Quarterly financial report for the quarter ended September 30, 2022

Statement outlining results, risks and significant changes in operations, personnel and program

1. Introduction
This quarterly financial report was prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by Treasury Board. It should be read in conjunction with the 2022-2023 Main Estimates and the 2021-2022 Quarterly Financial Report for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. It has not been subject to an external audit or review.

A summary description of the Military Grievances External Review Committee (Committee) core responsibilities can be found in Part II of the Main Estimates.     

Basis of Presentation
This quarterly financial report was prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the Committee’s spending authorities granted by Parliament, and those used by the Committee consistent with the Main Estimates for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special purpose financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before money can be spent by the Government. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts, or through legislation, in the form of statutory spending authority for specific purposes.

The Committee uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual departmental financial statements that are part of the departmental results reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

2. Highlights of the fiscal quarter and fiscal year-to-date (YTD) results

Statement of Authorities
There was no significant change in the total authorities available for use by the Committee compared to previous year, with only a slight increase of $23,813.

The Statement of Authorities shows that 46% of authorities available for use were expended as of both September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2021.

In 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, the Committee's total authorities included the Operating Budget Carry-Forward from the previous year.

Statement of Departmental Budgetary Expenditures by Standard Object
During the second quarter of 2022-2023, expenses increased by $179,484 compared to the second quarter of the previous year, while Year-to-Date (YTD) expenses increased by $66,166. Both variances are primarily due to an increase in personnel expenses as a result of the retroactive pay for Governor-in-Council (GIC) and Executive (EX) group, partly offset by a decrease in acquisition of machinery and equipment, due to laptops bought in 2021-2022. The quarterly increase is also due to an increase in rent, attributable to the period in which lease payments were settled.

3. Risks and uncertainties
The Committee continues to see a significant increase in the number of grievance referrals received from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). While the demand for our services continues to grow significantly, the Committee's funding has remained unchanged since its creation in 2000. There is a risk that without additional funding and a reallocation of funds from other areas of the organization, the Committee will not be able to issue its findings and recommendations (F&R) reports in a timely manner.

The positions of full-time Chair and Vice Chair remain vacant. The vacancies in these key positions will impact the Committee’s ability to issue F&R reports in a timely manner. The staffing process for Governor-in-Council (GIC) appointments requires preparation and planning and can take more than a year.

Staffing and retention remain a concern. Like other organizations, the Committee is not immune to personnel shortages. The Committee must focus on attracting and retaining talent, which is a constant challenge, especially for a micro-organization.

To mitigate these significant risks, the Committee has put in place several strategies. The Operations Branch is considering implementing a development program for PM positions to provide professional development and career advancement opportunities. The position of Triage Officer was just established in order to make the Committee more effective in managing the grievances it receives. Savings have been reinvested in hiring additional staff to support the grievance teams. Lastly, we will continue to hire from across Canada and offer flexible work arrangements to our employees. One of the Committee’s top priorities is to ensure that employee well-being is supported.

4. Significant changes in relation to operations, personnel and programs
The Committee reopened its workplace last October. It now features more collaborative offices, depersonalized spaces and a modernized conference room. The next few months will serve as an evaluation period to monitor the use of the office space and address any issues that may arise. This period is critical to being able to define the Committee's hybrid work model for the future. Furthermore, the Committee will continue to migrate its infrastructure to cloud services and capitalize on the opportunities that this technology allows in order to continue to provide its mobile workforce with a modern, hybrid work environment.