Ghislaine Saikaley (born 1962 in

Rouyn-Noranda Rouyn-Noranda ( 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The city of Rouyn-Noranda is a coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

) was the interim Commissioner of Official Languages of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

from 2016 to 2018. During her tenure as commissioner, she called for a modernization of the Official Languages Act in order to adapt it for the

digital age The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, Silicon Age, or New Media Age) is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during t ...

Early life and education

Saikaley grew up in Rouyn-Noranda. Her father was a chief of police in the area, and her mother was also working in the

police service The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...

. She studied at the University of Montreal, where she received a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

Career

Saikaley entered the Canadian public service in 1986, when she started working at the Rouyn-Noranda Correctional Centre. Within 6 months of working there, she became manager of the facility. She later moved to Granby for family reasons, and then to

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

in order to become manager of the parole office in the region. During this time, the Hells Angels were very active in the area, and Saikaley received numerous death threats related to her work. Her house was therefore put under police surveillance while she held this position.

Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

Saikaley joined the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in 2008 as Assistant Commissioner, responsible for the Offices' investigations into breach of compliances of the Official Languages Act. Upon

Graham Fraser Graham Fraser (born 1946) is a Canadian former journalist and writer who served as Canada's sixth Commissioner of Official Languages. He is the author of several books, both in English and French. Early life and education Fraser is the son o ...

's retirement as Commissioner of Official Languages, Saikaley was appointed as interim commissioner in December 2016 for a 6 month period. Five months later, Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

nominated

Madeleine Meilleur Madeleine Meilleur (born November 22, 1948) is a Canadian nurse, lawyer and former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2016. She represented the riding of Ottawa—Vanier. ...

to replace her replacement for commissioner. The opposition parties labelled this nomination as partisan, because Meilleur was a former

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

Minister. Meilleur eventually withdrew her bid to become commissioner in June 2017. Saikaley's 6 month term as interim commissioner ended up expiring without a replacement appointed, leaving the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in a "legal limbo" where it was devoid of all authority without a commissioner. Saikaley's mandate was extended for another 6 months shortly thereafter. During her time as commissioner, Saikaley suggested, among other things, that the Official Languages Act be modernized and minimum standards of English-French bilingualism required to become a manager in the Canadian civil service be elevated. On the former, Saikaley stated that the

Treasury Board Secretariat The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS; french: Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada, SCT) is the administrative branch of the Treasury Board of Canada (the committee of ministers responsible for the financial management of the fe ...

's low English-French proficiency requirement resulted in a lack of uniform application of part V of the Official Languages Act.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saikaley, Ghislaine Living people People from Rouyn-Noranda Canadian civil servants Université de Montréal alumni 1962 births Commissioners of Official Languages (Canada)