Language Commissioner speaks with English-speaking community

Access to essential services crucial for minority-language communities, federal language commissioner says

MONTREAL, June 12, 2026 – Canada’s new Commissioner of Official Languages, Kelly Burke, extolled the values of bilingualism and the importance of minority-language communities in a speech to a TALQ Signature Series event Friday morning.

Burke, formerly Ontario’s Commissioner of French-Language Services, spoke of her bilingual family background growing up in Cornwall.

“My parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, who were Anglophone, Francophone and bilingual, instilled in me a genuine and lasting appreciation for both of our official languages,” she said. And she left no doubt that access to services in both official languages is crucial.

“I will continue to be a staunch advocate of minority-language access to essential services like health care,” Burke said. “It is a matter of respect and safety for everyone in Canada.”

This applies to both French and English, she said. “We are also, across the country, chipping away at the French language,” she said. “There are vulnerabilities on both sides.”