Graham Fraser, Canada's Official Languages Commissioner, is adamant: the significance of the Charter in the development of language rights cannot be overstated. In this article, Mr. Fraser states how tension between individual and collective rights - often at the heart of language rights - transformed Canada's linguistic landscape and will continue to do so. Reinstating the importance of having both official languages equally visible in all spheres of Canadian society, Mr. Fraser explains how the entrenchment of the Charter 30 years ago established language rights as a fundamental and permanent part of our legislative and legal environment, and made them a key part of our identity.