Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to revisit a question I raised on November 7, 2013, regarding the recommendations of the Commissioner of Official Languages.
I would like to take this opportunity to talk some more about one of the recommendations made by the Commissioner of Official Languages in his 2012-13 annual report. To begin, however, I would first like to report on the implementation of some of the recommendations made by the Commissioner of Official Languages since 2006.
According to a table prepared by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, from 2006-07 to 2010-11, the Conservative government implemented only 10% of the 39 recommendations made by the Commissioner of Official Languages. The table shows that the government failed to implement 20% of the Commissioner's recommendations and that it did not follow up on 31% of the recommendations. This makes no sense. Clearly, the Conservative government does not take its obligations under the Official Languages Act very seriously.
As for the recommendations in the most recent annual report issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, I would like to focus on those dealing with access to justice. This was recommendation no. 5:
The Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada, the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario and the Commissioner of Official Languages for New Brunswick joined forces to conduct a study on the bilingual capacity of the superior court judiciary and recommend solutions to encourage Canadians to exercise their right to justice in the official language of their choice. Implementing these solutions depends on a collaborative approach between Canada’s Minister of Justice and his provincial and territorial counterparts, as well as the superior court chief justices. The Commissioner of Official Languages recommends that, by September 1, 2014, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada implement a collaborative approach with his provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure that the bilingual capacity of Canada’s superior court judiciary is consistent and appropriate at all times.
In his study of the bilingual capacity of the superior court judiciary, the Commissioner of Official Languages points out that obstacles to justice in both official languages have been known for some time, but despite several interventions on this front, progress in appointing bilingual judges has stalled.
For many Canadians, access to justice continues to be a challenge, and for many members of minority language communities, language remains one of several barriers. The commissioner's findings show that much work remains to be done to ensure that a sufficient number of bilingual superior court judges are appointed.
My colleague from Acadie—Bathurst moved a motion in the Standing Committee on Official Languages to ask the Minister of Justice to appear before the committee to report on measures he intended to take in response to this study. Unfortunately, the Conservative government opposed that motion.
Even though the Conservative government is using every trick in the book to delay the official languages file, my NDP colleagues and I will continue to stand up for language rights and support the development of our official language communities. To that end, Bill C-208, which was introduced by my colleague from Acadie—Bathurst, is about the bilingualism of Supreme Court judges and will be debated at second reading at the end of February. Bill C-208 would amend the Supreme Court Act to create a new requirement for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court of Canada.
My question for the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages is simple. What will she do to reverse the decline of official languages that has occurred under her government?