Responsibilities with Respect to Official Languages

The Department of Justice Canada has responsibilities with respect to official languages: as legal advisor to the government, as an entity responsible for drafting legislation, and as a federal institution subject to the Official Languages Act.

Legal advisor

The Official Languages Law Group (OLLG) acts as legal advisor to the government on official language files. It is a centre of expertise in language rights. The OLLG sees to it that the Department of Justice's positions on issues that fall under the language provisions of the Constitution, Charter, Official Languages Act, Criminal Code and related federal, provincial and territorial legislation are coordinated and consistent and comply with the spirit and letter of these provisions. The OLLG:

• offers centralized and highly specialized legal opinions and advice;
• offers litigation services and coordinates the positions adopted by the Attorney General of Canada for all language rights files;
• offers training to Department lawyers and to its clients;
• is responsible for developing legal policy and bills on language matters.

Drafting legislation

The Legislative Services Branch is responsible for drafting all Government bills. It drafts acts and regulations in both official languages in harmony with both legal systems, thereby contributing to the broader goal of recognizing and promoting bilingualism and bijuralism.

Federal institution

Human Resources and Professional Development Directorate

The Official Languages Unit of the Human Resources and Professional Development Directorate is responsible for the application of Parts IV (Communications with and services to the public), V (Language of work) and VI (Participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians) of the Official Languages Act within the Department of Justice. It is responsible for developing policies, guidelines, strategies, programs, plans and tools applicable to the Department of Justice as a whole and for advising and directing its employees so as to support the organization's compliance with these Parts of the Act. The Unit also promotes the Official Languages Program and continuously monitors related programs and policies.

Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism

The role of the Justice in Official Languages Unit (JELO, for the French Justice en langues officielles) of the Office of La Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism consists of two components:

• Coordination of the implementation of Part VII of the Official Languages Act within the Department of Justice and, in particular, of the ongoing commitment to Section 41 of the Act (enhancing the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities and supporting their development). In this vein, the JELO Unit has set up a network of regional and departmental program and policy coordinators.
• Support for access to justice in both official languages, most prominently through the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, which funds a range of projects aimed at improving access to the justice system in the minority language by individuals before the courts.

The JELO Unit's implementation efforts are supported by a federal/provincial/territorial and community consultation mechanism.