Official Languages committee  Thank you. Hello, Mr. Chair and honourable committee members. It is with a strong sense of duty that I appear before you this morning. I would like to introduce my colleagues with me, Mr. Pierre Leduc, Ms. Ghislaine Saikaley and Mr. Éric Trépanier, who are all assistant commiss

Official Languages committee  As you said, the commissioner has multiple roles, which include protection, promotion, influencers and education. I do not specifically recall that event. I remember meeting some young people, talking to them about the importance of filing complaints, and saying that it furthers

Official Languages committee  In general...

Official Languages committee  To date, we have met with Minister Joly, Minister Duclos...

Official Languages committee  Right now, I contact Ms. Joly, who is the minister.

Official Languages committee  The governance issue came up often in discussions on modernizing the act. Is our governance structure the best? I would say not. For a number of years, our governance structure has not been the best. In 2003, there was a committee of ministers responsible for the official languag

Official Languages committee  First...

Official Languages committee  In terms of having a strong act and linking principles with practical aspects, that does in fact pertain to governance and possible compliance mechanisms. Right now, the act gives the commissioner significant investigation powers, but says practically nothing about following up o

Official Languages committee  In terms of part VII, one of the challenges is that there is no definition in this section. It refers to “positive measures” that are to be taken to enhance vitality and support community development. Pursuant to the Gascon decision, anything can constitute positive measures. I

Official Languages committee  In any discussion about federal, provincial and territorial levels...

Official Languages committee  Looking at where we are at right now, there has in fact been some progress. I remember that at one time there were hardly any provincial services in French. As to the agreements between a province or territory and the federal government, the reporting requirements are not very cl

Official Languages committee  I was floored. Honestly, I was very disappointed. I don't think the word “disappointed” is strong enough to convey what I felt. I remember we were at the office; the lawyers came in, looked at me and said it was not good news. I asked them if there was any good news, and they sai

Official Languages committee  The answer is fairly simple: the act has changed. According to the act, and according to this decision, what we can do in investigations is now limited. The most difficult element of this decision is the fact that it cannot be determined whether a complaint is substantiated unl

Official Languages committee  You are completely right. That is why, as part of the modernization project, we will request—

Official Languages committee  At my meeting, I will indeed raise certain important elements related to this. You are right. As you say, following the Gascon decision, especially with regard to part VII, how can I do my job? Part VII affects communities more intimately. That is the part that requires federal