New federal language commissioner vows to defend Quebec anglophones’ rights

Kelly Burke says her office will continue intervening in court cases involving minority-language rights, particularly when they touch on education.

Canada’s new official languages commissioner on Friday acknowledged anglophone Quebecers’ frustrations in recent years and vowed to stand up for linguistic minorities when governments attempt to thwart their rights.

“We cannot chip away at rights, whether they be the anglophone rights in Quebec or the francophone rights in the other parts of the country,” Kelly Burke told a Montreal audience.

She added: “We also have to recognize where there are vulnerabilities. And the vulnerabilities are on both sides.”

Burke, who took over as Canada’s official languages commissioner in March, said her predecessors “played an active role in intervening in matters before the court, particularly in the Supreme Court of Canada, on issues of language.” She added: “We will continue to be active, particularly on Section 23 matters.”

Burke was speaking at an event organized by TALQ, a federally funded coalition of Quebec anglophone groups.