An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages (S.C. 2023, c. 15)
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Assented to 2023-06-20
PART 1R.S., c. 31 (4th Supp.)Official Languages Act (continued)
Amendments to the Act (continued)
10 Subsection 11(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Notices, advertisements and other published matters
11 (1) A notice, advertisement or other matter that is required or authorized by or under an Act of Parliament to be published by or under the authority of a federal institution primarily for the information of members of the public shall,
(a) wherever possible, appear in publications in general circulation within each region where the matter applies, with the English version appearing in at least one publication that is mainly in English and the French version appearing in at least one publication that is mainly in French or those two versions appearing in at least one publication that appears equally in English and French; and
(b) if there is no publication in general circulation within a region where the matter applies that is mainly in English or mainly in French and no publication in general circulation within that region that appears equally in English and French, appear in both official languages in at least one publication in general circulation within that region.
Marginal note:Publications in electronic form
(1.1) For greater certainty, a publication referred to in subsection (1) includes a publication in an electronic form.
10.1 Section 14 of the Act becomes subsection 14(1) and is amended by adding the following after that subsection:
Marginal note:Appearing in official language of choice
(2) The choice of either official language by a person appearing before a federal court shall not be prejudicial to that person.
11 (1) The portion of subsection 16(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Duty to ensure understanding without interpreter
16 (1) Every federal court has the duty to ensure that
(2) Subsection 16(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Appointments
(3) The Government of Canada must, when making appointments to the federal courts, ensure that federal courts are able to meet their duty under subsection (1).
Marginal note:Equal access to justice in both official languages
16.1 The Government of Canada must take into account the importance of equal access to justice in both official languages when appointing judges to superior courts.
Marginal note:Application for appointment
16.2 (1) A person who submits an application for appointment as a judge of a superior court shall indicate their skill level in both official languages.
Marginal note:Evaluation
(2) The Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs shall evaluate, in respect of every candidate who indicated that they have skills in both official languages, the candidate’s ability to speak and understand clearly both official languages.
Marginal note:Language training
16.3 The Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs shall provide the necessary language training to the judges of the superior courts.
12 (1) Subsection 20(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (a) and by adding the following after that paragraph:
(a.1) the decision, order or judgment has precedential value; or
(2) Subsection 20(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Decisions, orders and judgments available in both official languages at different times
(2) A decision, order or judgment issued by a federal court, including any reasons given for it, shall be issued first in one of the official languages and then, at the earliest possible time, in the other official language, with each version to be effective from the time the first version is effective, if
(a) it is a final decision, order or judgment that is not required under subsection (1) to be made available simultaneously in both official languages; or
(b) the decision, order or judgment is required to be made available simultaneously in both official languages under paragraph (1)(a) or (a.1) but the court is of the opinion that to make the decision, order or judgment, including any reasons given for it, available simultaneously in both official languages would occasion a delay prejudicial to the public interest or resulting in injustice or hardship to any party to the proceedings leading to its issuance.
12.1 Subsection 23(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Travelling public
23 (1) For greater certainty, in addition to the duty set out in section 22, every federal institution that provides services or makes them available to the travelling public has the duty to ensure that any member of the travelling public can communicate with and obtain those services in either official language from any office or facility of the institution in Canada or elsewhere where there is significant demand for those services in that language.
12.2 Section 25 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 25(1) and is amended by adding the following:
Marginal note:Presumption
(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), the other person or organization is presumed to provide or make available services on behalf of the federal institution if
(a) the federal institution exercises sufficient control over the other person or organization; or
(b) the other person or organization implements a program or legislative regime for which the federal institution is responsible.
Marginal note:For greater certainty
(3) For greater certainty, a mere financial contribution by the Government of Canada to another person or organization is not sufficient to trigger the application of subsection (1).
13 Section 33 of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Règlements
33 Le gouverneur en conseil peut, par règlement, prendre les mesures d’incitation qu’il estime nécessaires pour favoriser activement les communications avec les institutions fédérales — autres que le Sénat, la Chambre des communes, la bibliothèque du Parlement, le bureau du conseiller sénatorial en éthique, le bureau du commissaire aux conflits d’intérêts et à l’éthique, le Service de protection parlementaire ou le bureau du directeur parlementaire du budget — et la prestation par elles de services dans les deux langues officielles, si elles sont tenues de pourvoir ces communications et services dans ces deux langues au titre de la présente partie.
14 Section 34 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Definition of employee
33.1 In this Part, employee includes an employee who represents the employer, a person who performs for an employer activities whose primary purpose is to enable the person to acquire knowledge or experience and a person who has been placed by a temporary help agency.
Marginal note:Rights relating to language of work
34 (1) English and French are the languages of work in all federal institutions, and employees of all federal institutions have the right to use either official language in accordance with this Part.
Marginal note:Deputy ministers and associate deputy ministers
(2) A person appointed by the Governor in Council to the position of deputy minister or associate deputy minister or a position of an equivalent rank in a department named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act shall, on their appointment, take the language training that is necessary to be able to speak and understand clearly both official languages.
15 Paragraph 35(1)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) within the National Capital Region and in any part or region of Canada, or in any place outside Canada, that is prescribed, work environments of the institution are conducive to the effective use of both official languages and accommodate the use of either official language by its employees; and
16 (1) Paragraph 36(1)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) make available in both official languages to employees of the institution
(i) services that are provided to employees, including services that are provided to them as individuals and services that are centrally provided by the institution to support them in the performance of their duties, and
(ii) regularly and widely used documentation or other work instruments produced by or on behalf of that or any other federal institution;
(2) Paragraph 36(1)(b) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:
(b) ensure that regularly and widely used computer systems acquired or produced by the institution on or after January 1, 1991 can be used in either official language; and
(3) Paragraph 36(1)(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(c) ensure that, if it is appropriate in order to create a work environment that is conducive to the effective use of both official languages, managers and supervisors are able to communicate in both official languages with employees of the institution in carrying out their managerial or supervisory responsibilities; and
(d) ensure that any management group that is responsible for the general direction of the institution as a whole has the capacity to function in both official languages.
(3.1) Paragraph 36(1)(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(c) ensure that, if it is appropriate in order to create a work environment that is conducive to the effective use of both official languages,
(i) managers and supervisors are able to communicate in both official languages with employees of the institution in carrying out their managerial or supervisory responsibilities, and
(ii) employees are supervised by their managers and supervisors in the official language of their choice, regardless of the linguistic identification of their position; and
(4) Subsection 36(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Additional duties
(2) Every federal institution has the duty to ensure that, within the National Capital Region and in any part or region of Canada, or in any place outside Canada, that is prescribed for the purpose of paragraph 35(1)(a), the measures that can reasonably be taken are taken in addition to those required under subsection (1) to establish and maintain work environments of the institution that are conducive to the effective use of both official languages and accommodate the use of either official language by its employees.
(5) Section 36 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Marginal note:Acquired rights
(3) Nothing in subparagraph (1)(c)(ii) abrogates or derogates from the right of a person to hold a position or carry out managerial or supervisory responsibilities in a federal institution if they held that position or carried out those responsibilities in the institution immediately before the coming into force of that subparagraph.
17 Section 37 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Special duties
37 Every federal institution that has authority to direct, or provides services to, other federal institutions has the duty to ensure that it exercises its powers and carries out its duties in relation to those other institutions in a manner that accommodates the use of either official language by employees of those institutions.
18 (1) Paragraphs 38(1)(a) and (b) of the Act are replaced by the following:
(a) prescribing, in respect of any part or region of Canada or any place outside Canada,
(i) any services, documentation or other work instruments that those institutions are to make available to their employees in both official languages,
(ii) any computer systems that must be available for use in both official languages, and
(iii) any supervisory or managerial responsibilities that are to be carried out by those institutions in both official languages;
(b) prescribing any other measures that are to be taken, within the National Capital Region and in any part or region of Canada, or in any place outside Canada, that is prescribed for the purpose of paragraph 35(1)(a), to establish and maintain work environments of those institutions that are conducive to the effective use of both official languages and accommodate the use of either official language by their employees;
(2) Subparagraph 38(2)(a)(i) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(i) the number and proportion of English-speaking and French-speaking employees who constitute the work force of federal institutions based in the parts, regions or places prescribed,
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