Chapter 1-2 - Active Offer
(Publié aussi en français sous le titre Chapitre 1-2 - Offre active)
Table of Contents
Policy objective	1
Policy statement	1
Application	1
Policy requirements	1
Signs	1
Information	2
Reception areas	2
Telephone and in-person reception	2
Serving clients in their official language of choice	3
Public messages in both official languages	3
Monitoring	3
References	3
Enquiries	3

Policy objective
To ensure that each office or service point that must provide services in both official languages is clearly identified and encourages clients to use the official language of their choice.
In accordance with the Official Languages Act and the regulations on service to the public, only offices or service points of federal institutions, or a third party acting on their behalf, that have to provide their services in both official languages (hereafter referred to as designated offices or service points), have to make an active offer of these services in both languages.
Policy statement
It is government policy that, in designated offices or service points, federal institutions or third parties acting on their behalf must:
-	make it clear to all members of the public that they can communicate with and be served in the official language of their choice; and
-	provide services of comparable quality in either official language.
Application
This policy applies to all federal institutions other than the Senate, the House of Commons and the Library of Parliament, and to any other organization when an act or another legal instrument so stipulates it.
Policy requirements
Actively offering services in both official languages means indicating spontaneously and clearly to members of the public that they will receive services of comparable quality in either official language at designated offices or service points.  The office or service point must, of course, be able to effectively provide these services.
Signs
1.	To allow the public to locate more easily federal government offices providing services in both official languages and to facilitate the request for services in either English or in French at the client's choice, federal institutions in Canada and abroad must use an official languages symbol and, where appropriate, complementary signs to direct members of the public to staff who can serve them in the official language of their choice.
2.	To standardize signs indicating that services are available in both official languages in Canada and abroad, institutions for which the Treasury Board is the employer must use the official symbol of the Treasury Board Secretariat.  Even though other federal institutions are not required to use the Secretariat's symbol, they must, nevertheless, use a symbol for this purpose.
Information
3.	To make it easier for the public to have access to services in English and French, federal institutions must:
–	inform members of the public where designated bilingual offices or service points are located;
–	advise the linguistic minority periodically of the bilingual services available;
–	ensure that greetings and services are provided to the public in both official languages from phone numbers of offices or service points that are designated bilingual and that are listed as such in government directories and in the blue pages of other telephone directories;
–	ensure that offices not required to provide services in both official languages can, nevertheless, refer clients to an office that can serve them in the other official language.
Reception areas
4.	Reception areas of designated offices or service points must signal clearly to members of both linguistic groups that the office or service point can serve them effectively in the official language of their choice.  Federal publications (pamphlets, documentation, electronic signs, forms or other written material) must be available in English and French and be displayed in order to reflect the equal status of both official languages.
Telephone and in-person reception
5.	In designated offices or service points, federal institutions must greet the public in a way that makes it evident that services are available in either official language.  When communicating by telephone or in-person, the client must clearly perceive that there is a choice to use either English or French, particularly when the employee initiates the conversation.
6.	Each office or service point having to serve the public in both official languages must ensure that unilingual employees in contact with the public can refer the clients communicating with them by telephone or in person in the other official language to a colleague who can serve these clients effectively and promptly in the official language of their choice.
Serving clients in their official language of choice
7.	In designated offices or service points — whether it is a simple request for information or a complex transaction — telephone, automated systems or in-person communications must be in the official language the client chooses.
Public messages in both official languages
8.	In designated offices and service points, oral announcements (recorded or not) and written messages addressed to the public must be in both official languages.  Messages recorded on the answering machines of receptionists and staff in bilingual positions must be bilingual.
Monitoring
The Treasury Board Secretariat will ensure that this policy is implemented through:
–	monitoring by either the institution, the Official Languages and Employment Equity Branch, or both;
–	agreements on official languages with the Treasury Board, including annual management reports;
–	follow-up of the reports and special studies done by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.
References
Section 28 of the Official Languages Act
Treasury Board Manual, Communications volume, Federal Identity Program (FIP), chapter 2 (requirements about the presentation of signs and written communications in both official languages)
Guide:  Official Languages Symbol, Implementation Principles, Treasury Board Secretariat  (Supply and Services Canada sells the symbols)
Enquiries
Please direct enquiries to the person responsible for official languages in your institution.  This person may then address policy interpretation questions to the:
Official Languages and
Employment Equity Branch
Treasury Board Secretariat