Research publications

In the Canadian parliamentary context, English and French enjoy equality of status and use. In fact, there are a number of constitutional and legislative provisions governing the use of both official languages in Parliament. These provisions, which have evolved over the course of history, now apply to both the legislative process and parliamentary procedure and reflect the importance of the language rights granted to parliamentarians, as well as the people they serve. Parliamentary procedure has undergone several changes to provide a framework for the use of not only the official languages, but other ones too. In recent years, the Senate and the House of Commons have taken measures governing the use of Indigenous languages.

The bilingualism bonus is a sum of $800 that is paid to certain categories of public servants. Created in 1977 in the context of linguistic tensions within the federal public service in Quebec, the bonus was intended to be an interim measure, but instead, it has been maintained without being indexed. Today, the bonus costs the Government of Canada more than $90 million annually and represents less than 1% of the average salary a public servant earns. This HillStudy presents the history of the bilingualism bonus and discusses the questions raised about its usefulness and its future as an incentive to encourage bilingualism in the federal public service. It uses archival documents, House of Commons debates and newspaper articles to trace the history from its introduction to the present day, and to summarize its financial impact.

This HillStudy explores the rules that govern the use of both official languages in Canada’s justice system, with particular focus on the role of the federal government in that regard. First, it provides an overview of Canada’s court system, then it examines the legislative and constitutional framework for judicial bilingualism in a federal context, both in federal courts and in criminal law. Lastly, it looks at a number of current issues related to the use of both official languages in Canada’s court system.