Departmental Results Report 2022-2023

The Honourable Bill Blair, MP
Minister of National Defence

Catalogue No: DG2-7E-PDF
ISSN: 2560-9521

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of National Defence, 2023

Table of contents

• From the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer
• Results at a glance
• Results: what we achieved
  • Core responsibilities
  • Internal services
• Spending and human resources
  • Spending
  • Human resources
  • Expenditures by vote
  • Government of Canada spending and activities
  • Financial statements and financial statements highlights
• Corporate information
  • Organizational profile
  • Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
  • Operating context
  • Reporting framework
• Supporting information on the program inventory
• Supplementary information tables
• Federal tax expenditures
• Organizational contact information
• Appendix: definitions
• Endnotes

From the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer

Several new grievance officers were hired and trained. An internal grievance officer development program was implemented to help retain talented employees looking for new challenges and career advancement opportunities. In addition, the Committee gained efficiencies by creating a special team to work on COVID-19 vaccination related grievances.

The Committee focused on employee’s mental health and well-being by implementing activities from the Committee’s Mental Health and Wellness Action Plan. We continued to focus on improving our work and our workplace by updating our hybrid work model to meet Government of Canada requirements, resulting in a modern, collaborative workplace. This facilitated a smooth transition and return to the workplace for Committee employees in the fall.

After the Committee reviewed its employment systems, policies and practices, it started addressing recommendations in its action plan to ensure barrier-free appointment processes for all employment equity groups. Our focus on the Committee’s reach included expanding and updating our online presence by publishing over 200 case summaries to our Canada.ca webpage and networking with other Government of Canada organizations.

This reporting period highlighted the unity and strength of our organization; we are of one mind with regard to the vision of the future. The quality of our independent review and thorough analysis remains unchanged and of high value to Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and the CDS. The groundwork laid in 2022-23 will nurture the environment needed to welcome new Governor in Council appointed members and to allow the Committee to fulfill its mandate as expeditiously as possible while preserving our people’s overall well-being. 

Vihar Joshi, OMM, MSM, K.C., CD, LSM, CIC.C
Interim Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer

Results at a glance

During this reporting period, the Committee’s Operations team was challenged to complete F&R reports with limited resources and vacant Committee Member positions. In comparison to the two previous reporting periods, the shortage of Committee Members, along with the departure/absence of experienced employees, reduced the Committee’s capacity to review grievance files expeditiously.

In 2022-23, 300 grievance files were referred to the Committee for review, similar to the previous reporting period, which saw 302 grievance referrals. This is significantly more than our average number received each year (241) over the past 10 years but appears to be the new norm for the Committee. We issued 146 F&R reports in 2022-23 notwithstanding the lack of appointed Committee Members and the shortage of experienced Operations staff, all the while integrating a fully mobile workforce in our hybrid work environment. Our internal communications were essential in preparing for the return to the office and sharing Government of Canada and key internal news for all staff. Our focus on employee mental health and well-being remained a high priority as we worked on implementing our Mental Health and Wellness Action Plan and we tabled our first Accessibility Plan.

For more information on the Military Grievances External Review Committee’s plans, priorities and results achieved, see the “Results: what we achieved” section of this report.

Results: what we achieved

Core responsibilities

Independent Review of Military Grievances

Description

The raison d’être of the Committee 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 to submit a grievance if they have been aggrieved by a decision, an act or an omission in the administration of the affairs of the CAF. The importance of this broad right cannot be overstated since it is, with certain narrow exceptions, the only formal complaint process available to CAF members.

Results

Gender-based analysis plus

The Committee included Gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) training in its mandatory training curriculum for all its employees. In 2022-23, the Committee maintained a completion rate above 75%.

Sustainable Development Goals

As a micro-organization, the Committee’s contributions to the Federal Sustainable Development Act ^{Footnote i} are often on a smaller scale and yet demonstrate the organization’s full support of doing what it can to contribute to reconciliation and environmental stewardship. While developing its 2023-2027 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy for the future, the Committee implemented aspects of the Policy on Green Procurement and incorporated local, Indigenous-led sustainable development perspectives. Specifically, we integrated environmental considerations in our procurement decisions, awarded contracts to Indigenous groups, ensured all procurement staff were trained on green procurement, and offered hybrid work options to all employees. Additionally, the shift to a paperless environment work culture is promoted and supported widely.

Results achieved

Despite Committee Member vacancies, Operations completed 146 F&R reports in 2022-23. Our independence, thoroughness and the quality of our F&R reports remained paramount. This is reflected by the fact that the Committee again achieved a rating from the Final Authority (FA) of at least 4 out of 5 on the usefulness, clarity, and completeness of our F&R reports. The FA assessments confirm that the quality of our work remains excellent and of vital value to the CAF grievance process.

In line with our Departmental Plan to focus on people and the work, new grievance officers were hired and trained to fill vacancies on the Operations team. To enhance the retention of our employees and to better develop their talents, we offered professional development opportunities to employees who wished to reorient their careers and gain new experiences. For example, a grievance officer development program was developed and implemented with a view to retaining talented employees seeking career advancement within the Committee. To continue providing the CDS and the grievors with timely F&R reports, the Committee launched additional staffing processes to ensure a continuity in Operations and to have a pool of talented candidates for positions that cannot be staffed internally. Although the Committee is not directly involved in the appointing of Committee Members, we were pleased to provide assistance in the drafting of assessment tools.

The Committee identified an opportunity to increase our efficiency in the grievance review process by creating a special team dedicated to reviewing all of the CAF COVID-19 vaccination policy grievances. This approach is leading to the consistent and timely issue of F&R reports for the COVID-19 vaccination policy related grievances.

To support the people and the work, the Committee delivered customized training to the grievance review teams on decision writing. This was a good opportunity to have a fresh look at the Committee’s F&R reports writing and to examine how we can increase effectiveness by implementing the latest developments in decision writing.

The Committee continued to network with the Canadian Forces Grievance Authority to consider ways of gaining efficiencies in the grievance review process and reducing processing time for grievors. The Committee engaged with the CAF to discuss the way forward with respect to the recommendations made by Justice Fish as part of the 3^rd Independent Review. There is more work to follow in the coming years.

Although the number of grievance referrals received from the CAF in 2022-23 exceeded the number of F&R reports issued, we remain optimistic. Over the next two to four years, we anticipate significantly reducing the number of active grievance files with the anticipated arrival of our new appointees, a Chairperson, a full-time Vice-Chairperson and, potentially, additional Committee Members, as well as through the hiring of additional Operations team employees.

The Committee has already begun to rebuild and augment capacity and expects to achieve full implementation in 2024.

The following table shows, for Independent review of military grievances, the results achieved, the performance indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2022–23, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Note: The Committee continues to experience difficulty meeting its service standard of delivering 75% of F&R reports within four months of receipt, due primarily to the high number of grievance file referrals received this year, as well as the key shortage of appointed Committee Members and experienced Operations staff. As a result, the average age of a file is typically in excess of four months before any work even begins on the file. This unfortunate reality is reflected in the table results above. Notwithstanding the current production challenges, it is noted that the FA continues to find the Committee’s F&R reports to be vital to the CAF grievance process.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Military Grievances External Review Committee’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase. ^{Footnote ii} Footnot .

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

The following table shows, for Independent review of military grievances, budgetary spending for 2022-23, as well as actual spending for that year.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Military Grievances External Review Committee’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase. ^{Footnote iii} 

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department needed to fulfill this core responsibility for 2022–23.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Military Grievances External Review Committee’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase. ^{Footnote iv} 

Internal services

Description

Internal services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support program delivery in the organization, regardless of the internal services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are:

• acquisition management services
• communication services
• financial management services
• human resources management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• legal services
• material management services
• management and oversight services
• real property management services

Corporate Services focused on delivering enhanced, innovative support to the Operations team and enabling a high-functioning working environment.

Opening its office doors once again in October 2022, the Committee continued working on our vision of a modern, hybrid model where employees are mobile and have all the necessary technology and equipment to do their work. To achieve this, work continued to depersonalize offices and to set up ergonomic workstations and information technology (IT) equipment. An office reservation tool was customized and implemented so that employees can efficiently and easily reserve their office space when going into the office. Health and safety inspections were performed and the Committee’s staff were certified in First Aid. This measure was taken to ensure that any employee in the office would be properly supported in case of an emergency.

The Committee continued the migration of our IT infrastructure to the cloud, on track for full implementation by 2025. Additionally, IT augmented security protocols by introducing multi-factor authentication for all employees. A wireless network is now widely available in the office and migration to the Microsoft 365 platform afforded efficiencies by improving employees’ ability to collaborate securely while working remotely.

The Committee’s Champion Network established a list of priorities, based on various sources of information, including the Government of Canada and interdepartmental Champions’ priorities, the results from internal surveys, and the Committee’s own Mental Health Dashboard. With approval from senior management, the Champions subsequently fleshed out an action plan for implementation in 2023-24.

As set out in the Employment Equity Regulations, the Committee conducted a review of its employment systems, policies and practices to ensure barrier-free appointment processes for all employment equity groups and prepared an action plan to address the gaps in the existing practices. In 2022-23, the Committee started implementing some of the recommendations set in the plan such as increasing awareness of potential barriers amongst hiring managers and continuing to ensure representation of employment equity groups on selection boards.

The Committee’s first Accessibility Plan, published at the end of 2022, was developed by a working group of employees who self-identified as persons with disabilities. Actions were established that target the elimination and prevention of the barriers identified within the organization. The goal is to foster a culture of inclusiveness, putting the focus on accessibility at the Committee. Additionally, the Committee will measure and report on progress with respect to the implementation of these actions.

As the Mental Health and Wellness Action Plan outlined, the Committee continued to foster a safe and healthy work environment by, among other things, putting in place a safe space environment. Some employees, who volunteered to become safe space ambassadors, already began taking specific, mandatory training. All employees will be able to reach out to these ambassadors in private to discuss issues, receive support and be directed to resources for further support and professional help, without judgment or fear of reprisal.

The Committee continued to publish information on mental health and wellness on its intranet, sharing resources and promoting key events. The Vice-Chairperson led another Healthy Workplace Challenge throughout the month of October, which promoted virtual high-fives and paying it forward.

The Communications team collaborated with the Registry Office to publish over 200 case summaries in 2022 on Canada.ca and together they will sustain this pace moving forward. Additionally, the online case summary reference index was redesigned to make it easier for visitors to use. A comprehensive web review related to content and design was also initiated. Internal communications remained the essential communication channel. The intranet home page and two active blogs were utilized daily to keep employees informed on Committee and Government of Canada priorities, news, information and initiatives.

Contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

The Committee is a Phase 3 organization, scheduled to achieve the minimum 5% target by the end of 2024-25.

Notwithstanding, the Committee has already begun implementing new measures to reach this goal. To facilitate the transition, the Committee set internal targets of 3% for 2022-23 and 4% for 2023-24. These targets serve as stepping stones to reaching the 5% minimum target. The Committee seized opportunities to award contracts to Indigenous businesses in 2022-23, supporting the socio-economic goals of Indigenous communities.

In reality, the Committee faces limitations in issuing contracts annually, not only because it is a micro-organization but also because a significant portion of its non-salary budget is allocated to agreements with common service organizations. To mitigate these limitations, the Committee has updated its internal business process to improve the procurement process and ensure better planning and identification of contracts that could potentially be awarded to Indigenous businesses going forward.

In addition, the Committee updated its mandatory training curriculum in 2022-23 to ensure procurement specialists took the courses related to Indigenous considerations and green procurement. In 2022-23, 100% of Committee procurement officers completed this mandatory training.

Overall, the Committee is working diligently within its means and striving to achieve the set target by 2024-25.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

The following table shows, for internal services, budgetary spending for 2022–23, as well as spending for that year.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department needed to carry out its internal services for 2022–23.

Spending and human resources

Spending

Spending 2020–21 to 2025–26

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory spending) over time.

For more information on these results, please refer to the budgetary performance summary for core responsibilities and internal services table below.

Budgetary performance summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

The “Budgetary performance summary for core responsibilities and internal services” table presents the budgetary financial resources allocated for the Committee’s core responsibilities and for internal services.

The actual spending for 2022-23 amounted to $7.089 million, slightly higher than the actual spending of $7.025 million for 2021-22, representing an increase of $64.1 thousand. The primary factor contributing to this variance is the salary expenditures.

Although the number of full-time equivalents has remained stable compared to 2021-22, the increase in spending can be attributed to retroactive and in-year compensation adjustments for executive and senior leaders in 2022-23. These adjustments account for the majority of the variance in expenditure.

Human resources

The “Human resources summary for core responsibilities and internal services” table presents the full-time equivalents (FTEs) allocated to each of the Committee’s core responsibilities and to internal services.

Human resources summary for core responsibilities and internal services

Although total FTEs are similar from year to year, there is a transfer of resources from the internal services program to the Independent review of military grievances program in future years. This is due to the organization’s effort to maximize its resources for its core program and thereby increase its capacity to produce reports of findings and recommendations.

Expenditures by vote

For information on the Military Grievances External Review Committee’s organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada. ^{Footnote v} 

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of the Military Grievances External Review Committee’s spending with Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available in GC InfoBase. ^{Footnote vi}

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

The Military Grievances External Review Committee’s financial statements (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2023, are available on the department’s website. ^{Footnote vii} 

Financial statement highlights

Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2023 (dollars)

The 2022–23 planned results information is provided in the Military Grievances External Review Committee’s Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2022–23. ^{Footnote viii} 

Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) as of March 31, 2023 (dollars)

The 2022–23 planned results information is provided in the Military Grievances External Review Committee’s Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2022–23. ^{Footnote ix}

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister[s]: The Honourable Bill Blair, MP

Institutional head: Vihar Joshi, Interim Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer

Ministerial portfolio: National Defence

Enabling instrument[s]: National Defence Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. N-5 ^{Footnote x}

Year of incorporation / commencement: 2000

Other: About the Committee ^{Footnote xi}

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on the Military Grievances External Review Committee’s website. ^{Footnote xii}

For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister’s mandate letter.^{Footnote xiii}

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on the Military Grievances External Review Committee’s website.^{Footnote xiv}

Reporting framework

The Military Grievances External Review Committee’s departmental results framework and program inventory of record for 2022–23 are shown below.

Supporting information on the program inventory

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Military Grievances External Review Committee’s program inventory is available in GC InfoBase. ^{Footnote xv}

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the Military Grievances External Review Committee’s website. ^{Footnote xvi}

• Gender-based analysis plus ^{Footnote xvii} 
• 2020-2023 Short-form Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy ^{Footnote xviii}

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. ^{Footnote xix}  This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

Organizational contact information

Mailing address: 60 Queen St, 9^th Floor, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5Y7

Telephone: (613) 996-8529

TTY: 877-276-4193

Fax: (613) 996-6491

Email: mgerc-ceegm@mgerc-ceegm.gc.ca ^{Footnote xx}

Website(s): Military Grievances External Review Committee - Canada.ca ^{Footnote xxi}

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3‑year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité)

A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

full‑time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person‑year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full‑time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives; and understand how factors such as sex, race, national and ethnic origin, Indigenous origin or identity, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic conditions, geography, culture and disability, impact experiences and outcomes, and can affect access to and experience of government programs.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2022–23 Departmental Results Report, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the November 23, 2021, Speech from the Throne : ^{Footnote xxii} building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fighter harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation; and fighting for a secure, just and equitable world.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)

The process of communicating evidence‑based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

Indigenous business (enterprise autochtones)

For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses and the Government of Canada’s commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses, an organization that meets the definition and requirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory. ^{Footnote xxiii}

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.

Endnotes