A historic milestone was reached today with the announcement of Royal Assent of Bill C-13, an Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts. This long-awaited legislation, introduced in March 2022 by the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, will help modernize and strengthen Canada's language regime. Its adoption testifies to the Government of Canada's unwavering commitment to achieving substantive equality of English and French. This will enrich our country, ensure the vitality of our two official languages, and create more opportunities for learning.
Bill C-13, which is the result of exhaustive consultations with communities from coast to coast to coast, will provide considerable benefits to Canadians in every province and territory while reflecting their unique linguistic realities.
A number of legislative tools will be coming into effect to make it possible to:
- Strengthen Francophone immigration to restore and increase the demographic weight of Francophone minority communities;
- Promote bilingualism across the country and encourage learning in our two official languages;
- Protect the institutions of official-language minority communities and support sectors essential to enhancing their vitality, including in the fields of culture, education (from early childhood to post-secondary studies), health, justice, employment, and immigration;
- Introduce new rights to work and obtain services in French in federally regulated private businesses located in Quebec and in regions with a strong Francophone presence;
- Strengthen the compliance of federal institutions by consolidating the powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages, the oversight role of the Treasury Board and Part VII of the Act, which aims to advance the equality of status and use of English and French;
- Take action on language of work in the public service by appointing people to deputy minister or associate deputy minister positions who, upon appointment, will take the language training that is necessary to be able to speak and understand clearly both official languages; and
- Improve access to justice by appointing bilingual judges to the Supreme Court and strengthening the provisions for federal court decisions to be translated in order to obtain immediate translation of federal court decisions.
Enhancing the vitality of official-language minority communities, tackling the decline of French, and ensuring that more young Canadians have the opportunity to learn our two official languages are priorities for the Government of Canada. Royal Assent of Bill C-13 is the culmination of sustained efforts to give ourselves the means to achieve our ambitions.
A modernized and strengthened Official Languages Act is an important step toward the substantive equality of English and French in Canada for decades to come.
