Summary#
Bill 278, the French Language Services Amendment Act, 2021, would amend Ontario’s French Language Services Act. Its goal is to expand French-language communication and public information in public health. The supplied material does not include the current Act, so existing French-language rights cannot be verified.
- A person would have the right to communicate in French with a board of health and receive French services that the board has available.
- The Chief Medical Officer of Health and every board of health would have to make any information they provide to the public available in French.
- The bill leaves the form, manner and timing of that information to be set by regulation.
- The new rules would start on a date set by proclamation; the bill does not set that date.
What it means for you#
- People communicating with a board of health: You would have a legal right to communicate in French and receive services in French that the board has available. The bill does not require every service to be offered in French.
- People receiving public health information: Information provided to the public by the Chief Medical Officer of Health or a board of health would have to be available in French. The regulations would set how and when.
- Boards of health and the Chief Medical Officer of Health: They would have to meet these duties once the law takes effect. “Board of health” and “Chief Medical Officer of Health” are defined by reference to the Health Protection and Promotion Act.
- For everyone: The bill does not set an individual complaint process, appeal route or enforcement system.
Money#
No cost estimate is included in the supplied material.
- The bill does not specify funding or a budget for providing services and information in French.
- Meeting the new information duty may require translation or other resources, but the bill gives no estimate of the cost or staffing needed.
What is unclear#
- What services count as “available services,” and how a person would find out which services are available in French?
- What rules will set the form and timing for French public information, and when will those rules be made?
- How would a person raise a concern if a board or the Chief Medical Officer of Health did not meet the duties?
- How do these new rights compare with French-language rights under the current French Language Services Act? The current Act was not supplied, so that comparison cannot be verified.
Case for#
- The bill appears intended to make it easier for people to communicate with public health bodies and receive public health information in French.
- Requiring French versions of public information could give people access to the same information in either language.
- The duty would apply to both the Chief Medical Officer of Health and every board of health, rather than leaving the requirement to each body’s choice.
Case against#
- The bill does not define what services are “available,” which may leave uncertainty about the reach of the right to receive services in French.
- The bill leaves the manner and timing of French information to future regulations, so the practical standard is not set in the bill.
- The duties could require resources, but the bill includes no cost estimate or funding plan.
- The bill does not explain how people could enforce the rights or seek a remedy if the duties are not met.