Public Prosecution Service of Canada

Public Prosecution Service of Canada
Service des poursuites pénales du Canada
Agency overview
Formed2006 (2006)
Preceding agency
  • Federal Prosecution Service
JurisdictionCanada
Headquarters160 Elgin Street – 12th Floor, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0H8
Employees
  • 1040
  • 170 private-sector law firms
  • 432 individually appointed lawyers
Annual budget$201,300,000 (2018–19)[1]
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • George Dolhai, Director of Public Prosecutions
Key document
  • Director of Public Prosecutions Act
Websitewww.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC; French: Service des poursuites pénales du Canada (SPPC)) was established on December 12, 2006, by the Director of Public Prosecutions Act.[2] A federal agency, the PPSC prosecutes offences on behalf of the Government of Canada. It is responsible to Parliament through the attorney general of Canada, who litigates on behalf of the Crown and has delegated most prosecution functions to the PPSC.

The director of public prosecutions – currently George Dolhai – leads the day-to-day operations of the PPSC and is responsible to the attorney general, holding a rank equivalent to a deputy minister.[3]

For non-provincial or federal cases in Canada, a senior general counsel (Criminal Law) is assigned from the PPSC, an office of the Attorney General of Canada. The headquarters of the service is located in Ottawa, Ontario.

  1. ^ "Annual Report 2018-2019". Public Prosecution Service of Canada.
  2. ^ About the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. Government of Canada. 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  3. ^ "About the PPSC". Public Prosecution Service of Canada. Retrieved December 8, 2022.