Press Release Department: Federal - Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada Raymond Théberge release his follow‑up report to the recommendations made in the report Implementing Section 91 of the Official Languages Act: A Systemic Problem, published in November 2020. The follow-up report covers 10 federal institutions and one central agency, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. The follow‑up found that for the most part, the seven recommendations made … Read more

Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada Raymond Théberge released his report entitled A shared future: A closer look at our official language minority communities. The report provides an overview of the current realities of official language minority communities, which are often on the front lines of official language challenges across Canada. The full release is available online. Contact media@clo-ocol.gc.ca.

In a new study, Commissioner of Official Languages Raymond Théberge called for Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie Mélanie Joly (Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Que.) to establish a national strategy to address a chronic shortage of French-as-a-second-language teachers. The federal government wants to increase from 17.9 to 20 per cent the rate of bilingualism in Canada by 2036  by … Read more

While the proposed amendments to the Official Languages Regulations recently announced by the federal government are a step in the right direction, they do not go far enough to reflect Canada’s changing demographics and protect official language minority communities across the country, according to Commissioner of Official Languages Raymond Théberge. “The draft Regulations still have some of the same … Read more

Raymond Théberge, the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada, is appealing the decision handed down by the Federal Court on May 23, 2018, in the case of the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique versus Employment and Social Development Canada and the Employment Insurance Commission. “I initially intervened before the Federal Court because of the importance of … Read more

The 2016-2017 annual report from the Interim Commissioner of Official Languages Ghislaine Saikaley was tabled. Saikaley says that it is time to conduct a review of the federal language regime and that the only time the Act has undergone a major revision was back in 1988. “It is vital that we take the specific situations of official language minority communities into … Read more

The Interim Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada, Ghislaine Saikaley, along with her N.B. counterpart, Katherine d’Entremont, and the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario, François Boileau, reiterated the importance and urgency of implementing concrete measures to foster immigration to Francophone minority communities. Saikaley stated “It is essential for federal, provincial and territorial governments to step up their … Read more

The Information Commissioner of Canada announced the winner of the 2016 Grace-Pépin Access to Information Award. This year’s recipient is Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner for the United Kingdom. The full release is available online. Call 819-994-1068.

An audit report released by Interim Commissioner of Official Languages Ghislaine Saikaley says that the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority has the potential to succeed in meeting its official language obligations when it comes to communicating with the travelling public. “CATSA has made numerous efforts to meet its language obligations. Our audit did reveal a number … Read more

Ghislaine Saikaley has been appointed as Commissioner of Official Languages in an interim capacity by the Governor in Council. Under the Official Languages Act, she can serve a term of up to six months. She will exercise all authority accorded to her position, ensuring normal and continued operations of the Commission’s mandate until a new Commissioner … Read more