ARCHIVED - Courts Administration Service
Section III — SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Our mandate is to
ensure the efficient provision of service to the four Courts;
enhance the judicial independence of the Courts by placing them at arm's length from the Government of Canada; and
enhance accountability for the use of public money.
In fall 2006, the Service announced important organizational changes. Notably, the regional and registry operations were united under the Deputy Chief Administrator's position, and Corporate Services is now under the responsibility of an executive director. This organizational structure reflects the Service's Program Activities Architecture.
FCA/CMAC Federal Court of Appeal /Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada
FC Federal Court
TCC Tax Court of Canada
The Chief Administrator of the Courts Administration Service is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Justice.
The powers, duties and functions of the Chief Administrator are set out in the Courts Administration Service Act as follows:
the Chief Administrator has all the powers necessary for the overall effective and efficient management and administration of all court services, including court facilities and libraries and corporate services and staffing (subsection 7(2)); and
the Chief Administrator, in consultation with the Chief Justices of the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Court Martial Appeal Court and the Tax Court of Canada, shall establish and maintain the registry or registries for those courts in any organizational form or forms and prepare budgetary submissions for the requirements of those courts and for the related needs of the Service (subsection 7(3)).
The Courts Administration Service Act also places two specific restrictions on the powers of the Chief Administrator:
the powers of the Chief Administrator do not extend to any matter assigned by law to the judiciary (subsection 7(4)); and
a Chief Justice may issue binding directions in writing to the Chief Administrator with respect to any matter within the Chief Administrator's authority (subsection 9(1)).
Table 1: Comparison of Planned to Actual Spending
(including Full-time Equivalents)
Actual1
Estimates3
Spending4
Authorities5
Total Actuals6
Provide Registry Services
Provide Judicial Services
Less: Non-respendable revenue
Plus: Cost of services received without charge
Total Departmental Spending
Full-time Equivalents
(1) Source 2004-05 DPR.
(3 & 4) Source 2006-07 RPP. The variance with the Main Estimates reflects the reductions to the department's planned spending as a result of the Expenditure Review Committee (ERC) procurement savings exercise.
(5) Source: 2006-2007 Public Accounts.
(6) Source: 2006-2007 Public Accounts. Total includes contributions to employee benefits plans. Reference should be made to the discussion under "Table 3: Voted and Statutory Items" for further information.
(7) The Courts Administration Service (CAS) has staffed a number of vacant positions this fiscal year. However, it is still short of its targets as CAS lacks the funding to fill all of its required positions.
Table 2: Resources by Program Activity
Total: Gross Budgetary Expenditures
Total: Net Budgetary
Main Estimates
Planned Spending
Total Authorities
Actual Spending
Note: As per the Guide for the Preparation of 2006-2007 Departmental Performance Report, some columns have been deleted because they are not applicable.
Table 3: Voted and Statutory Items
Vote or
Statutory Item
Truncated Vote
or Statutory Wording
Total Actual
Operating expenditures
Contributions to employee benefit plans
A) The $4.5M variance between the main Estimate and Total Authorities are due to:
Reductions caused by the Expenditure Review Committee (ERC) procurement savings exercise
Operating budget carry forward
Salary funding for prothonotaries, deputy judges fees and other items
Compensation for collective agreements
Employee Benefit Plan adjustment
Total variance increase
B) As can be seen in the table above, the Service ended the year with a Public Accounts lapse of just $0.4M, or 0.6% (the difference between total authorities and total actual). The Service was very careful with its finances, but the financial situation is extremely tight in the organization. The Service continues to seek a permanent solution to funding prothonotaries' salaries and deputy judges' fees.
Table 4: 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 Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS ) (excluding revolving funds); employer's contribution to employees' insured benefits plans and associated expenditures paid by TBS
Salary and associated expenditures of legal services provided by the Department of Justice Canada
Total 2006–2007 Services received without charge
Table 5: Sources of Respendable and Non-Respendable Revenue
Non-Respendable Revenue
Revenue3
Refund of previous years' expenditures
Court fines
Miscellaneous non-tax revenues
Total Non-Respendable Revenue
(1) From 2004-05 DPR.
(3) From 2006-07 RPP. It should be noted that previous to 2004-2005, court fines were substantial. However, the fines in the last 3 years have now dropped to inconsequential amounts. CAS has no control over court fines, as they are imposed by judicial officers. Predicting these fines is entirely dependent on the cases being brought before the judiciary.
- Numbers in columns may not add up due to rounding.
- As per the Guide for the Preparation of 2006-2007 DPR, some columns have been deleted because they are not applicable.
Table 6: Resource Requirements by Branch
Branch or Sector
Federal Court of Appeal and Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada Registry Operations
Federal Court Registry Operations
Tax Court of Canada Registry Operations
Quebec and Atlantic Region
Ontario Region
Executive Offices2
Judicial Assistants
Office of the Chief Administrator3
Finance & Corporate Services, Chauffeurs & Court Attendants Services4
IM IT, Record Mgmt, Best Practices & Modernization
(1) Planned Spending from 2006-07 RPP.
(2) Includes judges' offices, Office of the Director General of Judicial Services, as well as Revision.
(3) Includes Office of the Chief Administrator, Strategic Planning & Communications, and the Office of the Deputy Chief Administrator.
(4) Includes Office of the Director General of Finance & Corporate Services; Facilities; Telecommunications; Capital Projects; Security Services; Accounting Operations and Systems; Planning, Budgeting and Analysis; Material Management and Contracting; Administrative Services and Translation.
(5) The increase between the planned spending and the total spending is approximately 7.1% for all of CAS. See Table 3 for the main increases of authorities during the course of the fiscal year. The majority of the increases by Branch that were above this number were caused by the following factors. First, the estimates for 2006-07 were made in January 2006. The actual expenses occurred from April 2006 to March 2007. Due to some of the lower staffing levels in certain branches in early 2006, those branches were able to increase their levels more than others. Second, funding for increases in program integrity funding were targeted for certain branches. However, this was already taken into account when allocating percentages amongst the various sectors in January 2006. Third, certain collective bargaining agreements were concluded during the year, such as for the employees in the law clerk program.
Table 7: Details on Project Spending
Program Activity - Corporate Services
Projects Project Phases
Electronic Services Initial Planning and Identification
(Initial phase in 2006-2007)
Toronto Federal Judicial Centre Project Close-out
Supplementary information on project spending can be found at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rma/dpr2/06-07/index_e.asp.
Table 8: Financial Statements of Departments and Agencies
(including Agents of Parliament)
Courts Administration Service
For the year ending March 31, 2007
Statement of Operations (Unaudited)
For the Year Ended March 31
(in dollars)
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.
Statement of Financial Position (unaudited)
At March 31
Statement of Equity of Canada (Unaudited)
Statement of Cash Flows (unaudited)
Notes to the Financial Statements (Unaudited)
1. Authority and Objectives
The Courts Administration Service (CAS), which was established on July 2, 2003 by the Courts Administration Service Act, S.C. 2002, c. 8, is responsible for providing services to the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and the Tax Court of Canada ("the Courts").
The role of the Courts Administration Service is to provide administrative services by ensuring that the public has effective, timely and fair access, in either official language, to the litigation processes of the Courts.
The Courts Administration Service consists of two service lines: to provide Registry Services and to provide Judicial Services.
Registry Services provide administrative support to the Courts while ensuring that judicial proceedings are conducted efficiently and appropriately in a manner that provides the public with guidance and advice on the Courts' practices and procedures.
Judicial Services provide judicial, legal and administrative support to the Courts, by means of, for example, judicial assistants, ushers, judicial administrators, law clerks and revisers who provide direct support to the judges in the discharge of their responsibilities.
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Treasury Board accounting policies which are consistent with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles for the public sector.
Significant accounting polices are as follows:
(a) Parliamentary Appropriations – The Courts Administration Service is solely financed by the Government of Canada through Parliamentary appropriations. Appropriations provided to the Courts Administration Service do not parallel financial reporting according to Canadian generally accepted accounting principles since appropriations are primarily based on cash flow requirements. Consequently, items recognized in the statement of operations and the statement of financial position are not necessarily the same as those provided through appropriations from Parliament. Note 3 provides a high-level reconciliation between the bases of reporting.
(b) Net Cash Provided by Government – The Courts Administration Service operates within the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), which is administered by the Receiver General for Canada. All cash received by the department is deposited to the CRF and all cash disbursements made by the department are paid from the CRF. The net cash provided by Government is the difference between all cash receipts and all cash disbursements including transactions between departments of the federal government.
(c) Changes in net position in the Consolidated Revenue Fund is the difference between the net cash provided by Government and appropriations used in a year, excluding the amount of non-respendable revenue recorded by the department. It results from timing differences between when a transaction affects appropriations and when it is processed through the CRF.
(d) Revenues:
Revenues consist primarily of filing fees, fines and sales of copies of filed documentation, including copies of judgments and/or orders. All such revenue is non-respendable, meaning it cannot be spent by the Courts Administration Service and is deposited to the CRF.
All revenues are accounted for in the period in which the underlying transaction or event occurred that gave rise to the revenues.
Employment Insurance (EI) Account of Canada: At the end of each fiscal year, CAS determines the cost associated with the administration of employment insurance cases. The total cost allocated by CAS for handling EI cases are expended against Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), the department responsible for the EI account. As such, HRSDC would show an EI expense and the Courts Administration Service would show an equivalent, non-respendable revenue item. The purpose of this accounting exercise is to more accurately reflect the total cost of running the federal government's EI program and it is strictly internal to the government.
(e) Expenses – Expenses are recorded on the accrual basis:
Vacation pay and compensatory leave are expensed as the benefits accrue to employees under their respective terms of employment.
Services provided without charge by other government departments for accommodation, the employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plans and legal services are recorded as operating expenses at their estimated cost.
(f) Employee Future Benefits
Pension benefits: Eligible employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan (Public Service Superannuation Act), a multi-employer plan administered by the Government of Canada. The Courts Administration Service's contributions to the Plan are charged to expenses in the year incurred and represent the total departmental obligation to the Plan. Current legislation does not require the Courts Administration Service to make contributions for any actuarial deficiencies of the Plan.
Severance benefits: Employees are entitled to severance benefits under labour contracts or conditions of employment. These benefits are accrued as employees render the services necessary to earn them. The obligation relating to the benefits earned by employee is calculated using information derived from the results of the actuarially determined liability for employee severance benefits for the Government as a whole.
(g) Accounts Receivable – These are stated at amounts expected to be ultimately realized. A provision is made for receivables where recovery is considered uncertain.
(h) Contingent Liabilities – Contingent liabilities are potential liabilities which may become actual liabilities when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. To the extent that the future event is likely to occur or fail to occur, and a reasonable estimate of the loss can be made, an estimated liability is accrued and an expense recorded. If the likelihood is not determinable or an amount cannot be reasonably estimated, the contingency is disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.
The Courts Administration Service is not aware of any contingent liabilities as at March 31, 2007.
(i) Foreign Currency Transactions – Transactions involving foreign currencies are translated into Canadian dollar equivalents using rates of exchange in effect at the time of those transactions. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency are translated using exchange rates in effect on March 31st.
(j) Tangible Capital Assets – All tangible capital assets having an initial cost of $5,000 or more are recorded at their acquisition cost.
Amortization of tangible capital assets is done on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the assets as follows:
Informatics Hardware
Informatics Software
(k) Measurement Uncertainty – The preparation of these financial statements in accordance with Treasury Board accounting policies which are consistent with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles for the public sector requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses reported in the financial statements. At the time of preparation of these statements, management believes the estimates and assumptions to be reasonable. The most significant items where estimates are used are contingent liabilities, the liability for employee severance benefits and the useful life of tangible capital assets. Actual results could significantly differ from those estimated. Management's estimates are reviewed periodically and, as adjustments become necessary, they are recorded in the financial statements in the year they become known.
3. Parliamentary Appropriations
The Courts Administration Services receives most of its funding through annual Parliamentary appropriations. Items recognized in the statement of operations and the statement of financial position in one year may be funded through Parliamentary appropriations in prior, current or future years. Accordingly, the Courts Administration Service has different net results of operations for the year on a government funding basis than on an accruals accounting basis. The differences are reconciled in the following tables:
(a) Reconciliation of net cost of operations to current year appropriations used
(b) Appropriations provided and used
(c) Reconciliation of net cash provided by Government to current year appropriations used
4. Accounts Receivable and Employee Advances
The following table presents details of accounts receivable and employee advances:
5. Tangible Capital Assets
Amortization expense for the year ended March 31, 2007 is $266,050 (2005-2006 was $255,666).
6. Accounts Payable & Accrued Liabilities
7. Deposit Accounts
The Courts Administration Service maintains two deposit accounts on behalf of litigants before the Court. Pursuant to an order of the Court, the deposit accounts will record moneys paid into the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal and Tax Court of Canada. These amounts are held as payments and eventually released, pending judgment of the Courts. The underlying differences of these two accounts are the calculation of interest as described below.
Calculation of Interest:
Deposit Account for the Federal Court & Federal Court of Appeal: Pursuant to the Order in Council P.C. 1970-4/2, the account earns interest semi-annually at a rate that is equal to nine-tenths of the monthly average of tender rates or three-month Treasury bills and is calculated on the minimum monthly balance.
Deposit Account for the Tax Court of Canada: Pursuant to the Order in Council P.C. 1970-300, the account earns interest semi-annually at a rate that is equal to ninety percent of the average of the weekly three-month Treasury bills and is calculated on a daily basis.
8. Employee Benefits
(a) Pension benefits: The Courts Administration Service's employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, which is sponsored and administered by the Government of Canada. Pension benefits accrue up to a maximum period of 35 years at a rate of 2 percent per year of pensionable service, multiplied by the average of the best five consecutive years of earnings. The benefits are integrated with Canada/Quebec Pension Plans benefits and they are indexed to inflation.
Both the employees and the Courts Administration Service contribute to the cost of the Plan. The 2006-2007 expense amounts to $4,466,117 which represents approximately 2.2 times the contributions by employees ($4,477,513 in 2005-2006 at a rate of 2.6 times).
The Courts Administration Service's responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan's sponsor.
(b) Severance benefits: The Courts Administration Service provides severance benefits to its employees based on eligibility, years of service and final salary. These severance benefits are not pre-funded. Benefits will be paid from future appropriations. Information about the severance benefits, measured as at March 31, is as follows:
9. Related party transactions
The Courts Administration Service is related as a result of common ownership to all Government of Canada departments, agencies and Crown Corporations. The Courts Administration Service enters into transactions with these entities in the normal course of business and on normal trade terms. Also, during the year, the Courts Administration Service received services which were obtained without charge from other Government departments as presented in part (a).
(a) Services Provided Without Charge – During the year the Courts Administration Service department received, without charge from other departments, accommodations, legal fees, workmen's compensation and the employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plan. These services provided without charge have been recognized in the Courts Administration Service's Statement of Operations as follows:
The Government has structured some of its administrative activities for efficiency and cost-effectiveness purposes so that one department performs these on behalf of all without charge. The cost of these services, which include payroll and cheque issuance services provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada, are not included as an expense in the Courts Administration Service's Statement of Operations.
(b) Internal Transactions - The Courts Administration Service has made internal transactions of $3,075,411 to other government departments in the year ending March 31, 2007 and $3,464,082 in the year ending March 31, 2006. Of this amount, the Employment Insurance Account Cost Recoveries account for $2,761,782 in 2006-2007 and $3,168,060 in 2005-2006 (Note 2(d)).
Table 9: Internal Audits and Evaluations
Response to Parliamentary Committees
Response to the Auditor General of Canada, including to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD)
External Audits (Note: These refer to other external audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.)
Internal Audits or Evaluations
Human Resources Management Audit 2003 to 2005
http://publiservice.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rma/database/newdeptview_e.asp?id=126
Table 10: Travel Policies
The Courts Administration Service follows and uses Treasury Board Secretariat's travel policies parameters.
Supplementary information on Travel Policies can be found at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rma/dpr3/06-07/index_e.asp.