Program on the Provision of Official-Language Services 2019-2024 (POLS)
Executive Council Office
Overview
The Program on the Provision of Official-Language Services (POLS):
• Is designed first and foremost to support initiatives that allow the provincial government to improve services in French and to contribute to the equality of the two official linguistic communities;
• Recognizes the priority role of the provincial government and its departments in the delivery of services in both official languages while calling upon community organizations and structures to support the government in its objectives.
This orientation satisfies the requirements of the Canada-New Brunswick Agreement on the Provision of French-Language Services. Among other things, it seeks to develop a more strategic approach and to provide the means with which to measure the effectiveness of the activities selected.
Eligibility
The departments and agencies of the Government of New Brunswick that wish to improve or offer a wider range of services in both official languages, and duly constituted New Brunswick non-profit organizations whose mandate and activities are compatible with the objectives described in the action plan.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
A) Projects submitted under the POLS program will be evaluated and supported in accordance with the following criteria:
1. Demonstrate how the project will effectively contribute to the implementation of the action plan set out under the Canada/New Brunswick Agreement on the Provision of French-Language Services;
2. Put forward activities which will have a sustainable impact and long-term benefits;
3. Put forward structuring and promising initiatives which support the implementation of government policies or programs in French in key sectors identified in the action plan;
4. Demonstrate the commitment of the recipients to continuing the activity after the term of funding available under the program;
5. Identify the expected results and related performance indicators;
6. Demonstrate the provincial impact of the project's direct spin-offs.
B) The projects submitted by departments or one of their components or by public institutions/organizations must:
1. Put forward activities which will contribute to improving services in the official languages or that go beyond the obligations and requirements of New Brunswick's Official Languages Act;
2. Receive the support of senior management of the department concerned;
3. Demonstrate the commitment of the applicant to coordinate and manage the project;
4. Be matched by an amount from the department in question equal to or greater than the amount awarded under the program. This departmental contribution is conditional on participation in the program.
C) Projects submitted by an association, organization, or institution of civil society must:
1. Demonstrate how it contributes to the government’s implementation of policies or programs in the priority sectors set out in the action plan;
2. Receive the support of the organization's directors;
3. Show a desire to cooperate and form partnerships;
4. Show diversification of funding sources;
Departments or organizations may submit projects that are spread out over more than one year, without exceeding the length of the current agreement. For multi-year projects the organization or department must show how it plans to fund the project in the long term, since financial assistance under the POLS program is available for an initial period of development, not on an ongoing basis.
Please refer to the action plan pursuant to the Canada-New Brunswick Agreement on the Provision of French-language Services as well as the program guidelines to ensure your project proposal is in line with them.
Description
The Program on the Provision of Official-Language Services (POLS) is designed to encourage the use of both official languages in New Brunswick and to promote the development and equality of both official language communities.
OBJECTIVES
The strategic objectives targeted by the program for the four years of the agreement are:
1. To strengthen the political, legislative, and administrative framework;
2. To support the development, planning, and provision of government programs and services in French in key sectors identified in the action plan, and
3. To support structuring initiatives which help achieve the government’s priorities
For the first three years, the Agreement will provide support to school-community centres (SCCs) for programming as well as for the provision of services to the community.
The action plan drawn up under the Agreement is aligned with the objectives of The Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages: Education, Immigration, Communities of the Government of Canada, while at the same time supporting New Brunswick’s goal, as the only officially bilingual province, in achieving substantive equality for both official linguistic communities.
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