EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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The Commissioner of Official Languages presents in the following pages her seventh and final annual report.
This report addresses a number of issues that have been at the core of the Commissioner's work throughout her mandate, and concludes her series of annual reports, including the 2004-2005 overview of the past 35 years since the adoption of the Official Languages Act (the Act). That recapitulative report clearly showed that although a good deal of progress has been made, much remains to be done.
Unlike the 2004-2005 report, this document is mostly prospective in nature. Its first section is devoted almost exclusively to official languages issues that will have to be addressed in the future. As such, it perpetuates the importance of her role as an agent of change, which the Commissioner has always viewed as one of her central functions throughout the course of her mandate.
This report is set against the backdrop of an evolving Canada. Contributions continually being made by new Canadians, in addition to many other influences both at home and abroad, are changing the cultural climate of the country. At the same time, linguistic duality is more firmly rooted than ever before as a fundamental value of Canadian society. Just as with cultural diversity, linguistic duality is a defining trait of the contemporary Canadian identity and personality. However, this report points out that the decisions and actions of our political and administrative leaders do not always reflect this central social value—and as a consequence, equality of English and French is by no means a given in today's society. Furthermore, too often, the actions of government officials are restricted to following the letter of the Act rather than its spirit. It is clear that the federal government must re-examine its approach in order to fully integrate linguistic duality in all government activities, both in Canada and abroad. In turn, Canadian society as a whole must benefit from such efforts. Like cultural diversity, we must see linguistic duality as a source of social reinforcement.
It is true that better legislative tools are now available to the federal government and official language minority communities to help them build the future of linguistic duality. Adopted in November 2005 after a lengthy process, Bill S-3 succeeded in strengthening the Official Languages Act by imposing new obligations on all federal institutions. These institutions must better equip stakeholders and work to enhance the vitality of official language minority communities. Federal institutions must also be more active in promoting English and French within Canadian society. The adoption of Bill S-3 presents an ideal opportunity for change and lays the groundwork for renewed hope in the area of official languages.
Federal institutions must better coordinate their actions, demonstrate strong leadership, and be more attentive to the vitality and development of official language communities by putting in place new governance mechanisms. Horizontal governance is an efficient means that can be used to enhance the development of communities and promote linguistic duality. It fosters more effective relations between the federal government and representatives of the society at large. It also encourages stronger cooperation and greater involvement on the part of all stakeholders to build a prosperous and united Canada.
Similarly, in light of a number of recent changes to the Act, the debate surrounding the regulatory framework of official languages should be reopened. The 1992 Official Languages Regulations (Communications with and Services to the Public) have served their purpose and no longer reflects contemporary realities. One must see the need for their modernization as a means to correct current limitations affecting services provided to citizens in the official language of their choice. In addition to the requirement for modernizing the 1992 Regulations, there is a need to examine the relevance of adopting new regulations aimed at clarifying the implementation of obligations set out under other Parts of the Act.
In order to fully carry out their roles in the area of official languages, federal institutions must fulfill their obligations under the Official Languages Act. Based on studies and audits carried out in 2005-2006, the federal government seems successful in developing plans and some administrative procedures to meet its obligations. However, although the means may be in place, progress in terms of results is still insufficient. It is clear even to the casual observer that linguistic duality has not been genuinely integrated into the organizational culture of most public institutions. For example, in regards to services to the public, there has been a leveling-off in terms of the quality of service and even, in some cases, a decline. Similarly, in the case of language of work, there seems to be an inability to surpass existing performance benchmarks. As such, equal treatment for both linguistic groups still seems to be some way off.
With respect to the Action Plan for Official Languages, this report highlights the fact that the Action Plan does produce some positive results, depending on the sectors and linguistic communities targeted. At the halfway point, some sectors, such as health, have recorded some tangible results; however, other sectors, such as education, are significantly behind. Stronger political and administrative leadership will be needed to meet the goals of Canadian linguistic policy and those of the Action Plan.
The Commissioner sets out the following four recommendations to move Canada towards substantive equality of both official languages.
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Minister of Official Languages ensure the efficiency of the horizontal governance mechanisms by drawing on basic proven principles such as the sharing of knowledge and resources, mutual trust between stakeholders, and sound management.
That the President of the Treasury Board, for the purpose of establishing adapted, coherent and effective official languages regulations within the government:
- Modernize the Official Languages Regulations—Communications with and Services to the Public to allow Canadians to receive services of equal quality in the official language of their choice.
- Examine the relevance of adopting new regulations that aim to specify the implementation of the obligations set out in other Parts of the Official Languages Act, particularly Parts V and VII.
That the Minister of Official Languages ensure that all federal institutions, within their respective mandates, establish a strategy to foster the vitality of official language minority communities that includes:
- Developing, with the active and sustained participation of communities, indicators for the vitality of the communities that corresponds to their needs.
- Establishing means of collecting data and disseminating research on vitality, with an aim to inform federal institutions, communities and other partners.
- Demonstrating how they incorporate the development and growth of the communities into their policies and programs and their research plans.
- Evaluating programs, taking into account the results on the development of official language communities.
- Devoting particular attention to research-based funding agencies.
That the Minister of Official Languages initiate a dialogue with the various stakeholders in Canadian society to identify the measures to take in order to fully integrate the fundamental values of linguistic duality and cultural diversity into our governance models, and derive the full benefits that flow from them.
