Report on Plans and Priorities 2013–14

Download this document in PDF (308.6 KB)

The Honourable Peter Penashue
President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada

Message from the Commissioner of Official Languages

Graham Fraser, Commissioner of Official Languages

I am pleased to present the 2013–14 Report on Plans and Priorities for the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, which sets out our corporate priorities, expected results and spending estimates.

My primary responsibilities as Commissioner are to ensure that language rights are protected and respected in Canada and to influence how linguistic duality is promoted in Canadian society. As an agent of Parliament, I provide parliamentarians with unbiased advice based on objective and factual information to help them fulfill one of their important roles—that of holding the federal government accountable for its stewardship of the equal status of English and French in Canada. Each day, my office works to uphold linguistic duality as a fundamental value of Canadian society and an essential feature of the federal public service.

During the coming year, my office will intervene strategically with the federal government and other key organizations so that their actions with respect to linguistic duality reach more Canadians. For example, we will work toward improving access to minority-language education and to second-language learning. We will also conduct targeted interventions with the government and with federal institutions to protect language rights in a context of fiscal restraint measures and public service modernization, and to better understand the potential impact of these measures and changes. We will also work with the Treasury Board Secretariat and other organizations to analyze the impact of the 2011 Census on the bilingual services provided to official language communities by government offices across the country.

My office will develop an intervention strategy to call the federal government's attention to the beneficial impact that immigration has on the vitality of official language minority communities. We will also implement a strategy to increase awareness among Canada's two official language communities of the importance of linguistic duality as a Canadian value. In addition, a positive environment for official language minority communities across the country depends upon a harmonious relationship with the two official language communities.

Finally, we will take steps to effectively manage a number of important transitions—including the transition to my successor—while maintaining a healthy work environment within the organization. The relocation of our head office will give us the opportunity to review our work methods and operations. We will be able to maximize all the possible efficiency gains that can come from sharing resources with other agents of Parliament.

Graham Fraser

Section I: Organizational Overview

Raison d'être

The mandate of the Commissioner of Official Languages is to oversee the full implementation of the Official Languages Act,^{Footnote 1} protect the language rights of Canadians and promote linguistic duality and bilingualism in Canada.

The President of the Queen's Privy Council is responsible for tabling the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages' (OCOL's) administrative reports in Parliament, including the Report on Plans and Priorities and the Departmental Performance Report.

Responsibilities

Section 56 of the Official Languages Act states:

It is the duty of the Commissioner to take all actions and measures within the authority of the Commissioner with a view to ensuring recognition of the status of each of the official languages and compliance with the spirit and intent of this Act in the administration of the affairs of federal institutions, including any of their activities relating to the advancement of English and French in Canadian society.

Under the Act, therefore, the Commissioner is required to take every measure within his power to ensure that the three main objectives of the Official Languages Act are met:

the equality of the status and use of English and French in Parliament, the Government of Canada, the federal administration and the institutions subject to the Act;
the development of official language communities in Canada; and
the advancement of the equality of English and French in Canadian society.

The Commissioner of Official Languages is appointed by commission under the Great Seal, after approval by resolution of the House of Commons and the Senate, for a seven-year term. The Commissioner of Official Languages reports directly to Parliament.

Strategic Outcome and Program Alignment Architecture

To pursue its mandate effectively, OCOL strives to attain its single strategic outcome through continued progress on its three interrelated programs, as follows:

Strategic Outcome	Program
Rights guaranteed by the Official Languages Act are protected and linguistic duality is promoted as a fundamental value of Canadian society.	Protection of Linguistic Rights Promotion of Linguistic Duality Internal Services

Organizational Priorities

Based on a review of its environment, OCOL established four corporate priorities. The table below describes each corporate priority, and explains how each priority contributes to the strategic outcome and why it is a priority in the planning process outlined in this report. The table also sets out OCOL's plan in 2013–14 to follow up on each priority. (More details on the initiatives identified in the table are provided in Section II under “Planning Highlights.”)

Priority	Type^{Table note 1}	Strategic Outcome and/or Programs	Description
Table note 1 “Type” is defined as previously committed to (committed to in the first or second fiscal year prior to this RPP); ongoing (committed to at least three fiscal years prior to this RPP); or new (committed to in this RPP). Return to table note 1 referrer Table note 2 Throughout this report, official language minority communities are designated by the term “official language communities.” Return to table note 2 referrer
1. Intervene with the government and other key actors so that their actions towards linguistic duality reach Canadians.	New	This priority is linked to OCOL's Strategic Outcome: Rights guaranteed by the Official Languages Act are protected and linguistic duality is promoted as a fundamental value of Canadian society.	Why is this a priority? The promotion of linguistic duality requires continuous action, yet this action must be specific and regularly renewed. Making English and French more present in the daily lives of Canadians will increase commitment toward linguistic duality and its acceptance as a fundamental value. Plan for meeting the priority: 1.1 Influence the government, federal institutions, and other key actors to improve access to education in the second language and access to second-language learning. 1.2 Work with federal institutions and key actors responsible for major sporting and cultural events so that they fully reflect Canada's linguistic duality. 1.3 Implement the strategy to increase awareness among Canada's two official language communities of the importance of linguistic duality.
2. Conduct targeted interventions with the government and federal institutions to protect language rights in a context of budget restraint measures and service modernization.	New	This priority is linked to OCOL's Strategic Outcome: Rights guaranteed by the Official Languages Act are protected and linguistic duality is promoted as a fundamental value of Canadian society.	Why is this a priority? To maximize its impact, OCOL needs to be aware of major changes in the federal public service. This will enable it to determine where language rights are the most threatened and promote corrective measures. Plan for meeting the priority: 2.1 Determine the trends of federal budget restraint measures and their impact on upholding language rights and advancing linguistic duality. 2.2 Assess the state of federal institutions' compliance with the Act to serve as a reference for the new Commissioner. 2.3 Maximise the impact of the Commissioner's interventions before the courts. 2.4 Work with the Treasury Board Secretariat and other actors in analyzing the impact on official language communities^{Table note 2} with regard to access to bilingual services in federal offices following the 2011 Census.
3. Intervene with the government and certain federal institutions to ensure that immigration has a beneficial impact on the vitality of official language communities.	New	This priority is linked to OCOL's Strategic Outcome: Rights guaranteed by the Official Languages Act are protected and linguistic duality is promoted as a fundamental value of Canadian society.	Why is this a priority? Maintaining the vitality of official language communities requires an appropriate linguistic balance in Canada's immigrant population. The Commissioner will take measures to remind decision-makers of the importance that immigrants in both of Canada's language communities play in our national immigration policy. Plan for meeting the priority: 3.1 Develop an intervention strategy for Citizenship and Immigration Canada and other key actors committed to the recruitment and integration of newcomers into official language communities.
4. Manage a period of important transitions effectively while fostering a healthy work environment.	New	This priority is linked to the Internal Services Program.	Why is this a priority? To ensure that its protection and promotion activities continue during a period of major changes, OCOL will use an organized approach to take advantage of new opportunities that arise while taking into account the needs of employees, who are key in ensuring the approach is successful. Plan for meeting the priority: 4.1 Manage the transition to: a new Commissioner a new location for the head office, and; new technologies. 4.2 Explore shared services opportunities.

Risk Analysis

OCOL's strategic context and operational environment are subject to internal and external factors that pose a number of risks in terms of attaining the outcomes set out by the organization. These risks have an impact on the choice of corporate priorities, on plans to achieve these priorities, and on OCOL's performance. The three main risks that OCOL will face are described below. The existing mitigation strategies and others to come will help OCOL manage these risks as effectively as possible.

Capacity to meet expectations – Risk that OCOL does not have the required capacity to meet the expectations of parliamentarians, the public and federal institutions.

OCOL's capacity to handle complaints and respond to requests for information from institutions, the public and parliamentarians, in addition to supporting the internal and legal services necessary to carry out these activities, might not meet these groups' expectations. OCOL is anticipating an increase in the demand for its services, particularly as a result of public service budget restraint measures and the closure of a number of federal institutions' regional offices. Easier access to OCOL's services through the Web might also lead to an increase in requests for information and complaints. In addition, OCOL is facing a year of transition (new leadership, relocation, implementation of a new information management system), which might temporarily affect staff productivity.

This risk is already being managed through intensive efforts to reduce the backlog of complaints, maintain a pool of pre-qualified resources and use external resources judiciously. OCOL has also improved some processes to increase efficiency. To further mitigate the risk, OCOL will hold information sessions for parliamentarians on a typical investigation as a way to better manage their expectations. OCOL will post its service standards on its website to better inform members of the public on the level of service they should expect, and how well these service standards are being met. Finally, the implementation of a new information management system, by module, over three years will provide employees with better access to the information and tools they need to work more efficiently.
Relevance of the Commissioner's interventions and powers of influence – Risk that the relevance of the Commissioner's interventions and powers of influence is questioned.

OCOL's traditional tools to influence the government and raise public awareness are likely to be less effective in the current climate: due to public service budget constraints, federal institutions are having more difficulty meeting their language obligations; the Official Languages Act (1988) has limitations and the country's political climate is changing, particularly with regard to Canadians' linguistic reality.

To manage this risk, OCOL is intervening with the government and federal institutions to ensure the continuity of the Roadmap for Linguistic Duality, which ends on March 31, 2013; is making relevant, measurable recommendations; is closely monitoring the implementation of the Commissioner's recommendations; is establishing a regional model that maximizes the Commissioner's interventions; and is using legal remedies in a more proactive and strategic way. OCOL is supporting a number of bills that are currently before Parliament to amend the Official Languages Act. OCOL is also conducting targeted and proactive interventions to raise federal institutions' awareness and increase the visibility of official languages. As an additional mitigation measure, OCOL will step up its monitoring in Quebec to take into account the challenges and opportunities in Quebec's public sphere. In line with this measure, a new information officer position has been created at the Montréal office. OCOL will organize an information campaign on the travelling public's rights from 2013 to 2015 to continue the work performed in the Air Canada file and the audit of the Halifax airport authority. In addition, OCOL will assess certain key federal institutions' compliance with their obligation to offer the public service of equal quality in both official languages, compared with their past performance; this will measure the impact of its interventions. Finally, OCOL will maximize the use of other powers and intervention mechanisms.
Safeguarding the Commissioner's independence – Risk regarding the Commissioner's independence as an agent of Parliament.

The Commissioner must preserve his independence and the public's perception of his independence. Currently, the Commissioner's independence may be at risk, making the actions he takes as part of his role less effective. The government has not indicated that it intends to reconvene the House of Commons Advisory Panel on the Funding and monitoring of Agents of Parliament. A Senate committee is currently looking at the powers and responsibilities of agents of Parliament—a report is expected in March 2014. OCOL has noticed increased oversight and more reporting requirements by central agencies with regard to federal institutions, including agents of Parliament, in the context of the Budget 2012. The government is turning to shared services for greater efficiency, which is good in itself. However, OCOL risks being forced to join federal institutions that could eventually be subject to an investigation or audit. Also, OCOL could have its website integrated into the single portal that the federal government is planning to create, which would have a negative impact on the Commissioner's independence.

OCOL is managing this risk and will continue to do so by actively participating in discussions on the independence of agents of Parliament and on shared services, and by proactively identifying services and organizations of interest. OCOL will ensure that the new Commissioner, who will start in the position in fall 2013, is familiar with these issues. Furthermore, a governance framework will be instituted with a view to a shared services project among agents of Parliament for a more comprehensive approach that considers all opportunities for common and shared services among independent agents. OCOL will use every opportunity, in particular parliamentary appearances, to express its concerns regarding the safeguarding of the independence of agents of Parliament when consolidating services among agents and federal institutions.

Planning Summary

Note that information on deficit reduction action plan measures outlined in Budget 2012. The data herein will provide a baseline for future reporting on the impacts of Budget 2012 for fiscal year 2012–13. For additional information on the implementation of departmental efficiencies, please refer to the 2012–13 Departmental Performance Report.

Financial Resources (Planned Spending — in thousands of dollars)
Total Budgetary Expenditures (Main Estimates) 2013–14	Planned Spending 2013–14	Planned Spending 2014–15	Planned Spending 2015–16
23,872	24,627	20,809	20,809

Human Resources (Full-Time Equivalents—FTEs)
2013–14	2014–15	2015–16
163	163	163

**This table outlines the Planning Summary for all Program Activities except for Internal Services.**Planning Summary Table (in thousands of dollars)
Strategic Outcome	Program	Actual Spending 2010–11	Actual Spending 2011–12	Forecast Spending 2012–13	Planned Spending ($000)			Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
Strategic Outcome	Program	Actual Spending 2010–11	Actual Spending 2011–12	Forecast Spending 2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
Rights guaranteed by the Official Languages Act are protected and linguistic duality is promoted as a fundamental value of Canadian society.	Protection of Linguistic Rights	6,558	7,059	6,358	6,791	6,547	6,547	A transparent, accountable, and responsive federal government
	Promotion of Linguistic Duality	6,355	6,537	6,557	6,959	6,713	6,713
Sub total		12,913	13,596	12,915	13,750	13,260	13,260

**This table outlines the Planning Summary for all Program Activities except for Internal Services.**Summary Table – Planning for Internal Services (in thousands of dollars)
Program	Actual Spending 2010–11	Actual Spending 2011–12	Forecast Spending 2012–13	Planned Spending
Program	Actual Spending 2010–11	Actual Spending 2011–12	Forecast Spending 2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16
Internal Services	8,565	8,759	8,213	10,877	7,549	7,549
Sub total	8,565	8,759	8,213	10,877	7,549	7,549

**This table outlines the Planning Summary for all Program Activities except for Internal Services.**Planning Summary Total (in thousands of dollars)
Strategic Outcome, Program(s), and Internal Services	Actual Spending 2010–11	Actual Spending 2011–12	Forecast Spending 2012–13	Planned Spending
Strategic Outcome, Program(s), and Internal Services	Actual Spending 2010–11	Actual Spending 2011–12	Forecast Spending 2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16
Total	21,478	22,355	21,128	24,627	20,809	20,809

Expenditure Profile

The figure below illustrates OCOL's spending trend from 2009–10 to 2015–16.

OCOL's spending trend is somewhat stable, except for 2011–12, when severance liquidation payments were fully paid to 92 employees and partially paid to 13 employees, representing $1.6 million.

Compared to 2012–13 forecast spending, planned spending for 2013–14 reflects increased funding of $3.3 million approved through Main Estimates to pay for the costs of the head office's move to Gatineau and the anticipated operating budget carry forward for 2012–13. The move to a new building, to be shared with other agents of Parliament, will have potential long-term financial and administrative benefits. This relocation is part of Public Works and Government Services Canada Lease-Purchase Project plans.

OCOL mandated an independent, in-depth review of its operations that identified a number of unfunded pressures, as well as opportunities to optimize resources. Since many of the other recommendations from this in-depth review were predicated on appropriate technology investments, OCOL has re-allocated internal funding to allow for the replacement of obsolete technology. As indicated in the 2012 federal budget, this re-allocation is OCOL's contribution to the government's expenditure restraint efforts.

Departmental Spending Trend

Line graph of the spending trend from 2009-10 to 2015-16.

Line graph note* The increased planned spending in 2013–14 represents a one-time advance from OCOL's Main Estimates to pay for the costs of the head office's move to Gatineau.

Estimates by Vote

For information on OCOL's organizational appropriations, please see the 2013–14 Main Estimates.

Top of Page

Section II: Analysis of Programs by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome: Rights guaranteed by the Official Languages Act are protected and linguistic duality is promoted as a fundamental value of Canadian society.

Program 1: Protection of Linguistic Rights

Program Description

Through this program, OCOL investigates complaints filed by citizens who believe their language rights have not been respected, evaluates compliance with the Official Languages Act by federal institutions and other organizations subject to the Act through performance measurements and audits, and intervenes proactively to prevent non-compliance with the Act. As well, the Commissioner may intervene before the courts in cases that deal with non-compliance with the Official Languages Act.

Financial Resources (in thousands of dollars)
Total Budgetary Expenditures (Main Estimates) 2013–14	Planned Spending 2013–14	Planned Spending 2014–15	Planned Spending 2015–16
6,527	6,791	6,547	6,547

Human Resources (FTEs)
2013–14	2014–15	2015–16
60	60	60

Program Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Percentage of responses from OCOL to complaints and requests for information that respect the service standards:		Targets
*In 2013–14, OCOL will conduct two audits on federal institutions that will be named in February 2013 (after this Report on Plans and Priorities has been tabled), and will follow up on two audits, namely Air Canada and Industry Canada. Also, OCOL will publish the reports on the accountability audit as well as the audit follow ups of National Defence, Service Canada and the Halifax airport authority.
Canadians' language rights are respected through responses to their complaints and inquiries.	Communication with complainant initiated within two working days following the transfer of the complaint file to the analyst.	90%
	Investigations completed under the facilitated resolution process within 90 working days;	75%
	Investigations completed under the formal investigation process within 175 working days.	50%
	Responses to inquiries related to federal institutions and other organizations subject to the Act provided within 30 working days. (Measured based on: statistics on response times)	80%
Federal institutions and other organizations subject to the Official Languages Act are aware of the extent of their linguistic compliance and what they need to do to fulfill their obligations under the Act.	Percentage of the Commissioner's recommendations related to compliance issued two years ago in audits, annual reports and formal investigations that federal institutions and other organizations subject to the Act have implemented. (Measured based on: follow-ups on recommendations)*	60%

Planning Highlights

While continuing to work toward the Protection of Linguistic Rights to deliver on its Expected Results (as identified in the above table) through its ongoing activities, OCOL will focus on the following initiatives in 2013–14 in response to its second corporate priority (Conduct targeted interventions with the government and federal institutions to protect language rights in a context of budget restraint measures and service modernization) and on associated key commitments (presented in Section I):

Analyze the degree to which language rights are being maintained within the federal administration in the context of budget restraint measures, and deal with relevant files in a collaborative manner;
Assess the extent to which certain key federal institutions are complying with their obligation to offer the public service of equal quality in both official languages, compared with their past performance, to measure the impact of the Commissioner's interventions; this will also serve as a point of reference for the next Commissioner to measure the impact of his or her interventions as of 2013;
Maximize the Commissioner's role before the courts by proactively initiating, if necessary, legal remedies to clarify the language obligations of certain federal institutions; the Commissioner might be involved in at least three new legal proceedings, including one application for leave to appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada to clarify Air Canada's language obligations on international flights.

In addition to the specific initiatives that support the second corporate priority, OCOL will optimize the protection of language rights by further enhancing the efficiency of its operational compliance assurance processes through the following activities:

a survey of a sample of complainants and federal institutions that deal with OCOL to assess their satisfaction with how complaints are handled;
a permanent quality assurance program to continually assess all of OCOL's compliance assurance processes;
implementation of a strategy to reduce the backlog of investigation files.

Program 2: Promotion of Linguistic Duality

Program Description

Through this program, OCOL works with parliamentarians, federal institutions and other organizations subject to the Official Languages Act, official language communities and the Canadian public in promoting linguistic duality. OCOL builds links between federal institutions, official language communities and the different levels of government to help them better understand the needs of official language communities, the importance of bilingualism and the value of respecting Canada's linguistic duality. To fulfill its role in that promotion, OCOL conducts research, studies and public awareness activities and intervenes with senior federal officials so that they instill a change in culture to fully integrate linguistic duality in their organizations.

Financial Resources (in thousands of dollars)
Total Budgetary Expenditures (Main Estimates) 2013–14	Planned Spending 2013–14	Planned Spending 2014–15	Planned Spending 2015–16
6,694	6,959	6,713	6,713

Human Resources (FTEs)
2013–14	2014–15	2015–16
59	59	59

Program Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Parliament receives advice and information about the official languages implications of evolving legislation, regulations and policies.	Number of references to the Commissioner's interventions on the formulation of evolving legislation, regulations and policies.	10
	Number of appearances before parliamentary committees.	3
	Percentage of enquiries from parliamentarians responded to within 30 working days. (Measured based on: an analysis of the content of reports and official records of parliamentary committee debates and the Hansard, and bills; statistics on response times)	80%
The public, key policy leaders, official language communities, the media, federal institutions and other organizations subject to the Act are aware of official languages rights and obligations and the importance of linguistic duality in Canada.	Number of promotional activities including requests for general information and promotional tools.	270
	Number of speeches delivered and media interviews given by the Commissioner.	40
	Number of recipients of OCOL's studies and reports. (Measured based on: follow-up on promotional activities, speeches, media interviews; distribution plan for studies/reports)	1000

Planning Highlights

While continuing to work toward the Promotion of Linguistic Duality to deliver on its Expected Results (as identified in the above table) through its ongoing activities, OCOL will focus on the following initiatives in 2013–14 in response to its corporate priorities and key commitments described in Section I:

To support the first priority (Intervene with the government and other key actors so that their actions with regard to linguistic duality reach Canadians), OCOL will:

build on its study^{Footnote 2} about second-language learning in Canadian universities, explore the offer of second-language programs in Canadian colleges and promote, among educational stakeholders, the existence and expansion of learning opportunities involving both official languages (this includes using updates of the online tool^{Footnote 3} that maps second-language programs in various universities across the country as an opportunity to engage stakeholders);
develop social media activities, including specific activities for Quebec, that target young English- and French-speaking Canadians through the use of Facebook and Twitter accounts;
launch a strategy on integrating linguistic duality at major sporting and cultural events to ensure that organizing committees, especially those receiving federal funding, fully respect linguistic duality (with a special focus on preparations for celebrating the 150th anniversary of Confederation, community planning activities regarding the Pan American and Parapan American Games in Toronto in 2015, and the Sherbrooke 2013 Canada Summer Games);
deliver, in collaboration with interested parties, an initiative that enables Canadians to reflect on and appreciate the historical evolution and contribution of key events that have shaped and continue to shape Canada as a bilingual country, such as the anniversary of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism;^{Footnote 4}
assess the transition to the next phase of the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality 2008-2013^{Footnote 5}, particularly in terms of funding continuity, and intervene as needed.

To support the second priority (Conduct targeted interventions with the government and federal institutions to protect language rights in a context of budget restraint measures and service modernization), OCOL will:

step up monitoring, particularly with regional federal councils, of the consideration given to official languages in the federal government in the context of budget restraint measures to identify trends and their impact on the safeguarding of language rights and the advancement of linguistic duality, and to prepare effective interventions;
gather information from key parties (federal institutions, minority communities) involved in and affected by revised language obligations of federal offices following the 2011 Census, so that impacts may be assessed early and appropriate action taken.

To support the third priority (Intervene with the government and certain federal institutions to ensure that immigration has a beneficial impact on the vitality of official language communities), OCOL will:

actively monitor and intervene with representatives from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, official language communities and provincial governments in an effort to sustain the forward momentum achieved through various initiatives such as the Strategic Plan to Foster Immigration to Francophone Minority Communities, which ends in 2013.

In addition to the above initiatives, which directly support corporate priorities, OCOL will:

further promote linguistic duality by implementing an awareness campaign to inform the travelling public about their language rights in airports and aboard commercial flights;
publish the study on the bilingual capacity of the judiciary of superior courts to encourage the government to make the appropriate changes to the process for appointing judges.

Program 3: Internal Services

Program Description

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are: Management and Oversight Services, Communications Services, Legal Services, Human Resources Management Services, Financial Management Services, Information Management Services, Information Technology Services, Real Property Services, Material Services, Acquisition Services, and Travel and Other Administrative Services. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.

Since legal remedies are set out in the Act, OCOL's Legal Services are excluded from its Internal Services and are an integral part of the protection of linguistic rights program. Also, given their specific mandate, OCOL's Communications Services are not included in Internal Services, but rather are part of the second program, the promotion of linguistic duality.

Financial Resources (in thousands of dollars)
Total Budgetary Expenditures (Main Estimates) 2013–14	Planned Spending 2013–14	Planned Spending 2014–15	Planned Spending 2015–16
10,650	10,877	7,549	7,549

Human Resources (FTEs)
2013–14	2014–15	2015–16
44	44	44

Planning Highlights

While continuing to deliver internal services that support its operations, OCOL will focus on the following initiatives in 2013–14 in response to its fourth corporate priority (Manage a period of important transitions effectively while fostering a healthy work environment.) and key commitments described in Section I:

develop a transition plan to guide the OCOL's activities and preparations for the arrival of a new Commissioner;
pursue our participation in the shared case management solution for small departments and agencies and move forward with the implementation of other technology tools to help employees work more effectively, as the organization's needs evolve;
develop a new approach for the Office of the Commissioner's website to better inform Canadians about their language rights and the opportunities linguistic duality offers them;
continue to explore opportunities for common or shared services in the context of the relocation of its office to Gatineau, in the same building as other agents of Parliament, and to take advantage of government-wide common systems initiatives such as financial and human resources systems.

In addition to the above initiatives that directly support the fourth corporate priority, OCOL will complete the internal audit underway on strategic communications and promotion practices, including the assessment of the annual report and OCOL's response to requests from the public.

Top of Page

Section III: Supplementary Information

Financial Highlights

The future-oriented financial information presented within this report is intended to serve as a general overview of OCOL's financial situation and activities. This financial information has been prepared on an accrual basis to strengthen accountability and improve transparency and financial management.

Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations and Organizational Net Financial Position
For the Year (ended March 31)
(in thousands of dollars)
	$ Change	Future-Oriented 2013–14	Future-Oriented 2012–13
Total Expenses	2,437	26,737	24,300
Total Revenues	0	0	0
Net Cost of Operations before Government Funding and Transfers	2,437	26,737	24,300
Organizational Net Financial Positions	1,288	(407)	(1,695)

It is projected that total expenses will be $26.7 million in 2013–14. These expenses consist of salaries and employees benefits (61% or $16.4 million) and other operating expenses (39% or $10.3 million).

Condensed Statement of Financial Position
For the Year (ended March 31)
(in thousands of dollars)
	$ Change	Future-Oriented 2013–14	Future-Oriented 2012–13
Total net liabilities	273	3,647	3,374
Total net financial assets	736	2,042	1,306
Organizational net debt	(463)	1,605	2,068
Total non-financial assets	825	1,198	373
Organizational net financial positions	1,288	(407)	(1,695)

It is projected that net debt will be valued at $1.6 million in 2013–14. This total includes liabilities of $3.7 million (accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $2.3 million, vacation pay and compensatory leave of $0.7 million, employee future benefits of $0.7 million), as well as financial assets of $2.0 million (due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of $1.9 million and accounts receivable of $0.1 million).

It is projected that non-financial assets will be valued at $1.2 million, which consist of tangible capital assets.

Future-Oriented Financial Statements

Future-oriented financial statements can be found on OCOL's website.^{Footnote 6}

List of Supplementary Information Tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on OCOL's website:^{Footnote 7}

Internal audit and evaluation planned in 2013–14;
Ecological purchases.

Report on Tax Expenditures and Evaluations

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures annually in the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations^{Footnote 8} publication. The tax measures presented in the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations publication are the sole responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Top of Page