OTTAWA, November 6, 2003 - The Government of Canada today tabledin the Senate the Government's Response to the Third Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages. Besides reaffirming its strong commitment to helping improve access to justice in both official languages, the government explains the approach that the Department of Justice intends to take in order to fulfil this commitment in conjunction with its government and non-government partners.

"In reading our response, senators will see that the Government of Canada has proposed concrete measures to foster the improvement of access to justice in both official languages. We will be acting on a number of fronts in order to meet more effectively the needs of the official language minority communities," said Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Honourable Martin Cauchon.

The report of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages dealt specifically with the study conducted for the Department of Justice Canada, entitled Environmental Scan: Access to Justice in Both Official Languages. This study provided a picture, by province and territory, of the situation with respect to services, identified barriers, proposed solutions appropriate to each jurisdiction and identified exemplary practices that can be shared.

The response to the recommendations of the Senate Committee takes into account the fact that the administration of justice is a shared field of jurisdiction. The Environmental Scan was the product of wide-ranging consultation with government and non-government representatives. The Department of Justice intends to follow up on this consultation on an ongoing basis.

Recently, the Department of Justice was allocated funds under the Government's Action Plan for Official Languages. In keeping with the Government's commitment, the Department of Justice is acting quickly to implement the measures outlined in the section of the Action Plan dealing with Justice. It intends to facilitate implementation of the language provisions of the Criminal Code, raise awareness among the general public of their language rights and put in place consultation mechanisms.

The Government response is available at: http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/franc/response_11_03.html

- 30 -

Ref.:
Media Relations Office
Department of Justice
(613) 957-4207