ARCHIVED - Archived - Introduction to the Official Languages Program

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Legal background

The 1969 Official Languages Act and the 1973 Parliamentary Resolution on Official Languages in the Public Service of Canada declared the equal status of English and French in all the institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada. The 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms reaffirmed the equality of status of the two official languages, guaranteeing equal rights and privileges as to their use in all federal institutions.

The Official Languages Act that came into force on September 15, 1988, and the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations, adopted on December 16, 1991, not only give effect to the Charter guarantees, but also establish criteria for the provision of services to the public and to employees in either official language. To a considerable degree, the Act consolidates various existing policies and practices.

Note: Except where otherwise stated, all references in this manual to a section of the Act or to the Act are to the Official Languages Act.

Individual rights and institutional obligations

The Canadian approach to legislation on official languages is based on the principle of institutional bilingualism, whereby the duties flowing from the Act are imposed first and foremost on federal institutions. In meeting these obligations, the federal government ensures, within given parameters, respect of the rights of individual Canadians to receive services from, and to work in, federal institutions in the official language of their choice.

The provisions of the Act set out the basic rights of individuals and the duties of institutions. The policies that flow from these provisions must ensure respect for these rights and obligations.

Application

The policies in this volume of the Treasury Board Manual flow from the provisions of Parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act. These Parts of the Act deal with service to the public, language of work, and participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians in federal institutions, respectively. While the provisions of the Act apply to all federal institutions, including departments, agencies and Crown corporations, some of the policies in this manual apply only to federal institutions for which Treasury Board is the employer. The policies apply to Air Canada under the Air Canada Public Participation Act, except where otherwise indicated. Parts of the Official Languages Act and of the policies may also apply to certain privatized organizations under their constitutive act or any other legal instrument.

While all federal institutions must ensure that they take the measures necessary to implement their duties under the Official Languages Act, those organizations that do not have Treasury Board as their employer have the flexibility to choose program management measures appropriate to their organization, such as those involving hiring personnel.

Roles and responsibilities

The implementation of official languages policies within the federal government is a shared responsibility involving a number of players. However, individual departments, agencies and Crown corporations have a crucial role. Each of them is responsible for taking the necessary measures to meet its obligations under the Official Languages Act and pursuant regulations and to apply the policies in the context of its own mandate.

The Treasury Board, on the other hand, has been given the responsibility under subsection 46(1) of the Act for the general direction and coordination of official languages policies and programs relating to service to the public, language of work, and participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians in federal institutions, other than the Senate, the House of Commons and the Library of Parliament.

Subsection 46(2) gives the Treasury Board a number of powers with which to carry out its official languages responsibilities, including the authority to recommend policies or regulations to the Governor in Council, to establish policies and issue directives, to monitor and audit compliance by federal institutions, to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of their programs, to provide information to the public and government employees, and to delegate any of its powers under this section to the deputy heads or administrative heads of federal institutions. In addition, section 48 requires that the President of the Treasury Board submit an annual report to Parliament on the status of the official languages programs in federal institutions. Therefore, it is important for the Treasury Board to receive pertinent and timely information from federal institutions.

Certain other institutions also play a central role in providing guidance and assistance to federal institutions in implementing their official languages programs. These include, among others, the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada, the Department of Justice, the Public Service Commission and the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

The Department of the Secretary of State encourages and promotes the coordination of the implementation of the government's commitment to enhancing the vitality of the official language minority communities and to supporting their development. It takes appropriate measures to advance the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society.

The Department of Justice is officially responsible for the Official Languages Act as a whole, as well as the application of certain provisions of Part II (Legislative and other Instruments) and Part III (Administration of Justice) of the Act. It provides legal opinions on the legislation and, as part of the responsibilities of the Attorney General of Canada, develops the government's position as a party or an intervener in cases involving language rights matters.

The Public Service Commission administers the Public Service Employment Act and is principally involved in the areas of recruitment, staffing (appointments) and training, including language training.

Special mention must be made of the Commissioner of Official Languages who takes actions and measures to ensure recognition of the status of each official language and compliance with the spirit and intent of the Act in federal institutions.

The Commissioner of Official Languages acts mainly as a "linguistic ombudsman", protecting the language rights of Canadians. He receives and investigates complaints made under the Official Languages Act. Unresolved complaints made to the Commissioner about service to the public, language of work, and section 91 of the Official Languages Act (setting objective language requirements when staffing a job) may result in a recourse to the Federal Court.

Part X of the Act specifies that application for a remedy may be made to the Federal Court by any person who has made a complaint to the Commissioner notably with respect to the provisions of Parts IV (service to the public) and V (language of work) and section 91, about objectivity in setting language requirements when hiring. While a remedy cannot be sought before the Federal Court in respect of the provisions of Part VI (participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians), the Commissioner of Official Languages may still conduct an investigation as a result of a complaint to ensure that the spirit and intent of the provisions on equitable participation are respected.

Finally, section 88 of the Act stipulates that a parliamentary committee is responsible for reviewing the administration of the Act, the regulations and directives pursuant to it, and the reports from the Commissioner, the President of the Treasury Board and the Secretary of State of Canada.

The reports of the Commissioner to Parliament, as well as the reports of the President of the Treasury Board and the Secretary of State, are studied by the parliamentary committee on official languages, which takes an active role in the review of official languages programs.

Above all, the success of the official languages program depends on close cooperation between the various players and between English-speaking and French-speaking employees working side-by-side in federal institutions.

Program management

Official languages program administration has evolved from an approach based on centrally prescribed, uniform measures and procedures to a more flexible approach, i.e., allowing individual federal institutions the leeway to adapt certain aspects of the program to their own circumstances. Since 1977, official languages policies have given federal institutions more flexibility in managing their own program. The Increased Ministerial Authority and Accountability (IMAA) management regime introduced in 1986 and, more recently, Public Service 2000, have all contributed to the trend of giving senior managers of federal institutions the authority and flexibility they need to implement the official languages policies and to manage their program in the way they find most appropriate and effective. Federal institutions are, however, accountable to Treasury Board for the results they achieve in implementing the policies.

Policies and guidelines

The policies set out the basic principles as well as the minimum obligations that federal institutions must meet. Since each federal institution has the flexibility to meet its obligations and implement its official languages program in the manner that is best suited to its situation, the official languages policies in this volume do not prescribe specific procedures.

The guidelines accompanying some of the policies provide suggestions to federal institutions that may be useful in implementing the policies effectively. These suggestions have been drawn from the experiences of federal institutions.

 

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