Meeting with Sri Lankan Delegation

This week, I had the privilege to meet with a delegation from Sri Lanka in Ottawa. People from their government working in the fields of education, law and especially in official languages wanted to learn more about the diverse Canadian laws related to language rights, including the French Language Services Act of Ontario.

Usually, government services in Sri Lanka are trilingual (in Sinhala, Tamil and English). These languages are considered equal in the country. Tamil is recognized as one of the two national languages and Sinhala is the country’s language of administration. As for English, it’s the more common, every day language. Education in Sri Lanka is given in these three languages, while Sinhala and Tamil are the official languages in the courts.

Also, their Official Languages Commission receives complaints and can reprimand a public servant for not having provided a service in the language in which it was requested. The six commissioners are volunteers who are not supported by a team and they don’t have real powers. They are thinking about changing the way of governing the country in a national reconciliation act. This will take vision, courage and lots of good will.

The delegation was very interesting to meet and I wish all of them the best luck. It was fascinating to discuss with them the French Language Services Act and the different approaches taken on the topic on our two continents.