Contraventions Act Fund, Summative Evaluation

6. Recommendations and Management Response

6. Recommendations and Management Response

Issue 1

One area where communications strategies have differed among the four jurisdictions is signage. In Nova Scotia and British Colombia, court locations designated under Part IV of the Official Languages Act for the purpose of processing federal contraventions display the official languages symbol or its equivalent at counters where bilingual services are available. Other signs in these court locations are displayed in English only. In Ontario, the provincial government has used the Fund to make all signs (both interior and exterior) bilingual in the court locations targeted by its agreement. In Manitoba, all court locations already had bilingual signs (inside and outside) before the Contraventions Act agreement was signed. The approaches taken in Ontario and Manitoba in relation to signage stand as good practices for other jurisdictions to follow.

Recommendation 1

The Department of Justice works with jurisdictions where the Contraventions Act is operational to improve signage in court locations.

Management Response

Management agrees with this recommendation. The Department has already started working towards that goal. Since consultations were held in regard of this summative evaluation, the Department has helped officials in Nova Scotia develop their policies in regard of bilingual signage in the Justice Centers that have been designated under our agreement with that province.

Issue 2

For many provincial officials, the effective implementation of fully bilingual services relating to the federal contraventions is an area where they have little corporate experience to rely on. While each province has its unique prosecution scheme, challenges are common among all provinces that are now involved in the processing of federal contraventions and yet, provincial officials have no means by which they can share their experiences and best practices.

Recommendation 2

The Department of Justice considers establishing a network of provincial officials responsible for implementation of the Contraventions Act.

Management Response

Management agrees with this recommendation. The departmental representative at the FPT Working Group on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages was approached to explore the possibility of adding a subgroup which would serve as a forum for provincial court officers.