Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I am delighted to be appearing before the committee today to discuss supplementary estimates (C).
I'm Bill Pentney, deputy minister of justice and deputy attorney general of Canada. I'm here with Don Piragoff, the senior assistant deputy minister responsible for the policy sector, and Daniel Schnob, the chief financial officer of the department.
Since the committee has a limited amount of time, I will speak briefly to four items in the supplementary estimates (C). The department's overall net increase is $750,000.
The net increase we're seeking for the department in the supplementary (C)s is comprised of four items. I'll speak very quickly to all four: $1.4 million in additional funding to enhance the victims fund; a transfer from Justice to the Office of the Coordinator, Status of Women, in the amount of $80,000; a transfer from Justice to the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs in the amount of $500,000; and a transfer to the Privy Council Office of $68,000 for the Business Transformation and Renewal Secretariat.
The first item, $1.4 million for the victims fund, implements the announcement in budget 2012. Of this new funding, $1 million in contributions is allocated for the establishment or enhancement of child advocacy centres across Canada.
This funding will allow the centres to improve services to child and youth victims of crime by hiring, for example, forensic nurses and child mental health professionals. In addition, regions in Canada that do not currently have such centres will be able to apply for funding to establish new ones.
The remaining $400,000 in grants will be made available to victim-serving non-governmental organizations for time-limited operational funding. This will enable these organizations to provide assistance and services to victims who are navigating the criminal justice system.
The budget 2012 funding for child advocacy centres, which these supplementaries implement, doubles the existing federal funding to support the creation of new child advocacy centres and the enhancement of existing ones. Announcements of federal funding have been made for centres in Winnipeg, Toronto, Vancouver, Regina, Saskatoon, Sioux Lookout, and Cornwall. Federal funding for these centres now totals $10.25 million annually.
The second item is a transfer, at vote 5, of approximately $80,000 to the Office of the Co-ordinator for the Status of Women, to support the development of knowledge for aboriginal service deliverers on the issue of sexual assault of girls. The Centre d'expertise Marie-Vincent does the program coordination for that.
The transfer spans three fiscal years and runs until the end of 2014-15. The Department of Justice's total contribution will be $250,000.
The project aims to achieve multiple goals, including: offering more and improved services to young children in Montreal and surrounding areas who have experienced sexual abuse; supporting women whose daughters have been victimized; and strengthening the knowledge base of aboriginal service providers so that they can better address the issue of sexual assault of girls. This is a transfer to Status of Women Canada so that they can administer the contribution towards the program.
The third item is a transfer of $500,000 to the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs. I understand that this transfer was made to assist the organization in meeting its obligations under the Judges Act. As the department plays no role in the daily operations of this independent organization because our relationship is arm's length to protect the independence of the judiciary, I can only speak to this issue in general terms today.
The final item, which I'll treat very briefly, is the transfer of $68,000 in vote 1, operating resources, to the Privy Council Office for the Business Transformation and Renewal Secretariat, which will support the work of the Priorities and Planning Sub-Committee on Government Administration, which was announced by the Prime Minister in September 2012. This secretariat was created to support the subcommittee and to provide strategic direction on whole-of-government transformation. The government has taken some steps already to improve and address the business of doing government. The Business Transformation and Renewal Secretariat will continue to support the work of the committee in looking for other ways to address cross-governmental business improvements, and this is Justice's transfer to support the staffing in support of that secretariat.
Those are the four items in supplementary estimates (C).
That's all I will say about the supps. I'm pleased to answer questions.
