Quarterly Financial Report for the Quarter ended December 31, 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 December 31, 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

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

As reflected in the Committee's Statement of Authorities, as of December 31, 2022, the total budget authorities have increased by $187,559 from previous year. This increase is mainly due to amounts received from the Treasury Board Secretariat to fund new Executive (EX) and Governor in Council (GIC) agreements.

The Statement of Authorities also shows that 68% of authorities available for use were used as of December 31, 2022, compared to 69% during the same period of the preceding fiscal year.

Statement of Departmental Budgetary Expenditures by Standard Object

During the third quarter of 2022-2023, expenses decreased by $19,273 compared to the third quarter of the previous year, while Year-to-Date (YTD) expenses increased by $46,893. The quarterly variance is primarily due to a decrease in personnel expenses as a result of vacant positions, partly offset by an increase in professional and special services, due to migration of our IT infrastructure to cloud services. The YTD increase is mainly 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 time it will take the Committee to issue its findings and recommendation (F&R) reports will increase significantly.

The positions of full-time Chair and Vice Chair remain vacant. The vacancies in these key positions impact the Committee’s ability to issue F&R reports in a timely manner. It should be noted that the GIC appointment process requires a lot of planning and can take over a year to complete.

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. Savings continue to be reinvested in hiring additional staff to support the grievance teams. The Committee will continue to hire from across Canada and offer flexible work arrangements to employees in the Operations program based on the tasks to be accomplished. One of the Committee’s top priorities is employee safety and well-being.

4. Significant changes in relation to operations, personnel and programs

The Committee reopened its workplace in October 2022. Employee experience post return to the office is resulting in further enhancements and improvements. This transition period is facilitating the Committee’s continued implementation of its original business model and vision, established in 2016.

Migration of its infrastructure to cloud services is ongoing and the transition to Outlook 365 and Microsoft Teams has taken place. The Committee is benefitting from the environment of collaboration and mobility this technology provides its workforce.

While it is not often that a micro-organization can offer internal professional development and career advancement opportunities, the Committee is proud to launch a PM05 development program to its employees.