Question Period Note: Modernization of the Official Languages Act

The mandate letter for the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages includes the commitment to modernize and reinforce the Official Languages Act.

• The Government of Canada is committed to modernizing and reinforcing the Official Languages Act, so that it may continue to serve Canadians well.
• Last year, we gathered the views of many Canadians. We also took note of the work of the two parliamentary committees on official languages and of the Commissioner of Official Languages on modernization.
• We are working hard to prepare the next steps in the modernization of the Official Languages Act.

• The mandate letter for the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages includes the commitment to “Modernize and reinforce the Official Languages Act. As part of these modernization efforts, you will protect CBC/Radio-Canada’s role in better reflecting Canada’s linguistic duality and minority language communities across the country, ensure that Air Canada provides fully bilingual services to its customers, and review and strengthen the powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages. Further, undertake an enumeration of rights-holders and a thorough post-census survey to better account for and better serve minority language communities.”
• On June 6, 2018, the Prime Minister stated that “the Official Languages Act is important to our party and also to our country. Protecting Canada’s linguistic minorities is at the core of who we are as a country. […]. I can confirm that we are preparing to modernize the Official Languages Act. We will work with all Canadians to ensure we get it right.”
• In 2019, which marked the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act, a public engagement exercise was conducted to gather the views of the population on its modernization. Canadians expressed their views by email, online or in person at one of 12 round tables and five forums held across the country. Nearly 1,500 Canadians took part in this exercise and shared their ideas on the future of the official languages. These engagement efforts culminated in a major symposium on official languages held in Ottawa in May 2019.
 
• In August 2019, Canadian Heritage published a document summarizing the views expressed during the public engagement exercise.
• In 2019, the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages, the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Official Languages, and the Commissioner of Official Languages all released reports requesting the modernization of the Official Languages Act.
• On March 5, 2019, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, with the support of the Quebec Community Groups Network, released its proposed bill for modernizing the Official Languages Act.
• An interdepartmental working group on the modernization of the Official Languages Act was established in July 2019. It is co-presided by Canadian Heritage, Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Department of Justice, with participation from the Privy Council Office. Eight sub-groups are conducting detailed reviews of specific themes: 1) preamble and purpose, 2) governance, 3) powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages,
4) administration of justice, 5) communication with and service to the public, 6) language of work, 7) advancement of English and French, and 8) miscellaneous proposals that do not fall under any of the previous categories.
• The Official Languages Act came into force in 1969 and granted equality of status and use to English and French not only in Parliament and the courts, but also throughout the federal administration. In September 1988, the second Official Languages Act incorporated and clarified linguistic rights and principles set out in the Constitution of 1867, and enshrined in the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The most recent milestone in the evolution of the Official Languages Act was adopted in 2005, with the addition of obligations to implement the commitment contained in Part VII.

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