Standing Committee on Official Languages

Comité permanent des langues officielles

For immediate release

Ottawa, October 17, 2018 -

Today the Honourable Denis Paradis, Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages, tabled the report French as a Second Language Programs in Western Canada: Enhancing Availability.

In February and March 2018, the Committee travelled to Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg to study French as a second language (FSL) programs. Community stakeholders, representatives of post-secondary institutions, educators and parents who testified all called for greater support from the provinces and the Government of Canada to increase access and improve French as a second language (FSL) programs.

The four recommendations in the Committee’s report seek to make the government aware of a number of issues that require specific attention, namely the need to support language development for teachers, expand linguistic and cultural experiences for learners across the education continuum, create or adapt teaching material for second-language learning and immersion programs suited to the Canadian context and include and support students with learning disabilities.

The Committee concluded its report by underscoring the invaluable contribution of francophiles to Canada’s linguistic duality. The modernization of the Official Languages Act, recently entrusted to the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, could lead to a dialogue on the possibility of making learning a second official language a right.

The report can be consulted on the Committee’s web page on the Parliament of Canada website. Anyone unable to access an electronic copy of the report can obtain a paper copy by contacting the Committee Clerk.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages is composed of 11 MPs. The Chair is the Honourable Denis Paradis (Brome—Missisquoi) and the Vice-Chairs are Alupa Clarke (Beauport—Limoilou) and François Choquette (Drummond). The other members are René Arseneault (Madawaska—Restigouche), Sylvie Boucher (Beauport— Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans— Charlevoix), Mona Fortier (Ottawa—Vanier), Bernard Généreux (Montmagny—L’Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup), Emmanuella Lambropoulos (Saint-Laurent), Alaina Lockhart (Fundy Royal), Jean R. Rioux (Saint-Jean) and Darrell Samson (Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook).