Official Languages

The Government of Canada recognizes Canada’s unique opportunity to promote its linguistic duality through the 2010 Winter Games and is strongly committed to ensuring that our two official languages are fully incorporated in the organizing and hosting of the Games.

With respect to the Official Languages Act , the commitments to promote English and French were an integral part of the initial bid for the 2010 Winter Games. These commitments were also undertaken in accordance with the Federal Policy for Hosting International Sport Events and with Section 24 of the Olympic Charter which states that English and French are the two official languages of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The Multiparty Agreement signed by key partners of the Games describes in detail the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games’ (VANOC) obligations to Canada’s official language requirements in the planning and the delivery of the Games. It was the first time in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games that provisions with respect to official languages were integrated into such an agreement.

The Government of Canada is working closely with VANOC to ensure Canada’s linguistic duality and rich Francophone heritage is reflected in all aspects of the Games. The Government of Canada has already taken a number of positive steps to achieve this goal.

In June 2006, a Collaborative Protocol was signed between VANOC, the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue and the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique (FFCB). The signing of the Protocol marked the beginning of the active engagement of Francophone and Acadian communities in the 2010 Winter Games.

The Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages conducted a study on the consideration of official languages at the 2010 Winter Games and tabled its report entitled Reflecting Canada’s Linguistic Duality at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games : A Golden Opportunity in March of 2007.

On August 13, 2007, the Government of Canada provided its Response to the Fifth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages.

On December 2, 2008, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages published its report on the 2010 Winter Games, Raising our Game for Vancouver 2010: Towards a Canadian Model of Linguistic Duality in International Sport. The report highlights the measures taken by the Vancouver 2010 Games Organizing Committee (VANOC) and the Government of Canada, and suggests new avenues to explore; this will ensure that the Games fully reflect the official languages of Canada.

The report states that VANOC and the government of Canada have implemented sound provisions that truly reflect the linguistic duality of Canada. As the title of the study implies, the 2010 Winter Games provide a golden opportunity for Canada to proudly showcase its linguistic duality to the rest of the world, and become a benchmark against which the success of all future Olympic Games will be measured.