It is my pleasure to present the 2014–15 Annual Report for the Courts Administration Service (CAS), highlighting the progress made for the year ended March 31, 2015.

In many respects, the 2014–15 was a challenging but progressive year. Despite the ongoing workload pressures and resource limitation, CAS employees worked tirelessly to deliver quality support services to the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and the Tax Court of Canada. In doing so, they demonstrated a high level of commitment and professionalism that enabled CAS to effectively support the administration of justice.

Steady progress was made on many important and complex files. In particular, CAS continued to maintain its program integrity application and took concrete and innovative steps to enhance security measures essential to the support of judicial activities, both in terms of physical and information technology (IT) security. Vital improvements were made to our IT infrastructure and systems to set the stage for future possibilities to offer modern tools and services that better meet the needs of the members of the courts, their clients and our employees.

The wellbeing of our employees remained a key priority, particularly in an environment marred by increasing workload. In this regard, we took measures to enhance training opportunities and continued our efforts to maintain an open dialogue between employees and senior management.

The fiscal year ended on a high note with the 2015 Federal Budget announcement of $19 million over five years, for investments in physical and IT security for the federal courts and registry offices across the country. This announcement is a significant step towards addressing key security priorities; however, CAS continues to work with central agencies to secure funding for essential IT initiatives and to identify a viable long-term funding model for the organization.

Succinctly, the fiscal year 2015–16 promises to be a pivotal year for CAS, and I am grateful for the continuous support of the Chief Justices, the members of the courts and our employees as we surmount the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us.

Daniel Gosselin, FCPA, FCA
Chief Administrator