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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.
2017
Notes for an address at the conference on The Future of Linguistic Duality: Our Official Languages, Our Identity
Thursday, November 30, 2017
First I would like to thank you for attending our conference, which is being held simultaneously in six Canadian cities. This is our first national dialogue of its kind, with three hundred of us attending all across Canada: people in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal, Moncton and here in Ottawa...
Notes for an address at the provincial forum for Ontario's Francophone Immigration Support Networks
Wednesday, November 08, 2017
I would like to start by expressing my sincere thanks for your kind invitation to participate in this provincial forum on the regionalization of Francophone immigration in Ontario. Of course, this subject is of great interest to me in my present role, but given that I also spent more than 5 years...
Notes for an appearance before the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages – Presentation of the 2016–2017 annual report
Monday, October 30, 2017
Thank you for inviting me to present my 2016–2017 annual report. I would like to introduce the people who are here with me today: Mary Donaghy, Assistant Commissioner of Policy and Communications; Pascale Giguère, General Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs; and Pierre Coulombe, Acting...
Notes for an address at the Symposium sur les langues officielles during the annual convention of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario
Friday, October 27, 2017
First, I would like to thank the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO) for inviting me to say a few words during this annual convention, whose theme, Dépassons nos objectifs, expresses our common goal of always doing more to promote official languages and linguistic duality.
Notes for an address at the panel on Francophone immigration
Monday, August 14, 2017
First, I would like to thank you for inviting me to this panel on Francophone immigration to Canada. It is an important topic, particularly in the field of education, because of the crucial role schools play in helping immigrants to integrate into the community.
Notes for an appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages - Presentation of the 2016–2017 annual report
Monday, June 12, 2017
Thank you for inviting me to present my annual report for 2016–2017.
Notes for an address at the Conference of Official Languages Champions
Thursday, June 01, 2017
I am delighted to be here today at this annual conference of official languages champions, which is taking place during this very special year of celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation.
Notes for an appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages – Full implementation of the Official Languages Act in the Canadian Justice System
Thursday, May 04, 2017
I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that my team and I are always available to answer questions from parliamentarians, even during this time of transition for our office.
Notes for an appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages – Report on the audit of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority
Thursday, May 04, 2017
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to present my audit report of bilingual services to the travelling public provided by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), published only a few weeks ago.
Speaking notes for an appearance before the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages
Monday, April 03, 2017
I would like to thank you for inviting me to speak to you today as Interim Official Languages Commissioner.
Notes for an Address at Health Canada’s Science Colloquium on the Health of Canada’s Official Language Minority Communities
Monday, February 27, 2017
It is a great pleasure to be here with you today for the Second Science Colloquium on the Health of Canada’s Official Language Minority Communities.
Notes for an address before the board of the Swedish-speaking minority organization Svenska folkskolans vänner at Ottawa University
Friday, February 10, 2017
Welcome to Ottawa! I am pleased to welcome you to our nation’s capital after your visits to Toronto, New Brunswick and Quebec.
