Review on Official Languages 2015-2016

Development of official-language minority communities and promotion of English and French in Canadian society (Part VII of the OLA)

Ongoing Dialogue

38. How does your institution ensure that it is aware of the priorities and needs of French‑speaking communities outside Quebec and English‑speaking communities in Quebec and that it takes them into account?

Please specify:

  1. The mechanisms used.
  2. The organizations/communities whom you were in contact with.

How these priorities were taken into account?

Answer:

Justice Canada’s obligations under the Official Languages Act are stated in its Program Alignment Architecture. The 2011-2016 Action Plan for the Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act (the 2011-2016 Action Plan) reiterates these obligations and must be read in conjunction with them. In order to understand and recognize the needs and priorities of official language minority communities (OLMC), this action plan sets out consultation mechanisms in the Department's areas of activity. Among other things, the 2011-2016 Action Plan aims to mobilize stakeholders to facilitate access to justice in official languages and establish nation-wide partnerships.

a. Methods Used

To reach its strategic objectives, Justice Canada, through the Official Languages Directorate (OLAD), coordinates the activities of the Advisory Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages (the Advisory Committee), whose mandate is to maintain relationships between the Department and the legal and community sectors. In doing so, the Department provides positive leadership with the various stakeholders working in access to justice in both official languages.

With regard to the Department's official languages commitment, there is another consultation mechanism set out in the 2011-2016 Action Plan: the Departmental Network of Coordinators for the Implementation of Section 41 (Network 41). The work of Network 41 aims to raise awareness in Department of Justice employees to the OLMC needs and priorities and allow for information exchanges and liaison activities on departmental matters involving the promotion and development of these communities. To this end, members of Network 41 make themselves available to OLMCs to answer specific questions on request or participate in liaison and professional development activities.

In addition to the above-noted initiatives, the Programs Branch at Justice Canada maintains close ties with OLMCs through agreements for projects subsidized by the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund (the Support Fund) and, to a certain extent, projects funded through the Victims Fund, the Supporting Families Experiencing Separation and Divorce Fund, the Youth Justice Fund and the Family Violence Initiative.

b. Organizations/Communities with which Justice Canada Has Been in Contact:

The Advisory Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages brings together representatives from the federal government, universities and the following community organizations:

Canadian non-profit organizations
Teaching institutions/Jurilinguistic centres
Government organizations and other institutions
c. Manner in which Justice Canada Has Taken these Priorities into Consideration

Justice Canada addresses OLMC priorities and needs by following the Roadmap for Canada's Official Languages 2013-2018 (the Roadmap), in particular through funding from the Support Fund, and by holding consultations to improve service delivery.

Since 2012, the Advisory Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages has organized meetings with OLMC representatives. In 2014, the Advisory Committee's meeting addressed various subjects including the perspective of Quebec's Anglophone community on access to justice, creating legal information centres for the Francophone minority, the government response to the parliamentary review of Part XVII of the Criminal Code and training for judicial stakeholders. The Advisory Committee learned of the OLMC’s priorities at panels and roundtables organized for that purpose. Representatives from the communities had the opportunity to share their opinions on the following themes:

The discussions also addressed the following:

As a follow up to the consultation sessions with the communities, the various comments collected by the Advisory Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages will be taken into consideration when a new departmental plan is developed for the implementation of section 41 and the renewal of the Roadmap.

In 2015-2016, Network 41 members made themselves available to OLMC members to answer specific questions and keep them informed about services provided by Justice Canada at the following community and professional activities:

Journée fransaskoise du droit, organized by the Association des juristes d’expression française de la Saskatchewan (March 2016).

Journée de réflexion sur l’immigration francophone, organized by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA) (March 2016).

Ist Anniversary of the Ottawa Legal Information Centre, organized by the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (January 2016).

Annual General Meeting and Terminology Workshop, organized by the Association des juristes d’expression française de la Saskatchewan (December 2015).

Annual General Meeting of the Association des juristes d’expression française du Manitoba (November 2015).

Lancement du Centre d’information juridique de Régina, organized by the Association des juristes d’expression française de la Saskatchewan (November 2015).

Annual General Meeting of the Société franco-manitobaine (October 2015).

Grand Rassemblement de l’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (October 2015).

Annual General Meeting of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (October 2015).

Annual General Meeting and celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Association des juristes francophones de l’Alberta (June 2015).

36th Annual Convention and Annual General Meeting of the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (held as part of the conference entitled “Du Canada à la Louisiane : une justice multiple, un français vivant”, organized by the AJEFO) (June 2015).

Annual General Meeting of the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) (June 2015)

Inauguration of the Centre albertain d’information juridique, organized by the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Alberta (April 2015).

Finally, sections 41, 42 and 43 of this Review give a detailed illustration of the initiatives that Justice Canada is conducting as part of the Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages 2013-2018.

Tangible Support

39. Did your institution provide support (financial or other types of support) for projects or initiatives that contributed to the development of official-language minority communities or to the promotion of English and French in Canadian society?

If yes, please:

  1. Describe these projects or initiatives.
  2. Identify which type(s) of support was provided (financial or other).
  3. Explain their impacts on the development of official-language minority communities and on the promotion of English and French in Canadian society.

Please indicate if your institution has other specific programs or initiatives that could be of interest to official-language minority communities.

Answer:

Justice Canada administers grants and provides direct funding to several segments of the population, including official language minority communities (OLMC) through the following programs:

1. Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund

The initiatives that are funded by the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund directly address OLMC. This fund supports projects that contribute to improve access to justice in both official languages for all Canadians. For a detailed description of the mobilizing projects funded as part of this program, please consult sections 41, 42 and 43 of this Review.

Other Programs

2. Supporting Families Fund

This fund supports a range of services, programs and sources of information that facilitate access to the family justice system for families experiencing separation and divorce. An example of an initiative of the Supporting Families Fund that had positive results for OLMCs is included at section 43.

3. Victims Fund

This fund is the strategy of the federal government to assist victims of crime and aims to promote access to justice and the participation of victims in the justice system, among other things.

4. Justice Partnership and Innovation Program

This program supports activities that effectively respond to the diverse conditions influencing Canadian justice policy. The Program allows the Department to collaborate with outside agencies and other levels of government.

5. Family Violence Initiative

The main objective of the Family Violence Initiative is to deepen knowledge, promote the development and inform Canadians on issues related to family violence.

6. Youth Justice Fund

The aim of this fund is to establish special measures for violent young offenders and improve the system’s ability to rehabilitate and reintegrate them into society.

7. Contraventions Act Fund

The Contraventions Act Fund is a transfer payment program designed to provide funding to provinces, territories and municipalities where the Contraventions Act is implemented in order to undertake, on the government of Canada’s behalf, measures that ensure that language rights are respected in relation to the issuing and processing of contraventions tickets.

Key Collaborations

40. Did your institution collaborate with other federal institutions or stakeholders (municipalities, provinces, territories, private sector) as part of a program, project or other initiative aimed at the development of official-language minority communities or the promotion of English and French in Canadian society?

If yes, please:

Answer:

Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages

a. Description:

The Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group, or FPT Working Group, is one of the consultation mechanisms outlined in the 2011-2016 Action Plan. It is co-chaired by the Department of Justice and one representative from a province or territory who is a member of the working group. Its mandate is dedicated to issues related to the implementation of the language provisions of the Criminal Code, in particular Part XVII concerning the language of the accused. The working group’s role is to identify issues on access to justice in both official languages and exchange information on best practices in each of the jurisdictions. The FPT Working Group also plays an important role in promoting synergy in the establishment of interprovincial collaborative agreements.

b. Partners:

The FPT Working Group has close relationships with the following provinces and territories:

Government of Alberta
Justice and Solicitor General
Criminal Justice Division
Specialized Prosecutions Branch

Government of British Columbia
Ministry of Attorney General
Criminal Justice Branch

Prince Edward Island Government
Department of Environment, Labour and Justice
Justice Policy and Privacy Services

Government of Manitoba
Department of Justice
Prosecutions Services

Government of New Brunswick
Department of Justice and Office of the Attorney General
Policy & Planning Branch

Executive Council Office
Canadian Francophonie and Official Languages Branch

Government of Nova Scotia
Department of Justice
Court Services

Department of Justice
French-language Services

Government of Nunavut
Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth
French Services

Government of Ontario
Ministry of the Attorney General
French Language Services

Office of Francophones Affairs

Government of Quebec
Department of Justice

Government of Saskatchewan
Justice and Attorney General
Public Law Division

Executive Council
Francophone Affairs Branch

Government of Yukon
Department of Justice
Court Services

Government of North West Territories
Department of Justice

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Department of Justice
Public Safety

c. Tangible results:

At the last meeting of the FPT Working Group in November 2015, Justice Canada informed members of the actions taken with respect to the commitment of the Department, in particular with respect to the government response to the review of Part XVII of the Criminal Code by the House of Commons Committee on Justice and Human Rights. The FPT Working Group also looked at the issue of the language training for provincially appointed judges program, the availability of bilingual judicial resources and training for interpreters, translators and other judicial stakeholders.

At the meeting, members of the FPT Working Group were also asked to respond to two questionnaires. One questionnaire was conducted on behalf of the Réseau National de formation en justice as part of its study on training for interpreters and translators. The purpose of the second series of questions for provinces and territories was to identify issues related to the administration of criminal justice throughout the country, in particular on Bail Hearings.

Justice and Security Network

a. Description:

This group is made up of employees from federal institutions with mandates relating to justice and security. This network is another of the consultation mechanisms set out in the 2011-2016 Action Plan.

b. Partners:

The following federal institutions make up the membership of the Justice and Security Network:

c. Tangible results:

The contributions of the Department of Justice’s Official Languages Directorate to the work of the Justice and Security Network enable it to participate in sharing knowledge and best practices for the implementation of section 41 of the Official Languages Act.

Advisory Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages

The advisory work led by the Advisory Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages with OMLCs is described at section 38.

Tangible Results

The partners of the Roadmap 2013‑2018 must identify one initiative of the Roadmap 2013‑2018, and if applicable, one initiative "outside" of the Roadmap 2013‑2018.

41. If your institution had to highlight three key initiatives or more in relation to the development of official-language minority communities, which ones would those be?

  1. Describe these initiatives.
  2. What are the tangible impacts of these initiatives on/in the official-language minority communities?
  3. What do you think is the determining factor for the success of these initiatives?

Answer:

To foster the development of official language minority communities (OLMCs), the Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages 2013-2018: Education, Immigration, Communities, through the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, provides that the Department of Justice Canada will work with a network of partners to develop the concept of justice information hubs, it will facilitate the development of innovative online training tools and it will help provincial and territorial governments bridge gaps in bilingual service delivery, particularly when they apply, on behalf of the federal government, the Contraventions Act. To meet these objectives, Justice Canada is promoting the following key initiatives:

1. Justice information hubs

a. Description:

The primary purpose of the justice information hubs is to provide better information to Canadians about their rights and obligations and better equip them to deal with legal issues, all in the official language of their choice.

b. Tangible results:

The justice information hubs are a tangible result of a new approach that focuses on providing services, support and referrals to help people better understand the legal challenges they face or could face and be better equipped to deal with them. They help to increase the capacity and efficiency of the legal system by giving citizens’ access to a personalized service that complements the legal information available online. Furthermore, they provide a human, direct contact, with or without an appointment, at no cost and, above all, available in both official languages.

c. Determining success factor:

Justice information hubs represent a major and strategic federal investment for the purpose of informing, guiding and assisting citizens from official language minority communities (OLMCs). Furthermore, their purpose is perfectly in line with the mandate letter of the Minister of Justice, given the Government’s commitment to increasing and modernizing access to justice. Under the Roadmap for Official Languages 2013-2018, Justice Canada committed $1,204,682 in direct funding to the implementation of justice information hubs within the Associations de juristes d’expression française of Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. A fifth justice information hub is scheduled to be launched in Manitoba in 2016.

2. Legal information portals

In order to provide the public with up-to-date legal information in both French and English, the Department is supporting various community organizations in their efforts to disseminate legal information at no cost on the Internet. These are reliable legal resources that use modern information technology to spread knowledge without regard for geographic boundaries.

Jurisource.ca

a. Description:

A virtual library created by the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO). It provides a search engine capable of identifying thousands of resources, such as statutes, court decisions, studies, research, procedural templates and glossaries. The portal also offers a platform for collaboration and exchanges for distance learning.

b. Tangible results:

The Jurisource.ca portal offers a direct service to legal professionals who work in official language minority communities.

c. Determining success factor:

The aim of this project is to consolidate resources that would otherwise be scattered and fragmented. French-speaking jurists who practise or teach law will therefore have better access to the information and reference resources they need to practise their profession in French across Canada.

Éducaloi.qc.ca

a. Description:

Éducaloi is an organization whose mission is to inform citizens of their rights and obligations by providing them with quality legal information, made available in simple and accessible language. The organization develops on an ongoing basis a website that brings together legal information for Quebec’s Anglophone community.

b. Tangible results: 

While Éducaloi’s website is aimed at the whole of Quebec’s population, it is also widely consulted by members of the Anglophone and allophone community whose first official language spoken is English.

c. Determining success factor:

The resources, information and tools contained in the site are not simply translated, but adapted so that their content corresponds to the cultural references of the Anglophone community.

Cliquezjustice.ca

a. Description:

A web resource developed by the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO), Cliquezjustice.ca is a portal that provides legal information in French for the general public.

b. Tangible results:

It addresses the needs of the French-speaking population of Ontario, but also the needs of Francophones elsewhere in the country by being available at no cost on the Internet and as a result of the sharing of information with various stakeholders from other provinces. Thus, legal matters disseminated through this website are relevant for all Canadians.

c. Determining success factor:

The Cliquezjustice.ca, although designed to raise awareness among audiences, this portal disseminates educational resources specifically designed for elementary and secondary students. It also contains various legal resources and a search engine for teachers and guidance counsellors.

3. Contraventions Act Fund

a. Description :

Agreements associated with the enforcement of the Contraventions Act that have been signed between the federal government and provincial and municipal governments and include measures that support of OLMCs’ linguistic rights in relation to the issuing and processing of contraventions tickets.

b. Tangible results :

Approximately eighty percent (80%) of Canadians who are issued a contraventions ticket have access to services in both official languages in provinces and municipalities having an agreement in place with the federal government.

c. Determining success factor :

Since 2013, the federal government has renewed six agreements with the following jurisdictions to support the implementation of the Contraventions Act:

The partners of the Roadmap 2013‑2018 must identify one initiative of the Roadmap 2013‑2018, and if applicable, one initiative "outside" of the Roadmap 2013‑2018.

42. If your institution had to highlight three key initiatives or more in relation to the promotion of English and French in Canadian society (Please do not confuse with obligations related to Parts IV and V), which ones would those be?

  1. Describe these initiatives.
  2. What are the tangible impacts of these initiatives on the Canadian society?
  3. What do you think is the determining factor for the success of these initiatives?

Answer:

The Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages 2013-2018 (the Roadmap) supports the design and delivery of training programs to assist justice professionals in offering their services to Canadians in the official language of their choice. Consequently, training initiatives funded through the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund simultaneously reinforce two of the three pillars of action described in the Roadmap, namely education and communities, and enable Justice Canada to promote official languages in Canadian society in the following way:

1. Réseau national de formation en justice (RNFJ)

a. Description:

This network, which brings together the pre‑university and university community that provides French‑language instruction, makes high‑quality post‑secondary legal training in the official language of the minority possible and accessible and it offers also legal training opportunities in French for professionals already involved in the justice system. Ultimately, the RNFJ will have a positive and direct impact on the capacity of the justice system and its stakeholders to provide their services in both official languages.

b. Tangible effects:

Because of the RNFJ, professionals from 18 government, community and specialized post-secondary organizations benefit from legal training sessions. The network is responsible for developing a detailed training activity plan and coordinating its actions so as to maximize efficiency in offering training to justice stakeholders.

c. Determining success factor:

Through the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, Justice Canada provided funding in 2015-2016 to the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC) to support the operation of the RNFJ. The RNFJ plays a key role in development and post‑secondary education in the law and justice fields and ultimately increases OLMCs’ access to professional high quality services in their first official language.

2. Jurilinguistic centres

a. Description:

The jurilinguistic centres contribute to the vitality of Canada’s two official languages by creating lexicons, standardizing terminology or specialized legal vocabulary and adapting language tools to the Canadian bijural context. The centres are also active members of the RNFJ mentioned above.

b. Tangible effects:

In 2015-2016, through the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, Justice Canada provided the following organizations with $747,645 in funding:

c. Determining success factor:

The tools developed by the jurilinguistic centres are used by law professors, lawyers and legislative drafters at various levels of government. They can count on reliable reference material and have access to specialized terminology that has been standardized and updated by specialists working in both official languages and both Canadian legal traditions. These tools are essential references for conducting university research, writing pleadings or drafting laws and regulations. Finally, the work accomplished by the jurilinguistic centres contributes directly to the promotion of official languages through the production of lexicons in partnership with the Government of Canada:

The partners of the Roadmap 2013‑2018 must identify one initiative of the Roadmap 2013‑2018, and if applicable, one initiative "outside" of the Roadmap 2013‑2018.

43. What “key achievement” having a regional impact (success stories or results in official-language minority communities or on the promotion of English and French in Canadian society) would your institution like to highlight?

Answer:

1. La Passerelle – Intégration et développement économique de Toronto

As part of the Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages 2013-2018: Education, Immigration, Communities (the Roadmap), Justice Canada is supporting awareness and information activities aimed at young Francophone immigrants and their parents. These activities are initiatives put in place by La Passerelle – Intégration et développement économique de Toronto (La Passerelle) in collaboration with the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO) and the Fédération des associations de juristes d’expression française de common law (FAJEF). They consist of a series of workshops on various themes, such as the Canadian justice system, vandalism at school, family violence and student dropout. Although based in Toronto, La Passerelle offered its workshops in nine large cities in five separate provinces (Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia). This project strengthened ties between a number of organizations that assist newcomers who have settled in the various OLMCs. In addition, students enrolled in College Boréal’s legal assistant program in Sudbury and Toronto, themselves newcomers, co-facilitated the workshops, thus enhancing their knowledge, legal expertise and official language skills.

2. Families in Transition: Information for Youth

In addition to the Roadmap initiatives with a regional impact, we note the Families in Transition: Information for Youth program, an initiative funded by the Supporting Families Fund administered by Justice Canada. The purpose of this multi‑year project is to provide young people in Newfoundland and Labrador with age-adapted, easy to understand information about various family law issues so that they are better equipped to cope with the separation or divorce of their parents. Through Justice Canada’s Supporting Families Fund, the Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland (PLIAN) receives annual funding of approximately $59,454. This provides youth in the province with access to first‑hand information about custody, access, and child support and child protection procedures.

As a first step, the project planned to deliver nine workshops in English in locations near rural and Aboriginal communities. Multimedia training materials were specially designed to adapt the content to make it interactive, entertaining and accessible to a target audience between 11 and 16 years of age. In consultation with the Federation de francophones de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, the PLIAN adapted the content of the workshop and the supporting material to better respond to the needs and expectations of Francophone youth in the province. Last, the PLIAN made the orientation pamphlet “My Parents Live Apart”- “Mes parents ne vivent plus ensemble” available to the general public on the Internet.

150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation in 2017

The 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation is a unique opportunity for federal institutions to contribute to the development of official-language minority communities and to promote official languages.

44. Is your institution planning to contribute to the 150th anniversary of Confederation?

  1. If so, please describe the activities planned.
  2. Please identify any processes that are either underway or that your institution is planning to undertake in order to comply with the obligations set out in Part VII of the OLA (for example, consultations, impact analysis, use of specific official languages clauses, forming partnerships).
  3. Please identify the expected results.

Answer:

In 1998, the federal government organized the National Symposium on Canada’s Official Languages to mark the 10th anniversary of the 1988 Official Languages Act and the 20th anniversary of the Criminal Code provisions, including Part XVII (language of the accused). In connection with that event, Justice Canada developed and published the Annotated Language Laws of Canada. This book identified 398 constitutional, federal, provincial and territorial laws relating to the use of language in government institutions and in the private sector. Over the years, the book has become an essential reference not only for the legal profession but also for numerous other professionals because, in addition, it refers to at least 400 judgments, thus providing a better understanding of the legal principles that apply to language rights in Canada.

Because legislation and case law evolve, Justice Canada has been preparing since 2014 an update of this rich source of information as part of the celebrations surrounding Canada’s 150th anniversary. To that end, the Official Languages Directorate has begun an exhaustive update of the Annotated Language Laws of Canada. This new edition will be available on-line at no charge and will have a search engine for more effective searching of information. In partnership with the Justipedia team and the Treasury Board Secretariat, Justice Canada’s Official Languages Directorate plans to launch in 2017 the new edition of Annotated Language Laws of Canada on Justice’s Justipedia, the Government of Canada Open Data Initiative and CanLII platforms.

Through its participation in various forums, Justice Canada also plans on joining some initiatives organized by the legal and university community for Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation. Among these activities, we note participation in the celebrations for the 35th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.