Conservatives must take action to encourage bilingualism

Despite growing population, investments in bilingualism declining

OTTAWA – The decline in the number of bilingual Canadians can be explained by a serious lack of leadership from the Conservative government, which is no longer taking action to encourage second language learning.

“For the first time since the implementation of the Official Languages Act, bilingualism is declining,” said NDP Leader Tom Mulcair. “That’s a major loss for Canada, because bilingualism is one of our greatest assets.”

New Democrats see this sad news as the consequence of the Conservative government’s lack of leadership. “The appointment of a unilingual auditor general and closure of the only bilingual search and rescue centre in the country are concrete examples of the Conservatives’ lack of vision. They don’t walk the talk,” said Official Languages critic, Yvon Godin.

Funding for the Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages has declined. “At a time when the population is growing and inflation continues to erode budgets, the federal government’s efforts are not sufficient,” said deputy critic Matthew Dubé.

New Democrats are calling on the government to present an action plan to reverse the trend.