Implementation of section 41 of the Official Languages Act

The Department of Justice Canada and the Government Action Plan for Official Languages

The government's Action Plan for Official Languages was developed to support and promote linguistic duality in Canada. In order to do this, several key departments and agencies have been targeted as part of the Community Development component.

The Department of Justice is involved in the Action Plan in many ways. For example, the Department will work to improve access to justice in both official languages by 2008 (government's Action Plan for Official Languages, p.47). The Department has new funding to achieve this goal. The funds will be used to improve access to justice in both official languages and to fulfill the legal obligations brought about by the implementation of the Legislative Instruments Re-Enactment Act and the Federal Court decision in the matter of the Contraventions Act. Also, the Plan's Accountability and Coordination Framework for Official Languages confers an expanded role on the Department's Official Languages Law Group, which must ensure that all government policies, programs, initiatives and documents comply with the OLA and the Constitution.