Canada’s defence minister has announced a review of a directive from 2025 that dictates the languages used in military workplaces due to recent concerns. The Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces made changes in January 2025 regarding language requirements for internal activities and services like meetings and documents. Previously, units were categorized as English, French, or both, causing issues for organizations in unilingual regions. The directive, DAOD 5039-2, aligned language requirements with the location’s language designation under the Official Languages Act, affecting only workplaces in bilingual regions. Communication with the public and military families remained unaffected, with the military emphasizing the importance of using both official languages for inclusivity and respect for Canada’s linguistic diversity.
Following criticism and media attention, Minister of National Defence David McGuinty acknowledged the concerns and announced a review of workplace language designations to ensure they meet operational needs and respect language rights. The timeline for this review was not specified. The Conservative Party called for an immediate repeal of the changes, emphasizing that Francophone members should not lose the ability to work or progress in French when stationed in predominantly English-speaking regions.