Military Police Complaints Commission

2003-2004
Estimates

A Report on Plans and Priorities

Approved

______________________________________
Honourable John McCallum, P.C., M.P.
Minister of National Defence

Table of Contents

Chairperson's Message and Management Representation Statement
Chairperson's Message
MANAGEMENT REPRESENTATION STATEMENT
Raison d'être
Planning Overview
Plans and Priorities by Strategic Outcomes
Summary
Details
Organization
Strategic Outcomes and Business Line
Accountability
Commission Planned Spending
Annexes
A. Financial Information
Net Cost of Program for the Estimates Year
B. Legislation Administered by the Commission
C. Annual Reports
D. Contact for Further Information

At the completion of our third full year of operation, I am pleased to report that the Military Police Complaints Commission is maturing as an organization with a strong focus on outcomes.

Civilian oversight of law enforcement involves more than investigating complaints and filing reports. We do not measure our success solely on the number of complaints processed in a given year, but also on whether we have succeeded in making the Commission an agent for positive change. In the past year, our findings have led to specific and significant changes in Military Police policies and procedures.

This is the role the Government of Canada intended the Commission to play when it was created on December 1, 1999 and I believe we have made significant accomplishments in this area in 2002-03.

During 2002, the Commission Members and the Directors of the Commission participated in a strategic planning session for the purpose of evaluating the positioning of the Military Police Complaints Commission and setting our course for the future. This resulted in the setting of ten strategic objectives for the organization that have been woven into this 2003-04 Report on Plans and Priorities.

In addition to promoting mechanisms that will serve to ensure all Commission reports achieve the expectation of high quality, a significant priority for the Commission in 2003 will be the preparation and delivery of our input to the 5-year review of the National Defence Act. Our experience working with the Act over the past three years will contribute greatly to suggestions for amendments that will further advance the intent of Parliament and the expectations of the Canadian citizens as regards civilian oversight of the Military Police.

Further, the Commission is committed to the ongoing implementation of modern comptrollership through the development of action plans addressing the results of our organizational capacity assessment. The results of the 2002 Public Service Survey have been thoroughly examined and opportunities addressing issues raised have been identified. The Commission is well advanced in its effort to support Government-On-Line initiatives and will continue with objectives in this area over the coming year. The Commission continues its focus on employee retention and well-being and looks forward to further developments in Human Resource Management Reform.

For 2003-04, the Commission will stay the course with the three Strategic Outcomes identified in our earlier Reports on Plans and Priorities with minor adjustments and the updating of our stated priorities and the plans for achieving them. The Commission remains committed to the production of high quality reports following the informal and expeditious handling of complaints, improved awareness of the organization and its activities, and the provision of a quality public service through the continuous search for cost effective solutions and greater efficiencies.

Management Representation Statement

I submit, for tabling in Parliament, the 2003-04 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) for the Military Police Complaints Commission.

This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles and disclosure requirements contained in the Guide to the preparation of the 2003-2004 Report on Plans and Priorities:

• It accurately portrays the Commission's plans and priorities
• The planned spending information in this document is consistent with the directions provided in the Minister of Finance's Budget and by Treasury Board Secretariat.
• Is comprehensive and accurate.
• Is based on sound underlying Commission information and management systems.

The reporting structure on which this document is based has been approved by Treasury Board Ministers and is the basis for accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities provided.

The Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) is a civilian body, external and independent of the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Forces (CF). Its mandate is to monitor and review complaints about the conduct of military police members in the performance of their policing duties or functions and to deal with complaints of interference with Military Police investigations. If considered in the public interest, the Chairperson may cause the Commission to conduct an investigation and, if warranted, to hold a hearing into a conduct or an interference complaint.

Our mission is to promote the principles of integrity and fairness and to build a climate of confidence within the DND/CF and amongst members of the Canadian public regarding the activities of the Military Police by ensuring independent, thorough, even-handed and expeditious consideration of complaints of Military Police misconduct or of interference with a Military Police investigation.

For a complete description of what constitutes a conduct or interference complaint and the processes involved in dealing with each, as well as the Annual Reports of the Commission that have been tabled in Parliament, please visit the Web site of the Commission at www.mpcc-cppm.gc.ca.

The Military Police Complaints Commission is able to deliver its program as a result of being largely funded through operating expenditures and it has the authority to spend revenue received during the year. The Commission is a quasi-judicial tribunal, which reports to Parliament through the Minister of National Defence.

The Commission has no decision-making authority. It formulates recommendations that may result in the censuring of the personal conduct of those who are the subject of complaint, but these recommendations are intended first and foremost to rectify the situations leading to complaints in order to prevent their recurrence. If the person reviewing findings or recommendations of the Chairperson decides not to act on them, the reasons for not acting must be provided to the Minister and the Chairperson.

The Commission is, and must be seen to be, impartial and fair in its dealings with both complainants and subjects of a complaint. The Commission does not act as an advocate for either complainants or the subjects of complaint. Rather, its role is to inquire into complaints independently and impartially to arrive at objective findings and recommendations based on the information provided by complainants, subjects of complaint, witnesses and others who may assist in uncovering the truth concerning events being investigated.

The Commission has no control over the volume or complexity of the complaints it receives. Similarly, it is impossible to predict, in any given year, how many complaints may be deemed to be in the public interest, thereby leading to the more costly public interest investigation by the Commission or a hearing. Consequently, one of the challenges facing the Commission is to manage the ebb and flow of complaints in a cost effective manner.

If the Commission is to successfully address the issues and challenges it is facing, the Commission must be selective in what it does. To this end, the Commission shall continue to focus its time, energy and resources on achieving its mandate, improving operating efficiency wherever possible, and being mindful and supportive of the Government's national priorities.

The Commission has established three strategic outcomes that it intends to pursue. These strategic outcomes and associated activities were described in the Commission's first Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) for fiscal year 2001-02 and were furthered during fiscal year 2002-03. With some minor adjustments and updating, the Commission intends to continue on this course of action for fiscal year 2003-04.

During the 2002-03 reporting period, the Commission Members and Directors engaged in a strategic planning session to set the course for the MPCC. As a result of this planning session, the Strategic Outcomes in this year's RPP have been adjusted to include the identified priority of high quality reporting, preparation for input to the 5-year review of the National Defence Act scheduled to occur in 2003, and an additional thrust to establish internal audit and evaluation plans in concert with the initiatives and support of the Treasury Board.

Strategic Outcomes	Priorities
Enhance MPCC's informal and expeditious handling of complaints leading to the production of quality reports.	Contribution to the 5-year review of the National Defence Act. Resolution of matters before the Commission as informally and expeditiously as the circumstances and the consideration of fairness permit. Refinement of processes that will serve to ensure that all reports achieve expectations of high quality. Client-focused service.
Improve awareness of the MPCC with respect to its mission, mandate, role and results achieved.	Improve awareness among key stakeholders regarding the MPCC's mandate and services. Improve awareness of the MPCC with respect to its mandate through the continuation of our outreach program. Increase citizen-centred focus by user-friendly refinements to electronic access providing clients and other interested parties with comprehensive and timely information and MPCC services.
Provide quality public service through greater efficiency in the operation of the MPCC by taking advantage of technologies, partnerships and the adoption of best practices.	Maintain or improve service delivery and continued commitment to modern comptrollership. Benefit through continued collaboration with other small agencies or through the introduction of alternative service delivery practices. Prudent investment in technology to promote a cost-effective results-based approach to service delivery.

Details

Enhance MPCC's informal and expeditious handling of complaints leading to the production of quality reports.

1. Contribution to the 5-year review of the National Defence Act.
2. Resolution of matters before the Commission as informally and expeditiously as the circumstances and the consideration of fairness permit.
3. Refinement of processes that will serve to ensure that all reports achieve expectations of high quality.
4. Client-focused service.

• Evaluate Part IV of the National Defence Act relating to the MPCC and provide recommendations for amendments.
• Assess investigator/analyst capacity and establish contingencies for handling fluctuations in the volume of complaints.
• Increased delegations of authority and full utilization of the MPCC governance structure.
• Enhanced coordination of legal and operational processes.
• Implementation of quality control functions of our Writer/Editor.

• Assess accepted amendments to the National Defence Act.
• Evaluate the feedback from clients and stakeholders on the reports prepared and submitted by the Chairperson.
• Communication with complainants and subjects of complaints.
• Continue to monitor the volume of complaints as well as the tracking of complaints being processed by the Commission.

Improve awareness of the MPCC with respect to its mission, mandate, role and results achieved.

1. Improve awareness among key stakeholders regarding the MPCC's mandate and services.
2. Improve awareness of the MPCC with respect to its mandate through the continuation of our outreach program.
3. Increase citizen-centred focus by user-friendly refinements to electronic access providing clients and other interested parties with comprehensive and timely information and MPCC services.

• Increase informal exchanges with key stakeholders.
• Continue presentations to Military Police detachments and other Canadian Forces personnel by the Chairperson and other members of the MPCC on the topic of complaints in general and interference complaints in particular.
• Continue with the annual publication of "Special Reports" on selected topics of importance providing broad dissemination.
• Implement enhancements to the MPCC Web site.

• Monitor feedback from presentations, reports, and clients.
• Use of data gathering mechanisms to monitor the awareness of MPCC's mandate in the Department of National Defence, the Canadian Forces and the Canadian Press as well as complying with the federal government's annual reporting requirements.
• Monitor Web site traffic.

Provide quality public service through greater efficiency in the operation of the MPCC by taking advantage of technologies, partnerships and adoption of best practices.

1. Maintain or improve service delivery and continued commitment to modern comptrollership.
2. Benefit through continued collaboration with other small agencies or through the introduction of alternative service delivery practices.
3. Prudent investment in technology to promote a cost-effective results-based approach to service delivery.

• Develop an action plan based on the results of our modern comptrollership organizational capacity assessment.
• Consolidate the Records Management Information System and expand the functionality of other common systems applications previously acquired by the Commission.
• Develop internal audit and evaluation plans in concert with small agency initiatives of Treasury Board.
• Continue to assess the feasibility of partnerships with other agencies or contracting out for common support services through the sharing of experiences and knowledge at the Small Agency Administrators Network and other forums.
• Maintain awareness of Government On-Line initiatives and finalize the implementation of PKI secure remote access.

• Monitor development and implementation of the Records Management Information System and ensure compliance with Treasury Board guidelines.
• Develop a Government-On-Line Strategy and action plan for MPCC incorporating status-reporting practices in accordance with key deliverables and milestones.
• Establish service standards for business processes directly linked to serving clients and stakeholders.

Strategic Outcomes and Business Line

Business Line Description

The MPCC deals with the processing of complaints having to do with the Military Police.

The Commission, which reports annually to Parliament, provides an independent and impartial review of conduct complaints referred to it by complainants dissatisfied with the Provost Marshal's disposition of their complaint. Furthermore, the Commission deals exclusively with interference complaints, which are filed by Military Police members who believe that any officer, non-commissioned member or senior official has interfered with their investigation. As well, if considered to be in the public interest, the Chairperson may, at any time, cause the Complaints Commission to conduct an investigation and, if warranted, to hold a public hearing into a conduct or interference complaint.

To deal with all matters before the Commission as informally and expeditiously as the circumstances of fairness permit, including:

• Interference complaints received from Military Police members;
• Investigations, and, if warranted, public hearings into complaints deemed to be in the public interest by the Chairperson;
• Oversight of the Provost Marshal's treatment of complaints about misconduct by Military Police members; and,
• To review the handling of specific misconduct complaints when requested to do so by complainants.

The Commission has only one business line. All MPCC resources are dedicated to achieving its business line objective. The following table provides a crosswalk of the resource relationship between Strategic Outcomes and its Business Line.

Accountability

The Commission is a federal agency that reports to Parliament through the Minister of National Defence. In order to deliver its mandate, the Commission operates a single program, which consists of one business line. The reporting structure established for the delivery of MPCC's business line is:

Chairperson:

The Chairperson reports to Parliament through the Minister of National Defence.

Executive Director:

The Executive Director reports to the Chairperson and is responsible for operations and corporate services (3,662.0 million dollars / 23,5 FTE).

General Counsel and Director of Legal Services:

The General Counsel and Director of Legal Services reports to the Chairperson and is responsible for legal counsel and advice.

($ Thousands) Forecast Spending 2002-2003(1) Planned Spending 2003-2004 Planned Spending 2004-2005 Planned Spending 2005-2006   Budgetary Main Estimates (gross) 4 010,0 4 021,0 4 021,0   Non-Budgetary Main Estimates - - - - Less: Respendable revenue - - - - Total Main Estimates 4 010,0 4 021,0 4 021,0 4 021,0 315,7 - - - 4 325,7 4 021,0 4 021,0 4 021,0 144,1 136,4 136,4 136,4 4 469,8 4 157,4 4 157,4 4 157,4 Adjustments(2)   Net Planned Spending Plus: Cost of services received without charge Net Cost of Program

Full Time Equivalents

23,5

23,5

23,5

23,5

(1)  Reflects the best forecast of total net planned spending to the end of the fiscal year.
(2)  Forecast spending for 2002-2003 reflects approvals obtained since the Main Estimates, including transfers from TB vote 15 and Supplementary Estimates.

Annexes

Net Cost of Program for the Estimates Year

($ Thousands) 2003-2004 Net Planned Spending (Total Main Estimates plus Adjustments as per Planned Spending Table) 4 021,0 Plus: Services Received without Charge Accommodation provided by Public works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) - Contributions covering employers' share of employees' insurance premiums and expenditures paid by the Treasury Board Secretariat 136,4 Workman's compensation coverage provided by Human Resources Development Canada - Salary and associated expenditures of legal services provided by Justice Canada - Total Cost of Program 4 157,4 Less: Non-respendable Revenue - 2003-2004 Net Cost of Program 4 157,4

The Chairperson has responsibility to Parliament for the following:

C. Annual Reports

Statutory and other reports produced by the Commission:

• Estimates, Part I
• Estimates, Part II
• Reports on Plans and Priorities
• Departmental Performance Report
• Part VII of the Official Languages Act
• Employment Equity Action Plan and Annual Report
• Official Languages Action Plan and Annual Report
• Reports on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act
• Delegation of Staffing Authority
• Internal disclosure

Military Police Complaints Commission
270 Albert Street, 10^th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G8

General Information: (613) 947-5625

For more information about the contents of this document, contact:

Robert A. MacDougall
Executive Director
Tel: (613) 943-5580
Fax: (613) 947-5713
Email: macdougallr@mpcc-cppm.gc.ca