Standing Committee on Official Languages

Comité permanent des langues officielles

For immediate release

Ottawa, June 19, 2019 -

Today the Honourable Denis Paradis, Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages presented a report entitled The Modernization of the Official Languages Act (the Act).

The report focuses on three aspects of modernizing the Act: the oversight framework, Part VII–Advancement of English and French–and the impact of the Act as a tool for social cohesion.

The report contains 11 recommendations. The first aims to clarify the wording of the Act, including some key concepts such as “positive measures.” The second recommendation seeks to redefine the roles and responsibilities of the Commissioner of Official Languages by granting the office enforcement powers, among others. This recommendation also addresses the issue of creating an official languages administrative tribunal.

With its third recommendation, the Committee is looking to establish a formal framework for official language minority community (OLMC) consultations and to make the development of a multi-year action plan mandatory. In addition, this recommendation addresses the issue of research and access to data on OLMCs, including the enumeration of rights-holders under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The fourth recommendation aims to add clear objectives and obligations respecting language rights in francophone immigration and health. Recommendations 5 to 7 pertain to minority-language education and second-official-language instruction.

The eighth recommendation concerns the option of requiring language clauses in all federal-provincial/territorial agreements to ensure signatories consult OLMCs and adopt accountability best practices. The final three recommendations seek to assign responsibility for official languages to a central agency, to create a chapter in the Act on the advancement of French in Canada and abroad, and to ensure the modernized Act fosters bilingualism in Canada.

The report can be viewed 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).