Question Period Note: Role and responsibilities of the Minister of Official Languages

The Official Languages Act (OLA) is a quasi-constitutional legal instrument, which gives a specific legislative mandate to three federal institutions: the Department of Canadian Heritage, represented by the Minister of Official Languages, the Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Department of Justice.

• As Minister responsible for Official Languages, I have a mandate to promote our two official languages in Canadian society and to enhance the vitality of our official language minority communities.
• I am also committed to working closely with the President of the Treasury Board to ensure that all federal services are provided in full compliance with the Official Languages Act.
• As a government, we are committed to the substantive equality of English and French through the strengthening of the Official Languages Act. We will take the necessary steps to better protect French across the country, including in Quebec, and I intend to show renewed leadership to achieve this.

• The Official Languages Act (OLA) has recognized French and English as official languages of Canada since 1969. It is quasi-constitutional and sets out the powers and obligations of federal institutions, among other things, with respect to:
o Communications with and services to the public (Part IV);
o Language of work of federal institutions (Part V)
o Participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians in federal institutions (Part VI); and
o Promotion of English and French (Part VII).
• The OLA gives a legislative mandate to the President of the Treasury Board and to the Minister of Canadian Heritage:
o The Treasury Board Secretariat coordinates the implementation of the parts of the OLA dealing with language of service, language of work and the representation of English and French speakers in the public service. The Treasury Board Secretariat holds federal institutions accountable on these issues and reports annually to Parliament.
o Canadian Heritage coordinates the efforts of federal institutions to enhance the vitality of official language minority communities and promote English and French in Canadian society. Canadian Heritage holds federal institutions demands accountability and reports annually to Parliament.
• In fact, the OLA imposes obligations with respect to the use of both official languages in "federal institutions" (i.e. institutions of Parliament and the Government of Canada), including debates and proceedings in Parliament, legislative acts, the administration of justice, communications with and services to the public, and language of work. The OLA also applies to Crown corporations, as well as to certain privatized former Crown corporations, such as Air Canada, CN and various ports and airports.
Treasury Board’s Role
• Under Part IV (Communications with and Services to the Public), every federal institution has the duty to ensure that any member of the public can communicate with and receive services from it in either official language in the National Capital Region and in offices designated as bilingual. The right of the public to be served in the official language of their choice takes precedence over the right of an employee to work in English or French.
• Under Part V (Language of Work in Federal Institutions), English and French are the languages of work in federal institutions. It is the responsibility of these institutions, in the National Capital Region and in regions designated as bilingual, to ensure that their work environment is conducive to the effective use of both languages while allowing their employees to use either language.
Canadian Heritage’s Role
• In accordance with Part VII of the OLA, all federal institutions are responsible for its implementation, and article 41 commits the federal government to “enhancing the vitality of the English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and supporting and assisting their development; and fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society”.
• For Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Official Languages, this mandate implies a government-wide coordination role, and s. 42 requires the Department, "in consultation with other ministers of the Crown," to initiate and encourage coordination of the implementation by federal institutions of this commitment.
• In addition to the legislative mandate of Canadian Heritage, the Minister of Official Languages is responsible for the horizontal coordination of all Government of Canada activities related to official languages, such as the integration of official languages into policies, the coordination of the undertaking of modernization of the Act, and the coordination of governance structures (Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers for Official Languages).
• On June 15, 2021, in her coordination role, the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages tabled Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts for first reading in the House. The Government recognizes that the security and vitality of the French language require a special approach and measures to promote substantive equality between the two official languages and to continue to protect minority language rights.
• If adopted, Bill C-32 will formalize the coordinating role of the Minister of Canadian Heritage in the OLA and strengthen the oversight role of the Treasury Board, in particular by giving it the necessary powers to ensure full compliance with obligations of federal institutions under the law.

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