2020-2021 Departmental Results Report

About this publication

Publication author: Parole Board of Canada
ISSN: 2560-9327

Chairperson’s message

As Chairperson of the Parole Board of Canada (PBC or the Board), I am pleased to present the 2020-21 Departmental Results Report (DRR). This report provides parliamentarians and Canadians with an overview of the PBC’s performance in delivering on its established plans and priorities this past fiscal year.

The PBC, as part of the criminal justice system, contributes to the protection of society by facilitating, as appropriate, the timely reintegration of offenders and the sustained rehabilitation of individuals into society as law-abiding citizens. The PBC makes independent, quality conditional release, record suspension and expungement decisions, as well as clemency recommendations, in a transparent and accountable manner, while respecting diversity and the rights of offenders and victims.

The 2020-21 DRR demonstrates the PBC’s continuing commitment in delivering its priorities and objectives, and also reflects its success in strengthening and increasing results in relation to services offered to Canadians (i.e. outreach, victim participation in hearings) in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the year, the PBC successfully delivered on its mandate in the midst of the ongoing global health crisis and strengthened its contributions to public safety though the following notable accomplishments:

• Identified a stable, safe and secure teleconference and videoconference system allowing victims and other observers to participate in a remote hearing during the pandemic;
• Adapted its approach and implemented new and innovative ways to deliver outreach virtually by harnessing the use of technology, to overcome the limitations placed on traditional face-to-face outreach;
• Forged important new relationships across the country with municipal and provincial criminal justice partners, post-secondary institutions, Indigenous stakeholders and victims’ groups;
• Strengthened existing and built new relationships with criminal justice and community partners, particularly with stakeholders from marginalized communities, women offenders, Indigenous initiatives, and victim services; and
• Strengthened the use of technology to create an Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) strategy that meets the PBC’s evolving requirements.

I am extremely proud of what the PBC accomplished this past year and the unwavering commitment, resilience and adaptability of our Board members and employees to continue to contribute to a safe society during an unprecedented global health crisis.

_________________________________
Jennifer Oades
Chairperson, Parole Board of Canada

Results at a glance 

Results for the PBC include:

For more information on the PBC's plans, priorities, and results achieved, see the “Results: what we achieved” section of this report.

Results: what we achieved

Core Responsibilities

Conditional Release Decisions

Description

Conditional release is based on the principle that community safety is enhanced by the timely and gradual release of offenders to the community under supervision. Quality conditional release decisions, based on the risk of re-offending in conjunction with effective programs and treatment, and effective community supervision all contribute to a release process. Through this core responsibility, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) staff provides timely, accurate information for Board member decision-making, and develops training and policies that are essential tools for risk assessment and decision-making.

Results

In 2020-21, 40 Governor-in-Council appointments/reappointments were made to the PBC (i.e., 23 new Board members were appointed and 17 Board members were reappointed). Of the 40 new appointments and reappointments 15% were Indigenous, 55% women, and 15% visible minorities. The new Board members were required to complete the Board Member Orientation Training. These appointments had a considerable impact on workloads, in terms of training incoming Board members for their new roles and responsibilities. The Board Member Secretariat’s Training Section delivered three Board Member Orientation Trainings virtually in 2020-21. Moreover, the Training Section organized and delivered a Vice-Chairperson Orientation Training in the fall of 2020.

In September 2020, the PBC launched a new Directive on Quality Assurance. This Directive assists Board members in achieving the highest quality decision-making, as the PBC is committed to ensuring that its Board members are provided with the necessary training, tools and support to enable them to carry out their legislated duties. Quality Assurance provides relevant information regarding potential gaps and best practices in meeting these requirements, and that makes recommendations to improve the quality of BM decision-making. This reinforces PBC’s perpetual efforts to improve the quality of decisions, contributes to public safety, and strengthens national consistency in BM decision-making and decision writing.

The quality of Board member training has produced positive results. Over the last ten years, 99% of offenders on parole have not resulted in a conviction for a new violent offence committed prior to the end of the supervision and 99% of offenders who completed their sentences on full parole five years ago have not re-offended and returned to a federal penitentiary because of a new violent offence.

In 2020-21, the PBC’s Appeal Division conducted 480 reviews, affirming 556 out of 649 (86%) decisions^{Footnote 1}  in these reviews. The current affirmation rate aligns with the departmental result target of 85%. The most common reason for the Appeal Division to intervene was the Duty to Act Fairly (i.e., Information sharing). During the reporting period, the Appeal Division made significant enhancements to its public webpage on Canada.ca, providing offenders and Canadian citizens with enhanced information pertaining to the PBC’s appeal process and procedures.

In 2020-21, the Training Section collaborated with the Legal Services Unit and the Appeal Division to develop and deliver half-day sessions on legal elements and issues as well as Appeal Division trends to all Board members in a virtual setting. As well, virtual training sessions on topics, including Indigenous Continuous Learning, Women Offenders and Unconscious Bias were delivered to all Board members.

In 2020-21, 16 reviews were completed or initiated where an offender, on conditional release, was charged with a serious offence. This includes three National Joint Board of Investigations (BOI)^{Footnote 2}  with Correctional Services Canada (CSC), and 30 Commissioner’s Detention Referrals.

In 2020-21, the Professional Standards Section provided 43 advisory services to Board members on subjects including conflict of interest and the Board Members’ Code of Professional Conduct. In addition, it coordinated the Board member and Vice-Chairperson evaluations’ process; 64 evaluations were completed.

Gender-based analysis plus

In 2020-21, initial gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) of conditional release data indicates that there were no significant disparities between different groups in terms of actual results, as outlined below, with the exception of the indicator for Appeals. Although the table below does not disaggregate data by gender, the initial analysis examined these results in more detail. Evidence suggests that women and Indigenous offenders appeal PBC decisions less frequently than other offenders.

Results Achieved

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

Financial, human resources, and performance information for the PBC Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Conditional Release Openness and Accountability

Description

This core responsibility ensures that the PBC operates in an open and accountable manner, consistent with the provisions of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA). This core responsibility includes working with victims of crime, offenders, and the public by providing information about our policies and programs, including access to the PBC's registry of decisions, as well as providing assistance for observers at hearings. The core responsibility also includes working to encourage citizen engagement, enhancing public education and awareness, investigating incidents in the community (i.e., when a new offence(s) occurs), monitoring the PBC's performance and reporting on conditional release results.

Results

More than 1,850 people observed a PBC hearing in 2020-21 (including victims and their supports, members of the public, students, the media, PBC and CSC staff, and other government officials). The CCRA permits access to specific decisions and to decisions for research purposes through the PBC’s Registry of Decisions. In 2020-21, the PBC released more than 7,100 decisions from its Registry of Decisions. Victims were the most frequent requestors (approximately 45%), followed by the media (approximately 36%).

During 2020-21, the Public Affairs and Partnerships Division and regional offices worked closely together to assess the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the PBC’s outreach program, and to identify ways to continue delivering it. By leveraging technology to deliver outreach virtually, national and regional offices were able to make significant progress on restarting the PBC’s outreach program by the third quarter, while respecting public health directives and restrictions.

Beginning in March 2020, the spread of pandemic drastically affected all aspects of the PBC’s operations and forced the suspension of the majority of in-person activities. During the pandemic, many Indigenous communities were in lockdown, resulting in the inability to plan or deliver a Community Assisted Hearing (CAH). This also had an impact on the Elder Assisted Hearings (EAH), with only 75 conducted in 2020-21 compared to 743 in 2019-20. An EAH is normally conducted in-person in a federal facility with an Elder present. Given that federal facilities were closed to visitors, this significantly curtailed the ability to conduct such hearings. However, some modified versions of an EAH were able to move ahead through the use of remote technology and where the Elder was able to accommodate modifications to ceremony and prayer.

The PBC received 20 admissible victim complaints in 2020-21, all of which were assessed as unfounded. The PBC determined that, although the complaints were deemed admissible, as they met the definitions set out in the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, the victims’ rights were not denied or infringed upon and that the Board had complied with policy and legislation requirements. As with conditional release decision-making, the need for quality program delivery is critical, given its implications for public confidence in corrections and conditional release, particularly due to intense public scrutiny and extensive media interest in the PBC’s conditional release decisions.

Results achieved

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

Financial, human resources and performance information for the PBC Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Record Suspension and Expungement Decisions/Clemency Recommendations

Description

A record suspension or pardon is designed to support the successful reintegration of an individual into society. It is a formal attempt to remove the stigma of a criminal record for people convicted of an offence under an Act of Parliament, who have completed their sentence, having met criteria in the Criminal Records Act (CRA) and demonstrated law-abiding behaviour for a prescribed number of years. Record suspensions or pardons can be revoked or cease to have effect for a number of reasons. Through this core responsibility, the PBC screens applications for completeness and eligibility, collects information for Board member decision-making and develops policy to guide decision processes. In addition, under the Expungement Act the PBC will order the expungement of records of convictions for eligible offences that would be lawful today. Persons convicted of an offence listed in the schedule to the Expungement Act may apply, as well as authorized representatives in cases where the person is deceased. The main difference between a record suspension and an expungement is that with a record suspension, the criminal record is held ‘separate and apart’ from other criminal records, while an expungement will destroy the record. The PBC is also responsible for assessing requests and providing recommendations under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (i.e., Clemency) and providing advice to the Minister on the merits of each case. 

Results

In 2020-21, the PBC received 9,137 record suspension/pardon applications, which represents a 27% decrease from the 12,441 applications received in 2019-20. The PBC accepted 7,443 applications or 81% of total applications for processing. The program rendered 1,508 record suspension and 7,535 pardon decisions.

The Record Suspension program was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to adhere to public health and safety guidelines taken by governments, police services, and courts. The sizeable decrease in overall applications received in 2020-21 can be attributed to the pandemic (i.e., reduced applicant access to local police record checks and court-held records of conviction).

On March 19, 2020, the Federal Court declared the transitional provisions of amendments made in 2010 and 2012 to section 4 of the CRA, namely, section 10 of the Limiting Pardons of Serious Crimes Act and section 161 of the Safe Streets and Communities Act, unconstitutional. The Court concluded that these provisions infringed on subsections 11(h) and 11(i) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In light of this decision, the PBC no longer applies retrospectively legislative amendments made to the CRA in 2010 and 2012 (as it relates to eligibility periods and criteria) for all record suspension applicants who committed their most recent offence prior to the coming into force of these changes. Pursuant to this judgement, many of these applicants have their requests processed as pardon applications (rather than record suspensions) under the applicable version of the CRA.

The PBC continued to process record suspension/pardon applications according to the following service standards:

• Applications seeking a record suspension/pardon for (an) offence(s) tried summarily will be processed within 6 months of application acceptance;
• Applications seeking a record suspension/pardon for (an) offence(s) tried by indictment will be processed within 12 months of application acceptance; and
• Applications in which the PBC is proposing to refuse to order a record suspension/grant a pardon may require up to 24 months after application acceptance to complete.

Due to measures taken during the pandemic, the PBC experienced a period of limited capacity to process record suspension/pardon applications in the early part of 2020-21, which resulted in delays and had a direct impact on the Board’s ability to meet its service standard targets. While an unusually high number of breaches of service standards occurred, the PBC adapted its operations to overcome this challenge by activating a rotational schedule for in-office presence in accordance with health and safety guidelines, equipping staff with the equipment necessary to work remotely and amending procedures to reflect this new reality.

In 2020-21, the PBC’s Clemency Unit received 26 requests for the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM), assessed 34 files, and had 150 active files at year-end.

The Expungement Act came into force on June 21, 2018. Under the Expungement Act, the PBC may order the expungement of records of convictions for eligible offences. Persons convicted of an offence listed in the schedule to the Expungement Act may apply, as well as authorized representatives in cases where the person is deceased. Currently, this includes eligible offences involving consensual sexual activity between persons of the same-sex who were 16 years of age or older. In 2020-21, the PBC received 12 applications for expungement, returned 11, and ordered one. The 11 expungement applications returned were ineligible (i.e., outside the scope and eligibility criteria included in the Expungement Act). The one expungement application ordered met the eligibility criteria.

Bill C-93, An Act to provide no-cost, expedited record suspensions for simple possession of cannabis came into effect on August 1, 2019. Individuals previously convicted of only simple possession of cannabis who have satisfied their sentence can apply to the PBC for a record suspension with no application fee or wait period. In 2020-21, the PBC received 237 applications for simple possession of cannabis, returned 70 as ineligible or incomplete, discontinued 1 application, and ordered 160, while 6 applications had not yet been processed. This volume continues to be lower than the number of applications that were anticipated. There are no definitive statistics available on the number of Canadians with only simple possession of cannabis convictions, and PBC is therefore unable to estimate the number of applications it may receive, or when these applications may be submitted. It is possible that some individuals with this type of conviction have already applied for and received a pardon/record suspension, have passed away, or have no interest in applying, as it has no impact on their situation. Individuals with simple possession of cannabis convictions may also have other convictions on their criminal record, such as trafficking, that make them ineligible for a cannabis record suspension.

Results achieved

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

Financial, human resources, and performance information for the PBC Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

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; and
• Real Property Management Services.

Results

In 2020-21, despite the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Internal Services continued to deliver services efficiently in support of the PBC’s core responsibilities. Throughout the pandemic, one of the PBC’s key priorities was to ensure and sustain the psychological health and safety of Board members and employees. Internal Services implemented a series of health and safety measures at national office and across all regional offices, enhanced IT tools and mobile technology to support the continuation of remote work, established departmental COVID-19 pandemic tracking and reporting protocols, and prepared various tools such as a pandemic employee Intranet site, and frequently asked questions (FAQs) guide.

The pandemic has caused unprecedented changes in the way we work, live, and communicate with each other. In Fall 2020, Ombudsman services was introduced at the PBC to provide a professional, confidential, neutral, impartial, and safe environment to have individual informal conversations and explore options for resolving workplace issues. Additionally, a Committee on the Future of the Workplace, comprised of senior managers, was created to develop a proposed framework for what the future workplace could look like at PBC. The goal of the Committee is to position the PBC to be a modern, flexible workplace that leverages new perspectives around how we work to deliver the PBC’s mandate in the most efficient and effective way possible, while also meeting the needs of its Board members and employees.

The PBC also recognizes the importance for learning and professional development to ensure employees at all levels can better accomplish their work and acquire the skills and knowledge they will need in the future. In July 2020, four new courses were added to the learning and development roadmaps applicable to all employees (i.e., two courses on Mental Health, one on Unconscious Biases and one on GBA+). These courses support the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the federal public service. With regard to professional development, in January 2021 the PBC Talent Management Framework was approved, and subsequently launched in April 2021. This tool will assist the organization to attract, grow, move, and retain talent.

In 2020-21, an independent consultant was contracted to conduct a monitoring exercise to determine the extent to which recent staffing processes by the PBC complied with the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA). The staffing material reviewed indicated that the PBC has an excellent staffing framework and system for sub-delegation. The exercise results indicated that Human Resources Advisors and Hiring Managers are knowledgeable of their roles and responsibilities. Overall, staffing is carried out in compliance with requirements, appointments are made meritoriously, and staffing documentation is very thorough.

From an IT perspective, due to limited access to CSC institutions, the vast majority of PBC hearings were conducted remotely by videoconference. However, the videoconference system in place at the onset of the pandemic was not safe or secure for observes such as victims and the media. The PBC selected and implemented a videoconferencing solution (i.e., WebEx) that was safe and secure for all parties, which was piloted in two regions and then launched nationally in January 2021. The PBC also ensured that Board members and employees were trained and had access to the WebEx system for internal/external meetings. WebEx was also predominantly used as a platform for Board member training.

The CSC has provided information management/information technology (IM/IT) services to PBC since 1996. In September 2020, the PBC and CSC renewed its Master Service Agreement (MSA). The new MSA now provides the PBC with full service cost recovery IT support that will be able to benefit from new technologies and leverage opportunities for the digital workplace.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

Analysis of trends in spending and human resources

Actual expenditures

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

The PBC’s expenditures in 2020-21 increased by $6,256,172 or 12.2% compared to the previous fiscal year. This increase is primarily due to additional funding and expenditures received in supplementary estimates of $3,875,000 for workload capacity for the Conditional Release Decisions core responsibility, the transfer from CSC to the PBC of $2,200,000 to establish an alternative cost recovery mechanism for the provision of IM/IT services, and for signed collective agreements.

Budgetary performance summary for Core Responsibilities and Internal Services (dollars)

In 2020-21, planned spending of $47.3 million was based solely on funding through Main Estimates. The amount of total authorities available for use in 2020-21 ($59.7 million) was higher than planned. This was due to the PBC receiving various additional funding during the fiscal year.

Actual spending in 2020-21 of $57.7 million is lower than authorities available and resulted in a lapse of $1.9 million as reported in the Public Accounts of Canada.

As outlined in the following chart, spending by each core responsibility as a percentage of total spending has remained generally consistent over the last three years. The exception to this was in Internal Services, where costs increased in 2020-21 as a result of a newly negotiated MSA with the CSC for the provision of IM/IT Services. The incremental IT cost is the result of the establishment of a sustainable financial arrangement to enable the CSC to provide IM/IT services (defined through the MSA) to the PBC on a full incremental cost recovery basis.

In 2020-21, the net spending for the Record Suspension and Expungement Decisions/Clemency Recommendations core responsibility was $2.5 million, which is comparable to the net spending of $2.3 million in 2019-20. When comparing to the net planned spending of $0.5 million the increase is directly related to the lower volume of accepted applications which reduces the amount of revenues.

Actual human resources

Human resources summary for Core Responsibilities and Internal Services (full‑time equivalents)

The actual utilization of human resources was 498 in 2020-21. As shown in the following chart, FTE utilization by core responsibility as a percentage of the PBC’s total FTEs has remained generally consistent over the last fiscal years.

Expenditures by vote

For information on the PBC organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2020-21.

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of the PBC spending with the Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available in the GC InfoBase.

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

The PBC financial statements (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2021, are available on the PBC website.

Financial statements highlights

Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2021 (thousands)

The differences between 2020-21 Planned Results and 2020-21 Actual Results are due to additional funding and expenditures received in supplementary estimates of $3,875,000 for workload capacity for the Conditional Release Decisions core responsibility, the transfer from CSC to the PBC of $2,200,000 to establish an alternative cost recovery mechanism for the provision of IM/IT services, and for signed collective agreements. Total revenues were lower than anticipated due to a lower number of record suspension applications received and approved. The lower number of approved application is mainly attributable to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) as of March 31, 2021 (thousands)

Total net liabilities increased at year-end with a $3 million accounts payable to the CSC for the provision of IM/IT services, as well as an increase to vacation pay and compensatory leave.

Corporate information

Organizational Profile

Appropriate minister: The Honourable Marco E.L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P.

Institutional head: Jennifer Oades, Chairperson.

Ministerial portfolio: Minister of Public Safety.

Enabling instrument: The legal authorities under which the PBC operates includes the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and its Regulations, the Criminal Records Act and its Regulations, the Letters Patent, the Criminal Code, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and other legislation.

Year of incorporation commencement: 1959.

Other: The PBC constantly strives to contribute to the Government of Canada’s outcome of a safe and secure Canada. The PBC contributes to this outcome by making timely conditional release, record suspension, and expungement decisions and clemency recommendations.

The PBC is headed by a Chairperson who reports to Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety. The Minister, however, does not have statutory authority to give direction to the Chairperson or other Board members of the PBC in the exercise of their decision-making powers. This structure helps to ensure the impartiality and integrity of the PBC’s decision-making process.

In making conditional release, record suspension, pardon or expungement decisions, as well as clemency recommendations, the PBC’s primary objective is the protection of society. In rendering its decisions, the PBC is autonomous and independent. However, its decisions are open and transparent to the public consistent with its legislation and policies.

The protection of society is the paramount consideration in all decisions taken by the PBC. The PBC contributes to the protection of society by facilitating, as appropriate the timely reintegration of offenders into society as law-abiding citizens. In addition, a record suspension or pardon allows people who were convicted of a criminal offence, but who have completed their sentence and demonstrated they are law-abiding citizens for a prescribed number of years, to have their criminal record kept separate and apart from other criminal records.

The PBC also has legislative responsibility to order or refuse to order the expungement of records of convictions for eligible offences that would be lawful today under the Expungement Act.

Outcomes of the PBC’s work can be found in its annual Performance Monitoring Report (PMR). The PMR provides performance and statistical information for the past five years for the PBC’s two legislative based core responsibilities: conditional release, and record suspension and clemency.

The PBC carries out its responsibilities through a national office in Ottawa, as well as six offices in five regions across the country (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairie, and Pacific).

PBC Locations

The PBC’s regional offices deliver the conditional release program. Conditional release decisions are made by Board members, who are supported in their decision-making by Public Service staff. Staff schedule hearings, review file information for decision-making, ensure that information for decision-making is shared with offenders, and communicate conditional release decisions to offenders, CSC representatives, and others as required. Regional staff also provide information to victims, make arrangements for observers at hearings, and manage requests for access to the PBC’s Decision Registry.

While Board members from all five regions and the national office make decisions related to record suspensions, the data collection, investigation and assessment work for record suspensions and clemency are conducted by Public Service staff at the national office. In addition, Board members in the Appeal Division at the national office review conditional release decisions upon receipt of an application for appeal to determine if the law and processes were respected.

Public Service employees at the national office develop national policies and procedures related to all core responsibilities, help coordinate Board member selection and training, deliver a program of public education and information, and respond to Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests. Other work performed at the national office includes strategic and operational planning, policy development, resource management, program monitoring, case reviews and investigations, and an array of internal services.

Consistent with the provisions of the Acts that govern the PBC, Board members are independent in their decision-making responsibilities, and free from outside interference of any kind. As independent decision-makers, Board members are bound by legislation, guided by policy, and are responsible for:

• Reviewing all information available to them for consideration in conditional release, record suspension/pardons, and clemency cases;
• Conducting an in-depth analysis of each case, and requesting additional information, as necessary, to support quality decision-making;
• Assessing the risk and other factors related to cases, voting independently on the disposition of each case, and providing sound, well-documented, written reasons for decisions; and
• Ensuring that reviews are conducted in accordance with the duty to act fairly, and with respect for all procedural safeguards.

The Chairperson of the PBC is a full-time Board member of the PBC and its Chief Executive Officer. The Chairperson directs the PBC’s delivery of core responsibilities in keeping with the Government of Canada’s overall plans and priorities. The Chairperson is accountable for the effectiveness and efficiency of the PBC’s policies and operations and is assisted in these responsibilities by the Executive Vice-Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson of the Appeal Division, the five regional Vice-Chairpersons, and senior managers.

The Executive Vice-Chairperson exercises all powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Chairperson, in the event of the absence of the Chairperson or vacancy in the office of the Chairperson. The Executive Vice-Chairperson is responsible for overseeing the qualification process, training, professional conduct, performance evaluations and appointment processes for all Board members and Vice-Chairpersons at the PBC. The Executive Vice-Chairperson is also responsible for the Appeal Division support operations.

The Executive Director General of the PBC is its senior staff member and Chief Operating Officer. The Executive Director General, in support of the Chairperson, provides leadership for strategic and operational planning, policy development, resource management, program monitoring and administration, as well as the operation of the national and regional offices.

The following organizational chart provides additional details.

Note: Within the chart below the blue background denotes Governor-in-Council term appointees and the grey background signifies public service employees.

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 PBC's website.

For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister’s mandate letter.

Operating Context

Information on the operating context is available on the PBC's website.

Reporting Framework

The PBC Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2020-21 are shown below.

^{Note: Within the chart below the blue background denotes core responsibilities; the white background signifies departmental results, and the beige background reflects result indicators.}

Supporting information on the program inventory

Financial, human resources and performance information for PBC's Program Inventory is available in GCInfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the PBC website:

• Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+); and
• Response to Parliamentary Committees and External Audits.

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. 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+ of tax expenditures. 

Organizational contact information

Regular mail: Public Affairs and Partnerships Division
                         410 Laurier Avenue West
                         Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R1

Telephone:     (613) 954-7474
E-mail:             info@PBC-CLCC.gc.ca
Website:         canada.ca/parole-board-of-canada

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.

experimentation (expérimentation)
The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works, for whom and in what circumstances. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.

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+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])
An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2020-21 Departmental Results Report, those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2019 Speech from the Throne, namely: Fighting climate change; Strengthening the Middle Class; Walking the road of reconciliation; Keeping Canadians safe and healthy; and Positioning Canada for success in an uncertain 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.

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.