[lg policy] Canadian language policy

[Harold Schiffman]

Feds launch review of official-languages law 50 years after its introduction
[image: Melanie Joly]

Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie Minister Melanie Joly
speaks during an event in Ottawa, Monday March 11, 2019. THE CANADIAN
PRESS/Adrian Wyld
725
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The Canadian Press
Published Monday, March 11, 2019 12:10PM EDT

OTTAWA - The federal government is launching a review of the Official
Languages Act, saying it is time to modernize the decades-old law.

The 1969 law enshrined Canadians' right to receive federal services in
English or French.

The last major reform of the law was in 1988 and there have been recent
calls to update it again, including from a Senate committee that late last
month said the act needs to be applied more effectively and consistently.
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Oversight mechanisms need to be beefed up to ensure rights aren't trampled
on, the report said, adding a veiled reference to a furor in Ontario that
forced the government to backtrack on plans to abolish the independent
office of its French-language services commissioner and shrink a
francophone-affairs cabinet post.

The Liberals plan a series of meetings, the first taking place Tuesday in
Moncton, N.B., and an online consultation that's to result in a final
report in June.

Official Languages Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement that the
government wants a modernized act to help minority-language communities
"meet the new challenges they face" and ensure the law "can continue to
meet the needs of Canadians.

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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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