Accountability and Coordination Framework of the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality - Justice Canada Component Evaluation

1. INTRODUCTION

This document is the final report from the evaluation of the Accountability and Coordination Framework of the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality - Justice Canada Component (hereinafter called the Framework). The horizontal coordination function mentioned in the Framework is a responsibility shared by the Official Languages Secretariat of Canadian Heritage (hereinafter the OLS) and by the Official Languages Law Section of the Department of Justice Canada (hereinafter called the OLLS). The OLLS’s role in connection with the Framework was first incorporated into the 2003 Action Plan for Official Languages and then into the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008-2013. In keeping with the reporting requirements of the Roadmap, the Department of Justice undertook this evaluation.

1.1. Context of the Evaluation

In 2007, Canadian Heritage conducted two evaluations of the Accountability and Coordination Framework: one for the OLS component and the other for the OLLS component (then called the Official Languages Law Group). In keeping with the reporting requirements, the Department of Justice component must undergo another evaluation for the activities carried out under the Roadmap, which is the purpose of this report. However, unlike the previous one, this evaluation was conducted for the first time entirely by the Department of Justice.

1.2. Evaluation Objectives and Scope

This evaluation pertains to the Justice Canada component of the Accountability and Coordination Framework of the Roadmap and is not directly concerned with the Canadian Heritage component. It targets the accomplishments between 2008 and today. The main purpose of the evaluation is to determine the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the OLLS in fulfilling its responsibilities under the Framework.

Since the funds provided under the Roadmap are directly incorporated into the OLLS’s budget, all of its activities are based on a single commitment. As such, it is impossible to easily differentiate the activities arising from the Roadmap from those resulting from the OLLS’s usual mandate. Therefore, this evaluation reflects all of the OLLS’s activities.

The evaluation incorporates the requirements of the Performance Measurement Strategy of the Roadmap and of the Treasury Board’s Evaluation Policy (2009).

1.3. Structure of the Report

This report contains six main sections, including this one. Section 2 provides a detailed portrait of the OLLS, i.e. its mandate, functions and expected outcomes. Section 3 describes the methodology used for carrying out this evaluation. Section 4 presents the main findings from the study based on the topics covered by the evaluation. Section 5 presents the study’s conclusions. Lastly, section 6 gives the recommendations from the study as well as the management response.