Report on Plans and Priorities 2013-14

This coming year promises to be one of the most exciting years in the RCMP External Review Committee's 30-year history. A Bill before Parliament proposing to re-invent the RCMP's internal grievance and discipline processes will permit the Commissioner of the RCMP to take the management of the Force toward a new model suited to a vigorous, dynamic policing service with plans to enhance its service delivery for Canadians in a modern world. The plans include the elimination of all forms of harassment, an increase in the representation of women, and the elimination of unreasonable delays in taking key management decisions.

The RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) has been integral to the processes that allow the Commissioner of the RCMP to take final binding decisions that demonstrate sound management. The consequences for the ERC of any changes to the internal processes of the RCMP will need to be evaluated as the Regulations under the future legislation are developed. The ERC is pleased to have been invited to participate in the RCMP's working groups that will be designing the new systems.

The Bill emphasizes that the ERC will continue to report its performance against targets that will be developed. In the meantime, for the purposes of this present Report the ERC will maintain the status quo in the measures and targets that it uses for its Departmental Performance Report (DPR).

I very much look forward to the ERC being able to report improved service delivery when the DPR for 2013-14 is tabled in the Fall of 2015.

Sincerely,

Catherine Ebbs
Chair

January 23, 2013

The RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) is an independent and impartial agency that aims to promote fair and equitable labour relations within the RCMP, in accordance with applicable principles of law. To this end, the ERC conducts an independent review of appeals in disciplinary, and discharge and demotion matters, as well as certain categories of grievances that are referred to it pursuant to s. 33 of the RCMP Act and s. 36 of the RCMP Regulations. The ERC reports directly to Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety Canada. The ERC's jurisdiction is restricted to employment and labour matters that relate to regular members and civilian members of the RCMP only. In carrying out its mandate, the ERC ensures that its recommendations are solidly grounded in law and that members of the RCMP are treated in a fair and equitable manner, in keeping with the public interest.

The ERC has one sole member, the Chair, who is appointed by an Order in Council, and is supported by an Executive Director and a small staff. The role of the ERC in the Force's labour/management resolution process is a crucial one. Over the years, the RCMP has made changes in a variety of areas based on recommendations made by the ERC.

As one of two oversight/review bodies over the RCMP, the ERC plays an important role in maintaining public confidence in the RCMP and ensures that it respects the law and human rights.

The ERC is part of the Public Safety Canada's portfolio. Simply put, the ERC's mandate is the independent and impartial review of grievances as well as appeals that involve the discipline, discharge and demotion of RCMP members. Upon completing its review of a case, the ERC presents findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP for a final decision. The Commissioner is not bound by the recommendations of the ERC, but the Commissioner must provide reasons when there is disagreement with the recommendations of the ERC.

In fiscal year 2009-10, the Program 'Internal Services' was appended to the ERC's PAA. As a result of its experience in attempting to meet the reporting requirements, the ERC determined that its uniquely small size made the reporting of this Program particularly inaccurate. The related expenditures could not be reliably apportioned between two programs without an inordinate expenditure of resources on an ongoing basis.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) has granted the ERC an exemption from reporting on financial commitments to Internal Services as a separate Program in 2009-10 and 2010-11. The ERC's circumstances remain largely unchanged, so this report will continue to present information indicating that the ERC has a single, distinct program.

Since about 2003-04, the ERC has struggled with a growing number of outstanding cases and with the demand for increased corporate reporting. Temporary funding was secured in 2006-07 from the Treasury Board Management Reserve to help alleviate its critical backlog of cases. This funding envelope closed in 2011-12. A second amount was secured from the Management Reserve in 2007-08 to address corporate management pressures. This second funding envelope closed at the end of the 2008 calendar year. A third temporary funding envelope was secured starting in 2009-10. It also closed in 2011-12. In 2012-13, the RCMP transferred $710,000 in O & M expenditures from its appropriations in support of Public Safety Canada's transitional measures to support the ERC's operations following the signing of the new RCMP policing service agreements. The challenges related to the volume of pending cases and the time necessary to review them will continue beyond 2013.

The ERC has followed its established operational plans and limited additional temporary staffing and professional service agreements.

In addition to case reviews, the ERC's workload also includes significant reporting and corporate requirements. Given its small size and budget, the ERC is unable to employ staff with special expertise in the variety of reporting areas required. Therefore, the ERC frequently re-assigns operational staff to work on unrelated corporate reports. These added reporting pressures have, at times, contributed to delays in the case review process. Nonetheless, the ERC has begun to see improvements in the types of reporting asked by Central Agencies. The ERC is confident that there is a will to adjust these demands to balance the information needs of the Central Agencies with the capacity of all small departments and agencies. It anticipates a consequential reporting reduction in the near future.

* The ERC has sought to continue its exemption from reporting separately on Internal Services expenditures.

In the following graph, the black line represents the ERC's overall expenditure profile. The grey line represents the first Management Reserve funding envelope secured in 2006-07 to address the critical backlog of cases at the ERC, which closed in 2011-12. The broken black line represents the second funding envelope from the Treasury Board Management Reserve secured in 2007-08 to accommodate corporate management pressures, which closed at the end of the 2008 calendar year. The thick black line represents the third temporary funding envelope approved in the 2009-10 fiscal year, which also closed in 2011-12. The dotted black line represents the transfer of funding received from contract policing partners in support of the ERC operations which ended in 2011-12. In 2012-13, the RCMP transferred $710,000 in O & M expenditures from its appropriations (represented by a grey dot) in support of Public Safety's transitional measures to support the ERC's operations following the signing of the new RCMP policing service agreements. The ERC has been seeking to secure permanent funding for 2013-14 onwards to accommodate the continuing effort on the part of the ERC to stay current with the rate of cases referred to the ERC and to further reduce the waiting time.

For information on ERC's organizational appropriations, please see the 2013-14 Main Estimates publication.

Independent, impartial and thorough analysis, findings and recommendations for transparency in RCMP grievances and appeals. To achieve its Strategic Outcome, the ERC carries on a single program: Independent and impartial case review.

The ERC conducts an independent review of appeals in disciplinary, and discharge and demotion matters, as well as certain categories of grievances that are referred to it by the Commissioner of the RCMP pursuant to s. 33 of the RCMP Act and s. 36 of the RCMP Regulations. The ERC ensures that the principles of administrative and labour law are respected and that the remedial approach indicated by the Act is followed. The ERC issues reports of its findings and recommendations in each case to the Commissioner of the RCMP and to the parties. Access to the ERC's reports is made available to all stakeholders (including the parties, RCMP adjudicators, supervisors, members' representatives, staff relations representatives, and labour and employment experts in other jurisdictions) by means of its website, publications and presentations.

The ERC can dispose of matters referred to it by the Commissioner of the RCMP either on the basis of the material in the record or following a hearing. In conducting its review of the matters referred to it, the ERC attempts to achieve timeliness and quality in its recommendations, and a balance amongst the many complex and different interests involved. It strives to ensure that the principles of administrative and labour law are respected and that the remedial approach indicated by the RCMP Act is followed. In each case, the ERC must consider the public interest and ensure that members of the RCMP are treated in a fair and equitable manner.

The ERC ensures that its findings and recommendations in each case are clearly explained for the concerned parties and the Commissioner of the RCMP. Summaries of the findings and recommendations in each case, as well as articles of interest on the role of the ERC, relevant legal principles and information on related issues, are distributed widely. Communication and outreach tools include: a quarterly publication (Communiqué), including the most recent case summaries, updates, and legal principles; a website with timely inclusion of publications and case summaries; the annual report and other government accountability documents; and presentations, meetings, training and other outreach activities.

The ERC strives to make information available in a timely and accessible manner, with the objective of influencing in a positive way the RCMP labour relations environment, and contributing knowledge and ideas to the disciplines of administrative, employment, and labour law.

The ERC's focus on effectiveness and efficiency in both its case review process and management functions will assist it to achieve these results. The statutory mandate of the ERC in the RCMP Act is case review. It is in this respect that this Program contributes to the Strategic Outcome.

As indicated above, the Program 'Internal Services' was appended to the ERC's PAA in fiscal year 2009-10. As a result of its experience in attempting to meet the reporting requirements, the ERC determined that its uniquely small size made the reporting of this Program particularly inaccurate. The related expenditures could not be reliably apportioned between two programs without an inordinate expenditure of resources. The TBS agreed with the ERC's assertion and it granted the ERC an exemption from reporting on financial commitments to Internal Services as a separate Program in that year and the next. The ERC's circumstances remain largely unchanged, so this report will continue to present information indicating that the ERC has a single, distinct program.

The strategic outcome of the ERC is the “Independent, impartial and thorough analysis, findings and recommendations for transparency in Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) grievances and appeals.” The ERC is an independent arms-length agency created under the RCMP Act. The focus of the ERC's work is the impartial, independent and timely review of RCMP labour relations cases referred to it and the timely issuance of recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP.

As a very small agency, the ERC has one member who is both the Chair and Chief Executive Officer. The current Chair was recently re-appointed until July 31, 2013. Under the Act, anyone who sits on the ERC cannot be a member or former member of the RCMP.

By law, the ERC's case review process starts when the Commissioner of the RCMP refers a case to it. The ERC itself cannot initiate a review without a referral from the Commissioner. The cases that must be referred are described in the RCMP Act and include disciplinary appeals, discharge and demotion appeals and certain categories of grievances. When the ERC conducts a case review, it examines the entire record including: the original documents, the decision made, and the submissions of the parties. Where the review involves the appeal of a disciplinary, or discharge or demotion decision, the transcript of the Adjudication Board hearing is also before the ERC, as well as any exhibits entered at the hearing. The ERC reviews all the evidence, legal issues, relevant legislation and judicial decisions in making its recommendation. After consideration of all the issues, the ERC provides findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP, who is the final decision-maker.

The expeditious handling of cases referred to the ERC is fundamental to maintaining its integrity and credibility in carrying out its statutory mandate. The ERC routinely deals with, and must respond to, significant fluctuations in workload, as it has no control over the number of cases that are referred to it. The ERC has adopted a number of case management practices to ensure that its review process is as expeditious as possible and to enhance the quality of its findings and recommendations.

The ERC is committed to continuing its quality case reviews as long as required and to supporting any future form of labour relations structure that may be designed.

The ERC's Risk Analysis revolves primarily around its fluctuating funding level. This poses a challenge for long term forecasting and planning. Until such stability is achieved, the variances in actual expenditures per quarter from one year to the next will continue to be relatively considerable. The ERC will continue to pursue a permanent increase in its reference level.

The complete ERC's 2013-14 future-oriented financial statements can be found on the ERC's web site.

All electronic supplementary information tables listed in the 2013-14 Report on Plans and Priorities can be found on the ERC's web site.

1. Greening Government Operations
2. Upcoming Internal Audits over the next three fiscal years

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 publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures annually in the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations publication. The tax measures presented in the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations publication are the sole responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

RCMP External Review Committee
P.O. Box 1159, Station B
Ottawa, ON K1P 5R2

Tel: 613-998-2134
Fax: 613-990-8969
Website: www.erc-cee.gc.ca
E-mail: org@erc-cee.gc.ca