Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll try to be brief.
My name is David Gourdeau, and I am the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs. I'm accompanied today by Mr. Wayne Osborne, the director of our finance division.
I will be brief in my presentation, as the role our office plays in the process related to the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission and the ensuing drafting of the legislation is limited. To start with, let me provide you with a short overview of our office for those who may not be familiar with it.
The Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs was created under the Judges Act in 1978, to safeguard the independence of the judiciary and to put federally appointed judges at arm's length from the Department of Justice. At the present time there are 1,045 federally appointed judges who are active. Our services also extend to retired judges, of which there are now 400, as well as the judges' survivors, of which there are 350.
Our mandate extends to promoting better administration of justice and providing support for the federal judiciary. This support or these services stem from the Judges Act. Therefore, any amendment to the act will have an impact on our operations.
One of the main roles and responsibilities of the commissioner is to act on behalf of the Minister of Justice on matters related to the administration of Part I of the Judges Act, which deals with the terms of appointment, age limit and salaries applicable to federally-appointed judges. These are matters dealt with by our finance and human resources divisions. The office also has an appointments secretariat which administers 16 advisory committees responsible for evaluating candidates for federal judicial appointments.
For the last appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada our office was also given additional administrative mandates. The federal courts report division of our office is responsible for selecting and publishing Federal Court of Appeal and Federal Court decisions in both official languages. We also have an intranet site called JUDICOM, which provides judges with e-mail, a secure, restricted access conversation system and a virtual library. For judges wishing to better their skills in either English or French, we have a language training program.
We also play a role in the coordination of initiatives related to the Canadian judiciary's role in international cooperation. Finally, we support the work of the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission, and this is our reason for being here today. While the Commission is made up of three members—one nominated by the judiciary, another by the government, and a third nominated by the first two members—the Commission requires a secretariat to provide administrative services. For this Commission, the head of the secretariat, the executive director, is Ms. Jeanne Ruest.
What our office essentially does for the commission is support the operation of its secretariat. This includes the provision of office space, furniture, computer equipment—both hardware and software—access to our internal e-mail/communications network, accounting, purchasing, contracting, telecommunications, and website maintenance.
We also distribute copies of the final report to all members of the judiciary and any other interested parties. As well, our office will provide responses to questions for statistical information on the judiciary, as well as responses to questions on administrative practices and support provided to the judiciary.
After completion of the commission's work, we maintain the office space, equipment, files, etc., in a separate, secure area. We monitor and respond to questions asked and forward requests for information from the commission to either the chairperson or the executive director of the commission.
If the Minister of Justice requests that the commission undertake other duties, we will again support the members of the commission through the provision of administrative support, as mentioned above.
Once a bill is drafted by the Department of Justice following the report of the Commission, we will take the necessary measures within our office to ensure that we can administer and comply with the provisions of the new bill once it becomes law. Indeed, we have staff preparing now to be able to respond to amendments to the Judges Act.
To conclude, I had indicated at the beginning of my presentation that I would be brief yet I hope that I have been able to provide valuable information on our general role and more specific role in terms of the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission. If there are any questions, we would obviously be pleased to answer them. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.