OCOL - Filing a Complaint

Filing a Complaint

Who can file a complaint?

Members of the public, including federal public service employees, can file a complaint, either on their own behalf or on behalf of a group or community.

Why file a complaint?

You were not able to obtain services in the official language of your choice in a federal government office that is designated bilingual .
You are a federal public service employee in a designated bilingual region and you find it difficult to work in the official language of your choice.
You believe that your opportunities for employment or advancement in the federal public service are limited because of your language of work.
You believe that decisions made by the federal government will have a negative impact on the vitality of an official language community.
You believe that the equal status of both official languages is not being respected by the federal government.
You believe there has been an infraction of one of the other sections of the Official Languages Act.

When can I file a complaint?

You should file a complaint as soon as you believe your language rights have been violated. The sooner you file the complaint, the easier it is for the investigators to carry out their work.

What information do I have to provide to file a complaint?

your name, telephone number and mailing address
a brief summary of the incident or situation:

the date
the time
the location

in cases involving newspaper articles or other documents or publications that may give rise to a complaint:

the title of the article;
the name of the newspaper, document or publication;
the publication date

The more details you provide, the easier it will be to conduct the investigation and the faster it will progress.

How and where do I file a complaint?

All complaints are confidential, unless you authorize us to reveal your name.

You can file a complaint over the telephone, by mail, by fax or in person at our head office or one of our regional offices. Since access to our site is not secure, complaints should not be filed by e-mail or through the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages Web site.

I have filed a complaint. What happens next?

The Commissioner receives the complaint, examines it and determines whether it can be investigated under the Official Languages Act.
Where appropriate, an investigation is launched. The federal institution in question is informed of the nature of the complaint that has been filed against it.
Where appropriate, the Commissioner recommends that the institution take certain measures to correct the situation.

In many cases, the recommendations made by the Commissioner lead to concrete actions by Canadian institutions subject to the Official Languages Act. For this reason, the Commissioner of Official Languages regards complaints as powerful tools that support his roles as an ombudsman and agent of change and that help him carry out his mission.

As an ombudsman, the Commissioner of Official Languages prefers to use persuasion and conciliation to ensure that federal institutions protect and respect the language rights of Canadians and federal government employees. Sometimes, however, the Commissioner's investigation and the ensuing recommendations do not produce the desired results. If the Commissioner's investigation of your complaint does not produce satisfactory results, you may take the matter to court under the Official Languages Act. This option is called a "court remedy."