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This directive comes into effect on July 15, 2005. This directive and the Directive
on the Use of Official Languages on Web Sites replace the following policy:
The institution respects its linguistic obligations regarding communications with and services to the public, as well as
language of work, when it uses electronic communications. Electronic communications
issued by the institution reflect the equality of status of English and French. The English and French versions of electronic
communications are of equal quality and are available simultaneously. Subject to the requirements set out in this directive,
electronic communications may be in one or both official languages.
This directive applies to all institutions subject to Parts IV or V of the Official
Languages Act (OLA), with the exception of the Senate, the House of Commons, the Library of Parliament, the Office of the
Senate Ethics Officer and the Office of the Ethics Commissioner.
The institutions in question must also apply the following policies:
- Policy on the Use of Official Languages for Communications with and Services to the Public - for institutions
subject to Part IV of the Official Languages Act.
- Policy on Language of Work - for institutions subject to Part V of the Official Languages Act.
Institutions must also respect the official languages obligations set out in the list of
related policy instruments.
Deputy heads are accountable for implementing this directive in their institutions.
The institution respects its linguistic obligations when it communicates electronically with the public.
An office or facility designated bilingual respects the public's right to
communicate with and receive services in the official language of the public's choice, in accordance with the requirements set out
in the Policy on the Use of Official Languages for Communications
with and Services to the Public. Electronic communications issued by an office or facility designated bilingual are
available simultaneously in both official languages.
An office or facility designated bilingual ensures that a third party acting on its
behalf respects the public's language rights. The contract or agreement with a third
party includes clauses setting out the office or facility's linguistic obligations with which the third party must comply. The
office or facility designated bilingual ensures that the two official languages are of equal quality when a third party provides
communications and services on its behalf.
An office or facility designated bilingual may issue electronic communications in only one official language when using the
preferred official language of:
- a member of the public;
- members of the public with the same language preference.
Under certain conditions, an office or facility designated bilingual may, as a
courtesy, make available to the public:
- information in one official language only without changing the content, when
that information is provided by entities not subject to the OLA;
- comments from the public in the language in which the comments were received, provided that no changes are made and that no
feedback is requested on those comments;
- a hyperlink to a unilingual Web site of an entity not subject to the OLA. In that case, the office or facility is not
responsible for the fact that the content of that site is not in both official languages.
The office or facility issues a notice explaining that the information is not
available in both official languages because the source of the information is not subject to the OLA.
The circumstances set out above do not exempt the institution from its obligation to serve the public in both official
languages.
The unilingual office or facility communicates electronically with the public in
the official language of the majority of the population of the province or territory where the office or facility is located when
the communication is intended exclusively for the public served by that office or
facility. The same obligations apply to a third party acting on behalf of a unilingual office or facility.
The institution respects its linguistic obligations when it communicates with employees.
It is the institution's responsibility to create and maintain a workplace conducive to the effective
use of both official languages by enabling its staff to use either language. The institution respects the right of employees
to work and communicate with it in the official language of their choice, in accordance with the requirements set out in the Policy
on Language of Work. The institution ensures that electronic communications with and services to employees are in both
official languages simultaneously, regardless of the entity to which this responsibility is given.
The institution may issue electronic communications in only one official language when using the preferred official language
of:
- an employee;
- employees with the same official language of work preference.
Central and common services agencies respect employees' language of work rights in
institutions over which they have authority or that they serve.
Under certain conditions, the institution may, as a courtesy, make available to
employees:
- information in one official language only without changing the content, when
that information is provided by entities not subject to the OLA;
- comments from employees in the language in which the comments were received, provided that no changes are made and that no
feedback is requested on those comments;
- a hyperlink to a unilingual Web site of an entity not subject to the OLA. In that case, the institution is not responsible
for the fact that the content of that site is not in both official languages.
The institution issues a notice explaining that the information is not available in
both official languages because the source of the information is not subject to the OLA.
The circumstances set out above do not exempt the institution from its obligation to communicate with employees in both
official languages.
Subject to the requirements set out in the Policy on Language of Work,
the institution communicates with employees located in unilingual regions for language-of-work purposes in the official language
that predominates in the province or territory where the employees are located when the communication is intended
exclusively for them.
The institution may provide its employees located in unilingual regions for language-of-work purposes with access to bilingual
work instruments or services. However, in doing so, the treatment of the two official languages must be comparable between regions
where one language or the other predominates.
Service providers acting on behalf of the institution communicate electronically with employees located in unilingual regions
for language-of-work purposes in the official language that predominates in the province or territory where the employees are
located.
The institution communicates with employees in unilingual regions with
different languages of work by choosing one of the following options:
- issue one communication in both official languages for all employees to whom the communication is addressed;
- issue two equivalent separate unilingual communications simultaneously and send to employees the appropriate version
according to the official language that predominates in the provinces or territories where they are located.
The institution communicates with employees in bilingual and unilingual regions for language-of-work purposes by choosing one
of the following options:
- issue one communication in both official languages for all employees to whom the communication is addressed;
- for employees in bilingual regions, when their individual language preference is known, issue two equivalent separate
unilingual communications simultaneously according to their language preference;
- for employees in unilingual regions, issue two equivalent separate unilingual communications simultaneously and send them
the appropriate version according to the official language that predominates in the provinces or territories where they are
located.
Subject to the institutional responsibilities set out above, employees apply the principles established under individual
responsibilities when they communicate electronically with one another.
- The subject of the electronic communication is in both official languages and appears in the prescribed
order.
- The content of the bilingual electronic communication, in written or oral format, notably for an e-mail, automatic message
or voice mail, appears in the prescribed order and each version of the message is complete. The automatic message of an
employee occupying a bilingual position reflects the language requirements of the position and is in both official languages.
- For a written message such as an e-mail or automatic message:
- the English and French versions are available simultaneously. A note precedes
the content of the message, informing the reader of the order in which the two languages appear;
- the entire electronic message, including any attachment, is issued simultaneously in both official languages.
- Texts are of equal quality in both official languages.
- Encoding schemes and pathways support the use of diacritics.
- Information for employees that is required to be in both official languages includes among others:
- documentation and regularly and widely used work instruments intended for
employees located in regions designated as bilingual for language-of-work purposes;
- information provided by management to all employees.
- In a signature block, the information appears in both official languages in the prescribed order.
- When the institution uses other languages in addition to the two official
languages to issue an electronic message:
- the information is in both official languages and appears in the prescribed order;
- the equality of status of English and French is respected;
- the official languages appear in the prescribed order.
- Encoding schemes and pathways support the use of diacritics.
- In a signature block, the name of the institution appears in both official languages in the prescribed
order.
- The content of the electronic communication, in written or oral format, notably for an e-mail, automatic message or
voice-mail, is in the language of the position of an employee occupying a unilingual or either/or position.
- When the institution uses an electronic communication to distribute documentation and regularly
and widely used work instruments, they are in both official languages when they are intended for employees located in
unilingual regions for language-of-work purposes who provide bilingual services.
When the institution communicates with the public or employees using an electronic means of communication that requires the use
of a Web site, such as an electronic bulletin board, it respects the obligations set out in the Directive
on the Use of Official Languages on Web Sites.
The Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada (PSHRMAC) is responsible for determining the method for
assessing performance and monitoring implementation of this directive in institutions.
Each institution is responsible for keeping its records and information systems up to date and assessing results in order to
report on them to the PSHRMAC on request. At a minimum, the institution assesses the following:
- effectiveness of measures in place to ensure the simultaneous availability and quality of electronic communications
transmitted to members of the public in both official languages from offices or facilities designated bilingual;
- effectiveness of measures in place to ensure the simultaneous availability and quality of electronic communications
transmitted in both official languages to employees working in regions designated as bilingual for language-of-work purposes;
- effectiveness of measures in place to ensure that a third party acting on behalf of an office or facility designated
bilingual respects the linguistic obligations of that office or facility;
- number of complaints concerning the use of official languages in electronic communications that the Office of the
Commissioner of Official Languages determined to be founded.
When assessment of the results reveals that the directive has not been respected, the institution reports the situation to the
PSHRMAC and takes appropriate corrective action.
For further information, please contact the person
responsible for official languages in your institution.
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