Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations (SOR/92-48)

Specific Circumstances

• 6 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 22(b) of the Act, there is significant demand for communications with and services from an office or facility of a federal institution in an official language where

  • (a) the services provided by the office or facility are provided to a restricted clientele, the members of which are identifiable, those services are specifically intended for that clientele and at that office or facility over a year at least 5 per cent of the demand from that clientele for those services is in that language;

  • (b) the office or facility provides ship-to-shore communications services, including coast radio station services and vessel traffic services, and at that office or facility over a year at least 5 per cent of the demand from the public for those services is in that language;

  • (c) [Repealed, SOR/2019-242, s. 6]

  • (d) the office or facility is located at a point of entry into Canada, other than an airport or a ferry terminal, in Ontario, Quebec or New Brunswick, and at that office or facility during a year at least 5% of the demand from the public for services is in the minority official language;

  • (e) the office or facility provides search and rescue services from a vessel that has long-range capabilities or from an aircraft, the vessel or aircraft from which the service is provided is distinctively marked by the Department of National Defence or the Canadian Coast Guard as a search and rescue vessel or aircraft or is crewed by the Department of National Defence with personnel specially trained for search and rescue operations, and at that office or facility over a year at least 5 per cent of the demand from the public for those services is in that language; or

  • (f) the office or facility is a Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment that provides services in a province to sections of the Trans-Canada Highway where there is a point of entry to another province that is officially bilingual, and over a year at least 5 per cent of the demand from the public for those services is in that language.

• (2) For the purposes of paragraph 22(b) of the Act, there is significant demand for communications with and services from an office or facility of a federal institution in both official languages where

  • (a) the office or facility provides ship-to-shore communications services, including coast radio station services and vessel traffic services, and the service area of the office or facility includes all or a portion of the Bay of Fundy, the St. Lawrence River or the Gulf of St. Lawrence up to the innermost limit of Cabot Strait, but not including Cabot Strait, and up to the southern limit of the Strait of Belle Isle, but not including the Strait of Belle Isle;

  • (b) the office or facility provides air traffic control services and related advisory services in circumstances in which either official language may be used in accordance with sections 602.133 and 602.134 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations;

  • (c) the office or facility is located at a point of entry into Canada, other than an airport or ferry terminal, in Ontario, Quebec or New Brunswick, and at that point of entry at least 500,000 persons come into Canada during a year; or

  • (d) the office or facility provides search and rescue services from a vessel that has long-range capabilities or from an aircraft, the vessel or aircraft from which the service is provided is distinctively marked by the Department of National Defence or the Canadian Coast Guard as a search and rescue vessel or aircraft or is crewed by the Department of National Defence with personnel specially trained for search and rescue operations, and the office or facility provides those services

    • (i) in or over Ontario, Quebec or New Brunswick,

    • (ii) in or over Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait or James Bay, or

    • (iii) in or over an area that falls within the boundaries of the Halifax Search and Rescue Region as set out in Annex 3B of the National Search and Rescue Manual, published by the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Coast Guard, as amended from time to time.

• 7 (1) For the purposes of subsection 23(1) of the Act, there is significant demand for services to the travelling public, other than air traffic control services and related advisory services, from an office or facility of a federal institution in both official languages if the facility is an airport, railway station or ferry terminal or the office is located at an airport, railway station or ferry terminal and at that airport, railway station or ferry terminal over a year at least 5% of the demand from the public for services is in the minority official language.

• (2) For the purposes of subsection 23(1) of the Act, there is significant demand for services to the travelling public from an office or facility of a federal institution in an official language where the office or facility provides those services on a route and on that route over a year at least 5 per cent of the demand from the travelling public for services is in that language.

• (3) For the purposes of subsection 23(1) of the Act, there is significant demand for services to the travelling public, other than air traffic control services and related advisory services, from an office or facility of a federal institution in both official languages where the facility is an airport or the office is located in an airport and over a year the total number of emplaned and deplaned passengers at that airport is at least 1,000,000.

• (4) For the purposes of subsection 23(1) of the Act, there is significant demand for services to the travelling public from an office or facility of a federal institution in both official languages where

  • (a) the facility is a railway station that serves the travelling public and

    • (i) is located in a CMA that has at least 5,000 persons of the English or French linguistic minority population, or

    • (ii) is located outside a CMA and within a CSD that has at least 500 persons of the English or French linguistic minority population and the number of those persons is equal to at least 5 per cent of the total population of the CSD;

  • (b) the facility is a ferry terminal located in Canada and over a year the total number of arriving and departing passengers at that ferry terminal is at least 100,000;

  • (c) the office or facility provides those services on board an aircraft

    • (i) on a route that starts, has an intermediate stop or finishes at an airport located in the National Capital Region, the CMA of Montreal or the City of Moncton or in such proximity to that Region, CMA or City that it primarily serves that Region, CMA or City,

    • (ii) on a route that starts and finishes at airports both of which are located in Ontario, Quebec or New Brunswick, or

    • (iii) on a route that starts and finishes at airports that are located in two of those provinces;

  • (d) the office or facility provides those services on board a train

    • (i) on an interprovincial route that starts in, finishes in or passes through Ontario, Quebec or New Brunswick, or

    • (ii) on a route that starts and finishes at railway stations both of which are located in Ontario, Quebec or New Brunswick; or

  • (e) the office or facility provides those services on board a ferry on a route on which over a year there are at least 100,000 passengers.

• (5) For the purposes of subsection 23(1) of the Act, there is significant demand for services to the travelling public, other than air traffic control services and related advisory services, from an office or facility of a federal institution in both official languages if the office or facility is a train station or airport and is located in a provincial or territorial capital or the office or facility is located in an airport that is located in a provincial or territorial capital.

PART IINature of the Office

Health, Safety and Security of the Public

8 For the purposes of paragraph 24(1)(a) of the Act, the circumstances that relate to the health, safety or security of members of the public are the following:

• (a) where an office or facility of a federal institution provides emergency services, including first aid services, in a clinic or health care unit at an airport, railway station or ferry terminal;

• (b) where an office or facility of a federal institution uses signage that includes words or standardized public announcements regarding health, safety or security in respect of

  • (i) passengers on aircraft, trains or ferries,

  • (ii) members of the public at airports, railway stations or ferry terminals, or

  • (iii) members of the public in or on the grounds of federal buildings; and

• (c) where an office or facility of a federal institution uses written notices or signage that includes words for alerting the public to hazards of a radioactive, explosive, chemical, biological or environmental nature or to other hazards of a similar nature.

Location of the Office

9 For the purposes of paragraph 24(1)(a) of the Act, the circumstances that relate to the location of an office or facility of a federal institution are the following:

• (a) where the office or facility is located in a park as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada National Parks Act or on land set aside as a national historic site under section 42 of that Act and the office or facility does not provide the services referred to in paragraph (b);

• (b) where the office or facility is located in a park or on land referred to in paragraph (a), the office or facility is one of two or more offices or facilities in the park or on the land that provide the services of a post office and those services are not available in both official languages at at least one of those offices or facilities;

• (c) where the office or facility is located in such proximity to a park or land referred to in paragraph (a) that it provides specific services for visitors to the park or land and those services are not available in that park or on that land;

• (d) where the office or facility is located in the Yukon Territory, serves the public generally and, of all offices or facilities of the institution in the Yukon Territory, is the office or facility at which over a year there is the greatest number of persons using the French language to request services;

• (e) where the office or facility is located in the Northwest Territories, serves the public generally and, of all offices or facilities of the institution in the Northwest Territories, is the office or facility at which over a year there is the greatest number of persons using the French language to request services; and

• (f) where the office or facility is located in Nunavut, serves the public generally and, of all offices or facilities of the institution in Nunavut, is the office or facility at which during a year there is the greatest number of persons using the French language to request services.

National or International Mandate of the Office

10 For the purposes of paragraph 24(1)(a) of the Act, the circumstances that relate to the national or international mandate of an office of a federal institution are the following:

• (a) where the office is a diplomatic mission or consular post or an office of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration that is located in a diplomatic mission or consular post;

• (b) where the office is responsible for organizing or hosting an exposition, fair, exhibition, competition or game of national or international scope that is open to the public;

• (c) where the office participates in an event referred to in paragraph (b); and

• (d) where the office is located in a province at a point of entry into Canada, other than an airport, and which, among those points of entry into Canada for the same province, has the greatest number of persons coming into Canada during a year.

• (e) [Repealed, SOR/2019-242, s. 10]

Other Circumstances

11 For the purposes of paragraph 24(1)(b) of the Act, the circumstances in which it is reasonable that communications with and services from an office or facility of a federal institution be available in both official languages are the following:

• (a) where the office or facility serves one or more entire provinces and those services are

  • (i) correspondence services,

  • (ii) offered by means of toll-free long-distance telephone services, or

  • (iii) offered by means of local telephone services, if the office or facility provides the same services by means of toll-free long-distance telephone services;

• (b) where those communications and services are made available by the office or facility through an automated system accessible to the public and the communications and services are directly related to the operation of the system or consist of providing material or information that originated with the institution;

• (c) where those communications and services are the provision in an airport, railway station or ferry terminal of signage, including information display systems with respect to aircraft, train or ferry transportation services or baggage pick-up; and

• (d) where those communications and services are offered by the office or facility by means of video conferencing services.