OTTAWA—A probe by Canada’s language watchdog into Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird’s Twitter account is prompting questions about the lines between personal and government business on the Internet.

Baird, a Conservative MP who represents an Ottawa riding in Parliament, uses his Twitter account regularly to inform Canadians with a mix of messages about government business and personal observations, most often in English, with occasional messages in French.

But a new investigation by official languages commissioner Graham Fraser, prompted by a formal complaint that the minister doesn’t communicate in Canada’s two official languages on Twitter, has puzzled officials in Baird’s office and department.

“We are surprised that the official languages commissioner has chosen to investigate the minister’s personal Twitter account that falls outside of the scope of the act,” said Baird’s spokesman, Rick Roth. “The minister’s personal Twitter account is just that, his personal account.”

In the past week, Baird tweeted in both English and French about the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Previously, some of his tweets have included English-only messages about the death of actor Robin Williams, Baird’s return home from a trip, and a cup of Tim Hortons coffee.

Most of Baird’s tweets in July were in English, often related to his role as minister.

Fraser, a former reporter at the Star, told Baird’s department in a July 31 letter that it was looking into the Twitter account to determine whether the government was respecting the “spirit” of federal language legislation.

The Official Languages Act, adopted in 1969, requires the federal government to protect services in both English and French and promote the vitality of minority communities in both languages across the country.

This latest investigation follows another controversy over Baird using some English-only business cards, which were later disposed after a separate investigation by Fraser.

“It’s almost as if (Baird) is ashamed of the two official languages,” said NDP official languages critic Yvon Godin.

The federal legislation also requires the government to promote the use of both languages. As Canada’s top diplomat who represents the country on the international stage, Baird should respect this, said Godin, a New Brunswick MP.

“If it’s just his personal account, he should just say that it’s John Baird, that he just gets his coffee from Tim Hortons and if he wants to say he’s taking his dog for a walk, I have no problem,” said Godin. “But if his Twitter account represents the department and the minister and uses the name, the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird, he should respect the law.”

Fraser’s letter from July said the investigation would consider sections of the law that cover government services and communication with the public as well as the participation of French- and English-speaking Canadians in federal institutions.

Baird’s deputy minister, Daniel Jean, responded to Fraser a few days later, writing that the Twitter account wasn’t covered by the act. Jean noted that the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development’s official communications respect the law.

“It is very important to this department that all DFATD social media and other Web 2.0 tools are available simultaneously in both English and French,” Jean wrote in the letter, obtained by the Star. “In addition, we also ensure that all communications, when providing services to the public, are compliant with the act.”

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Fraser’s office said the investigation, uncovered by Montreal daily newspaper La Presse, wasn’t targeting Baird personally. Instead, it said the probe was trying to establish whether federal ministers have responsibilities, under the federal language law, when they tweet information on behalf of their departments.

“We’ve never done this type of investigation before,” Fraser’s spokesman, Nelson Kalil, told the Star. “We’re investigating the government mechanism and the department, and not the individual.”

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