Speeches | Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

The Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada is an agent of Parliament whose duty is to promote Canada’s official languages and protect the language rights of Canadians. A critical component of the Commissioner’s job is to report to parliamentary committees in both the House of Commons and the Senate of Canada. The Commissioner of Official Languages also travels from coast to coast, participating in panel discussions, meeting key partners and delivering speeches on official languages to young Canadians, researchers, public service employees and community leaders. You will find many of his speeches here.

2010

Notes for an address at the conference “From Pierre-Esprit Radisson to Louis Riel: voyageurs et Métis”archived

Thursday, November 18, 2010

I am very pleased to be here with you this morning and to speak to you as part of this multi-disciplinary symposium. It is a pleasure for me to be here with you to recognize the anniversary of two men who left their mark on our history, particularly on that of the West: the 300th anniversary of the...

Notes for an appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages – Presentation of volume II of the 2009–2010 annual reportarchived

Thursday, November 04, 2010

To present the findings of volume II of my fourth annual report, I am accompanied today by Sylvain Giguère, Assistant Commissioner of Policy and Communications; Ghislaine Charlebois, Assistant Commissioner of Compliance Assurance; Johane Tremblay, General Counsel; and Lise Cloutier, Assistant...

Statement to the media for the launch of volume II of the 2009–2010 annual report archived

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

This second volume of the annual report deals with federal institutions’ compliance with the Official Languages Act. Most notably, it analyzes the performance of 16 federal institutions, some of which were evaluated by my office for the first time, and it provides an overall account of the...

Notes for the presentation of the Award of Excellence – Promotion of Linguistic Duality 2009-2010 at AFO's 100th Anniversary Galaarchived

Saturday, October 23, 2010

I am pleased to be here with you this evening for the 100th Anniversary Gala of your organization. I am also pleased to be presenting in person the Award of Excellence – Promotion of Linguistic Duality 2009-2010.

Notes for a speech at the second annual ceremony for the Sheila and Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Awardarchived

Friday, October 22, 2010

It’s a pleasure to be here today to take part in the second annual Sheila and Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Award ceremony. I would like to thank the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) for their invitation.

Notes for an address at the Symposium sur les langues officielles de l'Ontario of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontarioarchived

Friday, October 22, 2010

I am pleased to be here today for the second Symposium sur les langues officielles de l'Ontario during this anniversary year. Yesterday, you held a debate on the future of Franco-Ontarian leadership. You had the opportunity to look back, to see how Franco-Ontarians are perceived from the "outside...

Notes for an address at the release of the vitality indicators study for the Francophone community in Calgary and for InterAction Dayarchived

Friday, October 15, 2010

I am very happy to be with you today as part of the 12th edition of InterAction. I would like to present to you the results of an initiative that my office has worked on in very close cooperation with the Francophone community in Alberta and, particularly, the one in Calgary, to get you thinking...

Notes for an appearance before the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages about the English-speaking community of Quebecarchived

Monday, October 04, 2010

I am accompanied today by Sylvain Giguère, Assistant Commissioner, Policy and Communications, and Eva Ludvig, Commissioner’s Representative for the Quebec Region.

Notes for an address at the Société d’histoire de Toronto and the Alliance française de Toronto’s monthly conferencearchived

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

I would like to thank you for inviting me to inaugurate the 2010–2011 season of monthly conferences. I would also like to congratulate you on the work you do to promote the history of Ontarians and French Ontario. History is often the weak link in our schools, and the work of the Historical Society...

Notes for an address at the 2010 Annual Conference of the Association française des municipalités de l’Ontario (AFMO)archived

Thursday, September 16, 2010

I am very glad to participate in this 21st edition of your annual conference. I would like to thank the organizers for inviting me to speak today on the theme of governance.

Notes for an address at the International Conference on Language and Territoryarchived

Monday, August 30, 2010

It is my great pleasure to be here with you today and to participate in this panel of Canada’s five linguistic ombudsmen. As the title of my presentation indicates, my intention today is speak to you about the linguistic space that I work in as Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages.

Notes for the opening address at the International Conference on Language and Territoryarchived

Sunday, August 29, 2010

It is a pleasure to be here with you today. I would like to thank Ms. Cheryle Partridge, the Waabishki Mkwaa Singers and the Chief of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation, Mr. Steven Miller, for welcoming us here. Through these ceremonies, we are all sharing in this language, culture and these...

Notes for an address at the Canada Day Celebrations in Hatleyarchived

Thursday, July 01, 2010

It is a great pleasure and honour to be here. The Hatley July 1st Parade was an important event in my childhood, and I am thrilled to be able to take part in it this year. This is an important place for me and my family; my father had his first job in Stanstead, I spent my childhood summers in...

Notes for an address at the Université d’été sur la francophonie des Amériques - Paradoxes of the Canadian Linguistic Situationarchived

Saturday, June 12, 2010

I am very happy to be here with you today. Over the next few minutes, I’m going to talk to you about various aspects of Canada’s language policy: its history, its unique structure and, especially, its paradoxes

Notes for an appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages – Presentation of the 2009–2010 annual reportarchived

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

To present the findings of volume I of my fourth annual report, I am accompanied today by Sylvain Giguère, Assistant Commissioner of Policy and Communications; Ghislaine Charlebois, Assistant Commissioner of Compliance Assurance; Johane Tremblay, General Counsel; and Lise Cloutier, Assistant...

Notes for an appearance before the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages – Presentation of the 2009–2010 annual reportarchived

Monday, May 31, 2010

Statement to the media for the launch of volume I of the 2009–2010 annual reportarchived

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

First, a word to those familiar with my annual reports: do not look for the report cards or complaint reports. You won’t find them in today’s report, but they will be part of volume II in the fall, which will mainly contain data on complaints and address the performance of various federal...

Notes for an address at the Symposium on the Contribution of the Honourable Michel Bastarachearchived

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

I am honoured to be participating in this symposium on the contribution of Michel Bastarache. I am neither a lawyer nor a specialist in his areas of expertise, so I thought I could say a few words about Michel Bastarache, the author.

Notes for an appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languagesarchived

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

I am accompanied today by Lise Cloutier, Assistant Commissioner, Corporate Services; Colette Lagacé, Chartered Accountant and Director of Finances; Sylvain Giguère, Assistant Commissioner, Policy and Communications; Johane Tremblay, General Counsel; and Ghislaine Charlebois, Assistant Commissioner...

Notes for an address to the Office of Francophone and Francophile Affairs at Simon Fraser Universityarchived

Friday, April 16, 2010

It is a great pleasure for me to be here with you at the Office of Francophone and Francophile Affairs (OFFA) at Simon Fraser University. The work that OFFA does sets a great example and is regularly cited by the Office of the Commissioner when dealing with other official language minority...

Notes for an address at the Canadian Club of Vancouver – Baldwin-Lafontaine Award Presentationarchived

Thursday, April 15, 2010

I am very pleased to be here in British Columbia. I first visited this province as Commissioner only a few days after being appointed, and I was extremely impressed with the spirit and vitality of British Columbia's Francophone community. I had the same impression when I was here again during the...

Notes for an address at the release of the vitality indicators study for the Francophone community in British Columbiaarchived

Thursday, April 15, 2010

I am very happy to join you today to present the results of an initiative that my office has worked on very closely with the Francophone community of British Columbia. It is the third in a series of studies on vitality indicators in official language minority communities. Each of these studies is...

Notes for an appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languagesarchived

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

I am accompanied today by Sylvain Giguère, Assistant Commissioner, Policy and Communications, Johane Tremblay, General Counsel, and Ghislaine Charlebois, Assistant Commissioner, Compliance Assurance.

Notes for a speech at the Rendez-vous francophone du maire d’Ottawaarchived

Thursday, March 25, 2010

I’m delighted and honoured to be here today to speak with community leaders and citizens about language in our capital city. This breakfast also marks the start of a symposium on language planning in capitals and urban environments.

Notes for a speech at the International Symposium on Language Planning in Capitals and Urban Environmentsarchived

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Congratulations to the University of Ottawa’s Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute and Governance Centre, to the Department of Canadian Heritage and to members of my Office for organizing this international symposium on language planning in capitals and urban environments. I would also...

Notes for a speech to members of the Canadian Society of Association Executivesarchived

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

It’s a pleasure for me to be here today to discuss official languages and the role they play for businesses and non-profit associations, particularly in relation to communications and marketing.

Notes for a speech at the Metropolis Pre-Conference on Francophone Immigration in Canadaarchived

Thursday, March 18, 2010

I would first like to thank Metropolis and the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie for giving me this opportunity to take part in your proceedings. I appreciate this opportunity to share my thoughts with you, and to reconnect with some of the people with whom I have had so many...

Notes for an address at the Association des juristes d’expression française de la Saskatchewan conference ‘‘The Caron Case: The Status of French in Western Canada”archived

Friday, February 19, 2010

I would like to thank the conference organizers for bringing together this fine group of researchers, jurists, scholars and members of Saskatchewan’s Francophone and Métis communities to discuss the issues that have been raised in the course of the Caron case. I am aware of the recent ruling in...

Notes for an address at the release of the vitality indicators study for rural Francophone communities in Saskatchewanarchived

Thursday, February 18, 2010

I am very happy to join you here today to present the results of an initiative that my office has worked on very closely with rural Francophone communities in Saskatchewan. It is the third in a series of studies on vitality indicators in official language minority communities. Each of these studies...

Notes for an address at the Round Table “40 years—Official Languages are Everyone’s Business,” organized by the Leaders’ Advisory Board on Official Languages of the Saskatchewan Federal Councilarchived

Thursday, February 18, 2010

I would first like to thank the Leaders’ Advisory Board on Official Languages of the Saskatchewan Federal Council for inviting me to speak to you today. The theme you have selected reflects my own outlook on linguistic duality in Canada. Official languages are everyone’s business; it’s not simply...

Notes for an address at the opening ceremony of the Village de la Francophonie and the Festival du boisarchived

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Maillardville is 100 years old. You have chosen to celebrate this milestone by welcoming the world with wide-open arms. What a wonderful idea and what a success story! I want to congratulate Mrs. Dumas and the Maillardville Francophone community for this great achievement.

Notes for an address at a reception organized by the Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britanniquearchived

Saturday, February 13, 2010

I would like to thank you for inviting me to celebrate here with you. I have always been impressed by the vitality, diversity and entrepreneurial spirit of British Columbia’s Francophone community. And the Olympic Games are an opportunity for the province to showcase its Francophone culture, as...

Notes for an address to a workshop on the Francophone community at the Nunavut Language Summitarchived

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

It is a pleasure to be here with you today to recognize the vitality of the Francophone community in Nunavut, as well as its efforts and active involvement in all areas. I am also here to speak with you about the challenges ahead.

Notes for an address at the Iqaluit Language Summitarchived

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

It is a great honour for me to be here today. I would like to thank Minister Louis Tapardjuk for inviting me to participate in the Nunavut Language Summit, and I also want to note his lifelong commitment to his community and its culture. I couldn’t help but notice that, in his capacity as president...

Notes for an address at the symposium “Celebrating 40 years of linguistic duality in New Brunswick”archived

Thursday, February 04, 2010

I am pleased to be with you today and to be participating in the day’s discussions on linguistic duality, which are being held in an atmosphere of celebration. Over the past year, the Office of the Commissioner has, like numerous federal agencies working in the area of official languages, been...

Notes for a second address at the symposium “Celebrating 40 Years of Linguistic Duality in New Brunswick”archived

Thursday, February 04, 2010

This morning, we talked about the past 40 years from a federal point of view as well as from a provincial point of view. We have clearly made a great deal of progress together at all levels, and our achievements with respect to official languages are numerous.