Table Of Content

ONTARIO ATTORNEY GENERAL LAW LIBRARY 00050721 Annual Report 1994-1995 T 2St W Ministry of the Attorney General Qntarto LETTER TO HIS HONOUR THE LIEUTENANT GOUERNOR IN COUNCIL To His Honour the Lieutenant Governor in Council: May It Please Your Honour: It is my pleasure to present to Your Honour the annual report for the Ministry of the Attorney General for the year April 1, 1994 - March 31, 1995. Charles Harnick Attorney General Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Ontario Council of University Libraries https://archive.org/details/mag_00050721 MESSAGE FROM THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL Dear Attorney General: I am pleased to submit to you the report of the Ministry of the Attorney General for the fiscal year 1994-1995. The report chronicles the achievements of the divisions and the Ministry over the past year. We are in an era of change. To meet the challenge of change we are doing things differently throughout the Ministry to allow us to respond to financial, government and public pressures. We must continue to provide responsible fiscal management of public resources but in new ways that enable us to achieve savings and develop a more cost-effective system of justice. The Ministry identified the need for change through its Strategic Planning process. Two strategic planning initiatives, New Directions in Learning and Service Renewal, were developed to allow the Ministry to meet the challenge of change head on. In fiscal 1994/95 we launched the Strategic Plan's flagship deliverable, New Directions in Learning. We chose this priority as a result of the strategic planning consultation process where many employees said they wanted more training and development opportunities. Investing resources in our employees will ultimately help us adapt to change as we build a culture of lifelong learning. In the fall of 1994, as the New Directions in Learning program continued throughout the Ministry we began to set up the Strategic Plan's key deliverable for 1995/96 - New Directions in Service Renewal, which further recognized the need to change the way we do business. Through Service Renewal we are attempting to create an ongoing process of improving the quality of service we provide to our clients. The Ministry has already reviewed some of its businesses and services, and as a result, achieved cost-savings and improved service. Service Renewal will provide a more formal structure to develop innovative ways of doing business that will result in greater efficiency, cost-savings and better service. It is part of the strategic approach the Ministry has developed to deal with the fiscal realities of the 1990s. As the first phase of Service Renewal, six key businesses will be examined in the next fiscal year. 2 Keeping pace with change is more difficult than it ever has been before. By understanding better how and why we do things, and by finding better ways of doing them, we will be in a stronger position to adapt to the changes and challenges before us. I want to thank all the employees who have shown great dedication during these difficult times. Sincerely yours, Larry Taman Deputy Attorney General 3 Contents Letter to His Honour the Lieutenant Governor in Council 1 Message from the Deputy Attorney General 2 Organization Chart 5 The Ministry of the Attorney General - Overview 6 Communications Branch 7 Strategic Planning Office 9 Office of Youth Justice 10 Policy Division 11 Office of the Legislative Council 13 Courts Administration Division 14 Criminal Law Division 17 Civil Law Division 19 Seconded Legal Services 19 Crown Law-Civil 20 Crown Law Office - Constitutional 20 Business Advisory Branch 19 Social Justice Services Division 21 Office of the Public Trustee 21 Office of the Official Guardian 21 Family Support Plan 21 Supervised Access Program 22 Corporate Services Division 23 Financial & Administrative Services Branch 23 Human Resources Branch 23 Computer and Telecommunications Services 23 Audit Services Branch 24 Office of the Accountant, Ontario Court (General Division) 24 Anti-Racism Unit 24 Ontario Law Reform Commission 25 Assessment Review Board 26 Criminal Injuries Compensation Board 27 Board of Inquiry (Police Services Act) 28 Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner 29 Special Investigations Unit 31 Acts Administered by the Attorney General 32 1994-95 Expenditures 34 1994-95 Revenue 35 4 THE MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Overview The mandate of the Ministry of the Attorney General is to provide a fair and accessible justice system which reflects the needs of the people it serves. The Ministry administers and delivers justice services to the communities of Ontario by: conducting and regulating criminal proceedings through a regional system of —> Crown attorneys; —» advising government ministries, agencies, and tribunals in their legal matters, including constitutional issues, and conducting and regulating civil litigation for them; coordinating the administration of court services in Ontario, a network of —> more than 250 courts, court offices, Crown attorneys' offices, chief justices' offices, and Family Support Plan offices; -» administrating programs including the Family Support Plan, the Victim/Witness Assistance Program and the Drinking/Driving Countermeasures Office; —» funding the Ontario Legal Aid Plan which is administered and operated by the Law Society of Upper Canada; —» overseeing boards, commissions and administrative agencies including the Official Guardian, the Public Trustee, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner, and the Assessment Review Board; —» initiating and managing the administration of justice in Ontario. 6 COMMUNICATIONS BRANCH The Communications Branch provides public education and information services in support of the Ministry's mandate, programs and services. The branch advises divisions on communications issues, and provides strategic communications planning to the attorney general, deputy attorney general and senior management. The branch is responsible for all communications support including media relations, public education, speeches, and publications. Reporting to the Communications Branch, the Drinking/Driving Countermeasures Office works to reduce the incidence of impaired driving in Ontario. The office sponsors advertising campaigns, develops and distributes public education materials, reviews policy and supports the actions of community-based countermeasures programs. HIGHLIGHTS '94 - '95 -> MAG's Communications Branch won a silver award at the annual Ontario Information Officers' Forum Awards for developing an internal communications framework policy and guidelines for managers. The framework, designed to help promote standard communications practices throughout the Ministry, was included in a best practices manual for all managers' internal communications. -» The Communications Branch played an important role in promoting and launching "New Directions in Learning" (NDIL), MAG's innovative learning program and a key deliverable of the strategic plan for fiscal '94-'95. In supporting this innovative learning program, Communications Branch staff helped co-ordinate numerous site visits to field offices by the attorney general, the deputy minister and other senior managers. —» The Integrated Safety Project (ISP) was a partnership among MAG and the ministries of Finance, Solicitor General and Correctional Services, Transportation and Management Board Secretariat. Their collective aim was to significantly improve public and road safety, and the delivery of justice and law enforcement. Communications Branch supported MAG's ISP team by developing communications strategies for the MAG group and carrying out activities including media relations and internal communications. 7