INTRODUCTION
Previous Page | Table of Contents | Next Page
This Annual Report for 2005-2006 marks the end of Dyane Adam's mandate as Commissioner of Official Languages and offers a new perspective on language renewal.
The Commissioner began her seven-year term on the cusp of a new millennium. It has been a period of accelerating change in Canadian society and throughout the world.
From her first days in office, the Commissioner set the tone for her mandate by pointing out the federal government's flagrant lack of leadership and commitment in the area of official languages and underscored the serious impact of successive reorganizations. She denounced superficial and short-lived progress, as well as inertia and complacency.
The Commissioner issued an urgent call for action. It was crucial to bring about cultural change in the public service and in society as a whole to advance the fundamental value of Canada's linguistic duality. She felt that the Office of the Commissioner had to intensify its efforts and play a more important role as a key agent leading this change. She began by defining the main issues to guide the work of the Office of the Commissioner. The resolution of these issues is essential to ensure the full vitality of official language minority communities in Canada and the true equality of English and French in our country.
One key objective was to make the implementation of the Official Languages Act (the Act) more effective and comprehensive. Another was to take corrective action in favour of communities in order to enforce the right to minority language education. Other goals included: promoting equality of English and French in society, health and social services, and youth; immigration; and community development.
These issues were at the heart of the Commissioner's work throughout her mandate. Several of these efforts were successful, as attested by the 2003 Action Plan for Official Languages. Indeed, this Action Plan took up many of the themes the Commissioner outlined at the beginning of her mandate. As for the recent adoption of Bill S-3, there is no doubt that the Commissioner's repeated interventions seeking to clarify the obligations of federal institutions under Part VII of the Act weighed in the balance.
Overall, the key objectives are still timely and are addressed throughout this report. Since the adoption of the Act over 35 years ago, much has been accomplished in regards to official languages, but much still remains to be done.
This report is released at a time when our country's linguistic and cultural makeup is undergoing a profound transformation. Globalization, the information age, the knowledge society and technological innovation all suggest that there are new and ever-growing forces at play. The linguistic makeup of our country is also evolving due to an increase in mixed marriages between Anglophones and Francophones, the influence of newcomers, the demographic profile of rural and urban regions, and the increased role of the provinces and territories in community development. These are crucially important realities for the future of our country's language policies.
The first part of this report is made up of five chapters. Chapter 1 deals with amendments to Part VII of the Act and their historic importance in the development of official language minority communities and in the progress towards equality in status and use of English and French within Canadian society.
The second chapter continues a process of reflection undertaken some time ago on the governance of official languages. It offers ideas on the respective roles of government and non-governmental organizations in the area of official languages and suggests ways that citizens can take part in the development of policies that affect them. Moreover, establishing efficient means of consultation between the government and official language communities and other parties with a stake in linguistic duality is a requirement made clearer by the amendments brought to Part VII of the Act.
Chapter 3 addresses the regulatory framework of official languages. Given the levelling-off witnessed with respect to the delivery of services to the public and the stagnation in the area of language of work—as shown in the second part of this report—the Commissioner believes it is now time to review the regulatory or administrative framework that guides federal institutions' actions. The Commissioner points out the main areas requiring improvement and the principles that should guide the government in modernizing the Official Languages Regulations (Communications with and Services to the Public). She also recommends that the government explore the appropriateness of adopting new regulations to specify the implementation of requirements contained in other Parts of the Act.
By reinforcing the scope of Part VII, the government and its institutions will improve their knowledge of official language communities, which will allow them to adopt policies better suited to the needs of the communities. Therefore, the fourth chapter offers observations on the vitality of official language minority communities and, in particular, our ability to recognize factors of vitality, to evaluate them, and to find ways to strengthen this ability within our communities.
Linguistic duality and cultural diversity are fundamental characteristics of Canadian society. It is essential for these values to guide the government's efforts in all sectors. The fifth chapter offers thoughts on better ways to integrate linguistic duality and cultural diversity into the governance framework of Canadian society.
The second part of the report addresses issues of compliance with the Act and the Commissioner's role in that respect, both as language ombudsman and as auditor.
Chapter 6 deals with the role and performance of key institutions in official languages management, as well as the Action Plan for Official Languages and its midterm report. Chapter 7 presents the report card for federal institutions and a showcase of success stories. Finally, Chapter 8 analyzes complaints received and audits and follow-ups performed throughout the fiscal year.
In short, the Commissioner's final Annual Report looks both to the future, by offering a number of benchmarks and suggesting areas for renewal and consolidation, and to the recent past, by appraising the work and evaluating the performance of certain federal institutions during the 2005-2006 fiscal year.
