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

[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, 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.

Business of the House

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Yes, fixed date elections. There is a royal assent this afternoon. I asked earlier today in the House whether or not the government would make it possible for Bill C-16 to be approved at all remaining stages in the House and put on the list for royal assent this afternoon.

Obviously the Liberal Party is prepared to agree with that. I understand the Bloc has already given consent. It only remains for the government and the NDP to consent. I see the deputy House leader for the NDP nodding his head, so it would appear that the only thing standing in the way at this moment is the government House leader.

I wonder if he could agree to move on Bill C-16, give it the necessary unanimous consent and put it on the list for royal assent this afternoon. Fixed election dates would then be a reality.

Secondly, Bill C-29, the bill dealing with the application of official languages with respect to Air Canada, has not appeared on the business list for the government yet, and I wonder when the government House leader intends to call Bill C-29.

Finally, when will the government table the exact mandate and the exact legal authority given today to some unnamed individual to investigate the trouble in the RCMP? When will we have the tabling of the mandate and the legal authority under which the government is acting?

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Derek Lee]

I call the meeting to order.

We're reviewing a private member's bill, Bill C-299, moved by Mr. Rajotte. Mr. Rajotte is here as a witness.

Mr. Rajotte, we usually allow ample time for the mover of a private member's bill to explain it and promote it. Then we'll go to questions.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. After my comments, I will be introducing a motion.

Mr. Lemieux says that we need to be patient and to work together in order to reach our goals. I would say that 402 years is a long time to wait. Acadians celebrated their 400^th anniversary two years ago. We are not talking about being nice and welcoming, pleasant and friendly: we are talking about the law. There are two groups that have been recognized and there is the Official Languages Act. How long is it going to take? The Liberals have nothing to brag about: in 60 % of cases the Department of National Defence does not respect official languages. They have nothing to brag about, because they were in power for 13 years and were unable to solve this problem nor that of Air Canada, which has yet to be solved. They really have nothing to brag about.

Commissioner, when you refer to Calgary, you should be careful. Francophones are going to Calgary because of the appeal of oil wells. At this point, far more francophones than you think are landing in Calgary. You have to think of the economic development context in Alberta, where things are changing. When a francophone's flight takes off from Bathurst he or she may speak French, but must speak English once the flight is in the air. That is unacceptable. That is what we are talking about.

We are not asking all anglophones to become francophones and we are not asking all francophones to become anglophones either, as Antonine Maillet said. We want services in both languages. If someone asks for a can of 7-UP he should not have to end up before the Supreme Court of Canada! That is where there was a lack of respect, that still exists today. Jazz replaced Air Canada. If it did, I want to know—

We cannot discuss Bill C-29, it has not yet been referred to the committee. According to me, you are going to have to reappear before this committee, as well as Air Canada. This airline has not yet been called to appear on Bill C-29; it was on the minister's report. Bill C-29 will be sent to the Standing Committee on official languages.

With respect to online services and Jazz, I want to know what you have to suggest. I know that you discussed it at the beginning of your presentation but I want you to repeat this just to be sure.

[The Hon. Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Mauril Bélanger]

I'm far less charitable than others are towards Air Canada. I must admit that when I was a minister I was advised not to lodge any complaints. I accepted that advice, which I now partly regret. I used to carry around a form addressed to the commissioner, on which I simply had to put a check mark to explain the reason for my complaint. On every trip, I could have had two or even three complaints to make, with respect to terminals, in-flight service or anything else. I even seem to recall that on one specific trip I could have filed four separate complaints. Imagine that! I'm going to get back to lodging my complaints now. That will give you an idea of the reality which is that Air Canada ought not to try to shirk its responsibilities.

I am somewhat concerned by the bill we have before us. I am not a regular member of the committee, but I miss it. I sense that Bills C-47 and C-29 are somewhat diluted. I think I detect Air Canada's involvement here and its expertise working behind the scenes to evade responsibility here and there. I fully agree with the fact that Air Canada online is part of this file, as is Aeroplan. I would encourage the committee to put forth amendments if necessary.

Air Canada will always exist. So as the company, at the very core, refuses to pride itself on linguistic duality, it will forever attempt to dodge its responsibilities. The legislation should not be enforced through an order in council. The legislation itself should state precisely what enters into force when. Otherwise, we will be continuing in the same vein. For months and years now this committee has been trying to get Air Canada to understand that as Canada's national airline, it has a moral responsibility.

[Graham Fraser]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages.

I am pleased to stand before you for the first time as Commissioner of Official Languages.

Thank you for the opportunity to come speak to you about Bill C-29, An Act to amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act.

The Air Canada situation generated a great deal of interest among many Canadians, including my predecessors, and more specifically, Ms. Adam. During the review of Bill C-47, Ms. Adam raised concerns about the effects that Air Canada's latest restructuring would have on the language rights of the travelling public and of the airline's employees. As you know, that bill died on the Order Paper.

Today, the new Bill C-29 is the issue at hand. I am pleased to see that Bill C-29 restates the context of Bill C-47 and improves on certain elements, taking into account many of the recommendations made by your committee and by Commissioner Adam.

However, I am worried about how it will affect the linguistic rights of the travelling public and the right of employees of Air Canada to work in their language within the new entities of the Air Canada family. Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon told you that this bill would require Air Canada's former internal divisions, which fall under federal jurisdiction, to once again comply with the official languages obligations to which they were subject prior to restructuring.

Despite this clarification, I am concerned because I wonder whether or not the travelling public and Air Canada employees will truly continue to enjoy the same rights that they had before the company restructured.

As you know, Air Canada has undergone major changes since privatizing in 1988. Also, it acquired the Canadian Airlines Corporation and undertook a vast restructuring of that company. The government then amended the Air Canada Public Participation Act to clarify Air Canada's obligations with respect to the travelling public.

In the fall of 2004, the company underwent another restructuring. New corporate entities, such as Air Canada Ground Handling Services, Air Canada Technical Services, Air Canada Cargo, and Air Canada Online were created. These entities were not subject to the Air Canada Public Participation Act or the Official Languages Act. Bill C-47 was tabled in 2005 to fill this regulatory gap.

During the review of Bill C-47, Commissioner Adam went before the Standing Committee on Transport to draw attention to the importance of protecting the right of Canadians to be served in both official languages by Air Canada and its new entities. Her main concern was the remaining uncertainty about the application of the Official Languages Act to Air Canada's former divisions, which were not clearly named in the bill.

We are now reviewing Bill C-29, which attempts to clear up the ambiguity of Bill C-47. To some extent, the government has followed my predecessor's recommendation.

Bill C-29 does not explicitly state which entities would be subject to the Official Languages Act, with the exception of Jazz; however, it gives the governor in council the authority to designate, by regulation, the entities that will be subject to the Official Languages Act. This will allow a great deal of flexibility.

However, we have no guarantee that such a regulation would be passed with the coming into force of the new act, since Bill C-29 does not specify a timeline in that regard. This shortcoming needs to be addressed because without a regulation, the ambiguity regarding the application of the Official Languages Act to the new ACE entities would remain unresolved.

In my view, the Air Canada group entities that should be designated by regulation pursuant to proposed new subsection 10.2(2), based on Air Canada's current structure, are Ground Handling Services, Technical Services, Cargo, and Air Canada Online.

At his appearance on November 2, 2006, Minister Lawrence Cannon stated that in his opinion Air Canada Online did not fall within the legislative authority of Parliament. I do not share that view. Air Canada Online essentially sells tickets to travellers wishing to use the services of Air Canada or Jazz. Like Ground Handling Services' activities, which consist of registering passengers and their luggage, ticket vending is essential to the operations of both air carriers. For that reason, I believe that Air Canada Online falls within the legislative authority of Parliament with regard to aeronautics and must be designated in the regulations as an entity subject to the Official Languages Act.

To emphasize the effect of Bill C-29, I refer you to the table enclosed with my speech. We used an organizational chart developed by Air Canada as part of its restructuring in 2004 and included the possible effects of the bill. The colour coding indicates the entities that are clearly subject to the Official Languages Act, or parts of it, and those that could be.

With respect to Jazz, the bill clearly states that the company will only be subject to part IV of the Official Languages Act. It will, therefore, be required to uphold the linguistic rights of the travelling public.

The fact that Jazz has no linguistic obligations to its employees is also of concern to me.

The restructuring of Air Canada has considerably changed the airline landscape. From now on, Jazz will service a growing number of routes that used to be operated by Air Canada, which has closed points of service in many cities, such as Moncton, Fredericton, Saint John and Quebec. A substantial number of Air Canada employees now work for Jazz, which enables the company to offer the new routes. It is important to point out that the linguistic rights of Jazz employees are no longer protected.

Indeed, Bill C-29 does not impose any obligations on Jazz with regard to language of work. This aspect of Bill C-29 must be reviewed carefully. You will recall that the aim of the bill is to maintain the linguistic rights of Air Canada employees. That goal is met in part by the fact that the Ground Handling Services, Technical Services and Cargo will be subject to the Official Languages Act in its entirety. Bill C-29 should not allow Air Canada to sidestep its linguistic obligations to employees by permitting Jazz to operate an increasing number of its routes.

One way to remedy the problem would be to subject Jazz to Part IV and V of the Official Languages Act.

I'd like to make a final point in closing. During his appearance three weeks ago, Minister Cannon made reference to a low number of complaints against Air Canada. I believe that the rights of travellers are very important and should not be minimized by figures. The number of complaints lodged creates a false impression that things are obviously improving. It may simply be that Canadians, after many failed attempts, are not making as many formal complaints as before.

However, the number of complaints filed cannot be used to justify non-compliance with the law. Francophones across the country are entitled to respect when they conduct business with Air Canada, its subsidiaries, and its entities. A restructuring, even a major one, should not deprive the public and employees of their rights.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am now prepared to answer your questions.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you for coming. As you know, our government's, and our minister's commitment to official languages is unwavering—allow me to insist that it is unwavering. Bill C-29 is a clear illustration of this.

I've been listening to what has been said for some time, and it appears to me that there are concerns over the ability to provide services in both official languages, particularly in French.

My question is for Ms. Louise McEvoy, who is the Manager of Linguistic Services.

Can you describe to us in detail the initiatives and policies that have been implemented by the company to ensure quality of service in both official languages.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, colleagues and committee members, for your kind invitation.

With me this morning are Mr. Jacques Pigeon, General Counsel of the Department of Transport, and Ms. Brigita Gravitis-Beck, Director General of Air Policy. If the questions become a little more technical, you'll understand if I ask these people to give you the answer.

Mr. Chairman, once again, thank you very much for your invitation and also for allowing me to be here this morning. I want to take the opportunity to thank you personally, and on behalf of Minister Verner, for your efforts, yours and those of committee members, in the preparation of the standing committee's report on the status of language obligations at Air Canada.

It is indeed my pleasure and privilege to speak to you today on the Government Response to the First Report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages and on the matter of Bill C-29, which seeks to introduce amendments to the Air Canada Public Participation Act.

As members of this committee are well aware, Air Canada's corporate restructuring, while it was under bankruptcy protection for an 18-month period between 2003 and 2004, resulted in changes to the scope of application of the Air Canada Public Participation Act vis-à-vis Air Canada and its newly created affiliates. In particular, the application of the Official Languages Act was reduced given a number of significant changes in the corporate structure of the airline company.

The previous government attempted to address this issue with the introduction of Bill C-47. This bill, you'll recall, would have restored language obligations at Air Canada's affiliates to what existed prior to the restructuring. However, this bill only made it as far as the committee stage in the House of Commons, as the bill died on the order paper when Parliament was prorogued for the election call in November 2005.

On June 15 of this year, members of this committee issued a report entitled “Application of the Official Languages Act to ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. following the restructuring of Air Canada”. I will refrain from going through the report at length, as I am sure you are even more familiar with the contents than I am. However, I will focus on how the recommendations in that report have been addressed by the government's response, which was presented to the House on October 16, 2006, and through Bill C-29.

The committee's first recommendation was for the government to reintroduce a bill repeating the provisions of Bill C-47 and add a number of amendments suggested by Ms. Adam, the former Commissioner of Official Languages, when she appeared before the Standing Committee on Transport on November 22, 2005.

In large part, this is precisely what the government has done. We are strongly committed to protecting and respecting the linguistic rights of Canadians. On October 18, 2006, I introduced legislation that seeks to amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act. Bill C-29 will ensure that official languages obligations continue to apply to the restructured Air Canada and are restored at the various affiliates of the airline.

In many respects, this new bill is substantially similar to Bill C-47. Bill C-29 will require that former internal divisions of Air Canada that fall within federal jurisdiction restore official languages obligations to what existed prior to the restructuring. This includes providing service to the public in both official languages and ensuring employees are able to work in the official language of their choice. The proposed amendments also require affiliates of Air Canada that provide air services, such as Jazz, to offer service to the public in both official languages.

I should point out, however, that this bill as tabled in the House does vary slightly from Bill C-47. As was raised in your report, Ms. Adam, then Commissioner of Official Languages when Bill C-47 was before the Standing Committee on Transport in November 2005, and her officials raised several issues regarding that bill. In essence, the Commissioner testified that some aspects of the bill, as is, left room for interpretation that could potentially reduce the linguistic obligations of Air Canada, ACE Aviation Holdings, and its various affiliates.

In order to address that situation, the commissioner proposed that the various entities, which were intended to be captured by the amendments, should be named specifically in the legislation. In other words, the bill should state that ground handling, technical services, cargo, and Air Canada online would all be subject to the full provisions of the Official Languages Act.

This was also stated in recommendation number 3 of this standing committee's report. However, the amendments proposed by the commissioner raised concerns with some of my officials.

In initial discussions with the office of the commissioner leading up to the drafting of Bill C-29, these concerns were brought to their attention.

Recognizing that there was a valid argument to be made in favour of both sides, every effort was made to arrive at a mutually agreeable compromise that would address all respective concerns. As a result of these discussions, subclauses 10.2(2) and 10.2(3) were added to this draft of the legislation.

These new provisions allow the Governor in Council to name those specific affiliates of Air Canada that will be captured by the proposed legislation through an order in council, if needed.

In this way, Mr. Chair and colleagues, the government will be able to designate these affiliates in the corporate structure that will be subject to the official languages provisions of the Air Canada Public Participation Act. This also provides the government with sufficient flexibility to add or remove affiliates, as the circumstances warrant, should the company undergo further significant restructuring.

Based on the most recent information available, an order in council could name and ensure language rights at the following affiliates: Air Canada Cargo, Ground Handling and Technical Services.

Incidentally, Air Canada has made it known through the press that a new restructuring is imminent. That is why this list could be revised when and if the bill comes into force.

At this time, we do not believe that Air Canada Online falls under federal jurisdiction, and it should therefore not be subject to the Air Canada Public Participation Act.

By the same reasoning, the government was not prepared to fully support recommendation four, which requested that the new bill stipulate that Jazz, Air Canada Vacations, and Aeroplan be subject to part IV, language of service, of the Official Languages Act. However, the government will ensure that bilingual service to the public will be imposed on Air Canada Jazz, given its nature as a federally regulated undertaking, although it should be noted that the carrier was subject to these same requirements prior to Air Canada's restructuring.

The activities of Aeroplan and Air Canada Vacations, on the other hand, fall outside the scope of federal jurisdiction and therefore were never subject to the legislation prior to restructuring. As such, the bill does not subject Aeroplan and Air Canada Vacations to the official languages provisions of the Air Canada Public Participation Act.

I understand that Bill C-47 was supported in principle by all parties in the House. It is my hope that Bill C-29, with the minor amendments that have been incorporated as per the commissioner's and this committee's suggestions, will receive similar support.

That concludes my opening remarks, Mr. Chair. I would be pleased to answer any questions from committee members.

Air Canada Public Participation Act

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-29, An Act to amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)