Editorial policy for the Our Languages blog

So you’d like to write for the Our Languages blog? Great! Before you get started, read our editorial policy to learn about our objectives and our readers. You can then fill out the registration form.

We’ll send you a welcome email with all the information you’ll need to get started. We’ll also be there to guide you from beginning to end by answering your questions and revising your draft post to ensure that it meets our criteria for publication and the requirements of the Canada.ca Content Style Guide.

So no need to worry! You’ll have all the support you need!

Follow:

On this page

Objectives of our blog

With the Our Languages blog, we want to:

  • promote the official languages of Canada
  • highlight the value of linguistic knowledge and proficiency
  • provide our readers with opportunities for learning and discovery

Our readers

The Our Languages blog is for anyone who is passionate about language. Canadians from all walks of life can benefit from the content we have to offer. While writing your blog post, remember that it could be read by anyone, including:

  • teachers and students
  • parents
  • administrative personnel
  • public servants

Blogging guidelines

Avoid political or critical content

We will not publish any content that is, or could be interpreted as being, political in nature.

We also will not publish any content that is, or may be perceived as being, critical of people, organizations or administrations.

Avoid endorsements

The Language Portal must avoid any real or perceived appearance of endorsing or providing an unfair competitive advantage to any individual, organization or private-sector enterprise. However, the Portal can promote tools, services or products offered free of charge by a government department or agency, a non-profit organization or a public educational institution.

Consult the Directive on the Management of Communications, section 6.9.

Link to Language Portal content

As you’re drafting your post, if you find content related to your topic on the Portal (such as quizzes, resources or writing tips), feel free to include the links to this content in your post. You can also include links to other related Our Languages blog posts.

Engage your readers

To encourage discussion, we recommend that you add a few lines to the end of your post inviting readers to:

  • comment on your post
  • ask questions
  • share related resources

Share your posts

Once your post is up on the Our Languages blog, we’ll send you an email to let you know. We’ll also share your post:

You can share your post with your own network, too. Simply tag the Language Portal of Canada if you do.

Be respectful

Feel free to respond to comments about your blog post, but keep your responses respectful, relevant and non-discriminatory.

Consult the guidelines in the Canada.ca Terms and conditions page.

Copyright on your post and on the comments you write on the Our Languages blog belongs to you. However, by agreeing to have your post and your comments published on the Our Languages blog, you agree to waive your moral rights, which means you give the Government of Canada permission to use, reproduce, edit and share your post and your comments, royalty-free, in whole or in part, in any manner it chooses. You also confirm that nothing in your post or your comments infringes third party rights (for example, the unauthorized use of text belonging to a third party).

The author’s name is displayed in a post when it is published on the Our Languages blog. By submitting a post for publication, you agree to have your name displayed with your post.

For information about the privacy of your personal information, refer to the privacy notice statement.

Privacy notice statement

Provision of the information is on a voluntary basis. We will use the information for the purpose of responding to your questions/comments, and to improve our Internet presence. The information will be held in Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Personal Information Bank number PPU 115 Internet and PPE 830 Intranet Services, and it will be retained according to the retention and disposal schedule established for this bank.

Your personal information is protected under the provisions of the Privacy Act. Under the Act, you have the right to request access to and correction of your personal information, if erroneous or incomplete. If you wish to avail yourself of this right or require clarification about this statement, contact our privacy coordinator at AIPRP.ATIP@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca. For more information on privacy issues and the Privacy Act consult the Privacy Commissioner’s website.

For more information about your rights, visit Info Source. This is a Government of Canada publication available in major libraries, at government information offices and from constituency offices of federal Members of Parliament.

The Internet is a public forum and electronic information can be intercepted. This is not a secure website. Please do not disclose unnecessary confidential information about yourself or your accounts with PSPC.