The federal government has raised language requirements for supervisory positions and strengthened work rights for public servants in bilingual regions under changes that took effect June 20.
Federal supervisors in bilingual regions must now meet a higher second-language proficiency standard of CBC, up from the previous BBB requirement, Commissioner of Official Languages Raymond Théberge announced Friday.
The changes also confirm that all federal employees in designated bilingual regions can work in their preferred official language, regardless of whether their specific position is classified as English Essential or French Essential.
“After all these years, these are two major gains in terms of recognizing public servants’ language-of-work rights,” Théberge said in a statement from Gatineau.
The amendments to the Official Languages Act mean employees in unilingual positions still have the right to receive supervision in their chosen official language, even if their job is designated as requiring only English or French.
Concerns about implementation
Despite welcoming the changes, Théberge expressed concerns about employees supervised by managers who don’t meet the new CBC language requirements or who hold unilingual positions.
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is leaving it to individual federal institutions to create and implement measures to protect employees’ language rights, rather than establishing uniform standards across government.
In his 2024-2025 annual report tabled in Parliament this week, Théberge recommended the President of the Treasury Board implement a monitoring system by September 30, 2026, to ensure institutions maintain adequate protections for employees’ language rights.
Workplace culture challenges
The commissioner noted that many public servants remain hesitant to file complaints when their language rights are violated, fearing damage to workplace relationships.
“We therefore need to continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure that these new changes are fully implemented throughout the federal public service,” Théberge said.
He called on all public service executives and managers to make necessary adjustments to ensure full respect for employees’ language rights.
The changes affect federal employees working in regions designated as bilingual for language-of-work purposes, which include the National Capital Region and other areas across Canada with significant populations of both official language communities.
