Official Languages committee  Thank you very much.

Official Languages committee  You could try to go that route. We are going through a period of new federal-provincial and even interprovincial tensions. Currently, there are tensions between British Columbia and Alberta. Could the provinces be ready to find common ground for understanding on the language iss

Official Languages committee  Studies have shown how important French-language education at pre-school level is for retaining students in the francophone system. When Ms. Meilleur was Ontario's minister of education, she told me about the experience in the city of Windsor, where they had created francophone e

Official Languages committee  It is so important, first because it was an innovation. For once, in an act, there was a rare obligation for positive measures, without the positive measures being clearly defined, either by regulation or in the act itself. Often, the successes of Part VII were achieved in regio

Official Languages committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  There was the power to compel testimony under oath, for example, that a commissioner, unlike other officers of Parliament, has never used. In the special report on Air Canada in 2016, we recognized the range of the powers of other officers of Parliament. I do not know whether th

Official Languages committee  Personally, I have always equated all the act's components, especially the preamble, with a value. If people view them as a Canadian value, and not as a set of burdensome obligations, they have a much easier time meeting the objectives set out in the act. As commissioner, I would

Official Languages committee  I think it would be interesting to take a closer look at that approach. There's a saying that comes to mind whenever the discussion turns to giving the act more teeth or establishing a tribunal: “When all you've got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” This is the non-la

Official Languages committee  It's important to keep the preamble in mind, as well.

Official Languages committee  Yes, indeed. Having listened to what other witnesses told this committee and the Senate official languages committee, I realize that legal experts have scrutinized the ambiguities and contradictions between parts IV and VII of the act. Consequently, I've come to the conclusion t

Official Languages committee  I don't think it's the federal government appealing the decision; it's the commissioner.

Official Languages committee  I'm not sure what position the Department of Justice took with respect to the matter.

Official Languages committee  That's a very good question. I'm not a lawyer, and unlike when I was commissioner, I didn't bring anyone with me today. I'm not here with a team of lawyers. I'm not sure whether replacing the word “may” with the word “shall”—and making the equivalent change in French—is the bes

Official Languages committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  It's worth exploring. I hesitate to say for sure one or the other because I can't tell you what the potential impact of the change would be. The benefit of taking the regulatory route is that it's easier to amend regulations than it is the act.