Question Period Note: 2018-2023 Action Plan for Official Languages: Status of Implementation

On May 24, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Minister for Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency launched the 2022 Consultations on the Renewal of the Action Plan for Official Languages. She will be touring across Canada to meet face-to-face with key stakeholders, members of official language minority communities, and government representatives. Members of the general public will also have the opportunity to be heard directly through online consultations.

• I am delighted to announce that Cross-Canada Official Languages consultations began on May 24 in Vancouver.
• The purpose of these consultations is to update the objectives and initiatives of the Action Plan for Official Languages while considering the main principles of the reform of the Official Languages Act.
• I encourage Canadians to participate in high numbers in these consultations by visiting the 2022 Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations website, and to share their opinions with us by completing the online questionnaire on the same site.

• On May 24, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Minister for Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency launched the 2022 Consultations on the Renewal of the Action Plan for Official Languages. She will be touring across Canada to meet face-to-face with key stakeholders, members of official language minority communities, and government representatives. Members of the general public will also have the opportunity to be heard directly through online consultations.
• On May 18, 2022, the Commissioner of Official Languages released a report on the implementation of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023 and presented his analysis and recommendations for the next five-year plan. The report details 14 recommendations (eight for targeted programs and six concerning common elements) for the federal institutions that are partners in the Action Plan, including Canadian Heritage.
• The Action Plan for Official Languages - 2018-2023: Investing in Our Future expires on March 31, 2023. It represents close to $500 million in new funds over five years and focuses on three pillars: Strengthening our Communities ($267 million); Strengthening Access to Services ($129 million); and Promoting a Bilingual Canada ($100 million). These funds are in addition to the ongoing program funds, notably those of the 2013 2018 Roadmap, for an unprecedented investment of $2.7 billion over five years.
• At the end of 2021, the summary report of the mid-term review was distributed to the stakeholders who participated in the exercise. It took stock of the first three years (2018-2020) of implementation of the measures stemming from the additional $500 million investment provided for in the Action Plan. The objectives of the exercise were to provide an overview of actual expenditures to date and identify adjustments required and best practices for the continued implementation of the federal strategy. Overall, stakeholders gave a positive review.
• On April 7, 2022, the Government of Canada introduced its Budget 2022, which reiterates the Government of Canada has committed to an additional investment of $408.3 million over three years, beginning in 2021-2022, to support official languages. Among other things, it suggests:
o $180.4 million to Canadian Heritage to help students across the country achieve higher levels of bilingualism. This funding will be used to enhance French immersion and French second-language programs in schools and post-secondary institutions, to help provinces and territories meet the strong demand from students and parents for French immersion and French second-language spaces, to strengthen the existing strategy for the recruitment and retention of teachers, and to support the learning of French from early childhood.
o $121.3 million to Canadian Heritage to provide high-quality post-secondary education in the minority language in Canada.
o $81.8 million, over two years, to Canadian Heritage to support the construction, renovation and development of educational and community spaces that serve official language minority communities.
o $6.4 million to Canadian Heritage and $2.3 million to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat over two years, starting in 2021-2022, to modernize the Official Languages Act.
o $16 million for Canadian Heritage, the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Commissioner of Official Languages and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to support the implementation of the Bill to achieve substantive equality of English and French and strengthen the Official Languages Act, once it receives Royal Assent.
• These new investments are in addition to the nearly $500 million in supplementary funding in the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023: Investing in Our Future (Action Plan). In total, some $908 million will be invested to support official languages in Canada from 2018 to 2023.

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