Statement from Carl Bouchard, Interim French Language Services Commissioner

March is a month of great importance for Francophones in Ontario, in Canada and in the world. We celebrate the Francophonie around the world, its dynamism, its diversity, its richness and its promising future.

It is an honour for me to take on the duties of Interim French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario at the beginning of a month that is so meaningful to me as a Francophone in Ontario. I am honoured to be able to serve to protect our cultural heritage and language for present and future generations.

During my tenure as Interim Commissioner, you can rest assured that I will continue to work with integrity, humility and openness to improve the provision of French language services in Ontario, as I have done since joining the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario in February 2020.

Since joining the Ombudsman’s Executive Team, I have led the day-to-day operations of the French Language Services Unit as Director of Operations. Together, we have built a full team of knowledgeable, empathetic people who are experts in the application of the French Language Services Act. With support from across the organization, we have handled over 1,000 cases and have resolved the vast majority of them, and developed three annual reports containing 11 recommendations, all of which were accepted by the government. We also tabled an investigation report on the cuts to French language programming at Laurentian University with 19 recommendations, which were also positively received by the government and the university. We will continue to table annual reports with recommendations as well as investigation reports when necessary.

Of the 30 or so recommendations we made, we have seen great progress towards their full implementation and we have inspired the government on several aspects, including the modernization of the French Language Services Act and the establishment of the new regulation on Active Offer.

We have met with hundreds of Francophones, whether proactively or through the cases we handled. This is a monumental responsibility we are privileged to be able to do for the benefit of Ontario's Francophones and the society as a whole.

Ontario's Francophone community is vibrant and I am proud to be a Franco-Ontarian. A graduate in journalism from the University of Ottawa, I have spent ten years promoting the Francophone community in Ontario and contributing to its vitality. I was able to hear the concerns, solutions and witness the spirit of innovation and progress of Ontario's Francophones. I have developed strong and productive relationships with many organizations including other Commissioners responsible to protect linguistic rights in Canada and the rest of the world, as well as with provincial and territorial governments and with the Government of Canada.

As I assume the interim mandate given to me by the Ombudsman to oversee the French Language Services Act, I can assure you of my full commitment and that of the entire Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario to ensure that Francophones in Ontario have access to the services they are entitled to, and to ensure that the institutions of the Legislature, the Government of Ontario, its agencies and third parties meet their obligations under the Act. The French Language Services Act is at the heart of Ontario's francophonie and it is our collective responsibility to see that its obligations are met.


Carl Bouchard
Interim French Language Services Commissioner