Five months after the last federal election, the Carney government’s lack of clarity on several issues relating to official languages is cause for worry, says the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA) du Canada, a national organization representing the country’s French-speaking minority communities.

« We have just spent several years modernizing the Official Languages Act, and it seems like no one is in a hurry to complete the work. Federal institutions are waiting for the government to adopt regulations that will give them directives on how to implement the Act. The FCFA has reason to fear that these regulations will be much weaker than what we have a right to expect from a government that has said it wants to protect and promote French, » said FCFA President Liane Roy.

The FCFA is also lamenting the lack of concrete answers on how the government will make good on its promise to reach a target of 12% for Francophone immigration. This target is necessary to restore the demographic weight of Canada’s Francophone and Acadian communities, which is one of the objectives of the new Official Languages Act.

“What is the specific plan to achieve this target? Is it still the government’s intention to create a Francophone-specific economic immigration program? We have received no clear answers up to now. This does not bode well, considering that Canada will undoubtedly see a drop in its overall immigration levels this fall, » Ms. Roy warns.

The FCFA is also wary about the upcoming federal budget and the cuts that may accompany it. In previous deficit reduction exercises, no plan was in place to ensure that spending cuts in each department and agency would not weaken the government’s ability to meet its language obligations.

“Is there a plan in place to exempt official languages from these cuts, or at least ensure that there isn’t a negative impact on our communities? Will departments continue to carry out their new obligations under the Act? The FCFA would like to put this question to the President of the Treasury Board, but our requests for a meeting have not yet been successful, » said the Federation’s president.