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Planning and Reporting

Multi-Year Action Plan 2010/11 to 2014/15 in Support of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act

Status of Women Canada


Table of Contents


General Information

Federal Department/
Agency
Status of Women Canada
MacDonald Building
123 Slater, Street 10th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1H9
cfc-swc.gc.ca
Minister responsible
The Honourable Rona Ambrose
Senior official responsible for the implementation of Part VII of the OLA
Suzanne Clément
Co-ordinator / Head of Agency
Status of Women Canada
Mandate of federal institution
Status of Women Canada (SWC) is the primary federal organization entrusted with the mandate to advance the status of women. It fulfills its mandate by working with a wide range of partners such as federal departments and agencies, provincial/territorial governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.  In so doing, the agency seeks to achieve an enduring outcome for Canadians, i.e., equality for women and their full participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada. To achieve this strategic outcome, SWC uses its Program Activity Architecture to allocate and manage resources, to carry out two Program Activities, to achieve expected results and contribute to the long-term planned outcome.
National Coordinator responsible for implementation of Section 41
Yannick Raymond, Regional Director
Ontario Region
MacDonald Building
123 Slater Street, 10th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1H9
E-mail: yannick.raymond@swc-cfc.gc.ca
Regional Coordinators
Yannick Raymond, Regional Director
Ontario Region
MacDonald Building
123 Slater Street, 10th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1H9
E-mail: yannick.raymond@swc-cfc.gc.ca

Jill Varley, Regional Director
Quebec/Nunavut Region
1564 St. Denis Street
Montreal, Quebec
H2X 3K2
E-mail: jill.varley@swc-cfc.gc.ca

Nicole T. Bujold, Regional Director
Atlantic Region
109 - 1045 Main Street
Moncton, New Brunswick
E1C 1H1
E-mail: nicole.bujold@swc-cfc.gc.ca

Rubina Malik,  Interim Regional Director
Pacific/West/Prairies/Northern Region
Suite 1001, Highfield Place
10010 - 106 Street NW
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 3L8
E-mail: rubina.malik@swc-cfc.gc.ca

Period covered by the Plan
2010-11 to 2014-15

Results-Based Action Plan
Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act
2010-11 to 2014-15

The commitment of the Government of Canada to gender equality has been reaffirmed through domestic and international instruments such as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as well as the United Nations Beijing Platform for Action.

Status of Women Canada (SWC) is the primary federal organization entrusted with the mandate to advance the status of women. It fulfills its mandate by working with a wide range of partners such as federal departments and agencies, provincial/territorial governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. In so doing, the agency seeks to achieve an enduring outcome for Canadians, i.e., equality for women and their full participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada. To achieve this strategic outcome, SWC uses its Program Activity Architecture to allocate and manage resources, to carry out two Program Activities, to achieve expected results and contribute to the long-term planned outcome.

In fulfilling its mandate, SWC is committed to enhancing the vitality of official language minority communities, to assist in their development, and fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society. The agency has an important role in assisting Official Language minority women (OLMW) to become active players in the development of their communities, to participate actively in processes that shape their lives and contribute to the development of Canadian society at large.

SWC uses different mechanisms such as: program delivery, capacity-building for gender-based analysis, communications and consultations, developing and disseminating policy research tools, facilitating engagement in public policy processes and others. SWC directorates continue to work with official language minority women's (OLMW's) organizations, collaborate with key stakeholders within the federal Public Service, other levels of governments and communities.

SWC fulfills its mandate within a context where progress has been made on the overall status of women, on the one hand, and gender equality gaps that persist on the other. According to various studies, including Women in Canada, 5th Edition (2006), women have made gains in academic achievement, workplace representation, income and other areas. The economic returns of this progress could be substantial.

In spite of this progress, economic, social and other gaps between women and men persist. For example, women across all occupations continue to earn less than men. In 2007, women earned 84 cents for every dollar per hour earned by men. In some cases, this gap is even wider and more persistent. Aboriginal women as well as immigrant women, senior women and women with disabilities remain disproportionately below the poverty line in Canada.

In 2010-2011, having completed the key aspects of its organizational change, SWC will be looking beyond the transition period to solidify gains for women in Canada in specific areas of priority. The results achieved through the transformation of the organization include enhanced accountability on gender equality, better tools to meet the Federal Accountability Act requirements, a wider program reach, improved ability to develop strategic partnerships, and to leverage resources and new strategic directions that are fully aligned with Government of Canada priorities. These results provide opportunities to further improve SWC's performance, in an effort to strengthen its expected results and to make progress towards its strategic outcome.

SWC has already initiated strategic partnerships to advance women's economic security, to address violence against women and to increase the participation of women and girls in leadership roles across the country.

The Action Plan for 2010-2011 to 2014-2015, in support of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act (OLA), will be implemented within the context of the broad mandate of SWC and will address the identified needs of OLMW as indicated in the SWC framework for Section 41. The Action Plan will also build on the existing results in the six categories.

SWC looks forward to continued collaboration with its partners in pursuing these efforts.


Summary of Main Expected Results

Status of Women Canada (SWC) will continue to strengthen ties with the official language minority communities and its commitment to these communities. As suggested by the Department of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women Canada will continue to carry out activities by category of anticipated results. The categories are:

Awareness

SWC will continue to promote government policy on official languages so as to reach its employees more effectively and raise their awareness of linguistic duality. Efforts will be made to use internal information tools such as the Intranet site to disseminate current information on Section 41 of the OLA and on issues and priorities of official language minority communities to its employees. This will help ensure that the agency's regional directorates and regional offices, including programs, projects, activities, policy development, gender-based analysis and services associated with public activities, continue to actively support the official language minority communities and promote their development. SWC will continue to support various activities associated with the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie.

Consultation

The Agency will continue to participate in departmental consultations on the implementation of the Government of Canada's Action Plan for Official Languages. It will hold meetings of the Consultative Committees for English and French-speaking Minority Communities and ensure that the communities are involved in the deliberations concerning the future issues of particular interest to women within the Action Plan for Official Languages. SWC will ensure that the official language minority communities' interests are represented when decisions are made on other programs, policies, new initiatives and priorities.

Communications

Information on programs and services will continue to be provided to official language minority communities, including the regional coordinators network and the official language minority community media. The SWC Web site continues to be a major source of bilingual information. SWC Regional Coordinators will work towards the development of a communication plan that reflects the linguistic duality of their regions, based on the communication plan developed by SWC's Atlantic Region.

Coordination and Liaison

SWC will continue its participation in the Federal Official Languages Champions Network. It remains a partner in the network of national coordinators responsible for the implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, the Federal Council Official Language sub-committees, and consultative and interdepartmental committees. Whenever possible, SWC will strengthen existing ties and cooperation with other government institutions and Canadian Heritage's regional offices responsible for interdepartmental coordination in order to maximize community initiatives. Efforts will be made to develop strategic partnerships with other departments and other levels of government for the benefit of official language minority communities.

Funding and Program Delivery

The Agency will continue to manage programs to improve women's equality for official language minority communities. The results achieved through the recent organizational change at SWC will include a wider program reach.

Accountability

Status of Women Canada will continue to make diligent use of its grants and contribution monitoring system to maintain an efficient financial management system that is always able to identify the required documents and projects supporting the official language minority communities. This system maintains effective accountability for the assistance it provides to official language minority communities. Key aspects of the recent organizational change within the Agency will result in enhanced accountability on gender equality and better tools to meet the requirements of the Federal Accountability Act.


Communication Plan

SWC maintains regular and ongoing contact with the public, its partners and key stakeholders in order to provide timely and accurate information about its activities. This communication serves not only to inform the public, media, parliamentarians, and other stakeholders, but also to respond to enquiries about the status of the organization and its activities.

This report will be distributed to the following:

  • SWC staff
  • Members of the Committee of Deputy Ministers on Official Languages
  • Members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages
  • Members of the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages
  • Commissioner of Official Languages
  • Official Language Minority Community groups and organizations at national, regional and local levels

This report will also be available, in downloadable format, on the SWC Web site (/).

NB Given the evergreen nature of this document, it is subject to change. All changes will be made available immediately through the Web site.


Signatures




Yannick Raymond
National Official Languages Section 41 Co-ordinator, and
Regional Director (Ontario)
Status of Women Canada
613)992-7784

Date




Suzanne Clément
Co-ordinator
Status of Women Canada
(613)995.7838

Date


Annex 1
Acronyms and Abbreviations

AGE
Agenda for Gender Equality
FAA
Federal Accountability Act
IPOLC
Interdepartmental Partnership with the Official-Language Communities
MAF
Management Accountability Framework
OL
Official Languages
OLA
Official Languages Act
OLMC
Official Language Minority Communities
OLMW
Official Language Minority Women
PCH
Department of Canadian Heritage
SWC
Status of Women Canada
TBS
Treasury Board Secretariat
WP
Women's Program

Annex 2
Detailed Action Plan

A. Awareness

(Training, information, orientation, awareness, communication and other activities carried out in-house in order to educate employees and/or senior managers of the federal department/agency about linguistic duality and the priority of OLMCs; senior manager performance contracts and recognition programs; taking the view of OLMCs into account during research, studies and investigations).

Main Expected Results Main activities planned in order to achieve expected results Indicators to measure results

Increased staff knowledge about Section 41, OLA, linguistic duality, legislative obligations of SWC and better understanding of the needs and priorities of OLMW.

Network of employees with representatives from all regions.

Strong leadership and management support for effective implementation of Section 41, OLA.

Increased organizational capacity to implement Multi-Year Action Plan (2010-2015)

  • All in-house activities, including written materials, messages, events, other functions will be in compliance with the OLA and promote the bilingual character of Canada.
  • In-house activities to mark key equality dates will feature activities and guests that reflect the linguistic duality of Canadian society, including the diversity within OLMW.
  • Distribution of Bulletin 41-42 to staff as a sensitization tool
  • Training of new staff will include information on their responsibilities with respect to Section 41, OLA.
  • In-house information tools (such as the Intranet, internal newsletters and e-mails) regularly present information and activities pertaining to Section 41, OLA and OLMCs.
  • Management Team meetings include information sharing and discussions about current issues and priorities of OLMW.
  • Copies of PCH 'Coordinators' Guide - Official Languages: Development of Communities and Linguistic Duality' will be made available to regional coordinators

Enhanced and regular feature of linguistic duality in all SWC activities

Demonstrable knowledge, among staff and management, of the Multi-Year Action Plan for implementing Section 41 (2010-2015).
This network will draft a communication plan with key activities to reach targeted audiences.
Increased exchange of information, sharing of experiences among directorates and regions with regards to SWC Action Plan for Section 41 (2010-2015).

Increased number of SWC staff who meet official language levels.

Recognition of best in-house practices in the implementation of the Multi-Year Action Plan.

Quality of Section 41 reports from regions and directorates with a focus on identified results.

Copies distributed to members of the network on OL as well as regional coordinators.

B. Consultation

(Activities (e.g. committees, discussions, meetings) through which the department/agency consults the OLMCs and dialogues with them to identify their needs and priorities or to understand potential impacts on their development, activities (e.g. round tables, working groups) to explore possibilities for cooperation within the existing mandate of the department/agency or as part of developing a new program or new policy; participation in consultations with OLMCs coordinated by other government bodies; consultation of OLMCs by regional offices to determine their concerns and needs.

Main Expected Results Main activities planned in order to achieve expected results Indicators to measure results

Increased representation of OLMW in SWC consultations, public policy processes, policy research, funding and program delivery, gender based analysis capacity building and commemoration events of key equality dates.

Issues, needs and priorities of OLMW are known to staff and are addressed in SWC decision-making processes.

Input, expertise and representation from OLMW is actively sought for SWC initiatives, including domestic and international activities.

The needs of OLMW and organizations are systematically taken into consideration during strategic planning sessions.
  • SWC will continue to communicate and interface with OLMCs as necessary.
  • SWC staff will attend community consultations in order to gather information that can be used in departmental decisions regarding Section 41.
  • SWC staff will attend activities organized by OLMW's organizations, where needs and issues are identified and discussed
  • Participation in strategic meetings organized by and for linguistic minority women's organizations.
  • Employees find out about activities arranged by OLMCs, share this information with other women's organizations and participate in some of these activities.

Increased communication with OLMW regarding SWC programs, activities, and their availability to and access by the group.

Increased awareness among SWC regional offices and directorates of new and emerging issues pertaining to OLMW as a result of on-going or new consultations with the group.

The extent of opportunities provided to OLMW to participate in policy processes, consultations, research and other activities organized by SWC.

C. Communications

(External communications activities to inform OLMCs about the activities, programs and policies of the department/agency and to promote the bilingual character of Canada, inclusion of OLMCs in all information and distribution lists, use of the department's agency's web site to communicate with OLMCs).

Main Expected Results Main activities planned in order to achieve expected results Indicators to measure results

OLMW receive up-to-date information on SWC's program, services and activities.

Mechanisms and tools to reach out to OLMW are part of the communication strategy of SWC.

Expanded participation by a greater diversity of OLMC women in equity issues.

Strengthening of ties with partners.

  • Bulletin 41-42 used to inform OLMW about SWC activities related to Section 41.
  • SWC mailing lists, invitations, information documents and other tools will continue to be accessible in both Official Languages.
  • SWC will maintain, update its web site to make wide range of information available on-line in both Official Languages.
  • Dissemination of relevant information to OLMW's organizations on SWC policies, programs, services, events, publications
  • Articles are submitted for inclusion in Bulletin 41-42 to provide information on initiatives funded by the Women's Program (WP) and to inform OLMW about SWC programs, services and activities
  • Continuation of partnerships through active and effective communication.

Increase in number of OLMCs that appear on information and mailing lists.

Continued representation of OLMW in key activities organized by SWC or at the invitation of SWC.

Number of contacts initiated by OLMW with SWC offices across the country with regards to information received through different methods.

D. Coordination and Liaison

(Coordination activities (research, studies, meetings, etc) carried out by the department/agency itself along with other federal departments or other levels of government, participation in activities organized by other federal departments, other levels of government, etc; participation of official languages champions, national, and regional coordinators, etc. in various government forums)

Main Expected Results Main activities planned in order to achieve expected results Indicators to measure results
  • Greater collaboration with PCH with regards to IPOLC investment
  • Continued dialogue, information exchange and sharing of experiences with federal, provincial and other levels of government.
  • Greater opportunities to raise OLMW issues in government meetings, discussions and others.
  • Greater access to relevant information by SWC staff to work more effectively with OLMW's communities.
  • SWC National Coordinator, Section 41 will continue to work with PCH colleagues with regards to IPOLC funding to ensure achievement of stated objectives and identified results.
  • SWC national and regional coordinators for Section 41 will participate in OL learning events, meetings and others.
  • OL champion will continue to play a leadership role.
  • SWC will maintain contacts with federal partners, provincial/territorial bodies who work on Official Languages.
  • Strengthening of regional coordinator training and provision of resources to implement Section 41, OLA.
  • Provide copy of PCH Coordinators' Guide – Official Languages Development of Communities and Linguistic Duality to all regional coordinators.
  • Together with the national coordinator, Article 41, regional coordinator attends meeting organized by PHC with OLMCs.
  • Participation in regional meetings with other levels of government.

Increased information-sharing activities and varied partners.

Perception by partners of improved partnership with SWC on Section 41, OLA.

Number and frequency of meetings and consultations attended by SWC staff where Section 41 or OLMW issues are raised and/or discussed.

Evidence of SWC strategic intervention regarding Section 41, OLAat government consultations and/or meetings at local, regional and national levels.

E. Funding and Program Delivery

[Implementation of the agency's programs and delivery of its services; funding, alone or in cooperation with other federal departments/agencies, of OLMC projects; inclusion of the needs of OLMCs in the delivery of the agency's programs and services.]

Main Expected Results Main activities planned in order to achieve expected results Indicators to measure results

Enhanced organizational capacity among OLMW groups to organize and mobilize their membership to identify, assess and address their issues at local, regional and national levels.

OLMW's organizations develop strategic partnerships among themselves to address common challenges in the economic, social, political and legal spheres.

OLMW's organizations are better equipped with knowledge, skills and tools to engage in and influence public policy processes of different levels of government.

OLMW are well informed with regards to programs, services and activities provided to communities, organizations and individuals by different levels of government.

Increased participation by OLMW in initiatives on women's equality issues.

  • Continue to provide funding, technical assistance and strategic support for initiatives by OLMW's organizations at local, regional and national levels.
  • Maintain and enhance strategic funding in partnership with PCH through IPOLC for capacity building initiatives by OLMW's organizations.
  • Continue to target OLMW in specific initiatives by other women's organizations that address equality issues pertaining to women.
  • Maintain, renew or initiate contacts with local OLMW's organizations to identify strategies to address new and emerging issues.
  • Provide information on SWC-funded initiatives to OLMW's organizations.
  • Guaranteed access to programs and services, taking into account the diversity and geographic distribution of OLMCs.
  • Support for efforts and initiatives of ethnocultural communities through targeted funding, technical assistance and strategic advice.
  • Coordination and regular conference calls involving the regional team in order to identify the issues and the actions to be taken.

OLMW's organizations produce more cohesive and systematic analyses in their grant proposal of issues that affect their membership and constituency in regions.

Number of funded initiatives designed to address issues pertaining to OL minority women.

Number and quality of outputs produced by funded initiatives.

Evidence of outputs produced by funded initiatives contributing to outcomes identified under the SWC framework for the implementation of Section 41, OLA.

Evidence of incremental capacity to report on outcomes achieved through SWC-funded initiatives.

Number of official OLMW's organizations engaged in strategic partnership, capacity building, engagement in public policy processes and outreach to membership.

F. Accountability

(Activities through which the agency integrates its work on the implementation of section 41 of the OLA with the department's/agency's planning and accountability mechanisms (e.g. report on plans and priorities, departmental performance report, departmental business plan, status report on implementation of section 41 of the OLA, etc.); internal audits and evaluations of programs and services; regular review of programs and services as well as policies by senior managers of the federal department/agency to ensure implementation of section 41 of the OLA.)

Main Expected Results Main activities planned in order to achieve expected results Indicators to measure results

Production of an annual report that clearly addresses all elements of the Action Plan 2006-2009 and the results achieved; performance indicators and evaluation mechanisms are more clearly identified.

Continued implementation of results-based management

SWC environmental scan, planning, reporting and other exercises integrate issues pertaining to implementation and outcome of Section 41.

  • Development of more specific performance indicators and mechanisms.
  • Verify the WP evaluation reports prepared by SWC in 2010 in order to identify recommendations pertaining to OLMC women and determine follow-up.
  • WP evaluation report in order to identify recommendations pertaining to OLMC women and determine follow-up.

Directorates will take into consideration SWC obligations under Section 41 in planning and reporting exercises.

Reports for OLA will indicate activities and results achieved in the implementation of Section 41.