Canada's Official Languages Act, in force since September 9, 1969, established English and French as Canada's official languages with equal status in federal institutions. It gave citizens the right to receive federal government services in the official language of their choice, required federal laws and regulations to carry equal legal weight in both languages, let Canadians use either language before federal courts, and created the office of the Commissioner of Official Languages to oversee compliance. Before 1969, French speakers held only about nine percent of federal public service jobs despite making up roughly a quarter of Canada's population, and the Act became the foundation of Canada's official bilingualism, later reinforced by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 and substantially revised in 1988.
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