Mid-term report for Official Languages

1. CONSULTATIONS

Ministerial Consultations

Consultations in the Context of Specific Legislative Responsibilities

Sectoral Consultations

Ministerial Consultations

The Action Plan provides that minority communities and other key stakeholders will be consulted at least once a year ².

PRIVY COUNCIL OFFICE

The Official Languages Branch, Intergovernmental Affairs, Privy Council Office, introduced a cycle of consultations providing for two formal meetings a year with the communities: one in the spring with senior officials from the departments taking part in the implementation of the Action Plan, and another in the Fall with Ministers. Five meetings have already been held, three with senior officials (May 2003, March 2004 and March 2005) and two with Ministers (October 2003 and October 2004).

These events bring together up to 30 representatives of each of the Anglophone and Francophone communities. They give community representatives an opportunity to express their views on how the Action Plan is being implemented; they enable the Government of Canada to report on its activities and to sound out the communities about current issues of concern.

The consultations in 2003 made initial contact possible and were focussed on discussion of strategies to implement the Action Plan. In 2004, participants observed that some aspects had made more progress than others, probably on account of reorganizations within the federal government. Communities and departments tackled the development of the Horizontal Results-based Management and Accountability Framework optimistically, as discussed in Chapter 3 of this report.

Two years following the announcement of the Action Plan, openness is evident on both sides. Participants in the March 2005 consultation held productive discussions (notably about the notion of community vitality and how to support it). Consistent with the concern for transparency evidenced in the development of the Action Plan, the government undertook to reflect the communities’ viewpoints in the midterm report (see Annex 2). Though the format of the meetings needs improvement, the consultations are the reflection of an unprecedented commitment on the part of federal institutions and a real opportunity to discuss what has been done.

Consultations in the Context of Specific Legislative Responsibilities

The Action Plan expressly notes that in no way does it alter the specific roles assigned under the Official Languages Act to certain lead Ministers and bodies, in particular the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the President of the Treasury Board ³.

CANADIAN HERITAGE

The Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) has maintained special ties with official language minority communities for over 30 years, in accordance with the Minister’s role in Part VII of the Official Languages Act. The Canadian Heritage–Francophone and Acadian Communities Coordination Committee and the Canadian Heritage– Anglophone Community of Quebec Coordination Committee are central to this collaboration.

From October to December 2004, PCH conducted a series of consultations throughout the country with 455 representatives of communities and institutions about the future of relations between the department and the communities, and the Canada–Community Agreements. Agreement on some basic values and principles emerged from these consultations: the need for mutual trust and respect, the central role of PCH in supporting community development in all areas, and the importance of genuine collaboration and concentrated effort by other departments. Moreover, it was agreed that future collaboration measures should maximize the non-financial impacts of PCH support, reinforce the values of good governance and citizen participation on which “associative” networks are based, and emphasize the involvement of volunteers and the contribution of community stakeholders.

PUBLIC SERVICE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AGENCY OF CANADA

In the context of the responsibilities it exercises on behalf of Treasury Board under Parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act, the Agency conducted intensive consultations with its federal and community partners during an examination of the policies respecting language of work and management of human resources, communications, service to the public, and the use of official languages in electronic networks. For the Commissioner of Official Languages, the revision of the policies is a step in the right direction. In her Annual Report 2003–2004, she stressed that the new policies “...do strengthen the capacity of federal institutions to function in both official languages ⁴.”

The agency has also involved official languages champions and regional federal councils in the development and promotion of the Innovation Program, with a view to assisting federal institutions improve their delivery of services in both languages, create a working environment favourable to bilingualism, and manage change. There is renewed interest in the issue of official languages in the regions, thanks to the initiatives of the federal councils; for example, Forum 4-2-1 in the West and the Forum on Linguistic Duality (Parle-moi, I’m listening) in Quebec. The increased number of projects submitted by federal institutions for Phase III illustrates a ripple effect.

Sectoral Consultations

The Action Plan provides that “every federal institution will need to ... consult affected publics as required, especially representatives of official language minority communities, in connection with the development or implementation of policies or programs ⁵.”

HEALTH CANADA

The collaboration model used by Health Canada and its partners was inspired in 1999 by the World Health Organization model titled Towards Unity for Health. It is based on cooperation among five major partners: health care professionals, managers of health care institutions, training institutions, governments and communities.

For Francophones, the Société Santé en français (SSF), with its 17 networks, is the mechanism bringing all these players together at the same table, and includes doctors and other specialists, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne, Health Canada and the provincial and territorial health ministries, and through a representative of the Consortium national de formation en santé, colleges and universities. The Consortium itself is composed of ten post-secondary institutions located throughout the regions, which work together to make training programs more accessible in order to increase the number of Francophone professionals in the communities. Anglophones in Quebec using a similar approach bring partners together through the Community Health and Social Services Network at McGill University and the Quebec Community Groups Network. 

The Consultative Committee for French-speaking Minority Communities and the Consultative Committee for English-speaking Minority Communities, created by the Minister of Health in 2000, provide a direct link with Health Canada. Co-chaired by the department and the community, they facilitate regular, meaningful discussions. The work of the committees has resulted in an improved understanding of the official languages file and the needs of the communities by the department, on the one hand, and in a better understanding of Health Canada programs by the communities on the other hand. For example, communities have been developing proposals more suited to departmental requirements.

This governance model, often qualified as a best practice approach, has established a level of trust among all the partners, directed available funds where they could best be put to use, and extended the exercise of due diligence to all levels.

HUMAN RESOURCES AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT CANADA

Thanks to another joint structure—the Community Economic Development and Employability Committees (one for Anglophones and one for Francophones) — Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and many federal departments and agencies actively support community planning and the creation of mechanisms tailored to meet needs in the field. The Community Economic Development and Employability Committees, or CEDECs (Anglophone), and the réseaux de développement économique et d’employabilité, or RDÉEs (Francophone), group community partners together on a national and regional basis. Partners sit on the national committees with representatives of federal departments and agencies.

Consultations held in September 2004 with representatives of the communities and the Government, concerning governance and possible mechanisms for a long-term horizontal approach, led to the creation of the Enabling Fund (see Chapter 2). Another round of consultations that took place in the spring of 2005 with the Privy Council Office, dealt with an accountability mechanism and the establishment of performance indicators for this program.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CANADA

Since its creation in December 2003, Social Development Canada has maintained close working relations with the Commission nationale des parents Francophones (CNPF) regarding the early childhood initiatives of the Action Plan. A consultation was held in June 2005 with agencies working in the areas of teaching and caring for young children in Francophone minority communities on funding priorities for the coming years. Major initiatives followed, including the CNPF project Partir en français, and the Profil d’entrée à la 1ère année dans une perspective langagière et culturelle by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation.

In September 2004, the department set up a committee of experts to help it design a pilot research project on the care of young children. This project is aimed at demonstrating the benefits of services in French starting at preschool for the linguistic and cultural development of children in minority communities. The Committee brings together representatives of the CNPF, the Fédération canadienne pour l’alphabétisation en français, the Alliance canadienne des responsables et des enseignant(e)s en français langue maternelle, the department, universities and other early childhood teaching experts.

INDUSTRY CANADA

Industry Canada has held two series of consultations with the minority Anglophone and Francophone communities with community economic development as the focus of discussion. In the spring of 2005, the participants were apprised of the results of studies dealing with investments by the department and regional development agencies (RDAs); the creation of a database on the groups taking part in the development of the communities; the development of a “community mapping” project; and the development of a Section 41 “Lens” for the department. Industry Canada consultations contribute to a better understanding of the relationships among economic development priorities of the communities and Industry Canada and RDA programs.

The Language Industry Association (AILIA), created in the spring of 2003 with funding from the Action Plan, is designed to build on the language industry’s strength and become its spokesperson, making Canada a world leader in this area. AILIA’s cross-Canada networking activities enable businesses and various corporate partners to initiate dialogue and build new synergy.

JUSTICE CANADA

The Department of Justice has created a form of consultation designed to work effectively with both provincial and territorial governments and with official language minority communities.

The Federal–Provincial–Territorial Working Group on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages is responsible for examining barriers and finding possible solutions to overcome them, taking into consideration studies on the subject, exchanging information on the best practices and initiatives in each jurisdiction, and apprising Deputy Ministers of the issues related to access to justice in both official languages. With Ontario, the Group has set up the French Language Institute for Professional Development for bilingual Crown Attorneys and criminal justice system practitioners. This project allows 15 bilingual Crown Attorneys from a province other than Ontario to take a full week’s professional development and language training in French. The Working Group aims to create a network of bilingual Crown Attorneys across Canada.

The Advisory Committee—Justice in Official Languages, acts as a liaison between legal and community stakeholders and the Department of Justice. It is supported by the Sub-Committee—Access to Justice in Both Official Languages, which brings together in one forum representatives of Anglophone and Francophone minority communities, and  by the Sub-Committee—Section 41 that has a separate forum for each. The members of the Sub-Committee—Access to Justice in Both Official Languages have recommended that the work of raising awareness and providing information, active offers of services and ongoing training should continue. Community representatives on the Sub-Committee—Section 41 have identified isssues which include making relevant information available, the need to take into account emerging needs and target clienteles (women, youth and newcomers), and the importance of federal–provincial–territorial collaboration.

CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CANADA

Since March 2002, the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) — Francophone Minority Communities Steering Committee has worked to identify conditions conducive to the recruitment, selection, reception and integration of newcomers within these communities. Composed of community representatives, federal agencies, and provincial and territorial governments, the committee has met ten times. Similar committees have been created at the regional and provincial level in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces.

In November 2003, the steering committee launched the Strategic Framework to Foster Immigration to Francophone Minority Communities, on issues related to Francophone immigration and on the objectives, results, measures and tools to to be considered in developing national, provincial and territorial action plans. In March 2005, the Steering committee published Towards Building a Canadian Francophonie of Tomorrow: Summary of Initiatives 2002–2006 to Foster Immigration to Francophone Minority Communities, which paints a picture of the progress achieved to date. The CIC initiatives reinforce the ties among federal, provincial, territorial, municipal and community partners, and call for cooperation in the recruitment, selection, reception and integration of immigrants within the communities.

2. Ibid. p. 71.

3. Ibid. p. 63.

4. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Annual Report 2003–2004, p. 11.

5. Government of Canada, op.cit., p. 66.

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