Departmental Performance Report 2011-12

Table of Contents

Chairperson's Message

Section I: Organizational Overview

• Raison d'être
• Responsibilities
• Strategic Outcome(s) and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
• Organizational Priorities
• Risk Analysis
• Summary of Performance
• Expenditure Profile
• Estimates by Vote

Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

• Strategic Outcome
• Program Activity No. X2006363: Review Canadian Forces grievances
• Program Activity No. X2006364: Internal Services
• Performance Summary and Analysis of Program Activity
• Lessons Learned

Section III: Supplementary Information

• Financial Highlights
• Financial Highlights – Graphs
• Financial Statements
• List of Supplementary Information Tables

Section IV: Other Items of Interest

• Organizational Contact Information
• Additional Information

Chairperson’s Message

I am pleased to submit the Canadian Forces Grievance Board's Departmental Performance Report for the period ending March 31, 2012.

This DPR is particularly important for the Board because it is the first to assess our performance based on the new Strategic Outcome we adopted in 2010 to ensure that our mandate and vision are better reflected in our activities. This strategic course adjustment has helped the Board to better define the operational and management priorities presented and evaluated in this report.

The Board continued to work on its number one priority: ensuring optimum productivity and excellence. In 2011-12 the Board further improved operational efficiency as the average time to complete the review of a grievance file was reduced to an average of 2.5 months, a 69% improvement over the productivity average we reported in 2008-09. This result was achieved even though the Board was participating in a full-scale trial of a new model for the referral of grievances which involved the referral of cases dealing with matters not normally within the Board’s mandate.

The results achieved during this trial, later suspended by the Canadian Forces (CF), were extremely encouraging. In 54% of the cases, the Board’s findings and recommendations differed from the CF position, thus providing the grievors and the Chief of the Defence Staff with the benefits of an external opinion. Through its expertise and commitment to quality and efficiency, the Board was able to clearly demonstrate the value-added of its role as an independent review body, thereby validating the usefulness of expanding the types of grievances seen at the Board. We look forward to the full implementation of the new model.

As well, the Board contributed to the government-wide efforts to restrain spending, by focusing on improving efficiency and reducing costs. The Board’s strategy included investing in technology and implementing measures to reinforce our policies and internal processes in order to ensure the effective management of financial resources. I am pleased to report that during the same period, the Board also achieved full compliance with Record Keeping requirements, and successfully updated its Web site to ensure compliance with government Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

At the Board, we measure our success by the quality and timeliness of the product we deliver and the expert advice we offer stakeholders. I am confident that the results reported in this document demonstrate our continuous commitment to deliver on our mandate and to contribute to a fair and transparent military grievance process.

Bruno Hamel
Chairperson

Section I: Organizational Overview

Raison d’être

The raison d’être of the Canadian Forces Grievance Board (CFGB or the Board) is to provide an independent and external review of military grievances. Section 29 of the National Defence Act (NDA) provides a statutory right for an officer or a non-commissioned member who has been aggrieved, to grieve a decision, an act or an omission in the administration of the affairs of the Canadian Forces (CF). The importance of this broad right cannot be overstated since it is, with certain narrow exceptions, the only formal complaint process available to CF members.

Responsibilities

The Board is an independent administrative tribunal reporting to Parliament through the Minister of National Defence.

The Board reviews grievances referred to it and provides findings and recommendations (F&Rs) to the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) and the officer or non-commissioned member who submitted the grievance.

The Board also has the obligation to deal with all matters before it as informally and expeditiously as the circumstances and the considerations of fairness permit.

Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)

Figure 1

PAA Crosswalk

In 2010, the Board conducted a strategic review of its plans and priorities, in consideration of the unique role it plays in the military grievance process and its expertise as an administrative tribunal. The exercise led to the adoption of a new Strategic Outcome (SO) which now reads: “The Chief of the Defence Staff and members of the Canadian Forces have access to a fair, independent and timely review of military grievances.”

The new SO more accurately reflects the Board’s mandate and vision and was approved as part of the Treasury Board Secretariat amendments process for 2011-12 and future year Estimates. It is important to note that the 2011-12 Departmental Performance Report is the first report to assess performance based on the revised and improved Performance Measurement Framework.

Organizational Priorities

Risk Analysis

A CFGB Corporate Risk Profile has been developed, which identified and assessed risks of strategic importance for the Board. Risk mitigation strategies have also been identified, and these have been integrated with business planning and day-to-day program activities.

A key risk to the Board is significant and unanticipated fluctuations in the volume of cases referred, which would have an impact on the timeliness of issuing F&R and on the financial and human resources planned by the Board. The Board continues to closely monitor workload planning assumptions and evaluate the impact on the organisational structure in order to best align its resources.

The issue of security was also specifically addressed during the annual review of the Board’s Risk Profile, and appropriate strategies were put in place to mitigate potential threats to the integrity of the organization’s assets and institutional knowledge. Information security is critical in the context of disclosures of personal and protected information, and the Board has implemented a number of practices aimed at ensuring the security of information, which include:

• Awareness training and update of the CFGB Business Continuity and Resumption Plan (BCRP);
• Awareness training on the Access to Information and Privacy;
• Implementation of the recommendations of the Threat and Risk Assessment (TRA);
• Development of the CFGB Departmental Security Plan.

The Board is committed to maintain the focus on security until security awareness becomes an integral part of organizational activities and culture.

Summary of Performance

Summary of Performance Tables

Progress Toward Strategic Outcome

Expenditure Profile

Estimates by Vote

For information on the Canadian Forces Grievance Board’s organizational Votes and/or statutory expenditures, please see the Public Accounts of Canada 2012 (Volume II). An electronic version of the Public Accounts 2012 is available on the Public Works and Government Services Canada’s Web site.

Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome

Figure 3

Program Activity No. X2006363: Review Canadian Forces grievances.

Program Activity Description

The Chief of the Defence Staff refers grievances as prescribed under Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces as well as every grievance concerning a decision or an act of the Chief of the Defence Staff in respect of a particular officer or non-commissioned member to the Board for its findings and recommendations. The Board conducts objective and transparent reviews of grievances with due respect to fairness and equity for each member of the Canadian Forces, regardless of rank or position. It ensures that the rights of military personnel are considered fairly throughout the process and that its Board Members act in the best interest of the parties concerned. The findings and recommendations it issues are not only based in law but form precedents that may facilitate change within the Canadian Forces. As an administrative tribunal designed to review grievances, the Board must ensure that its recommendations comply with the law and can be implemented in accordance with its enabling legislation, relevant human rights legislation and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Program Activity No. X2006364: Internal Services

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups 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;
• Acquisition Services; and
• Travel and Other Administrative Services.

Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.

Performance Summary and Analysis of Program Activity

The Board’s Logic Model, at Figure 4, illustrates how each of the items contributes to the fulfillment of the Board’s strategic outcome.

Figure 4

Logic Model – Canadian Forces Grievance Board
(click on image to enlarge)

Intermediate Outcome – Enhanced confidence in the grievance process and the administration of the affairs of the Canadian Forces.

This performance indicator was assessed through a program evaluation of the CFGB Review of Military Grievances conducted in July 2010. All interviewees were satisfied with the equity, transparency and fairness of the CFGB. Furthermore, 72% agreed that the CFGB contributes to fairness, equity and transparency of the grievance process overall. Former CDS General Rick Hillier noted that the CFGB was able to "elevate the confidence of military members in regard to the grievance process and to target areas where human resource policy should be reinforced, thereby contributing to the improved morale and efficiency of the CF".

Immediate Outcome – The Chief of the Defence Staff is assisted in rendering decisions on grievances and is informed of systemic issues.

In 2011-12, the Board received CDS decisions in response to 115 grievances. As shown in the following graphic, the CDS agreed and partially agreed with the Board's F&R in 81% of these cases and was in disagreement in 8% of these cases. The remaining cases were either resolved or withdrawn by the grievors, after the issuance of the Board’s F&R.

Furthermore, in reviewing individual grievances, the Board sometime finds that its recommendations with respect to the interpretation of a policy or a regulation may affect more than one member. In these cases, the Board makes the CDS aware that a broader problem may exist by issuing one or more systemic recommendation. In 2011-12, the Board received CDS decisions in response to systemic recommendations it had made on 26 cases of which the CDS agreed that 72.7% merited further action.

Immediate Outcome – Stakeholders have an increased awareness and understanding of the CF grievance process, regulations, policies and guidelines affecting Canadian Forces members.

The Board has implemented several initiatives aimed at obtaining feedback from its various audiences, in order to ensure the effectiveness of its communications. A survey developed for personnel attending the Board’s presentations during base visits has already yielded positive results. The Board visited three CF bases (Esquimalt, Petawawa and Yellowknife) as part of its communications’ strategy aimed at maintaining direct communications with members of the CF in their work environment. More than 105 participants have answered a survey aimed at evaluating the interest in information about the Board and its role in the CF grievance system. 73% of respondents greatly appreciated the presentation of examples of cases received at the Board.

As well, a new feedback tool was added on the Web site to collect comments from users, particularly readers of the Board’s publications posted online.

The Board is also in the process of developing a survey directed to its various stakeholders in the hope to measure the effectiveness and the interest in the publications it provides.

Lessons Learned

The Board faced two major challenges in 2011-12. The first was the implementation, on a trial basis, of a new approach to grievance referral aimed at improving the fairness and transparency of the CF grievance process; the second was its participation in the government-wide efforts to restrict growth in spending and reduce deficit.

In response to these challenges, the Board put in place measures to improve efficiency and realized savings through business consolidation, the transformation of business processes and investments in technology.

The Board also realigned its resources to adapt to the grievance referral trial, which involved the referral of types of grievances not usually seen by the Board, while remaining focused on its priorities of ensuring maximum operational efficiency and maintaining the quality of its F&R. In 2011-12, the Board further improved its time on file to an average of 2.5 months, a 69% improvement over the productivity average of 2008-09. This was achieved while a full-scale trial was ongoing.

Through this trial, the Board has demonstrated that it has, not only the resources to deal with an increase in volume, but that it also has the expertise to review all types of grievances. In the past five years, the Board has not completely agreed with the CF position in 46% of the cases reviewed and, although the cases completed under the new model of referral represent a relatively small sample, it is worth noting that a similar trend is emerging since our findings differed from the CF position in 54% of these cases. In the Board’s view, both the CDS and the CF member benefitted from the value-added of an external review before a final decision was rendered.

Section III: Supplementary Information

Financial Highlights

Financial Highlights—Graphs

The total assets were $425 thousand at the end of 2011-12, an increase of $101 thousand (31%) over the previous year’s total of $324 thousand. The majority of the increase is due to accounts receivable from other government departments and agencies, which was primary due to a timing issue.

The total liabilities were $826 thousand at the end of 2011-12, a decrease of $380 thousand (32%) over the previous year’s total of $1,206 thousand. The majority of the decrease is due to the payout of Employee Future Benefits to some employees. This was the result of collective agreement negotiations with certain employee groups, and changes to conditions of employment for executives and certain non-represented employees. The accumulation of severance benefits under the employee severance pay program ceased for these employees commencing in 2012. Employees subject to these changes have been given the option to be immediately paid the full or partial value of benefits earned to date or collect the full or remaining value of benefits on termination from the public service.

The total expenses were $6,298 thousand in 2011-12. Of these funds $4,001 thousand (64%) was spent in the Review of Canadian Forces Grievances while $2,297 (36%) contributed to the Internal Services activities.

The total expenditures have increased by $548 thousand (10%) over the previous year’s total of $5,750 thousand. The primary reasons for this increase are the payment of severance benefits and an increase in professional and special services.

Financial Statements

The financial highlights presented in this report are intended to serve as a general overview of the CFGB’s operations. The Board’s financial statements can be found on its Web site.

List of Supplementary Information Tables

Electronic supplementary information tables listed in the 2011-12 Departmental Performance Report can be found on the Canadian Forces Grievance Board’s Web site.

• Greening Government Operations

Section IV: Other Items of Interest

Organizational Contact Information

Anne Sinclair
Executive Director
Canadian Forces Grievance Board
Telephone: (613) 996-7027
E-mail: Anne.Sinclair@cfgb-cgfc.gc.ca

Canadian Forces Grievance Board
Toll free telephone: 1 877 276-4193
Toll free fax: 1 866 716-6601
Fax: (613) 996-6491
(613) 995-8201
(613) 992-6979

Additional Information

Visit the Board’s Web site for more information. We invite you to consult some of the grievance cases for which the Board has issued F&Rs in the Case Summaries section, which is updated on a regular basis as well as statistical data over the last five years in the Statistics section. You can also learn more about the Board's role in the Canadian Forces Grievance Process section.

Footnotes