Thank you for your question.
Protecting Canadians' language rights is a very broad mandate. Our office has received 60,000 complaints and made countless recommendations, and yet, years later, things don't really seem to be improving. It's time to realize that we may not have the tools we need to do the job, whether to ensure compliance with the act or promote official languages.
The modernization of the Official Languages Act must take into account the tools available to the commissioner. Not only does the commissioner's mandate come into play, but so does the commissioner's ability to ensure that each and every Canadian is able to use the official language of their choice day in and day out.
I think those discussions have begun, but they need to continue. If we don't change our behaviour and the way we do things, the behaviour of federal institutions will not change. It is clear from those 60,000 complaints that the tools provided to the commissioner thus far are not up to the task.