Indigenous Languages Act (S.C. 2019, c. 23)

Marginal note:Employees

20 The Office may hire any employees that are necessary to carry out the activities of the Office and determine the duties of those persons and the conditions of their employment, including their remuneration and benefits.

Marginal note:Conflict of interest

21 The Commissioner, directors and employees of the Office must not accept or hold an office or employment that is inconsistent with their duties or take part in any matter that involves the Office and in which they have an interest.

Marginal note:Head office

22 The Office’s head office is to be in the National Capital Region, as described in the schedule to the National Capital Act, or at any other place in Canada that may be designated by order of the Governor in Council.

Mandate and Powers, Duties and Functions

Marginal note:Mandate

• 23 (1) The mandate of the Office is to

  • (a) help promote Indigenous languages;

  • (b) support the efforts of Indigenous peoples to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen Indigenous languages;

  • (c) facilitate the resolution of disputes and review complaints to the extent provided by this Act;

  • (d) promote public awareness and understanding in respect of

    • (i) the diversity and richness of Indigenous languages,

    • (ii) the inseparable link between Indigenous languages and the cultures of Indigenous peoples,

    • (iii) the rights of Indigenous peoples related to Indigenous languages,

    • (iv) the significance of those rights for Indigenous peoples, as well as for the general public,

    • (v) the negative impact of colonization and discriminatory government policies on Indigenous languages and the exercise of those rights, and

    • (vi) the importance of working toward and contributing to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples; and

  • (e) support innovative projects and the use of new technologies in Indigenous language education and revitalization, in cooperation with Indigenous governments and other Indigenous governing bodies, Indigenous organizations, the Government of Canada and provincial and territorial governments.

• Marginal note:Consultation and coordination

  (2) In fulfilling its mandate, the Office must, where appropriate, consult and coordinate with any Indigenous, provincial or territorial entity that is responsible for the promotion, revitalization or protection of Indigenous languages.

Marginal note:Research or studies

• 24 (1) The Office may undertake research or studies, or cause research or studies to be undertaken, in respect of

  • (a) the provision of funding for the purposes of supporting Indigenous languages; or

  • (b) the use of Indigenous languages in Canada, including for the purposes of measuring the vitality of those languages or identifying measures to restore and maintain fluency in those languages.

• Marginal note:Community assessments

  (2) The research or studies referred to in paragraph (1)(b) may take into account a community assessment, with the consent of the Indigenous community in respect of which the assessment was undertaken.

• Marginal note:Availability — research or study

  (3) The Office must make the results of any research or study referred to in subsection (1) available to any Indigenous community, Indigenous government or other Indigenous governing body or Indigenous organization that contributed to that research or study. Subject to any law, the Office must also make any document used in or produced for that research or study available to that Indigenous community, Indigenous government or other Indigenous governing body or Indigenous organization.

• Marginal note:Copy or use free of charge

  (4) The Office must authorize the Indigenous community, Indigenous government or other Indigenous governing body or Indigenous organization to copy or otherwise use the research or study free of charge for the purpose of reclaiming, revitalizing, maintaining or strengthening Indigenous languages. Subject to any law, the Office must also authorize any document used in or produced for that research or study to be copied or otherwise used by that Indigenous community, Indigenous government or other Indigenous governing body or Indigenous organization free of charge, for that purpose.

Marginal note:Support offered by Office

25 At the request of an Indigenous community or an Indigenous government or other Indigenous governing body, the Office may provide support to the community or the Indigenous government or other Indigenous governing body in its efforts to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen an Indigenous language, including its efforts to

• (a) create permanent records of the language, including audio and video recordings and written materials such as dictionaries, lexicons and grammars of the language, for the purposes of, among other things, its maintenance and transmission;

• (b) establish certification standards for translators and interpreters;

• (c) conduct research and studies and community assessments in respect of the use of the language;

• (d) develop and implement plans for reclaiming, revitalizing, maintaining and strengthening the language; or

• (e) engage with the Government of Canada or provincial or territorial governments to establish culturally appropriate methods of teaching and learning the language.

Marginal note:Dispute resolution services

26 At the request of an Indigenous community, an Indigenous government or other Indigenous governing body, an Indigenous organization or the Government of Canada, the Office may provide services, including mediation or other culturally appropriate services, to facilitate the resolution of a dispute related to

• (a) the fulfilment by any party of an obligation related to Indigenous languages under an agreement entered into by the Government of Canada;

• (b) funding provided by the Government of Canada for the purposes of an initiative related to Indigenous languages;

• (c) the fulfilment of any of the Government of Canada’s obligations under this Act; or

• (d) the implementation of any of the Government of Canada’s policies and programs related to Indigenous languages.

Marginal note:Review of complaints

• 27 (1) The Commissioner may conduct a review of a complaint, filed by an Indigenous government or other Indigenous governing body, an Indigenous organization or an Indigenous person, respecting any matter referred to in any of paragraphs 26(a) to (d).

• Marginal note:Report

  (2) After conducting the review, the Commissioner must prepare a report containing any recommendations that the Commissioner considers to be appropriate.

Marginal note:Capacity, rights, powers and privileges

28 The Office has the capacity, rights, powers and privileges of a natural person, including the capacity to

• (a) enter into contracts;

• (b) acquire, hold and dispose of property or an interest or right in property, or lease property; and

• (c) sue and be sued.

Marginal note:Delegation

29 The Commissioner may delegate any of the Commissioner’s powers, duties and functions under this Act to any director or employee of the Office, subject to any conditions that the Commissioner may impose.

Marginal note:Limit of liability

30 No action or other proceeding lies against the Commissioner, a director, an employee of the Office or a person acting on behalf of the Office for anything done, or omitted to be done, in the exercise or purported exercise in good faith of any power, or in the performance or purported performance in good faith of any duty or function, of that person in accordance with this Act.

Financial Management

Marginal note:Fiscal year

31 The Office’s fiscal year is the period beginning on April 1 in one year and ending on March 31 in the next year.

Marginal note:Expenditure of revenues

32 Subject to any conditions that the Treasury Board may impose, the Office may expend, in the furtherance of its mandate, during a fiscal year or the following one, any revenues that it receives in that fiscal year through the conduct of its activities.

Marginal note:Business plan and budget

• 33 (1) The Office must establish a business plan and budget for each fiscal year and submit them to the Minister.

• Marginal note:Scope and contents of business plan

  (2) The Office’s business plan must encompass all of the Office’s activities and include a statement of

  • (a) the Office’s mandate;

  • (b) the Office’s objectives for the fiscal year and the measures it intends to employ to achieve those objectives; and

  • (c) the Office’s expected performance for the fiscal year.

• Marginal note:Contents of budget

  (3) The Office’s budget must include a statement of the Office’s projected revenues and expenses for the fiscal year.

• Marginal note:Activities consistent with business plan

  (4) The Office must carry on its activities in a fiscal year in a manner that is consistent with its business plan for that year.

Marginal note:Books and systems

• 34 (1) The Office must keep books of account and records in relation to them and must also maintain financial and management control and information systems.

• Marginal note:Requirements

  (2) The books, records and systems referred to in subsection (1) must be kept and maintained in a manner that will provide reasonable assurance that

  • (a) the Office’s assets are safeguarded and controlled;

  • (b) its transactions are carried out in accordance with this Act;

  • (c) its financial, human and physical resources are managed economically and efficiently; and

  • (d) its activities are carried out effectively.

• Marginal note:Internal audit

  (3) The Office may cause internal audits to be conducted to assess the Office’s transactions and activities for the purpose of verifying compliance with subsections (1) and (2).

• Marginal note:Financial statements

  (4) The Office must prepare financial statements annually, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

• Marginal note:Form of financial statements

  (5) The Office’s financial statements must be prepared in a form that clearly sets out information according to its principal activities.

Marginal note:Annual auditor’s report

• 35 (1) The Office must cause an annual auditor’s report to be prepared on its financial statements and any quantitative information required to be audited under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Contents

  (2) The report must, among other things,

  • (a) include separate statements as to whether in the opinion of the Office’s auditor

    • (i) the financial statements are presented fairly, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, applied on a basis consistent with that of the preceding year,

    • (ii) the quantitative information is accurate in all material respects and, if applicable, was prepared on a basis consistent with that of the preceding year, and

    • (iii) the Office’s transactions that have come to the auditor’s notice in the course of the auditor’s examination for the report were carried out in accordance with this Act; and

  • (b) call attention to any other matter falling within the scope of the auditor’s examination for the report that, in the auditor’s opinion, should be brought to the attention of the Office or the Minister.

• Marginal note:Audit of quantitative information

  (3) The Minister may require that any quantitative information required to be included in the report under paragraph (2)(a) be audited.

• Marginal note:Presentation to Minister

  (4) The Office must submit to the Minister its audited financial statements with respect to the fiscal year within 90 days after the end of that fiscal year.