Bill 126 explained in plain English
La Francophonie Act, 2019
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The La Francophonie Act, 2019, replaces the French Language Services Act, aiming to promote and develop Ontario's Francophone community by establishing requirements for French-language services across government, the justice system, and public institutions, and creating oversight roles.
This bill, titled the La Francophonie Act, 2019, aims to promote the maintenance and development of Ontario's Francophone community and ensure the provision of French-language services within the province. It repeals the previous French Language Services Act and establishes new provisions for the use of French in government, courts, and public institutions. The bill also creates new offices and roles, such as the Commissioner of La Francophonie, to oversee and support French-language services and the Francophone community. It outlines principles for active offer of services and requires government entities to develop French-language services plans.
- Replaces the French Language Services Act with the La Francophonie Act, 2019.
- Establishes principles to guide the administration of French-language services, including collaboration, dialogue, and the concept of 'active offer'.
- Ensures the Legislative Assembly operates bilingually, with bills, debates, and records available in both French and English.
- Mandates that regulations made after the Act receives Royal Assent be translated into French.
- Declares French and English as official languages of courts and tribunals, granting individuals the right to use either language in legal proceedings.
- Requires courts and tribunals to publish decisions and reasons in both French and English when legally significant or if proceedings were in French.
- Entitles every person to communicate with and receive services from government agencies and public institutions in French or English.
- Requires government agencies and public institutions to actively offer their services in French and English, including bilingual signage.
- Recognizes the bilingual character of the City of Ottawa and deems its existing bilingualism by-law valid under this Act.
- Requires government agencies and public institutions to prepare and submit French-language services plans.
- Establishes the Office de La Francophonie to support the Minister.
- Establishes the Advisory Council on La Francophonie to provide advice and recommendations.
- Creates the position of Commissioner of La Francophonie, an officer of the Legislative Assembly, responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act and promoting French language rights.
- Requires the appointment of French Language Services Coordinators in each government agency and public institution.
- Establishes a language rights support program to provide financial assistance for judicial remedies advancing language rights.
- Establishes the Fund for the Promotion of La Francophonie to support the recognition and promotion of French language and culture.
- The public in Ontario
- Government agencies and public institutions
- The Legislative Assembly
- Courts and tribunals
- Municipalities
- Universities and colleges
- Francophone community members
- Individuals seeking French-language services
- The Minister of Francophone Affairs
- The Commissioner of La Francophonie
- Employees of government agencies and public institutions
- Right to use French or English in the Legislative Assembly.
- Right to use French or English in all matters before courts or tribunals.
- Right to require bilingual proceedings in courts and tribunals.
- Right to use French or English to communicate with and receive services from government agencies and public institutions.
- Requirement for government agencies and public institutions to actively offer services in French and English.
- Requirement for bilingual signage by government agencies and public institutions.
- Requirement for government agencies and public institutions to prepare French-language services plans.
- The right of Francophonie to be consulted on policies promoting the equality of French and English.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent, with specific sections having later commencement dates.
- French-language services plans must be prepared and submitted within 365 days after the Act receives Royal Assent.
- The language rights support program regulation must be made within 180 days after the Act receives Royal Assent.
- Money required for the purposes of the Act will be paid out of appropriations made by the Legislature.
- The Fund for the Promotion of La Francophonie is established as a special account in the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
- The Commissioner can investigate complaints and potential non-compliance with the Act.
- The Superior Court of Justice may order remedies if a government agency or public institution has not complied with the Act.
- The Commissioner may initiate legal proceedings in certain circumstances.
- The bill does not specify penalties for non-compliance with its provisions.
- The effectiveness of some measures, like 'active offer', may depend on their implementation and interpretation.
- The bill states that it does not affect the use of languages outside its scope.
- The bill indicates that regulations may be made to further define or implement certain aspects of the Act, suggesting details may be subject to future regulatory development.
This Act is repealed and replaced by the La Francophonie Act, 2019.
Source: 56
References to the French Language Services Act are updated to refer to the La Francophonie Act, 2019.
Source: 57
References to the French Language Services Act are updated to refer to the La Francophonie Act, 2019.
Source: 58
References to the French Language Services Act are updated to refer to the La Francophonie Act, 2019.
Source: 59
References to the French Language Services Act are updated to refer to the French Language Services Act, as it read immediately before it was repealed, in specific sections.
Source: 60
References to the French Language Services Act are updated to refer to the La Francophonie Act, 2019.
Source: 61
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced