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OBJECTIVE: To inform the public, and more specifically
the legal community and official language minority communities, regarding
language rights, particularly rights relating to the administration of
justice, and to raise awareness of those rights.
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PRINCIPAL MEASURES
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OUTPUTS 2002-2003
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- Take part in conferences, seminars and other educational
and training activities relating to language rights.
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- Participated in teaching and training activities at
the University of Ottawa.
- Publication of "Le Peuple franco-ontarien:
exploration du champ d'application et de la portée du droit à
l'autodétermination interne d'une minorité linguistique"
in La communauté franco-ontarienne – un peuple, ses droits
et son destin.
- Publication, in co-operation with the Treasury Board
Secretariat, of Official Languages Act of Canada Annotated.
- Delivery of a talk to the conference on language rights
organized by the University of Moncton and the Association des juristes
d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick.
- Publication of "D'égal à égal:
la réhabilitation du principe de l'égalité des
langues officielles et du principe de la progression vers l'égalité
de status du français et de l'anglais" (abridged version,
Revue Égalité, March 2003; complete version to
appear in the next issue of the Revue de common law en français).
- Delivery of a talk to the conference on "25 ans
de common law en français: une histoire à suivre"
at the Faculty of Law of the University of Moncton.
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PRINCIPAL MEASURES
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OUTPUTS 2002-2003
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- Appearance as project leader before the Senate Standing
Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs in its examination of
Bill S-41, An Act to re-enact legislative instruments enacted in
only one official language.
- Appearance as expert before the Standing Committee
of the House of Commons on Official Languages to discuss the implementation
of the Contraventions Act in Quebec.
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- Complete the guidelines on the language rights of accused
persons in criminal proceedings (sections 530, 530.1 and 841 (3) of
the Criminal Code) and have them distributed through POLAJ and the official
language minority associations of lawyers.
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- The guidelines for Crown counsel were completed and
received the Minister's final approval. They will very soon be included
in the Federal Prosecution Service Manual.
- A presentation on the new guidelines was given at the
Conference of Crown Counsel in Halifax in June 2002.
- A letter from the Associate Deputy Minister has been
sent to litigation directors. A présentation was made during
a videoconferences with the heads of regional litigation committees.
The supervisors or agents have been instructed to distribute the policy
to all agents when it is received from the printer. The Commissioner
of Official Languages has received a preliminary copy or the document.
Other publicity measures are currently being prepared.
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OBJECTIVE: To inform public servants, both inside
the Department and in the client departments, regarding language rights,
and raise their awareness of the importance of those rights.
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PRINCIPAL MEASURES
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OUTPUTS 2002-2003
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- Organize and take part in conferences, workshops and
other presentations designed to increase awareness of the language obligations
of federal institutions.
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- Preparation of work and information tools for officials
in the Department and other departments (for example, summaries of judicial
decisions on the subject of language rights).
- Presentation on the department's linguistic obligations
resulting from the use of the Internet in the JED/Access to Justice
group. Two training sessions have been offered concerning the language
requirements for incorporation by reference.
- Participation in the interdepartmental official languages
research group and the Interdepartmental Advisory Committee on Official
Languages.
- The position of the Department of Justice on Part VII
was distributed to the Department as a whole.
- Presentation to the management committee of Canadian
Heritage on Part VII and the Montfort Hospital judgment.
- Presentation on Part VII to the Champion of Official
Languages in DIAND.
- Presentation of the accountability framework at the
Deputy Ministers of Justice's Breakfast.
- Continuing legal training in the Department "Sortie
de sa langueur: la revitalisation du droit des langues officielles"
(English and French sessions).
- The chapter in the Civil Litigation Manual entitled
"Official Languages" was revised and updated.
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Assist the Legal Training Division in implementing a training
module for client departments on the Official Languages Act, and
see that the module is delivered.
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- The Official Languages Module of the Awareness of the
Law Program has been completed (March 2003; it is being translated into
English and will be distributed on CD-ROM).
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- Develop recommendations for action on the consultations
conducted based on the working document entitled "Towards a Consolidation
of Language Rights in the Administration of Justice in Canada",
submit them to the Minister and coordinate the implementation of the
recommendations approved by the Minister.
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- The Department's draft policies on access to justice
in both official languages were presented at federal-provincial-territorial
meetings held in June 2001 and June 2002.
- We have participated actively in the completion of
the major national study of the administration of justice (Environmental
Scan) commissioned by the Department of Justice. The objective of the
study was to provide a picture of the situation relating to legal and
judicial services in the minority official language and to determine
possible solutions geared to the specific needs of the provinces and
territories. The follow-up to this study forms part of the action plan
of the Minister responsible for co-ordination of the official languages,
Stéphane Dion.
- Development and launch of the Official Languages Action
Plan, including the components of the Official Languages Accountability
and Co-ordination Framework and the 'language rights' component in the
Department of Justice.
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OBJECTIVE: To support and coordinate various policy
initiatives designed to advance language rights in the administration
of justice and within the government.
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PRINCIPAL MEASURES
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OUTPUTS 2002-2003
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- Coordinate the government's response to the study entitled
"The equitable use of English and French before federal courts
and administrative tribunals exercising quasi-judicial powers",
published by the Commissioner of Official Languages in March 1999.
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- The OLLG initiated a number of meetings with the Treasury
Board Secretariat (TBS), Privy Council Office (PCO), Intergovernmental
Affairs and legal services in the Office of the Commissioner of Official
Languages to discuss the follow-up action to be taken on this study,
which will include possible creation of a working group involving all
the federal courts.
- A working group was assembled, consultations were held
and a conference on the administration of justice in both official languages
before federal courts was organised.
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- Coordinate and arrange the Department's participation
in the government's action plan responding to the recommendations of
the Fontaine and Savoie reports on government restructuring and its
effect on official languages programs.
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- Assistance to the Treasury Board Secretariat in developing
a policy on compliance with official languages requirements in the development
of large-scale government initiatives and programs, which led to the
adoption, in 2002, of the Policy on Alternative Delivery Policy.
Participation in the development and implementation of the Official
Languages Accountability and Coordination Framework in the context
of the Action Plan for Official Languages.
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Person responsible:
Marc Tremblay, General Counsel and Director, Official Languages Law Group
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