QUESTION PERIOD — Canadian Heritage
Respect for Official Languages
June 1, 2023
My question is for the Leader of the Government. Leader, the government’s official languages track record is a disaster. We saw further evidence of that when the Commissioner of Official Languages tabled his 2022-23 annual report a few days ago.
The report shows that, between 2013-14 and 2022-23, there was an increase of over 300% just in the number of admissible complaints about institutions that serve the travelling public. Compared to the previous year, it is an increase of 500%.
The reason for this is not just that there have been more complaints about Air Canada. There have been more complaints about all of the other services, including the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the airports, VIA Rail and the Canada Border Services Agency.
Can you explain why this government is doing such a terrible, disastrous job on official languages?
Thank you for the question. I don’t accept the premise of the last part of your question.
I absolutely share your disappointment, because for so long, there’s always been a gap between what we want as a country and the reality on the ground. You cited several examples. With Bill C-13, colleague, the government has introduced changes and improvements, a modernization, even, of our official languages regime. These changes mean that the government has a greater obligation to ensure that the substantive equality of the two languages is respected.
We hope that once this bill receives Royal Assent, there will be improvements on the ground in terms of respect for both official languages in all areas of federal jurisdiction.
There seems to be a disconnect between what this government says and what it does. Once again, one of the Commissioner of Official Languages’ recommendations is a three-year plan for the Treasury Board to rectify the situation by June 2025.
Why do we need the Commissioner of Official Languages to come up with a three-year plan? Is this government incapable of governing and making its own plans to address a disastrous report on official languages?
Thank you for the question. The Government of Canada has a great deal of respect for the commissioner’s recommendations. That is his job and he does it very well. The government will take into consideration all his recommendations to ensure that the situation improves.
However, again, Bill C-13 contains very important changes and improvements that intersect with your question, and I hope that the bill will receive Royal Assent as soon as possible.
