MANDATE TO STUDY THE CONSIDERATION OF
THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES IN THE ORGANIZATION
OF THE 2010 OLYMPIC GAMES

STUDY DESCRIPTION

During the 39 th Parliament, the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages will conduct a study on the consideration of the official languages in the organization of the 2010 Olympic Games.

Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, will be hosting the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Various partners will contribute financially to this event: the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, the Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, the Municipality of Whistler, the City of Vancouver and the Four Host First Nations Society.

English and French are the official languages of Canada and of the Olympics.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

• Identify how the various partners take the official languages into consideration in organizing the Olympic Games, especially as regards: promotion of the event, conferences, press releases, greeting the public, services to passengers at Vancouver International Airport, signage in the city and at the site of athletic events, translation of documents and Web sites, competition results, etc.

• Identify how the various partners, including the Government of Canada, foster the vitality of official-language minority communities, especially the Francophone community of British Columbia.

• Make recommendations to the various partners, including the Government of Canada, to ensure that the official languages are considered in the organization of the 2010 Olympic Games.

RELATED ISSUES

In addition to looking into the organization of 2010 Olympic Games, this study will also examine the linguistic obstacles affecting access to high-performance sport in Canada. The Committee will seek to determine how Sport Canada can:

• More effectively monitor coaches’ language skills;

• Encourage the promotion of linguistic duality in national sport organization and at national sport centres and on their Web sites;

• Conduct a promotional campaign to inform athletes of the services offered to them in both languages; and

• Create strategic alliances with organizations representing official-language minority communities.