1. Early stages
Fulfilling an election promise made in 2003, the government amended the French Language Services Act in 2007 to create the position of Commissioner. On August 1, 2007, the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, the Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, announced the appointment of François Boileau to lead the Commissioner’s Office.
After taking office in September 2007, the Commissioner got down to business. He quickly built a credible organization staffed by skilled, committed employees to carry out the legislative mandate he had been given.
12.2 It is the function of the Commissioner to encourage compliance with this Act by,
(a) conducting investigations into the extent and quality of compliance with this Act, pursuant to complaints relating to French language services made by any person or on the Commissioner’s own initiative;
(b) preparing reports on investigations, including recommendations for improving the provision of French language services;
(c) monitoring the progress made by government agencies in providing French language services;
(d) advising the Minister on matters related to the administration of this Act; and
(e) performing such other functions as may be assigned to the Commissioner by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.1
Shortly after its formation, the team in the new Commissioner’s Office adopted a vision, a mission and common values to establish its credibility.
| Vision | The Office of the French Language Services Commissioner works to ensure active, integrated delivery of French-language services in support of the development of the Francophone community and Ontarian society. |
|---|---|
| Mission |
The mission of the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner is to ensure that the public receives high-quality French-language services from the Government of Ontario. Through its powers of investigation, it monitors the application of the French Language Services Act. It strongly encourages government ministries and agencies to proactively design policies and programs that are adapted to their Francophone clientele, notably through its power to make recommendations. |
| Values |
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The Commissioner met with all the deputy ministers in the government and explained his role, his functions and how he intended to execute his mandate. He reminded them that they were all directly accountable for violations of the Act. He pointed out that the specific needs of the Francophone target clientele should be taken into consideration whenever new laws, regulations, programs, policies and directives were developed. That message is still relevant 10 years later.
Even in its first year, the Commissioner’s Office received 10 times more complaints than expected. With a team of five people, the Commissioner decided that it was best to build a solid reputation based on thoroughness, fact-finding and a superior work ethic.
Thanks to the hands-off policy of the then Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, Madeleine Meilleur, the Commissioner has enjoyed the latitude required to conduct his investigations and carry out his mandate for 10 years.
1. French Language Services Act, section 12.2. For more details, see https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90f32 (page consulted in March 2017).