OBJECTIVES

PRINCIPAL MEASURES PROPOSED

EXPECTED OUTPUTS

Priority 1:

To include bilingualism and bijuralism in the department's statement of values.

• Making managers, senior officials and employees accountable for and aware of the importance of bilingualism and bijuralism, by holding meetings, particularly in the National Capital Region and in the Quebec Regional Office, for this purpose.
• Presentations on bilingualism by managers.

• Meetings held.
• Awareness and accountability improved.

• Presentations given.

Priority 2:

To maximize distribution and implementation of the Guidelines on Language of Work.

• Distributing the Guidelines, for example in the form of an Info-Justice, posting on an Internet or Intranet site, an article in InterPares or some other form of publicity.
• Providing information sessions on the Guidelines.

• Guidelines distributed.

• Information sessions given.

Priority 3:

To improve access to language training.

• Draw up an inventory of tools available in the Department of Justice and prepare a list of schools and institutions that provide language training.
• Distribute a list of rights and terms and conditions of access to language training to employees, in accordance with departmental official languages policy.
• Do a study of the history of the financial resources dedicated to official languages, in order to propose a reasonable level of resources for language training.
• In partnership with Treasury Board, and possibly with the Public Service Commission, do a study of "best practices" in the field of language training.
• Develop and conduct a survey.

• Inventory drawn up.
  
  
  
  
  

   

• List distributed.

   

  
  
  
  
• Historical study done.

   

• Study done.

   

   

• Survey done.

Priority 4:

To promote the value of bilingualism within the Department of Justice by distributing information and raising employee awareness so that they understand the various benefits of these practices and appreciate how they enhance the value of the Department's work.

• Identify and organize measures such as debates and discussion groups to identify employees' expectations and concerns regarding bilingualism and increase their knowledge about bilingualism.

• Prepare and publish an information brochure (or leaflet) about bilingualism.

• Organize a departmental day on La Francophonie in the form of a conference to discuss the benefits to Canada in La Francophonie and issues relating to La Francophonie in Canada and internationally.

• Evaluation and study of various measures for learning employees' concerns regarding bilingualism done.
• Consultation, debates or discussions held.
• Employees' expectations and concerns identified.

• Brochure prepared and designed.
• Publication and distribution of brochure begun or completed.
  
  
  

• Departmental day on La Francophone held at which employees from the regions were present.

Priority 5:

To give consideration to initiatives that promote both official languages and bijuralism inside the Department of Justice, and beyond the Department in its fields of activity.

• Consolidate legislative and administrative measures under the authority of the Department of Justice relating to the administration of justice.
• Present recommendations to the Minister of Justice through the Committee on Bilingualism and Bijuralism and through other departmental or governmental bodies identified by the Committee.
• Take the necessary measures to ensure that the Department's Grants and Contributions Program gives full consideration to applications that relate to bilingualism and bijuralism.
• Create prizes for master's level students: one in bijuralism, and the other possibly in bilingualism.
• Prepare a brochure on bijuralism to make the Canadian public aware of this issue and provide information about it.
• (Hold a conference in May 2000 on the major systems of law and their role in the context of globalization, in conjunction with the University of Ottawa and the Department of Canadian Heritage.) (This measure falls outside the timeframe established by the Committee at the Retreat for implementing priorities.)
• Participate in or contribute to the activities of the European Year of Languages (2001) declared by the Council of Europe.

• Legislative and administrative measures consolidated.

• Recommendations submitted to the Minister.

• Measures taken.
• Applications that relate to bilingualism and bijuralism taken into consideration by the Grants and Contributions Program.
  
  
• Prize for master's level students created.
  
  
  
  
• Brochure on bijuralism developed.

• Colloquium on La Francophonie held in May 1999.
• Conference on the major systems of law held.

• Participated in or contributed to the activities of the European Year of Languages.

Person responsible: Josée Touchette

The "Champion" of official languages

As a result of Treasury Board's decision to raise the profile of official languages in order to ensure active compliance with the Official Languages Act, particularly with respect to the development of official language minority communities, the Department has appointed a "Champion" of official languages.

• Make official languages more visible, so as to ensure active compliance with the Official languages Act.
  
  
• Maximize departmental activities that have an impact on the development of official language minority communities.

• Promotion activities held, such as the Colloquium on La Francophonie.
  
  
  
• Analysis of the impact on official language minority communities and bilingualism included in submissions to Treasury Board.

Person responsible: Mario Dion

Bureau de la Francophonie

Within the Department, ensure that the accountability framework for the implementation of Sections 41 and 42 of the Official Languages Act, which establishment was approved by the Cabinet in 1994, is respected.

• Coordinate within the Department to develop and present the Department of Justice Action Plan for the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act and follow up on the accomplishements by presenting an annual Status Report.

• Action Plan presented and distributed.
• Status Report presented and distributed annually.

Person responsible: Josée Touchette

OBJECTIVES

PRINCIPAL MEASURES PROPOSED

EXPECTED OUTPUTS

The Civil Code Section

First objective

Together with the departmental legal services units concerned, to implement the initiative to harmonize federal statutes and regulations that are considered to be priorities, both existing and in the process of enactment, with the civil law of Quebec, keeping in mind the two legal audiences, French-speaking and English-speaking, by proposing amendments to statutes and regulations.

• Further to the tabling of Bill C-50, A First Act to harmonize federal law with the civil law, plan a second Bill; and subsequently,
• as a priority, harmonize federal legislation and regulations in the process of being enacted and integrate most recommendations in individual Bills or proposed regulations.
• Secondarily, harmonize existing federal legislation and regulations through separate harmonization Bills tabled periodically.
• When these proposals are made, and in addition to keeping in mind the four audiences - English-speaking and French-speaking common law lawyers and English-speaking and French-speaking civil law lawyers, improve common law provisions of legislation and regulations in French.
• For all proposed statutory and regulatory amendments, conduct the appropriate consultation.
• As and when required, and in accordance with the priorities established by the Civil Code Section, provide specialized services to departmental legal services units and the Legislative Services Branch relating to the harmonization of legislation and regulations.

• A second harmonization Bill prepared and tabled.

• Harmonization proposals included in Bills and proposed regulations.

• A third harmonization Bill prepared, subject to established priorities.
  
  

• Common law provisions in French improved.

• Public consultations held as and when required, in accordance with the demands of the parliamentary process, with members of the Canadian legal community.
• Evaluation questionnaire given to clients.

Second objective

To promote the value of the harmonization initiative and promote Canadian bijuralism.

• Publish documents on civil law, comparative law and harmonization;
• participate in, support and promote the value of Canadian bijuralism.

• Information about bijuralism and harmonization distributed.
• Active participation in various events.

Person responsible: Marie-Claude Gervais

Contraventions Project

To consult the official language minority communities in order to inform them about implementation of the Contraventions Act (CA), and more particularly about the language framework within which federal contraventions will be prosecuted in their provinces.

• Prepare and distribute an information document regarding the implementation of the CA.

• Inform the communities regarding the proposed agreement with their provinces.

• Provide relevant information to the communities regarding the language clauses included in the agreements with their provinces and obtain their comments, where applicable.

• Information document prepared and distributed.
  
  

• Consultations with the following organizations completed:

1. Associations of French-speaking lawyers (two).
2. French-language or English-language associations or societies (nine).

• Progress made on use of the second language in our discussions with provincial representatives.

Person responsible : Michel Gagnon

Legal training

To bring the communities together and make them more aware of language rights, both within the Department of Justice and in dealing with its partners, by providing training activities.

• Continue to organize and deliver a course for common law and civil law students who want to learn about the most recent developments in the practice of law in the public sector, jointly with the faculties of civil law and common law of the University of Ottawa. This course is given by experts in the Department, in a bijural format and in both official languages.

• Agreement with University of Ottawa for courses on common law in French and civil law in English.

• Course delivered.

Person responsible: Louis-Charles Sirois

OBJECTIVES

PRINCIPAL MEASURES PROPOSED

EXPECTED OUTPUTS

National Crime Prevention Centre

The National Crime Prevention Centre (NCPC) contributes to the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention by playing a leading role at the federal level, by encouraging innovative practices and by working with others to support communities that mobilize to adopt crime prevention measures in order to reduce crime and victimization and to promote safer communities.

First objective

To raise awareness among the NCPC and regional liaison consultants regarding the needs of official language minority communities regarding programs that support crime prevention and promote community development.

• Obtain information regarding the needs of official language minority communities in Canada (e.g., population, geographic distribution) in relation to crime prevention, in order to improve their quality of life and make communities safer.
  
  
  
• Increase the number of official language minority communities that are active in crime prevention on the NCPC's mailing list so that more of these groups are informed both about crime prevention issues and activities in Canada and about the various assistance programs offered under the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention.

• Encourage the submission of more projects and initiatives by official language minority communities through the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention.

• Research and analysis for identifying the needs of official language minority communities in relation to crime prevention begun or completed.

• Names of official language minority groups and organizations that are active in crime prevention added to the NCPC's distribution list.

• Greater awareness among official language minority groups regarding crime prevention issues and activities in Canada and the various assistance programs offered under the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention.

Person responsible: Pierre Sénécal

Priorities and Planning

To encourage support for and compliance with section 41 of the Official Languages Act in developing and implementing Department of Justice policy through Policy Project Plans.

• Consider the impact of policy proposals on the requirements of section 41 of the Official Languages Act in policy proposals presented for consideration by the Policy Committee of the Department of Justice.

• Impact analysis included in all Policy project Plans (PPP) presented.
• Greater assurance of compliance with section 41 of the Official Languages Act in activities of the Department of Justice.

Person responsible: Ken Dewhirst

Intergovernmental and external relations

To consider official language minority communities in planning consultation or public participation initiatives.

To create bilingual training and professional development programs on consultation.

• Keep the list of official language minority groups up to date in the data base on consultations, and search the data base.
• Ensure that consultation documents are translated on time.
• Ensure that the interests of official language minority groups are considered in developing consultation plans and when consulting the people involved.

• Offer bilingual or unilingual courses (English and French).
• Identify bilingual trainers.

• Official language minority groups are recorded in the data base.
  
  
  
• Consultation documents available in both official languages.
• Interests of official language minority groups taken into account as a step in planning the consultation.
  
  
  
• Larger number of bilingual documents available.
• Greater number of bilingual courses or greater number of courses in the language of the participants.
• List of bilingual trainers.

Person responsible: Elaine Jackson

Innovation, analysis and integration

To promote the improvement of the Canadian justice system among official language minority communities.

• Negotiate project funding agreements with non-governmental organizations and/or provinces and territories for projects that would benefit official language minority communities.

• Prepare and negotiate agreements with recognized public legal education and information organizations to ensure that the needs of official language minority communities are considered in developing various information publications.

• Two agreements to be negotiated.
• Funds to be negotiated.

• Ten agreements to be negotiated, provided that each province designates a public legal education and information organization.

Person responsible: Marc Rozon

Public law policy

To promote access to the judiciary by representatives of official language minority communities.

• Ensure that French-speaking lawyers are represented on advisory committees responsible for making recommendations to the Minister of Justice in relation to appointments to the bench.

• Representation arranged.

Person responsible: Mélodie Guilbault

OBJECTIVES

PRINCIPAL MEASURES PROPOSED

EXPECTED OUTPUTS

Legislative Services Branch

As the unit in charge of the Policy on Legislative Bijuralism of the Department of Justice, and being responsible for the application of that policy, to ensure, in cooperation with the Civil Code Section, that this policy is implemented by producing bilingual and bijural legislation and regulations.

• Provide greater support for legislative and regulatory drafters by providing them with the necessary resources and by expanding and rationalizing the jurilinguistic services (unilingual jurilinguistic revision and comparative revision) made available to them.

• Create a comparative law specialist position.

• Work in close cooperation with the Civil Code Section in relation to the harmonization of federal legislation with the Civil Code of Quebec.

• Expanded jurilinguistic services provided.
• Greater support for legislative drafters.
• Necessary resources made available.

• Position created and filled.
  
  
• Legislation and regulations produced that take into consideration the concepts and institutions of the civil law of Quebec and of the common law in force in the other Canadian provinces.

Person responsible : Lionel Levert

As part of the review of the legislative and regulatory processes, to develop support for the French version of legislation and regulations.

• Develop a strategic approach that includes meetings with departments, discussions with the Privy Council and presentations to the committee of deputy ministers responsible for official languages, chaired by the Deputy Minister of Justice.

• Enhance the bilingual capacity of drafters.

• As an active member of the Canadian Uniform Law Conference, draft uniform laws in both official languages for use by the provinces and the federal government.

Person responsible: Lionel Levert

In cooperation with the University of Ottawa, to develop an internal training and professional development program in legislative and regulatory drafting to provide the Branch with bilingual and bijural capacity.

• Assign a legislative drafter and regulatory drafter to develop the training and professional development program.

• Involve University of Ottawa professors in developing the program and in training and professional development activities.
• Offer courses in legislative and regulatory law to LL.L. students at the University of Ottawa.

• Internal program developed to respond to the needs of the Legislative Services Branch.
• Greater bilingual and bijural capacity in the Branch.
  
  
• Continued cooperation with the University of Ottawa.

Person responsible: Lionel Levert

POLAJ

Create and improve tools:

(a) to encourage the creation of original French common law and English civil law works and tools (model instruments, videos, etc.);

(b) to standardize French common law terminology;

(c) to provide training for French-speaking lawyers;

(d) to develop outreach tools;

(e) to develop effective communication tools.

• Develop partnerships to produce tools for the use of French-speaking lawyers, including a partnership in Ontario (federal-provincial and with universities and associations) for the simultaneous production of the Ontario Practitioner's Guide, the rules of procedure in French and the update to the French version of Watson & McGowan, Civil Procedure in Ontario.

• Continue activities to standardize French common law terminology, and more specifically the law of trusts and the law of torts.
• Include the standardized terminology in the tools developed and, more specifically, include the standardized terminology of the law of trusts in the update to Linden on Torts.

• Develop and deliver courses focusing on language rights for lawyers in the provinces where there is an association of French-speaking lawyers.
• Implement the recommendations of the feasibility study on the training needs of French-speaking lawyers in the West.
• Develop new training formulas to respond to the needs of the intended audience.

• Partnerships developed to produce tools.

• French terminology of the law of trusts and the law of torts standardized.
  
  
  
  
• Standardized vocabulary included in the tools developed.

• Courses developed.
• Courses delivered.

• Recommendations implemented.

• New training formulas developed.

Person responsible : Andrée Duchesne

To promote coordination and rationalization both within and outside POLAJ, and in particular:

• to promote coordination among the various players to optimize use of POLAJ's resources, know-how and expertise;
• to promote the rationalization and optimal distribution of areas of activity both within and outside POLAJ.

• Develop an integrated strategic approach among the various participants in the POLAJ network.
• Initiate consideration by the Steering Committee in Moncton in May.
• Form consultation groups whose recommendations will be examined by the members of the POLAJ Steering Committee.

Person responsible : Andrée Duchesne

To raise awareness among members of communities and among provincial and territorial governments and various clienteles regarding the integration of both official languages in the administration of justice in general, and more specifically regarding the role of the associations of French-speaking lawyers.

• Renew the funding given to the associations of lawyers and their umbrella Fédération for the next two years.
• Develop and implement a new funding and management formula that includes the participation of the associations of lawyers and the Fédération in decisions regarding the funding of projects submitted by those organizations.

• Funding to lawyers renewed for two years.

• New funding formula developed.
• New funding formula implemented.

Person responsible: Andrée Duchesne

OBJECTIVES

PRINCIPAL MEASURES PROPOSED

EXPECTED OUTPUTS

First objective

To inform the public, and more specifically the legal community and official language minority communities, regarding language rights, particularly rights relating to the administration of justice, and to raise awareness of those rights.

Second objective

To inform public servants, both inside the Department and in the client departments, regarding language rights, and to raise their awareness of the importance of those rights.

Third objective

To support and coordinate various policy initiatives designed to advance language rights in the administration of justice and within the government.

• Ensure optimal distribution of the Annotated Language Laws of Canada prepared by the Official Languages Law Group, and update the text.

• Take part in conferences, seminars and other educational and training activities relating to language rights.

• Implement mechanisms for informing parties to cases in which the federal government is involved regarding their language rights in the courts.

• Complete the guidelines on the language rights of accused persons in criminal proceedings (sections 530, 530.1 and 841(3) of the Criminal Code) and have them distributed through POLAJ and the official language minority associations of lawyers.

• Organize and take part in conferences, workshops and other presentations designed to increase awareness of the language obligations of federal institutions.
  
  
• Assist the Continuing Legal Education Division in implementing a training module for client departments on the Official Languages Act, and see that the module is delivered.

• Complete the guidelines on the language rights of accused persons in criminal proceedings (sections 530, 530.1 and 841(3) of the Criminal Code) and ensure that they are distributed to federal Crown prosecutors and agents.
  
  
  

• Develop recommendations for action on the consultations conducted based on the working document entitled "Towards a Consolidation of Language Rights in the Administration of Justice in Canada", submit them to the Minister and coordinate the implementation of the recommendations approved by the Minister.

• Coordinate the government's response to the study entitled "The equitable use of English and French before federal courts and administrative tribunals exercising quasi-judicial powers," published by the Commissioner of Official Languages in May 1999.
  
  
  
• Coordinate and arrange the Department's participation in the government's action plan responding to the recommendations of the Fontaine and Savoie reports on government transformations and their effects on official languages programs.

• Action taken to make the text more widely available.
• Information needed for doing the update collected.
  
  
  
• Taken part in educational and training activities.

• Possible measures for achieving this objective in civil, and then penal, litigation identified.
• Identified measures implemented.
  
  
  
• Guidelines distributed.

• Taken part in conferences, workshops and other presentations.

• Training module produced.
• Module presented to client departments by departmental legal services lawyers.

• Guidelines distributed.

• Recommendations submitted to the Minister.
• Implementation plan for acting on the Minister's decision developed.
• Implementation plan put into operation.

• Proposals developed in response to the recommendations made in the study by the Commissioner of Official Languages.
• Consultations held on those proposals.
• Recommendations to the Minister prepared.

• Initiatives within the Department's jurisdiction under the governments action plan identified.
• Identified initiatives implmented.

Person responsible: Marc Tremblay