Ontario government urged to make public health ads bilingual after investigation reveals shortfalls

French Language Services Commissioner Carl Bouchard has released a report urging the Ontario government to ensure all out-of-home advertising is bilingual.

This follows an investigation which found that the government systematically failed to meet its obligations under the French Language Services Act (FLSA) during critical public health communications, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The investigation, conducted by the French Language Services Unit of the Office of the Ombudsman, examined 17 advertising campaigns by the Ministry of Health between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2023. Despite the importance of these messages, only three campaigns included any out-of-home advertising in French. Commissioner Bouchard's "Missed Messages" report highlights the failure to provide Francophones with essential public health information in their language.

The report emphasized that out-of-home advertising—such as billboards, electronic panels, and public transit signs—is a public service under the FLSA and should be delivered in English and French across Ontario. Bouchard found that the legal obligations were not met and that few people involved in campaign development were aware of these requirements.

The investigation revealed several key issues: The French Language Services Act obligations were not considered during the advertising campaign development process. Those involved were unaware of the government’s communications in French directives and guidelines. The existing directives and guidelines do not provide specific instructions for out-of-home advertising to comply with the FLSA.

Cabinet office follows an "unwritten rule" that allocates 5 percent of each advertising campaign budget to French-language ads, often excluding out-of-home platforms. Consequently, many campaigns fail to meet the legal requirements, leading to a systematic shortfall in bilingual public messaging.

Commissioner Bouchard made seven recommendations in his report to address these issues. He urged the government to use a bilingual format for all out-of-home advertising to ensure equivalent and simultaneous delivery of messages in both languages. He also recommended updating the Directive and Guidelines to include specific instructions for out-of-home advertising, making these documents public, and training public servants on the updated requirements. Additionally, he called for the Ministry of Health to ensure its out-of-home advertising complies with the FLSA.

The cabinet office, Ministry of Health, and Francophone Affairs reviewed the Commissioner’s findings and recommendations. While they accepted recommendations to improve awareness and training, the key recommendations remain under review to make all out-of-home advertising bilingual and update the guidelines. The cabinet office stated it would evaluate how to increase the visibility of French-language messages while maintaining value-for-money advertising practices. It stressed that all campaigns include French messages in formats other than out-of-home advertising.

Commissioner Bouchard reiterated that this approach does not fulfill the government’s obligations under the FLSA, emphasizing that linguistic rights protected by quasi-constitutional legislation should not depend on value-for-money considerations.

All three ministries have agreed to regularly report to the Commissioner on their progress in implementing the recommendations. "We will continue our proactive work with the government so that Recommendations 1 and 2 are accepted and that all of the recommendations are adequately implemented," said Bouchard.