5. FUTURE PROPECTS
Consolidate Achievements
Consolidate Achievements
TAKING A
LOOK BACK
Since March
12, 2003, departments and agencies directly involved in the Action Plan for
Official Languages have put in place the infrastructure required to carry out
the plan. By the time the plan is fully implemented, the new horizontal
management framework will have allowed for better understanding of the overall
effect of the measures.
Dialogue has
increased between federal institutions and their partners. The Ministerial
Consultations have created a new spirit of openness. The Department of Canadian
Heritage intends to reinvigorate its collaboration with community organizations,
and the Public Service Human Ressources Management Agency is involving a wider
circle of partners in the renewal of Treasury Board policies. Though in some
areas we are still seeking the ideal arrangement, a new level of respect appears
to be driving relations between the government and the communities.
In education,
reaching agreement with the provincial and territorial governments took longer
than expected. Perhaps we had underestimated the magnitude of the task.
Negotiations will have to be accelerated in order that the funds earmarked for
this essential part of the Action Plan go where they should be spent. Even
though the implementation of community development measures has sometimes been
described as uneven, some major advances have been made in the areas of early
childhood, health and justice. In addition, the basic infrastructure now exists
to facilitate Francophone immigration in the communities. The progress made in
connection with the economy and knowledge-based technologies deserves optimistic
follow-up; with respect to the language industry sector, the association that
brings companies together has been created, and construction of the Language
Technology Research Centre has begun. Several institutions are working together
to build an exemplary public service; the links between the mandates and
initiatives of the Agency (on behalf of the Treasury Board Secretariat), the
Public Service Commission and the Canada School of Public Service are becoming
increasingly visible and productive. Finally, development of the horizontal
management framework—applicable to the entire Official Languages Program—is
a landmark achievement of the first two years of the Action Plan, while the
compilation and analysis of relevant data for policy evaluation and planning
have underscored the importance of official languages research.
FUNDING
THE ACTION PLAN: AN UPWARD CURVE
The Action
Plan required the commitment of new partners who quickly had to take charge of
key areas. As is the case when one ventures into more or less unknown territory,
cost estimates and the pace of investments were not always aligned. Despite the
initial shock to a system little accustomed to horizontal management, the
amounts required have been approved and, in most cases, initiatives have begun
on time. As we see in Annex 3, initial investments have been made; funding will
increase year over year, until gradually reaching the total of $787.4 million
funding as set out in the Action Plan, and including the Enabling Fund later.
LESSONS
LEARNED FROM EXPERIENCE AND ADJUSTMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED
The
Requirements of Horizontal Management
The
horizontal management framework did not exist when the Action Plan was launched.
The elements of cross-jurisdictional coordination were outlined in the plan,
though no one could then foresee the scope of the performance- measurement
exercise for what is now called the Official Languages Program (OLP).
Harmonizing departmental cycles is easier said than done: assembling the
formative evaluations of departments and agencies, using them to guide the
summative evaluations, sharing information and results among institutions and
working with community partners throughout the process, analyzing other data
gathered on the OLP and drawing general conclusions will require time and
resources and progress can only be achieved gradually.
Research
and analysis
The post-censal
survey on the vitality of communities should fill in some of the gaps observed
in data on official languages. It cannot, however, fill them all. It is
therefore important to plan for the use of other sources, along with
corresponding mechanisms for collecting data. Because the compilation of
statistics is not enough to meet all the challenges of policy development, the
official languages research strategy should also include an analysis component.
Consideration might be given to creating a catch-up fund to upgrade the data and
allow for interpretation.
Research
partnerships are an interesting avenue to fill data gaps. Government
institutions, universities, research institutes, community organizations and the
private sector could join in a network designed to enrich our pool of empirical
knowledge. In this vein, the Privy Council Office is participating in the
organization of a symposium planned to coincide with the annual conference of
l’Association canadienne-française pour l’avancement des sciences (ACFAS),
in the Spring of 2006 . This will serve to encourage the pooling of resources
and research expertise.
Community
support
In addition,
communities have indicated that the Action Plan could be enhanced on a sectoral
basis to:
•
facilitate the participation of community organizations in horizontal
coordination in order that they can intervene with the institutions whose
mandates correspond to their interests, add findings required by the horizontal
management framework, dialogue with one another, represent the wider interests
of the community and act on a range of files of concern to them e.g. youth;
•
extend to 2008 the primary health care component; and increase access to
health in the language of choice in the territories;
•
increase support for Francophone immigration in minority communities in
order that strategic plans for this purpose could be implemented; and
•
support partnerships with the provinces and territories to realize the
intergovernmental action plan, respecting cooperation, health, early childhood,
cultural development, Francophone space, justice and the economic development of
the communities.
An
Exemplary Public Service
The Public
Service Human Ressources Management Agency of Canada is exploring options to
raise awareness of parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act and explain
clearly to public servants the values that underpin government policy and the
inherent rights and obligations. Such an initiative could provide the means to
communicate clear messages, rectify misperceptions, reduce the nature and the
seriousness of complaints and promote the advantages of a bilingual workplace in
the context of lifelong learning. Better awareness would lead to increased use
of the two languages and enhance the level of bilingualism of public servants
who serve the communities. The study conducted in 2002 on public service
attitudes to official languages allowed us to identify groups that would benefit
from such activities.
In spite of
the sustained efforts of the Canada School of Public Service and the fact that
the Language Training Centre has exceeded its objectives, waiting lists continue
to grow. The demand has increased more rapidly than foreseen. In order to fulfil
its statutory obligations and train personnel occupying bilingual positions, the
government is exploring options.
Other
Possible Initiatives
Some
initiatives that might be explored could contribute to the momentum given to
Canada’s linguistic duality since the 2003 Action Plan.
For instance,
the Translation Bureau will want to continue its collaboration with Industry
Canada and the private sector to address the fragmentation of the language
industry and improve the quality of translations. In order to guarantee quality
language products and services for Canadians, Industry Canada will work with the
bureau and the Language Industry Assiciation to develop translation standards
recognized by the Standards Council of Canada.
The Committee
of Deputy Ministers on Official Languages has asked that an interdepartmental
strategy for French on the Internet be developed, tailored to the demands of the
modern world. Such a strategy would aim at maximizing links among federal
activities related to, for example, the language industry, an exemplary public
service, the transformation of services, and the development of Canadian
content. With implications beyond the recommendations of the Commissioner of
Official Languages, such a strategy would foster synergy among institutions.
Conclusion
The
objectives of the Action Plan for Official Languages remain ambitious; they
should be, in light of the importance of what is at stake. We now have a
horizontal management framework that will enable federal institutions to see
their achievements as they contribute to a collective effort. Over the coming
year, each participating department or agency will complete its first evaluation
of results; by 2007, with more accurate indicators, all will be able to
contribute to the formal evaluation of the measures taken. The overall
evaluation of the Action Plan will make it possible to validate findings and
build a firm foundation for the renewal of the Action Plan.
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