2011-2016 Action Plan, Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act

PDF Version (177 Kb, 16 Pages)

Table of contents

General Information

Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Inuksugait Plaza II
Iqaluit, Nunavut X0A 1H0

Mandate

Fostering regional economic development in Canada's three territories by delivering programs, building partnerships to leverage investments in the North, and advocating for the interests of Northerners and Aboriginal people.

Objectives

CanNor brings a strategic focus to all federal government economic development activities in the North. The agency delivers funding programs to Northerners and Aboriginal people, provides project management services and advice through the Northern Project Management Office, advocates for Northern economic prosperity and diversification, and engages stakeholders through formal collaboration and grassroots outreach. It undertakes research to support the development of evidence-based policies that contribute to developed and diversified economies in the North.

Responsible for the Implementation of Part VII, of OLA

Minister
Leona Aglukkaq

Deputy Minister/President
Nicole Jauvin

Official Languages Champion
Michel Robillard
Vice-President

National Coordinator
Ashley Cederwall
Junior Policy Analyst
400 Cooper Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H4
Telephone: 613-992-5065
Fax: 995-9495
ashley.cederwall@cannor.gc.ca
Regional Coordinator - Yukon
Bernard Larochelle
Program Officer
300 Main Street
Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 2B5
Telephone: 867-667-3271
Fax: 867-667-3801
bernard.larochelle@cannor.gc.ca
Regional Coordinator - Northwest Territories
James Pugsley
Resource Development Officer
PO Box 1500
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories X1A 2R3
Telephone: 867-766-8379
Fax: 867-766-8401
james.pugsley@cannor.gc.ca
Regional Coordinator - Nunavut
Cheri Kemp-Long
Regional Economic Development Advisor
Inuksugait Plaza II
PO Box 40
Iqaluit, Nunavut X0A 0H0
Telephone: 867-975-4582
Fax: 867-975-4736
cheri.kemplong@cannor.gc.ca

Summary of Expected Progress in Achieving Results

Awareness
The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency intends to hold information sessions, integrate OL objectives into senior management performance management contracts, create an OL/OLMC section on its Intranet, provide (as needed) training enabling its OL Team to achieve objectives, and disseminate information products to ensure that Agency employees have the tools and knowledge required to implement Part VII, of the Official Languages Act (OLA).

Consultations
The Agency will participate in consultation meetings with OLMC organizations in the territories.

Communications
The Agency will use media targeting the francophone linguistic minority population in the territories, create a presentation page on its Internet site for OLMCs, publish its section 41 action plan and report on results on its Internet site, contribute to Bulletin 41-42, and continue to maintain adequate communication tools to communicate with OLMCs (e.g. francophone organizations included on client distribution lists).

Coordination and liaison
The Agency will work with other federal institutions to continue to be well-informed regarding measures taken to implement section 41 of the OLA. The Agency will continue to participate in interdepartmental meetings of National Coordinators for official languages, Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages, and Interdepartmental Management Committee for Official Languages Program. In addition, CanNor will participate in territorial federal council meetings and consult with Canadian Heritage.

Funding and program delivery
The Agency will continue to ensure that OLMCs have access to its programs and services and will continue to support OLMCs through its programming.

Accountability
CanNor will develop a departmental accountability framework for official languages. The Agency will respond effectively to planning and reporting requirements related to official languages and, to this end, will establish tools to assist its accountability.

A. AWARENESS (In-house activities)

Training, information, orientation, awareness, communication and other activities carried out in-house in order to educate employees and/or senior managers of the federal institution about linguistic duality and the priorities of OLMCs; and senior management performance agreements.

Expected result: Creation of lasting changes in federal institution organizational culture; employees and management are aware of and understand their responsibilities regarding section 41 of the Official Languages Act and OLMCs, which states the Government of Canada's commitment to enhance the vitality of the English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and support and assist their development, and to foster the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society.

Internal Communications
Planned activities to achieve the expected result Expected outputs Indicators to measure progress in achieving the expected result
  • Information sessions will be held for CanNor employees and senior managers on Part VII, section 41 of the OLA (e.g. measures contained in this action plan, their implementation)
  • Information and discussion sessions to raise awareness
  • Explanatory documents
  • Percentage of employees and managers made aware of section 41 of the OLA Part VII and its implementation through the action plan
  • Number of information and discussion sessions held
  • OL Champion will brief the Agency's Executive Committee on OL (at least twice a year), e.g. provide OL guidance, advice or recommendations
  • Briefings and guidance provided by the OL Champion
  • Decisions by Senior Management regarding the Agency's programming and the organization culture reflect section 41 of the OLA Part VII
  • OL Champion will communicate with CanNor's staff to actively promote linguistic duality and OLMCs development
  • Presentations to staff on implementation of section 41 and related activities and on promotion of linguistic duality
  • Number of communications to staff made by OL Champion or on his/her behalf
  • Use of e-mails to communicate information and activities regarding OLA, Part VII, section 41 and OLMCs
  • OL information shared via e-mail.
  • Number of e-mails disseminated to employees
  • Dissemination of documents describing and explaining Part VII, section 41 of the OLA
  • Documents to raise awareness (generally, use of documents already developed by Canadian Heritage or other departments)
  • Percentage of employees having received materials concerning section 41
  • Creation of a section on CanNor's Intranet site on Official Languages, which contains information on OLA, Part VII, section 41 and OLMCs
  • Information published on Intranet
  • Intranet contains updated information on OLMCs and OLA Part VII, section 41
  • A link to editions of Bulletin 41-42, Heritage Canada's magazine on the implementation of section 41 and 42 of the OLA Part VII, will be posted on CanNor's Intranet
  • Electronic links to Bulletin 41-42 posted on CanNor's Intranet
  • E-mail Bulletin 41-42 to agency staff once new issue is released
  • Intranet contains Bulletin 41-42 links
  • Number of employees who received Bulletin 41-42
  • Inclusion of information regarding the implementation of the OLA Part VII, section 41 to the content of orientation kits for new staff
  • Awareness leaflets / documents regarding OLA Part VII, section 41 distributed to new hires
  • Percentage of new employees who receive materials concerning section 41
  • As needed, training for OL Team members will be provided to better support OL implementation
  • Attendance at courses or other training, resulting in OL Team members better understanding OL, providing informed advice to CanNor, and being more effective in championing OLMCs
  • Number of OL team members who took courses/other training
  • Integration of performance objectives related to OLA, Part VII, section 41 in the performance management agreements of senior management, OL Regional Coordinators, and OL National Coordinator
  • Performance management agreements of OL coordinators and senior management contain OL responsibilities
  • Percentage of performance management agreements for senior management and staff engaged in OL that integrate OL responsibilities
  • Percentage of these staff who meet the OL responsibilities in their PMA
  • Organize annual activities promoting the French language and the Francophonie to take part in the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie (annual OL event), e.g. training on applying OL lens
  • Staff awareness of the important contribution of Francophones to the building of our country, better appreciation of the French language and its multiple cultural expressions
  • Number of activities
  • Percentage of staff who participated in activities

B. CONSULTATIONS (Sharing of ideas and information with OLMCs)

Activities (e.g. committees, discussions and meetings) through which the federal institution consults the OLMCs and interacts with them to identify their needs and priorities or to understand potential impacts on their development; activities (e.g. round tables and working groups) to explore possibilities for cooperation within the existing mandate of the federal institution or as part of developing a new program or new policy; participation in consultations with OLMCs coordinated by other government bodies; consultation of OLMCs by regional offices to determine their concerns and needs.

Expected result: Creation of lasting relationships between the federal institution and OLMCs; federal institution and OLMCs understand each other's needs and mandates.

Planned activities to achieve the expected result Expected outputs Indicators to measure progress in
achieving the expected result
  • Implement annual meetings with OLMCs and CanNor representatives as a consultative mechanism, to identify needs and priorities and to strengthen lines of communication between the agency and francophone community organizations
  • Meetings and related documentation
  • Sharing of information
  • Number of meetings held by CanNor with organizations representing OLMCs
  • Participants' level of satisfaction with these meetings (e.g. feedback received at meetings)
  • Regional OL coordinators will maintain regular communication with OLMCs in the three territories, such as the territorial "Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité" (RDEE), to identify their concerns, needs, priorities and discuss current and upcoming projects. The regional OL coordinators will share results with the OL Team and their regional management
  • Meetings
  • Sharing of information
  • Dialogue via e-mail and telephone
  • Number of meetings held
  • Maintenance of good working relationships through continuous dialogue with the communities (e.g. ongoing feedback received)
  • Percentage of meetings for which information is shared by regional OL coordinators to regional management and OL team
  • Consult with OLMCs in the process of developing and/or revising CanNor policies and programs of relevance to OLMCs
  • Meetings and related information/ documentation, e.g. OLMC feedback related to policies/programs in development or in revision
  • Number of consultations held and OLMC feedback/input regarding policy/program development
  • In the event of potential changes in program / service delivery, consult with OLMCs, e.g. on new alternate service delivery / devolution processes (to identify potential effects on OLMC development)
  • Consultation sessions with the OLMCs
  • Related documentation, e.g. OLMC feedback related to alternate service delivery or devolution processes
  • Percentage of cases of potential changes in program/ service delivery, e.g. alternate services delivery or devolution processes, that OLMCs were consulted on
  • Consult OLMCs with respect to CanNor's implementation of OLA Part VII, section 41, in the context of CanNor being a new designated institution and taking related actions as outlined in its OL Action Plan
  • Meetings with OLMCs (e.g. one per territory), and related documentation
  • Number of meetings
  • Participants' level of satisfaction with discussions (e.g. feedback at meetings)
  • On an ongoing basis, Regional Coordinators/ National Coordinator will participate in activities organized by OLMC organizations in each region and will give OLMCs opportunities to provide feedback on CanNor and make suggestions for improvement
  • Activities attended
  • The Agency is continuously aware of the OLMC priorities, needs, and concerns and identify possible collaborations
  • Number of activities attended
  • Degree of mutual understanding of respective mandates and priorities (e.g. ongoing feedback received)

C. COMMUNICATIONS (Transmission of information to OLMCs)

External communications activities to inform OLMCs about the activities, programs and policies of the federal institution and to promote the bilingual character of Canada; inclusion of OLMCs in information and distribution lists; use of the federal institution's website to communicate with OLMC organizations.

Expected result: OLMC culture reflects a broad understanding of the federal institution's mandate; OLMCs receive up-to-date and relevant information about the federal institution's programs and services.

Planned activities to achieve the expected result Expected outputs Indicators to measure progress in
achieving the expected result
  • Creation of a presentation page on the CanNor website dedicated to official languages to display general pertinent information to OLMCs, e.g. important events, announcements, activities, press releases, reports, programs, and policy documents
  • Website presentation page for OLMCs
  • Number of communications documents posted on presentation page
  • Use of territorial francophone media. Community radio: Northwest Territories - CIVR-FM Radio Taiga, Nunavut - CFRT-FM Community papers: Northwest Territories - L'Aquilon, Nunavut - Le Nunavoix, Yukon - L'Aurore Boreale
  • CanNor articles/ communications in media targeting Francophone minority clientele
  • Invitation of francophone media to Agency announcements
  • Number of communications products published
  • Number of invitations extended to francophone media
  • Include OLMC media in CanNor media distribution lists
  • Communications products distributed to OLMCs
  • CanNor media distribution lists contain relevant OLMC contacts
  • Contribute to Bulletin 41-42, Heritage Canada's magazine on the implementation of section 41 and 42 of the OLA Part VII
  • Information submitted for articles in Bulletin 41-42
  • Number of articles submitted to Bulletin 41-42
  • Maintain adequate communication tools to provide OLMCs with the information they need in an efficient and timely manner
  • CanNor communication products such as pamphlets / information sheets produced in French
  • Level of satisfaction of OLMCs with access to information concerning Agency's programs and services (e.g. ongoing feedback received)
  • Post OL plans and reports on website
  • Action plan and annual reports on results posted on CanNor website
  • All action plans and annual reports present on CanNor website

D. COORDINATION AND LIAISON with other government institutions

Coordination activities (research, studies, meetings, etc.) carried out by the federal institution itself along with other federal institutions or other orders of government; participation in activities organized by other federal institutions, other orders of government, etc.; participation of official languages champions, national and Regional Coordinators, and others in various government forums.

Expected result: Co-operation with multiple partners to enhance OLMC development and vitality and to share best practices.

Planned activities to achieve the expected result Expected outputs Indicators to measure progress in
achieving the expected result
  • Participation in the following committees:
    - Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages (CADMOL)
    - Interdepartmental Management Committee for Official Languages Program (IMCOLP)
  • Meetings
  • Number of meetings attended
  • GC OL strategy takes into consideration the perspective of northern OLMCs
  • On a regular basis, CanNor's National and Regional Coordinators will discuss challenges and share best practices via conference calls. The National Coordinator will provide coordination function
  • Best practices and lessons learned shared
  • OL Team has a shared vision and delivers on its goals in a coordinated manner
  • Number and attendance of teleconferences held
  • Regional Coordinators/ National Coordinator participate in territorial Federal Council meetings and activities related to OLA Part VII, section 41
  • Meetings
  • Number of meetings attended
  • The National Coordinator will participate in the National Network of Official Language Coordinators, as well as interdepartmental OL meetings/ forums with other government institutions
  • Meetings / interdepartmental forums attended
  • Number of meetings / interdepartmental forums attended
  • As appropriate, the National Coordinator will continue to consult with Canadian Heritage to achieve common results regarding section 41
  • Canadian Heritage consultations made
  • Informed decisions regarding OLA Part VII, section 41, including with respect to the OL action plan and reporting on results
  • Number of consultations with Canadian Heritage

E. FUNDING AND PROGRAM DELIVERY

Implementation of the federal institution's programs and delivery of its services; funding, alone or in cooperation with other federal institutions of OLMC projects; inclusion of the needs of OLMCs in the delivery of the federal institution's programs and services.

Expected result: OLMCs are part of the federal institution's regular clientele and have adequate access to its programs and services; OLMC needs (e.g. geographic dispersion and development opportunities) are taken into account.

Planned activities to achieve the expected result Expected outputs Indicators to measure progress in
achieving the expected result
  • Support OLMC projects through SINED
  • Projects funded
  • Dialogue with the OLMCs
  • Amount of funding provided for OLMC projects
  • CanNor will work with the OLMCs to support projects under the Economic Development Initiative (EDI)
  • Projects funded
  • Dialogue with the OLMCs
  • Amount of funding provided for OLMC projects
  • The National Coordinator will participate in the EDI implementation committee with Industry Canada and the Regional Development Agencies
  • Attendance at meetings / conference calls
  • Sharing of information and best practices
  • Reporting on the initiative/ projects undertaken under the EDI (number, level of funding)
  • As appropriate, the Regional Coordinators will provide guidance to OLMCs regarding program applications
  • Regional Coordinators consulted
  • Number of consultations held
  • Number of project applications
  • OLMC diversity and geographic dispersion will be taken into account in the delivery of programs
  • CanNor will continue to have regional coordinators in the three territories
  • Program support will take into account OLMC diversity, geographic dispersion, and opportunities for synergies, e.g. through joint OLMC projects across the territories (where appropriate)
  • Amount of funding provided for OLMC projects
  • OLMCs satisfaction with access to CanNor programs (e.g. ongoing feedback received)

F. ACCOUNTABILITY

Activities through which the federal institution integrates its work on the implementation of section 41 of the OLA Part VII into departmental planning and accountability mechanisms (e.g. report on plans and priorities, departmental performance report, departmental business plan and status report on implementation of section 41 of the OLA Part VII); internal audits and evaluations of programs and services; regular review of programs and services as well as policies by senior managers of the federal institution to ensure implementation of section 41 of the OLA Part VII.

Expected result: Full integration of the OLMC perspective and section 41 of the OLA Part VII into the federal institution's policies, programs and services; the reporting structure, internal evaluations and policy reviews determine how to better integrate OLMCs' perspective.

Planned activities to achieve the expected result Expected outputs Indicators to measure progress in
achieving the expected result
  • The National Coordinator will lead the collection of data to report annually on the implementation of OLA Part VII, section 41, e.g. nature / number of activities carried out, OLMC project results
  • CanNor annual report on the implementation of OLA Part VII, Section
    41 (Canadian Heritage template filled out)
  • Nature and number of OL activities carried out (expected to be relatively similar over time)
  • OLMC project results (from CanNor program operations)
  • National Coordinator, in collaboration with the OL Team, will monitor action plan progress and OLMC satisfaction of CanNor's implementation of OLA Part VII section 41
  • Teleconferences
  • Information-sharing
  • Number of OL Team meetings
  • OLMC satisfaction (e.g. ongoing feedback received, survey in FY 5)
  • Establish CanNor's OL accountability framework, e.g. OL structure integrated in departmental organization chart, OL Team governance/ processes outlined in Terms of Reference, OL tasks integrated in annual work plans of National / Regional Coordinators)
  • OL integrated into CanNor organizational structure and governance
  • Completion of a clear accountability framework, with established roles and responsibilities for OL Team members
  • OL tasks integrated in annual work plans of National / Regional Coordinators
  • Application of an OL lens to policy/ program design and delivery, e.g. development of OL assessment tool for program reviews; consideration of impacts on OLMCs, required adaptations, enhanced OLMC development/vitality
  • Use of OL assessment tool(s) from other departments
  • Policies/programs reviewed through OL lens, e.g. in light of Caldech case (towards equal delivery of services in both OL where appropriate)
  • OL assessment tool(s) in place
  • Number of policies/ programs examined through OL lens, e.g. number of reviewed programs / documents to Cabinet
  • Apply OL lens to departmental plans, reports, and due diligence processes (e.g. management of contribution funding projects)
  • RPP, IBP, and DPR and other processes examined through OL lens
  • Provision(s) put in place in light of Caldech case where appropriate
  • OL commitments and related actions reflected in RPP, IBP, and DPR
  • At least twice a year, senior management meetings will include a review CanNor's implementation of the OLA Part VII, section 41, led by the OL Champion
  • Discussion as agenda item at senior management meetings
  • Number of senior management meetings including a review of CanNor's implementation of OLA, Part VII, section 41
  • Adopt a departmental OL complaint resolution mechanism, as it relates to section 41, e.g. new mechanism or the use of an existing one
  • Use of resolution mechanism regarding OL complaints
  • Number of OL complaints for which resolution mechanism was used

List of Acronyms

CADMOL
Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages: horizontal management committee that involves all departments that are part of Canada's Roadmap for Linguistic Duality: Acting for the Future 2008-2013. This committee takes a whole-ofgovernment approach to the official language policy and programming; it is responsible for the promotion of official languages and improved access to Official Languages for Canadians. It receives reports from the Interdepartmental Management Committee on Official Languages (IMCOLP) and other committees involved in the Roadmap's horizontal governance. The committee reports to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
EDI
Economic Development Initiative: source of funding identified by Canada's Roadmap for Linguistic Duality: Acting for the Future 2008-2013 for the economic development of OLMCs. Through CanNor, the Government of Canada provides $400,000 over four years to support the economic development of official language minority communities in the North through this initiative.
IMPCOLP
Interdepartmental Management Committee on Official Languages: horizontal management committee that involves all departments that are part of Canada's Roadmap for Linguistic Duality: Acting for the Future 2008-2013. This committee takes a whole-ofgovernment approach to the official language programming. It tracks ongoing federal issues regarding official languages. The committee reports to the Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages (CADMOL).
OL
Official Languages
OLA
Official Languages Act
OLMCs
Official Language Minority Communities. French-speaking communities living in a territory or province other than Quebec, and English-speaking communities living in Quebec. These are the "English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada" referred to in section 41 of the OLA.
RDAs
Regional Development Agencies. Western Economic Diversification (WED), Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor), Canadian Northern Economic Development Agencies (CanNor), Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED), and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
RDÉE
Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité
SINED
Strategic Investments in Northern Economic Development. CanNor program that focuses on strengthening the driver sectors of the territorial economies, economic diversification and encouraging Northerners' participation in the economy. Projects are prioritized based on five-year territorial investment plans developed with input from territorial stakeholders, and are approved by the Minister of CanNor. Budget 2009, Canada's Economic Action Plan, renewed funding for the SINED program at $90 million over five years (April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2014). For each territory, this means potential federal contributions in the order of 25 million dollars over 5 years for the Targeted Investment Program, the Innovation and Knowledge Fund and the Partnership and Advisory Forums. In addition, a new $5 million dollar Pan-Territorial Fund was established for projects impacting more than one territory.

Glossary

Activities
actions or work undertaken to produce outputs. What is done to reach results: a
direct link.
EDI Partners
Group of representatives from Industry Canada (IC) and each regional development agency: Western Economic Diversification (WED), Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor), Canadian Northern Economic Development Agencies (CanNor), Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED), Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), who collaborate on the delivery of the Economic Development Initiative identified in Canada's Roadmap for Linguistic Duality: Acting for the Future 2008-201.
Indicators
elements of meaningful information used to measure progress towards achieving expected results; indicators can be quantitative (resulting from data collection) or qualitative (resulting from the observation of a phenomenon)
Outputs
direct products or services resulting from the activities, policies, programs or initiatives of an organization
Results/progress
changes or effects directly attributable to the activities, policies, programs or initiatives of an organization

Distribution List

Did you find what you were looking for?

What was wrong?

You will not receive a reply. Don't include personal information (telephone, email, SIN, financial, medical, or work details).
Maximum 300 characters

Thank you for your feedback

Date modified: