PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
The Delivery of Legal Services Must Improve: Committee Report
Ottawa, June 05, 2008 -
The Department of Justice Canada needs to find ways to eliminate patronage from the hiring of civil legal agents and control the demand for legal services from client departments, according to a report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts tabled in the House of Commons today by Chair Shawn Murphy, MP.
In May 2007, the Office of the Auditor General published an audit of the Department of Justice Canada’s delivery of legal services. The audit found a number of weaknesses in the management of these legal services, such as inadequate corporate planning, a lack of an overall quality management, and a need to improve resource management.
After reviewing this audit, the Committee believes that the Department of Justice should remove the possibility of patronage in its management of civil legal agents, develop better incentives to control the demand for legal services from client departments, and provide more meaningful information in its reports to Parliament on its performance and the full cost of legal services to the government.
“While the Department of Justice is making improvements,” said Mr. Murphy. “it needs to do more to ensure that its legal services are cost-effective and beyond reproach.”
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