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Implementation of section 41 of the Official Languages Act
Home - Section 41 - Role of Justice Canada - Publications - Action Plan 2005-2010 Five-Year Action Plan 2005-2010 Section III - Action plan content and scheduleBackground: Strategic Plan for the Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, Community Component The implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act impacts all Justice Department programs and services. Given the extensive responsibilities assigned to the Department of Justice of Canada by the federal government, and because of the required involvement of many of its sectors following the publication of the Action Plan for Official Languages, the Department of Justice has developed two distinct, interrelated and parallel components for the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Component One component will specifically target the subject of access to justice in both official languages and the needs of justifiable. The government’s Action Plan forOfficial Languages, entitled The Next Act: New Momentum for Canada’s Linguistic Duality, and introduces the strategic axes in this area. The Department of Justice has developed a results-based management and accountability framework (RMAF) centred on results aimed specifically at the implementation of access to justice initiatives. The RMAF received Treasury Board approval. Community Component This other component deals more specifically with the needs of Official Language Minority Communities concerning access to departmental programs as well as their participation in the development of policies in the area of justice in Canada. Such a choice from the outset reduces the risk of scattering resources and ensures that the individuals responsible for the Community Component will be able to concentrate their efforts, energy and available resources on achieving definite results that will meet the priority needs identified by Official Language Minority Communities and Justice Canada. The Strategic Plan for the Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, Community Component is available at: http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/franc/41/plan_strat04-09/ In the area of linguistic duality, the Department has carried out a number of projects and activities through the Official Languages Law Group, including:
These activities related to linguistic duality will be maintained. However, in light of the major needs identified by Official Language Minority Communities, the Department has chosen to give priority to the first component of Section 41, which targets the development of these communities. Objectives of the Strategic Plan Within the parameters of its mission and guiding principles, Justice Canada has the following objectives concerning the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, Community Component:
The outcomes targeted by the Department’s Strategic Plan were developed in the course of animated sessions with members of Official Language Minority Communities. A total of seventy-five (75) people took part in this exercise. The Strategic Plantargets the following three direct outcomes:
This Action Plan describes the main measures proposed or outputs to reach the Strategic Plan’s three direct outcomes. Together, the measures adopted will lead to the achievement of the following intermediate and ultimate outcomes:
7. Proposed measures to meet community prioritiesThe Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism coordinates the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, Community Component. Five Department of Justice components have been identified as priorities for the implementation of Section 41, Community Component, i.e.:
These priorities originate directly from interviews and consultations held between 2002 and 2004. Starting from a long list of potential programs, the five priority components were repeatedly identified as those being directly linked to the priorities of communities. The Department of Canadian Heritage recommends that the organizations targeted by the accountability framework for the implementation of Sections 41 and 42 summarize their main actions under six themes:
The Appendix presents in detail the actions planned for the Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism, for each of the five priority components identified and for Regional and Departmental Program and Policy Coordinators. 1. Internal awareness-raising The Department of Justice’s Executive Committee has approved, in April 2004, the Strategic Plan for the Implementation of Section 41, Community Component. The Champion of Official Languages will continue to raise the awareness level of the Department’s senior management and will report annually on the implementation of the Action Plan. The Coordination Team for the Implementation of Section 41 will develop an ongoing internal communication plan for the Department as a whole. It will organize an awareness campaign at the national and regional levels for Department directors, managers and employees regarding the Department’s accountability with regards to Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, working together with the coordinators for Section 41 of the five priority components. Regional and Departmental Program and Policy Coordinators will also play a key role in raising awareness. They will participate in meetings between the Official Languages Law Group and senior management at the regional level for a presentation on the Department’s requirements regarding the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act. A representative of each priority component will take part in the Advisory Sub Committee, Community Component of Section 41 to help them gain a better understanding of the priorities of official language communities, determine the potential impacts of their component on the development of these communities, and develop better approaches to meet the priorities of communities through these components. 2. External consultation The consultations held since 2001 to develop the Justice Department’s strategic approach for the implementation of Section 41 have had significant positive impacts. The success of these consultations has led the Department to make a strategic decision to invest considerable resources in the creation of permanent consultation structures, which will help develop ongoing working relations with Official Language Minority Communities. These structures are as follows: Advisory Committee, Justice in Official LanguagesIn February 2004, the Department created the Advisory Committee, Justice in Official Languages, whose mandate is to ensure linkage between legal and official language minority community stakeholdersand the Department of Justice. The activities of the Advisory Committee are aimed at promoting the development and growth of Official Language Minority Communities and improving access to justice for these communities. Members include representatives from: Francophone and Anglophone minority communities and Justice Canada. Two Sub-Committees reporting to the Advisory Committee have been created in 2004-2005: an advisory Sub-Committee, Access to Justice in Both Official Languages and an advisory Sub-Committee, Community Component of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act (Francophone and Anglophone Components). To consult with communities, the Department uses the structure provided by the Advisory Committee and its two Sub-Committees, especially the Sub-Committee, Community Component of Section 41. In December 2003, the Steering Committee of the National Program for the Integration of Both Official Languages in the Administration of Justice (POLAJ), met for the last time. This program’s activities and budget now come under the Department of Justice and have been merged with the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund. This forum will continue to exist, but it will be expanded and will become the Advisory Sub-Committee, Access to Justice in Both Official Languages. In addition, the mandate of the Sub-Committee, Community Component of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act is to act as a forum to facilitate discussions between Official Language Minority Communities and the Department of Justice regarding the implementation of the Strategic Plan of Section 41, Community Component and to gain a better understanding of the communities’ priorities with regards to this Community Component. The Sub-Committee includes representatives from the communities, both from the priority sectors identified by the Department and from the various groups targeted. It will meet officially once a year and will mandate working groups to examine specific topics related to its priorities. The minutes from Advisory Committee and Sub-Committee meetings will be posted on the Department’s website dedicated to the implementation of Section 41. Website: http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/franc/ The Department will also call on the federal-provincial-territorial Working Group on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages to inform the various stakeholders and engage them in a dialogue on the main issues. At the national level, the Department of Justice takes part in consultation sessions organized by the Department of Canadian Heritage. Regional and Departmental Program and Policy Coordinators have regular contacts with Official Language Minority Communities and their members, including attending their annual general meetings. In addition, once a year, Regional Coordinators will meet the organization representing each province and territory and the association of lawyers in each province and territory where such an organization exists. The Network of Regional and Departmental Program and Policy Coordinators intends to meet every eight weeks to share information and exchange on concrete and innovative measures that can be implemented to meet the needs of Official Language Minority Communities. Beyond these official structures, the Department will entertain direct links with the main stakeholders in the area of access to justice in both official languages, particularly through the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund. These stakeholders include provincial associations of French-speaking lawyers and their national federation, universities and governments. Linkages will be maintained using various means, e.g. website, attending and organizing meetings, etc. The Department intends to meet with the communities once a year. 3. Communication The Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism, who is responsible for coordinating the implementation of Section 41 at the national level, will continue to research and prepare quarterly mailings to communities in order to keep them informed about departmental initiatives, with the help of Regional Coordinators and Program and Policy Coordinators. These mailings are sent to some 200 groups from Official Language Minority Communities. They allow the Department to promote its products and services and to inform communities on matters of interest, deadlines for project applications and contacts at the national, regional and territorial provincial levels. They also allow the Department to disseminate the various plans, reports, minutes and bulletins on the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, and to inform communities regarding the renewal of programs and services according to new structures where applicable. The Department will also create promotional tools, including a series of new information tools that will be distributed as part of an awareness-raising campaign and the annual general meetings of community organizations. It will continue to use the medias from Official Language Minority Communities and their agencies to promote its mandate, the role of the Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism, as well as relevant information concerning departmental programs and services. Timely articles will be written for Canadian Heritage’s Bulletin 41-42, which is largely distributed to Official Language Minority Communities and through the network of coordinators for Section 41. The Network of Regional and Departmental Program and Policy Coordinators will play a key information and communication role. Coordinators will attend the annual general meetings of official language minority community organizations, answer specific requests for information from community stakeholders regarding departmental activities, and convey relevant departmental information to these organizations. Section 41 coordinators for the five priority components will develop direct links with community organizations relevant to their sector and will be able to appreciate the role played by their component within the overall development of the communities. These coordinators will inform Official Language Minority Communities about the services offered by their component through the quarterly mailings to communities. They will include information in documents, guides and web pages on the implementation of Section 41 within their component. The actions taken by the various components will vary based on their target groups. 4. Departmental and governmental coordination The Department of Justice has put in place the formal structures necessary for the successful implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act. The Department’s Champion of Official Languages is at the heart of the decision-making process and works actively to raise awareness within the Department, especially with senior management. Coordination at the national level is done by the Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism. The Department has also set up a Network of Regional and Departmental Program and Policy Coordinators for the Implementation of Section 41. At the federal government level, the Department will take part in the work of interdepartmental committees on official languages and will cooperate with federal departments and agencies working in the field of justice to implement initiatives in support of Official Language Minority Communities. The Department will explore the possibility of entering into formal interdepartmental partnerships. In addition, it will ensure a continued presence at Parliament committee sessions on official languages (House of Commons Committee and Senate Committee) and will submit reports on their work to the appropriate government and community stakeholders. At the intergovernmental level, the Department of Justice will implement an effective and ongoing collaboration between federal and provincial-territorial government levels to ensure that the priorities of Official Language Minority Communities are taken into account. In this area, federal-provincial-territorial working groups are essential forums, including in the areas of access to justice in both official languages, youth justice, family justice and family violence. Some of the Department’s programs will include a component on the implementation of Section 41 in their intergovernmental discussions and, where possible, in the terms of any ensuing agreements. 5. Delivery of products and services The Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, which has an annual budget of $2 millions, is the only Justice Department program that specifically targets the development of Official Language Minority Communities. The Support Fund will make sure that the objectives of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act are taken into account by the project selection committee. It will fund projects that support these objectives and will sign contribution agreements with the provinces and territories and with non-government organizations that support the development of communities in the area of access to justice in both official languages. In addition, the Support Fund will form partnerships with other departmental programs that contribute to the Fund’s objectives and to the improvement of access to justice in both official languages, in order to coordinate the support, financial and otherwise, for projects that meet the objectives of more than one departmental program. All departmental programs, particularly those identified as priorities, will contribute to the attainment of common objectives related to the development of Official Language Minority Communities. However, the majority of programs have their own budget allowance and will grant funding on the merits, following their own analysis and criteria. In the case of priority components, this analysis will include an appreciation of the projects from a community development angle or, more specifically, from the angle of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act. In their work related to the implementation of Section 41, some programs will target specific groups that have a link with their respective mandate. As an example, the Youth Justice Renewal Initiative will communicate with Official Language Minority Communities organizations to alert them to funding opportunities such as calls for proposals. In particular, the Initiative will aim to provide this information to organizations that offer services to youth from Official Language Minority Communities. For its part, the Public Legal Education and Information Component, which works with a designated organization in each province, will put special emphasis on the climate of cooperation between legal education and information organizations and the Fédération des associations de juristes d’expression française and its provincial associations. The Department will encourage lawyer associations to establish link with designated legal education and information organizations, and vice versa, to ensure that Official Language Minority Communities are kept informed on the various sources of assistance and information that exist in Canada in the area of justice. Regarding the development and implementation of policies, the Department will use the work done by the federal-provincial-territorial committees, consultation mechanisms with Official Language Minority Communities, and coordination and research mechanisms within the Department. And finally, the Department will add tools to its research and analysis strategies to help understand the priorities of Official Language Minority Communities and better measure the impact of departmental policies and programs on these communities. 6. Evaluation and accounting The team responsible for coordinating the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act will ensure the strategic planning of the implementation of Section 41 using Reports on Plans and Priorities, Departmental Performance Reports or Status Reports, Business Plans and other corporate reports. The Department will develop performance indicators for which the priority components will have to submit an annual report based on the presentation of the Status Report to the Department of Canadian Heritage. Since this initiative is not a program in itself, the progress in the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, Community Component will be measured using a third party administrative evaluation. The formative evaluation is scheduled for 2007-2008 and the summative evaluation, for 2009-2010. The Office will work with the priority components and with the Department’s Evaluation Division to develop performance indicators for the Action Plan outputs. These indicators related to Section 41 will be developed in 2005-2006 and inserted in the ongoing performance measurement and monitoring strategy of the components concerned. Permanent data collection mechanisms will have to be developed based on the results and indicators presented. When establishing working relationships with the managers of the priority components, it will be necessary to develop new mechanisms or, preferably, to adjust existing tools, to include a component measuring the impact of these components on Official Language Minority Communities. 8. Financial and other resources dedicated to carrying out of the Five-Year Action PlanThe Department of Justice relies mainly on its Network of Regional and Departmental Program and Policy Coordinators and on its managers to carry out its Action Plan. A team of four will coordinate the Action Plan at the Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism. The positions are as follows:
The Office will coordinate the creation and the work of the Advisory Sub-Committee, Community Component of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act. A $200,000 annual budget has been earmarked to support the work of the consultation mechanisms. In addition, the Department has set up a Network of Regional and Departmental Program and Policy Coordinators. The Network will meet every eight weeks in addition to its annual meeting. These coordinators’ normal responsibilities will include tasks related to the implementation of Section 41, Community Component. Regional Coordinators will:
Program and Policy Coordinators will:
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