PS official languages rules to be reviewed
Program aims to better determine need for minority language services
The Liberal government has launched a review to update the 25-year-old rules for public servants providing front-counter services in English and French.
Treasury Board president Scott Brison and Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly on Thursday announced a review of the regulations of the Official Languages Act that govern communications and services offered in government offices to Canadians in English and French.
The review is aimed at coming up with a better calculation to determine the demand for minority language services, to explore new ways to use technology to provide those services, and to improve bilingual services for transportation.
“Francophone and anglophone minority communities across the country have been asking for these regulations to be improved in order to better reflect their realities,” Brison said in a statement.
“We must account for changing demographics, new technologies and lessons learned in the 25 years since these regulations were adopted to be able to serve Canadians better, and in the language of their choice.”
These regulations, which have not been updated since 1991, determine where services are provided and are considered key to helping French and English minorities thrive in their communities.
Meanwhile, the government is also imposing a moratorium on the 250 bilingual offices, which under current rules and regulations, were about to lose their bilingual status. They will continue to provide services in both languages until new regulations are in place.
The Official Languages Act lays out the rules for government institutions. Its regulations specify the circumstances or mandate of a federal office that justifies providing bilingual services.
They also have a formula, based on census data, to calculate the size of official language communities and to determine whether there is enough demand to warrant bilingual services. That formula will now take into account 2011 census data.
Many have complained the rules are out of date. Minority language groups have argued they are too narrow and don’t take into account the demographic realities. In some cases, a French- or English-speaking minority group in a community might have been growing, but the rest of the population has grown faster.
Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser raised that concern in his last report, urging Treasury Board to assess the effectiveness of the policies and directives underpinning the rules for communications and services to the public. Also, technology has had an impact. Many of the services now provided by the government are online, and the very definition and role of front-counter services for departments and agencies have changed.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave Brison marching orders in his mandate letter to work with Joly to “ensure that all federal services are delivered in full compliance with the Official Languages Act.”
The review, which begins in the fall, will roll out in three phases. It will begin with public consultations and drafting of new regulations to be ready for Treasury Board and cabinet approval in summer 2018 and parliamentary approval by spring 2019.