Commissioner's directive 087: Official languages

Responsibilities

1. The Assistant Commissioner, Human Resource Management, is responsible for the Official Languages Program within the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), including the provision of interpretation and tools to ensure consistent application and monitoring of Parts IV, V, VI and XI (section 91) of the Official Languages Act.
2. The Assistant Commissioner, Communications and Engagement, will provide interpretation and tools to ensure consistent application and monitoring of Part VII (section 41) of the Official Languages Act within CSC.
3. Regional Deputy Commissioners will ensure:
1. the demand for services in minority official language is monitored on a quarterly basis in every operational unit
2. any requirement to re-designate an operational unit and modify the Language Obligations of CSC’s Workplaces (Annex B) is reported promptly to the Assistant Commissioner, Human Resource Management
3. positive measures are taken to implement the obligations of Part VII (section 41) of the Official Languages Act.
4. All managers will ensure the effective implementation of this directive in their operational unit.

Services to Offenders

Designation of Operational Units

5. Operational units will be designated as having either comprehensive or basic official languages obligations towards offenders. The designation will be based on the significance of the demand.

Comprehensive Obligations

6. In operational units where there is a significant demand for services in the minority official language, CSC has the statutory obligation to actively offer and provide the offenders with all substantive communications and services in their official language of choice. This obligation applies to both CSC employees and contractors acting on behalf of CSC. Operational units that have comprehensive obligations are listed in Annex B.
7. These communications and services must respect the principle of substantive equality.

Basic Obligations

8. In all other operational units, CSC will make every reasonable effort to offer the following services to offenders in their official language of choice, whether they are provided by CSC employees or contractors acting on behalf of CSC:
1. placement services
2. orientation
3. any other case management activities
4. health care services (institutions only)
5. spiritual services
6. disciplinary action
7. complaints and grievances process
8. correctional interventions.

Offender Placement and Transfers

9. The choice of official language is a significant factor in offender placement and transfer decisions. Offenders must be informed of the language consequences of their potential placement and transfers. As a general rule, offenders who state a preference for the minority official language are not to be placed in, or transferred to, operational units where there is no significant demand in that official language, except under exceptional circumstances. Should such exceptional circumstances change, a placement in an operational unit where there is a significant demand in the official language shall be facilitated at the earliest opportunity.

Provision of Correctional Interventions in the Minority Official Language

10. Regions where no operational unit is designated as carrying comprehensive official languages obligations toward offenders must organize the provision of a reasonable range of correctional interventions (i.e., those assessed as being an important component of parole considerations), in the minority official language of the region. Such correctional interventions are to be made available unless:
1. the number of interested offenders (actual and potential) does not warrant such provision and/or
2. linguistically qualified professionals in the field required are not available in the region.
11. In operational units where the number of minority official language offenders interested in participating in correctional interventions in their official language of choice is too small to constitute a viable group (other than those identified in their Correctional Plan), the following alternatives are considered:
1. offer other interventions that are needed by a greater number of minority official language offenders
2. where feasible, and where security considerations permit, allow minority official language offenders in different operational units of the same region to form a group in order to participate in the correctional interventions in their official language of choice.

Provision of Secondary Services

12. Current videos, newspapers and magazines, television signals and library holdings will be made available in offenders' official language of choice, where feasible.

Oral Communications

13. Where there is a significant demand, substantive communications with offenders will be carried out in English or in French in accordance with the offender's preference.

Establishing Significant Demand

14. Regions must monitor, using monthly Offender Management System data, the demand for services in the minority official language in every operational unit.
15. Quarterly reports will be prepared within 10 business days following the end of the quarter.
16. If, in a particular operational unit, the demand for services in the minority official language exceeds five per cent for a period of six consecutive months, the operational unit will develop a plan to respond to the demand. Should this demand continue for an additional six consecutive months, the plan will be implemented.
17. The operational unit will be re-designated and Annex B will be modified to reflect the change. The same procedure applies to an operational unit which drops below five per cent for a period of twelve consecutive months.

Language(s) Used in Disciplinary Courts

18. Inmate disciplinary hearings are not subject to Part III of the Official Languages Act, as the person conducting the hearing does not carry out adjudicative functions.
19. The disciplinary hearing shall be conducted in the official language of the inmate’s choice. If an accused offender is deaf or does not speak or understand either of the official languages, an interpreter will be provided by CSC.
20. When an operational unit is located in a bilingual region for the purpose of Part V of the Official Languages Act, a CSC employee called to testify at a disciplinary court hearing has the right to provide testimony in the official language of their choice, regardless of the inmate’s official language of choice.
21. In such circumstances, an inmate who is unable to understand an employee’s testimony has the right to the services of an interpreter in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness, which require that the offender be able to understand the disciplinary court proceedings.
22. In unilingual regions, a CSC employee shall testify in the majority official language of the region. An offender who is unable to understand an employee’s testimony has the right to the services of an interpreter in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness, which require that the offender be able to understand the disciplinary court proceedings.
23. For disciplinary court hearings, a CSC employee or contractor may serve as an interpreter if they are bilingual and have no conflicting interest in the disciplinary matter. The person conducting the hearing may choose to serve as interpreter.

Available Means of Redress

24. Offenders must be informed of the various means of redress available to them for infringements of their linguistic rights as defined in the Official Languages Act.

CSC’s Obligations to the General Public

25. Operational units will be designated as having either bilingual or unilingual official languages obligations towards the public. The bilingual designation is based on the nature of the operational unit and significance of demand as per the most recent decennial census data.
26. National and Regional Headquarters, as well as the operational units designated bilingual in Annex B, have the statutory obligation to ensure that any member of the public can communicate with and obtain available services from CSC, or contractors acting on its behalf, in either official language. Communications include telephone reception and follow-up, visitor reception and correspondence.
27. All operational units have the obligation to ensure that the response to written communications received from members of the general public is in the official language chosen by the correspondent.
28. Each operational unit that is designated bilingual in Annex B has an obligation to clearly indicate visually and verbally that members of the public can communicate in either English or French.

Commitments Toward Official Language Minority Communities

29. CSC encourages operational units to take additional positive measures to support, assist and foster the development of official language minority communities.
30. To ensure the promotion of English and French in communities in which it operates, each operational unit will:
1. raise awareness about CSC’s commitments toward official language minority communities
2. consult with appropriate stakeholders that are impacted when developing and/or implementing policies, programs and services that impact official language minority communities.

Commissioner,

Original signed by:

Anne Kelly

Annex A - Cross-References and Definitions

Cross-References

CD 001 – Mission, Values and Ethics Framework of the Correctional Service of Canada
CD 800 – Health Services

Treasury Board Analytical Grid (Substantive Equality) – Caldech (Desrochers) Decision
Treasury Board Directive on Official Languages for Communications and Services
Treasury Board Directive on Official Languages for People Management
Treasury Board Directive on the Implementation of the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations
Regions of Canada prescribed under subsection 35(2) of the Official Languages Act

Definitions

Active offer: clearly indicate visually and verbally that members of the public (including offenders) can communicate with and obtain services from a designated operational unit or office in either English or French.

Bilingual region: region where both English and French are the official languages of work as prescribed in paragraph 35(1)(a) of the Official Languages Act.

Contractor: a person providing services of a prescribed class to CSC under a contract.

Health care services: physical and mental health services, which include health promotion, disease prevention, health maintenance, patient education, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses, in accordance with the National Essential Health Services Framework.

Minority official language: English in Quebec and French in all other provinces and in the territories.

Operational unit: an institution, district or area parole office, or Community Correctional Centre.

Positive measures: actions taken by a federal department that have real and positive effects on the vitality of official language minority communities, and on progress toward the equal status of English and French in Canadian society.

Significant demand: when five per cent or more of offenders in an operational unit in Quebec indicate that English is their official language of choice, or when five per cent or more of offenders in an operational unit outside of Quebec indicate that French is their official language of choice over a one year period.

Substantive communications: all oral or written communications involving the provision of services and programs to offenders and communications involved in disciplinary actions. Casual communications between employees and offenders are excluded from this category.

Substantive equality: when one takes into account, where necessary, the differences in characteristics and circumstances of minority communities and provides services with distinct content or using a different method of delivery to ensure that the minority receives services of the same quality as the majority.

Unilingual regions: regions where one official language predominates. They are all the regions of Canada other than those prescribed in subsection 35(2) of the Official Languages Act.

Annex B - Language Obligations of CSC’s Workplaces

Note: The Information on the current list may change without notice.

National Headquarters

Atlantic Region

Quebec Region

Ontario Region

Prairies Region

Pacific Region