When a complaint is deemed to be admissible, the Commissioner of Official Languages has an obligation to investigate.
However, the modernized Official Languages Act gives the Commissioner greater latitude and flexibility to determine whether, in certain exceptional cases, the complaint should not be investigated.
In general, the Commissioner will investigate if:
1. Your complaint involves a situation that has an impact on the equal status of the two official languages.
For example, this could be the case if a federal institution’s website is not available in English or French, or if no active offer is made in a designated bilingual office.
If your complaint is about a simple spelling mistake or a minor, isolated pronunciation error that does not affect comprehension, the Commissioner may decide not to investigate as the facts raised have little or no impact on the equal status of the two official languages.
2. Your complaint is made honestly and in good faith and is aimed at resolving a concrete problem.
Your complaint must be:
- made for the purpose of reporting and remedying a violation of the Act;
- made respectfully and without intent to harass or harm any person or institution, including the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages; and
- motivated by benevolence and sincerity.
The Commissioner may decide not to investigate your complaint if it raises theoretical or hypothetical issues. The Commissioner must be able to envision how his office’s investigation would lead to a practical result.
3. Your complaint is regarding a violation of the Official Languages Act and falls within the Commissioner’s jurisdiction.
A complaint that concerns a violation of provincial or territorial legislation, or that falls within the jurisdiction of an entity other than the Commissioner, may not be investigated as it does not constitute a violation of the Act.
4. Your complaint is filed within a reasonable timeframe after the incident occurred.
In order to adhere to the principles of procedural fairness and the effective and efficient use of the Office of the Commissioner’s resources, the following reasonable timeframes have been established:
- Complaints under Part IV (Communications with and Services to the Public) or section 91 (language requirements of positions) of the Act must be filed no later than six months after the incident.
- Complaints under any other part or section of the Act must be filed no later than 12 months after the incident.
If your complaint involves two parts of the Act that have different timeframes, the longer timeframe will apply.
Under certain circumstances, the Commissioner may decide to conduct an investigation even if your complaint was filed after the deadline.
5. The incident cited in your complaint is not already fully covered in a final investigation report in which the Commissioner concluded that there had been a violation of the Act.
If a final investigation report that fully covers the incident cited in your complaint has already been submitted, the Commissioner may decide not to investigate. If the report in question contained recommendations, the Commissioner will assess whether these recommendations address the problem cited in your complaint.
6. The federal institution cited in your complaint has not already taken corrective measures to address the problem.
Once the institution provides tangible and factual evidence that corrective measures have been taken to address the problem at the root of your complaint, the Commissioner may decide to cease the investigation.
7. The subject of your complaint is not already fully covered by a compliance agreement between the Commissioner and the federal institution involved.
If a compliance agreement has been reached with the institution cited in the complaint and it fully covers the issue you have raised, the Commissioner may decide to cease the investigation.
Note: The Commissioner also has the power to cease an investigation in progress. This may occur when the circumstances that led to the filing of your complaint have changed; for example, if the federal institution no longer offers the service that is the subject of your complaint or if the federal institution ceases to exist.
Related links
Official Languages Act (Part IX)