Audit of AANDC Support to the Specific Claims Process - Follow-up Report Status Update as of June 30, 2014
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Action Plan Implementation Status Update Report to the Audit Committee - As of June 30, 2014
Treaties and Aboriginal Government
Audit of AANDC Support to the Specific Claims Process
Approval Date: 11/22/2012
| Project Recommendations | Action Plan | Expected Completion Date |
Program Response |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Treaties and Aboriginal Government Sector should ensure that an appropriate Oversight Committee, with a defined governance framework and Terms of Reference (ToR) is implemented, and ensure that the Terms of Reference of the Claims Advisory Committee (CAC) is reviewed and updated. Specifically, CAC membership within the ToR should be reviewed to include a representative from the Litigation Management and Resolution Branch. | The Claims Advisory Committee (CAC) membership already includes representatives from the Litigation Management and Resolution Branch (LMRB) at the Director level. The CAC Terms of Reference are currently being revised and updated. The DG, LMRB, the Chief Financial Officer, and the Director General, Lands and Environmental Management will be invited to become members of the CAC. The Senior ADM, TAG will examine using the Joint Steering Committee on Litigation Issues for quarterly, strategic oversight to the specific claims process. In the past, this committee has played a role in discussing issues impacting the Specific Claims Process and the Specific Claims Tribunal. |
March 2013 | Status: Ongoing Revised Terms of Reference for the Claims Advisory Committee have been developed and a final version is being prepared for distribution. The Chief Financial Officer confirmed her membership on the Claims Advisory Committee. As of 30/06/2014 Revised expected completion date: December 2014 AES: Implementation behind plan. Recommend approval of Program’s revised completion date December 2014. |
| 2. The Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Treaties and Aboriginal Government Sector should ensure that a comprehensive risk management framework related to specific claims (including strategic and operational level risks) and a risk management process, are established to appropriately identify, assess, mitigate and monitor the identified risks related to specific claims on a regular basis. | A Specific Claims risk assessment framework will be undertaken and integrated into the corporate risk assessment framework. The Specific Claims risk assessment framework will address elements unique to the Specific Claims Process including: the impact of the Specific Claims Tribunal, funding pressures, and human resource pressures. As well, the risk assessment would take into account the positive impact that settling a claim has on other departmental activities including, but not limited to, self-government and treaty negotiations. | September 30th, 2013 | Status: Completed Update/Rationale: As of 31/03/2014: A comprehensive risk management framework was approved by the Evaluation, Performance Measurement and Review Committee on March 20, 2014 and has been incorporated into the Performance Measurement Strategy. AES: Implementation Complete. Recommend to be closed. Closed. |
| 3. The Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Treaties and Aboriginal Government Sector should review current systems and assess system requirements/functionality against current available systems and evaluate the cost vs. benefit of centralizing the claim management systems and databases. | The Specific Claims Branch Database (SCBDB) is a national on-line system which has been designed to track the progress of specific claims from receipt to settlement and produces various pre-established reports. The SCBDB is primarily focused on reporting, but is also a critical tool used for the calculation of the contingent liability (CL) of claims. |
March 2013 | Status: Completed Update / Rationale: As of 31/03/2013: A review of the information systems has been done. The Negotiations Directorate is no longer using its project management tool. Negotiations Managers use the Specific Claim Settlement Fund Budget Tracker Tool and their own lists to forecast, monitor and track the progress of claims in negotiation, and they also rely on the Specific Claims Database for other basic information related to their claims. The Research and Policy Directorate, on the other hand, continues to use its own work management tracking tool extensively to monitor work demands. This is necessary as the SCBDB does not have the fields, or functionality for work management. While it may be possible to accommodate some functionality in the SCBDB to meet Research and Policy needs, it would be difficult, costly, time consuming, resource intensive, and also inefficient given that the MS project based tool is currently meeting work tracking/management needs, including reporting. AES: Recommend to close, as IM/IT system review was conducted. Closed. |
| 4. The Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Treaties and Aboriginal Government Sector should implement a centralized filing system, and/or documentation protocol, where an authoritative record (complete set of key documents) is identified, applied consistently, and easily accessible, to help ensure that key documentation is available and complete. | A review of the information management practices in Specific Claims Branch (SCB) is underway. Preliminary findings indicate that files in SCB exist in segregated points: Research, Negotiations; in various locations in HQ, and BC; and in various formats electronic (CIDM) and hard copy, thereby affecting the capacity to retrieve the complete record of a claim in a timely manner. In addition, it has been determined that the current File Numbering Systems in use by both SCB NCR and Vancouver do not meet Record Management standards for the federal government. SCB is working with Enterprise Information Record Management (EIRM) to address these issues. As a result a number of measures are being implemented:
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March 2014 | Status: Ongoing Draft Business Rules have been prepared. A new file numbering system for Specific Claims has been developed that reconciles divergent filing systems in the NCR and Vancouver offices, however, work is continuing with EIRM to resolve inconsistencies between NCR and Vancouver filing practices. Staff have received training related to CIDM electronic filing practices and will receive training in respect to anticipated standardized government-wide software. As of 30/06/2014 Revised expected completion date: December 2014 AES: Recommendation will be closed once draft business rules have been finalized and approved. |