Implementation of section 41 of the Official Languages Act

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Five-Year Action Plan 2005-2010

Appendix - Detailed measures by component

This Appendix contains the detailed measures proposed for:

• The Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism, which coordinates the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, Community Component;

• The five Department of Justice components identified as priorities for the implementation of Section 41, Community Component, i.e.:

  1.   the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Fund;

  2.   the Youth Justice Renewal Initiative;

  3.   the Public Legal Education and Information Component;

  4.   the Child-centred Family Justice Strategy;

  5.   the Family Violence Initiative (Justice Component).

• The Regional and Departmental Program and Policy Coordinators for Section 41, Community Component.

Office of la Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism

The Office of the Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism coordinates the following activities relating to the development of Official Language Minority Communities:

• The activities of the Department of Justice relating to the Canadian Francophonie;
• The institutional activities of the Department of Justice relating to international Francophonie;
• The implementation of Part VII of the Official Languages Act;
• The promotion and implementation of Canada’s legal duality at the national and international levels.
• The promotion of access to justice in both official languages (support fund, consultation mechanism and terminology standardization).

Website: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/franc/

Measures proposed for 2005-2010

• Ensure the strategic planning of the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act using Reports on Plans and Priorities, Departmental Performance Reports or Status Reports, Business Plans and other corporate reports.
• Organize an awareness-raising campaign at the national and regional levels for Department directors, managers and employees regarding the Department’s accountability with regards to Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, working together with the coordinators for Section 41 of the five priority components of the Department.
• Encourage active participation by Department employees in the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie organized by the Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism.
• Work with federal departments and agencies working in the area of justice to implement initiatives in support of the development of Official Language Minority Communities. Among other measures, the Department will explore the possibility of entering into formal interdepartmental partnerships.
• Attend Parliament committee sessions on official languages (House of Commons Committee and Senate Committee) and publish a report of its work to inform appropriate stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain a new website dedicated to the implementation of Section 41 at the Department of Justice.
• Research and prepare quarterly mailings to communities in order to keep them informed of departmental initiatives, with the help of Regional Coordinators and Program and Policy Coordinators. These mailings are sent to some 200 groups from Official Language Minority Communities. They allow the Department to promote its products and services and to inform communities on matters of interest, deadlines for project applications and contacts at the national, provincial, territorial and regional levels. They also allow the Department to disseminate the various plans, reports, minutes and bulletins on the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act.
• Inform main clients, i.e. Official Language Minority Communities, regarding the renewal of programs and services according to the new structures, if applicable.
• Implement an effective and ongoing collaboration between federal and provincial-territorial government levels, including through mechanisms such as the federal-provincial-territorial Working Group on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages.
• In cooperation with Communications, create promotional tools on the role of the Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism to inform Official Language Minority Communities. The Office also plans to adopt a new visual identity (signature or logotype) and develop a new set of tools that will be distributed as part of an awareness-raising campaign and the general annual meetings of organizations from these communities.
• Use minority medias to promote the Office, the Department’s mandate and other relevant information concerning departmental programs and services. For its distribution and media placement needs, the Office uses the services of OPSCOM, associated with the Association de la presse Francophone, which represents 30 weekly French-language publications outside Quebec, and the services of the Quebec Community Newspaper Association.
• Write news articles for the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Bulletin 41-42, which is widely distributed throughout the network of Section 41 coordinators and to Official Language Minority Communities.
• Take an active part in the annual general meetings of official language minority community organizations.
• Set up and maintain consultation mechanisms with Official Language Minority Communities. The Office will call upon the Advisory Committee and the Advisory Sub-Committees (Access to Justice in Both Official Languages and Community Component of Section 41), as well as the federal-provincial-territorial Working Group on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages, as the main means of disseminating key issues and enlist the participation of various stakeholders in the dialogue on these issues.
• Coordinate the implementation of the Action Plan and manage the Network of Regional and Departmental Program and Policy Coordinators.
• Coordinate the updating of the Action Plan and prepare the Status Report with coordinators.
• Provide strategic and operational opinions, advice and information regarding Section 41 to the Department’s program managers and senior managers.
• Take part in the drafting of plans, Memoranda to Cabinet, policy statements, working documents, briefing notes, speeches and other materials on the Official Languages Act (Part VII) for the Minister of Justice, the Deputy Minister, the Assistant Deputy Minister, the General Counsel and the Department’s senior management.
• Maintain up to date the list of community organizations for distribution to government and other stakeholders. This list includes organizations by field of interest or target group (youth, women, etc.) and by province.

Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund

The overall goal of the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund is to create an increasingly relevant and accessible justice system that will meet the needs of Canadians by ensuring better access to justice in both official languages. The overall objectives of the Support Fund are as follows:

• Increase the capacity of the Department’s partners to develop innovative solutions to emerging issues related to access to justice in both official languages.
• Raise awareness among the legal community and Official Language Minority Communities on the exercise of their rights and the issues related to access to justice in both official languages. 

The reach of the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund includes provincial and territorial governments, the legal community including bar associations, non-government organizations and the academic community (universities and centers for jurilinguistics and law research).  These are primary players in community projects of interest, by offering services and resources of all types and by taking part in the sharing of information.

Website: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/pb-dgp/prog/olsf-fajlo.html

Measures proposed for 2005-2010

• Make sure the objectives of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act are taken into account by the Fund’s project selection committee, and fund projects that support these objectives.
• Sign contribution agreements with the provinces and territories and with non-government organizations that support the development of communities in the area of access to justice in both official languages.
• Make sure the objectives of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act are taken into account in discussions with provincial and territorial governments as part of the federal-provincial-territorial Working Group on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages.
• Form partnerships with other departmental programs that contribute to the Fund’s objectives and to the improvement of access to justice in both official languages, in order to coordinate the support, financial and otherwise, for projects that meet the objectives of more than one departmental program.
• Organize the annual meetings of the Advisory Committee and the Sub-Committee, Access to Justice in Both Official Languages and distribute the minutes of these meetings to appropriate stakeholders. The Advisory Committee and Sub-Committee include representatives from community groups and senior officials from the Department’s Policy and Program Sector.
• Entertain direct links with the main stakeholders in the area of access to justice in both official languages, particularly through the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund. These stakeholders include provincial associations of French-speaking lawyers and their national federation, universities and governments. Linkages will be maintained using various means, e.g. website, attending and organizing meetings, etc.
• Develop and implement a communication strategy for all stakeholders in the area of access to justice in both official languages including Justice Canada employees. This strategy will include the design and active distribution of an information kit on the promotion of access to justice in both official languages and its main stakeholders, as well as the dissemination of information through the new website dedicated to the implementation of Section 41 at the Department of Justice.
• Disseminate information to Official Language Minority Communities concerning the different project funding possibilities under the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund.
• Encourage the establishment of partnerships between designated PLEI organizations in each province, the French-speaking lawyers associations or the Anglophone legal community in Quebec and the Official Language Minority Communities.

Youth Justice Renewal Initiative

The Youth Justice Renewal Fund was set up to facilitate, help and support the successful implementation of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Youth Justice Renewal Initiative. The Fund is aimed specifically at promoting greater involvement by citizens and communities in the youth justice system.  The Fund helps reinforce and increase participation by a large number of organizations, associations and community groups who are directly or indirectly involved in youth justice because they serve the needs of youth who come into conflict with the law.

Please note that the Terms and Conditions of the Program (Youth Justice Renewal Fund) expire on March 31, 2005.  The Youth Justice Policy Section is currently seeking Treasury Board approval for renewal of the Fund’s Terms and Conditions in order to continue the program’s activities as of April 1, 2005).

Website: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/yj-jj/

Measures proposed for 2005-2010

• Ensure Section 41 of the Official Languages Act is understood and recognized by offering information/awareness-raising sessions on the application of Section 41 to the following groups within the Department of Justice:
  • the team responsible for the Initiative;
  • the Coordinating Committee of Senior Officials -Youth Justice (Federal-Provincial-Territorial Group);
  • the Interdepartmental Working Group on Youth Justice.
• Include a component relating to Section 41 in the application form to submit projects to the Public Legal Education and Information component.
• Add a Section on the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act on the Initiative’s Internet (web) site.
• Include relevant information on the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act in the call for proposals and in the information kit sent to all groups who may be eligible for funding under the Initiative.
• Communicate with Official Language Minority Communities organizations to alert them to funding opportunities (i.e.  calls for proposals).  In this respect, make a concerted effort to provide this information to organizations that offer services to youth from Official Language Minority Communities.
• Contribute to the quarterly mail-outs to Official Language Minority Communities organizations via the Office of the Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism, and utilize this vehicle to disseminate information on the Initiative’s communications and educational materials. 
• Invite Official Language Minority Communities organizations to participate in consultations to develop policies under the Initiative that may have an impact on these communities, where applicable.
• Influence the provinces and territories to take Section 41 into consideration in federal-provincial-territorial agreements on youth justice.
• Encourage the establishment of partnerships between designated Public Legal Education and Information organizations in each province, the French-speaking lawyers associations or the Anglophone legal community in Quebec and the Official Language Minority Communities.

Public Legal Education and Information Component

The Public Legal Education and Information activities (PLEI) aim to provide Canadians with information aboutthe laws and how it affects them so that they can make informed decisions and participate effectively in the justice system. These activities contribute to guarantee that Canada has an accessible and responsive system of justice.

To this end, the Department of Justice of Canada provides core funding on an annual basis to one Public Legal Education and Information organization in each province, selected jointly by the province and the Department. This organization provides justice-related information and education activities that help community members understand their rights and responsibilities in the area of justice. This funding is in accordance to the terms and conditions of the Justice Partnership and Innovations Funds.  Core funding is limited to these designated organizations.  In the North West Territories, Nunavut and Yukon, Public Legal Education and Information activities are delivered under Access to Justice Agreements concluded between each territorial government and the Department of Justice of Canada.

Furthermore, the Department can provide funding to non governmental organizations for projects that provides public legal education and information activities under other components of the Department namely: the Justice Partnership and Innovation Fund, the Victim Fund, the Family Violence Initiative, the Youth Justice Renewal Initiative, the Child Centred Family Justice Strategy and the Access to Justice in both Official Languages Support Fund.

Website: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/pb/prog/legal_ed.html

Measures proposed for 2005-2010

• Encourage the establishment of partnerships between designated PLEI organizations in each province, and French-speaking lawyers associations or the Anglophone legal community in Quebec and the Official Language Minority Communities.
• Sensitize the Public Legal Education Association of Canada (PLEAC) to the needs of the Official Language Minority Communities and to encourage them to invite the Fédération des associations de juristes d’expression française and the French-speaking Lawyers Associations to their annual general meeting.
• Inform the designated Public Legal Education and Information Organisations of the Five-year Action Plan and of their role in the Action Plan.

Contemplated Measures for project funding in accordance to various funding programs of the Department for 2005-2010

• Disseminate information to the Official Language Minority Communities concerning the different project funding possibilities under the Justice Partnership and Innovation Fund.
  

Child-centred Family Justice Strategy

The Child-centred Family Justice Strategy is composed of three pillars: reform of the Divorce Act; ongoing support for the successful delivery of services in the area of family justice; the promotion of family court models that meet the needs and circumstances of separated and divorced families (unified courts).

The Child-centred Family Justice Fund supports Child-centred Family Justice programs and services offered by the provinces and territories and by non-government organizations.

Website: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/pad-rpad/about-apropos/

Measures proposed for 2005-2010

(Note: the current program cycle ends in 2007-2008)

• Ensure Section 41 of the Official Languages Act is understood and recognized by offering information/awareness-raising sessions on the application of Section 41 within the Justice Department to all key employees in units working on the implementation of the Strategy:
  • Family, Children and Youth Section Coordinators;
  • Program Analysts from the Program Development Unit;
  • Federal-Provincial-Territorial Coordinating Committee of Senior Officials (Family Justice).
• Inform Official Language Minority Communities that the Child-centred Family Justice Strategy also can fund programs and services in both official languages, in three areas:
  • Family justice initiatives: This component supports provincial and territorial programs and services in the area of family justice designed to help parents settle issues involving child support, support enforcement and parental agreements (parental agreements and orders, personal contact orders, custody orders and visitation rights). The funds will be transferred in accordance with the distribution agreements negotiated with each province and territory.
  • Pilot projects: A smaller portion of the funding will go to pilot projects that provincial and territorial governments will submit, aimed at developing, implementing and evaluating innovative services in the area of family justice.
  • Public Legal Education and Information and Professional Training: Non-government agencies will have access to grants or contributions to implement projects aimed at informing the Canadian population, including legal communities, regarding parental agreements, guidelines on child support and support enforcement measures. Funding applications submitted for this type of project must have the support of the provincial or territorial governments concerned.
• In cooperation with Communications, create promotional or information tools on the role of the Child-centred Family Justice Strategy to inform Official Language Minority Communities.
• Ensure that the research undertaken by the Strategy will increase knowledge within the community in the area of family justice regarding specific matters, including regarding family situations in Official Language Minority Communities. This knowledge will enlighten discussions about policies and programs, help develop or perfect policies and programs and help clarify laws.
• Implement the commitment to support and promote the development and maintenance of family justice services in order to improve access to the family justice system in both official languages. This objective will be made possible through funding available under the Child-centred Family Justice Fund. Through the Advisory Sub Committee – Access to Justice in both Official Languages Communities will be consulted regarding the appropriate methodology to be used to implement this commitment, taking their priorities in to account.
• Disseminate information to the Official Language Minority Communities concerning the different project funding possibilities under the Child-Centre Family Justice Strategy.
• Encourage the establishment of partnerships between designated PLEI organizations in each province, the French-speaking lawyers associations or the Anglophone legal community in Quebec and the Official Language Minority Communities.

Unified Family Courts

Unified Family Courts (UFCs) consolidate jurisdiction over all family justice related matters within one level of court (the provincial superior court) which allows the court to take a holistic approach to each family’s situation. The structure of the UFC offers support services that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but typically include parent education and mediation programs and other court-related services.

Measures proposed for 2005-2010

• Ask provinces and territories, in the development of their proposals, to consider the improvement of access to the family justice system in both official languages, particularly in relation to family justice services.
• Seek to achieve a better understanding of the UFC model and its associated services within Official Language Minority Communities through the participation of the Bench, the Bar and the other stakeholders in the development of proposals.
• Ask jurisdictions to form partnerships with federal officials and courts to collect and analyze the information needed to evaluate the United Family Court model. An element of the UFC evaluation includes change in the improvement of access to justice in both official languages. However, it is important to note that this evaluation will be completed only in 2007-2008.
  

Family Violence Initiative

The mandate of the Department of Justice of Canada regarding the Family Violence Initiative is to improve the criminal justice system’s response to family violence. The activities undertaken by the Department in this area include policy development, law reform, research, project funding and public legal education and information.

Website: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/fv-vf/

Measures proposed for 2005-2010

Relevant to funding program

• Include relevant information on the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act in the Initiative information kit.
• Add a section on the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act on the Initiative’s website.
• Make a presentation to Official Language Minority Communities on the Family Violence Initiative. Target especially the members of ethno cultural communities, immigrants and refugees and encourage cooperation between immigrant women groups and organizations from Official Language Minority Communities.
• Use existing information on Official Language Minority Communities, (e.g. the list of organizations from these communities) when evaluating project funding to encourage partnership or to ensure that the project meets the needs of Official Language Minority Communities, where applicable.
• Assist the Official Language Minority Communities in the preparation of their funding applications.
• Disseminate information to the Official Language Minority Communities concerning the different project funding possibilities under the Family Violence Initiative.
• Encourage the establishment of partnerships between designated PLEI organizations in each province, the French-speaking lawyers associations or the Anglophone legal community in Quebec and the Official Language Minority Communities.

Relevant to policy analysts

• Raise awareness of the federal-provincial-territorial Working Group on Family Violence on the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act.
• Promote understanding and recognitionof Section 41 of the Official Languages Act at a meeting of the Departmental Family Violence Committee.

Measures for Regional and Departmental Program and Policy Coordinators

The following measures apply to Regional and Departmental Coordinators for Section 41, Community Component, within the Department of Justice:

• Answer specific requests from community stakeholders for information regarding departmental activities and convey relevant departmental information to these organizations.
• Once a year, meet the organization representing each province and territory and the association of lawyers in each province and territory where such an organization exists.
• Participate in meetings between the Official Languages Law Group and senior management at the regional level for a presentation on the Department’s requirements regarding the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act.
• Meet regional policy units, if applicable, to raise awareness regarding the implementation of Section 41 of the Act.

In addition, in three provinces, regional coordinators will undertake the following specific measures in 2005-2006:

Saskatchewan

• Attend the annual meeting of the Association des juristes d’expression française de la Saskatchewan and of the Association Fransaskoise. 
• Prepare, participate in and conduct appropriate follow-ups to the forum scheduled in 2005 on access to justice in French in Saskatchewan. This forum aims to develop the bases of a five-year action plan on French-language legal services in the province. The Department’s specific outputs for the Saskatchewan region will be identified following this forum.

Manitoba

• Attend the annual meeting of the Association des juristes d’expression française du Manitoba as well as the annual meeting of the Société Franco-Manitobaine. The Justice Department will present the Strategic Plan for the Implementation of Section 41 as well as the objectives and terms of certain programs identified as priorities.
• Support the preparation of a linguistic rights dossier that will be part of the Human Rights Museum to be erected in Winnipeg.

Ontario

• Take part in the Advisory Committee set up by the Ontario Justice Department in order to develop a provincial strategic plan in the area of access to justice in both official languages in this province. The Department’s specific outputs will be identified during the development of this strategic plan.
• Participate in the Advisory Committee on official Languages, Ontario Federal Council, organized by Canadian Heritage.

 

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