The purpose of the Official Languages Act (OLA) is to ensure respect for English and French as the official languages of Canada. It was enacted in 1969, revised in 1988 and 2005, and overhauled in 2023 to adapt to the legal, technological and sociodemographic realities of our time.
This HillStudy gives an overview of the principles and implementation of the OLA. It also looks at the federal institutions responsible for implementing the OLA, those that are subject to it and recent debates about the legislation. The HillStudy enables parliamentarians and members of the public with a limited knowledge of the OLA to quickly learn more about the federal language regime without delving into its accompanying constitutional, regulatory and policy framework.
Read the full text of the HillStudy: The Official Languages Act: Understanding Its Principles and Implementation
By Marie-Ève Hudon, Library of Parliament
Categories: Education, language and training, Executive summary, Law, justice and rights