Complaints Mechanism - French Language Services Act

The French Language Services Act establishes a complaints mechanism to ensure that the government institutions that are subject to the Act comply with it.

How can I use the French Language Services Act complaints mechanism?

You can use the complaints mechanism to make a complaint when a government institution subject to the Act does not comply with its obligations regarding designated services, written correspondence or public consultations under the Act.

This means that you can make a complaint when:

A designated service is not provided to you in French.
The quality of a designated service provided to you in French was not comparable to the quality of that service in English.
A government institution did not take the measures set out in the French Language Services Act General Regulations to make it known to the public that a designated service was available in a person’s choice of English or French.
A government institution did not respond to your written correspondence in French.
A government institution did not provide the public with an opportunity to participate in a public consultation in French.

How can I make a complaint?

To be valid, a complaint must be made within 60 calendar days following the incident. Before you make a complaint, you should read the information on this page. Afterward, you can make your complaint online.

If you prefer not to make your complaint online, you can fill out the PDF complaint form and send it to the French Language Services Co-ordinator for the government institution concerned by your complaint (see table below).

French Language Services Co-ordinators
Government Institution	Name	Contact information
Agriculture and Land	Janelle Arsenault Je parle français	5^th Floor, Jones Building P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 902-368-4149 janellearsenault@gov.pe.ca
Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture	Ongoing nomination in progress	902-854-7446 bonjour@gov.pe.ca
Education and Lifelong Learning	Erin Docherty	1^st Floor, Sullivan Building Room 144 P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 902-368-5805 ecdocherty@gov.pe.ca
Environment, Water and Climate Change	Ongoing nomination process	902-854-7446 bonjour@gov.pe.ca
Executive Council Office	Andrew Halliday	5^th Floor, Shaw North Building P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 902-620-3494 andrewhalliday@gov.pe.ca
Finance	Jaclynne Hamel	3^rd Floor, Shaw Building P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 902-620-3679 jrhamel@gov.pe.ca
Fisheries and Communities	Darryl O'Brien	548 Main Street Montague, PE C0A 1R0 902-838-0670 dobrien@gov.pe.ca
Health and Wellness	Mark Demone	4^th Floor, Shaw Building P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 902-368-4356 mxdemone@edu.pe.ca
Health PEI	Élise Arsenault Je parle français	16 Garfield St P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 902-854-7441 elisearseanault@ihis.org
Human Rights Commission	Brenda J. Picard	53 Water Street P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 902-368-4134 bpicard@peihumanrights.ca
Innovation PEI	Heather Rossiter	94 Euston Street, 1^st Floor P.O. Box 910 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7L9 902-368-5125 hlrossiter@gov.pe.ca
Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission	Cassie MacKenzie	5^thFloor, Suite 501 134 Kent Street P.O. Box 577 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7L1 902-892-3501 cmackenzie@irac.pe.ca
Island Waste Management Corporation	Merie Surkan	110 Watts Avenue P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 902-368-5619 msurkan@iwmc.pe.ca
Justice and Public Safety	Bobbi Jo Flynn	4^th Floor, Shaw Building P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 902-620-3677 bjflynn@gov.pe.ca
Liquor Control Commission	Mary Ellen Moerike	3 Garfield Street P.O. Box 967 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7M4 902-368-6670 memoerike@liquorpei.com
PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation	Rachel Lapointe Je parle français	P.O. Box 159 Miscouche, PE C0B 1T0 902-432-2880 rlapointe@gov.pe.ca
Public Service Commission	Manon Beaulieu Je parle français	1st Floor, Sullivan Building P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 902-368-4168 mbeaulieu@gov.pe.ca
Social Development and Housing	Jennifer Burgess	2^nd Floor, Jones Building P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 902-368-5199 jmburgess@gov.pe.ca
Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy	Amy Blanchard-Graham Je parle français	116 Dufferin Street P.O. Box 39 Alberton, PE C0B 1B0 902-853-8622 avgraham@gov.pe.ca
Workers Compensation Board	Barbara Groom Wynne	14 Weymouth Street Charlottetown, PE C1A 7L7 902-368-5562 blwynne@wcb.pe.ca

Who will address my complaint?

The complaints mechanism has two levels – the French language services co-ordinators and the Complaints Officer. This means that:

Your complaint will be addressed by the French Language Services Co-ordinator for the government institution concerned by your complaint;
If the co-ordinator doesn’t dismiss nor resolve your complaint, they will refer it to the Complaints Officer;
If your complaint is dismissed by the Co-ordinator and you ask for a review of the dismissal, the Complaints Officer will have to confirm the dismissal or resolve your complaint.

To better understand the complaint process, take a look at the snapshot of the complaint process.

The Complaints Officer is Ms Darlene Arsenault. You can contact the Complaints Officer by mail, email or phone using the following contact information:

Complaints Officer
PO Box 58
Wellington, PE C0B 2E0

agentplaintes@gov.pe.ca

902-303-5500 (cell)

902-854-3449 (home)

What will happen after I make a complaint?

Once your complaint is received, you can expect an acknowledgement of receipt within 15 days. The goal is to address the complaint within 60 days.

Where can I get more information about the complaints mechanism?

You can contact the Acadian and Francophone Affairs Secretariat at:

Acadian and Francophone Affairs Secretariat
PO Box 58
Wellington, PE C0B 2E0
agentplaintes@gov.pe.ca

Published date:

February 11, 2019

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