Bill C-419

1st Session, 41st Parliament,

60-61 Elizabeth II, 2011-2012

house of commons of canada

BILL C-419

An Act respecting language skills

Whereas the Constitution provides that English and French are the official languages of Canada;

Whereas English and French have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of Parliament;

Whereas members of the Senate and the House of Commons have the right to use English or French during parliamentary debates and proceedings;

And whereas persons appointed with the approval by resolution of the Senate, the House of Commons or both Houses of Parliament must be able to communicate with members of those Houses in both official languages;

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This act may be cited as the Language Skills Act.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

2. Any person appointed to any of the following offices must, at the time of his or her appointment, be able to understand English and French without the aid of an interpreter and to express himself or herself clearly in both official languages:

(a) the Auditor General of Canada, appointed pursuant to subsection 3(1) of the Auditor General Act;

(b) the Chief Electoral Officer, appointed pursuant to subsection 13(1) of the Canada Elections Act;

(c) the Commissioner of Official Languages for Canada, appointed pursuant to subsection 49(1) of the Official Languages Act;

(d) the Privacy Commissioner, appointed pursuant to subsection 53(1) of the Privacy Act;

(e) the Information Commissioner, appointed pursuant to subsection 54(1) of the Access to Information Act;

(f) the Senate Ethics Officer, appointed pursuant to section 20.1 of the Parliament of Canada Act;

(g) the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, appointed pursuant to subsection 81(1) of the Parliament of Canada Act;

(h) the Commissioner of Lobbying, appointed pursuant to subsection 4.1(1) of the Lobbying Act;

(i) the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, appointed pursuant to subsection 39(1) of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act;

(j) the President of the Public Service Commission, appointed pursuant to subsection 4(5) of the Public Service Employment Act.

REGULATIONS

3. The Governor in Council may, by order, add offices to the list established in section 2.

INTERIM APPOINTMENT

4. In the event of the absence or incapacity of the incumbent of any of the offices listed in section 2 or vacancy in any of these offices, the person appointed in the interim must meet the requirements set out in section 2.