Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages (CADMOL): Terms of reference

On this page

• History
• Mandate
• Chair
• Membership
• Scope
• Guiding principles
• Structure and operations
• Secretariat
• Review of the Terms of reference

History

The Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages (the Committee) was created by the Clerk of the Privy Council in 2006. The Committee mandate was to oversee the development and implementation of horizontal official languages initiatives, such as the five-year federal official languages strategies.

In fall 2017, the Clerk of the Privy Council expanded the Committee’s role, tasking it with monitoring the implementation of recommendations made in the Patrick Borbey and Matthew Mendelsohn report on the use of official languages in the federal public service, entitled The Next Level: Normalizing a Culture of Inclusive Linguistic Duality in the Federal Public Service Workplace.

In June 2023, the modernized Official Languages Act (the Act) assigned the President of the Treasury Board responsibility for coordinating the implementation of the Act and ensuring its good governance. As a result, responsibility for CADMOL was transferred from Canadian Heritage to the Treasury Board Secretariat in April 2024.

Mandate

The Committee plays a key leadership role with respect to official languages. It supports and monitors the development of official languages programs and policies. It provides strategic advice and leadership to advance files and priorities within federal member institutions.

CADMOL takes measures to ensure the Act is well known and understood within federal institutions. It contributes to fostering coordinated government action on official languages and the related outcomes for Canadians.

Chair

CADMOL is chaired by the Chief Human Resources Officer of Canada at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, who is vested with constituent authority. Under their leadership, meetings are co-chaired by assistant deputy ministers of federal institutions that play a key role in the governance and horizontal coordination of official languages.

• Treasury Board Secretariat, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer
• Canadian Heritage,  Assistant Deputy Minister, Official Languages, Heritage and Regions
• Privy Council Office, Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Public Service Renewal Secretariat
• Justice Canada, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Law and Legislative Services

The co-chairs:

• facilitate and take turns chairing Committee meetings, with the exception of the annual plenary meeting, which is chaired by the Chief Human Resources Officer;
• demonstrate commitment to the Committee's mandate by actively participating in its meetings;
• approve proposed agenda items for meetings;
• provide strategic direction for the Committee's discussions, and play an active role in the Committee's strategic decisions; and
• exercise a leadership role in identifying and implementing the Committee's strategic outcomes.

Membership

CADMOL members consist of assistant deputy ministers and equivalents from federal institutions that play a role in implementing the Official Languages Act. Members designate a delegate at the director general level to support them in their role and replace them at meetings, when required.

The federal institutions partnering in the government’s five-year official languages strategies and those with a strong potential to contribute to the promotion of official languages in Canada and within the public service are part of CADMOL. CADMOL includes 27 member institutions:

1. Global Affairs Canada
2. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
3. Translation Bureau
4. Privy Council Office
5. Public Service Commission of Canada
6. Canada School of Public Service
7. Employment and Social Development Canada
8. Finance Canada
9. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
10. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
11. Justice Canada
12. Canadian Heritage
13. Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions
14. Health Canada
15. Treasury Board Secretariat
16. Service Canada
17. Transport Canada
18. Canada Border Services Agency
19. National Defence
20. Environment and Climate Change Canada
21. Royal Canadian Mounted Police
22. Indigenous Services Canada
23. Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
24. Correctional Service of Canada
25. Shared Services Canada
26. Public Services and Procurement Canada
27. Statistics Canada

Scope

The Committee’s scope of activities revolves around the following themes:

• Strengthening mechanisms for horizontal official languages governance
• Implementation of the Official Languages Act
• Implementing the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and the regulation governing the applicability of this Act
• New regulations for official languages
• Horizontal issues related to:
  • Part IV (Communications with and Services to the Public)
  • Part V (Language of Work)
  • Part VI (Participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians)
  • Part VII (Advancement of Equality of Status and Use of English and French)
  • Section 91 of the Act
• Implementation and assessment of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028
• Official languages research
• Litigation and court decisions on official languages
• Significant recommendations of the Commissioner of Official Languages

The scope of the Committee’s activities is reviewed every two years.

Guiding principles

The following principles guide the work of the Committee:

Strategic leadership

Exercise strategic leadership to advance official languages issues in policies and programs across the federal public service.

Collaboration

• Maintain open and constructive dialogue with all CADMOL members to identify solutions to complex common issues.
• Consider consulting stakeholders, including federal institutions, official language minority community representatives and other external partners for decision-making purposes.
• Use the Committee as a platform for generating ideas, inspiration, and enthusiasm among members to better promote official languages within federal institutions.

Consistency and harmonization

• Work collectively to align with Government of Canada priorities and standardize approaches and practices across federal institutions.
• Translate discussions into concrete, actionable measures that inspire and mobilize change.

Accountability

• Bring key horizontal issues to higher authorities (e.g., Public Service Management Advisory Committee)
• Maintain momentum by regularly following up on agreed priorities and initiatives.

Structure and operations

CADMOL activities take many forms, they include:

1. An annual plenary meeting, at the start of the fiscal year, chaired by the Chief Human Resources Officer of Canada, to provide an update on shared challenges and set the Committee’s priorities for the coming year.
2. Quarterly 90-minute meetings chaired by one of the four co-chairs to address horizontal official languages issues and advance priorities.
3. Ad-hoc meetings on specific topics, with targeted participation, i.e. including members or non-members concerned by these subjects.
4. Email communications and information sharing.
5. Optional horizontal official languages leadership activities (e.g. Conference of Official Languages Champions).

Steering committees and working groups

The Committee establishes steering committees or working groups to study specific issues and develop recommendations when necessary.

Two steering committees have been created to further official languages priorities and issues:

• Steering Committee for Federal Horizontal Initiatives
• Steering Committee for the Coordination of Official Languages Research

Canadian Heritage is responsible for coordinating the activities of these two committees. Members, which include directors general responsible for the programs in question, meet as required and report and submit recommendations to CADMOL for guidance.  They focus on coordinating horizontal federal strategies and official languages research.

Other issues of strategic interest that support the work of CADMOL (e.g. language of work) may result in the creation of additional steering committees.

Secretariat

The CADMOL Secretariat is provided by the Official Languages Centre of Excellence, People and Culture Sector, Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer at the Treasury Board Secretariat.

All coordination activities are carried out in close collaboration with the other co-chair representatives (Canadian Heritage, Justice Canada and Privy Council Office).

The Secretariat is responsible for providing CADMOL with support, including planning meetings and ensuring follow-up activities.

The Secretariat:

• develops agenda content;
• prepares briefing material and presentations;
• manages committee membership;
• shares briefing materials with members at least one week prior to a scheduled meeting; and
• establishes (in collaboration with the co-chairs) a mechanism for monitoring recurring trends or issues, and a vision for future initiatives to effectively support decision-making.

Review of the Terms of Reference

The terms of reference are reviewed every two years.