French Language Services Commissioner presents his Annual Report; urges Ontario to create a digital directory of public services subject to the French Language Services Act

Carl Bouchard: Digital tool would aid Francophones knowing and exercising their rights

TORONTO, Dec. 5, 2024 /CNW/ - In his 2023-2024 Annual Report, released today, French Language Services Commissioner Carl Bouchard calls on the Ministry of Francophone Affairs to publish a comprehensive digital directory of services covered by the French Language Services Act (FLSA), so Francophones can easily find and access them.

A digital tool would build on the substantial improvements made to services in French in recent years, notes the Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the Act in provision of those services and recommends further improvements each year under the FLSA in his Annual Report.

"When travelling around the province, I have heard from many people who had no idea that the FLSA existed," he says in the report. "Even Ontarians who had heard of it told me they don't know which Government of Ontario services were covered by the FLSA or where they could find these services in their communities."

Commissioner Bouchard's report summarizes the tangible results achieved by the Office of the Ombudsman and its French Language Services Unit. It presents an increase of 2.3% in the number of cases received compared to last year: 395 cases received between October 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024. This is the highest annual total since the Ombudsman's Office was tasked with oversight of the application of the French Language Services Act in 2019.

The report presents 27 examples of cases resolved during the past year, which led to the concrete improvement of French-language services in Ontario.

In case after case, Francophones who came forward with their experiences with English-only government websites, signage or phone systems – or poor or nonexistent frontline service in French – saw concrete results thanks to the Office's intervention. For example:

• The Ministry of the Attorney General ensured that two municipalities that handle speeding tickets and similar fines on its behalf translated their provincial offences court websites into French and improved related in-person and telephone services in French.
  
  
• The Ministry of Colleges and Universities advised all financial aid offices across the province's postsecondary sector that they must accept Ontario Student Assistance Program applications from students in French.
  
  
• The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Ontario Autism Program committed to providing services to French-speaking clients in their language.
  
  
• The Ministry of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development committed to significantly improving the French versions of websites, while Ontario Place and Metrolinx committed to creating French social media accounts to match existing English ones.
  
  
• Cultural institutions, including the Royal Ontario Museum, Upper Canada Village and the (now-closed) Ontario Science Centre made some of their public-facing services bilingual (such as ticket-vending machines, signage or public announcements).

The Commissioner's report also provides updates on the French Language Services Unit's two recent investigations and four previous annual reports, which included 41 recommendations in all. Almost all of the recommendations have been accepted by the government and are being implemented.

In the past year, the French Language Services Unit has continued to monitor the progress made by the University of Sudbury, the Ministry of Francophone Affairs and the Ministry of Colleges and Universities toward compliance with their obligations regarding the University's designation under the FLSA. The French Language Services Unit also monitored the progress of Laurentian University and the same two ministries on recommendations issued in 2022 to improve their compliance with that University's designation. Work also continues on Commissioner Bouchard's July 2024 recommendations to improve the use of French in the government's out-of-home (outdoor) advertising campaigns. Two recommendations in that case remain "under review."

The report details progress made on previous Annual Report recommendations, including training all frontline provincial employees on their obligation to provide an "active offer" of service in French, ensuring government social media accounts are bilingual, posting all provincial job opportunities in English and French, and in updating Ontario Regulation 398/93, which lists designated agencies offering "public services" within the meaning of the French Language Services Act.

However, in one recent case involving a French-language daycare centre in Toronto that considered closing its doors in February 2024, the Commissioner noted that the outdated, unclear list of designated agencies in the regulation has left the public and the agencies themselves with a lack of reliable information about which services must be provided in French under the FLSA, and where.

"I hope [the recommendations in this report] will pave the way to a future in which provincial services in French are well known across the province to anyone who wishes to use them, whether you are a longtime Ontario resident or a newcomer, and whether or not French is your first language," he writes.

Since taking office in March 2023, Commissioner Bouchard has met with thousands of Francophones and close to 200 organizations across the province. In the past year alone, he went to events in Sudbury, Ottawa, Sarnia, Windsor, London, Chatham-Kent, Hearst, Kapuskasing, Moonbeam, Timmins, Penetanguishene and Richmond Hill, as well as in Toronto. During these visits, he sought to hear the concerns of Francophones, to connect with the diversity of Ontario's Francophonie and to talk to Ontarians about how they can obtain services in French from the provincial government.

About the Office of the Ombudsman: The Ombudsman is an independent, non-partisan Officer of the Ontario Legislature, appointed by all parties, whose role is to ensure that the provincial government and public sector serve people in a way that is fair, accountable and respectful of their rights. Under the Ombudsman Act, the Ombudsman reviews and resolves complaints and inquiries from the public about provincial government organizations, as well as French language services, child protection services, municipalities, universities and school boards. The Ombudsman's investigations have benefited millions of Ontarians and prompted widespread reforms, including better newborn screening, a more secure lottery system, more tracking of inmates in segregation, and improvements to the Landlord and Tenant Board.

About the Commissioner and the French Language Services Unit: The role of the Commissioner is to monitor compliance with the French Language Services Act (FLSA) by government agencies and institutions of the Legislature. As part of the Ombudsman's Office, the Commissioner is completely independent of government, political parties, individual complainants and interest groups. The Commissioner has the power to investigate on his own initiative and to make recommendations to improve the delivery of French language services. The French Language Services Unit is a team of Early Resolution Officers and Investigators that is supported by the Ombudsman's Legal Services, Communications, Finance, Information Technology and People and Culture teams.

SOURCE Ombudsman Ontario

For more information, contact: Emmanuelle Bleytou, Communications Manager, French Language Services Unit, [email protected]; Josée Laperrière, Communications Officer, French Language Services Unit, [email protected]