Bill C-482 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Official Languages Act (Charter of the French Language) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

This enactment requires the Government of Canada to undertake not to obstruct the application of the Charter of the French Language in Quebec.

Official Languages Act

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is asking me the exact same question as my colleague on the constitutionality of the bill. The fact is that a number of studies were conducted. We did our homework. Before introducing Bill C-482, we did reviews, we worked, we conducted studies, and we heard stakeholders. The bill in no way conflicts with any constitutional guarantee relating to languages.

I repeat what professor Henri Brun, who is an eminent lawyer and professor of constitutional law, said himself. In his review of the bill, he stated the following:

Bill C-482 in no way conflicts with any constitutional guarantee relating to languages. On the contrary, it respects and promotes constitutional standards in this area. That bill also does not violate any principle governing the division of powers in our federation. On the contrary, it seeks to take advantage of one of the recognized means of promoting cooperative federalism. Therefore, Bill C-482 is airtight in terms of its constitutionality.

I would like to add that—

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague for her excellent speech. I would like to ask her this question. We know that the purpose of Bill C-482 is to amend the Official Languages Act, the Canada Labour Code and the Canada Business Corporations Act. We also know that the Conservative Party in fact tried to prevent this debate from being held, claiming that the bill was anti-constitutional.

I would like to hear my colleague’s opinion about its so-called anti-constitutional nature, which in the final analysis does not exist. The Conservative Party alone has objected to it being discussed here. That party, which supposedly recognizes the Quebec nation, has fought with all its might to try to prevent this debate from taking place.

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-482 proposes to amend the Official Languages Act, among other legislation. This bill seems to assume that the Official Languages Act is a barrier to the promotion and use of French in Quebec. And yet the last census, in 2006, disclosed a number of positive developments in this regard, such as the fact that a majority of recent immigrants, 75%, have adopted French, and that the proportion of the population that knows French has now reached 94.5%.

How can the Bloc Québécois demonstrate that the Official Languages Act and the existing rules governing language amount to an obstruction of the French fact in Quebec?

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

moved that Bill C-482, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act (Charter of the French Language) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise again to speak to Bill C-482. I would like to explain what Bill C-482 sets out to amend. First, it would amend the Official Languages Act to recognize French as the official language and the common language in Quebec. Therefore, the federal government would be required not to obstruct the application of the Charter of the French Language within Quebec.

As I begin my speech, I would like to review the elements that led to the creation of Bill C-482.

The starting point was the decision by the House of Commons to recognize Quebec as a nation more than 140 years after Canada became a country.

The Quebec nation existed long before it was recognized. There has been consensus on that for some time now. The fact of the Quebec nation has transcended eras, political parties and debates. In 2003, well before the House of Commons finally decided to recognize it, Quebec's elected representatives in the National Assembly unanimously reiterated the fact that the Quebec people form a nation.

Long ago, the province of Quebec designated the place where elected representatives would sit as part of the National Assembly. The city in which the assembly sits has been given the noble and evocative title of “national capital”. The House of Commons' recognition of the Quebec nation, though slow in coming, was simply to be expected.

The decision to recognize a nation has consequences. Recognizing a nation means recognizing its institutions, its emblems, its traditions, its history, its territory, its culture and, inevitably, its language. The people of Quebec are well aware of this. They saw their government recognize first nations, a step that resulted in the signature of a historic agreement known as the Peace of the Braves.

Recognizing the Quebec nation means also recognizing the predominance of the French language. That predominance is ensured in Quebec by a piece of legislation, Bill 101, which makes French the official language throughout Quebec, except as concerns the federal government, which has two official languages. What we are asking the federal government is to be consistent in its decision making. After recognizing the Quebec nation, it is only natural that it should recognize and abide by the Charter of the French Language in Quebec in the Official Languages Act and comply with the spirit of the charter in regard to the language of signage and of work in related legislation.

Some people will say that such an arrangement is impossible. The question is whether Canada is the only country in the world to face such a situation. The answer is no.

Long before us, democracies such as Spain and the United Kingdom proved that it is possible to successfully combine multiple nations within a state. To do so, they relied on creative solutions that respected the coexistence of the national communities within and equipped themselves with the tools they needed to manage the areas where those communities differ.

No later than November 2006, Quebec's Minister for Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs delivered a speech on the subject of the Quebec nation in which he stated:

Quebec and Canada can learn from these experiences in other countries and find unique solutions adapted to their reality. These examples also demonstrate that, far from being a thing of the past, Quebec's desire to be recognized as a nation within Canada is more current than ever. Its legitimacy and feasibility are confirmed by the developments we have seen in other federations or quasi-federations. By respecting and recognizing sociological and political differences instead of denying them, and by translating them into special rights within their political system, these democracies avoided any futile or counterproductive social conflicts.

We must be creative in our pursuit of recognition. We must stop denying the complex character of our society and our national identities, and stop placing them in artificial categories. The reality of those countries experimenting with multi-nation states is just as complex as that of Quebec and Canada. We must not be tempted to abandon the debate, simply because it is a complex question, on the contrary.

Let us remember that those words did not come from an elected member working on Quebec's sovereignty; they came from a minister of a federalist government in Quebec City.

We find that Bill C-482 constitutes an original response that is adapted to the reality of Quebec and Canada. Recognizing the specificity of Quebec is not a whim; it is an overriding duty.

I want to remind hon. members that the Bloc Québécois bill is nothing new. The specific mention of provincial legislation in the text of federal legislation is possible and even common. We are talking about statutory reference. In other words, the government recognizes the provisions of another Canadian legislative assembly.

Take for example the Canada Labour Code, which sets the federal minimum wage according to provincial minimum wages. Section 178 states:

Except as otherwise provided by or under this Division, an employer shall pay to each employee a wage at a rate:

(a) not less than the minimum hourly rate fixed, from time to time, by or under an Act of the legislature of the province where the employee is usually employed and that is generally applicable regardless of occupation, status or work experience.

The Canada Labour Code is subject to amendment within the framework of this bill.

Federal or federally regulated companies are not affected by the Charter of the French Language, particularly insofar as the language of work is concerned. For example, interprovincial transportation companies, maritime transport and ports, air transport and airports, broadcasting, telecommunications, banks and certain companies declared by the Parliament of Canada to be for the general advantage of Canada are exempt. Some of these companies choose to abide by the charter, but it is all entirely voluntary.

An estimated 200,000 Quebeckers work under the Canada Labour Code, or more or less 7% of workers in Quebec.

The amendment to Part I of the Canada Labour Code states that federal companies are subject to the Charter of the French Language when they operate in Quebec. This responds to the request made in 2001 in the Larose report:

The francization of the workplace in Quebec also concerns the workplace of the federal government and workplaces under federal jurisdiction. That is why the Government of Canada should take the necessary measures to ensure that these workplaces respect language legislation when they are in Quebec.

This amendment does away with the legal void whereby federal work, undertaking or business can ignore the Charter of the French Language as concerns language of work. It is, however, important to note that many federal businesses decide on their own to commit to Quebec's Office de la langue française's program of francisation.

But what about those that decide to circumvent Bill 101? The response is distressing. Federal companies and companies under federal charter failing to comply with Bill 101 do so with impunity. Since 2000, 147 files have been closed at the Office de la langue française in Quebec. Its hands were tied because the companies were under federal jurisdiction. This figure includes only files arising from complaints. If no one complains, there is no file. So we can assume the number of delinquent businesses is greater.

This is taking place as a number of studies on the state of French in Quebec are being released. According to 2006 census figures, French has lost ground right across Canada, and in Quebec as well, even though more immigrants than ever speak French at home.

While the number of people with French as their mother tongue increased between 2001 and 2006, from 5.33 million to 6.29 million, their relative importance decreased, and they now represent only 22.1% of the population. This is from Statistics Canada. The figure was 22.9% in 2001 and 26.1% in 1971.

As regards the language used predominantly at home, the proportion of French is declining consistently, dropping from 26% in 1971 to 21% in 2006. The proportion of English rose in 2006 to the figure it stood at in 1971, of 67%. This figure reached 69% in 1986, shortly before the strong influx of immigrants speaking other languages. In the light of these figures, we cannot sit idle. Quebeckers, it is true, must do their part to change things.

I congratulate the leader of the Parti québécois on her courage in introducing a bill in the National Assembly on Quebec identity. The media made a great deal about it. This bill, to its credit, dares to look the facts in the face. It proposes better teaching of French to ensure the quality of French written and spoken in Quebec and promotes an understanding of Quebec's history, a mastery of spoken and written French and the enhancement of Quebec culture.

The bill on Quebec identity aims to help Quebec express its identity, through the passage of legislative provisions to ensure the preeminence of the French language as the language of work and economic activities and education in Quebec. Legislation will be passed to ensure the quality of written and spoken French in Quebec. I am proud to recognize and pay tribute to this initiative.

Bill C-482 will require the federal government to recognize the Charter of the French Language within Quebec and extend its application to businesses under federal jurisdiction.

An amendment to the Official Languages Act is needed to eliminate all ambiguity. It must be clear in the act that French is the official language of Quebec. We therefore consider it important to amend the preamble so that it provides that the federal government recognizes that French is the official language of Quebec and the common language in Quebec.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite talks, but does not talk about Bill C-482 brought forward by the Bloc Québécois because she has nothing to say on this topic. She was seen and heard laughing earlier when I spoke to the motion.

After one of my questions, the member and the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages said in the House that their government was promoting both official languages, and it is true. The Conservative Party and the Conservative government are promoting both official languages in Quebec.

The Conservative government does not protect the interests of Quebeckers. It cannot offer any protection because these interests include the French language. The Conservative government is « powerless » and cannot do anything for the French language. « Powerless » is one of the favourite words of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

We, the Bloc, are the ones who stand for the Quebec nation, its fundamental rights, its civil code and its language. In fact, the Canada Post Corporation gave us a clear reminder about this fact during the week. It printed a calendar without the Fête nationale des Québécois. This is an insult to all Quebeckers. The Canada Post Corporation has a corporate culture—

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I would like to correct what my friend Mr. Gravel just said. Unless I am mistaken, Bill C-482 from the Bloc Québécois is aimed at private undertakings under federal jurisdiction and not at the public service. There is a difference.

With regard to Montreal, I do not know whether the study is finished. We heard on the news that Montreal was becoming more anglophone than francophone. We hear about the Island of Montreal, but has the entire Montreal region been fully studied? Many people have left Montreal to settle on the south shore, in the area around Taschereau Boulevard, in what is now called region 10-30.

Bill C-482

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last November I tabled Bill C-482 to amend the Official Languages Act. The amendments proposed by the Bloc Québécois would require the federal government to recognize Quebec's Charter of the French Language.

Yesterday, at the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, this bill was deemed votable by everyone except the Conservatives. Those who boast constantly about having recognized the Quebec nation refuse to even vote on a fundamental aspect of this very nation: the French language.

The Conservatives attempted to impede debate on the primacy of the French language by citing false constitutional arguments. In one fell swoop they clearly demonstrated that the motion adopted by this House on the Quebec nation is nothing but empty words and that the recognition is meaningless.

Recognition of the Quebec nation means respecting the primacy of Bill 101 in Quebec.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Gary Goodyear, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding Bill C-482.

Pursuant to Standing Order 92(3)(b) the committee hereby reports that it does not concur in the first report of the Subcommittee on Private Members' Business and is of the opinion that Bill C-482, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act (Charter of the French Language) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts should remain votable.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Yes.

We examined the various pieces of legislation and the federal charters. We found nothing that made it possible to... Obviously, there is a political debate—that has to be acknowledged—about whether it is desirable to have businesses under federal jurisdiction made subject to the Charter of the French language in Quebec, in order to promote the common language of our nation. We did not find anything.

As I have already mentioned, the 1867 Constitution Act refers only to the Parliament of Canada, the Quebec legislature and the courts.

Subsection 16(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states:

16.(1) English and French are the official languages of Canada and have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada.

It does not talk about businesses under federal jurisdiction and subject to the Canada Labour Code. As I mentioned, there are precedents already. For example, where the minimum wage is concerned, the Canada Labour Code applies the minimum wage legislation in each province and there is no uniform federal minimum wage.

I would like to call the attention of the members of the committee to clause 13 of Bill C-15, An Act respecting the exploitation of the Donkin coal block and employment in or in connection with the operation of a mine that is wholly or partly at the Donkin coal block, and to make a consequential amendment to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act. The clause deals with regulatory powers, and subsection 13(3) states:

13.(3) The regulations referred to in subsections (1) and (2) may incorporate by reference in whole or in part any Act of the province or instruments made under such an Act, as amended from time to time, with any adaptation that the Governor in Council considers necessary.

This approach was used again recently. So nothing technically would prevent us from including provisions in the Official Languages Act and the Canada Labour Code to have the Charter of the French language, Bill 101, apply to businesses under federal jurisdiction in Quebec.

We are not talking about federal institutions. You know that the language of work in federal institutions is governed by the Public Service Staff Relation Act. That is a completely different matter. When we are talking about federal departments and agencies, it is a different matter.

In our opinion, there needs to be a political debate. That may be what side tracked some members of the committee. They came to hasty conclusions rather than dealing strictly with the form of the motion regarding the bill's “votability”. That debate should take place.

We will see how the debate goes. But it would be quite contradictory if the committee were to decide that Bill C-482 was not votable for reasons that do not hold water.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Yes, all right. I want to inform all the committee members and Ms. Robillard of the arguments contain in the letter tabled by Ms. Picard.

We found several provisions in federal legislation that deal with language. For instance, the 1867 Constitutional Act deals with it under section 133, but that deals with the Parliament of Canada, the chambers of the Quebec legislature and the drafting of courts documents. It says nothing at all about private business, or about federal jurisdiction over private business.

Therefore, this cannot apply to Bill C-482.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, colleagues.

As stated clearly in the letter provided by my colleague, Pauline Picard, who has appeared before the committee, Bill C-482 is in full compliance with the Canadian Constitution. Indeed, the Bloc Québécois took great pains to ensure that it did not violate the Constitution. That is why the bill's scope is limited. Pauline Picard mentioned that earlier.

The constitutional rules applying to linguistic matters are identical for private businesses under Quebec and federal jurisdiction. In Quebec, the Charter of the French Language applies to private businesses under Quebec's jurisdiction, and its provisions are fully in compliance with the Constitution.

All that our bill seeks to do is to incorporate, by reference—which is a common procedure—the provisions of the Charter of the French Language into federal legislation so that the provisions apply on Quebec territory. Legislation that is constitutional when it applies to Quebec does not become unconstitutional when it is incorporated into federal law. In fact, incorporation by reference is frequent in federal legislation.

For example, although the Supreme Court decided in 1966 that the Quebec Minimum Wage Act could not be applied to businesses under federal jurisdiction—like all provincial legislation, incidentally—the Canada Labour Code currently incorporates by reference the provisions of provincial legislation to set the minimum wage for employees under federal jurisdiction.

The pretext that has been used, in particular by the members of the Conservative Party of Canada, is completely specious. It is an unsubtle tactic to prevent the House from voting on a bill that some people in Canada might be uncomfortable with.

The fact is that in November 2006, a year ago, all parties in this House formally recognized the Quebec nation. Either that recognition was sincere and meaningful, or it was a pointless, empty gesture. If you acknowledge the existence of Quebec as a nation, you also recognize that for the French, the common public language is French and the language of work is French. In Quebec, everyone is in agreement on this: the National Assembly and all the parties, including the Liberal Party of Quebec and the Action démocratique du Québec.

The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized that Quebec was justified in adopting legislative measures to protect the French language. The Prime Minister, who is the leader of the Conservative Party, said the same thing in his speech last Friday in Rivière-du-Loup. I would invite all members, but particularly those from the Conservative Party, to listen carefully to what their leader, the Prime Minister, stated:

[My] Conservative government practises a federalism of openness that respects Quebec's historical, cultural and linguistic distinctiveness and gives it the flexibility and autonomy it needs to maintain its francophone identity [...]

The “flexibility and autonomy... [...] to maintain its francophone identity” is what the Conservative leader said and what our bill is about, quite simply.

Does the Prime Minister say things just to deceive Quebeckers, or is he sincere? Either the members of this committee have to walk the talk in keeping with their recognition of the Quebec nation and the Prime Minister's statements and therefore make C-482 a votable bill, or Bill C-482 will not be votable and Quebeckers will have to conclude that recognition of our nation by the NDP, the Liberal Party of Canada and the Conservative Party of Canada was just an empty gesture.

If the committee members do not allow a debate and vote on our Bill C-482, Quebeckers will see clearly that the behaviour of the Conservative Party of Canada toward Quebec can be summed up in a word: hypocrisy.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[Michel Bédard, Committee Researcher]

While we are waiting for the copies of the report to be distributed, I will read it out loud to you.

The Subcommittee on Private Members' Affairs has the honour to present its FIRST REPORT Pursuant to Standing Order 92(1)(a), the Subcommittee has agreed that Bill C-482, an Act to amend the Official Languages Act (Charter of the French Language) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts , should be designated as non-votable, on the basis that it contravenes the criterion that bills and motions must not clearly violate the Constitution Acts 1867 to 1982, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

We have come here before you today to demonstrate that Bill C-482, an Act to amend the Official Languages Act (Charter of the French Language) and to make consequential amendments to other acts, of which I am the sponsor, does not in any way violate the Canadian Constitution and that it should therefore be deemed to be votable by this committee.

I provided a written argument to this effect this morning to the committee chair. However, before dealing with the constitutional issue, I would first like us briefly to review the provisions in this bill.

To begin with, it proposes four amendments to the Official Languages Act, aimed basically at specifying that French is the official language of Quebec and that the federal government must not obstruct the application of the Charter of the French Language in Quebec.

The bill amends the Canada Labour Code to make any federal work, undertaking or business carrying on activities in Quebec subject to the requirements of the Charter of the French Language.

Finally, it amends the Canada Business Corporations Act by requiring that the name of a corporation that carries on business in Quebec shall be in a form that meets the requirements of the Charter of the French Language.

I will now give the floor to my colleague, Pierre Paquette, the Bloc Québécois House Leader, who will speak to you about the constitutional issue.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

Thank you. I have just been told by our clerks and analysts that we can be ready to report this bill to the House today.

Thank you for that, colleagues, and thank you very much for your consideration today.

We now have the opportunity to move to our final bit of business today.

Madame Picard and Mr. Paquette, please have a seat. We will move on to our business.

Thank you very much. Colleagues, our final business for this meeting is concerning the private members' business on Bill C-482. I will open the floor for comments.

I'm not sure if a decision has been made about who will speak first, but I'll open the floor.

Madame Picard, please make your opening statement to the committee.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

Ladies and gentlemen, let's bring our meeting to order.

First, I want to apologize briefly—simply because we're running a little short on time—for starting late this morning. We had some business in the chamber that had to be attended to. So we're starting right away, following a vote in the House, pursuant to the committee's order of reference of Friday, November 16, 2007, on Bill C-18, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act, in regard to verification of residence.

During the second hour of this meeting we're going to begin discussions and consideration of the first report of the Subcommittee on Private Members' Business regarding Bill C-482.

Colleagues, this morning we have a number of witnesses. We have two witnesses here in the room with us, as well as three by video conference.

To the witnesses, in a moment's time I'm going to give you each no more than two minutes to introduce yourself and, if you choose, provide us with an opening statement. That will allow members more time to ask questions that are very specific to their needs.

I want to remind members and witnesses that we have been dealing with a few bills that are very similar. I'm going to listen very carefully and try to keep us on topic and relevant to the topic this morning, which is the rural address identification and verification issue.