Executive Summary

Introduction

The Evaluation of the Reconciliation Secretariat (the Secretariat) was conducted by the Department of Justice Canada (Justice Canada) Evaluation Branch and covers fiscal years 2018-19 to 2021-22 and, to the extent possible, activities in 2022-23. The evaluation was completed in accordance with the Treasury Board’s Policy on Results (2016). The evaluation examined relevance in terms of the alignment of the Secretariat with government and departmental priorities, design and delivery and performance.

Program Description

The Reconciliation Secretariat is the Department’s Centre of Expertise (CoE) on Indigenous relations, reconciliation and partnership building and leads the coordination of several key Justice Canada legal policy initiatives aimed at advancing reconciliation. The Secretariat is comprised of two teams: the Policy Development and Strategic Advice Team, and the Engagement and Partnership Team. In addition, the Senior Director, as the head of the Secretariat, supports and briefs the Minister and senior officials on the progress of many priorities related to the reconciliation agenda (including the federal response to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Inquiry and overall progress in implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action), provides direction and advice, and represents Justice Canada in senior official inter-departmental meetings, intergovernmental meetings, and meetings with external partners and stakeholders.

Since 2021, the Secretariat has also been leading the development of the Indigenous Justice Strategy (IJS), which aims to address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the justice system. The development of the IJS began with consultations with Indigenous partners, provinces and territories. The consultations are expected to continue well into 2023 and the development of the IJS to be completed by March 2024. The Reconciliation Secretariat received funding to develop the IJS in 2021-22, including $11 million for the Indigenous Engagement Fund (IEF) to support the participation of Indigenous organizations and communities in the process.

Findings

Relevance

The Reconciliation Secretariat is well-aligned with both federal government and departmental priorities pertaining to reconciliation and issues that affect Indigenous peoples’ interactions with the Canadian justice system. The Secretariat is aligned with federal priorities in three primary areas. First, as a secretariat with dedicated resources for the sole objective of the advancement of reconciliation, it is aligned with a government that has consistently prioritized and recognized the importance of this topic through the federal Budget, Budget speeches and mandate letters. Second, as a secretariat within Justice Canada with a mandate to lead the coordination of key departmental legal policy initiatives aimed at advancing reconciliation, it is aligned with federal communications on reconciliation that have had a clear focus on a number of justice-specific priorities. Finally, the Secretariat is mandated to support the Deputy Minister’s (DM) participation in the Deputy Ministers Committee on Indigenous Reconciliation (DMCIR).

Design and delivery

The Reconciliation Secretariat was established in 2017 as the Review of Laws and Policies Secretariat (RLPS) to support the then Minister and DM to advance the reconciliation agenda for the Department and across government. It was moved to the Indigenous Rights and Relations Portfolio (IRRP), formerly known as the Aboriginal Affairs Portfolio, in April 2019. Since its inception as the RLPS in 2017, the Reconciliation Secretariat’s role has evolved to reflect the changing federal priorities and demands on the organization.

The Secretariat has worked on key legal policy initiatives such as the Department’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Calls for Justice, while also representing the Department on a multitude of committees and working groups (WGs). More recently, the Secretariat was tasked with leading the policy development work related to the IJS.

Its role as the departmental CoE on Indigenous relations, reconciliation and partnership building with Indigenous partners, supporting and advising senior officials, and the Department as a whole, on key Indigenous related priorities, was formalized in a 2021 funding request. The Reconciliation Secretariat has been able to effectively respond to changing demands and roles, although it lacks the capacity to fully take on its role as CoE beyond on an ad hoc manner. This lack of capacity has led to over-burdened staff and managers.

The evaluation found that role of the Secretariat is not clear to most stakeholders, both within and outside Justice Canada. The activities of the Secretariat generally do not overlap or duplicate work conducted by others within the department. Having said that, some areas where there is the potential for overlap in roles were noted. The Reconciliation Secretariat has worked diligently to manage possible areas of overlap through communication and coordination. However, due to the lack of awareness of the Secretariat’s role, the perception of overlap continues to be an issue.

Effectiveness

The Reconciliation Secretariat has made significant contributions to many Indigenous-specific files and priorities, not the least of which is the Federal Pathway response to the MMIWG Calls for Justice, reporting to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) on Justice’s response to the TRC Calls to Action and MMIWG Calls for Justice, and advancing joint priorities at Permanent Bilateral Mechanisms.

The extent to which the Secretariat has built capacity within the Department to consult and collaborate with partners is unclear. The Secretariat has developed and delivered training, developed guidance materials and responded to requests for advice and guidance on an ad hoc basis. However, due to its lack of capacity, the Secretariat has tended to be reactive as opposed to proactive when building the capacity of Justice Canada personnel to engage with Indigenous partners.

The Reconciliation Secretariat is working effectively with its other government department (OGD) and Indigenous partners and interactions have been increasing over time. OGDs value the Reconciliation Secretariat and what it brings to committees/WGs and the work overall. Indigenous partners believe that the Secretariat is making sincere efforts in their interactions and relationships with them, noting a new sense of openness and improved communications through their interactions with the Secretariat.

However, structural barriers hamper interactions that fully respect Indigenous governments’ approaches and timelines or that represent full partnership. Many of the barriers apply to the Government of Canada overall, and are not specific to the Secretariat of Justice Canada including: Treasury Board funding cycles; Cabinet confidences; Treasury Board policies; and procurement (e.g., only one Indigenous consultation firm was on the Public Services and Procurement Canada list of pre-qualified firms).

It can be said with certainty, however, that the Reconciliation Secretariat has advanced the IJS since the funding was approved in late 2021. Working with Justice Canada’s Programs Branch, the Reconciliation Secretariat awarded 38 grants to support Indigenous engagement through the IEF and a first wave of engagement sessions took place in 2022-23. The second wave of engagement is ongoing, involving intensive Reconciliation Secretariat-led outreach and partnership with a range of Indigenous rightsholders, representative organizations and experts as well as with provinces and territories. The IJS is expected to be completed (i.e, approved by Cabinet) by March 2024.

Recommendations

Based on the findings described in this report, the following recommendations are made:

Recommendation 1: The Indigenous Rights and Relations Portfolio, in collaboration with sectors across the Department, should undertake a whole-of-Justice review to clarify mandates, roles and responsibilities in regard to Indigenous-related priorities.

Recommendation 2: The Reconciliation Secretariat should seek opportunities to secure ongoing resources to ensure that it has the ability and capacity to sustain and advance government and departmental priorities regarding reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.