Ottawa, October 3, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The official languages train is finally pulling out of the station...But progress remains slow and fragmented
In her third annual report tabled in Parliament today, the Commissioner of Official Languages, Dr. Dyane Adam, observes that certain initiatives undertaken by the federal government over the past year show the emergence of a definite mobilization, a change in attitude and greater cooperation towards giving new impetus to the Official Languages Program. While the path that the government intends to follow is becoming clearer, the Commissioner nevertheless deplores the government's excessive slowness in giving concrete expression to its political commitments.
It has been two years since Dr. Adam strongly denounced the lack of coherent political and administrative leadership and called on the government to take action to renew the Official Languages Program. The government accepted this diagnosis and made a commitment to put strong new measures in place. "Although work is well underway and progress is real and visible this year, it remains slow and fragmented. The government must pick up the pace," declared the Commissioner.
A new feature in the Commissioner's annual report this year is seven key recommendations. They are designed to assist the government in targeting concrete actions that must be taken to reinforce its political and administrative leadership in the area of official languages and to better integrate linguistic duality into the organizational culture of the federal public service. The Commissioner will evaluate the implementation of these recommendations in her next annual report.
Dr. Adam believes that some important elements to put Canada's linguistic duality solidly back on track are still missing. Firstly, the government's willingness to act must translate into a global strategy with clear objectives and an accountability framework. As well, it is essential that the government provide adequate funding to turn this strategy into action. "Without this we may once again find ourselves with a succession of incoherent mini-reforms, with no clear end goal. Minister Dion and his Cabinet colleagues have undertaken a serious reflection and consultation process to draw up an action plan. However, the itinerary of the official languages train must be clarified soon and the government must ensure that there is enough fuel in the engine for the trip."
Secondly, a synergy of political and administrative leadership is key to give new momentum to the official language policy. While the situation is far from perfect, Dr. Adam has noted some progress in this area. In particular, the report highlights the work of parliamentarians who this year energetically defended Canadians' language rights while examining such important issues as immigration, the creation of a new air transport security authority and the language situation at Air Canada. The Commissioner also applauds certain initiatives undertaken by the government, including the decision to provide financial aid to the City of Ottawa and to the government of New Brunswick in order to assist them in providing bilingual municipal services.
At the administrative level, there is clearly greater mobilization and better cooperation. The new Clerk of the Privy Council has made official languages one of the four priorities of the public service for this year. However, administrative leadership must be more and more focused around a common vision for official languages. Senior public servants must set the tone for the rest of the public service.
Finally, a chapter of the annual report is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Dr. Adam points out that the Charter is much more than a simple legal document serving as a reference in court cases. It is first and foremost a contract among the citizens of this country that defines our public space. Linguistic duality and diversity are the two key traits that make Canadian society unique and the Charter has allowed us to build a stable society that explicitly values and respects differences. It codifies our social values, including linguistic duality. "Public debate on bilingualism still tends to focus too often on cost and obligations. It is important to remember that official bilingualism has allowed for continuous dialogue and exchange between our two linguistic groups and directly contributes to our social harmony and stability," declared Dr. Adam.
All signs point to the fact that the official languages train is slowly leaving the station, but the pace must now speed up if we are to move towards the destination of genuine equality. "If I insist so much on the urgent need to act, it is because official languages is not just another government program. It is at the very heart of our values. It is high time for the government to pick up the pace. The government must now make its promises reality by putting linguistic duality solidly back on track," concluded Dr. Adam.
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