2001
Department of Justice
David W. Jones; Pauline Butler; Robert Drake; Paul Foote; Sandy Hounsell; Brenda Malone; Joan McCarthy Wiseman; Debbie North; Dianne Noseworthy; Patsy Sheehan; Colin Tibbo; Joan Veitch
The Judgment Enforcement Agency Remote Access Team has demonstrated innovation and incredible collective leadership. By building co-operative relationships among the Office of the High Sheriff, the Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Department of Justice IT Division, this team put our province on the cutting edge of this area of law and information technology. Newfoundland and Labrador was the first jurisdiction in Canada to provide a full range of services to the creditor and debtor community in electronic medium.
The Judgment Enforcement Agency Remote Access project delivered by this team provides enhanced access for clients of our civil justice system to the judgment enforcement registry and its services. They created a level playing field by bringing services to people, rather than people to services. Clients can access information on their own time, on their own computers, resulting in better access at less cost overall.
The Judgment Enforcement Agency Remote Access Team has also vastly improved their working environments, sometimes in unexpected ways. They created a paperless e-registry that is environmentally and fiscally friendly and that shifts work methods from the 19th to the 21st century. Their teamwork promoted cooperation and cross-training, improving morale and empowering staff by demonstrating that they can work together to bring solutions even to long-standing problems.
The team showed dedication and imagination and performed at the top of their game. They met the project’s daily challenges, in addition to other ongoing work, and delivered on time, on budget and within design parameters. If they needed to know how to do something and didn’t, they learned, increasing value of individual employees and the division as a whole.
The Judgment Enforcement Agency Remote Access project has attracted the interest of other governments and agencies, providing a model for advanced tracking and civil collection practices. The team is now transferring principles, practices and technology to other agencies and jurisdictions, to help improve service delivery elsewhere.