LANG Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Official Languages |
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Comité permanent des langues officielles |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
TABLING OF REPORT ON THE LINGUISTIC DUALITY DURING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS OF CONFEDERATION IN 2017
Ottawa, March 27, 2013 -
The Hon. Michael Chong, Chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages (hereinafter the Committee), today tabled in the House of Commons a report entitled Linguistic Duality during the 150th Anniversary Celebrations of Canadian Confederation in 2017. The report complements the report on the 150th anniversary celebrations of Confederation presented to Parliament by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in September 2012.
“The House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages heard from nearly 30 witnesses, and this report reflects their testimony and the extensive work undertaken by the Committee,” said Mr. Chong.
The first part of the report examines how official language minority community (OLMC) representatives recommend incorporating linguistic duality into the 150th anniversary celebrations of Confederation. In the second part, the Committee considers the governance of the celebrations, specifically the tools and mechanisms deemed necessary by witnesses to ensure that linguistic duality is well represented in the celebrations. In the third part, the Committee explores the idea of showcasing OLMC arts, culture and heritage in order to celebrate Canada’s linguistic duality. In the fourth part, the Committee addresses the issue of promoting linguistic duality to Canadian youth, and the fifth part deals with building the bilingual capacity of 150th anniversary celebration partners.
In the sixth part of the report, the Committee presents four recommendations. The Committee calls on Canadian Heritage to ensure that linguistic duality is incorporated into planning for the 150th anniversary celebrations of Canadian Confederation, to undertake consultations with OLMC, to encourage all departments and groups involved in the next federal initiative on official languages to refocus their projects toward celebration preparations, and to update the Committee once a formal plan is in place for the 150th anniversary celebrations of Canadian Confederation.
It should be noted that the New Democratic Party of Canada submitted a complementary opinion and the Liberal Party of Canada submitted a dissenting opinion.
The report can be consulted on the Committee’s webpage on the Parliament of Canada website at www.parl.gc.ca/LANG-e. Individuals without access to an electronic version can obtain a copy of the report from the Committee Clerk.
The Standing Committee on Official Languages is composed of 12 members. The Hon. Michael Chong (Wellington–Halton Hills) serves as chair and Yvon Godin (Acadie–Bathurst) and the Hon. Stéphane Dion (Saint-Laurent–Cartierville) as vice-chairs. The other members are Joyce Bateman (Winnipeg South Centre), Tyrone Benskin (Jeanne-Le Ber), Corneliu Chisu (Pickering–Scarborough East), Pierre Dionne Labelle (Rivière-du-Nord), Royal Galipeau (Ottawa–Orléans), Jacques Gourde (Lotbinière–Chutes-de-la-Chaudière), Élaine Michaud (Portneuf–Jacques-Cartier), Erin O’Toole (Durham) and Bernard Trottier (Etobicoke–Lakeshore).
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