Bill C-29 (Historical)

Air Canada and Its Affiliates Act

An Act to amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act

This enactment extends the application of the Official Languages Act to certain affiliates of Air Canada and deems the articles of ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. to include provisions respecting the location of its head office and the right of persons to communicate with that corporation in both official languages.

Air Canada Public Participation Act

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

moved that Bill C-29, An Act to amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise here today in support of Bill C-29, an act to amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act.

This government is firmly committed to supporting our country's linguistic duality.

This bill is an important part of this government's efforts to promote and protect the linguistic rights of all Canadians. Respecting the French fact is what a federalism of openness is all about.

The proposed amendments are in line with the government's response to the report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages entitled “Application of the Official Languages Act to ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. following the Restructuring of Air Canada”.

On April 10, 1937, long before we were born, Parliament created a national airline in order to provide essential air transportation, cargo and mail services across Canada. That airline would one day become known as Air Canada.

As a crown corporation, the airline has been subject to the Official Languages Act since that legislation came into effect in 1969.

When Air Canada was privatized in 1988, various public welfare obligations, particularly the obligation to respect the Official Languages Act, were imposed on the airline because of its status as a former federal crown corporation.

The government felt at the time that the various rights granted by the act, namely, the language of work and the obligation to serve the public in both official languages, had to be maintained for Air Canada employees and all Canadians.

This is also one of the determining factors in the government's current decision to ensure that the airline upholds its linguistic obligations.

The Government of Canada really cares about preserving the value and spirit of Canada's linguistic duality, so dear to Canadians.

As recently as the year 2000, language obligations were further enhanced when Air Canada acquired Canadian Airlines International. Along with other modifications, the Air Canada Public Participation Act was amended to place a duty on Air Canada to ensure that its airline subsidiaries, which were the carriers that now make up Air Canada Jazz, provided bilingual service to the public pursuant to the Official Languages Act.

As we know, Air Canada filed for bankruptcy protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act on April 1, 2003. For the next 18 months the company underwent a period of significant restructuring. Air Canada successfully emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2004, but the Air Canada that emerged from restructuring did not look the same as the organization before restructuring. As a result, some of the provisions in the Air Canada Public Participation Act relating to official languages ceased to apply.

For example, as a result of spinning off what had been internal divisions of Air Canada into separate companies, language of work protection and service to the public obligations no longer apply to spun-off post-restructuring entities such as Air Canada Cargo, Air Canada Technical Services and Air Canada Ground Handling Services.

However, obligations under the Air Canada Public Participation Act to adhere to the provisions of the Official Languages Act continue to apply to Air Canada, the mainline carrier.

Air Canada main component is required to keep its head office in Montreal and its maintenance centres in Montreal, Winnipeg and Mississauga. However, due to its reorganization, the size and staff of Air Canada main component have been cut in half.

At present, the law no longer applies to the limited partnerships that are now part of the holding company established in 2004, ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., which is not subject to official languages obligations. Furthermore, ACE Aviation Holdings, which is now the parent company for the entire group of Air Canada companies, is not required to keep its head office in Montreal.

Air Canada main component is no longer required to ensure that Air Canada Jazz, a regional carrier for Air Canada, provides service to the public in both official languages, as it is no longer a subsidiary of the Air Canada carrier, but rather a company in its group.

In May 2005, the former government tabled Bill C-47 which made a certain number of amendments to the Air Canada Public Participation Act. This bill would have restored most of the linguistic obligations that applied to the Air Canada family of companies prior to restructuring.

As members may recall, all parties in the House broadly supported the amendments proposed in Bill C-47, but that bill died on the order paper, leaving a legislative gap in the scope of the application of the Official Languages Act to a restructured Air Canada.

On June 15, 2006, the Standing Committee on Official Languages tabled a report concerning the application of the Official Languages Act to ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. In its report, the committee recommended that the government table a new bill similar in scope and application to Bill C-47, in order to restore the linguistic obligations of the Air Canada group of companies.

On October 16, our government tabled a response to the Standing Committee on Official Languages. I would like to quote part of that response if I may:

The Government believes that the linguistic rights that have been acquired by Air Canada should continue to be preserved.

As a symbol of Canada around the world, the carrier should continue to be bound by the obligation to adhere to linguistic obligations it agreed to when it became a private company in the late 1980s and as subsequently amended.

Today, the government is seeking support for Bill C-29, a bill that responds to the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

The proposed bill stipulates that Air Canada Jazz and any future airline affiliated with ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. will be subject to Part IV, that is, to the Official Languages Act provisions governing service to the public.

ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. will be obligated to ensure communications with the public in both official languages and to keep its head office in Montreal. This provision will ensure that obligations similar to those Air Canada was subject to as the parent organization of a group of companies prior to restructuring will also apply to the new parent company of all of the holdings within this structure.

Under the new legislation, former divisions of Air Canada that became limited partnerships, that is, technical services, cargo, and ground handling, and which are federally regulated undertakings, will be subject to the Official Languages Act in its entirety.

I believe that this bill makes it very clear that our government is committed to this country's official languages. It has considered the recommendations put forward by the Standing Committee on Official Languages, and it is restoring the pre-restructuring language rights of Canadians who work for Air Canada or who travel aboard its aircraft.

[Marc Lemay, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the minister's speech on Bill C-29. The Bloc Québécois supports this bill and my colleague from Gatineau will elaborate on our position later.

My riding is in a region and I would like to address three points. I read, I heard and I listened. Air Canada Jazz serves my region. The problem is that there was an amalgamation, with Air Nova among others. Everything was all thrown together. Air Canada Jazz now has a lot of anglophones and this is a huge concern for Quebec's regions, especially Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

I also wonder about Aeroplan which is a bonus points program. I do not have to explain this program in detail to the minister. There is also the issue of airplane maintenance. I forgot about Air Canada Vacations; we also deal with that service.

Can we be assured with this bill that the Official Languages Act will be complied with in regards to airplane maintenance, Aeroplan, Air Canada Vacations and Air Canada Jazz when services are provided?

What will happen when we need a hand because our lost luggage ends up in India? I do not know if this ever happened in the minister's riding, but it happened back home. Given this, could the luggage service be repatriated to Quebec?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, did my hon. colleague just suggest that luggage be repatriated to Quebec? I may have misunderstood.

[Marc Lemay, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

The service.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

Thank you. To answer my colleague as precisely as possible, the bill intends to correct something that was done during reorganization—I mentioned it in my speech—when the restructuring happened. We need to enhance the safeguards, as the Standing Committee on Official Languages and the Commissioner of Official Languages has been demanding for quite some time. That is what this bill endeavours to do.

With regard to the additional services that have been added in the past few years, since the company is now privately owned, the bill does not set out to adjust the provisions of the Official Languages Act with regard to projects, affiliate companies or sub-services that may have been developed since the reorganization. We will restore things to where they were in the past in order to go forward. We obviously will not be going back to where we were with Aeroplan or Air Canada Vacations, as the member said.

With regard to maintenance, we are still obligated to serve three regions: Winnipeg, Montreal and Mississauga. I can, however, assure my hon. colleagues that the head office will remain in Montreal.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to say how pleased I am to see Bill C-29 being submitted to the House. It has long been awaited. How many times in the last few months have we asked for this bill to be introduced in the House? I do not know if it has anything to do with the controversy around official languages, but the bill seems to be finally welcome for the Conservative government. Nevertheless, I would like to thank the minister for finally introducing it in the House, even if I am worried. We will be able to study the bill in committee.

My first question to the minister is the following. Does he agree that we should refer this bill to the Standing Committee on Official Languages? This is a good committee. The minister himself said that the Standing Committee on Official Languages made a very good recommendation—along with the Commissioner of Official Languages. I know that, at this time, the Conservatives do not want to appoint a chairman for the committee to resume its proceedings, perhaps because the committee works too well. Perhaps the Conservative government does not want to invest too much effort in our country's official languages. I do not know, but things must be said. I am trying to say it as politely as possible. However, I am worried.

Let us take part 3, titled “Affiliates”. The proposed subsection 10.2(4) says:

Only Parts IV, VIII, IX and X of the Official Languages Act apply in respect of

(a) the air service undertaking owned and operated by Jazz Air Limited Partnership, a limited partnership registered on September 13, 2004 under the laws of the Province of Quebec; and

(b) any new undertaking that provides air services.

Then, there is the proposed subsection 10.2(5):

With respect to a new undertaking that is acquired after the day on which this section comes into force, the Parts of the Official Languages Act referred to in subsection (4) commence to apply after the expiry of one year, or any longer period that the Minister may fix, after the day on which the new undertaking is acquired.

That part worries me because, should Air Canada acquire something, it should respect the official languages of our country. That should be the case right from the start and we should not have to wait for four or five years. If we believe in the Official Languages Act, if we believe that it should be respected, I cannot see why we should give Air Canada the opportunity to say that after buying a new company, it should be exempted from it for several years to give it time to train employees. That provision creates a problem. I find it unacceptable if we want to give services in English and French in our great country where there are supposedly two official languages, despite the fact that we lost the official languages committee.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I can see my colleague from Acadie—Bathurst's determination and dynamism when he talks about this file. He gets carried away and all wound up, just like I do, when we talk about maintaining and promoting the language. He is absolutely right. I also agree that his committee is a good committee.

However, we were inspired in our efforts to follow up on what had been done previously, to send this bill to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. Let me point out to my colleague that as soon as I had a chance to raise this issue with him, I told him that this had been done by my predecessor, the hon. Jean Lapierre, who is no longer in the House.

We are fundamentally bringing back the bill that the former government, the Liberal government, had introduced. I think there was unanimous consent in the House to proceed in this fashion. I do not see why the House would object to the passage of this bill that restores things to how they are supposed to be. I look forward to my colleague's support for this bill.

[The Acting Speaker, Royal Galipeau]

It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Nanaimo—Cowichan, Aboriginal Affairs; the hon. member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, Service Canada; the hon. member for Windsor West, Automobile Industry.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the Liberal Party as the critic for la Francophonie and Official Languages to take part in the debate at second reading of Bill C-29, An Act to amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act.

This bill should have been adopted a long time ago. I find it ironic that the intent of the bill is to make sure that Canadians and others that travel with Air Canada are served in the official language of their choice, when we have seen, in the past few weeks, a shameful, deliberate attempt by the Conservative government to misinform Canadians and to undermine the work of the members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, just as the committee was about to hear from language advocacy groups regarding these very services that are guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is one of the strengths of Canadian democracy, fostered by Liberal governments since Confederation.

Our national airline must reflect our linguistic duality. It must be the symbol of the pluralistic society in which we live and an integral part of our best business practices.

Mr. Speaker, before going any further, I would like to mention that the Liberals support the principle set in Bill C-29. A lot of work remains to be done before this bill becomes law. Therefore, we on this side of the House wish to inform the Conservative-Alliance-Reform government that we will do everything we can to have the bill amended, so as to include the recommendations made by Dyane Adam in her last report as official languages commissioner, in which she recommended that the Official Languages Act apply to all new corporate entities belonging to ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., and to any other corporation bought in the future by Air Canada.

I remind this House that, between April 1, 2006 and March 31, 2007, Air Canada has been the target of the largest number of complaints among the 10 most frequently reprimanded institutions by the commissioner, and among those mentioned by commissioner Fraser in his first report to Parliament.

Out of the 162 complaints filed with the commissioner, 126 were allowed. The commissioner specifically referred to the Thibodeau case, where the Federal Court accepted the commissioner's arguments to the effect that “Air Canada’s subsidiaries had an obligation of result and not an obligation of means towards the travelling public and the complainant”.

In other words, the fact that Air Canada is an exclusively private corporation that has belonged to ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. since 1988 does not exempt it, or its affiliates, from its obligations under the Official Languages Act. Air Canada has always been subjected to the Official Languages Act, and it must serve its clients in both official languages. This is also in line with the corporation's project to extend its activities around the world. Organizations such as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, Passport Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada follow up on the commissioner's report on Canada's linguistic duality abroad, and Air Canada must do the same, as one of Canada's symbols.

Canada's image abroad and its prestige as a country lie in our linguistic duality. The Prime Minister comes from a province where 31% of the population speaks French.

Even if the Prime Minister admits that his parents probably sent him to a basic immersion course more for the sake of peace than to allow him to learn and contribute to the making of a new federal theology—quoting the Prime Minister—it is that same immersion course that allows him today to address the people, here in Ottawa and nationally, first in French, then in English, even if, 40 years later, the Conservative Prime Minister believes that the “religion of bilingualism is the god that failed”-- I did not know that bilingualism was a religion—and even if the Conservatives and former members of the Alliance and the Reform, and their leader apparently do not believe that there is a good economic, social and cultural reason for mastering and protecting the French language.

It is ironic that for our Prime Minister, who speaks before Canadian civil servants, during ceremonies pertaining to the monument in Vimy, France, at the dinner for Canadian parliamentarians held by the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy, in Ottawa, before the leaders of APEC or at the last NATO summit, the French language has no value.

It is only because of his parents who believed in a bilingual Canada that our Prime Minister is served so well by bilingualism today. Bilingualism has the value of an economic, social and cultural symbol.

Therefore, I am requesting, at this early stage in the debate and contrary to what the Minister of Transport has just informed us, that the bill be sent for study to the Standing Committee on Official Languages where it can be amended.

We know that the proceedings of this committee were completely stopped because the Conservative government refused to designate a new chairman when the preceding one was forced to resign. In this manner, the government continues to impede an important aspect of parliamentary debate.

However, if those and other amendments are not integrated into the bill, let this be sufficient notice, as the critic for my party, that I will recommend to my colleagues in the official opposition to vote against this bill when it returns to the House for report stage and third reading.

I would like to add an argument to the fact that this bill should go to the Standing Committee on Official Languages considering that we are discussing official languages and their role in a company that stands for the symbol of Canada.

The myth of the two solitudes no longer exists in Canada. Although very few people probably realize that long before the coming into force of official bilingualism some 40 years ago, as early as 1877, French enjoyed official status in the Northwest Territories. In fact, the first throne speech delivered at the time by Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal was delivered in French and English.

Despite a relentless fight over the years to abolish linguistic duality in Canada, we have seen our identity strengthened not only in Quebec, but also in Ontario, New Brunswick, British Columbia and in all the small communities in those provinces. Yes, this comes at a cost to Canadian taxpayers. To us, the former Liberal government, these costs are more than worth it. In 2003, we allocated $751 million to the action plan for official languages. By the time the Conservatives came into power, we had spent $123 million. So far nothing leads us to believe that this government intends to renew this commitment beyond 2008. The Commissioner of Official Languages has called on the government to make a commitment and adopt a strategic plan not just to preserve the principles of our linguistic duality, but to exceed them. Where are the Conservative government's plans?

Pierre Elliot Trudeau dedicated his life to defending the right to learn and the right to use both official languages, not only at home, but also at work, in public services, in communications with public services and in the hiring methods of Canadian companies, both private and public.

An article in the Globe and Mail on May 22, 2006, quoted parents whose children are getting their education in French in Regina as saying that people who speak both of Canada's official languages have opportunities that are not available to the majority of unilingual Canadians. If the opportunity is there, why not give our children everything in our power we can?

In Vancouver, parents have gone to great lengths to register their children in a French immersion program because, in the world in which our children are living today, this ever-growing global village, society demands it. The Prime Minister's parents recognized this and gave him this opportunity because it existed.

In February 2002, the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages produced before Parliament a report entitled “Good intentions are not enough!”, and attached a dissenting report from Alliance members sitting on the committee. Some of these people are now members, I believe, of the government party. They said at the time that maintaining Air Canada's bilingual corporation status would slow down its competitiveness.

Witnesses do not agree with this at all. Three union representatives of Air Canada's employees, among whom was Mr. Serge Beaulieu, president of the Montreal regional board of the Air Canada Pilots Association, and Mr. Edmond Udvarhelyi, the union representative of local 4001 of CUPE, said before the committee in October 2001 that out of 3,500 pilots at Air Canada, fewer than 300, that is a little less than 8%, were French speaking. Before it merged with Canadian Airlines International, the percentage was 16%. The company's recruiting policy constantly disregards its obligations. Moreover, Air Canada never made any effort to advertise its job offers in minority language newspapers, using the pretext that there were no qualified French-speaking pilots. However, an average of 25 potential pilots graduate each year from the three-year training program of the Quebec centre of aerospace training of the Chicoutimi CEGEP in Quebec. According to witnesses, this program is equivalent to those offered in Ontario and Alberta. This means that, even though the pool of candidates was expanding, Air Canada continued to ignore minority language media.

According to the report that was made public at the time by the standing committee, commissioner Fortier filed 11 complaints in 1990 before the federal court relating to Air Canada's unwillingness to advertise in French newspapers in the Winnipeg and Moncton regions. Afterwards, the company reached an agreement whereby it would advertise in French newspapers.

Then, when it acquired its subsidiary carriers, Air Canada's responsibility for advertising was automatically transferred to the subsidiaries, which are not subject to section 30 of the act, requiring communication with members of the public in both official languages.

At page 68 of Commissioner Fraser's report, we read that investigations into over 100 complaints revealed that many airport authorities did not consider themselves obligated to communicate with the general public in both official languages. What measures does the Conservative government intend to take to ensure equal status to both official languages in providing public services? Recently, the commissioner commented on “the lack of clear rules or policies”.

If Air Canada really wants to be more competitive internationally, any new subsidiaries, of which it hold 50% or less of the shares, have to—I repeat, have to—meet the linguistic obligations under Canadian law.

As reluctant as government members are to admit it, surely some good had to come out of the past 40 years. For example, a survey conducted by Decima Research in September 2006 and mentioned in the commissioner's report shows that seven out of ten Canadians say they personally favour bilingualism for the entire country; among young Canadians aged 18 to 34, support for bilingualism has reached 80%; nine out of ten 10 Canadians feel that bilingualism is a factor for success internationally.

Bilingualism is more than just a thread in the social fabric of this country; it absolutely defines us as a country. Children of immigrants, whether they speak a third language at home or not, have embraced our linguistic duality not only because of the fantastic economic opportunities it provides, but also because of the cultural sensitivity they develop through learning about and experiencing the realities that immersion in a new environment entails.

When language becomes incarnated in a reality, it helps to harmonize society. These are positive measures that businesses representing our interests at home and abroad ought to take.

I am very aware of the fact that there are provincial jurisdictions to be respected. However, in our agreements with the provinces, we must provide for measures to make French and English instruction in primary schools mandatory. French must become a mandatory subject like reading, writing and mathematics. It is the only way for bilingualism to become an integral part of the structure of our society. In Europe, these subjects are mandatory right from the primary level.

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure how much time I have left, but I would like to speak about our trade differences with respect to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. During the last series of talks and previous consultations initiated by other federal governments with the public, it came to light that there are many countries in the world where the first language is neither French or English. I am thinking of certain Asian, Latin American or African countries. For most of these countries, French or English is a second language spoken at home, school or in the workplace. This should encourage companies such as Air Canada to provide services in both languages and thus appeal to a growing market.

A study by J. Carr states that money and language share the same characteristics: he suggests that money enables more than negotiations, and a common language makes transactions and lower costs possible. In the end, everyone wins owing to a better understanding.

I will close by stating that the Conservative government is wrong to state that our linguistic duality has no economic value. The opposite is true. Our ability to communicate in both official languages contributes to a better understanding of the other, gives us an opening onto the world and makes it easier to do business in all countries.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I was very interested in what my colleague had to say.

She touched on a number of issues, some of them actually relevant to the topic at hand, which is Bill C-29. I was impressed to see that she spoke at least a little to the bill.

I have a point to make. I know a lot of people who work for Air Canada and I know many aviators who fly with Air Canada. There is no question that we all fly on Air Canada a lot and there is no question that French and English have a pretty much equal place.

However, I do have a question. In the last Parliament, we had Bill C-47, essentially identical to Bill C-29, and my hon. colleague and her government at that time were quite happy to refer that bill to the transport committee rather than the official languages committee.

I am curious. Why has their agenda changed? What kind of an agenda do they have which now demands that the bill appear before the official languages committee and not the transport committee? This is essentially a transport issue.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is a problem that has to do with Air Canada, which, obviously, is a Canadian transportation company, but it is also a problem that has to do with official languages and the relationship between Canadian citizens and the only company providing air transportation throughout Canada.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that my colleague said that the bill should be referred to the Standing Committee on Official Languages, if it ever meets again. I know that Conservatives have not been too keen on a Standing Committee on Official Languages ever since the Official Languages Act came into existence. It is the only act that mentions a standing committee to which the Commissioner of Official Languages must report.

We all know what has been going on in the House of Commons for the past two weeks since the government refused to appoint a chair to the Standing Committee on Official Languages. It is preventing the committee from doing its work. Perhaps that is why the government does not want to refer Bill C-29 concerning Air Canada to the Standing Committee on Official Languages. Perhaps the government does not really believe in official languages. I would like to hear what the member has to say about that.

I would also like her to discuss another point. It is true that the bill was introduced in the House of Commons by the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. However, in this particular case, the subject of the bill deals exclusively with the official languages issue, respect for official languages, and service in our country's two official languages.

Does my colleague agree that the best committee to study this bill is the Standing Committee on Official Languages? That committee is capable of ensuring that the bill is studied thoroughly, and, because the Commissioner of Official Languages reports to that committee, it is the right committee to study this bill, which is really important to both francophone and anglophone members of the public. The notion of official languages means receiving services in both languages across the country, which includes anglophones in Montreal and Quebec City. Francophones and anglophones all over this country must have access to services in their own language.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I totally agree with my colleague from New Brunswick. In my view, as I have said, we have a Standing Committee on Official Languages. It exists. Unfortunately, it does not work. It exists under a provision of the standing orders of this House and it is composed of parliamentarians of all parties represented in this House. It is not working because the Conservative members of the committee decided, last week and two weeks ago, that they did not want to put forward the name of a new chair. We are therefore at an impasse which forces the three opposition parties to continue working in an unofficial way. We have no other choice.

This being said, the committee exists. We are hoping that the Conservatives will finally wake up and understand that they are stalemating debate in this Chamber and that they have acted in an undemocratic and unparliamentary way.

This bill should be referred to the Standing Committee on Official Languages. I would not dream of putting words into the mouth of government members sitting across from me, but if they send this bill to the Standing Committee on Transport, practically no one on that committee will be familiar with the Official Languages Act. It is a complex act, like all acts. By proceeding this way, there will be no committee members who could ask specific questions and obtain specific answers.

Obviously, it is more dangerous to refer the bill to a committee where members understand the act. That is precisely where the government does not want to refer this bill.

[James Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague with regard to official languages. WestJet flies to Quebec City. WestJet flies to Moncton. Should WestJet, by law, have to abide by the Official Languages Act?

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of all possible relationships between WestJet and Air Canada. In my speech, I simply asked that everything that comes out of Air Canada today and that will come out of it in the future be subject to the Official Languages Act.

I am not surprised by the other side's negative reaction. The quote I mentioned earlier was taken from the Calgary Sun of May 6, 2001, at the time when Mr. Stephen Harper belonged to...