In 2001, we set out an ambitious agenda to rethink some aspects of the provincial justice system, especially the interaction between the public who use the system and the agencies that deliver it. It had become clear that such an undertaking was essential because the system was becoming too expensive and cumbersome for everyone — citizens, corporations, and government.

A justice system is not static. It is an ongoing process that must constantly be monitored, evaluated and revised to meet the changing needs of the people it serves. To do less could allow the system to become — by reason of cost, delay and procedural complexity — functionally irrelevant for much of society.

Our mission was to find ways to make the justice system more accessible, efficient, fair and affordable to those who needed it. We believed that the concept of justice included more than a technically accurate legal resolution. We wanted to focus on the expectations that citizens held of justice. In particular, we wanted citizens to feel that at the end of the process, the system had worked for them and that their case had been fairly and accurately heard.

In pursuit of this end, and challenged by a need to bring expenditures under control, we implemented four key strategies. First, we expanded and promoted affordable dispute resolution alternatives to costly in-court litigation. Second, we reformed administrative practices, infrastructure requirements and program services in order to improve effectiveness and eliminate inefficiencies. Third, we strengthened partnerships across the justice system, encouraging our partners to work together to ensure that the system is expedient, accessible and impartial. Last, as a cost-avoidance strategy, we acted to improve liability management within government and reduce unnecessary exposure to civil litigation.

These four broad strategies were fundamental to our earlier service plans, and they remain integral to the direction the ministry has charted in this plan for the next three years. I am confident that we will continue to build on our progress and will achieve our commitment to shape a justice system that serves the best interests of all British Columbians.

Progress can only be confirmed if it is monitored and measured. Consequently we are always seeking more effective ways to measure our performance. This Service Plan contains some new performance measures that we believe will prove to be useful and relevant. However, this does not mean that all of the development work for these measures has been completed or that we have all of the necessary data systems in place to obtain the required information.

Improving our data collection methods and systems will take time and effort; but we believe that better performance measurement is achievable and that we are making significant progress in the right direction. This Service Plan demonstrates our ongoing resolve to give British Columbians meaningful and credible information about our accomplishments.

Honourable Geoff Plant
Attorney General

February 4, 2004