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Implementation of section 41 of the Official Languages Act

Home - Section 41

Part VII of the Official Languages Act (OLA) and, more precisely Section 41 thereof, sets out the commitment of all federal departments and agencies to enhancing the vitality of official-language minority communities, as well as fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society.

This commitment was strengthened by the establishment, in 1994, of an accountability framework for the implementation of sections 41 and 42 of the OLA. The framework establishes a range of measures, including the development of action plans for the implementation of Section 41 by key federal departments and agencies, including the Department of Justice. Furthermore, the Department has to report every year to the Department of Canadian Heritage through a status report that illustrates the actions taken toward supporting the communities by means of implementing the Action Plan.

In order to ensure a new momentum to linguistic dualism, the Action Plan for Official Languages has been publicly released in 2003 by the federal government. The Department of Justice is a major stakeholder in the realization of the commitment set out in the Action Plan.

The main pillar of the Government's Action Plan is without question the Accountability and Coordination Framework. This framework reiterates the existing obligations and responsibilities, while adding new ones, of federal departments and agencies and more specifically those of the various key players of the federal government in respect to the OLA.

In keeping with this, the Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism has been given the mandate to coordinate the implementation of Section 41 within the Department of Justice. Various steps are being taken by the Department aimed at promoting access to justice in both official languages.

The strategic plan for the implementation of Section 41 has been approved by the Executive Council in April, 2004. This plan has been used as blue print for the establishment of a result based five year action plan in which the specific needs of the Official Languages Minority Communities are taken into account.