2015–16 Departmental Performance Report
Supplementary Information Tables
Supporting Information on Lower-Level Programs
Sub-program 1.1.1: Legal Policies and Laws
Description
The Department develops and coordinates all federal justice legislative reforms, policy options, and initiatives that promote a fair, accessible, and relevant justice system for the benefit of Canadians. This includes the areas of criminal justice, victims of crime, youth justice, family justice, official languages, contraventions, illicit drugs (via the National Anti-Drug Strategy), legal dualism, Aboriginal justice, security, and terrorism. The Department monitors developments in justice law, policy, and procedure; develops and implements options for law, enforcement, and policy reforms through legislation; develops and provides information and services to implement policies and laws; and provides advice to other federal departments in matters associated to justice-related laws and policies. As the administration of justice is an area of shared jurisdiction, the Department works closely with the provinces and territories in support of their responsibility for the day-to-day administration of justice. The Department also responds to parliamentary business involving justice matters, including government bills, private members’ bills, and parliamentary reviews. Furthermore, the Department supports the Government’s international priorities related to justice—namely, the provision of policy advice in the development of Canada’s international justice policies, the negotiation either through bilateral or multilateral forums of international norms, treaties, and conventions; and the development of legal cooperation programs, as well as the provision of legal technical assistance to foreign countries seeking to reform their justice systems.
| 2015-16 Planned Spending | 2015-16 Actual Spending | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 34,750,844 | 29,976,426 | -4,774,418 |
| 2015-16 Planned | 2015-16 Actual | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 208 | 217 | 9 |
| Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets | Actual Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadians have confidence in Canada’s criminal and family laws. | Percentage of Canadians who rate their level of confidence in adult criminal law as 6.0 or greater on a 10-point scale. | 60% | 60% |
| Percentage of Canadians who rate their level of confidence in youth criminal law as 6.0 or greater on a 10-point scale. | 60% | 44% | |
| Total amount of federal monies garnisheed to help satisfy family support orders or agreements. | $165 million | $188.7 million |
Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned
The Department continued to lead the Federal Victims Strategy, which advances policy, legislation, and public-awareness activities and programming to give victims a more effective voice in the criminal justice system. It also led the interdepartmental National Anti-Drug Strategy, which, in collaboration with Strategy partners, has developed Canada’s position for the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the World Drug Problem (April 2016). Moreover, in response to commitments delivered by the newly elected government in the 2015 Speech from the Throne, the Department provided legal and policy advice toward legalizing, strictly regulating, and restricting access to marijuana.
The Department provided legal and policy advice to continue to advance government priorities on family violence and violence against Indigenous women and girls. The Department continued to collaborate with partners in policing, prosecutions, child protection, victim services, and the voluntary sector to enhance training and other tools to improve the justice system response. Through the Justice Partnership and Innovation Program–Family Violence Initiative, the Department supported nine organizations to enable them to implement projects to either contribute to a reduction of family violence or to raise awareness of the issue and encourage public involvement in responding to family violence.
Moreover, the Department continued to support Canadian families by optimizing the Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings to give more Canadian courts online access to its databank and by making its financial processes more efficient. In collaboration with Employment and Social Development Canada, it enhanced the electronic garnishment process of Canada Pension Plan benefits pursuant to the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act.
The Department sought renewal of the federal component of the Government’s Supporting Families Experiencing Separation and Divorce Initiative, which ended on March 31, 2016, to maintain dedicated resources for family justice. Funding to the provinces and territories for family justice services, as well as to non-governmental organizations for public legal education and information, and federal programs support for this work will continue until March 31, 2017. Justice continued to collaborate with the provinces and territories to improve key areas of the justice system, such as family justice services. In the area of Indigenous justice, the Department provided culturally relevant information and services to Indigenous people and communities, and coordinated the federal-provincial-territorial response to justice and public safety-related Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system.
Finally, the Department supported the Government’s international priorities related to justice, including the provision of policy advice in the development of Canada’s international justice policies, the provision of support to the negotiation of international norms, treaties, and conventions; the development of legal cooperation programs, and the provision of legal technical assistance to foreign countries seeking to reform their justice systems. The Department continued to work with global partners to ensure that domestic legal frameworks and international instruments adequately supported international efforts to combat crime, including organized crime, illicit drugs, cybercrime, corruption, and terrorism.
Sub-program 1.1.2: Justice System Support
Description
The Department, through grant and contribution funding, supports access to the justice system by enabling Canadians to obtain assistance and legal information in order to resolve their legal issues, whether in the formal justice system or through alternative resolution mechanisms. The Department provides ongoing funding to provincial, territorial, and non-governmental organizations and to Aboriginal groups and communities. This program provides justice system support to advance federal justice policy in the following core domains: criminal justice (including youth justice and victims of crime), family justice, access to justice, official languages, contraventions, and Aboriginal justice.
| 2015-16 Planned Spending | 2015-16 Actual Spending | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 359,888,003 | 354,355,022 | -5,532,981 |
| 2015-16 Planned | 2015-16 Actual | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 38 | -12 |
| Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets | Actual Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| A justice system that is accessible to Canadians. | Percentage of federal justice system support funding provided to provinces and territories, non-governmental organizations, and Aboriginal groups and communities to inform and assist Canadians in resolving their legal matters. | 100% | 98% |
| Percentage of provinces with designated public legal education and information organizations supported by the Department that provide legal information. | 100% | 100% |
Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned
The Department continued to maximize the effectiveness of the management and delivery of grants and contributions programs. In general, service standards continued to be met and feedback was sought to help improve the funding application form. This enhanced form has since been considered a best practice and has been adopted by other government departments. The Department reviewed the Project Risk Assessment Tool and continues to strive to maximize efficiency by identifying areas of improvement such as training gaps and opportunities to enhance usefulness of the tool. The Department continued to support the provision of funding for the benefit of all Canadians through the Justice Partnership and Innovation Program and the Access to Justice Services Agreements. This continues to advance public legal education and information by producing and maintaining materials in support of justice priorities and by funding designated public legal education and information organizations.
Sub-sub-program 1.1.2.1: Criminal Justice and Legal Representation
Description
The Department, through contribution and grant funding, facilitates access to justice and the functioning of the Canadian criminal justice system. The Department provides funding to provinces and designated counsel to help ensure that economically disadvantaged individuals deemed in need of legal assistance have access to legal advice and representation when facing a serious and/or complex criminal charge, the immigration and refugee determination system, or Division 9 proceedings of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (alleged threats to national security). Funding is also made available to other partners in the justice system for specialized criminal justice programs and services to improve access to justice, as well as for the development of public legal education resources to respond to the legal information needs of Canadians. This program uses funding from the following transfer payments: Legal Aid Program, Public Security and Anti-terrorism Legal Aid, Court-Ordered Counsel in Federal Prosecutions, Drug Treatment Court Funding Program, Integrated Market Enforcement Teams Reserve Fund, Special Advocates Program, International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, the Hague Conference on Private International Law, and Justice Partnership and Innovation Program, which includes funding to enhance the justice system’s response to family violence through the Family Violence Initiative.
| 2015-16 Planned Spending | 2015-16 Actual Spending | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 132,929,238 | 132,148,581 | -780,657 |
| 2015-16 Planned | 2015-16 Actual | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | 12 | -3 |
| Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets | Actual Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enhanced capacity of provinces and their legal aid plans to deliver criminal legal aid services to eligible economically disadvantaged persons. | Number of approved applications for criminal legal aid in provinces. | 270,000 | 261,207Table note i |
| Eligible persons are represented in court so cases proceed. | Number of stays (cases temporarily suspended or stopped altogether) due to the lack of funded counsel for court-ordered counsel in federal prosecutions and in public security and anti‑terrorism cases. | 0 | 0 |
- Table note i
-
Approved criminal legal aid applications reflect full-service certificates and do not account for the provision of other legal aid services such as duty counsel (1,018,824). Data for this indicator reflect the most recent data available collected through the Statistics Canada Legal Aid Survey (2014-15).
Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned
Through the Legal Aid Program, the Department continued to advance access to justice by working in collaboration with the provinces and territories to provide funding for criminal legal aid, immigration and refugee legal aid, legal aid in public security, and anti-terrorism cases. The Department also provided funding for the management of court-ordered counsel for individuals who did not qualify for legal aid, enabling Justice to meet its performance target of no stays in federal prosecutions.
The Department also continued to work through the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Permanent Working Group on Legal Aid to ensure that vulnerable persons, including those who are economically disadvantaged persons, have ongoing access to the justice system through the provision of legal aid in criminal, immigration and refugee, national security matters, and through court-ordered counsel in federal prosecutions. Moreover, the increased funding provided through Budget 2016 will enhance provincial-territorial capacity to provide criminal legal aid and to develop and implement innovations to improve access to justice and the sustainability of legal aid systems.
The Department continued to provide support for public legal education activities both through the Justice Partnership and Innovation Program and through access-to-justice agreements. The Department supported an accessible justice system by providing program funding for public legal education and information organizations that develop material to respond to the legal needs of Canadians. The program provided $3 million to 34 organizations to address issues related to family violence and access to justice and to break intergenerational cycles of violence and abuse.
The Department also continued to implement its components of the National Anti-Drug Strategy to further help prevent illicit drug use and provide access to treatment to those with substance‑abuse issues. The Department continued funding the Drug Treatment Court Funding Program through contribution agreements with participating provinces and territories to work directly with service providers. Nine provinces and two territories either have or are in the process of negotiating agreements; the remaining two jurisdictions are participating in the Federal‑Provincial‑Territorial Working Group on Drug Treatment Court Efficiencies and Resource Allocations. The Department also continued to implement the Drug Treatment component of the Youth Justice Fund.
The Special Advocates Program continued to provide critical support to special advocates in Division 9 proceedings under theImmigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The Department also continued to administer the Integrated Market Enforcement Team Reserve Fund, which supports the prosecution of cases of serious criminal capital market fraud offences in Canada.
Sub-sub-program 1.1.2.2: Victims of Crime
Description
The Department, through grant and contribution funding, aims to give victims of crime a more effective voice in the criminal justice system. The Department provides funding to provincial and territorial governments and non-governmental organizations to increase awareness and knowledge of victim issues, legislation, and services available, as well as to develop and deliver victim programs, services, and assistance to meet gaps in services for victims of crime. The Department also provides direct, limited, emergency financial assistance to individual victims in certain specified circumstances, including travel for registered victims to attend Parole Board of Canada hearings and for Canadians victimized abroad. This program uses funding from the following transfer payment: the Victims Fund.
| 2015-16 Planned Spending | 2015-16 Actual Spending | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 12,771,559 | 14,249,379 | 1,477,820 |
| 2015-16 Planned | 2015-16 Actual | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | -1 |
| Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets | Actual Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victims of crime have a more effective voice in the criminal justice system. | Percentage of federal victims funding accessed by provinces/territories, non‑governmental organizations, and individuals to advance victim assistance and participation in the criminal justice system. | 100% | 93.1% |
| Percentage of victimsTable note ii receiving financial assistance who report having a more effective voice in the criminal justice system. | 90% | 97% |
- Table note ii
-
Represents the victims surveyed.
Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned
The Department supported the successful passage of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights into law in July 2015. This ensures that victims of crime have a more effective voice within Canada’s criminal justice system. To support the implementation of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, funding will be made available to assist provinces and territories in delivering new or enhanced restitution programs and complaints mechanisms.
Financial assistance provided through the Victims Fund has allowed a broad range of victims to not only have a stronger voice in the justice system but to also benefit from direct support and services. During 2015-16, $13 million in funding was provided to 23 organizations to establish or enhance Child Advocacy Centres across the country and to 15 organizations to respond to the needs of Indigenous victims of crime and families of missing and murdered Indigenous women. As well, 171 community-based organizations received funding to mark the 2015 Victims and Survivors of Crime Week. Funding was also provided to provincial and territorial governments to support the development and delivery of direct services to victims of crime. In addition, support from the Victims Fund directly helped 578 individuals attend Parole Board of Canada hearings or reduced the financial hardship of those who were victimized outside of Canada.
Collectively, these efforts have helped the Department to assist victims and to safeguard the accessibility of the justice system by ensuring that victims have a more effective voice.
Sub-sub-program 1.1.2.3: Youth Justice
Description
The Department, through contribution and grant funding, supports fair and effective programming for youth aged 12 to 17 involved in the criminal justice system. The Department directs resources toward the federal youth justice priorities of holding youth accountable through measures that are proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and degree of responsibility of the young person; promoting the rehabilitation and reintegration of young persons who have committed offences; and supporting the prevention of crime by referring young persons to programs or agencies in the community, while also assisting the provinces and territories in their responsibility of administering the Youth Criminal Justice Act. A portion of discretionary funding also exists, which allows the Department to encourage innovation around emerging youth justice issues (e.g. rehabilitation, treatment, reintegration, programming). This program uses funding from the following transfer payments: the Youth Justice Fund, Youth Justice Services, and Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision.
| 2015-16 Planned Spending | 2015-16 Actual Spending | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 157,974,116 | 157,077,634 | -896,482 |
| 2015-16 Planned | 2015-16 Actual | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 4 | -4 |
| Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets | Actual Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| A youth justice system that supports federal youth justice priorities. | Percentage of youth court cases receiving a non‑custodial (community‑based) sentence. | 85% | Date to be Achieved is March 2017 |
| Percentage of identified, eligible Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision cases receiving specialized treatment. | 100% | 100% |
Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned
In 2015-16, the Department allocated approximately $157 million and four FTEs to the area of youth justice programming. Through five-year agreements under the Youth Justice Services Funding Program and the Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision Program, the provinces and territories received funding to provide a range of programs and services targeting young persons in conflict with the law.
The Department continued to advance projects that encourage a more effective youth justice system that responds to emerging youth justice issues and allows for greater citizen and community participation in the youth justice system. This has promoted knowledge sharing with partners in federal, provincial, and territorial governments, with non-governmental organizations, and with international organizations on matters relating to youth justice and the implementation of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Through the Youth Justice Fund, the Department continued to support innovative approaches to youth justice issues. In 2015-16, the Department offered a series of four webcasts for justice system stakeholders and members of the public on emerging youth justice issues. Some of the key issues were effective substance abuse treatment for youth in the criminal justice system with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder; responses to criminal offending by youth with mental health issues and/or cognitive impairment; the overrepresentation of Indigenous youth in the criminal justice system along with innovative community-based approaches to working with them; and the rights of youth who are involved in the child welfare and youth justice systems.
The Department met its performance targets and ensured that the youth justice system supports youth justice priorities and advances programming to address guns, gangs, and illicit drug use. Through continued engagement and funding efforts to drive key outcomes and by working collaboratively with its partners and stakeholders, Justice continues to play a key role in encouraging a fairer and more effective youth justice system.
Sub-sub-program 1.1.2.4: Family Justice
Description
The Department, through contribution and grant funding, provides support to Canadians experiencing separation and divorce by facilitating the effective delivery of programs and services such as parent education, mediation, support enforcement, and child support recalculation, and by developing family law information and training resources. Family justice funding assists the provinces and territories to develop and provide family justice services and programs that are aimed at enhancing the capacity of parents to reach appropriate custody, access, and support agreements and to comply with those agreements. Federal funding also assists non-governmental organizations in developing family law information and training resources, supports implementation of the Department’s legislative obligations and policy priorities in the area of family justice, and provides support to program evaluation by collecting and reporting on the funding data. This program uses funding from the following transfer payments: the Supporting Families Fund.
| 2015-16 Planned Spending | 2015-16 Actual Spending | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 16,538,876 | 16,252,520 | -286,356 |
| 2015-16 Planned | 2015-16 Actual | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets | Actual Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| A family justice system that supports access to family justice information, services, and programs for Canadians experiencing separation and divorce. | Percentage of federal funds accessed by provinces, territories, and non‑governmental organizations to help defray the costs of developing and delivering family justice programs, services, and information and training resources. | 100% | 100% |
Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned
The Supporting Families Fund is a key component of the Supporting Families Initiative and enables provinces and territories, as well as non-governmental organizations, to provide a range of services, programs, and information resources for divorcing or separating parents to gain access to the family justice system. The Fund also supports non-governmental organizations in developing family law information resources for separating and divorcing families, particularly those from communities that may face barriers in accessing the family justice system, such as Indigenous, official language minority, immigrant, rural, and remote communities. The Department continued to administer this fund, enhancing access to family justice information, services, and programs for Canadians who are experiencing separation and divorce, with a particular focus on helping parents comply with financial support, custody and access obligations. The Fund provided $16 million to provinces and territories and non-governmental organizations.
Sub-sub-program 1.1.2.5: Aboriginal and Northern Justice
Description
The Department, through grant and contribution funding, supports the development and delivery of justice services that are sensitive to, and reflective of, Aboriginal culture, and allows flexible delivery of justice services for persons living in the territories. The Department collaborates with the provinces and territories in developing community capacity to assist Aboriginal people and Northern residents in navigating the mainstream justice system, and in providing culturally relevant justice alternatives. This program uses funding from the following transfer payments: Aboriginal Justice Strategy, Aboriginal Courtwork Program, and Access to Justice Services in the Territories.
| 2015-16 Planned Spending | 2015-16 Actual Spending | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 23,814,826 | 24,558,510 | 743,684 |
| 2015-16 Planned | 2015-16 Actual | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | 12 | -4 |
| Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets | Actual Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| A justice system that responds to the needs of Aboriginal people by providing culturally relevant information and services. | Percentage of individuals referred to an Aboriginal Justice Strategy program who have completed the program. | 90% | Date to be Achieved is March 2017 |
| Percentage of Aboriginal Courtwork Program clients indicating a level of satisfaction of “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the information provided. | 80% | Date to be Achieved is March 2017 | |
| Territorial residents have access to justice services (legal aid, public legal education and information, Aboriginal Courtwork Program) that respond to their needs and circumstances. | Number of approved applications for legal aid in the territories. | 3,000 | 2,874 |
Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned
In 2015, the Department allocated over $11.6 million for the Aboriginal Justice Strategy (AJS) to support approximately 200 Indigenous community-based justice programs. Through the Community-Based Justice Fund, this funding continued to support these programs that offer alternatives to the mainstream justice processes in appropriate circumstances. Annually, more than 10,000 clients are referred to AJS programs in more than 750 Indigenous communities across Canada. In light of its upcoming renewal in 2017-18, the AJS held Phase Two of its Engagement Sessions, in partnership with provincial and territorial counterparts, recipients, and other stakeholders, to seek input from community experts on the causes and responses to the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system.
The Capacity-Building Fund, which supports Indigenous communities in developing the knowledge and skills needed to establish and manage community-based justice programs, allocated over $1.25 million to 44 projects that reached over 616 communities. This funding focused on supporting regional gatherings and emerging issues such as violence against Indigenous women and girls.
The Department continued to provide funding to provinces for Aboriginal Courtwork services through the Aboriginal Courtwork Program (ACW), while in territories funding for legal aid, courtwork services, and public legal education activities is provided through the Access to Justice Services Agreements. These agreements recognize the unique needs and circumstances of northern communities and residents by allowing for a flexible approach for the delivery of access to justice services.
The ACW Program’s strength of being delivered by and for the Indigenous community continues to support the aims of giving culturally relevant support and information to all Indigenous people (adult and youth) who are in contact with the criminal justice system, supporting the Government priority of respect, cooperation, and partnership with Indigenous peoples.
Increased funding provided through Budget 2016 for both Legal Aid and ACW will assist Indigenous people facing the criminal justice system and will also focus on program integrity and innovation. Indigenous service delivery agencies, First Nations, Legal Services Boards, and federal, provincial, and territorial designates have collaboratively developed a strategic plan to identify activities that will form an ACW framework to address the needs of Indigenous people involved with the justice system and support reconciliation. In addition, Aboriginal Courtworkers across Canada participated in sessions to identify emerging justice issues facing their clients and potential solutions for eliminating overrepresentation.
Sub-sub-program 1.1.2.6: Justice in Official Languages
Description
The Department, through grant and contribution funding, provides support to improve access to justice in both official languages to persons navigating the justice system. The Department manages the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund and implements the Department’s duty to take positive measures to fulfil the federal government’s commitment in section 41 of the Official Languages Act toward the development of official language minority communities and the promotion of English and French. The Department also manages the Contraventions Act Fund to enable the provinces and municipalities to implement the Contraventions Act on behalf of the federal government in a manner consistent with the applicable constitutional and legislative language rights involving compliance with judicial services as set out in sections 530 and 530.1 of the Criminal Code and extra-judicial services as set out in Part IV of the Official Languages Act. This program uses funding from the following transfer payments: Access to Justice in Both Officials Languages Support Fund and Contraventions Act Fund.
| 2015-16 Planned Spending | 2015-16 Actual Spending | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 15,859,388 | 10,068,398 | -5,790,990 |
| 2015-16 Planned | 2015-16 Actual | 2015-16 Difference (Actual minus Planned) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets | Actual Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadians have access to a criminal justice system that responds to their needs in the official language of their choice. | Percentage of provinces and territories where justice system stakeholders (prosecutors, court clerks, judges, etc.) have access to specialized language training to facilitate access to justice in the official language of choice. | 100% | 100% |
| Canadians have access to legal information regarding their rights and responsibilities in the official language of their choice. | Percentage of provinces and territories for which official language minority communities have access to legal information through an information hub that provides Canadians with legal information through a telephone helpline, online, or in person. | 100% | 100% |
| Canadians in designated areas who have received a federal contravention have access to the justice system using the official language of their choice. | Number of complaints with respect to judicial and extra-judicial services in the official language of choice. | 0 | 0 |
Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned
In 2015-16, the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund provided $6.5 million in funding to 43 projects to enhance the accessibility of the Canadian justice system for members of official language minority communities. These projects include four legal information hubs managed by provincial French-speaking jurists associations, with a fifth expected to open in 2016. The Support Fund also supported web-based portals such as cliquezjustice.ca and educaloi.qc.ca, which provide all official language minority communities across the country with access to legal information in the official language of their choice.
In addition, the Support Fund contributes to projects designed to ensure that over 600 justice system stakeholders (e.g. provincially appointed judges, provincial Crown attorneys, probation officers, and clerks) across Canada have access to professional training that will enable them to provide services in both official languages. As a case in point, in 2015-16, 40 provincially appointed judges from 11 jurisdictions benefited from specialized language training programs.
The Contraventions Act has been implemented in seven provinces and municipalities with a funding amount of $3.5 million. The Department is encouraged by the positive response from Alberta to begin discussions on implementing a contraventions regime in the province. The renewal process has included a review of measures that guarantee language rights to ensure that they meet the needs of official languages minority communities. Through the Contraventions Act Fund, the Department continued to provide provinces, territories, and municipalities with funding to undertake measures that ensure language rights are respected in relation to the administration and enforcement of federal contraventions.
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