Standing Committee on Official Languages

Comité permanent des langues officielles

For immediate release

Ottawa, February 27, 2019 -

Today the Hon. Denis Paradis, Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages (the committee), tabled a report entitled Making the Most of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023: Investing in Our Future.

Launched by the Government of Canada in late March 2018, the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023: Investing in Our Future (the Action Plan) is the fourth five-year strategy for official languages. It sets out the Government of Canada’s priorities for developing official language minority communities (OLMCs) and promoting Canada’s linguistic duality over the next five years.

The evidence and briefs presented to the committee as part of its study on the Action Plan led it to make five recommendations. First, the committee recommends that the 11 federal institutions partnering in the Action Plan improve the implementation processes for programs. The committee also recommends that they conduct a study on funding for OLMCs to determine whether the funds outlined in the Action Plan are sufficient to achieve the principle of substantive equality.

The committee further recommends that the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie publish a horizontal management framework to explain the governance of the Action Plan and how it fits in the broader structure of the Government of Canada’s Official Languages Program. It also calls on the Minister and the Treasury Board President to consider implementing a tool to help Canadians track the implementation and investments of Action Plan programs. Lastly, the committee recommends issuing a mid-term report on the implementation of the Action Plan.

The report can be consulted on the committee’s web page on the Parliament of Canada website at http://www.parl.gc.ca/LANG-e. Anyone unable to access an electronic copy of the report can obtain a paper copy by contacting the committee Clerk.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages is composed of 11 MPs. The Chair is the Honourable Denis Paradis (Brome–Missisquoi) and the Vice-Chairs are Alupa Clarke (Beauport–Limoilou) and François Choquette (Drummond). The other members are René Arseneault (Madawaska–Restigouche), Sylvie Boucher (Beauport–Côte-de-Beaupré–Île d’Orléans–Charlevoix), Mona Fortier (Ottawa–Vanier), Bernard Généreux (Montmagny–L’Islet–Kamouraska–Rivière-du-Loup), Emmanuella Lambropoulos (Saint-Laurent), Alaina Lockhart (Fundy Royal), Jean R. Rioux (Saint-Jean) and Darrell Samson (Sackville–Preston–Chezzetcook).