Official languages in the workplace
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Official languages requirements
The Official Languages Act (OLA) provides that English and French are the official languages of Canada and have equality of status. It also provides that English and French are the languages of work in federal institutions. It requires that, in bilingual regions, federal institutions create a work environment that is conducive to the effective use of both official languages, and that managers and supervisors can communicate in both official languages with employees of the institution while carrying out their responsibilities.
The government is committed to strengthening bilingualism in the public service, not only to better serve Canadians, but also to foster a work environment where employees in bilingual regions feel truly comfortable working in the official language of their choice.
What’s new?
As of June 20, 2025, all employees in bilingual regions have the right to be supervised in the official language of their choice, regardless of the linguistic identification of their position. Additionally, the minimum second-language requirements for positions responsible for the supervision of employees in bilingual regions was increased.
Changes to the Directive
Both changes came into force on June 20, 2025, and required changes to the Treasury Board Directive on Official Languages for People Management.
Employees’ rights
Previously, employees who occupied bilingual positions in bilingual regions were supervised in the official language of their choice. However, employees who occupied unilingual positions in bilingual regions were supervised in the official language of their position.
The Directive was modified to align with the modernized OLA, which includes a new provision giving all employees, including those occupying a unilingual English or French essential position, in bilingual regions the right to be supervised in the official language of their choice.
Linguistic requirements of supervisory positions
In February 2021, the Government of Canada released English and French: Towards a substantive equality of official languages in Canada, a report in which it committed to revising the minimum second-language requirements for bilingual supervisory positions.
To support this commitment, the minimum second-language proficiency requirements for bilingual positions involving the supervision of employees occupying positions in bilingual regions has been increased from an intermediate to a superior level (that is, from BBB to CBC for institutions that use the Qualification Standards in Relation to Official Languages). This change will apply only to new appointments and to vacant positions.
Additionally, unilingual supervisors of employees in bilingual regions are not required to meet a bilingualism requirement as long as they remain in their current positions because according to the OLA, it’s an acquired right.
Leadership commitments
Leadership in official languages calls on all managers in institutions:
- to respect the language-of-work rights of employees
- to create and maintain a workplace that is conducive to the use of English and French in bilingual regions, for example by holding bilingual meetings
- to communicate to employees the role that official languages play in service excellence for Canadians
Tools for managers and persons responsible for official languages and a list of the bilingual regions of Canada for language-of-work purposes are also available.
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