Bill C-13

An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada's Official Languages

An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts

Part 1 amends the Official Languages Act to, among other things,
(a) specify that all legal obligations related to the official languages apply at all times, including during emergencies;
(b) codify certain interpretative principles regarding language rights;
(c) provide that section 16 of that Act applies to the Supreme Court of Canada;
(d) provide that a final decision, order or judgment of a federal court that has precedential value is to be made available simultaneously in both official languages;
(e) provide for Government of Canada commitments to
(i) protect and promote French,
(ii) estimate the number of children whose parents are rights holders under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ,
(iii) advance formal, non-formal and informal opportunities for members of English and French linguistic minority communities to pursue quality learning in their own language throughout their lives, including from early childhood to post-secondary education, and
(iv) advance the use of English and French in the conduct of Canada’s external affairs;
(f) clarify the nature of the duty of federal institutions to take positive measures to implement certain Government of Canada commitments and the manner in which the duty is to be carried out;
(g) provide for certain positive measures that federal institutions may take to implement certain Government of Canada commitments, including measures to
(i) promote and support the learning of English and French in Canada, and
(ii) support sectors that are essential to enhancing the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities and protect and promote the presence of strong institutions serving those communities;
(h) provide for certain measures that the Minister of Canadian Heritage may take to advance the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society;
(i) provide that the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is required to adopt a policy on francophone immigration and that the policy is to include, among other things, objectives, targets and indicators;
(j) provide that the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of cooperating with provincial and territorial governments;
(k) provide that the Treasury Board is required to establish policies to give effect to certain parts of that Act, monitor and audit federal institutions for their compliance with policies, directives and regulations relating to the official languages, evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of policies and programs of federal institutions relating to the official languages and provide certain information to the public and to employees of federal institutions;
(l) enable the Commissioner of Official Languages to enter into compliance agreements and, in certain cases, to make orders; and
(m) enable the Commissioner of Official Languages to impose administrative monetary penalties on certain entities for non-compliance with certain provisions of Part IV of that Act.
It also makes a related amendment to the Department of Canadian Heritage Act .
Part 2 enacts the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act , which, among other things, provides for rights and duties respecting the use of French as a language of service and a language of work in relation to federally regulated private businesses in Quebec and then, at a later date, in regions with a strong francophone presence. That Act also allows employees of federally regulated private businesses to make a complaint to the Commissioner of Official Languages with respect to rights and duties in relation to language of work and allows the Commissioner to refer the complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board in certain circumstances. It also provides that the Minister of Canadian Heritage is responsible for promoting those rights. Finally, Part 2 makes related amendments to the Canada Labour Code .

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Madam Clerk, for that information. What I am presenting today is simply a notice of motion. You have all received the wording of the motion, which pertains to a preliminary study of Bill C‑13. I am filing this notice because we want to inform people ahead of time. I believe that we are all in agreement on this, because we've already discussed it. I am therefore filing the notice of motion in the hope that I will receive your support when we discuss it on Wednesday and move on to the vote.

I would now like to speak to the officials who are with us today. Representatives of the ACFA, the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta, and the AFO, the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario, pointed out when they testified before the committee that francophone immigration targets had not been reached for the past 20 years. In my northern Ontario region for example, the demographic weight issue is extremely important.

You are still expecting to reach these targets, probably in March 2023. In view of testimony and recommendations made to the committee, what concrete measures have you taken in recent months to ensure that our francophone immigration targets are reached?

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Today I filed a notice of motion with the clerk. I believe all members of the committee received a copy of it this afternoon. It concerns Bill C‑13. I just wanted to mention that to committee members.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, I'd like to go back to the question I asked you earlier.

You said in your opening remarks that you were satisfied with the francophone immigration objectives, targets and indicators set forth in Bill C‑13. However, what troubles me and what we can see in other programs is that the bill establishes no performance requirement.

How can you assure Canadians that commitments will be met this time when all the programs we've been discussing for months, indeed years, have failed to achieve the desired results?

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

If possible, I'd like the members of your team to send us a detailed document describing every twist and turn in the path the applications take. I would appreciate that.

I'm going to continue because my colleague Mr. Lehoux is giving me the rest of his speaking time. I thank him for his generosity.

You mentioned Bill C‑13 and said you're satisfied with what the bill provides on francophone immigration policy.

Pardon me, Minister, but that policy boils down to two paragraphs: “The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration shall adopt a policy on francophone immigration…”

Official Languages

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, our government is firmly committed to protecting and promoting official languages, especially in minority situations.

We recently introduced Bill C‑13 to modernize the Official Languages Act. We learned of the order from the Federal Court of Appeal last Friday. We will take the time to review and consider the next steps.

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Madam Speaker, we made the difficult decision to seek leave to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada. We do not take this decision lightly.

Our government has committed to strengthening the Official Languages Act, which we have done with Bill C‑13.

Unfortunately, we do not agree with some aspects of the Federal Court of Appeal's ruling that could jeopardize the training and employment support received by 80,000 British Columbians.

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Madam Speaker, as I explained earlier, we support francophone communities across Canada, as well as the anglophone community in Quebec. Bill C-13 will really anchor our protection of and support for official languages across the country.

The precedent set by this decision could affect the Government of Canada's ability to enter into agreements with the provinces and territories in all areas.

We should keep the record straight. Our commitment to official languages remains firm, and we look forward to seeing the provisions of Bill C-13—

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Madam Speaker, we made the difficult decision to seek leave to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada in this case. We do not take this decision lightly. Our government promised to strengthen the Official Languages Act, which we have done with Bill C‑13.

Unfortunately, we do not agree with some of the aspects of the Federal Court of Appeal ruling, which may jeopardize the training and employment support that more than 80,000 British Columbians receive every year.

Business of the House

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I wish a very happy birthday to Mitch. I hope he has the time to celebrate with his family over the weekend.

Tomorrow we will call Bill C-8, the economic and fiscal update, for the third day of debate at report stage, and we will continue on Monday, if that is necessary. Tuesday we will resume debate at second reading of Bill C-11, the online streaming act. Wednesday we will continue with debate on Bill C-5, which is mandatory minimum legislation, at second reading.

I would also inform the House that Thursday, March 31, will be an allotted day and next Friday, a week tomorrow, it is our intention to begin consideration of the second reading of Bill C-13, the official languages bill.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

That's right.

I'd like to clarify something for my colleague Mr. Beaulieu, who was speaking earlier about consultations with Quebec organizations. I remember that the Mouvement Québec français had come to testify. The Quebec organizations were there.

Ms. Mondou, Bill C-13 includes a provision about the right to work and to be served in French in Quebec and in other regions with a strong francophone presence.

Can you give us the definition of “strong francophone presence”, and tell us whether it's the same in Quebec and outside Quebec?

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Could you also provide the committee with the list of organizations that were consulted in connection with Bill C‑13?

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

I've come at the right time, when you're analyzing Bill C‑13.

As it happens, the following appears in the Commissioner of Official Languages' report:

Canadian Heritage, as part of its Official Languages Support Programs, adapted its management rules to maintain funding to recipient organizations despite delays in delivering promised results or the refocusing of their activities as a result of the COVID‑19 pandemic.

That's understandable. Can you comment, Deputy Minister, on the delays being alluded to by the commissioner?

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

In Bill C‑13, The Department of Canadian Heritage continues its coordination and implementation role for the act, while not having any authority over other federal institutions.

Why was the Treasury Board not made the one and only central agency responsible for implementation?

[Sarah Boily]

Definitely.

I'll answer the question, Ms. Mondou.

You've read Bill C‑13, and you've seen the added attention we are paying to the promotion and protection of French everywhere in Canada, including Quebec.

We can accordingly expect that these measures will be addressed in the renewed action plan to support Quebec's francophonie, but all the work remains to be done. It's all very positive.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

That's not what they told me.

I've already been a member of these groups and I was never consulted by you. In the consultations conducted by Minister Mélanie Jolie on the Official Languages Act, almost none of these groups had been invited.

For Bill C‑13, will there be any changes that affect the positive measures?