IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 41 OF THE
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT

Progress Report 1999-2000

• Preamble
• Summary
• General Information
• Contacts
• Citizenship and Immigration Canada
  Progress Report 1999-2000
• Appendix: Acronyms used in this report

Preamble

Section 41 of the Official Languages Act (OLA) affirms the responsibility of federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations to give effect to the Government of Canada's statutory commitment to:

1. enhancing the vitality of the French and English linguistic minority communities and supporting and assisting their development; and;
2. fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is committed to the implementation of Section 41 of the OLA. We have prepared an progress report, which we believe contributes to the development of the Official-Language Minority (OLM) communities and addresses the concerns they have raised with our officials. This report also engages CIC employees throughout Canada and abroad to recognise and promote Canada's linguistic duality.

Summary

The Department's achievements to date reflect efforts to integrate Section 41 in the Departments policies, programs and operations. CIC continues to pursue and remains committed to strengthening its capacity to implement Section 41 of the OLA through measures taken at National Headquarters and the Department's international and Canadian regions. As the official languages champion for the Department, the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) -- Corporate Services continued to take measures which heightened awareness of CIC's responsibilities under the OLA. To ensure closer integration of official languages considerations within CIC's institutional culture, the ADM -- Corporate Services continued to promote awareness among all staff to ensure that departmental policies and programs reflected Section 41 of the OLA.

• As part of the legislative review process at CIC, proposals were made to introduce a new selection model (for highly skilled and adaptable independent immigrants) which reinforced the importance of possessing knowledge of one of Canada's official languages.
• During the course of the year, significant efforts were made to promote awareness of Canada's linguistic duality. OLM associations were offered access to CIC offices in Canada and abroad for the distribution of material that promotes and encourages the recognition of the French and English characters of Canadian society.
• Measures were undertaken by the ADM -- Corporate Services and the Department's International region to ensure that the public could communicate with our offices and receive services in both French and English.
• Work is underway to ensure that CIC's annual program managers course raises awareness among staff with respect to the presence of OLM communities throughout Canada.
• Efforts were made to facilitate communication on civic education issues between Francophone and Anglophone youths through the development of a virtual website.
• Work continued on raising our Service Provider Organizations' awareness of the importance of French and English linguistic minority communities and their development. This will be formalized through incorporating clauses pertaining to official languages in contribution agreements.
• The Department's Canadian regions actively pursued engaging representatives of OLM organizations to participate in citizenship ceremonies as well as on joint advisory committees.
• The settlement concerns of Francophone community organizations in Ontario were addressed through the development of products (by OLM groups) to facilitate the integration of Newcomers.

General Information

The Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada

The objective of the Citizenship and Immigration program is to ensure that the movement of people into Canada and membership in Canadian society contribute to Canada's social and economic interests and the protection of the health and safety of Canadians, and that citizenship and immigration policies and programs are managed in a fashion consistent with Canada's domestic needs and capacities, and international commitments and responsibilities.

Identification of Community Needs

Means used to identify needs of Official-Language Minority communities at national and regional levels:

Direct consultation of representative groups with CIC and through consultation processes initiated by Canadian Heritage. CIC also holds formal and informal meetings with local, regional and national OLM community representatives.

Contacts

For general information on the Citizenship and Immigration program, we can be reached at:

Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Jean Edmonds Tower South, 18th Floor
365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1

Telephone: (613) 957-4166
Fax: (613) 957-5955
Internet: http://www.cic.gc.ca

Officers Responsible for Section 41 of the Official Languages Act:

CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CANADA
Progress Report
1999-2000

 
MISSION: To build a stronger Canada by: deriving maximum benefit from the global movement of people, protecting refugees at home and abroad, defining Membership in Canadian society, and managing access to Canada.
  

First Objective

Principle measures proposed

Expected outputs

Status

To facilitate the integration of immigrants into Official Language Minority communities.

Communications Branch

- Designing a survey that will be posted on the CIC website to determine the use of the English and French sections.

- Tracking of the usage on English and French sections of the website will provide evaluation data that will allow for improving website utility. The data collected can be disaggregated by the language of the respondent.

- The survey will be implemented in July 2000 and will continue until 2000 random responses are received.

Atlantic Region

- Availability of basic language training from Service Providing Organizations (SPO's) in New Brunswick to newcomers in either official language upon demand. These initiatives assist immigrants more easily integrate into OLM communities.

- Language training contracts with a clause identifying newcomers' option to select language instruction in the language of their choice.

- The Multicultural Association of Fredericton was contracted to organize and deliver evening FSL (French as a second language ) classes in Fredericton. Special tutoring arrangements were made for two newcomers to Canada, living in Northern New Brunswick, to receive French language instruction.

Ontario Region

- Follow up to the consultations with Francophone community organizations in Ontario focussing on Settlement issues.

- Successful project proposals from the community were initiated during Fiscal Year 1999-2000 and are to be completed in this planning period.

- The products now available to Service Provider Organizations (SPO's) as a result of implementing the project proposals of OLM groups include a cultural sensitivity guide, a video on obstacles to integration, software on career development and a resource guide.

- Adding French content to the new bilingual Settlement website intended for the public.

- The posting of appropriate information on the website.

- Work is underway to post French language specific content on the website by the end of summer 2000.

- Launching a call for proposals for website content.

- Content provision will be an ongoing activity.

Second Objective

Principle measures proposed

Expected outputs

Status

- Participation of Francophone community representatives in citizenship ceremonies.

- OLM communities addressing new citizens on the linguistic duality of Canada.

- Invitations are sent to Francophone community representatives to attend citizenship ceremonies. This is an ongoing activity.

Third Objective

Principle measures proposed

Expected outputs

Status

- Ensure that all promotional publications and materials pertaining to the integration of Newcomers to Canada are available in both official languages.

- Promoting the recognition and use of bilingual material for the purposes of facilitating the integration and recognition of Newcomers of Canada's bilingual nature.

- All our publications such as " A Look At Canada", " A Newcomer's Introduction To Canada", " Welcome To Canada - What you should know" are available in both languages. These documents also contain references to the bilingual characteristics of Canada.

International Region

- Solicit information about OLM communities through the Department's Official Languages Network. This information will then be distributed to the Missions abroad.

- Sensitizing CIC employees and clients with respect to OLM communities in Canada.

- During the course of the fiscal year, information on OLM communities was prepared for distribution to CIC's missions overseas.

- Information on OLM communities will be included in the annual Program Manager Course.

- Plans have been put in place to include information on OLM communities in the CIC Program Managers Course, which is delivered every fall.

Metropolis Project Team

- Foster the recognition and use of English and French in Canadian society by providing simultaneous interpretation at major events, translating abstracts produced by the project's Centres of Excellence and promoting bilingualism at Metropolis workshops.

- Translation of abstracts.

- Publications are produced in both official languages.
- Ensured that articles are published in the author's language of choice and that summaries are available in the other official language.

- Create a virtual website for the purposes of civic education that includes the integration of a simultaneous translation module to assist in chat room communications between Francophone and Anglophone youth.

- Facilitate civic education communication between Francophone and Anglophone minority youth.

- Work is currently underway and a prototype for the virtual site has been created. Francophone and Anglophone youths have been able to exchange civic education information through this site which is located at Youthfluence.com

- Introducing new legislation with a proposal to change the current selection criteria.

- Reinforcing the importance of the knowledge of one of Canada's official languages.

- The draft Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was introduced in April 2000 which contains a new selection model (designed to attract more highly skilled and adaptable independent immigrants to Canada) that increases the relative weight in selection points for applicants with knowledge of an official language.
- Language testing may be introduced as an option for those applicants wishing to more accurately assess their chance of success for immigration before submitting an application, or to expedite the processing of an application once submitted.

Atlantic Region

- Promoting the equal status of the French and English language in Canada.

- Informing new Canadians on the bilingual nature of Canada and of the equal status of both languages.

- Public displays for such events as Citizenship Week, Customs Information Day include bilingual audio-visual displays and bilingual promotional material for distribution to the public.

Prairies and Northern Territories

- All CIC offices will display informational brochures/packages promoting the local Francophone communities. This information will be developed and provided by the Francophone organizations.

- Raising awareness in regards to the presence of local Francophone communities.

- Information packages were received from the Societe Franco Manitobaine in April 2000 and are currently displayed in all CIC offices in Manitoba. Copies of these packages were forwarded to CIC's International Region for distribution abroad.
- An informational brochure ("Alberta's Francophone Community") has been developed by the Association canadienne-francaise de l"Alberta. The Association will be contacted to provide sufficient quantities of this brochure for display in CIC offices in Alberta and for distribution to offices abroad. Also, the Association has provided the Department with an information package regarding their health sector, which promotes health services available in French. They maintain a website (www.francalta.ab.ca/acfa/sante) that includes a bilingual directory of French speaking health and social service professionals. This information will be made available for all CIC offices in Alberta.

- All Citizenship ceremonies will reflect Canada's linguistic duality and local Francophone organizations will be invited to participate as hosts or guest speakers or assist in the organization of special receptions.

- A Francophone school (Ecole Marie Anne Gaboury) in Winnipeg has hosted a citizenship ceremony.
- Several representatives of Francophone organizations have participated in citizenship ceremonies in the Edmonton area as guest speakers
- CIC Calgary held a citizenship ceremony in March 2000 at La Citee des Rocheuses, a Francophone school community center. The ceremony was hosted by the l'Association canadienne francaise de l'Alberta. Further discussions have taken place with this organization inviting them to host other citizenship ceremony receptions.

- Maintaining cooperative relations and the communication of departmental information to organizations representing Quebec's linguistic minority.

- Raising awareness of OLM communities in regards to the department's citizenship and immigration program.

- Interviews are regularly given to the English media on various issues by CIC spokespersons.
- As part of the tabling of the draft Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in April 2000, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and members of the Anglophone media have received special invitations to a presentation in both official languages explaining the changes to the current Immigration Act.
- The region communicated the activities, policies, and programs delivered by the region to a national magazine produced by CIC. This document was distributed in both official languages to partners and NGOs.
- In addition to holding citizenship ceremonies within OLM communities, invitations have been extended on a regular basis to representatives of the Anglophone community inviting them to attend citizenship ceremonies as well as to participate in other CIC information sharing sessions.
- One of the local offices participated in an annual Anglophone event hosted by the Townshippers Association by distributing material and sharing information on the CIC program.
- Several offices have hosted visits by students, workers, or other interested parties from OLM communities who have expressed an interest in learning more about CIC's role and activities.

- Participation in joint advisory panels whose members include organizations representing Quebec's Anglophone minority.

- The region participated actively in CIC-NGO committees as well as in the "Table de concertation", an organization which represents more than 122 organizations, some of which are anglophone, throughout the Quebec region.

Fourth Objective

Principle measures proposed

Expected outputs

Status

- Improved impact of A Scattering of Seeds, a documentary series highlighting the experiences of various immigrant groups on OLM communities.

- All video products delivered in both official languages.

- All three seasons of the series have been made available in both official languages and the broadcasts for the third season have begun on the History Channel and on Réseau de l'information.

Prairies and Northern Territories

- Coordinating activities with other organizations in order to assist OLM communities.

- Addressing concerns and interests of OLM communities in a more efficient manner.

- In October 1999, a CIC representative participated in an "Info Fair" (coordinated by the Department of Canadian Heritage) that was designed to provide information regarding the department to members of the Francophone community.

- Inviting representation from the Association Multiculturelle Francophone de l'Alberta (an organization that represents the majority of Francophone immigrants in Edmonton) to participate on the CIC Community Advisory Committee.

- Edmonton's community advisory committee now has 2 representatives from 2 different francophone associations (l'Association Mulicuturelle Francophone de l'Alberta and l'Association canadienne-francais de l'Alberta).
- In April 2000, a CIC representative met with individual representatives of the francophone communities as a result of a formal consultative meeting held in Edmonton.

- Establishing a CIC Community Advisory Committee in Calgary that will include representation from the local Francophone community.

- A community advisory committee (known as the Calgary Community Network) which has representation from the Association canadiene-francais de l'Alberta has been established.

- CIC will explore with the Province of Manitoba the possibility of establishing a Community Advisory Committee, which would include representation from the local Francophone communities. The Committee would be co-chaired by CIC, as the provincial government has the primary responsibility for the delivery of settlement services and a Provincial Nominee Agreement exists.

- As there are already a number of committees in existence which meet regularly to discuss and make recommendations on a variety of immigration and settlement issues, the province is supportive of co-chairing an immigration forum in the fall of 2000 to which invited various community sectors including the Francophone community will be invited.

- Establishing a CIC Community Advisory Committee in Regina and Saskatoon that will include representation from the local Francophone community.

- A community advisory committee has been established in Regina and the Association Canadienne Francaise de Regina has been invited to provide representation on this committee.

- CIC will determine the extent of Francophone organizations within the territory and if interested, initiate discussions regarding CIC policies and programs.

- To date the extent of the Francophone organizations within the territory is yet to be determined. Management is currently planning a visit to Nunavut.

- Informal meeting between CIC and the local Francophone association.

- CIC's representative in Yellowknife continues to participate in informal discussions with members of the Francophone community as issues arise, most recently discussions have focused on the citizenship application process. A formal meeting is proposed for the near future to develop a list of support services available to Francophone newcomers.

Quebec Region

- Development of objectives at the Regional Management Committee in regard to Part VII of the OLA.

- Identification of results to be achieved.

- This subject matter has been placed on the agenda of the December 2000 meeting of the Regional Management Committee. In the meantime, one office invited the Regional OLA Coordinator to discuss the application of Part VII of the OLA and has also began looking into funding for projects dealing with the advancement of the OLM community.

- Consultations with representatives of various organizations representing Quebec's Anglophone community on issues of common interest.

- Improved understanding of common objectives, identifying avenues for further cooperation and the development of projects for the next three years.

- The region participated in consultation meetings of the Committee on the Anglophone participation in the Federal Public Service in Quebec. Seven associations representing the Anglophone minority participated in this meeting.
- Human Resources developed an action plan aimed at increasing the participation of the Anglophone community in the Federal Public Service in Quebec.

Fifth Objective

Principle measures proposed

Expected outputs

Status

- Providing direction on the implementation of Section 41 of the OLA.

- Promoting awareness of the Department's OLA responsibilities.

- This is an ongoing activity. Of particular interest is the ADM's role in facilitating a focus group discussion on recommendations pertaining to the involvement of official languages champions in the implementation of management tools and methods which ensured respect for linguistic rights.
- Regular communications with staff on Section 41 official languages issues.
- Ensuring that concerns regarding the implementation of the OLA are addressed and appropriate corrective measures are developed in a timely fashion.

- Development and provision of all CIC publications, fact sheets, brochures, posters, new releases, and press kits in both official languages.

- Widening the access of Newcomers to print and electronic material.

- All products available to the public are produced in both official languages.

- Serving the media in both official languages.

- Ongoing.

- Maintaining websites in both official languages.

- Access to electronic materials in both French and English.

- The data obtained from the user survey to be implemented in July 2000 will be used to identify recommendations for possible changes.

- Consistent written communications through the development of a CIC Style Guide in each official language for use in all departmental documents.

- Availability of the Communications Branch Style Guide to users in the language of their choice.

- This guide will be made available in the summer of 2000.

- Formal electronic messages are sent to clients and staff in both official languages.

- Application of the recommendations of the Commissioner of Official Languages concerning electronic mail is applied.

- Ongoing.

Integration Branch

- Providing Citizenship Court judges with materials to assist in enhancing the public's understanding and appreciation of the values inherent in Canadian society, among which is the equality of status of both official languages.

- The delivery of Citizenship ceremonies in both official languages that promote Canada's bilingual nature.

- All materials provided to Citizenship Court judges are in both official languages. The oath of Citizenship is delivered in both languages at all ceremonies.

- All guides and contribution agreement forms negotiated with SPO's shall identify official languages as an integral component to the contribution allocation process.

- Revised guides and contribution agreement forms which promote the official language obligations of SPO's.

- Work continues on ensuring that guides and contribution agreement form promote official languages. The Standard Contribution Agreement Form will be available on CIC's internet site September 2000 and will contain a section dealing with Official Languages.

- The development of an assessment methodology to ensure that Service Provider Organizations fulfil their linguistic obligations and that the services are being provided in a manner that meets client satisfaction.

- Implementation of a methodology that encourages SPO's recognition and use of both official languages in their operations.

- An audit of official language services is planned for sometime in the fall.

Prairies and Northern Territories

- Preparation of an information package about College St. Boniface by the Société Francophone Manitobaine.

- Information package will be sent to posts abroad if College St. Boniface expresses interest in increasing its foreign student enrollment.

- Information regarding College St. Boniface was included in the package provided by the Societe Franco Manitobaine which was distributed in April 2000 to our offices abroad.

Refugees Branch

- Destining and matching refugees through the use of tools such as community profiles.

- Facilitating and enhancing the successful settlement of refugees in Canada.

- The Contribution Agreement form between SPO's and CIC which is associated with the Resettlement Assistance Program has been amended to include a clause that addresses official language requirements. Specifically, SPO's must take measures to ensure that:
any announcements to the public concerning services are made in both official languages;
services to eligible immigrants are actively offered in both official languages;
any documentation for eligible immigrants relating to the services is made available in both official languages;
eligible immigrants are encouraged to participate in activities in the official language of their choice; and
where appropriate, services are organized in such a manner as to meet the needs of the two linguistic communities.

- Consideration of the ability of refugees to speak French in conjunction with other settlement factors such as the presence of other family members in Canada.

- Efforts continue to be made to destine French speaking refugees (government assisted refugees and humanitarian designated classes) to Canadian cities that have Francophone communities and support services. All Resettlement Assistance Program SPO's and local CIC offices offer services in both official languages.

Appendix:
Acronyms used in this report

ADM: ASSISTANT DEPUTY MINISTER

CIC: CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CANADA

NGO: NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION

OLA: OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT

OLM: OFFICIAL- LANGUAGE MINORITY

SPO: SERVICE PROVIDER ORGANIZATION