The Official Languages Reform Project

The February 19th, 2021 position paper put forth by the Canadian Federal Government addressed important issues raised by organizations representative of Canada’ s English-speaking minority language community, including several of those championed by Townshippers’ Association in consultations on the modernization of the Official Language Act (OLA) in 2017, 2018, and 2019 While the Association supports changes designed to improve accountability in its implementation, increase the transparency of federal transfer payments to provinces, and provide increased support for Official Language Minority Communities (OLMC) institutions, it reminds the Canadian Government of its legal responsibility to protect, support and defend the rights of both of its OLMCs, wherever they may be located, and cautions against strengthening the OLA in ways that promote asymmetry between Canada’s Official Languages.