Standing Committee on Official Languages

Comité permanent des langues officielles

For immediate release

Ottawa, June 12, 2019 -

Today the Honourable Denis Paradis, Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages (the committee), tabled a report entitled: Respect for Language Rights in Ontario: An Issue for All of Canada.

The Committee is concerned about the potential impact of the Ontario government’s decisions regarding the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and the Université de l’Ontario français on the Franco-Ontarian community’s vitality.

The report contains six recommendations. The Committee recommends that the Prime Minister make language rights and the vitality of official language minority communities (OLMCs) agenda items at the next meeting of the Council of the Federation.

The Committee then recommends that the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, ask the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie to add the same items to its agenda on a permanent basis.

The Committee recognizes that other OLMCs, particularly Quebec’s anglophone communities, do not have a voice on the national stage at a key moment in the development of language rights. Minister Joly has said that the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie will be one of the high points in a dialogue on the 50th anniversary of the Act. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the Minister ask the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie to invite, on an exceptional basis, given the language rights situation, the Minister responsible for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers and the Quebec Community Groups Network to the next meeting of the Conference on 27 and 28 June in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

The Committee also recommends that the Minister create a permanent mechanism to give Quebec’s anglophone communities a voice on the national stage.

The last three recommendations pertain to the Université de l’Ontario français. The Committee recommends that the Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada mandate the Canada Lands Company to provide real property support to the Université de l’Ontario français.

The Committee then recommends that Minister Joly identify financial leveraging options such as, for example, a scholarship financed by matching funds that would address the needs of the post-secondary institution’s future students.

Lastly, the Committee notes that the Canada–Ontario Immigration Agreement gives both governments the option to add annexes concerning French-speaking immigrants and international students. Since francophone immigration can contribute to the Université de l’Ontario français, the Committee recommends that the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship invite his Ontario counterpart to develop such annexes.

The New Democratic Party has tabled a complementary report.

The report can be consulted on the committee’s web page on the Parliament of Canada website at http://www.parl.gc.ca/LANG-e. 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).