Just as Indigenous languages remain an integral part of the linguistic landscape of Canadian society, our two official languages are an integral part of our country's heritage. Protecting and promoting our two official languages and defending official-language minority communities are a priority for the Government of Canada.
Today, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister for Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, supported by the Honourable Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board, and the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, tabled an improved bill for substantive equality between Canada's official languages.
More than 30 years after the last major reform, the Official Languages Act required modernization to keep pace with a society that has experienced profound social, demographic and technological changes.
After sharing our vision for official languages reform in the document English and French: Towards a substantive equality of official languages in Canada, and after introducing Bill C-32 in June 2021, we continued to listen to Canadians, communities and interested stakeholders. With this in mind, we decided to significantly improve the bill, which today enables us to take a historic step forward.
In addition to the key measures in the previous bill, this new version significantly improves the Official Languages Act to address the decline of French in Canada; clarify and strengthen the part of the Act concerning the promotion of official languages and supporting official-language minority communities; improve compliance by federal institutions concerning official languages; and achieve a balance so that as many Canadians as possible can identify with this modernization, including through the following measures:
- Modify the Treasury Board's powers to further strengthen its official languages monitoring obligations.
- Strengthen the powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages, including new authority to enter into compliance agreements with institutions subject to the Act, to issue orders, and to impose administrative monetary penalties on certain privatized entities and Crown corporations that are currently subject to the Official Languages Act in the area of transportation serving the travelling public.
- Strengthen Canada's Francophone Immigration Policy, which should include objectives, targets and indicators to increase Francophone immigration outside Quebec.
- Add the principle of remedial nature of language rights to the principles of interpretation of the Act to better protect linguistic minorities across the country.
- Add amendments and clarifications regarding federal institutions taking positive measures for official-language minority communities and the promotion of English and French.
- Establish new rights and obligations to protect the French language in private businesses under federal jurisdiction in an Act of Parliament dedicated to this objective.
- Add a preamble to the Official Languages Act reminding that official-language rights apply even in emergencies. Add language that clearly states the equal importance of the country's two major linguistic communities and the requirement to consider the specific needs of each, and the historical and cultural importance of Canada's Anglophone and Francophone minorities and their unique and plural character.
The tabling of this improved bill is a concrete step in our efforts to ensure the protection of French, the promotion of our two official languages, and the revitalization of minority communities and bilingualism across the country.
