Thank you, Mr. Chair. Hello, honourable committee members.
I wish to acknowledge that we are meeting on the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people, an indigenous people from the Ottawa valley.
Your study on the use of French in government communications and federal institutions is very important and I want to thank you for it. During my mandate, you have often heard me say that bilingualism is an essential skill for all leaders, whether in politics, in the federal public service or even in the private sector.
I know that the Official Languages Act imposes requirements on federal institutions, but not on individuals. It is those institutions that are responsible for ensuring that their official communications, including speeches by the Prime Minister, are available in both official languages. While the act does not impose any personal requirement on the Prime Minister, it is nonetheless desirable for him to embody that symbol of Canadian identity and linguistic equality in his daily work.
When it comes to federal institutions, the promotion of both official languages starts at the top. In other words, senior managers must lead by example through their actions. When they actively use both official languages, they encourage others to follow suit and contribute to the creation of an organizational culture that values French as much as English.
It's clear that much work remains to be done to create a truly bilingual public service. During the last fiscal year, 255 admissible complaints related to the language of work were filed with my office, and I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. Many public servants are still reluctant to file a complaint when their language rights are infringed upon for fear of damaging their work relationships.
Of course, I was pleased to see the amendments to the act that came into force on June 20, which confirmed the right of federal public servants to work in the official language of their choice in regions designated as bilingual for language of work purposes, regardless of the linguistic identification of their position.
The Treasury Board Secretariat has also enhanced the linguistic requirements of bilingual supervisory positions in regions designated bilingual for language of work. I am nonetheless concerned about what could happen to individuals supervised by incumbents in unilingual positions or by those who do not meet the linguistic requirements at the CBC level. Federal institutions will have to ensure that measures are taken and maintained to protect the linguistic rights of the employees in question.
Too often, I also notice that French is neglected in government communications and that federal institutions relegate French to a translated language instead of striving for real equality of the official languages. The 766 eligible complaints filed with the Office of the Commissioner in 2024–2025 pertained to shortcomings in communications with the public, and the delivery of services reflects that. The new act is nonetheless very clear: given the precarious position of the French language in Canada, more must be done to protect it. I therefore expect, even at a time of budget cuts, that the leaders and senior officials of institutions send a clear message that French and English both play an important and equal role in the federal public service.
In closing, I'd like to briefly discuss the proposed administrative monetary penalties regulations that were recently tabled in Parliament. My team and I have conducted an in-depth analysis in order to fully understand the potential impact of the regulations on Canadians, members of the official-language minority communities and my office's operations.
As you may have read in our position paper, which was sent to you last week, I am pleased to see that many of the elements we recommended have been included in the proposed regulations. However, I'm concerned about some of the elements that have been put forward. For example, before being able to impose an administrative monetary penalty, my office will have to follow what seems to be a very time-consuming process, particularly because of the addition of several criteria to be considered and the obligation to justify the reasoning and methodology for each criterion.
Expectations are high for the modernized federal language policy and it's essential that the government make every effort to meet them. I therefore invite the government to take into account the considerations I've outlined in my document so that the regulations have the potential to fully meet the objectives of the modernized act.
I hope that my successor will have the opportunity to discuss this further with you during your in-depth study of the proposed regulations. The same also goes for the proposed regulations for part VII of the act tabled earlier this week, which deal with the advancement of equality of status and use of English and French. My team and I will analyze them in more detail in the coming days.
Thank you for your attention. I am now ready to answer your questions in the official language of your choice.
