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Official Languages Accountability and Reporting Framework

From: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

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Accountability and reporting framework

  • Context
    1. Over the years, the Government of Canada has developed a series of tools to support the implementation of the Official Languages Act (the act) by defining the responsibilities of federal institutions and partners, as well as reporting requirements. The accountability and reporting framework is part of this series of tools: it presents updated responsibilities and requirements with regard to accountability and reporting. This section of the document presents a brief overview to describe when and how the accountability and reporting framework was developed as part of the approach.
    2. In 1994, the federal government established an accountability framework to strengthen the implementation of sections 41 and 42 of the act.  These sections aimed to enhance the vitality of official language communities and  foster the recognition and use of the English and French languages within Canadian society. This framework ensured that  parliamentarians and the general public were informed of the measures taken by federal institutions and the results achieved in promoting English and French in Canadian society.
    3. In 2003, as part of a government initiative to strengthen official languages—the centrepiece of which was the first Action Plan for Official Languages—the government adopted the Official Languages Accountability and Coordination Framework. This framework had 3 objectives: to make all federal institutions aware of their obligations, to strengthen consultation mechanisms with official language minority communities in order to better inform decision-making, and to establish an overall coordination approach for the government’s official languages processes.
    4. The Horizontal Results-based Management and Accountability Framework for the government’s Official Languages Program was developed in 2005 as a follow-up to the Action Plan and in response to the need for accountability throughout the federal government. This framework standardized interdepartmental coordination and explained how resources, authorities and expected results should be aligned at all levels to advance the implementation of Canada’s official languages policy. The results-based logic model for the Official Languages Program found in this framework, which highlights the links between the contributions of the partners involved and the underlying logic of the Official Languages Program, continues to be an important tool for all federal institutions.Footnote 1
  • Modernizing the Official Languages Act
    1. With the modernization of the act in 2023, and in response to the need to update official languages governance across the federal government, the government has developed a new accountability and reporting framework.Footnote 2 This framework replaces the 2003 Official Languages Accountability and Coordination Framework and :
      • is intended for all federal institutions subject to the act
      • specifies the roles and responsibilities of federal institutions
      • describes the support mechanisms to help implement institutional obligations in terms of official languages
      • describes the administrative, parliamentary and court remedies available in the event of non-compliance
      • specifies expectations with respect to accountability for official languages
      • does not modify in any way the duties of each federal institution with respect to the act as a whole, the specific roles assigned by the act to key ministers and agencies or the government’s commitmentsFootnote 3
      • must be read in conjunction with the act, the applicable regulations and policy instruments

Leadership and horizontal coordination within the federal government

Coordinating the implementation of the act by federal institutions

  • President of the Treasury Board
    1. The President of the Treasury Board leads the implementation of the act within the federal government in consultation with other federal ministers and ensures its good governance.

Coordinating the implementation of specific obligations by key federal institutions

  • Treasury Board
    1. The Treasury Board, as a Cabinet committee, is primarily responsible for developing and coordinating federal policies and programs for the implementation of Parts IV, V, VI as well as subsection 41(5) and paragraph 41(7)(a.1) of Part VII of the act. To this end, it must:
      • establish policies, recommend policies to the Governor in Council or issue directives to federal institutions to give effect to Parts IV, V and VI
      • in consultation with the Minister of Canadian Heritage, establish policies, recommend policies to the Governor in Council or issue directives to federal institutions to give effect to subsection 41(5) and paragraph 41(7)(a.1)
      • monitor and audit federal institutions under its responsibility for their compliance with these policies, directives and regulations
      • evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of policies and programs of federal institutions relating to the official languages of Canada
      • provide information to the public and to employees of federal institutions relating to the policies, directives and programs that give effect to Parts IV, V and VI, and provide information to employees of federal institutions relating to the policies, directives and programs that give effect to subsection 41(5) and paragraph 41(7)(a.1) of Part VII of the act

      The Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada is the administrative body responsible for supporting the Treasury Board in carrying out these functions.Footnote 4

  • Minister of Canadian Heritage

    Developing and maintaining a government-wide strategy on official languages

    1. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, in consultation with the President of the Treasury Board and in cooperation with other federal departments, develops and maintains a government-wide strategy that sets out the overall official languages priorities.Footnote 5 The Minister tables the strategy periodically in each House of Parliament and makes it available to the public. The Minister reports on the results of their horizontal coordination of the government-wide strategy in their report on departmental results and annual report on official languages, which are submitted to Parliament, and develops an accountability framework to monitor the strategy’s implementation measures. In addition, each federal partner institution included in the government-wide strategy is responsible for the implementation of its initiatives and activities and the performance measurement strategy associated with these activities. Each federal partner institution reports publicly on activities and results achieved through the annual reports on official languages submitted to Parliament by the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

    Periodic review of the provisions and application of the act

    1. On the 10th anniversary of the coming into force of the act and every 10 years thereafter, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, in consultation with the President of the Treasury Board, must review the provisions and operation of the act.Footnote 6
    2. Under the act, the review must analyze the enhancement of the vitality of the English and French linguistic minority communities and of the protection and promotion of the French language and culture in Canada over the previous 10 years. It may include any relevant qualitative and quantitative socio-demographic indicators. The Minister of Canadian Heritage must table a report of the review in each House of Parliament within the time limits prescribed by the act.

    Commitment: section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

    1. The Minister of Canadian Heritage must establish a process for the federal government to implement subsection 41(4) of the act, which requires the Minister to estimate periodically the number of children whose parents have, under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the charter), the right to have their children receive their instruction in the language of the English or French linguistic minority population of a province or territory, including the right to have them receive that instruction in minority language educational facilities.

    Consultation and information to public

    1. The Minister of Canadian Heritage must take appropriate measures to ensure public consultation in the development of policies and review of programs relating to the achievement of the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society and must provide information to the public relating to those policies and programs.
  • Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
    1. The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, as appropriate, provides the government with legal advice, represents the government before the courts, drafts bills and regulations in both official languages, and promotes access to justice in both official languages.
    2. The Minister is responsible for the horizontal coordination of language rights through the following actions:
      • advising the federal government on the interpretation of language rights and formulating the government’s position in disputes involving language rights
      • examining initiatives, programs and policy directions likely to have an impact on official languages, to identify their legal implications
    3. The Minister takes into account the importance of equal access to justice in both official languages in their recommendations to the government for appointing judges to superior courts.
    4. In addition, through their recommendations to the government for appointing judges to federal courts, the Minister sees to it that these courts ensure that judges are able to hear cases without the assistance of an interpreter.

Specific responsibilities of ministers named in the act

  • Minister of Canadian Heritage
    1. The Minister of Canadian Heritage must advance the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society. To this end, they may take measures to:
      • enhance the vitality and support the development of the English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada
      • support the development of francophone culture in Canada, the implementation of official languages support programs, and the conclusion of agreements with the provinces and territories in education and other areas to improve the delivery of services to English and French linguistic minority communities in their own language
  • The Minister of Foreign Affairs
    1. The Minister of Foreign Affairs must implement the federal government’s commitment to advancing the use of English and French in the conduct of Canada’s foreign affairs and to promoting French as part of Canada’s diplomatic relations.
  • Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
    1. The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of francophone immigration in enhancing the vitality of French linguistic minority communities. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has a specific role in this regard and must adopt a policy on francophone immigration to enhance the vitality of French linguistic minority communities in Canada, including by restoring and increasing their demographic weight. This policy must comply with subsection 44.1(2) of the act. 

Responsibilities of all federal institutions

  • General responsibilities
    1. For greater certainty, every federal institution must comply with the act and any regulations made under the act. In fulfilling their obligations, federal institutions must ensure that official languages are explicitly included in human and financial resource planning, and in strategic and operational decision-making processes.
    2. Federal institutions must comply with the Treasury Board policies established under the act which apply to them.
    3. Deputy heads exercise key leadership in their institutions in the area of official languages and must fulfill their responsibilities for official languages governance within their institutions as set out in the Treasury Board’s Policy on Official Languages.Footnote 7 In particular, they are responsible for designating the following:
      • an official languages unit responsible for coordinating the institution's official languages responsibilities
      • a person responsible for official languages at an appropriately senior level in the institution
      • a champion or any other person who supports the institution in developing an integrated vision for its official languages program, promotes official languages and aims to have official languages considered in all its decision-making processes
      • a person responsible for implementing section 41 of the act, a responsibility that could be assigned separately or combined with another responsibility within the institution, in keeping with its mandate

      Deputy heads must also ensure that compliance with the Policy on Official Languages and associated directives and standards is included in annual performance appraisals and influences appraisal ratings in institutions for which the Treasury Board is the employer.

  • Responsibilities under Parts I to VII of the act
    1. Parts I to V of the act set out the duties of all federal institutions in terms of parliamentary debates and proceedings, legislative acts, the administration of justice, communications with and services to the public and language of work. The main purpose of these 5 parts is to implement and clarify the language rights established under sections 16 to 20 of the charter. These parts of the act create rights that give rise, in case of alleged violation, to a court remedy, as well as administrative and parliamentary remedies.Footnote 8
    2. Part VI states the government’s commitment to ensuring that English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians have equal opportunities to obtain employment and advancement in federal institutions and that the composition of the workforce of federal institutions tends to reflect the presence of both official languages communities of Canada. Under this commitment, each federal institution must ensure that employment is open to all Canadians, both anglophone and francophone, having regard to the purposes and provisions of the act. The Governor in Council may also take any measure to enforce Part VI through regulations.
    3. Part VII—specifically section 41—sets out the federal government’s commitments to:
      • enhancing the vitality of Canada’s English and French linguistic minority communities and supporting their development
      • fostering the full recognition and use of English and French in Canadian society
      • protecting and promoting French, which is in a minority situation in Canada and North America given the predominant use of English
      • strengthening opportunities for English- and French-speaking minorities to learn in their own language
      • periodically estimating the number of people entitled to instruction in minority-language educational institutions
    4. This part of the act contains provisions stating the obligations of federal institutionsFootnote 9 with respect to the vitality and development of the English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada, the fostering of the full recognition and use of both English and French, and the protection and promotion of French in Canada and North America. Federal institutions must ensure that the commitments set out in section 41 are implemented by taking the positive measures described in subsection 41(6). This part may be the subject of judicial, administrative and parliamentary review. The Governor in Council may prescribe the manner in which the obligations of this part are to be carried out through regulations.
  • Conducting official languages impact analyses in decision-making processes
    1. Throughout its cycle of activities, including strategic planning, development, implementation and evaluation of policies and programs or accountability, federal institutions are expected to analyze and consider the impact of an initiative on compliance with official languages obligations. If a structural decision has a direct negative impact, the federal institution should take the necessary measures to mitigate the impact, to the greatest extent possible.
    2. Institutions submitting Memoranda to Cabinet (MC) must consider their obligations flowing from Parts IV, V, VI and VII of the act and provide details of the potential impacts related to these parts of the act, including measures on how such impacts will be addressed. In carrying out their analyses, drafters are encouraged to consult their institution’s official languages experts and their legal departments, as required.
    3. Federal institutions must ensure that initiatives submitted for Treasury Board approval undergo a systematic analysis of their impact on compliance with official languages obligations under Parts IV, V, VI and VII of the act. Drafters should consult their institution’s official languages experts and their legal departments, as required.

Mechanisms to support official languages governance at the federal level

  • Key departments
    1. Key departments, namely, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Canadian Heritage and the Department of Justice Canada—work together to ensure that information related to compliance with policies, programs, initiatives and governmental documents relating to this framework is shared effectively.
    2. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat supports federal institutions in implementing the Official Languages Program, particularly by providing federal practitioners with policy interpretations, information sessions and work tools.
    3. Canadian Heritage, through its regional offices, liaises with community and federal stakeholders to identify the challenges and priorities specific to each official language minority community. It also develops, maintains and coordinates the implementation of the government-wide official languages strategy with other partner departments.
    4. The Official Languages Branch, Department of Justice Canada, provides advice and guidance to the government and federal institutions with respect to official languages and access to justice.
    5. The Clerk of the Privy Council designates a deputy minister as the Champion of the Public Service Official Languages Community within the federal government. This person is instrumental in promoting official languages throughout the public service, providing strategic guidance to various groups and programs, conducting awareness activities and advancing the cause of official languages.
  • Committees and networks
    1. The Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages (CADMOL), under the responsibility of the Chief Human Resources Officer of the Treasury Board Secretariat, is a key element of the governance structure of the Official Languages Program. The CADMOL is responsible for supporting and monitoring the development of official languages programs and policies and helps foster a government-wide approach to meeting official languages obligations. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat coordinates the activities of the CADMOL Secretariat.
    2. Official languages champions are appointed by the deputy heads of their respective institutions. Their role is to support deputy heads in developing an integrated vision of the official languages program within their institution, to promote official languages and to ensure that they are considered in decision making. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions support the champions in the performance of their duties.
    3. The Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions is a horizontal organization of the Government of Canada in which departments, agencies, Crown corporations and regional federal councils work together to advance and promote the Official Languages Program. Its mandate is to act as an agent of influence for official languages within the Government of Canada, to mobilize deputy heads and official languages champions to promote common approaches, and to ensure that official languages occupy a prominent place at senior management levels.
    4. The Departmental Advisory Committee on Official Languages (DACOL) and the Crown Corporation Advisory Committee on Official Languages (CCACOL), supported by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, promote dialogue and development among those responsible for official languages within federal departments and agencies. Through these committees, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat offers training sessions and provides advice and guidance on horizontal issues relating to official languages with the aim of fostering the full and consistent implementation of federal institutions’ obligations under Parts IV, V and VI of the act.
    5. The network of persons responsible for the implementation of section 41 of the act(Network 41), supported by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, is a community of practice bringing together everyone responsible for the implementation of section 41 of the act in each federal institution.

Administrative, parliamentary and court remedies

  • Commissioner of Official Languages
    1. Under Part IX of the act, the Commissioner of Official Languages is responsible for ensuring that the provisions of the act are respected by federal institutions and other organizations subject to the act.
    2. As part of their duties, the Commissioner receives and investigates complaints. At the conclusion of an investigation, they may provide a report with reasons to the President of the Treasury Board and the deputy head or other administrative head of the federal institution concerned in the circumstances set out subsection 63(1) of the act. The Commissioner may make recommendations in their report and make public the summary and findings of the investigation and any recommendations they made under subsection 63(3). In the course of the investigation, the Commissioner may attempt to resolve a complaint by means of a process of alternative dispute resolution other than arbitration [subsection 62(1.1)].
    3. In certain circumstances specified in the act, the Commissioner may also enter into a compliance agreement with a federal institution cited in a complaint. The complainant may, at the invitation of the Commissioner, be made a party to this agreement. If the compliance agreement is not complied with, the Commissioner provides written notice to the parties and may apply to the Federal Court for an order requiring the federal institution to comply with the agreement or for a remedy. After a compliance agreement is entered into, where the Commissioner has applied to the Federal Court for the suspension of an application regarding the same complaint, the Commissioner may ask the Federal Court to reinstate any suspended proceedings.
    4. If, after carrying out an investigation of a complaint, the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that a federal institution has contravened a duty—or violated a right—under Part IV or V and has made recommendations under subsection 63(3) in respect of that contravention or violation, or in respect of an identical contravention of that duty or violation of that right by the institution, the Commissioner may make an order directing that institution to take any action that the Commissioner considers appropriate to rectify the contravention or violation.
    5. The act also sets out that, under certain conditions, the Commissioner may impose administrative monetary penalties on certain organizations in the transportation sector that offer services to the travelling public when they violate certain provisions of Part IV of the act.Footnote 10
    6. The Commissioner must present an activity report including recommendations, if applicable, to Parliament after the termination of each year. The Commissioner may also make a special report to Parliament on any matter within the scope of their powers, if they deem it necessary.
    7. The act expressly provides for a remedy before the Federal Court with respect to alleged violations of sections 4 to 7, 10 to 13 and 91, or of Parts IV, V or VII. The Commissioner of Official Languages may apply for the remedy, subject to certain conditions, or appear as an intervener. The Commissioner may also intervene in any judicial proceedings relating to the status or use of English or French.
  • Parliamentary committees
    1. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages (LANG) and the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages (OLLO) may examine any aspect of the application of the act, its regulations and any instructions arising therefrom. They are authorized to summon witnesses and compel the production of documents. As such, they contribute to monitoring federal institutions’ compliance with their official languages obligations.

Reporting

  • Ministerial responsibilities
    1. It is understood that each minister must report to Parliament on the exercise of their powers with respect to official languages, in particular through the work of the Standing Committee on Official Languages and the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages.
    2. The Minister of Canadian Heritage submits an annual report to Parliament on the matters relating to official languages for which they are responsible, as required by section 44 of the act.
    3. The President of the Treasury Board also submits an annual report to Parliament on the exercise of the Treasury Board’s powers relating to official languages, as required by section 48 of the act. It is also through this report that the President of the Treasury Board communicates to Parliament the extent to which the various federal institutions have met the objectives set out in Parts IV, V and VI as well as subsection 41(5) and paragraph 41(7)(a.1) of Part VII of the act.
  • Institutional responsibilities
    1. Within each federal institution, the deputy head or other administrative head is responsible for monitoring the institution’s compliance with the requirements of Treasury Board policies. This includes monitoring compliance with the Policy on Official Languages and any other directives and standards setting out requirements relating to legislative and regulatory obligations in the area of official languages.
    2. In accordance with the Treasury Board’s Policy on Official Languages, implementation is evaluated by using performance measurement tools established by the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, in particular the federal institutions’ official languages annual reviews.
    3. Under section 47 of the act, the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Chief Human Resources Officer provides the Commissioner of Official Languages with any reports emanating from their monitoring and auditing of federal institutions for their compliance with official languages policies, directives and regulations within the meaning of paragraph 46(3)(c) of the act.
    4. The implementation of policy requirements is evaluated using performance measurement tools established by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, in particular official languages annual reports submitted by the institutions subject to the act, based on questionnaires developed by the secretariat in collaboration with Canadian Heritage. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat also uses other sources of information such as presentations to the Treasury Board; statistical data provided by the institutions; departmental reports on results; and the results of audits, evaluations, surveys and studies to evaluate institutions’ compliance with the act and its regulations. For institutions subject to the Management Accountability Framework (MAF), the information obtained to evaluate compliance with the Treasury Board’s Policy on Official Languages is used in their MAF assessments.
    5. In addition to ensuring their institution’s compliance with the legislative provisions and the requirements of the Treasury Board’s policies, the deputy head must, under the Treasury Board Framework for the Management of Compliance, take any appropriate corrective measures necessary to restore compliance. They must also advise the Secretary of the Treasury Board of any knowledge or reason to believe that significant non-compliance with a legal or Treasury Board policy requirement has occurred that could undermine or negatively impact the institution or the government.

Review of this framework

  • Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
    1. To ensure that this framework remains relevant in a changing environment, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is responsible for conducting a review of this framework at least once every 5 years from its effective date.

References

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