You are parliamentarians. If I were a member of Parliament like you, I would want every member of this committee, regardless of political affiliation, to promote the true equality of English and French. You were appointed to this committee because, one way or another, you recognize that language duality is a distinct characteristic of Canada which unites us. It is not enough to recognize this in the Canadian Constitution or in a quasi-constitutional act such as the Official Languages Act.
Implementing a law and ensuring that it is fully respected represents the greatest part of the work and is one of the greatest challenges. The commissioner is an officer of Parliament. Ultimately, the commissioner provides you with evidence. My team works to establish in which circumstances the government fully or partially respects the law, or not at all. The commissioner then shares her observations with you.
However, as parliamentarians, members of Parliament and members of this committee, you are collectively responsible to ensure that federal institutions and the federal public service are accountable. In English we would say that you must “take them to task”.
If I was a member of Parliament, I would always keep in mind the fact that we must hold decision makers, namely those who can bring about change, accountable. the commissioner is not responsible for implementation; she simply diagnoses a situation and proposes, as Mr. Godin said, potential measures.