CNOLC-newsletter-no2/news

NEWS IN BRIEF ABOUT OFFICIAL LANGUAGES

 

MODERNIZATION OF THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT

On March 1, 2022, the Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, tabled Bill C- 13. Second reading was completed on May 30, 2022, and the bill is currently under consideration by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages. It will be simultaneously examined by the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages in advance of the bill coming to the Senate as a result of a motion that was passed.

You can refer to this newsletter vignette to learn more about the bill.

BUDGET 2022

On April 7, 2022, the Government of Canada released its Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable. The following is an excerpt related to official languages:

“$408.3 million to promote official languages and support the modernization of the Official Languages Act, as introduced on March 1, 2022 by the Government of Canada, in order to achieve the substantive equality of Canada’s official languages, including improvements designed to meet the challenges facing official language minority communities.”

ACTION PLAN FOR OFFICIAL LANGUAGES

The Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, has launched the cross-Canada consultations in preparation for the next Action Plan for Official Languages. These consultations will take place from May 24 to August 31, 2022.

Would you like to share your views? You can do so by filling out this questionnaire.

BILL 96

On May 24, 2022, the Quebec Government passed Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec.

EVOLUTION OF LINGUISTIC DUALITY DAY

The Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions (Council) is actively continuing its efforts to rename Linguistic Duality Day in order to make the event more current, inclusive and unifying. The recommendation to change the name of the event follows an ad hoc meeting held on January 25, 2022 to reflect on the matter.

WORKING GROUP ON THE PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYEE SURVEY

The Working Group on the Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) has concluded its work for the current year. Under the leadership of Brigitte Gibson, members reviewed the results of the most recent survey and made recommendations for the 2022 PSES.

It was recommended that some questions be modified to reflect current realities, while allowing organizations to compare results from one survey to the next and measure performance and progress over the long term. It was also suggested that the question regarding COVID- 19 be modified to allow organizations to assess whether urgent security-related communications are available in both official languages.

STRATEGIC PLAN

The Council’s strategic plan concluded on March 31, and discussions on the next three-year cycle are now under way. Council members and official languages champions will have the opportunity to provide input on the Council’s vision, mandate, strategic directions and key activities through a consultation that will be conducted this fall.