Ontario ombudsman warns French Language Services Act exemptions threaten French service rights (Law Times)
French language services commissioner’s annual report covers cases on ‘active offer’
Bernise Carolino
Dec 8, 2025
Law Times
Ontario’s French language watchdog is sounding the alarm that broad use of French Language Services Act exemptions is eroding guaranteed rights to services in French.
In his 2024–25 annual report, Carl Bouchard, French language services commissioner with the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario, covered 315 complaints or inquiries received by the Ontario ombudsman’s French Language Services Unit.
According to the ombudsman’s news release, these cases between Oct. 1, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2025, pertained to French language services provided in court services, government websites, road signs, and daycare facilities, among other areas.
In several cases, following the FLSU’s intervention, government agencies took steps to provide the ‘active offer’ of service in French, as required by Ontario’s FLSA.
Under the ‘active offer,’ which took effect via an FLSA regulation in 2023, government agencies should clearly make oral or written communications, signs, and other services available in French from the first point of contact, without anyone needing to request them.
“The active offer is essential to ensure equitable access to public services and to respect the linguistic rights of Franco-Ontarians,” Bouchard said.
According to the report, the FLSU also handled numerous cases that engaged O. Reg. 671/92 under the FLSA, which exempted scientific, technical, research, and reference materials, among other specialized publications, from translation requirements.
Per the ombudsman’s news release, these cases involved the inconsistent or erroneous application of the exemption to documents containing public health information or information regarding transit and infrastructure projects, thereby highlighting the lack of guidelines for applying the regulation.
“There is a real risk that overapplication of the exemption, which should be interpreted and applied very narrowly, will lead to infringement of the linguistic rights the FLSA is designed to protect,” the report said.
Bouchard recommended that Ontario’s Ministry of Francophone Affairs establish a transparent and standardized framework, reflecting a narrow and restrictive interpretation of potentially exempt services, to guide organizations governed by the FLSA that are considering an exemption.
The report also gave updates regarding the FLSU’s five previous annual reports, two recent investigations, and a current investigation commenced last April to look into ServiceOntario’s services in French.
Achievements
According to the ombudsman’s news release, the report spotlights the FLSU’s achievements in affirming language rights in the province.
Paul Dubé, Ontario ombudsman, stated that the report reveals the ongoing efforts of the commissioner and his team to improve services in French pursuant to the FLSA.
“The Commissioner's 2024-2025 Report demonstrates once again that Francophones are better served than ever in the defense of their language rights,” Dubé said in the news release. “Francophones have direct access to a Commissioner who is both committed and accessible.”
In the report, Bouchard noted that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Franco-Ontarian flag.
“These rights are not just legal obligations or issues of administrative fairness; they are achievements rooted in our shared history,” Bouchard said. “Using French and seeking services in French honours this history and helps us build the next 50 years of our Francophonie.”
According to the report, the French version of the Ontario Fire Code, O. Reg 213/07, is available for the first time since the regulation’s creation in 1981 and is expected to come into force next January.
The ombudsman’s news release also identified the following achievements:
- the FLSU’s work to position the University of Sudbury to comply with its FLSA obligations
- road sign changes to make them bilingual
- updates to the list of organizations designated under the FLSA
“Our interventions, which stem from the experiences of French-speaking Ontarians, demonstrate the public’s trust in us and the collaboration established with government agencies to ensure optimal implementation of the Act,” Bouchard said.