School in 1987 and became a member of the Law Society of Ontario in 1989. He practiced in the private sector at McCarthy & McCarthy, before becoming a federal prosecutor in the Toronto Regional Office following the completion of his LL.M. at the University of Cambridge, England. He joined Headquarters to temporarily act as the Supreme Court of Canada Criminal Law appeals coordinator and thereafter practiced in the Human Rights Law Section and the Office of National Drug Strategy (later known as the Strategic Prosecution Policy Section). He headed up the National Security Group as general counsel until 2001.

In December 2003, he became Senior General Counsel and Director of the Strategic Operations Section of the Federal Prosecution Service.

He was one of the two Deputy Directors of Public Prosecution since the creation of the PPSC. He was initially appointed on an acting basis on December 12, 2006, and officially appointed to the position May 2, 2012.

David Antonyshyn, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions

David Antonyshyn graduated from the Université de Montréal Law School in 1995. He also holds a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, where he focused on issues of international human rights law, the law of armed conflict/international humanitarian law, and international criminal law. For 28 years he served in the Canadian Armed Forces, the last 20 of which in a number of positions within the Office of the Judge Advocate General (JAG), the legal adviser to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence in matters of military law. Prior to retiring from the Forces with the rank of colonel, he was the Deputy JAG leading the legal division assisting the JAG in superintending the administration of military justice in Canada and ensuring its responsible development within the broader Canadian justice system. Immediately before that, he was the Assistant Director of the Canadian Military Prosecution Service. Over the years, his practice has included administrative law, criminal law (both as defence counsel and prosecutor), and operational law (Canadian and international law governing the conduct of military operations, in Canada or abroad). He notably served on deployed missions in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Lebanon, and participated on a number of Canadian delegations during international negotiations along with Global Affairs Canada.

David joined the PPSC on November 1, 2018, as one of the two Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions.

Carol Shirtliff-Hinds, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions

Carol Shirtliff-Hinds is the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions. She was appointed effective April 14^th, 2025.

Carol graduated from the University of Ottawa, law school in 1990. She was previously the Executive Director and Senior General Counsel of the Legal Services Branch at Canada Revenue Agency.

Carol has built a distinguished career in the Federal Public Service starting as Tax Litigator in Tax Law Services at the Ontario Regional Office of the Department of Justice in 1996. After twelve years litigating civil tax cases, Carol moved to litigating criminal and tax evasion cases with the PPSC. In 2012, Carol embraced her entrepreneurial spirit and founded and led her own law firm. Carol returned to PPSC in 2020 with the private sector experience she gained along with her previous government experience as Deputy Chief Federal Prosecutor for the PPSC. In this role, in addition to leading the revenue team, Carol led the criminal litigation teams. She was also the acting Chief Federal Prosecutor in the province of Québec in 2022 to 2023.

Role of the Attorney General and of the Director of Public Prosecutions

Attorney General of Canada

The Minister of Justice is, by statute, also the Attorney General of Canada. As the Chief Law Officer of the Crown, the Attorney General is responsible for providing legal advice to all government departments and for regulating and conducting all litigation for and against the Crown or any department of the Government of Canada.

Many federal statutes give the Attorney General additional powers and duties relating to prosecutions. These are conferred both directly on the Attorney General personally and indirectly through the many responsibilities placed on “the prosecutor” in the Criminal Code.

The Attorney General of Canada has jurisdiction to prosecute all non-Criminal Code federal offences (except those under the Canada Elections Act) in the provinces and authority to prosecute both Criminal Code and non-Criminal Code offences in the three territories. Further, the definition of “Attorney General” in the Criminal Code gives concurrent jurisdiction to the Attorney General of Canada and the provincial Attorneys General to prosecute certain Criminal Code offences including terrorism offences, organized crime offences, fraud, insider trading, and stock market fraud.

In addition, the Attorney General of Canada may prosecute Criminal Code offences with the consent and on behalf of a provincial Attorney General. Similarly, provincial Attorneys General may prosecute federal offences with the consent and on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada.

Duties of a Prosecutor

It is a core constitutional tenet that the Attorney General, and by extension the DPP, are bound by the principle of independence in respect of the prosecution function. In the leading case of Alberta v. Krieger, 2002 SCC 65, the Supreme Court of Canada held that “It is a constitutional principle in this country that the Attorney General must act independently of partisan concerns when supervising prosecutorial decisions.” Consultation with others in exercising prosecutorial discretion is permitted provided the decision is made independently.

Prosecutorial discretion covers decisions to institute, continue or terminate criminal proceedings. In making these decisions, the prosecutor must consider whether the evidence demonstrates that there is a reasonable prospect of conviction and, if so, whether a prosecution best serves the public interest.

Prosecutors play a key role in the Canadian criminal justice system. This role is quasi-judicial in nature, imposing on prosecutors the duty to be objective, independent, and dispassionate. They must see that all cases deserving of prosecution are brought to trial and prosecuted with competence, diligence, and fairness. Prosecutors must be of integrity, above all suspicion, and must exercise the considerable discretion bestowed on them fairly, in good faith, and without any consideration of the political implications of their decisions. While they must be advocates, their role is not to seek convictions at any cost, but to put before the court all available, relevant, and admissible evidence necessary to enable the court to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused.

Director of Public Prosecutions Act

On December 12, 2006, the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) was created with the coming into force of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act (the DPP Act). The Act makes the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) responsible for the prosecution of federal offences. The ODPP was created to ensure that the mechanisms to protect prosecutorial independence from improper influences, including improper political influence, are statutory and transparent.

The legal name of the organization is the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions whereas its applied, or common name, is the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

A copy of the DPP Act is included herewith as Appendix A.

Role of the Director of Public Prosecutions

Under section 3(3) of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, the DPP has been delegated the Attorney General’s authority to initiate and conduct federal prosecutions, to intervene in proceedings that raise a question of public interest that may affect the conduct of prosecutions or related investigations, to issue guidelines to federal prosecutors, and to advise law enforcement agencies on matters related to prosecutions generally and particular investigations that may lead to a prosecution. In respect of these matters, the DPP is the Deputy Attorney General of Canada.

In fulfilling the above duties, the DPP acts “under and on behalf of the Attorney General”. As a result, given their respective responsibilities, the relationship between the Attorney General and the DPP is of the utmost importance in ensuring that both can fulfill their duties while achieving the legislative goal of an independent, apolitical, and accountable prosecution service.

The DPP has the power to make binding and final decisions to prosecute offences under federal jurisdiction, unless otherwise directed by the Attorney General under section 10(1) of the DPP Act, or unless the Attorney General assumes conduct of the prosecution under section 15 of the Act. In respect of the Canada Elections Act, the DPP has sole authority to decide whether to conduct a prosecution on behalf of the Crown, as well as any appeal or proceeding related to such a prosecution.^{Footnote 2}

The Director of Public Prosecutions Act does not accord the DPP any investigative powers. This stems from the fact that the Office of the Attorney General does not have any such powers. Accordingly, neither the Attorney General nor the DPP has the power to order, direct or supervise a police investigation. The benefits of the respective independence of the investigative and prosecutorial functions have been recognized by the courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada in the cases of Krieger v Law Society of Alberta, [2002] 3 SCR 372; R v Regan, [2002] 1 SCR 297; and R v Beaudry, [2007] 1 SCR 190.  In addition, several commissions of inquiry into wrongful convictions, most notably the Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Jr. prosecution, have insisted that a line of demarcation be drawn between the two functions.

The DPP has a duty under section 13 of the DPP Act to inform the Attorney General in a timely fashion of any prosecution or intervention that the DPP intends to make that raises important questions of general interest. This information is normally provided by way of a written memorandum addressed to the Attorney General. There is no requirement in the Act that the Attorney General and the DPP meet to discuss prosecution-related issues. More detailed information with respect to this duty is found at Tab 4 – “Notices under Section 13 of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act”.

Although not required by the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, the Attorney General can consult with the DPP to seek advice on the potential operational effects on prosecutions of policy, legislative or litigation matters.

The DPP must provide an Annual Report on the activities of the PPSC to the Attorney General for tabling in Parliament. A copy of the PPSC’s most recent available Annual Report is attached as Appendix B.

Power of the Attorney General to Assume Conduct of Prosecutions and to Issue Directives and Assignments

Section 15 of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act provides the Attorney General with the power to assume conduct of a prosecution, except for prosecutions initiated under the Canada Elections Act. Before assuming conduct of a prosecution, the Attorney General must first consult the DPP. To safeguard the DPP’s independence, any directive from the Attorney General to the DPP, including any decision to assume conduct, must be in writing and published in the Canada Gazette.

Section 10 of the DPP Act allows the Attorney General to issue directives with respect to cases generally, or to individual cases. Section 3(3)(g) of the Act enables the Attorney General to assign any other power, duty or function to the DPP that is compatible with the ODPP. Such directives and assignments must be published in the Canada Gazette. While the Director of Public Prosecutions Act does not require the Attorney General to consult the DPP prior to issuing a specific directive under section 10(1) or an assignment under s. 3(3)(g), it is advisable that such consultation take place in order for the Attorney General to benefit from the knowledge of the DPP in relation to individual prosecutions where applicable and in the conduct of prosecutions in general. Consultation of this kind has taken place in relation to past assignments and serves to ensure that any future specific directive or assignment is compatible with the DPP Act.

Directives Issued by the Attorney General

On July 6, 2023, the Attorney General of Canada updated a directive regarding section 13 notes to provide further direction on the contents of the notice and clarify certain elements related to the notice. These clarifications are the results of the recommendations of the McLellan report, which reviewed the dual roles of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. The directive was published in the Canada Gazette on July 13, 2023. An amended directive 1.2 Duty to Inform the Attorney General under section 13 of the Director of Public Prosecution Act was subsequently incorporated in the PPSC Deskbook and came into force upon publication on the PPSC Internet site, on July 24, 2023.

On November 30, 2018, the Attorney General issued a directive with respect to prosecutions for non-disclosure of HIV status in specific circumstances.

Following the coming into force of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015, the Attorney General issued a directive confirming the PPSC’s role in the conduct and initiation of terror-related prosecutions.

The directive was published in the Canada Gazette on June 27, 2015.

On June 16, 2014, the Attorney General issued a directive instructing that all federal prosecutors and acting as federal prosecutors respect the 12 directives issued by the Attorney General set out in the PPSC Deskbook.^{Footnote 3} These directives together with guidelines issued by the DPP that are also found in the PPSC Deskbook provide guidance to federal prosecutors on the exercise of their discretion. Amended chapters 2.11 Official Languages in Prosecutions and 5.6 Victims of Crime were subsequently incorporated into the PPSC Deskbook by a directive issued by the Attorney General on January 15, 2017.

Assignments Issued by the Attorney General

Since the coming into force of the DPP Act in 2006, the Attorney General has issued five assignments of responsibility to the DPP for:

1. developing a set of best practices for prosecuting frauds against governments;
2. conducting prosecutions that the Attorney General may undertake pursuant to agreements with the provincial Attorneys General;
3. administering the National Fine Recovery Program and conducting proceedings to enforce the collection of outstanding federal fines, including the bringing of civil proceedings;
4. exercising the authorities of the Attorney General in the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act subject to a list of exclusions for items that are more appropriately dealt with through the Department of Justice (DOJ) (this assignment was archived and replaced in 2019 to take account of the passage of the Cannabis Act); and
5. exercising the authorities of the Attorney General in the Criminal Code, the Cannabis Act, and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act subject to a list of exclusions for items that are more appropriately dealt with through the DOJ.

There are a number of provisions in the Criminal Code and other federal statutes that require the consent of the Attorney General before steps may be taken or require the designation of an individual by the Attorney General. The definition of Attorney General in the Criminal Code allows these authorities to be exercised by a lawful deputy of the Attorney General. The long-standing practice has been for a deputy to exercise these authorities rather than the Attorney General personally. As subsection 3(4) of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act makes the DPP a lawful deputy of the Attorney General on all matters set out in section 3 of the Act, the DPP has exercised most of these authorities. The assignment recognizes these authorities without expanding the role of the DPP and without encroaching on the DPP’s independence in any way.

Notices to the Attorney General under Section 13 of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act

Under section 13 of the DPP Act, the DPP must inform the Attorney General of any prosecution or intervention that raises important questions of general interest. This duty is essential to the relationship between the Attorney General and the DPP, since this information allows the Attorney General to properly execute his functions as chief law officer of the Crown and exercise his powers under the DPP Act.

The Attorney General issued Directive 1.2 “Duty to Inform the Attorney General under Section 13 of the DPP Act” to provide direction on the type of cases that should be reported, the timing of the notice and its contents. The directive was first issued in 2014 and was updated in 2023 to implement the recommendations of the McLellan Report on the roles of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

Cases Requiring a Section 13 Notice

Section 13 notices are required in cases that raise “important questions” that are of “general interest.” The following are examples that would generally require a section 13 notice:

• Cases giving rise to concerns regarding public confidence in the administration of justice, including the manner in which a prosecution is conducted insofar as the impartiality or independence of the PPSC is at issue;
• Cases that may have a significant impact on established jurisprudence;
• National security prosecutions;
• War crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide prosecutions;
• Novel official languages issues in prosecutions;
• Prosecutions that involve novel aboriginal rights issues;
• Criminal organization prosecutions that raise “important questions of general interest” by virtue of the significance or novelty of the issues being litigated, or any broader government concerns such as border security;
• Environmental prosecutions that raise issues of national importance;
• Capital markets fraud cases of national significance;
• Cases with an international dimension;
• Constitutional challenges (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or division of powers) to legislation or to federal government programs that are novel (i.e. notices would not be required on routine or recurring constitutional challenges); or
• Cases that give rise to sustained, significant or anticipated media interest and that also raise important questions, for example when a matter puts into question the public’s confidence in the administration of justice.

However, section 13 does not apply to the following proceedings:

• Prosecutions under the Canada Elections Act;
• Proceedings conducted by the PPSC on behalf of the Attorney General under the Extradition Act or the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, but the PPSC has not conducted such proceedings yet since they are currently conducted by the Department of Justice; or
• Prosecutions of offences falling under provincial jurisdiction that the DPP prosecutes on behalf of a provincial prosecution service.

Timing of the Section 13 Notice

Section 13 requires that notice be given “in a timely manner.” By necessity, the timelines for providing a section 13 notice will vary from case to case in accordance with the particular facts, including any applicable time limitation periods. Notices are typically given at various milestone stages of the prosecution, notably before discontinuing or staying a prosecution, including a private prosecution, and prior to decisions to appeal or to intervene. Notices can also be given in cases where PPSC prosecutors provide advice in an investigation, but only after charges have been laid and only if the resulting prosecution would raise important questions of general interest.

Contents of the Section 13 Notice

A section 13 notice must include a contextual explanation setting out why the Attorney General is being informed of the matter, as well as details concerning relevant timelines, such as filing deadlines, hearing dates, and trial dates, and other information that would be relevant to inform any decision by the Attorney General.