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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

Official Language Minority Communities

MESSAGE FROM THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL

I am pleased to present the Department of Justice Canada’s Five-Year Action Plan for the Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act within the Department.

The mission of the Department of Justice Canada is to ensure that Canada’s justice system is fair, efficient and accessible to all Canadians. Its responsibilities reflect the dual role of the Minister of Justice, who is also the Attorney General of Canada: while the Minister is concerned with questions of policy and their relation to the justice system, the Attorney General acts as the Government’s legal advisor.

The Department also plays a key role in the Government’s commitment to linguistic duality.  Beyond its responsibilities for the application of the Official Languages Act, the Department contributes to the implementation of the governmental commitment to enhancing the vitality and development of Official Language Minority Communities and to improve access to justice for these communities.

In 2004, we finalized our Strategic Plan for the Implementation of Section 41.  As part of this plan, the Department has adopted a specific mission to ensure and demonstrate leadership in the implementation of the commitment set out in section 41 of the Official Languages Act.  More specifically:

• The Department will actively solicit and facilitate the participation of Official Language Minority Communities to create, develop, implement, and assess our programs, policies, and services so that we can identify and consider their needs.
• To attain these goals, the Department will inform its employees of the needs of Official Language Minority Communities with the purpose of developing effective relationships with these communities so that their needs are identified and considered, and their participation ensured.

Through the attached Five-Year Action Plan, the Department’s Strategic Plan targets five components to support the development and vitality of Official Language Minority Communities. They are:

• the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund;
• the Youth Justice Renewal Initiative;
• the Public Legal Education and Information;
• the Child-centred Family Justice Strategy;
• the Family Violence Initiative (Justice component).

Our Five-Year Action Plan illustrates the Department of Justice Canada’s commitment to Official Language Minority Communities.  It will be used both as an internal awareness-building and an external communication tool.

The Department is determined to take the necessary measures to integrate the “official languages” aspect within the development and implementation of its activities, services, programs, and directions.

John H. Sims

PDF Version (208 K)

Table of contents

Summary

Section I - General information

1. Identification of the institution
2. Brief description of the institution’s mandate
3. Responsible Officers
4. Period covered by the Action Plan

Section II - Setting of community priorities

5. Measures taken to establish the priorities of Official Language Minority Communities at the national, provincial and territorial levels
6. Main priorities identified at the national, provincial and territorial levels

Section III - Action plan content and schedule

7. Proposed measures to meet community priorities
8. Financial and other resources dedicated to carrying out of the Five-Year Action Plan

Section IV - Communication plan

9. Measures proposed to promote the Action Plan

Section V - Signature

Appendix - Detailed measures by component

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