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Implementation of section 41 of the Official Languages Act

Home - Section 41 - Role of Justice Canada - Publications - Status Report 2001-2002

STATUS REPORT 2001-2002

IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 41 OF THE
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT

GENERAL INFORMATION

Responsible Minister:The Honourable Martin Cauchon

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

1. Identification of the institution

2. Brief description of the report

This document reports on the achievements of the Department of Justice Canada for the year 2001-2002 relating to Section 41 of the Official Languages Act.

It reports on the achievements of the sectors and sections in light of the objectives and the measures set out in the 1999-2002 Action Plan, approved and tabled in June 1999. The 1999-2002 Action Plan is posted at the Internet address: http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/franc/

3. Brief description of the institution's mandate

The Department of Justice works to ensure that Canada's justice system is as fair, accessible and efficient as possible. The Department helps the federal government to develop policy and to make and reform laws as needed. At the same time, it acts as the Government's lawyer, providing legal advice, prosecuting cases under federal law, and representing the Government of Canada in court. As such, the Justice Department serves Canadians indirectly by acting as the Government's law firm, rather than by directly handling citizens' personal or individual matters. The Department's responsibilities reflect the double 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 is the chief law officer of the Crown.

The Department of Justice manages some programs that may be of interest to official language minority groups, such as the National Strategy on Crime Safety and Crime Prevention. The Department of Justice and Canadian Heritage jointly administer the Program for the Integration of both Official Languages in the Administration of Justice (POLAJ).

4. Responsible Officers

5. Period covered by the Action Plan

This report covers the period from April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002.

6. Means used to identify needs of official language minority communities at the national, provincial and territorial levels

Consultations/Studies

The Department of Justice consults the official language minority communities on a regular basis. This year, the Department has consulted these communities at the following meetings:

• Symposium of the POLAJ entitled "20 years of Administration of Justice in Both Official Languages : Taking Stock and Looking Ahead". The Symposium was held in Ottawa on November 23-24, 2001.
  
  
• Study on Access to Justice in both Official Languages in Canada. Portrait of the obstacles related to access to justice in both official languages as well as possible solutions.
  
  
• Consultations with the official language minority communities in order to validate the first version of the logic model and performance indicators with respect to the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act.
  
  
• Meetings with the Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de common law and with the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA) on November 21, 2001 and May 16, 2002 to discuss issues related to access to justice.
  
  
• Individual consultations and liaison with the organizations represented in POLAJ.
  
  
• Public visits to the POLAJ Web site (average of 1600 visitors per month).
  
  
• Participation in Annual General Meeting and meetings of national coordinators for the implementation of Section 41 of the Official
  
  

7. Principal needs identified at the national, provincial and territorial levels

As stated in the 1999-2002 Action Plan, the following concerns will have to be taken into account:

• identification of the Justice Sector as a priority by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA).
  
  

• raising awareness among members of the official language minority communities regarding the availability of legal services in their official language.
  
  

• recognition that the administration of justice in both official languages is a priority for the official language minority communities.
  
  

• assessment of the impact of transfers of responsibility from the federal government to the provinces and private sector on the language rights of the communities.
  
  

• access to legal aid in the official language of the client.
  
  

• the capacity of the judicial system to provide bilingual services.
  
  

• developing the federal government's leadership role with respect to official languages and language rights, in order to encourage and support provincial and territorial participation in this area.
  
  

• defining new partnership models, based on the example of Manitoba's Working Group on the improvement of minority language services and the pilot projects it has developed.
  
  

8. Reorganization of the Official Languages Files at the Department of Justice Canada

In order to group the main actors working on official languages issues, the Official Languages Law Group and the Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism Bureau reports to the Office of the Associate Deputy Minister and Champion of Official Languages. The Official Languages Law Group provides advice to the federal government on official languages issues. The Group also supports litigators at all levels of courts and develops and coordinates the position of the Government in language rights cases. The Group is responsible for policy development on languages rights.

The Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism Bureau is responsible for the coordination of initiatives and programs related to justice in official languages. It coordinates the National Program for the Integration of Both Official Languages in the Administration of Justice (POLAJ). The purpose of this Program is to improve the access to justice in both official languages in Canada. In addition, the Bureau coordinates the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act designed to foster the development of Official Languages Minority Communities in Canada. In this respect, it is important to mention that for the first time, the Department of Justice Canada has hired a National Coordinator as an expert on official languages minority communities issues for the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act.

The Bureau also coordinates the promotion of bijuralism within the Department as well as with the Canadian legal community underscoring this aspect of the Canadian diversity

N.B.: In this report, the use of the masculine form is intended to refer to both women and men.