In his annual report released Tuesday, Raymond Théberge says his office received 847 admissible complaints between
But he cautioned against drawing conclusions that violations of the Official Languages Act will continue to decline.
The 847 complaints, he told a news conference, "are a bit of a contrast to the very high volume we've become accustomed to in recent years. Is this decrease a sign that federal institutions are complying more fully with their language obligations? .... Only time will tell."
Théberge said some years elicit more complaints than others, such as in 2021, when
The commissioner said
The commissioner's report criticizes "unco-operative institutions" that he says don't accept that they have to be able to serve Canadians in both English and French. At the news conference, Théberge refused to identify which companies, government departments or agencies he was referring to, only saying that the senior management of institutions must set an example and be aware of their obligations regarding the country's two official languages.
The two biggest categories of complaints in Tuesday's report involved communications with the public, with 533, and the language spoken at work, with 227.
"This year, we've had a higher number of complaints regarding the language of work," he said. "So, it's not only the travelling public, but also institutions within the federal government that face challenges in accommodating employees to use both official languages."
Federal institutions subject to the Official Languages Act include
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
— By
© 2024 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved., source