In 2019–20, the following had the greatest impact on the environment within which CAS operates.
The CAS Act enhances judicial independence by placing administrative services at arm’s length from the Government of Canada and enhances accountability for the use of public money. Therefore, safeguarding the principle of judicial independence is a key operational consideration for CAS when providing services to the Courts, as well as in supporting the roles of the Chief Justices and members of the Courts.
Services required by the judiciary — including registries, hearing-related activities, legal counsel, judicial administrators, law clerks, jurilinguists, judicial assistants, library personnel and court attendants — are provided as directed by the Chief Justices. The national and itinerant nature of the Courts also requires CAS to provide support to members of the Courts and deliver court and registry services in various locations across the country. As such, the individual and unique requirements of each of the Courts, the distinct nature of the Courts’ business, and the characteristics of the Canadian judicial system, are all factors that CAS must consider when delivering services to the Courts.
The volume of cases before the Courts is a critical determinant of the support required from CAS, particularly in terms of registry and judicial services. This volume can be somewhat unpredictable, as changes in legislation and regulations, policy decisions, and precedents from judgements can all influence the number of cases submitted before the Courts. In addition, the nature and increasing complexity of the cases filed, particularly in those related to national security, intellectual property, Aboriginal claims, taxation and immigration, can considerably impact the workloads of the Courts — which exacerbates pressures on staff, including judicial and registry support.
Today, people routinely conduct business online and demand the same services from the government as they receive from private sector organizations. Members of the Courts, litigants and the legal community expect to use modern technologies and electronic tools in seeking and providing court services. Emerging technologies and new trends in delivering electronic services are key considerations for CAS in its service delivery and systems. However, legacy systems currently employed by CAS offer very limited functionality to accommodate electronic services and e-courts. As such, CAS continued to pursue efforts to acquire and implement a modern CRMS that will enable the Courts and CAS to work digitally and to deliver electronic services to Canadians. These measures align with Treasury Board’s priority to improve government operations and service delivery, including a new digital policy to make government more service oriented, open, collaborative, accessible, and digitally enabled.
CAS’s ability to provide the required administrative services to meet the operational needs of the Courts, as well as associated services to litigants and their legal counsel, is dependent on available financial and human resources. CAS will continue its efforts to ensure that the organization has in place the resources necessary to deliver the level of mandated services required by the Courts.
CAS’s ability to provide administrative services to the Courts also depends on the strength of its workforce. Much of the work undertaken at CAS requires specialized skills and strong knowledge of the legal/judicial environment, and knowledge of the respective jurisdictions of each Court. Given the unique skill sets required, CAS must often compete with other courts and administrative tribunals across Canada or other federal departments to attract and retain skilled employees. Additionally, CAS has a mature workforce. To ensure it has the people in place with the right skills to respond to the Courts’ needs, CAS invested in succession planning and talent management to staff areas and positions that are critical to its ongoing operations and long-term goals. As well, knowledge transfer strategies and tools are necessary to ensure pertinent corporate and procedural knowledge is retained and passed on.