Departmental Action Plan for Official Languages 2017-2022

7. Action Plan activities

The activities described in the subsections below are related to the mission, vision and services of the Department of Justice. They provide tangible, long-term benefits for Canadians. However, the Department reserves the right to modify activities to ensure sound stewardship and resource optimization.

7.1 Official Languages Program management – Leadership

The Official Languages Champion supports the Deputy Minister in achieving the Department’s official languages vision and provides leadership within the Department. The Champion’s role is to foster a bilingual culture based not only on rights and obligations but also on values that enrich the Department. The Champion chairs and supports the Departmental Network of Sectoral and Regional Official Languages Champions and chairs the Department’s Official Languages Steering Committee (see Appendix B).

Office of primary interest: HRB and OLAD, under the leadership of the Official Languages Champion.
Consideration: Senior management provides leadership on official languages within the Department of Justice.
Objective 1: Continue to provide leadership in the administration of official languages programs and sub-programs within the Department.

Table 7.1
Expected Outcomes	Activities	Lead	Timeline/Progress
The Champion provides strong leadership and reports on the application of the OLA within the Department	Provide senior management with status updates on implementation of the Departmental Action Plan for Official Languages.	Champion	Annually
	Chair meetings of the Departmental Network of Sectoral and Regional Official Languages Champions.	Champion	3 times a year
	Chair meetings of the Departmental Official Languages Steering Committee.	Champion	3 times a year
	Attend the Conference of Official Languages Champions. (See the Osez ! Dare! website link in the References section.)	Champion	3 times a year
	Attend the meetings of the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions. (See the Osez ! Dare! website link in the References section.)	Champion / OLAD (Director and General Counsel	3 times a year

	Encourage all sectors to help implement the Action Plan, to take its requirements into account while developing sectoral business plans, and to support the offices of primary responsibility in preparing the departmental Annual Review on Official Languages.	Champion / All sectors / Champions Network	Annually
	Update the departmental Official Languages Policy.	DGRH / Champions Network	2018-2019

7.2 OLA – Part III: Administration of Justice

Office of Primary Interest: ADAG, NLS
Consideration: English and French are the official languages of the federal courts, and representatives of the Attorney General of Canada must respect the right of others to use either language in verbal and written pleadings and to use the official language chosen by the other parties.
Objective 2: Continue to ensure compliance with Part III of the OLA relating to the administration of justice.

Table 7.2
Expected Outcomes	Activities	Lead	Timeline/Progress
Pleadings and proceedings of representatives of the Attorney General of Canada (AGC) in civil litigation in federal courts are in the official language chosen by the other parties^{Table note i}	Assign litigation files to litigators able to speak, write and understand the official language chosen by the other parties in civil litigation in federal courts.	ADAG / NLS	Ongoing
	Remind litigators once a year about their obligation to respect the official language chosen by other parties in pleadings and proceedings.	ADAG / NLS	Annually
Language rights under Part III of the OLA in the context of civil litigation in federal courts are known by the representatives of the AGC	Send an annual reminder to representatives of the AGC with respect to language rights of litigants and witnesses before federal courts, including the right to interpretation services, the right to a judge who understands the official language of the parties without the assistance of an interpreter, and the availability of judgments in both official languages.	ADAG / NLS	Annually
The bilingual pre-printed portion of any form employed in proceedings before a federal court and required to be served by a federal institution on any other party is used; a translation of its contents is prepared if a request is made by another party	Send an annual reminder to representatives of the AGC stating that the practice is to serve the judicial proceedings in the official language of choice of other parties (pre-printed form and content). When the official language of choice is unknown, representatives of the AGC will use a bilingual pre-printed form and translate the content of the proceeding if requested by the other party.	ADAG / NLS	Ongoing
The Official Languages Directorate develops and coordinates the AGC’s position in all language rights cases in close collaboration with representatives of the AGC and client departments legal services units	Ensure that representatives of the AGC involve the OLAD in all litigation involving languages rights and on all questions pertaining to these rights.	ADAG / NLS OLAD, Law Team	Ongoing

Table note i

See Section 7.7, “Part VII,” regarding proceedings before provincial and territorial courts.

Return to table note i referrer

7.3 OLA – Part IV: Communications with and services to the public

Office of primary interest: HRB
Consideration: Any member of the public in Canada has the right to communicate with the Department's offices (including the regional offices, departmental legal services units, offices located in the National Capital Region, and Headquarters) and receive services in the official language of their choice.
Objective 3: Continue to provide exemplary service to the public.

Table 7.3
Expected Outcomes	Activities	Lead	Timeline/Progress
Members of the public receive services and communications in the official language of their choice	Continue to display the Department’s website in English and French simultaneously and ensure that the content in both languages is of equal quality.	Communications	Ongoing
	Ensure that employees working in reception at departmental offices offer service in both official languages (i.e. an active bilingual invitation such as “Bonjour/Hello”) when dealing directly with the public in person or on the telephone.	Managers (NCR, regional offices and Headquarters)	Ongoing
	Continue to ensure that the Department’s communications with and services to the public are always available in both official languages of equal quality.	Managers (NCR, regional offices and Headquarters)	Ongoing
	Promote the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages’ new guide, Active offer: A culture of respect, a culture of excellence, and any other tools available to help the Department meet its Part IV obligations.	Champion’s Network	2017-2018 New activity
	Promote the use of the following statement (as a best practice) in the signature blocks of employees in bilingual positions: “Please do not hesitate to reply in the official language of your choice. / N’hésitez pas à répondre dans la langue officielle de votre choix.”	HRB	Annually
	Promote the use of bilingual templates for email and voicemail.	HRB	Biannually
	Ensure the accuracy of the list of offices providing services to the public.	HRB	Annually

7.4 OLA – Part V: Language of work

Office of primary interest: HRB
Consideration: Employees of federal institutions have the right to use either official language at work.
Objective 4: At offices in regions designated bilingual for language-of-work purposes (New Brunswick, NCR, Eastern Townships, Gaspésie, Outaouais, North East Ontario), continue to maintain a departmental culture that promotes the use of both official languages and a work environment where employees feel comfortable using the official language of their choice.
Objective 5: Continue to ensure that employees from other federal institutions can use the official language of their choice when receiving services from the Department of Justice.
Objective 6: Continue to offer second language training and skills retention opportunities to employees of the Department.

Table 7.4
Expected Outcomes	Activities	Lead	Timeline/Progress
Leaders maintain a work environment conducive to the effective use of both official languages	Implement mandatory language requirements of CBC for certain supervisory EX and EX minus 1 equivalent positions as per new requirements established in the Directive on the Language Requirements of Positions and the Staffing of Bilingual Positions so that employees in bilingual regions are adequately supervised in the official language of their choice (for immediate application to vacancies and application to positions when they become vacant).	Managers / HRB	2017-2022
	Ensure that managers and supervisors in bilingual positions working in bilingual regions supervise their employees in the official language of each employee’s choice.	Managers	Ongoing
	Issue messages, via senior management, to remind managers about their obligation to maintain a bilingual work environment where employees feel free to use the official language of their choice (bilingual regions).	Champion / Senior Management	Biannually
	Encourage employees to use the official language of their choice during meetings and when drafting documents (bilingual regions).	Managers	Ongoing
	Organize and promote Linguistic Duality Day (September).	HRB / OLAD / Champion/ Regions	Annually
	Continue to acknowledge excellence in the promotion of linguistic duality (OL Champions Award) during the annual celebration of Linguistic Duality Day.	Champion	Annually
The Department’s employees know their language-of-work rights and obligations and are incited to exercise them	Offer presentations or information sessions to employees and managers regarding their language-of-work rights and obligations.	HRB, in consultation with OLAD	On request
	Publish internal bulletins in JustInfo to inform employees and managers of their language-of-work rights and obligations.	HRB	Ongoing
	Promote tools and best practices to encourage the use of both official languages in the workplace. Develop new tools as needed.	HRB	Ongoing
	Promote the use of bilingual templates for email and voicemail.	HRB	Biannually
	Update the official languages website on JUSnet.	HRB / OLAD	Ongoing
	Analyze the results of the Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) and report on findings to senior management.	HRB / Champions	2018-2019
	Prepare and implement an action plan to correct deficiencies identified by the PSES.	HRB / Champions	2018-2019
	Develop and implement an internal survey on language of work and report on findings to senior management.	HRB	2019-2020
	Prepare and implement an action plan to correct deficiencies identified by the internal survey.	HRB	2019-2020
Employees of federal institutions receive central services in the official language of their choice and the Department’s employees have the tools they need to fulfill their obligations	Ensure that employees communicate with other departments located in bilingual regions in both official languages or in the official language chosen by the client or stakeholder and that legal opinions or advice are provided in the official language of the client’s choice.	Managers	Ongoing
	Ensure that training and regularly and widely used work instruments are available to employees in both official languages (bilingual regions).	Managers	Ongoing
	Ensure that employees in bilingual or “either/or” positions located in bilingual regions are supervised in the official language of their choice.	Managers	Ongoing
Second-language training and skills retention opportunities are offered to the Department’s employees	Invest in the development and maintenance of employees’ second language skills.	Managers	Ongoing
	Give employees the option of including workshops from the NCR Non-Statutory Language Training Program in their Public Service Performance Management Agreements in addition to participating in other less formal, non-classroom training activities, as follows:	HRB and Managers	Quarterly
	preliminary evaluations to confirm retention of a language level;	HRB	Ongoing
	semi-annual meetings with participants in the language training and skills retention program (follow-up, encouragement, tools, feedback, overviews, etc.); and	HRB	Twice a year
	online language training courses and tools offered by the Canada School of Public Service and the second-language tools offered by the Public Service Commission.	HRB	Ongoing
	Maintain and promote the Linguistic Skills Development Kit to guide employees and their managers in searching new linguistic training and learning tools.	HRB	Ongoing
	Offer employees informal language evaluations during and after language training to measure progress in their second language.	HRB	Ongoing
	Ensure that efforts made by employees to maintain their second language after receiving formal training are considered in their performance agreements.	Managers	Ongoing
	Conduct a review of the language training program to ensure that the current provision of non-statutory language training meets the needs of employees. This program review will also ensure that employees in regions have access to non-statutory language training, and will include recommendations for improvement to senior management.	HRB	2017-2018
	Explore new avenues for second-language training and retention.	HRB	2017-2018
	Update the Language Training Directive (following the review of the Program).	HRB	To be determined

7.5 OLA – Part VI: Participation of English-speaking Canadians and French-speaking Canadians

Office of primary interest: HRB
Consideration: English-speaking Canadians and French-speaking Canadians should have equal opportunities to obtain employment and advancement within the Department, and the composition of the work force shall reflect equal representation of both official language communities as in the general population.
Objective 7: Continue to provide English-speaking Canadians and French-speaking Canadians with equal opportunities for employment and advancement and work towards an equitable participation of both language groups within the Department.

Table 7.5
Expected Outcome	Activities	Lead	Timeline/Progress
The Department provides equal opportunities for employment and advancement to English-speaking Canadians and French-speaking Canadians and the composition of its offices is representative of the English-speaking and French-speaking populations	Ensure that the composition of the Department’s work force tends to reflect the presence of both the official language communities of Canada, taking into account the characteristics of its individual context, including its mandate, the public it serves, and the location of its facilities.	HRB	Annually
	Take action to correct any deficiencies that are identified	Managers/HRB	As needed

7.6 OLA – Part XI – Section 91: Staffing and language requirements of positions

Office of primary interest: HRB
Consideration: The language requirements of positions to be staffed are established objectively based on the duties to be performed under Parts IV and V of the OLA.
Objective 8: Ensure that the language requirements of positions to be staffed are established objectively based on the duties to be performed under Parts IV and V of the OLA.

Table 7.6
Expected Outcome	Activities	Lead	Timeline/Progress
The language requirements of the Department’s positions are established consistently and objectively	Identify language requirements of all positions in the Department in accordance with the Directive on Language Requirements of Positions and the Staffing of Bilingual Positions.	Managers	Ongoing
	Monitor the implementation of the Directive on Language Requirements of Positions and Staffing of Bilingual Positions.	HRB	Bi-annually
	Revise the Directive on Language Requirements of Positions and Staffing of Bilingual Positions.	HRB	2017-2018

7.7 OLA – Part VII – Promotion of English and French (implementation of section 41)

Office of primary interest

Official Languages Directorate (OLAD)

Remarks

The implementation of section 41 is mandatory for all federal institutions (under subsection 41(2) of the OLA). Pursuant to subsection 77(1) of the OLA, Part VII can be the object of federal court remedies in cases of non-compliance with Part VII by federal institutions (see also section 2. “Context”).

As part of the Departmental Action Plan for Official Languages, the Department will continue to incorporate section 41 into its organizational culture. To that end, the OLAD, in cooperation with members of Network 41 (see section 4. “Official languages governance – Departmental roles and responsibilities” and Appendix B), will direct its efforts toward informing the entire Department about the specific issues pertaining to the development of official-language minority communities as well as the issues involved in promoting English and French in Canadian society. The regional program and policy coordinators who are members of Network 41 will also help maintain ties between the Department and OLMCs as part of their usual responsibilities.

The Department of Justice will continue to work at strengthening its leadership among stakeholders from legal and community organizations. The Department will periodically analyze how the context is likely to influence its policies and programs in order to take positive measures to implement section 41. To that end, the Department will regularly hold consultation sessions with various stakeholders, particularly OLMCs, and will document the process followed to take into account OLMC needs and to incorporate these needs, as fully as possible, into its policies and programs, according to government's priorities.

Consideration

The Department takes positive measures to implement the government’s commitment to enhancing the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities and supporting and assisting their development and fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society.

Objective 9

Ensure implementation of section 41 of the OLA by:

creating awareness among Justice employees of their obligations under section 41;
integrating section 41 into the Department’s organizational culture; and
collaborating and consulting with partners, particularly OLMCs, as well as other federal institutions and other levels of government, in matters pertaining to the development and application of positive measures.

Table 7.7
Expected Outcomes	Activities	Lead	Timeline/Progress
Employees of the Department of Justice Canada are aware of the obligations under section 41 of the OLA, namely the obligation to take positive measures to implement the Government of Canada’s commitment to the development and vitality of official-language minority communities and the promotion of English and French in Canadian society	Regularly publicize the Department’s official languages obligations.	OLAD	Ongoing
	Disseminate the Departmental Action Plan for Official Languages through various means of communication (web pages, Justice in Official Languages newsletter, official communications, social media, etc.).	OLAD / Communications	Once this Action Plan is adopted
	Provide training and support to Department employees on issues pertaining to the implementation of section 41:	OLAD / Network 41	Ongoing
	Offer information sessions, annually or on request, to program and policy employees, including disseminating key policy directions from agencies responsible for OLA implementation (PCH, TBS, etc.).	OLAD / Network 41	Annually or on request
	Make the Department of Justice Canada’s Annual Review on Official Languages available to employees and the general public, including OLMCs (online posting).	OLAD / Communications	Annually
	Regularly update Department of Justice Canada web pages to ensure that employees and members of OLMCs are aware of the Department’s key OL priorities and initiatives.	OLAD / Communications	Ongoing
	Departmental Network of Coordinators Responsible for the Implementation of Section 41 of the OLA Periodically review the network’s operation in order to maximize its effectiveness: Develop an empirical knowledge base on OLMCs: data screening and update of the SharePoint platform to facilitate the transition to the new digital workspace in order to contribute to innovation initiatives. Develop a Reference Guide for members of Network 41. Conduct, upon request, presentations to other sectors of the Department about obligations related to Part VII of the OLA.	OLAD	2017-2022
	Support to promote the development and to enhance the vitality of Official Language Minority Communities: Integrate government priorities into the management of the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund (e.g. those that could be set out in the federal Action Plan for Official Languages – 2018-2023). Update the study entitled "Environmental Scan: Access to Justice in Both Official Languages (2003)."	OLAD	2018-2022
	Promotion of English and French in Canadian society Publish the Annotated Language Laws of Canada: Constitutional, Federal, Provincial and Territorial Laws: Launch the book in the context of Canada 150. Progressively download on CanLII associated laws and case law (over 1000 laws and 1000 judgments). Disseminate the book via the Open Government Portal (see References section). Provide annual updates and website traffic statistics.	OLAD	2017-2022
	Promotion of English and French in Canadian society Charter checklist (including language rights): Disseminate on the Department of Justice Canada’s website. Provide quarterly updates of the Charter checklist.	OLAD	2017-2022
Section 41 is an integral part of the Department’s organizational culture	Take positive measures with OLMCs and promote English and French in Canadian society.	All sectors	Ongoing
	When the federal Crown is a party to civil proceedings before a provincial or territorial tribunal where the use of either official language is permitted, the representatives of the Attorney General of Canada, if possible, use the official language chosen by the other party (subject to the practice of representing employees involved in a provincial court in the official language of their choice).	NLS / ADAG	Ongoing
	Representatives of the Attorney General of Canada file the factum in both official languages in cases under appeal, when appropriate, where the public or the media have significant interest in the case.	NLS / ADAG	Ongoing
	Manage a Department-wide Network of Coordinators for the Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act (Network 41), made up of representatives from regional offices as well as from program and policy sectors.	OLAD / Network 41	Ongoing
	Network 41 holds an annual meeting and teleconferences throughout the year.	OLAD / Network 41	Ongoing
	Involve employees designated as "Coordinators 41" in Network 41 activities.	Network 41 / Policy Sector	Ongoing
	Ensure that the Department’s regional offices are represented within Network 41 by coordinators responsible for liaising regionally with OLMCs and other federal institutions, among other responsibilities.	Network 41 / Any other sector concerned	Ongoing
	When analyzing funding applications under transfer payment programs, Justice employees take into consideration the impact of departmental policy actions and decisions on OLMCs.	All sectors concerned	Ongoing
	When conducting program or expenditure reviews or audits, Justice employees take into consideration the impact of departmental decisions on OLMCs.	All sectors concerned	As needed
	As needed, Web pages and promotional or informational materials describing transfer payment programs include a reference to section 41.	OLAD / Communications	Ongoing
	Collaborate, organize and promote Linguistic Duality Day (September) and Rendez-vous de la Francophonie (March).	HRB / OLAD / Champion/ Regions	Annually
	The Official Languages Directorate’s name appears as the Department of Justice Canada’s national coordinator for Part VII of the OLA, and this information is communicated to central agencies and OLMCs.	OLAD	Ongoing
	Complete the implementation of the Protocol on Legal Advisory Services in Official Languages Law: Centralize within OLAD legal advisory services that are provided directly to client departments on official languages law.	OLAD	2017-2019
The Department of Justice Canada establishes productive partnerships and consults, communicates and collaborates with its partners, namely OLMCs, other federal institutions and other levels of government, on matters pertaining to OL when developing or implementing positive measures	Establish a dialogue with key stakeholders (OLMCs, post-secondary education institutions, PCH, TBS):	OLAD – Advisory Committee	Ongoing
	Consult with OLMC national representatives and other civil society representatives on key departmental official languages initiatives to find out what their concerns are and what issues are affecting them.	OLAD – Advisory Committee	As needed
	Organize an annual meeting in partnership with representatives of OLMCs and other civil society organizations	OLAD – Advisory Committee	Annually
	Represent the Department of Justice at PCH conferences and meetings of section 41 national coordinators.	OLAD	Ongoing
	Collaborate with any other federal or Canadian institution on initiatives, actions or projects pertaining to OLMCs and official languages.	OLAD	As needed

Date modified:: 2022-08-25

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