Bill C-13

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

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

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

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

It's just that the amendment is long. I was hesitating since we do not have much time.

Allow me to summarize.

If we agree to this amendment, it would make Treasury Board entirely responsible for the application of the Official Languages Act and ensuring that measures are taken to achieve the act's objectives.

I think the committee must be consistent in its work and make sure amendment CPC‑41 is agreed to. It is a major amendment, which once again confirms what all official-language minority community organizations have requested, namely, that there be just one boss.

At present, four or five people are responsible for the implementation of the act. So the responsibility is divided and it gets lost. There is the Minister of Official Languages, who is not even mentioned in the act. There is also the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the President of Treasury Board, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

We want to centralize this responsibility. I think it makes a lot of sense to have just one boss. That does not mean that the others will not play a role, but that person would be the watchdog and would hold others to account for obtaining results.

That is why amendment CPC‑41 expands this notion to all of Bill C‑13. This notion appears at the beginning of the bill, but I think it must be strengthened. I expect my colleagues who supported amendment CPC‑7 to follow suit and not weaken what was decided at the outset or obstruct the process intended to give Treasury Board tools. I think this is very important.

If I may, Mr. Chair, I have a question for Ms. Boyer.

Who will be responsible for the implementation of the proposed clause 44.1, which pertains to Citizenship and Immigration?

That is one example. I could have mentioned any other department.

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

Mr. Chair, amendment CPC‑41 is very important, in our view, because it strengthens Bill C‑13. I would say that it reaffirms the effect of amendment CPC‑7 regarding Treasury Board and the role of the central agency. If the committee wants to be consistent, I think all parties should agree to amendment CPC‑41.

Shall I read it out, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu.

Bill C‑13 amends the Official Languages Act by, among other things, providing for the importance of collaboration with provincial and territorial governments.

The amendment provides for making the implementation of part VII of the act conditional on the conclusion of a framework agreement between the federal and Quebec governments, which is a new concept not provided for in the bill. That is not in the bill as passed by the House of Commons at second reading.

On page 770 of the third edition of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, it states:

An amendment to a bill that was referred to a committee after second reading is out of order if it is beyond the scope and principle of the bill.

Unfortunately, the chair is of the opinion that, for the reasons mentioned earlier, the amendment is beyond the scope of the bill. Therefore, I declare this amendment inadmissible.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

So we are continuing our consideration of clause 24 of Bill C‑13.

The committee had reached amendment BQ‑49, which is on page 133 of our amendment package.

Mr. Beaulieu, would you like to move this amendment?

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Before we get into the debate, there is one last thing I want to bring to your attention.

At our last meeting, I told you that I was going to explore options for meeting dates to expedite the process, including during the parliamentary break. Our clerk, Ms. Legault, has done the work and has been able to secure some meeting dates. I asked that we hold block meetings. In other words, instead of holding meetings twice a week, we would hold back-to-back meetings on the same day. This is on the condition that the committee members are available, of course. So it would be April 5, which is next Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. We would sit for one day during that week. Then we would have the following Thursday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

I would like us to take a few minutes to talk about this.

If we could keep to this schedule, we could complete the study of Bill C-13 before our clerk gives birth to her child. We asked that the study be completed before that because our goal is to keep her with us until the end.

So I'm opening the floor up for debate or questions. I, for one, am really willing to make that sacrifice. If things go well today, we may even finish the whole thing in one of these blocks.

Mr. Généreux, the floor is yours.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I call this meeting to order, so I ask for some calmness and discipline.

Welcome to meeting number 55 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages.

I would like to inform the committee that, before the meeting, all the members completed the required connection and sound tests.

Pursuant to the order of reference of Monday, May 30, 2022, the committee is resuming consideration of Bill C‑13, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts.

Our committee will hold two meetings today: one this morning, from 8:45 to 10:45 a.m., and another one this afternoon, from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Both meetings will fulfill the terms of the motion passed on March 10 to add a total of six and a half hours of floor time to debate clauses of Bill C‑13 and proposed amendments.

At the next meeting, to be held on Tuesday, April 18, pursuant to the motion adopted on December 1, all remaining amendments shall be deemed to be proposed, and I shall put forthwith and successively, without further debate, all remaining amendments before the committee, all remaining clauses of the bill, and each question necessary to dispose of the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill and report the bill to the House.

I now welcome the officials who are here to support our committee and answer technical questions. Some of them have been supporting us in our work for quite some time now. We have with us once again Ms. Boyer, Mr. Fallu and Ms. Terrien from the Department of Canadian Heritage, as well as Mr. Newman from the Department of Justice. We also welcome Karim Adam and Daniel Cadieux from the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Did I forget to mention anyone? I don't think so. I felt like someone was missing, as we were used to seeing Mr. Quell at the table, but he is not here today. He's allowed to take a vacation.

I would ask for the attention of the committee members before we get to the heart of the matter.

At my request, the clerk has sent to you a message from Statistics Canada. You will recall that, as a result of an amendment proposed by Ms. Kayabaga, there was an error in the percentage of immigration. It said 6.6% instead of 6.1%. You received the same letter I did. I will explain what is going on with that.

Statistics Canada contacted the committee regarding Ms. Ashton's subamendment to amend LIB‑8, which was subsequently adopted, on February 7. The amended version of the amendment that currently appears in the report is:

That Bill C‑13, in Clause 6, be amended by adding after line 8 on page 5 the following: “restoration means, in respect of the demographic weight of French linguistic minority communities, the return of the demographic weight of all those communities whose first official language spoken is French to its level at the time of the census of population of Canada taken by Statistics Canada in 1971, namely, 6.6% of the population outside Quebec. (rétablissement)”

Statistics Canada has contacted us with the following clarification:

[Translation] According to the 1971 census, the demographic weight of the population with French as their first official language spoken was 6.1%, not 6.6%. This proportion of 6.1% is obtained after distribution of multiple languages, and thus includes two components: 1) the population with only French as their first official language spoken and 2) half of the population with both French and English as their first official language spoken.

As a result, the amended amendment we passed on February 7 should read 6.1%, instead of 6.6%.

A request for verification was made to ensure that we had the correct numbers.

I seek the committee's unanimous consent to make the change suggested by Statistics Canada. Therefore, the number that would appear in LIB‑8 as amended by Ms. Ashton's subamendment would be 6.1%.

Mr. Godin, do you have a question?

International Mother Language Day Act

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

Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House on behalf of the NDP in support of Bill S-214, a bill that proposes to recognize international mother language day, that recognizes the value of linguistic and cultural diversity in our country.

This is a bill that is important, because of the value statement it makes clear, that we, here in Canada, are proud of our mother tongues, of our linguistic and cultural diversity. I am proud to be a Canadian, the daughter of immigrants, whose first language is not one of our official languages, but my own language, Greek.

[Member spoke in Greek]

[English]

I am proud to have the opportunity to be able to speak my language, Greek with my two children who are now five years old. I am proud that they are able to claim Greek as their own mother tongue.

Our mother tongues are who we are. They are our roots. They are our stories. They are our strengths. They are our future.

Today, it is important to reinforce that we cannot just recognize, we need to actively support the survival and strengthening of our mother tongues. We must do that with concrete actions. Perhaps the most important thing that we could do is support indigenous languages here in Canada.

While there are more than 70 indigenous languages spoken in Canada, many of them are endangered, as the majority of them maintain fewer than 1,000 fluent speakers. I want to acknowledge the work of my colleague, the member of Parliament for Nunavut, who often communicates in Inuktitut and is clear on the responsibility that Parliament has to interpret and communicate in Inuktitut and other indigenous languages.

We must be clear that this situation, in which so many indigenous languages are endangered, did not just happen. It is the result of genocide, of colonialism, of the residential school system, of the sixties scoop, of the foster care crisis. In saying that, we have the power to reverse that damage that has been done. That means action through funding, investment and legislation.

Canada must step up to work with indigenous communities in supporting their education and the revival, for many communities, of their indigenous language as a mother tongue.

I am proud of the work that is done in my home community of Thompson on Treaty 5 territory to bring back Cree in the Cree immersion system at Wapanohk Community School. We need to see much more being done across the country.

I also want to acknowledge that there is a lot of work to be done to protect French and stop its decline in our country. That is why I am proud of the work we are doing in the NDP to improve Bill C‑13. The Official Languages Act is a law that needs to be modernized to stop the decline of French in the country, including in Quebec.

We need to acknowledge that the survival of the French language is key to the future of our country. We need to support it with meaningful measures, immigration measures and protection measures, such as the inclusion of linguistic clauses in our agreements. Of course, the federal government needs to have a lot more power to support French in the country.

I want to recognize that many of us grew up, certainly my generation grew up, proud to be part of a multicultural country, but we need to recognize and strengthen those cultures. We need to make sure that Canadian education systems and Canadian society is supporting the education of the multitude of languages of communities that come here.

We heard about Tagalog, Punjabi, Mandarin and so many languages that are spoken by so many Canadians. We need to make sure that the children of these immigrants, if their parents or if they want, have the opportunity to learn their language, through their schools, in after-school programs, on the weekends.

I am proud to have been a Greek school teacher in Winnipeg, Manitoba while I was attending university. This work is done heroically by many ethnic communities across our country to teach the next generation the language of their parents and grandparents; their language. However, that work requires resources and support, and the Government of Canada needs to be part of the solution.

So, yes, today let us recognize the importance of mother tongues. Let us recognize the strength that this recognition gives to our country. More importantly, let us act through funding, investment and support, so we can all continue to speak the languages that belong to us.

[Member spoke in Greek]

[English]

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

Yes, Mr. Chair. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak.

I am not a member of this Committee, but I am the Conservative official languages critic.

It has been brought to my attention, and one of the analysts mentioned it as well, that McKinsey provided 91,000 pages of documents for the Committee’s study of the report. Various government departments and agencies also provided documents.

According toHouse of Commons Procedure and Practice:

Federal departments and agencies must submit their documents to committees in both official languages. Any other individual, including a member of Parliament, may submit written documents in either official language.

So this is not about the 91,000 pages provided by McKinsey; rather, it is about documents provided by departments.

The clerk received a letter on March 25 from the Department of Employment and Social Development indicating to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates that they were unable to provide their documents in both official languages.

I will read part of that letter, signed by the Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development, Jean-François Tremblay:

Please be advised that in order to meet this commitment, certain concessions were made with regard to the sequencing of the documents contained in the French instalment […]

I would remind you that House of Commons Procedure and Practice stipulates that documents presented to committees must be provided in both official languages. The procedural guide does not state that concessions must be made.

As you know, the Standing Committee on Official Languages is currently studying Bill C-13, which aims to modernize the Official Languages Act. In Canada, there are two official languages, but only one is in decline: French. In my opinion, this information should be included in the report.

I consider it unacceptable to make concessions with respect to one of our two official languages, whether it be English or French. In this case, it is French. This will be a sensitive issue as long as Canada remains a bilingual country. I emphasize the word “bilingual”; in Canada, that includes English and French. I remind you that though the Governor General of Canada is bilingual, she does not speak French.

It is important that the clerk and members of the Committee realize that the rights of members who speak only French are being violated. Yet this is a parliamentary right. As a Member of Parliament, I believe that the very least we can do is respect that right.

I will continue reading the Deputy Minister’s letter. It explains why the French documents were not provided in time by saying that it is “due to the technological limitations that cannot be addressed within the current time constraints.”

What kind of behaviour is that? How can the members of the Committee accept this situation? Parliamentarians’ rights are being violated, and that indirectly affects respect for one of our two official languages.

I would like this to be reflected in the report or for the study of this report to be postponed, since not all parliamentarians who work in French have had access to the same information, which is unacceptable.

I thought it was important to share this with you, Mr. Chair. Indeed, as long as Canada is a bilingual country, we are obliged, as parliamentarians, to ensure that the use of both official languages is respected and that House of Commons procedures, which require all federal departments and agencies to provide documents in French and English, are respected as well. This should not be done by making concessions or reducing the text.

Take the example of a document you received here, which contains 800 pages in French and 1,000 pages in English. An analysis of translated documents tells us that the French version of a document that was translated from English contains 10% more words. In this case, the document would therefore be at least 300 pages short.

Which parts of this information are not available to French-speaking Members of Parliament?

I think it is important that this be brought to your attention and taken into consideration to prevent such a situation from recurring. In my opinion, the drafting of the report should be postponed until all members of this committee have access to all the documents, both in French and in English. They will have to be translated in an acceptable manner so as to respect the meaning or interpretation of each word.

That is all, Chair. I apologize, I don’t mean to be…

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Before adjourning the meeting, I'd like to tell you where we stand with respect to the meeting times.

Our next meeting will be on Friday, March 31.

Please note that there will not be a meeting on Friday, March 24, because that's the day President Biden will be visiting us, as you know.

Nor will there be a meeting on Tuesday, March 28, because that's the day of the budget speech.

As of now, we have four and a half meeting hours remaining for the the clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-13.

Stay tuned, because we might well have an opportunity to meet on the afternoon of Friday, March 31.

Keep that in mind before we adjourn the meeting.

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

Mr. Chair, I'm very pleased and proud to introduce amendment CPC‑39. It's along the same lines as the one introduced by my Liberal colleague Mr. Samson. It simply reinforces the importance of giving school boards and educational institutions in Canada access to federal properties. I will read it. It's quite long.

I move that Bill C‑13, in Clause 23, be amended by adding after line 22 on page 15 the following:

44.2(1) Before disposing of federal real property or a federal immovable, the federal institution that manages it shall consult any official language minority school board or commission and any other interested official language minority community organizations that serve the area in which the property or a movable is located with regard to their needs and interests in relation to it. (2) Before selling or leasing the property or movable in question, the federal institution shall offer interested official language minority community organizations (a) in the case of property or an immovable whose area does not exceed 12 acres, the opportunity to purchase or lease it in whole or in part; (b) in the case of property or any movable whose area exceeds 12 acres, the opportunity to purchase or lease up to 12 acres.

Mr. Chair, I feel it's important to say that organizations are not looking for a handout. They want to cover the costs. They also want access to land. There is currently a problem in British Columbia, and we need to look to that and put very specific language in Bill C‑13 that will prevent these kinds of situations in the future and provide access to land.

Mr. Chair, the problem isn't that not enough students want to learn French. The problem is infrastructure. Therefore, we must give organizations access to the infrastructure to meet their needs, because classes are overflowing.

Let's give ourselves tools as a federal government. Let's take responsibility and ensure that these organizations have access to federal assets and buildings that are going to be neglected or put on the market. In my opinion, it would be legitimate to give them priority.

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

It looks like it's my turn again, Mr. Chair.

We're introducing CPC‑40 for the same reasons.

I move that Bill C‑13, in Clause 23, be amended by adding after line 22 on page 15 the following:

(c) a statement that the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of francophone immigration to economic development.

We're adding paragraph (c) to paragraphs (a) and (b) of this bill. I don't believe I need to repeat what I've been saying for several weeks at committee meetings. People are aware of the Conservative Party's views.

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

Mr. Chair, earlier, my colleague introduced an amendment related to immigration, and my remarks are somewhat along the same lines. I believe that words are important and that we need to give ourselves tools to be more demanding and firmer and obtain better results in terms of immigration.

We know that results have been abysmal—forgive me for using such a strong word—in the past. This year, the government met its target of 4.4%, but it took several years. As the FCFA said, we need to catch up and set the target at 20% for the next few years to restore the demographic weight of Francophones.

I therefore move that Bill C‑13, in Clause 23, be amended by replacing lines 18 to 20 on page 15 with the following:

“(b) a statement that the Government of Canada is committed to restoring and increasing the demographic”

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

I move that the French version of Bill C‑13, in clause 23, be amended, (a), by replacing lines 13 and 14 on page 15 with the following:

cophone visant à favoriser l'épanouissement des minorités francophones du Canada, notamment en assurant le rétablissement et l'accroissement de leur poids démographique.

And (b), by adding after line 16 on page 15 the following:

b) des mécanismes de communication de l'information et de reddition de compte.

The changes are different in English. I want to read out the English version too, because the lines are a little different.

It says that Bill C-13, in clause 23, be amended by, (a), replacing line 15 on page 15 with the following:

ties in Canada, including by restoring and increasing their demographic weight.

It continues, (b), deleting, at line 17 on page 15, the word “and” after “(a) objectives, targets and indicators;” and, (c), adding, after line 17 on page 15, the following:

(b) mechanisms for information sharing and for reporting; and

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

I move that Bill C‑13, in clause 23, be amended by replacing lines 13 to 15 on page 15 with the following:

shall adopt a policy on francophone immigration to re‑establish and augment the demographic weight of French-speaking Canadians, including in Quebec, that respects the provisions of the Canada-Quebec Accord relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens.

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

Mr. Chair, I move that Bill C‑13, in clause 23, be amended by replacing lines 13 to 15 on page 15 with the following:

shall adopt a policy on francophone immigration whose purpose is to restore and increase the demographic weight of French linguistic minority communities in Canada in order to enhance their vitality.

Mr. Chair, by presenting this amendment I feel like I am speaking on behalf of the FCFA. This amendment is also a supplementary tool in the act for ensuring that attention is paid to this issue.