Interdepartmental Co-ordination

Working Together for the Betterment of the Official-Language Minority Communities

This insert in the Minister of Canadian Heritage's Annual Report on Official Languages presents a summary of the main achievements resulting from the 2002-2003 action plans of the 29 key federal departments and agencies covered by the accountability framework that the federal government established in 1994 for the implementation of section 41 of the Official Languages Act. This section sets out the Canadian government's commitment to enhancing the vitality of Canada's French-speaking and English-speaking minorities, supporting their development and promoting the full recognition and use of French and English in Canadian society. Section 42 gives the Minister of Canadian Heritage a mandate to promote and encourage, among federal institutions, a co-ordinated approach to this commitment. During the current fiscal year, the number of memoranda of understanding under the Interdepartmental Partnership with the Official-Language Communities (IPOLC) totalled 15. This initiative of the Department of Canadian Heritage aims at encouraging other federal departments and agencies to launch new activities supporting the long-term development of the official-language minority communities. IPOLC's main objective is to create sustainable links between these communities and the participating departments and agencies. The achievements described here are a testament to the Canadian government's tangible and concerted commitment to linguistic duality. These actions help enhance and tighten the Canadian social fabric as well as nourish the vitality of official-language minority communities. Readers who would like more information about specific action plans and related achievements can contact the department or agency of their choice directly. To that end, the inside cover of this insert contains a list of resource persons and telephone numbers.