Canada’s Minister of National Defence has initiated a review of a directive from 2025 regarding language use in military workplaces due to recent concerns. The Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces modified regulations in January 2025 regarding the languages utilized for internal activities and services like meetings and documentation. Previously, units were categorized as English, French, or both.
According to a blog post by DND in July, several organizations and units in unilingual regions faced challenges in meeting language requirements, leading to legitimate complaints and frustrations. The directive, officially named DAOD 5039-2, came into effect in January 2025, aligning internal language obligations with the language designation of the office location under the Official Languages Act.
The new rules stipulated that only workplaces in designated bilingual regions, such as New Brunswick, the National Capital Region, and parts of northern Ontario, must communicate solely in English and French. These changes did not impact communication with the public or military families. The military continued to promote the use of both official languages to enhance inclusivity and uphold Canada’s linguistic diversity.
The blog post attracted attention from the media and criticism from advocates and opposition parties’ official languages critics, who viewed it as a reduction in French language protection within a major federal department. Minister of National Defence David McGuinty responded to these concerns on Thursday, expressing a commitment to reviewing workplace language designations to ensure operational needs are met and language rights are respected within the Defence Team.
The timeline for the review was not specified in the announcement. Following this, the Conservative Party urged McGuinty to repeal the changes promptly, emphasizing the importance of Francophone members being able to work, lead, and progress professionally in French, regardless of their posting location in predominantly English-speaking regions.
