Question Period Note: Official Languages in the Public Service

The Annual Report on Official Languages 2019–20 tabled on December 15, 2021 shows a slight decline in compliance with regard to language of work requirements.

•The Government is committed to promoting official languages and ensuring compliance with the Official Languages Act throughout the public service and in services to Canadians.
•We are dedicated to creating and maintaining a workplace that supports the use of both English and French.
•The Treasury Board Secretariat is working closely with Canadian Heritage, the Department of Justice and others to modernize and reinforce the Official Languages Act.
•The annual report provides a regular update on the government’s performance and shows the progress we continue to make in key areas.

The Official Languages Act (Act) is a quasi-constitutional act that aims to:
•Ensure respect for English and French, their equality of status, and equal rights and privileges as to their use in federal institutions;
•Support the development of English and French linguistic minority communities;
•Advance the equality of status and use of English and French.

Treasury Board's role in official languages
Under the Official Languages Act, the Treasury Board is responsible for the general direction and coordination of the policies and programs of the Government of Canada relating to the implementation of those parts of the Official Languages Act that deal with:
•Communications with and Services to the Public (Part IV)
•Language of Work in Federal Institutions (Part V);
•Participation of Anglophones and Francophones in the federal public service (Part VI).

These powers are exercised by the Treasury Board Secretariat. It establishes and interprets official languages policies, directives and regulations and ensures that federal institutions comply with them.

Annual Report on Official Languages
The Annual Report on Official Languages 2019-20 shows a slight increase in overall compliance with policy requirements compared with the previous year.

There was, however, a slight decline in compliance with regard to language of work requirements such as access to work documents and senior management interactions with employees.

In general, the capacity of the public service to provide services has increased year over year. There are more bilingual supervisory positions, more bilingual incumbents that meet the language requirements of their position as well as more positions that require a superior level of bilingualism.

Modernization
Following an analysis of stakeholder proposals and the development of options, the Government in February 2021 released a document entitled English and French: Towards Substantive Equality of Official Languages in Canada. This document sets out a series of legislative, regulatory and administrative changes.

On June 15, 2021, Bill C-32, which reflects the legislative proposals, was introduced in Parliament. Bill C-32 proposed to strengthen and expand the powers of the Treasury Board to improve the compliance of federal institutions. Additional and permanent resources would be required to enable the Secretariat to fully assume new responsibilities. With the dissolution of Parliament in August 2021, Bill C-32 died on the Order Paper.

The new government has committed to re-tabling a bill to modernize the Official Languages Act within the first 100 days of its mandate. Key stakeholders have been following the modernization process closely and expressed expectations for additional changes.

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