April 25, 2001
Ottawa, Ontario

In keeping with the commitment set out in Red Book III to strengthen bilingualism in Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today announced that the Honourable Stéphane Dion will assume responsibility for coordinating issues related to Official Languages. This new responsibility is in addition to Minister Dion’s current duties as President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.

"Linguistic duality is a fundamental element of the Canadian identity and an issue of key importance for our government," the Prime Minister stated. "Tremendous progress has been made on bilingualism since the adoption of the Official Languages Act in 1969. I have asked Minister Dion to consider strong new measures that will continue to ensure the vitality of minority official-language communities and to ensure that Canada’s official languages are better reflected in the culture of the federal public service. I know that he will carry out these tasks with great ability."

In addition to coordinating issues in which the question of official languages is raised, Minister Dion will be at the forefront of the federal government’s efforts to promote bilingualism. His duties will also include the development of a new policy framework to strengthen the official languages program.

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