Accountability and Coordination Framework of the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality - Justice Canada Component Evaluation
2. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The subject of the evaluation is the Official Languages Law Section, specifically its involvement in the Accountability and Coordination Framework of the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality. This section describes the Framework, the implication of the OLLS, its management structure as well as its resources.
2.1. Accountability and Coordination Framework
The Roadmap, which was announced in 2008, is a financial commitment of $1.1 billion spread over a five-year period, which is added to the many aspects of the Government of Canada’s Official Languages Program[1] (hereinafter referred to as the OLP). The Framework is part of the Roadmap and is primarily intended to strengthen the OLP’s horizontal coordination. It also defines the procedures for implementing the obligations set out under parts IV, V and VII, and the commitments set out under Part VI of the Official Languages Act (hereinafter called the OLA). It also outlines the responsibilities of federal institutions in this regard and government-wide communications procedures for all official languages activities. It is of particular importance because it is connected with all of the Roadmap’s initiatives.
The coordination function mentioned in the Framework is a shared responsibility between two departments. First, the Department of Canadian Heritage, through the OLS, plays a prominent role in coordinating the implementation of the Roadmap. The latter provided the amount of $13.5 million over five years to help the OLS fulfill its role, which includes promoting coordinated government action by facilitating interdepartmental cooperation.
Second, the Department of Justice, through the OLLS, supports the coordination activities undertaken by the OLS under the Roadmap. These support activities are presented in detail in the subsequent subsections. In addition to supporting the OLS, the OLLS provides legal advice on issues involving the OLA, the constitutional provisions on language rights, and the other federal, provincial and territorial legislation and regulations pertaining to language rights.
2.2. Official Languages Law Section
The OLLS existed before the Roadmap, but the latter confirmed its particular mandate. The following subsections present its core mandate as well as its functions under the Framework, and the expected outcomes.
2.2.1. Core Mandate
The OLLS’s mission is to ensure "(…) that the positions and opinions of the Department of Justice on language rights are coordinated, consistent and respectful of the purposes and letter of the applicable constitutional and legislative provisions"
[2]. Based on that mission, the OLLS has four main roles:
- Advisory role: to inform and advise all federal players on the interpretation of language rights;
- Litigation support role: to develop and coordinate the position of the Attorney General of Canada and the government in language litigation and to provide support to counsel involved in that litigation;
- Policy development role: to prepare and coordinate, in partnership with the departments responsible, opinions and advice on language policy directions, particularly with regard to any proposed legislative amendments affecting language rights;
- Training role: to provide legal training on language rights, including those provided for by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Official Languages Act and the Criminal Code.
2.2.2. Functions under the Roadmap and Expected Outcomes
Beyond these basic roles, the Roadmap instructs the OLLS to play a role in implementing its Accountability and Coordination Framework along with the OLS. Under the Framework, the OLLS:
- Actively monitors official languages issues likely to affect the federal government. These activities include monitoring legislation, case law and the media to identify, early in the process, legal risks related to official languages that could affect the federal government;
- Supports legal counsel in the various Departmental Legal Services Units (DLSUs) in their efforts to address legal issues related to official languages;
- As needed and as applicable, promotes awareness within federal departments of the requirements under the Horizontal Results-Based Management and Accountability Framework and the Official Languages Act. This includes developing appropriate tools to assist federal departments;
- Examines initiatives, programs and policies (including Memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board submissions) that could have an impact on official languages to ensure consistency with constitutional, statutory, and other requirements relating to official languages;
- Supports the work of the Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages (hereinafter referred to as the CADMOL), as well as federal ministers involved in official language issues.
These functions are intended to support the Roadmap achieve the following outcomes:
- Immediate: coordination of the Official Languages Program;
- Intermediate: the strengthened capacity of the Government of Canada relating to official languages;
- Ultimate: Canadians enjoy the benefits of linguistic duality; live and work in communities that reflect Canadian values with respect to the use of English and French; and have access to government services in the language of their choice.[3]
2.3. Management Structure
The Official Languages Law Section, within the Public Law Sector of the Department of Justice Canada, manages the resources allocated to the Department through the Framework. The General Counsel and Director of the OLLS manages these resources.
2.4. Resources
As Table 1 indicates, the Roadmap includes the amount of $2.5 million over five years (from 2008-09 to 2012-13) for the OLLS’s activities.[4] All resources are Vote 1 resources, applicable to salary, operating, and other related expenditures. As with several other Roadmap initiatives, this amount is henceforth considered ongoing, in addition to the OLLS’s budget outside the Roadmap. Its total annual budget (salaries and operations) is approximately $1 million. The share represented under the Roadmap therefore amounts to nearly half of its financial resources. In 2011-12, the OLLS consisted of ten full-time equivalents, seven of whom are lawyers.
| Fiscal Year | Budget |
|---|---|
| 2008-09 | 0.50 |
| 2009-10 | 0.50 |
| 2010-11 | 0.50 |
| 2011-12 | 0.50 |
| 2012-13 | 0.50 |
| TOTAL | 2.50 |
Source: administrative data.
- [1] The Official Languages Program covers all activities that enable the federal government to meet the Government of Canada’s obligations and commitments under the Official Languages Act.
- [2] Canada. Department of Justice. (2011). Public Law Sector. Evaluation Strategy. Final Report. Ottawa, March. pg. 13.
- [3] Canada. (2009). Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality, 2008-2013: Acting for the Future. Horizontal Results-Based Management and Accountability Framework. Ottawa, pg. 8.
- [4] The Accountability and Coordination Framework is one of the three initiatives of the Department of Justice under the Roadmap. The other two are Access to Justice in Both Official Languages ($41 million) and the Contraventions Act Fund for Implementation of Language Obligations ($49.5 million).
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