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SECTION II — ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES BY STRATEGIC OUTCOME
Analysis by Program Activity
Strategic Outcome: To promote and ensure the highest standard of conduct of military police in the performance of policing duties, and to discourage improper interference in any military police investigation.
Program Activity: Complaints Resolution - To successfully resolve complaints about the conduct of military police members as well as complaints of interference with military police investigations.
| Planned Spending | Authorized Spending | Actual Spending |
|---|---|---|
| 3,416 | 3,539 | 2,837 |
| Planned | Actual |
|---|---|
| 16 FTEs | 16 FTEs |
The Commission derives its authority from Part IV of the National Defence Act, which sets out how complaints about the conduct of military police and complaints of interference with military police investigations are to be handled. The previous section detailed the different mechanisms for dealing with both conduct and interference complaints. By statutory direction, the Commission must resolve matters that come before it as informally and expeditiously as circumstances and the consideration of fairness permit.
In 2006–2007, the Commission monitored the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal's investigation of 36 complaints about military police conduct. In addition, the number of investigations by the Commission increased by 100% over the previous year. As well, the Commission held the first public hearing in its brief history. Investigations were opened into 11 requests for review of the Provost Marshal's handling of conduct complaints. Three public interest investigations were commenced during the fiscal year. During the year, the Commission handled three complaints of interference. Of the 11 final reports issued during the year, all of the Commission's recommendations were adopted by the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal or the Chief of Defence Staff.
One of the Commission's priorities was to examine the complaints handling process in an effort to improve timeliness. The examination was completed, processes were changed and a new service standard for the completion of reviews and investigations was established, reducing the target time for either to be completed from 8 months to 5 ½ months. In addition, a teaming approach was instituted for investigations. This approach is recognized as a best practice in terms of generating quality results and completing investigations in a shorter period of time.
Another priority was to establish an informal resolution framework based on the identification of best practices from other quasi-judicial tribunals. This priority was deferred because of the workload pressure throughout the year.
The establishment and implementation of a formal performance measurement framework is still a work in progress. To date, internal performance measurement is underway, and deadlines for the completion of key operations in the complaints resolution process have been formalized and reported upon. However, the Commission is still working to identify ways to measure the results as opposed to the outputs from its complaints resolution activity. Attribution is a concern because although the Commission plays a key role in helping to ensure the professionalism and the high standards of conduct achieved by the military police in the performance of their duties it shares the results with many others. The difficulty is in trying to isolate, to the greatest extent possible, the results due solely to the efforts of the Commission.
The Chair cannot issue a final report in a given case until the appropriate authority within the military or defence hierarchy has provided a response to the Interim Report. The Commission's ability to ensure that cases are resolved in a timely manner is dependent upon the cooperation and collaboration of others. Because of this, the Commission established a priority to hold meetings and working sessions with key Canadian Forces stakeholders. The Commission delivered on this priority by increasing the number of meetings throughout the year. In the fall a follow-up session to an earlier meeting in February was held to discuss matters of mutual concern. The ongoing dialogue with senior officials in DND and the Canadian Forces, so critical to the overall success of the Commission, appears to be paying dividends as the Commission had 100% of its recommendations accepted in the past year.
The Commission continued its outreach program 06-07 but it was drastically curtailed (down to two base visits) because of the increased business volumes. In addition, the Commission had but one sitting Member, the Chair. There were no part-time Members appointed, Members who could have contributed to the outreach program. The cumulative outreach efforts of the past two years (05-06 and 06-07), however, may have contributed to the increased volume of work this year. The outreach efforts will be renewed in the upcoming year because it is critical that the military police and other communities are aware of the mandate of the Commission, the complaints process and the role the Commission plays in ensuring their rights in the process.
The Commission also intended to increase the awareness of the mandate and role of the Commission by publishing articles in journals, newspapers and magazines but with the publicity generated by the Afghanistan situation, this priority was downgraded and rescheduled for next year.
The Commission implemented its learning policy early in 2005 and this learning policy was created to assist employees in pursuing their professional and career goals. The policy also helps to ensure that the Commission will have a well-trained workforce to help deliver its program. In the past year, all employees prepared a training plan, approved by management, which placed an emphasis on essential job skills, on improving skills and on professional development. Adequate funds were available to complete all related training and the training plans were fulfilled. However, a higher than expected rate of staff turnover necessitated a significant expenditure of resources on recruiting, staffing and orientation training.
The Commission continues to work with employees and their representatives to improve internal communications. A staff meeting is held each month with an emphasis on issues of interest to the staff. This not only keeps the staff well informed on current issues but oftentimes, addresses and resolves concerns of staff. In addition, a regular part of these staff meetings is the discussion amongst the staff concerning ethical situations and correct courses of action. These discussions serve to inform staff on ethical behaviour, contribute to a sharing of ideas and build collegiality. The labour-management consultative committee met twice during the year. More frequent meetings are difficult to schedule as it is a challenge for labour representatives to schedule for such meetings with a very small organization where they may only have a single employee represented. Nevertheless, a good working relationship exists between management and labour representatives and that has helped to expedite and satisfactorily resolve several issues during the year.
The 2005 Public Service Employee Survey gave a notably more positive view of employees at the Commission than did the previous survey. The results of the 2005 survey were analyzed by the Commission's management team, discussed with employees and then tabled and discussed at a labour-management consultative committee meeting. An action plan was created and implemented to address those areas where further improvements were needed.
The Commission aims to become a more "compliant" organization relative to the requirements of the central agencies. As a result, during the past year, as part of the ongoing requisitioning process for goods and services, compliance information and guidance was informally provided to managers and staff in the areas of procurement and contracting. There is more work to be done but progress is being made. As well, the results of the Departmental Staffing Accountability Report, while leaving room for improvement, indicate a satisfactory level of compliance with the various HR requirements. In October 2006, the PSC tabled a follow-up audit of the Commission's staffing actions. It found improvements in the Commission's files and staffing actions, as well as in the HR services provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada, with the result that conditions previously imposed on the Commission's staffing delegation were removed.
The Commission's risk assessment was updated during the last fiscal year to ensure that higher risk areas are correctly identified and scheduled for internal audit. The Commission participated in the Comptroller General's initial survey related to the internal audit of travel and hospitality but was not selected for detailed review. The Commission sought out the advice of the Comptroller General on the Commission's own internal audit plan.
