Contraventions Act Fund, Summative Evaluation
3. Metholodgy
- 3.1. Document review
- 3.2. Key informant interviews
- 3.3. Site visits
3. Methodology
The methodology used to conduct this summative evaluation has three main components: a document and file review, key informant interviews, and site visits.
3.1. Document review
To get a detailed understanding of the Contraventions Act Fund and of the provincial prosecution schemes in Ontario and Manitoba, a range of documents were reviewed:
- Contraventions Act agreements and other documents related to the implementation of the Contraventions Act Fund
- official program documentation
- reports submitted by provincial governments on the implementation of activities funded through Contraventions Act agreements
- court decisions and expert opinions relating to the Contraventions Act, Part XVII of the Criminal Code (section 530), and Part IV of the Official Languages Act
- annual reports from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages
- RMAF for the Contraventions Act Fund
- legislative and regulatory frameworks applicable for the prosecution of provincial offences.
3.2. Key informant interviews
Key informant interviews were conducted with representatives from the federal government, the provincial governments of Ontario, Manitoba, British Colombia, and Nova Scotia, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages and the Association de juristes d'expression française de la Nouvelle-Écosse. Table 3 presents the distribution of key informants consulted.
| Key informant group | Number of individuals consulted |
|---|---|
| Department of Justice Canada | 2 |
| Commissioner of Official Languages | 1 |
| Attorney General of Ontario | 1 |
| Manitoba Justice | 1 |
| French-language Services Secretariat (Manitoba) | 1 |
| Association des juristes d'expression française | 1 |
| Total | 7 |
3.3. Site visits
Site visits were conducted in Nova Scotia and British Colombia. The site visit in Nova Scotia was conducted on June 15, 2007 and the site visit in British Colombia was conducted on July 18 and 19, 2007. Two court locations were visited per province.
- In Nova Scotia, site visits were conducted in court offices located in Halifax and Darmouth. These sites meet the criteria established in the Official Languages Act regulations for the provision of bilingual services and the Contraventions Act Fund is supporting activities.
- In British Colombia, site visits were conducted in court locations in Victoria and New Westminster. These are the only two sites that are designated as bilingual in accordance with the Official Languages Act regulations, and the Contraventions Act Fund is supporting activities in these two locations.
- Findings from the site visits conducted as part of the formative evaluation of the Fund, in Ontario and Manitoba, were also considered as part of this summative evaluation.
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