Question Period Notes
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All Ministers have been given the mandate to “implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to work in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to advance their rights”. Specifically, the Minister of Canadian Heritage has a mandate (December 2021) to “Work with First Nations, Inuit and the Métis to ensure that the Indigenous Languages Act continues to be fully implemented and is supported by long-term, predictable and sustainable funding in order to preserve, promote and revitalize Indigenous languages in Canada”.
In May 2022, the press reported on the under-representation of Francophones in the senior federal public service. Some stakeholders, such as the unions representing civil servants, have found that Bill C-13 does not sufficiently address the issue of language of work in the federal public service. There are recurring compliance issues that result in numerous complaints to the Commissioner of Official Languages. In addition, there are calls for an increase in the bilingualism bonus from, $800 to $1,500.
On November 28, 2022, the Attorney General of Canada filed a factum with the Supreme Court of Canada in Commission scolaire francophone des Territoires du Nord-Ouest v. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment of the Northwest Territories.
Budget 2023, announced on March 28, 2023, provides for more than $1 billion in new investments in official languages, bringing the total funding for the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023-2028 to over $3.8 billion over five years.