ARCHIVED - Chapter 2-3 - Communications Between Regions - Archived version of 1993

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Policy objective

To ensure that, in accordance with the Official Languages Act, employees of federal institutions can use either official language when communicating with other employees even if they work in regions having different languages of work.

Policy statement

It is government policy that communications originating from offices of a federal institution that has authority to direct or provide services to other offices within the institution itself or to other federal institutions respect the language of work of the latter.

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 provides it.

Policy requirements

Communications between the NCR and other regions

1. Communications between federal offices located in the National Capital Region (NCR) and an office in a unilingual region are normally in the language of work of the latter office (i.e., in French in unilingual regions of Quebec and in English in unilingual regions elsewhere in Canada).

2. Federal offices located in the NCR are to ensure, when communicating with an office in a bilingual region, that the communication is either in the preferred official language of the recipient or in both official languages.

Communications between offices of central agencies or common service organizations and other offices

3. Communications between offices of central agencies or common service organizations that have the authority to direct or provide services to other federal institutions and other offices are normally to be:

• in the language of the majority of the population of the province or territory in which the receiving office is located when it is in a unilingual region; however, incumbents of bilingual positions may be served in their preferred official language; or
• in the official language chosen by the recipient or in both official languages when the receiving office is in a bilingual region.

Communications from offices providing supervisory, personal or central services to other offices

4. Communications from offices providing supervisory, personal or central services to employees working in a region having a different language of work follow the rules below:

• Communications relating to personal services and central services are to be provided in the official language of the majority of the population of the province or territory in which the employee works when that employee's office is located in a unilingual region. This requirement applies regardless of the language or languages of work of the office providing these services.
• Communications relating to personal services and central services are to be provided in the official language chosen by the employee who works in a bilingual region. This requirement applies regardless of the language or languages of work of the office providing these services.
• Communications used in the supervision of employees who must work in both official languages are normally to be provided in the official language of the majority of the province or territory in which the employees work if their office is in a unilingual region. This requirement applies regardless of the language or languages of work of the office providing the supervision.
• Communications used in the supervision of employees who must work in both official languages in bilingual regions are to be provided in the official language the employee chooses, if employees occupy bilingual positions or carry out their functions in both official languages. This requirement applies regardless of the language or languages of work of the office providing this supervision.

Other cases

5. In other cases, when the language of work differs, the language of communications between offices is usually that of the office initiating the communication. The onus of understanding the communication is normally on the recipient.

Policy requirements 1 to 5 do not preclude employees agreeing to use the other official language to communicate with each other.

Bilingual written communications

6. Written communications to employees of both language groups working in a bilingual region are normally provided in both official languages.

Whenever both official languages must be used in a written communication, the English and the French versions are to be available at the same time.

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

Sections 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the Official Languages Act

Annex B of the Treasury Board/Public Service Commission Circular 1977-46 of September 30, 1977: Bilingual regions in Canada, i.e., prescribed regions for the purpose of paragraph 35(1)(a) and section 36 of the 1988 Act (see chapter 5-1)

Treasury Board Manual, Communications volume, Federal Identity Program (FIP), chapter 2 (requirements on the presentation of official languages in written communications)

Enquiries

Please direct enquiries to the person responsible for official languages in your institution. This person may then address policy interpretation questions to the:

 

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