Question Period Note: Enumeration of Right-Holders to education in the Minority Language

Stakeholders have called for an enumeration of rights-holders to education in the minority language, in order to better support official language minority communities, and in line with the recommendations made on May 9, 2017 by the Standing Committee on Official Languages. A recent letter-writing campaign from official languages stakeholders throughout the country is calling for this enumeration to be carried out using the short-form questionnaire of the Census, which must be completed by all Canadian households.

• We recognize the importance of supporting official language minority communities to make them stronger. Education in the minority official language is essential to the vitality of these communities.
• This is why our Government supports the enumeration of rights-holders, as well as an in-depth survey based on census data. These data will allow us to better take into account the needs of our official language communities.
• Statistics Canada is currently exploring the various methods for enumerating rights-holders across the country, and they will have my full support in their work.

• The mandate letter (December 2019) of the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages includes the commitment to “Modernize and reinforce the Official Languages Act” and to undertake “enumeration of rights-holders and a thorough post-Census survey to better account for and better serve minority language communities.”
• Under Section 23, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right to education in the minority language for French-speaking communities outside Quebec and the English-speaking community in Quebec. So far, Census questions have not enabled the full enumeration of these rights-holders.

• The Government of Canada has asked Statistics Canada to determine the best ways to collect quality data about rights-holders in order to ensure their reliable enumeration. In anticipation of the 2021 Census, Statistics Canada held consultations from the Fall of 2017 to the Spring of 2018. To follow-up on the consultations, Statistics Canada included new questions on the language of education in the 2019 Census Test in an attempt to better enumerate rights-holders. Statistics Canada is currently finalizing its approach to the 2021 Census.
• In addition to a better enumeration of rights-holders to minority-language education, the Government of Canada is exploring carrying-out a post-censal survey pertaining to official language minority communities. Such a survey would help fill some data gaps and allow for a better understanding of the various issues affecting official language minority communities.
• On May 9, 2017, the Standing Committee on Official Languages tabled in Parliament its report entitled “The Enumeration of Rights-Holders under Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: Toward a Census that Supports the Charter”. The Committee noted that certain categories of rights-holders have been ignored or underestimated.
• The Committee made six recommendations to the Government of Canada, including “the responsibility for collecting complete data on rights-holders subject to Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the commitment to obtaining a complete portrait of rights-holders by 2021.”
• Since 2017, several community associations and school boards outside Quebec have written to the Ministers of Canadian Heritage; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; and Innovation, Science and Economic Development (Statistics Canada) to request changes to the Census questions in order to allow a better enumeration of those entitled to education in the language of the minority.
• Statistics Canada is an independent federal agency, but is administratively within the Department of Innovation, Science and Development.

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