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Planning and Reporting
Results-Based Status Report on the Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act 2007-2008
Status of Women Canada
Table of Contents
Summary of Key Results - 2007-2008
Awareness
Consultations
Communications
Coordination and Liaison
Funding and Program Delivery
Accountability
- Acronyms and Abbreviations
- Detailed Status Report
- Initiatives Undertaken by Official Language Minority Women's Organizations
- Initiatives Targeting Official Language Minority Women
General Information
Status of Women Canada |
MacDonald Building |
Minister responsible : |
The Honourable Josée Verner |
Senior official(s) responsible |
Clare Beckton
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Mandate :
|
The mandate of Status of Women Canada (SWC) is to "coordinate policy with respect to the status of women and administer related programs." SWC is a federal government organization that promotes the full participation of women in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada. It works to advance equality for women and to remove the barriers to women's participation in society, putting particular emphasis on increasing women's economic security and eliminating violence against women. |
National coordinator |
Valerie Lavergne |
Regional Coordinators |
Suzanne Lacroix, Acting Regional Director Anita Beausoleil, Regional Director Thérèse Lamartine, Regional Director Nicole Bujold, Acting Regional Director Huguette Leclerc, Director |
Action Plan Highlights
Status of Women Canada (SWC) promotes the full participation of women in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada. This strategic outcome flows from SWC's mandate and is strengthened by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canada's adherence to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
In fulfilling its mandate, SWC is committed to contributing to the vitality of official language minority communities, assisting in their development, and fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society. SWC continues to work in collaboration with key partners, including Canadian Heritage, Canadian organizations and other stakeholders to carry out its legislative obligations under the Official Languages Act (OLA). SWC provides support for projects that help facilitate the full participation of official language minority women in the economic, social and democratic life of Canadian society.
The implementation of section 41 of the OLA is carried out in the context of SWC's broad mandate and within a framework that identifies community needs and expected results. SWC uses different mechanisms, such as program delivery, gender-based analysis, communications, consultation activities, policy work, and continues to work with official language minority women's (OLMW's) organizations, collaborates with key stakeholders within the federal Public Service, other levels of government and communities.
The key elements of the SWC Multi-Year Action Plan 2006–2009 are identified below:
Community Needs
SWC continues to monitor and identify the needs of OLMW through various consultation mechanisms. The key community needs fall under four areas:
- Access to government programs, services and information: access to health and social programs and services, information on relevant federal, provincial/territorial programs and information materials (e.g. reports, tools, research publications).
- Financial, material and technical assistance: funding and technical assistance for projects designed to address issues pertaining to OLMW.
- Greater participation in official language minority communities and the efforts to achieve the full participation of women: to become full and active participants in their own communities and to advance women's participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canadian society.
- Opportunities to contribute to the public policy process: greater recognition, by departments and agencies, of the presence, realities and issues of OLMW, as well as mechanisms to facilitate their participation in the public policy process.
Activity Categories and Expected Results
The main activities in the Action Plan fall under the six categories identified for section 41. The activities under each category are designed in the context of expected results that, in turn, contribute to the SWC outcomes under section 41 of the OLA:
Awareness
- Some of the main expected results under this category include enhanced and more visible leadership and a greater management role in supporting section 41, increased staff awareness about the legislation, knowledge of SWC obligations under the Act, increased exchange of information among directorates and greater integration of the section 41Action Plan in the corporate planning and reporting activities.
Consultation
- It is expected that the availability of timely and accurate information to staff will increase, SWC planning and reporting exercises will be supported by data pertaining to section 41 and SWC staff are aware of new and emerging issues affecting the target group.
Communications
- Some of the expected results under this category include improved communication between SWC and its partners, particularly OLMW, who will be informed of SWC programs, services and activities via different communication mechanisms.
Coordination and Liaison
- SWC expects to broaden and improve its existing partnership with different stakeholders at different levels and benefit from the best practices and lessons learned from others in enhancing its strategy to implement section 41.
Funding and Program Delivery
- In delivering the Women's Program (WP), SWC will seek to ensure access to its grants and contributions by OLMW's organizations to carry out projects that promote the full participation of women in the economic, social and democratic life of Canadian society.
Accountability
- SWC expects to see heightened awareness of OLMW issues among accountability function teams and officers.
- SWC will ensure that its strategic planning process, including the priority setting exercises, integrates the needs of official language minority women.
The following pages provide the 2007-2008 context within SWC and the key results in six categories: awareness, consultation, communications, coordination and liaison, funding and program delivery, and accountability.
Summary of Key Results - 2007-2008
Context
In 2007, the Government of Canada announced that additional funding would be invested in the Women's Program (WP). The new resources have increased the grant and contribution level from $10.8 million to $18.75 million, representing an increase of 75%. The WP Terms and Conditions were subsequently modified to reflect the creation of the following two components:
Women's Community Fund |
The government will build on this achievement through the development of an Action Plan that will advance the equality of women and girls across Canada through the improvement of their economic and social conditions and their participation in democratic life. Canada's current and future prosperity depends on the economic prosperity of women. They, in turn, influence the prosperity of their families and their communities. If Canada is to continue to be one of the most prosperous countries in the world, women must be able to participate in and to experience the benefits ensuing from economic prosperity.
SWC will continue to focus on initiatives in line with government priorities that directly affect women, including OLMW, and simultaneously ensure the integrity and coherence of its core functions and activities, taking into account its financial situation. As such, the WP will continue to work closely with Canadian not-for-profit and for-profit organizations on issues such as the elimination of violence against women and girls, economic security and prosperity, as well as women and leadership. In addition, contribution funding will continue to the Sisters-in-Spirit initiative to address sexualized, racialized violence against Aboriginal women.The five SWC offices are:
- Western Region—Edmonton Office serves British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Yukon.
- National —Ottawa office serves national organizations.
- Ontario Region — Ottawa office serves Ontario.
- Quebec & Nunavut Region—Montreal office serves Quebec and Nunavut.
- Atlantic Region—Moncton office serves New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
The results identified under the Multi-Year Action Plan 2006-2009 for Section 41 are linked to the strategic outcome of SWC. As such, OLA results are consistent with and complement the SWC strategic outcome. In implementing section 41 of the OLA in 2007-2008, SWC used its different roles and activities, including program delivery, communications, consultation activities, policy work and gender –based analysis. As SWC continues to make progress in implementing section 41 of the OLA, the results achieved annually contribute to the corporate outcomes as well as to the horizontal results of the Government of Canada, under the legislation.
Given the strengthening of the OLAwiththe adoption of Bill S-3, SWC reviewed in 2007-2008 its Multi-Year Action Plan 2006–2009 and has taken additional positive measures to support official language minority communities (OLMCs). SWC has multiplied its efforts to submit articles for Bulletin 41-42 that showcase the projects of OLMW's organizations, funded through the Women's Program. Such articles contribute to increasing the profile of the important work carried out by these organizations and draw attention to issues of concern to OLMW, such as increasing women's economic security and eliminating violence against women.
SWC has identified additional mechanisms to reach out to, consult with and respond to OLMW's organizations seeking funding from the Women's Program. For example, many information and training sessions were held across the country to inform OLMW, other women as well as federal/provincial/territorial partners about the new funding guidelines for the Women's Community Fund and the Women's Partnership Fund, as described under Consultations in Annex 2.
The following section highlights the key results achieved in relation to the various initiatives carried out in the reporting year.Awareness
SWC is committed to meeting its responsibilities under s. 41 of the OLAthrough the continued effective implementation of the Multi-Year Action Plan 2006–2009, including increasing staff knowledge, providing timely information on s. 41 and on the situation of OLMCs, and improving the use of both official languages.
SWC's Champion of Official Languages and the National Coordinator played an important role in increasing awareness of linguistic duality in the workplace. In 2007–2008, in-house activities reflected the bilingual character of Canada. The daily use of both official languages was promoted in the workplace, particularly at meetings, including Executive Committee meetings, and employees were encouraged to work in the official language of their choice. Various tools and resources were shared with managers and other staff, including Canadian Heritage (PCH) tools and its guide to the preparation of the Results-Based Status Report; Bulletin 41-42; theAnnual Report 2006-2007 of the Commissioner of Official Languages; reports and presentations by OLMCs, and various materials from the Official Languages Information Campaign of the Canadian Public Service Agency, etc. New employees received information on SWC's responsibilities with respect to s.41. Both official languages were increasingly used during staff meetings and conference calls.Consultations
SWC continued its efforts to provide opportunities for OLMW to raise issues unique to their communities. For example, SWC ensured that official language minority Aboriginal women participated in the National Aboriginal Women's Summit held in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador in June 2007. SWC attended meetings of a number of Francophone women's organizations, for example, the Annual General Meeting of the Coalition des femmes francophones de l'Alberta to assess current and future priorities, and consultations on the strategies of Pluri-elles, the Francophone women's organization in Manitoba. The priorities of OLMW continued to be taken into consideration in program delivery at local, regional and national levels.
The Coordinator, SWC, conducted outreach presentations to OLMW's organizations, including meetings in the Fall of 2007 with Acadian women from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. These meetings resulted in SWC funding a number of projects related to OLMW from these two provinces.Communications
In order to respond to the needs of OLMW, SWC used different communication mechanisms to inform OLMW, including its Web site, news releases, speeches, fact sheets, information sessions, conference calls and regular contacts between staff and organizations. For example, the Western/NWT and Yukon region held four conference calls in early Fall 2007 to provide information to organizations across the Prairie provinces, British Columbia and the NWT/Yukon on the new funding guidelines. SWC also provided information, through its toll-free and local numbers. SWC staff participated in various OLMC events. SWC had its first article published in the Winter 2008 issue of Bulletin 41-42. The article concerned an event attended by forty young women on the theme Le pouvoir, c'est osé, organized by the Alliance des femmes de la francophonie canadienne, as part of a project funded by the WP. SWC developed materials in both official languages to inform the public, including OLMCs, of the new WP mandate, objectives and funding guidelines through information sessions held in many provinces.
SWC continued to encourage the involvement of OLMW and their organizations in activities such as, International Women's Day, Women's History Month, and the Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case, and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.Coordination and Liaison
SWC continued working with its partners, such as Canadian Heritage (PCH), other federal departments and agencies, as well as provincial and territorial governments, on issues pertaining to women, including OLMC women. In maintaining its close partnership with PCH, the National Coordinator attended the periodic meetings of national coordinators organized by PCH, the Acting Regional Director of the Atlantic region participated in the regional meeting of national and regional coordinators, s. 41, held in St. John's in May 2007. She also identified five OLMW's organizations from Newfoundland and Labrador for participation at the meeting. The Champion and National Coordinator attended the third Annual Official Languages Good Practices Forum in November 2007. Regional coordinators also participated in many meetings and events involving OLMCs. The funding collaboration through the Interdepartmental Partnership with Official Languages Communities (IPOLC) continued, thus providing financial and technical support to projects carried out by OLMW's organizations to address challenges faced by the target group.
Funding and Program Delivery
In 2007–2008, OLMW benefited from the services, outputs and outcomes obtained through projects funded by the WP. SWC approved funding totalling $5,217,854 and provided technical assistance for 26 projects, designed to facilitate the participation of OLMW in Canadian society by addressing their economic and social situations as well as their democratic participation through Canadian organizations. This support included over $1.80 million for 10 projects carried out by OLMW's organizations. Sixteen other projects, which were carried out by organizations other than OLMW's, targeted different groups, including OLMW. Of the 26 organizations funded, eight were new clients to SWC.As well, OLMW benefited from other SWC-supported projects that had a direct impact on women in their communities. These projects produced outputs and outcomes that contributed to the SWC Action Plan and the results expected under the OLA.
- SWC continued, for a fourth year, to partner with PCH through the IPOLC and co-funded the following six projects:
- Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes
Sensibilisation et démarches entreprises auprès des décideurs afin de contrer la violence institutionnelle faites aux femmes ["Awareness and Action Undertaken with Decision Makers to Address Institutional Violence against Women"] - Agence de promotion et de développement des francophones de Toronto
Planification stratégique portant sur le renforcement des capacités des femmes au sein de l'Agence de promotion et de développement des francophones de Toronto ["Strategic Planning Regarding the Skill Development of Women within the Agence de promotion et de développement des francophones de Toronto"] - Comité réseau
Accessibilité vers l'égalité et l'équité ["Access to Equality and Equity"] - OPALE - Regroupement francophone de femmes handicapées
Profil de la femme handicapée francophone : implantation des recommandations ["Profile of Francophone Women with Disabilities: Implementing Recommendations"] - Association Acadienne et francophone des ainées et ainés du N.-B.
Rencontre des Générations - Le Groupe de travail Femmes Équité Atlantique
L'Équité économique et les femmes acadiennes et francophones en situation minoritaire dans les provinces atlantiques : se faire entendre ["Economic equity and Acadian and Francophone minority women in the Atlantic provinces : Making ourselves heard"]
- Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes
Accountability
There was a greater integration of the SWC's s. 41 Action Plan in the corporate planning (Report on Plans and Priorities) and reporting/accountability (Departmental Performance Report) activities. The performance measurement tools and guide to the development of the Agency's official language status report, provided by the Interdepartmental Coordination Directorate, PCH, were used to prepare the Results-Based Status Report 2007–2008.
Communication Plan
Distribution List
- SWC staff
- Members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages
- Members of the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages
- Commissioner of Official Languages
- Key Official Language Minority Community Organizations at national, regional and local levels
This report will be available, in downloadable format, on the SWC Web site (http://www.cfc-swc.gc.ca/)
Signatures
Date
Valerie Lavergne
National Official Languages Section 41 Co-ordinator
Status of Women Canada
Telephone : (613) 947-0932
Date
Clare Beckton
Coordinator
Status of Women Canada
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- International Women's Day (March 8)
- Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case
- Women's History Month (October)
- International Day of the Girl
- National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (December 6)
- Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada
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