canada | The French Language Services Commissioner releases her first investigation report

French Language Services Commissioner Kelly Burke releases her investigation report into Laurentien University's cuts to French-language programming, on March 31, 2022.

Laurentian University, the Ministry of Francophone Affairs and the Ministry of Colleges and Universities neglected their obligations under the French Language Services Act during the university’s financial restructuring process, French Language Services Commissioner Kelly Burke found in her latest investigation.

“The nearly 50% cuts to French-language programs announced on April 12, 2021 by Laurentian University have had a significant and detrimental impact on the university’s delivery of French-language services,” Commissioner Burke says in her report, Strengthening the Designation: A Collaborative Effort, released on March 31. She also found that the ministries failed to fulfil their own obligations to ensure French services at the university were protected.

The investigation revealed a lack of leadership in the administration of the French Language Services Act (FLSA). The university did not consult with the two ministries to discuss the impact of its decisions on its obligations under the FLSA before suspending and cutting programs. “Laurentian University and the ministries must take responsibility and work together to comply with the Act,” the Commissioner stated.

Her report makes 19 recommendations to fix communication gaps, improve planning and ensure such a situation does not happen again. The ministries and the university accepted all of the recommendations and pledged to report back to the Commissioner on their progress in implementing them.

The Commissioner stressed that her recommendations are aimed at preventing similar situations in the future: “I am confident that my recommendations will benefit French-speaking Ontarians in the future in the post-secondary education sector.”

Source: Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario, Canada