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Feb 7, 2006 · Published Online February 7, 2006. Last Edited May 17, 2019. The Official Languages Act (1969) is the federal statute that made English and French the official languages of Canada. It requires all federal institutions to provide services in English or French on request.
- Proceedings of Parliament. The Act provides that English and French are the two languages used in the Parliament of Canada. It requires the simultaneous interpretation of parliamentary debates, and official reports on such proceedings must be in both official languages (section 4).
- Legislative and Other Instruments. This part explains that Acts of Parliament, rules, orders, regulations, by-laws and proclamations that are required under any Canadian law to be published in the official gazette of Canada must be made or issued and published in both official languages.
- Administration of Justice. The Act provides that English and French are the official languages of the federal courts, and it makes the courts responsible for ensuring that participants in proceedings before them can understand every stage of such proceedings in the official language of their choice.
- Communications with and Services to the Public. This portion of the Act governs the language of communication when the federal government provides services to the public.
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This guide is an introduction to the Official Languages Act and the history of language policy in Canada. The 50th anniversary of Canada’s Official Languages Act (OLA) represents an opportunity to learn about the history that led to the Act, and its subsequent legacy. The guide focuses primarily on the Act itself, the factors that led to its ...
- Executive Summary
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Principles
- 3 Implementation of The Official Languages Act
- 4 Conclusion
- Appendix A – Text Versions of Figures 1, 2A and 2B
The purpose of the Official Languages Act(OLA) is to ensure respect for English and French as the official languages of Canada. It was enacted in 1969, revised in 1988 and 2005, and overhauled in 2023 to adapt to the legal, technological and sociodemographic realities of our time. This HillStudy gives an overview of the principles and implementatio...
The Canadian Constitution does not contain any provisions relating to jurisdiction in matters of language. In a 1988 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed that the power to legislate in matters of language belongs to both the federal and provincial levels of government, according to their respective legislative authority.1 The first Offici...
The current version of the OLAstates that its purpose is to: The provisions of Parts I to V of the OLA4 have primacy over all other federal legislative or regulatory provisions except those of the Canadian Human Rights Act. The principles underlying these parts, except for Part V, “Language of Work,” derive directly from sections 16 to 20 of the Ca...
3.1 Who Is Responsible for Implementing the Official Languages Act?
The federal institutions covered by the OLAare responsible for its implementation within their respective mandates. The commissioner of Official Languages11 is responsible for ensuring compliance with the spirit and letter of the OLA within these institutions, safeguarding Canadians’ linguistic rights and promoting linguistic duality and the equality of English and French in Canadian society. The commissioner is empowered to hear complaints, conduct inquiries and intervene in the courts. He o...
3.2 Who Is Subject to the Official Languages Act?
All federal institutions are subject to the OLA,22 and some are subject to the obligations relating to communications with and services to the public in both official languages, in accordance with the criteria set out in the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations (e.g., criteria relating to significant demand and nature of the office).23 These regulations were reviewed and enhanced in June 2019 to offer Canadians a greater range of bilingual services.2...
3.3 What Are the Recent Changes to the Official Languages Act?
The OLA has undergone very few changes aside from its revision in 1988. An amendment in 2005 added a duty for federal institutions to take positive measures to achieve the implementation of Part VII of the OLA. Then, following pressure from the public, parliamentarians, government agencies and community stakeholders, the federal government committed to a thorough review of the OLA. Numerous reports tabled in 2019 each made its own comments and recommendations to expand the OLA, strengthen its...
The OLA is the main piece of legislation governing the implementation of Canadians’ language rights and establishing the obligations of federal institutions in this regard. A constitutional, regulatory and policy framework also exists and has been mentioned briefly in this paper. There have been many calls in recent years for a major overhaul of th...
Figure 1 – Cross-cutting Responsibilities with Respect to Official Languages
Illustration of crosscutting responsibilities with respect to official languages. 1. Federal institutions are subject to the Official Languages Act, are responsible for its implementation and, as part of their mandate, ensure that the resulting duties are met. 1.1. The President of the Treasury Board coordinates the implementation of the Act. 1.2. The Minister of Justice advises the government on legal issues and litigation relating to language rights. 1.3. The Commissioner of Official Langua...
Figure 2a – Specific Responsibilities with Respect to Official Languages
Illustration of specific responsibilities with respect to official languages, grouped according to Parts I to VI of the Official Languages Act. 1. Responsibility for Part I (Proceedings of Parliament) and Part II (Legislative and Other Instruments) lies with parliamentary institutions. 2. Responsibility for Part III (Administration of Justice) lies with the federal courts and the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs. 3. Responsibility for Part IV (Communications with and Se...
Figure 2b – Specific Responsibilities with Respect to Official Languages
Illustration of specific responsibilities with respect to official languages, grouped according to Parts VII to X of the Official Languages Act. 1. Responsibility for Part VII (Advancement of Equality of Status and Use of English and French) is shared among five stakeholders. The Treasury Board is responsible for positive measures and intergovernmental agreements. The Minister of Canadian Heritage has responsibilities related to the vitality of official language minority communities, the prom...
- Communications with and Services to the Public (Part IV) A key principle of the Act is that Canadians have the right to communicate with and receive services from federal institutions in either official language.
- Language of Work (Part V) Part V recognizes English and French as the languages of work in federal institutions. It states that employees of such institutions, in regions designated as bilingual for language-of-work purposes (National Capital Region, New Brunswick, parts of Northern and Eastern Ontario, the bilingual region of Montréal, as well as parts of the Eastern Townships, the Gaspé and Western Quebec), have the right to work in their chosen official language in accordance with the conditions set out in Part V. In these bilingual regions
- Participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians (Part VI) Part VI sets out the Government of Canada’s commitment to ensuring that English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians have equal opportunities for employment and advancement within federal institutions, and that the composition of the workforce of federal institutions tends to reflect the presence of both official language communities in the general population, taking into account the particular characteristics of individual institutions, including their mandates, the public they serve and their location.
- Advancement of English and French (Part VII) Part VII specifies the commitment of the Government of Canada to enhance the vitality of the official-language minority communities in Canada and to support their development, as well as to foster the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society.
The current Official Languages Act came into force on September 15, 1988. The legal framework of the Act is closely attuned to Canadian realities and traditions in the area of official languages. It reflects the significant changes that have taken place in the status and use of the two official languages since the first Act was passed in 1969.
Official Languages Act. R.S.C., 1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.) An Act respecting the status and use of the official languages of Canada [1988, c. 38, assented to 28th July ...
