LANG Committee Report

Recommendation 1

That the Department of Canadian Heritage take the action required to ensure that organizations dedicated to the development of official language minority communities receive a response to their program funding application before the start date for the activities covered by the application.

Recommendation 2

That the Department of Canadian Heritage take the action required to ensure that organizations dedicated to the development of official language minority communities receive a response to their project funding application at least six weeks before the start date for the activities covered by the application.

Recommendation 3

That the Department of Canadian Heritage simplify the administrative process for analysing and approving funding applications to reduce the negative impact of processing delays on the organizations.

Recommendation 4

That the Department of Canadian Heritage be able to inform the organizations that have applied for funding on what stage has been reached in the processing of their applications and of the approximate date for a decision.

Recommendation 5

That the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages delegate to the directors of the programs concerned responsibility to approve program funding applications from organizations that have demonstrated that they are well-managed.

Recommendation 6

That the Department of Canadian Heritage encourage multi-year funding arrangements, but provide measures that would enable it to anticipate the higher volume of applications in a year when many of these accords will come to term.

Recommendation 7

That the Department of Canadian Heritage clearly state in the Applicant’s Guide and in the Application Form that applications for $49,999 and under are eligible for funding as a grant rather than a contribution.

Recommendation 8

That the Department of Canadian Heritage adopt service standards that impose the same obligations on the payment of approved amounts as are imposed on the organizations for the reimbursement of unspent funds, i.e. that the first installment of approved funds be payable no later than the 30^th day after the signing of the contribution agreement, in compliance with the Interest and Administrative Charges Regulations and paragraph 6.3, Payment on Due Date, of the new Directive on Payment Requisitioning and Cheque Control.

Recommendation 9

That the Department of Canadian Heritage include as eligible refundable expenses bank interest fees incurred, where the Department is at fault by more than 30 days following the date the contribution accord is signed.

Recommendation 10

That the Department of Canadian Heritage commit itself in writing to the organizations to pay them, no later than April 1 of the current fiscal year, 25% of any program funding they received the previous year.