As of 2016, the university was the world's largest English-French bilingual university. The university is one of the three bilingual universities in Ontario that is not federated with a larger university. Since its inception the university has seen itself as fostering English-French bilingualism. However, bilingualism was only made an official university policy in 1965 when the Government of Ontario passed "An Act respecting Université d'Ottawa" through the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Section 4 of that Act specifically states that an object and purpose of the university is"to further bilingualism and biculturalism and to preserve and develop French culture in Ontario", and "to further ... Christian principles". Despite that law, these parts of the university's mandate are now arguably superseded by the 1982 "Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms", which constitutionalizes multiculturalism (not biculturalism) and freedom of religion.