Tabling of the 2024-2025 annual report: A year of transition for official languages Français
Two years ago, the modernized Official Languages Act gave the Commissioner new powers to help ensure that federal institutions comply with the Act and to help guarantee respect for Canadians' language rights.
After working to lay the necessary foundations for the use of these powers in 2023–2024, the Commissioner and his team continued their efforts in 2024–2025 with the launch of a new mediation service and the implementation of the power to enter into compliance agreements, make orders and publish investigation summaries.
However, some of the key elements needed to fully implement the modernized Act are still missing. Until strong regulations are in place and the required orders have been made, particularly for Part VII (Advancement of equality of status and use of English and French) and for administrative monetary penalties, we will be limited in our ability to achieve the objectives of the modernized Act.
This is in addition to the efforts to bring into force the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act, which will extend the Commissioner's investigative powers.
The 1,163 admissible complaints filed with the Office of the Commissioner in 2024–2025 show that non-compliance with the Act continues to be an issue and that there is a real need for the Act to be fully implemented.
In his annual report, which reflects a year of transition on many levels, the Commissioner has made four recommendations regarding commissions of inquiry, language of work, and language rights and obligations amid budget cuts in the federal public service.
Quote
"We've made significant progress with the modernization of the Official Languages Act, but the work is far from complete. It's crucial to ensure that we have the means, including strong regulations, to carry out the major societal project of fully implementing the modernized Act, as much for official language minority communities as for federal public servants and the Canadian public."
In 2024–2025, the Commissioner of Official Languages received a total of 1,163 admissible complaints under the Official Languages Act.
Of that number:
766 concerned communications with and services to the public (Part IV);
255 involved language of work (Part V);
20 were about the participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians (Part VI);
33 were related to the advancement of equality of status and use of English and French (Part VII);
71 were about the language requirements of positions (Part XI, section 91); and
18 concerned other parts of the Act (parts I, II, III, VIII and IX).
Recommendations made in the 2024–2025 annual report:
The Commissioner recommends that by June 30, 2027, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages identify and catalogue the issues faced by temporary commissions of inquiry in relation to non-compliance with the Official Languages Act and that it suggest legislative or other means of improving compliance with their language obligations.
In parallel with Recommendation 1, the Commissioner recommends that by June 30, 2026, the Clerk of the Privy Council develop and implement a plan so that whenever a commission of inquiry is established, the Clerk shall:
provide the head of the commission and their team with comprehensive information about their official languages obligations, including their duty to serve the public in both official languages at all stages of the commission's work; and
work with the head of the commission and their team to identify the exact needs of the commission so that it is fully equipped to meet its official languages obligations, and provide the commission with the resources it needs to operate optimally in both official languages.
The Commissioner recommends that by September 30, 2026, the President of the Treasury Board implement a monitoring mechanism for federal institutions to ensure that they take and maintain measures to protect the language rights of employees in designated bilingual regions who are supervised by incumbents of unilingual positions or by incumbents of bilingual positions who do not meet the CBC second-language requirement.
The Commissioner recommends that by May 30, 2027, the deputy heads of federal government institutions take the necessary measures to ensure that their institutions' language obligations and their employees' language rights are respected and taken into account during any budget reduction exercises in the federal public service.
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