Appointment of Raymond Théberge: Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

TORONTO, November 30, 2017 – Commissioner François Boileau is delighted with the recent announcement by the Prime Minister of Canada, who has just nominated Raymond Théberge to be Commissioner of Official Languages. This appointment will be confirmed only once the House of Commons and the Senate have approved it in accordance with the Official Languages Act (OLA).

Mr. Boileau stated this: “In my work at the Office of French Language Services, I worked with Mr. Théberge in many files, in particular in the field of education. I am looking forward to working with him to continue to enrich the efficient and fruitful collaboration between our respective offices. At the same time, I would like to highlight Ms. Ghislaine Saikaley’s outstanding work over the last year”.

The Senate is studying the modernisation of the OLA, which will give many groups the opportunity to offer their thoughts on five subjects. The Office of French Language Services intends to participate in this discussion by submitting a brief to guide discussions at the federal level. Another objective of the brief is to assess the possible repercussions that the overhaul of the Official Languages Act will have on the French Language Services Act and, accordingly, on French-language services in Ontario.

Quick facts

• In 2012, a memorandum of understanding made it possible to formalize the collaboration between the two commissioners and to maximize the support that they offer to citizens and to communities, and well as to other parties who benefit from their services.

• In a study published in 2013, the Commissioner of Federal Languages of Canada, in partnership with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages for New Brunswick and the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario, made ten recommendations to Canada’s Justice Minister that would ensure that Canadians have access to justice in both official languages.

• In 2014, the Commissioner of Federal Languages of Canada, Graham Fraser, and the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario, François Boileau, published a joint report that highlights how important it is that the federal and provincial governments offer a Francophone perspective in their immigration policies and programs.

• In 2014, the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario signed a memorandum of understanding with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages and the Toronto 2015 Organizing Committee for the Pan American/Parapan American Games to ensure that the linguistic duality of Canada and Ontario was supported and represented before, during, and after, these greatly anticipated games.

• Mr. Raymond Théberge has been President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Moncton for almost five years. Before that, he held several positions in Ontario. He led Canada’s Council of Ministers of Education and then became Assistant Deputy Minister of the French Language, Aboriginal Learning and Research Division at Ontario’s Ministry of Education, and at Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

The Office of the French Language Services Commissioner reports directly to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and its mandate is to ensure that the delivery of government services complies with the French Language Services Act.

– 30 –