Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund
2. Description of the support fund
- 2.1. Background
- 2.2. Logic of the Support Fund
- 2.3. Management Structure
- 2.4. Resources
2. Description of the Support Fund
This section describes the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund. It includes a description of the background to the creation of the Support Fund, the ways in which the activities it funds are connected, the anticipated outcomes of those activities, its management structure, and the financial resources that the Department has invested in it.
2.1. Background
The Support Fund is a direct outgrowth of the implementation of the Action Plan for Official Languages, introduced by the federal government in March 2003. The Action Plan was to enable the Department of Justice to tackle a number of issues relating directly to official languages. This subsection describes the background of the Support Fund in greater detail.
Justice-related Objectives of the Action Plan
The federal government followed the introduction of the Action Plan with an investment of $45.5 million over five years to address three subjects that relate directly to the exercise of language rights in the justice system:
- First, the Department adopted a strategy to ensure that the Legislative Instruments Re‑enactment Act was implemented effectively. The purpose of that Act is to remedy a procedural defect in the enactment of legislative instruments that were initially enacted in only one official language.
- Second, the Department continued its efforts to ensure that all applicable language rights are respected in implementing the Contraventions Act.
- Third, the Department was authorized to invest
"$18.5 million in targeted measures aimed at improving access to the justice system in both official languages"
.[3]
The Department created the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, the subject of this evaluation, to give effect to the third objective.
Access to Justice in Both Official Languages: A Documented Problem
Over the years, several studies have identified problems associated with access to justice in both official languages:
- In 1995 and 1999, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages published two studies relating to the use of English and French in the federal courts.[4] The authors stressed the importance of existing legislation that allowed for the use of both official languages in the federal courts, but added that there are still many issues to be dealt with if these services are to be available in reality:
"In addition to recognizing formal rights and statutory duties, we have emphasized that practical measures should be undertaken which diminish possible barriers to the use of one or the other official language."
[5] - In 2002, the Department published an environmental scan relating to access to justice in both official languages.[6] That study points out that the shortage of bilingual personnel and the costs and additional time associated with trials and proceedings in the minority official language still prevent some members of official language minority communities from having equal access to the justice system.
In the background, a series of decisions were being made by the courts, and in particular the Supreme Court of Canada, that clarified the scope of rights relating to access to justice in both official languages. In its 1999 decision in R. v. Beaulac, the Supreme Court of Canada reiterated that governments have an obligation to address the administrative difficulties involved in the administration of the courts so that English and French could be genuinely equal where there are provisions in that regard that assign them equal status:
I wish to emphasize that mere administrative inconvenience is not a relevant factor. The availability of court stenographers and court reporters, the workload of bilingual prosecutors or judges, the additional financial costs of rescheduling are not to be considered because the existence of language rights requires that the government comply with the provisions of the Act by maintaining a proper institutional infrastructure and providing services in both official languages on an equal basis. As mentioned earlier, in the context of institutional bilingualism, an application for service in the language of the official minority language group must not be treated as though there was one primary official language and a duty to accommodate with regard to the use of the other official language. The governing principle is that of the equality of both official languages.[7]
The primary objective of the Support Fund is thus to contribute to improving access to the justice system in both official languages, while recognizing the division of powers in relation to the administration of justice and the diverse constitutional, statutory and administrative provisions relating to official languages in the courts.
2.2. Logic of the Support Fund[8]
The Support Fund provides funding for a range of activities designed to contribute to achieving objectives associated with access to the justice system in both official languages. This subsection describes the underlying logic of the Support Fund, which is illustrated in Figure 2 on page 11.
Like the objective it represents, the logic model is a management tool that will change over time, and so the logic model set out on page 10 represents an update of the 2003 model included in the Results-based Management and Accountability Framework. Although the activities described in both cases reflect the objectives and methods associated with the Support Fund, as set out in the authorizing documents, the current logic model clarifies how one set of outcomes leads to the next.
2.2.1. Goals and Objectives
The aim of the Support Fund is essentially to strengthen the capacity of people and institutions in the justice system to offer services in both official languages and to participate in making the official language communities aware of their rights in this regard. More specifically, the Support Fund aims to increase the capacity of those people and institutions to develop innovative solutions to emerging issues relating to access to justice in both official languages, and to raise awareness among the legal and official languages minority communities concerning the exercise of OLMCs' rights and the issues relating to access to justice in both official languages.
The nature and scope of those objectives reflect the fact that the administration of the courts is largely a matter under provincial jurisdiction, and that raising awareness in official language minority communities is a community process. The Department has therefore adopted a catalyst role, largely aiming to increase the capacity of the actors involved in access to justice in both official languages.
2.2.2. Activities and Outputs
The Support Fund is expected to fund three types of activities:
- The Fund will provide financial and administrative support for the advisory committees of community and government partners. The Department's role is, therefore, to coordinate the following structures:
- the Advisory Committee–Justice in Official Languages, whose mandate is to act as liaison between the Department of Justice and legal and official language minority stakeholders. The Committee is composed of six members, from the Department of Justice Canada (Office of Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism, and the Program Branch) and organizations that speak for official language communities (Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française du Canada, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, and Quebec Community Group Network). As a rule, the Committee meets twice a year.
- The Department has also established two subcommittees:
- The first deals specifically with issues of access to justice in both official languages. There may be 30 to 40 participants, with representatives of the Department of Justice, organizations that speak for the official languages communities, jurilinguistic centres, law faculties and Francophone affairs officials in the provinces and territories. It is expected that members of the subcommittees will coordinate their activities, exchange information and identify needs for tools to be developed, and they may identify other stakeholders. This subcommittee holds one meeting a year.
- The second subcommittee deals specifically with implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act. It is divided into two components: one for the Anglophone community in Quebec and one for the Francophone and Acadian communities in the rest of Canada. The two working groups include representatives of the Department of Justice and the official language communities. Their work is aimed at raising awareness and facilitating the exchange of information, and liaison on issues relating to promoting the official language communities and enhancing their vitality, as set out in Section 41 of the Official Languages Act.[9]
- The Department also funds the activities of the ederal-Provincial-Territorial (F-P-T) Working Group on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages, which is composed of representatives of the Department of Justice (Office of Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism, Official Languages Working Group, and Contraventions) and of the provincial and territorial governments. The F-P-T Working Group was created to enable the federal, provincial and territorial governments to coordinate their efforts and share information relating to access to justice in both official languages.
- The Support Fund provides core funding to the associations of French-speaking jurists. In this regard, the Department's role is to sign contribution agreements with the Fédération nationale des associations de juristes d'expression française (FAJEF) and with each of the seven FAJEF member associations at the provincial level. Core funding is allocated in recognition of the fact that the mandate and activities of those organizations are closely connected with the Department's legal or socio-legal mandate, objectives and priorities.
- The Support Fund also provides funding to eligible organizations for projects relating to access to justice in both official languages. In this regard, the Department's role is to sign contribution and grant agreements with eligible organizations, a list that includes community groups (including associations of French-speaking jurists), provincial, territorial, regional and municipal government agencies, and educational institutions (including jurilinguistic centres). The types of projects that are funded essentially fall into three categories:
- Projects that support the practice of law in the minority language: The purpose of these projects is to create tools that can be used by people involved in the practice of law in the minority language. For example, these projects may result in the creation of tools for the common law in French or the civil lawin English, for standardizing French common law vocabulary, for holding workshops and training sessions for Francophone lawyers who practise common law, or for developing related training materials.
- Projects to raise awareness in the official language communities: The purpose of these projects is to make the public more aware of issues relating to access to justice in both official languages, including through public legal education activities. For example, these projects may result in information sessions, public consultations or the creation of Web sites.
- Structuring projects: The purpose of these projects is to increase the ability of non-governmental organizations to meet the needs of Canadians, including members of official language minority communities, in relation to issues involving access to justice in both official languages. For example, these projects may result in the development of organizational plans, awareness-raising among stakeholders, and networking activities.
2.2.3. Anticipated Outcomes
It is expected that the activities identified in the preceding subsection will help to achieve three results in the short term:
- More collaboration among partners in relation to access to justice in both official languages: It is expected that through the advisory committees, and by providing greater financial stability for the associations of French-speaking jurists, for example, the stakeholders involved in issues relating to access to justice in both official languages will work in close partnership.
- Increased capacity on the part of recipients to take action on issues relating to access to justice in both official languages: It is expected that through core funding and project funding, non-governmental stakeholders will have greater financial and organizational stability. Those organizations will then be in a better position to take on the full extent of their role, for example in dealing with government organizations and official language communities.
- Eligible projects are carried out: It is expected that through the contribution agreements funded by the Support Fund, for example, concrete projects will be carried out so that problems associated with access to justice in both official languages can be addressed.
These short-term outcomes are intended to contribute to achieving a medium-term outcome:
Greater access by official language communities to services relating to access to justice. Essentially, it is expected that the Support Fund will consolidate the network of stakeholders concerned with access to justice in both official languages, that it will enable all community and government stakeholders to work in close cooperation, and that it will allow for projects that are regarded as relevant for addressing the problems identified to be initiated. In turn, it is expected that these achievements will lead to improved access to justice services in both official languages. While official language minority communities cannot be compelled to use these services, the Department can ensure that they are offered better access—which is the reason the Support Fund exists.
In the long term, the Support Fund should contribute to two main outcomes:
- A public and a legal community that are better informed about the exercise of their rights and about issues relating to access to justice in both official languages.
- A justice system that is capable of offering services in both official languages.
2.3. Management Structure
Two groups within the Department of Justice share management of the Support Fund (see Figure 1):
- The Office of Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism is responsible for managing and coordinating all Support Fund activities. Among its responsibilities are overseeing the work of the various advisory committees, participating in defining the orientations of the Support Fund, and reporting on all Support Fund activities.
- The Innovation, Analysis and Integration Directorate is responsible for managing all contribution agreements signed under the terms of the Support Fund. This directorate manages the submission, awarding and reporting process for the contribution agreements.
A selection committee composed of members of the two groups is responsible for reviewing funding applications to determine whether projects are eligible for, and recommend whether they be funded under, the Support Fund.
Figure 1. Support Fund Management Structure
[ Description ]
Figure 2. Logic Model of the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund
2.4. Resources
The federal government has allocated $24,587,394 to the Department of Justice over five years to support the implementation of Support Fund activities.[10] Nearly two thirds of that amount was allocated to project funding (credit 5). In addition to funding full-time equivalents and other internal expenses, the operations budget was used to support the advisory committees' activities. Table 1 shows the breakdown of that figure for each fiscal year.
| Components | 2003-2004 | 2004-2005 | 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wages and benefits1 | 819,148 | 1,071,454 | 1,071,454 | 1,071,454 | 1,042,268 | 5,075,778 |
| Other O&M2 | 863,188 | 732,927 | 758,525 | 769,125 | 753,098 | 3,876,863 |
| Subtotal (credit 1) | 1,682,336 | 1,804,381 | 1,829,979 | 1,840,579 | 1,795,366 | 8,952,641 |
| Grants | 200,000 | 200,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 550,000 |
| Contributions | 3,332,311 | 3,223,901 | 2,848,147 | 2,837,547 | 2,842,847 | 15,084,753 |
| Subtotal (credit 5) | 3,532,311 | 3,423,901 | 2,898,147 | 2,887,547 | 2,892,847 | 15,634,753 |
| Total3 | 5,214,647 | 5,228,282 | 4,728,126 | 4,728,126 | 4,688,213 | 24,587,394 |
Source : Support Fund official documents
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