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ARCHIVED - Guidelines for Ministers' Offices (2005-09) - Archived
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Part 9 Official Languages
9.1 Official Languages
Ministers and Ministers of State as well as their staff must act in accordance with the prescriptions and requirements of the legislative, policy and program framework described here. Provisions and requirements applicable respectively to Ministers’ and Ministers’ of State parliamentary, departmental and constituency offices can differ.
9.2 Background
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that English and French are the official languages of Canada and have equal rights and privileges in all institutions of Parliament and government and sets out several other provisions on official languages.
The Official Languages Act (1988) gives effect to the Charter provisions on English and French as official languages. The Act and the Official Languages Regulations govern the provision of service to the public in both official languages. There are also policies concerning the application of the Act and Regulations as well as mechanisms in support of the Official Languages Program, most notably access to language training and the provision of translation and interpretation services.
Together, the Act and the Regulations set out the circumstances in which communications with and services to the public are to take place in either official language at the public’s choice.
Section 22 of the Official Languages Act apply to those offices of Ministers and Ministers of State located in the National Capital Region (NCR). The Regulations apply to those offices that are not located in the NCR. There is a Directory of Offices and Service Points (BUROLIS) that serve the public, which identifies all offices and service points with the obligation to provide services and communications in both official languages and is found at http://www.hrma-agrh.gc.ca/burolis/.
Also, employees of federal institutions have the right to work in the official language of their choice in regions designated bilingual for that purpose when they are not serving the public if their position is bilingual or unilingual in their own language.
The government is committed to achieving, with due regard to the merit principle, equitable participation as well as, equal opportunities for employment and advancement of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians in federal institutions.
Each institution that is subject to the Act is responsible for its implementation within its area of responsibility.
The Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada has responsibilities of general direction and coordination regarding the Act’s requirements on service to the public, language of work and equitable participation in all subject institutions; the Senate, the House of Commons and the Library of Parliament are subject to the Official Languages Act, but are not required to follow The Public Service Human Resources Management Agency policies on official languages, and are not accountable to the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency for their performance.
9.3 Service to the Public
Ministers’ and Ministers’ of States offices located in the National Capital Region must have the capacity to communicate with and serve the public in both official languages. This obligation must effectively be discharged in all aspects of their interface with the public, be they written or oral communications. Ministers’ offices must therefore have enough qualified staff to meet these requirements which go from simple bilingual reception on the premises and on the telephone to an ability to deal with the public on substantive issues in both official languages.
9.4 Language of Work
The National Capital Region (NCR) is one of the regions designated as bilingual for language of work. In Ministers’ and Ministers’ of States offices that are located in the NCR, a work environment must be created that allows employees to use the official language of their choice when they are not serving the public. This must be reflected in the conduct and character of meetings, in the acceptance of documents and presentations in either official language, and in the issuing of instructions. Employees occupying bilingual positions or positions requiring the use of either English or French exclusively, must be supervised or have supervision available to them in the language(s) of the position(s) supervised so that employees can speak and write in the official language of their choice.
9.5 Equitable participation
The Official Languages Act commits the federal government to ensuring that English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians have equal opportunities for employment and advancement within federal institutions without regard to their ethnic origin or their first language learned. The composition of the work-force of federal institutions should therefore reflect the presence of both linguistic communities. Ministers’ offices should take these principles into account when establishing the composition of the personnel that will enable an office to meet a Minister’s office needs and the office’s obligations as regards service to the public and language of work.
9.6 Support mechanisms
Ministers’ and Ministers’ of State exempt staff should consult the deputy head of their departments for additional general information on official languages. Departments have a Director of Official Languages or another official responsible for official languages within the department. This person can answer specific questions on departmental official languages programs, policies and issues. More general questions may also be directed to the Office of the Vice-President, Official Languages Branch of the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada, (613) 952-2932.
There are support mechanisms to help in meeting official languages requirements in federal institutions including language training and translation services. There are Treasury Board policies on determining the language requirements of positions, and staffing bilingual positions (http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=12525) as well as a directive on language training and learning retention: http://publiservice.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=12523. There is a guide for the use of translation services. Language training can be made available to Ministers, Ministers of State and their staff to enable those who require a knowledge of both official languages to perform their duties. Translation and interpretation services are also available. These services, when provided within departments and agencies, are on a cost-recovery basis through departmental operating budgets. The cost-recovery principle does not apply when these services are provided through the Senate, the House of Commons or the Library of Parliament.
