Address to the Société économique de l'Ontario
It's an honour and privilege to be speaking to you tonight, as we celebrate the International Francophonie Month.
It's an honour and privilege to be speaking to you tonight, as we celebrate the International Francophonie Month.
SOCIETÉ ÉCONOMIQUE DE L’ONTARIO
Toronto, March 19, 2025
Paul Dubé
Good evening, distinguished guests,
It’s an honour and privilege to be speaking to you tonight, as we celebrate the International Francophonie Month.
Now is an opportune time to reflect on the challenges that Francophones in Ontario are grappling with.
I want to take a quick moment to talk about the work my Office does to uphold language rights in our province and help the Ontario Francophone community thrive.
This year marks the Ombudsman Ontario’s 50th anniversary.
For 50 years, we have strived to ensure that public institutions serve Ontarians in a way that is respectful of their rights.
For French language services in particular, I would like to revisit what I said in 2019, when three offices of the Legislature were amalgamated into one Ombudsman’s Office.
At that time, I made a number of commitments that I continue to stand by:
And that is exactly what has happened.
I am proud to say, we have kept our word.
In just five years, the French Language Services Unit, which is led by Commissioner Carl Bouchard, has made incredible strides in advocating for the rights of Francophones.
To list a few examples:
My friends, I am more committed than ever to making sure that the French Language Services Unit and Commissioner continue to drive positive change as key figures in the movement to protect language rights in Ontario.
The work we are doing together is essential to ensuring that Ontario’s Francophone community thrives long into the future.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to continuing this work with you.
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