In 2012, Treasury Board's official languages policy stipulated, for the first time, that deputy ministers had to designate champions to support them in implementing the requirements of the act. Every deputy minister is advised of their official languages responsibilities, which include appointing an official languages champion. And that person can now perform their role more fully than in the past.
Previously, institutions were simply asked to have a champion. It's something we asked of them, but they didn't have to have one. It wasn't a policy requirement.