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LANG Committee Report

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The Honourable Michael Chong, P.C., M.P.
Chair
Standing Committee on Official Languages
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Mr. Chong:

On behalf of the Government of Canada, I am pleased to submit this letter as the Government of Canada’s official response to the report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages’ report entitled After the Roadmap: Toward Better Programs and Service Delivery. I would like to commend the Standing Committee on Official Languages for its contribution to the work done as part of this report, which provides an overview of the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008–2013: Acting for the Future and a number of recommendations for future years.

Our two official languages as well as our culture, our values and our institutions, are part of what defines us as Canadians.  They ensure that we can communicate with each other, share our heritage, and discuss our concerns and our plans for the future, while generating benefits for all Canadians.  In a country as vast as Canada, our two official languages are essential for developing a sense of community with one another.  The Government of Canada will continue providing support for official languages by maintaining the funding intended to protect, strengthen and celebrate Canada’s linguistic duality.

The Roadmap represents the largest investment to support Canada’s official languages in our history.  It has increased the ability of Canadians in linguistic minority communities to live and work in their official language, increased the percentage of Canadians who are aware of the benefits of linguistic duality and who value this aspect; and improved the government’s capacity to serve Canadians in the official language of their choice.

In anticipation of the expiration of the Roadmap 2008-2013, the Government has been consulting with key stakeholders and Canadians since 2011.  In particular, we have maintained an ongoing dialogue with national organizations, studied the strategic plans of many Anglophone and Francophone minority community organizations, consulted with nearly 200 key stakeholders from organizations that play an important role in the Roadmap and held several consultations to discuss issues related to minority language education, second language education, health and culture. We have also been following very closely the testimony before your Committee as part of your study.

Last summer, I conducted unprecedented cross-Canada consultations to better identify the priorities of Canadians and stakeholders on Official Languages.  We conducted 22 round tables in large and small communities across the country, as well as an online questionnaire. Close to 2600 Canadians were heard.

As noted by the Committee, many Canadians indicated that the Roadmap had made it possible to achieve significant improvements in key areas.  However, they recommended that certain key areas be given priority in order to promote linguistic duality and help enhance the vitality of official-language minority communities.  

Through its report, the Committee recommends that a new official languages strategy be established and proposes milestones to be met in the development of this next strategy.  The government is seriously considering the recommendation of the Committee to follow up the Roadmap with a new strategy on official languages.

I would like to conclude by sincerely thanking you and the members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages for the work that has been accomplished.  I look forward to the time when I can share with you further details on the Government’s decision related to the expiration of the Roadmap.

The Honourable James Moore, P.C., M.P.