Overview

Organizations that provide a service to the public and are either fully or partially subsidized by public money can seek an official designation under the French Language Services Act (FLSA).

If your organization becomes a designated public service agency, it will be subject to the FLSA’s French-language service obligations that apply to government agencies. This could apply to some or all of the organization’s services, depending on the designation.

On April 1, 2023, a new active offer regulation came into effect. This regulation contains nine specific measures that ministries, government agencies, designated agencies and third parties providing services on behalf of the government must follow.

Watch this video which provides examples of active offer implementation and explains the 9 measures included in the regulation.

Eligibility

An organization can apply for a designation as a public service agency if it:

  • can be designated by the Lieutenant Governor as a “public service agency” under the FLSA’s definition of “government agency”
  • meets the ministry’s designation requirements
  • serves a Francophone population anywhere in the province
  • receives funding in whole or in part from the Government of Ontario for the services being considered for designation

How to apply for a designation

Step 1: Check if your organization is eligible

Contact your funding ministry or ministries to check if you are eligible for a designation under the FLSA.

Step 2: Review the user guide

Read the User Guide to learn about the designation request process and requirements.

Step 3: Identify who in your organization will use the French Language Services Designation Tool

Determine who the user(s) of the French Language Services Designation Tool will be within your organization.

In some organizations, one person is responsible for creating and submitting the FLS designation request, while in others, several users might be involved in these two steps.

Step 4: Register for Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON)

Register your organization for Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON) if it is not already registered. Make sure that each user has their own TPON account and is associated with your organization.

Step 5: Set up user types and profile roles in TPON

Have your organization’s TPON Administrator set up the appropriate user types and profile roles for users of the French Language Services Designation Tool:

  • for a user to be able to create and edit a request:
    • set their User Type to FLS.
  • for a user to be able to approve and submit a request:
    • set their User Type to FLS and set their Profile Role to Admin User

Admin Users can find these settings under the User Menu in the Organization Users section on TPON.

Organizations are required to have at least one user with a role that lets them submit a designation request.

Get support using TPON

Step 6: Apply for a designation

Access the French Language Services Designation Tool from the TPON home page.

This is where you can:

  • apply for a designation
  • upload or update documents
  • review the status of your request

Watch this video which provides information on how to become designated under the French Language Services Act.

Contact your funding ministry

Contact the appropriate funding ministry for your organization to find out if your organization is eligible for a designation.

Economics and central agencies

Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development

French Language Services Coordinator
Email: FLTECAC@ontario.ca

Education and community services

Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services

Ministry of Education

Ministry of Colleges and Universities

Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility


French Language Services Coordinator
Email: FLSECSC@ontario.ca

Health

Ministry of Health and Ministry of Long-Term Care

Primary contact
Kiara Hines                                    
French Language Services Coordinator
Email: Kiara.Hines@ontario.ca

Secondary contact
Nicolas Piperno
French Language Services Cluster Managers
Email: Nicolas.Piperno@ontario.ca 

Justice

Ministry of the Attorney General and Ministry of the Solicitor General

Office of the Coordinator of French Language Services for the Justice Sector
Email: FLSOffice@ontario.ca