English and French in the workplace...what federal employees need to know (March 1995)
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Of all the topics connected with official languages, language of work is perhaps the one that prompts the most enquiries. With this in mind, the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages decided to inform employees of federal institutions (i.e., departments, agencies and Crown corporations) of their rights and obligations, in particular regarding bilingual regions. Although this brochure cannot cover every aspect of the topic, we hope that it answers most employees' questions.
The Official Languages Act - A few words of introduction
The Official Languages Act sets out the official languages rights of Canadians when they deal with federal institutions, which include federal government departments, agencies (boards, commissions,councils), and Crown corporations. The Act also applies to Air Canada.
A key part of the Act (Part IV) deals with the right of members of the public to request and receive services from offices of federal institutions in English or French at their choice, where these offices have a significant demand for these services in either language or where the nature of the services is such that they should be available in both official languages.
Another part of the Act (Part V) sets out the circumstances in which employees in certain regions have the right to use English or French when working within federal institutions, e.g., participating in meetings, receiving instructions, writing internal documents. It specifies the obligations of departments, agencies and Crown corporations to create work environments that allow their employees to use the official language of their choice when they are not serving the public.
This brochure deals with Part V of the Act, "language of work".
