Implementation of section 41 of the Official Languages Act

Advisory Sub-Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages

• Context
• Mandate
• Role
• Members
• Contact

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Context

The Advisory Sub-Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages is created as a result of the Environmental Scan: Access to Justice in Both Official Languages.

Within the general framework of support for the Fund's objectives, the Sub-Committee contributes to the implementation of access to justice in both official languages.

The Sub-Committee is established to create links between official language communities and the legal community serving these communities. It will also enable the Department of Justice to know and take into account the issues connected to access to legal and judicial services in minority official languages. In the same view, it will allow the Department to make known the considerations that guide its actions in this area.

The Sub-Committee is a forum for exchanging information and consulting in matters of access to justice in both official languages. It comes under the Advisory Committee on Justice in Official Languages, to whom it reports on its activities and whose directions it implements.

Mandate

The mandate of the Advisory Sub-Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages is to act as liaison between the legal representatives of official language minority communities, spokespersons for Official Language Minority Communities organizations and the Department of Justice Canada on issues that have an impact on access to legal and judicial services in minority official language. Issues under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General of Canada are excluded from this mandate.

Role

The role of the Sub-Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages will be to:

• facilitate consultation between communities and the official language minorities legal community and the governmental organizations represented;
• encourage the sharing of information between members;
• develop strategies to educate official language communities about their rights, but also destined to the majority;
• identify needs regarding the development of tools needed to improve access to justice in both official languages in Canada;
• identify partners.

Members

• Department of Justice Canada representation:
  • Policy Sector (including one representative from Consultation)
  • Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund
  • Programs
  • Legal Aid
• Legal community representation:
  • Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de common law (FAJEF) and the French-speaking lawyers associations
  • Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA), community and legal representation
• Centers for jurilinguistics :
  • The Centre de traduction et de terminologie juridique de Moncton (CTTJ)
  • The Ottawa Center for Legal Translation and Documentation (CLTD)
  • The Institut Joseph-Dubuc in Winnipeg
  • The Quebec Research Centre of Private and Comparative Law (QRCPCL)
• Law Faculties: Moncton, Ottawa, McGill, Laurentian (Department of Law and Justice)
• Francophone affairs network officials in provinces and territories
• Quebec Community Groups Network
• English Legal Community of Quebec

Contact

Sylvie Bourgault
Legal Advisor
Telephone: 613-946-7016
Fax: 613-946-3106
Email: sylvie.bourgault@justice.gc.ca