DCHP-2

official language DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. — Administration, Law, especially French relations

  one of the languages of government and governmental institutions on either federal, provincial or territorial levels.

  Type: 5. Frequency — In Canada, the phrase official language usually refers to either French or English, which are the languages of the federal government. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (see Charter entry) specifically names English and French as the official languages in Section 16, and goes on to guarantee that all federal parliamentary proceedings and publications will be executed in both (see Justice Laws Canada "Constitution Act, 1982" reference). The Official Languages Act, first passed into law in 1969 and most recently revised in 2005 (see Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages reference), similarly ensures equal treatment of French and English in federal jurisdictions. The Act requires that all federal services be offered in either language. The Official Languages Act expands on the Charter by communicating the government's pledge to the support the country's bilingual nature and encourage the "advancement" and "vitality" of the two languages (see Justice Laws Canada "Official Languages Act" reference).
  However, as this legislation only pertains to parliament and services under federal jurisdiction, provincial and municipal policies may and do differ (see, for example, the 1978 and 1987 quotations). The official language in most provinces and territories that declare such on that level is English, with the notable exception of Quebec, which is exclusively French on the provincial level, and New Brunswick and the Yukon Territory, which have both English and French as official languages. Nunavut added the Inuit language, referring specifically to Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, to English and French, while the Northwest Territories has eleven official languages, comprised of nine aboriginal languages besides English and French. According to their 1984 Official Languages Act, the Northwest Territories' official languages are: Chipewyan, Cree, Dogrib (Tłįchǫ), Gwich’in, North Slavey, South Slavey, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun and Inuinnaqtu, as well as English and French (see Northwest Territories ECE reference).
  The term official language appears most frequently in Canada (see Chart 1).

  See also: anglophone  Charter  francophone  heritage language  bilingual (meaning 2)  home language  Aboriginal language  

  • 1836  Complaint is made of an unjust partiality in favour of the use of the English language in all official acts. The foundation of this complaint appears to be, that thirteen years ago a Bill for the union of the two Canadas was brought into Parliament by the then Government, which, had it passed into a law, would have made English the single official language of both. 
  • 1886  What I have told you will show that though [sic] the House of Commons, though there are about 50 French members, is exclusively an English assembly. The French language is the official language as is the English, but it is seldom spoken. The reason of this is that it is impossible to follow the speakers in the debates unless you speak the language of the majority. 
  • 1905  Of perhaps even more importance than the voting down of Mr. Bourassa's amendment was Sir Wilfrid's reference to the dual language question. The Premier in the most emphatic way indicated what would be the fate of Mr. Monk's amendment favoring French as an official language in the new Provinces. 
  • 1919  To abolish the Senate by common appeal to the people would be as revolutionary as to abolish French as an official language or to repeal the guarantee of Protestant schools in Quebec or of Catholic schools in Ontario. 
  • 1934  Suppose the writer turns up the French edition of Hansard some day. He will find there, if he searches diligently enough, that Nova Scotia has a third name, "Nouvelle-Ecosse"; that New Brunswick is "Nouveau-Brunswick"; Prince Edward Island, "Ile-du-Prince-Edouard," and British Columbia, "Colombie-Britannique." It doesn't do to forget that Canada has two official languages. 
  • 1978  "He seems to be playing to a certain constituency in this province. He's saying to people, 'I'm here to protect the English.' When he refuses rights to francophones like refusing to make French an official language, he does it brutally [...]. All we get in the Quebec newspapers is Ontario refusing French-language rights and when (Ontario) moves in the right direction, nothing is said." 
  • 1987  We anglophones remember Bill 101, and how anglophone merchants in Quebec had to fight for the simple privilege of erecting store signs in both official languages. We remember the battle of newcomers to Quebec to have their children educated in the official language of their choice. We felt Manitoba's sting when two years ago the Supreme Court ordered it to henceforth conduct its legislative business in both official languages. 
  • 1993  Goldbloom reports that about 80 per cent of Canadians believe the Official Languages Act aims at forcing people across the country to learn, live or work in two official languages. It does no such thing. What it does - reasonably so, under any definition of equity and fairness - is require that federal services be available to francophone Canadians in French, only where numbers warrant . . . (and) to anglophones in a minority position, presumably in Quebec, in English - again, where numbers warrant. 
  • 2006  The majority of the Conservative government's front bench speaks French, and the party boasts a higher percentage of bilingual cabinet ministers than the previous Liberal cabinet. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's new cabinet has reportedly 15 of 27 ministers who will be able to answer queries in both official languages during question period, compared with 19 of 39 in the previous Liberal government. 
  • 2015  At Servus Heritage Days Festival this weekend, you'll hear dozens of languages bubbling in the air. You might not recognize many, because Edmonton is populated by people from all over the world. Their voices mix with the indigenous languages of Alberta and official languages of English and French.