OCOL - Annual Report 2009-2010

Annual Report 2009-2010—Volume I

Communities kept waiting...

For community initiatives to work, the federal government must give them the solid, sustained and timely support they need. Without this support, community organizations can rapidly find themselves in a precarious situation, which negatively affects the vitality of official language communities in the long run.

It is very disconcerting to see that, over the past year, delays in signing or renewing agreements between federal institutions and community organizations have threatened the vitality of English-speaking communities in Quebec and Francophone minority communities elsewhere in Canada.

The Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA) du Canada reports that, in the first half of the fiscal year, funding delays forced many organizations to rely on credit in order to continue their activities. Some organizations were also unable to renew an employee’s contract, and others had to lay off a permanent employee.

The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) reports that none of its members had received funding approval from federal institutions in the first quarter of the fiscal year. Organizations consequently reported severe financial stress, reliance on credit, and non-payment to creditors. Programs were suspended.

RECOMMENDATION

The Commissioner recommends that the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages report, by March 31, 2011, on the actions that he has taken to speed up the signing and implementation of collaboration agreements and other agreements between the federal government and official language minority communities. The Minister is asked to indicate in his report how he has ensured that community organizations receive one quarter of their funding by April 1 of each fiscal year.

A new protocol for agreements: further consultation is needed

In 2009, the federal government and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada announced the signing of the new Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction for 2009–2010 to 2012–2013. However, in most cases, we are still waiting for bilateral agreements between the federal government and the provinces and territories on second-language instruction and minority-language education. It is also unfortunate that the provisions of the protocol that deal with the importance of provinces and territories consulting the associations and groups affected are not applied consistently from one location to another.

Accelerating the implementation of the Roadmap 2008–2013

The Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008–2013: Acting for the Future is the cornerstone of the federal official languages strategy. According to this plan, the government will devote $1.1 billion by 2013 to strengthening Canada’s linguistic duality. Unfortunately, some programs set out in the Roadmap have been slow to start or are still not off the ground. It is important that the federal government take the necessary measures over the next year to accelerate the implementation of the Roadmap 2008–2013 in cooperation with official language communities.

To consult the 2009–2010 annual report, visit the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages Web site at www.officiallanguages.gc.ca.

To order a copy of the report or to obtain a copy in an alternate format, contact us:

Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages
344 Slater Street, 3^rd Floor, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0T8
Telephone: 613-996-6368 Toll free: 1-877-996-6368
TTY: 1-800-880-1990 Facsimile: 613-993-5082
E-mail: message@ocol-clo.gc.ca