Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Honourable members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, thank you for welcoming me here this morning to share the results of the work done by the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages on the modernization of the Official Languages Act.
First of all, I would like to congratulate you for the work accomplished within this committee, but also for the work each of you does to advance the status of both official languages in Canada. More than ever, I believe we need to reaffirm the importance of both official languages, to discuss the vitality of our minority language communities, and to promote and celebrate the richness of bilingualism and linguistic duality as the foundation of our Canadian federation.
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the responsibility we as parliamentarians all share to encourage and bring about a positive dialogue surrounding the importance of our official languages as a founding principle of our federation.
For the work and the actions you have taken as a committee in that direction, I thank you sincerely.
I would also like to acknowledge the quality of the recent reports you have published. I'm thinking, for instance, of your report on community media or your report on access to justice.
My intervention today will be in two parts. First, I would like to briefly present our study in order for you to better understand what we have done and what we have left to do. Then I will elaborate on some key recommendations we have heard.
In April 2017, the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages was mandated to study the perspective of Canadians on the modernization of the Official Languages Act. Five segments of the population were targeted in this study: young people, official language communities, experts familiar with the evolution of the act, the justice sector, and federal institutions.
Since the beginning of our study, we have had the privilege of travelling and meeting with official language communities across Canada. During our hearings, we have so far heard from 170 witnesses and have received 42 briefs, and we still have a few months left before we complete this very important study.
To date, we have published two interim reports, which I will present briefly.
In February 2018, in St. Boniface, Manitoba, we released our first report on the youth perspective. This first report presents the proposals made by young people aged 14 to 25 to modernize the act. I must say, hon. colleagues, that the members of our committee were impressed by the commitment shown by these young people to official languages. In this report, as you will see, the things they call for include a more active promotion of both official languages and bilingualism, recognition of the role of the arts and culture in the transmission of language, measures to ensure better dialogue between official language communities, greater support for initiatives by official language communities and, finally, the potential of digital technology to achieve these objectives.
The second interim report, released on October 26 during our most recent fact-finding mission in Moncton, New Brunswick, focuses on the perspective of official language communities. We heard and received practical proposals from all sectors of society. Many of these proposals included a straightforward articulation of certain sections of the act, for all parts of the act, from the preamble to the mechanism for its implementation. I can't list them all in the time allotted to me, but I invite you to read this second report, if you haven't already, to round out my remarks.
What seems obvious to us and what thrills us in this report is that there is consistency and a great consensus between the country's English-speaking and French-speaking communities on the issues identified and the solutions proposed to ensure the modernization of the act, this quasi-constitutional piece of legislation.
In brief, here are some of the proposals we have received that have consensus: review the mechanisms for horizontal coordination and implementation of the act; appoint to the highest echelons one or more officials responsible for the act; give the act much more teeth by strengthening its oversight and accountability mechanisms; clarify certain terms and concepts used in the act; and ensure better participation of official language communities in the implementation of the act, particularly by establishing consultation mechanisms.
I will more specifically speak to four key propositions we have heard expressed on multiple occasions in a variety of different ways. There is an impressive consensus around the issues and directions that should be taken by the government in the modernization of this act.
One of the recommendations we often heard at our committee had to do with responsibility for implementing the act. The current model of responsibility shared between the Treasury Board and the Department of Canadian Heritage is in question.
The witnesses proposed that responsibility for the act be centralized within a central agency that would have the power to impose policies and statements regarding the implementation of the act government-wide. Some witnesses suggested that the Treasury Board should be responsible for implementation, as it already has the administrative tools, funding and authority to issue directives, as well as the ability to conduct internal audits. Others suggested that this responsibility be assigned to the Privy Council Office, which plays an important political role and could become a true leader in official languages. Finally, some simply want Canadian Heritage's responsibilities to be strengthened.
We also heard from many witnesses about the importance of including in modernized legislation a whole series of new provisions related to federal-provincial-territorial agreements. Many witnesses want certain obligations to be respected when negotiating, drafting and signing these agreements. For example, they would like to see the main community actors in the field concerned, such as education, participate in the development of these agreements. They also want language clauses to be included in the agreements to ensure that the funds will be used for the projects for which they are intended. Finally, they want to see effective and measurable accountability mechanisms included to ensure that the money transferred to the provinces will actually be used for the intended purpose.
The new act should also include new provisions to recognize, for example, the educational continuum and the importance of francophone immigration for the vitality of communities. We have even received proposals for amendments that should be made to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, for example, to recognize these elements. Some witnesses also suggested that these two issues should be addressed in a new part of the Official Languages Act.
We also heard the need to include the action plan on official languages within the act to ensure that this important tool will always be available to the communities no matter the government in place. Many new clauses were proposed to include programs of this nature, such as the newly announced court challenges program, to make sure they are protected by the act.
We have also heard the necessity to better include the official language communities in the decision-making processes. Two major proposals were made in support. First, the idea was raised that an advisory board on official languages should be created and that the government should be mandated to meet with this board on a list of important issues.
Second, it was proposed that the obligation to take into account what is said during consultations be added to the act, as exists in other legislation in Canada.
Lastly, it was proposed that the powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages be reviewed, requiring him to initiate legal proceedings if certain criteria are met during an investigation, or exempting him from the requirement to obtain the complainant's approval before he can initiate a prosecution.
Many witnesses would like the Commissioner to have punitive powers. Some former commissioners we heard from don't think it's a good idea. They don't want the Commissioner to be both judge and jury. However, several other stakeholders suggested another solution: the creation in the act of an administrative tribunal responsible for official language issues.
In conclusion, our study continues until June 2019, when we will table our final report. In the meantime, we will release our last three interim reports: one on the experts familiar with the evolution of the act, one on the justice sector, and one on federal institutions. We have almost completed our work on the first two of these topics. All that remains is for us to hear from witnesses from federal institutions, the people who are primarily responsible for providing services in both official languages.
Thank you for your attention. I would be pleased to answer your questions.
