That Bill C‑13, in clause 21, be amended by replacing line 15 on page 13 with the following:
the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the provincial and territorial governments make regulations in
Ginette Petitpas Taylor Liberal
This bill has received Royal Assent and is, or will soon become, law.
This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament has also written a full legislative summary of the bill.
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 .
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
That Bill C‑13, in clause 21, be amended by replacing line 15 on page 13 with the following:
the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the provincial and territorial governments make regulations in
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
I'm very disappointed to hear my colleague's comment, even before I presented my amendment, about how he was going to vote against it. That's how Liberals do things.
Mr. Chair, I simply want to introduce amendment CPC-30. I propose that Bill C‑13, in clause 21, be amended by adding after line 9 on page 13 the following:
“(9.1) When engaging in consultations, every federal institution shall: (a) gather information to test its positive measures; (b) propose positive measures that have not been finalized; (c) seek the opinions of English and French linguistic minority communities about the positive measures that are the subject of the consultations; (d) provide the participants with all relevant information on which those positive measures are based; (e) openly and meaningfully consider their opinions; (f) be prepared to alter those positive measures; and (g) provide them with feedback, both during the consultation process and after a decision has been made.
We are not making up this wording, Mr. Chair. It comes from another bill, Bill C‑11. Our experts are not just improvising. I think this aspect is important.
Pursuant to the Federal Court's 2021 decision in Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique v Canada (Employment and Social Development), there is an obligation to consult.
It's not an added burden for public servants, Mr. Chair. Minority communities will at least know where they stand. I think they deserve this respect, because minorities have to do battle on an everyday basis.
It's one more tool, and that's why I think it's important. Unfortunately, we just heard, right before I was introducing my amendment, that the Liberals are going to vote against it. I'm very disappointed with this attitude, but it's not the first time we've seen it.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
I just wanted to point out to Ms. Lattanzio that it is already referred to in Bill C‑13, making it a matter of strengthening this and ensuring that the bill doesn't have a negative impact on the community. So it's rather a clarification and a reinforcement of what's already in the bill.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
The francophone communities outside Quebec that we heard from at the beginning of the study of Bill C‑13 emphasized the importance of this point. The goal is to try and avoid negative impacts and to protect the rights of these communities, while strengthening support for them.
I want to underscore the fact that this question was raised several times by the communities.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It is with great pleasure that I present amendment NDP‑8, which seeks to add an essential step in the federal government's negotiations with the provinces and territories: negotiating language clauses for minority communities. In proposing this amendment to Bill C‑13, we want language clauses to be included in agreements with the provinces, unless it is impossible, which should rarely be the case.
This amendment is being moved thanks to the hard work of the francophone and Acadian communities that have endured underfunding for their essential services for years. Those communities have to fight constantly to protect their services, often services for which federal funding is provided.
I want to recognize the people who fought to keep Hôpital Montfort here in Ottawa, to preserve Campus Saint-Jean in Alberta, or to protect higher education in Sudbury and in the north. I want to recognize the people who are waiting for childcare in French all across Canada, including in communities like mine in Thompson, Manitoba. I want to recognize the people who wish to receive their healthcare in French. The purpose of this amendment is to mark a historic turning point for all these people.
Thanks to the solution we are proposing to add today, the federal government will no longer be able to forget the minority language communities of Canada and will ensure that language clauses are included, to protect and promote French everywhere in Canada.
Arielle Kayabaga Liberal London West, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Amendment LIB‑16 proposes that Bill C‑13, in clause 21, be amended by adding after line 21 on page 12 the following:
(iii.1) foster the re‑establishment and growth of the demographic weight of French linguistic minority communities,
As with the other amendment I recently proposed, the reason behind this one is that we need to continue to foster the growth of francophone minority communities in Canada. We can rely on immigration or use any other method to see the francophone community outside Quebec expand.
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
In fact, I would say these are adjustments, but they are important.
In point (a), the amendment proposes to amend clause 21 of the bill by replacing line 14 on page 12 with the following:
(c) shall include measures, among others, to
In point b), the amendment proposes to amend clause 21 by replacing line 25 on page 12 with the following:
if those measures are consistent with the mandate of the federal institution in question, and
In point (c), the amendment proposes to amend clause 21 by replacing line 32 on page 12 with the following:
strong institutions serving those communities, if those measures are consistent with the mandate of the federal institution in question.
In point (d), the amendment proposes to amend clause 21 by replacing lines 34 and 35 on page 12 with the following:
shall, on the basis of analyses,
Last, in point (e), the amendment proposes to amend clause 21 by replacing line 41 on page 12 with the following:
the possibilities for avoiding or, at least, mitigating those negative impacts.
I think these adjustments will simply strengthen Bill C‑13 and give it more teeth.
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
We will now resume the discussions concerning clause 21 of Bill C‑13.
We have got to the new version of amendment BQ‑32.
Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor.
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
The motion is as follows:
That, in relation to the 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 : Consideration of clause 27.1 to clause 52 of Bill C‑13 be postponed to the end of clause‑by‑clause consideration.
You have received a copy, Madam Clerk.
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
On that subject, also, I have made a decision I would like to inform the committee of. You can correct me if I am mistaken.
At the last meeting, before the end of the sitting, a motion was moved by Mr. Godin, to which Ms. Ashton proposed an amendment, which was agreed to by the committee. Words like "leaves out" and "stricken out" were used, and that might have made the effect of the amendment on the main motion ambiguous.
The decision I have made is this. The committee can tell me quickly, by unanimous consent, whether it approves it or not.
The first point in Mr. Godin's motion asked that "the committee proceed with clause‑by‑clause consideration of the Bill for a duration of four supplemental meetings, at a frequency of two meetings per week." Ms. Ashton's amendment, adopted by the committee, asked specifically that it instead be "6.5 hours of meeting". I think that was clearly understood by everyone.
The second point in Mr. Godin's motion proposed that "consideration of clause 54 of Bill C‑13 be postponed to the end of clause‑by‑clause consideration and be subject to debate." I am making the decision to retain the second point of the motion in full. After listening to the meeting again and rereading the unrevised transcript several times, I realized that there really was confusion. Given that ambiguity, I prefer to have the amendment alter the main motion as little as possible.
I want to be sure we all understand this clearly. To summarize, Mr. Godin's amended motion refers to "6.5 hours of meeting", in accordance with the amendment adopted earlier that was clearly understood by everyone. The second point of the motion remains intact.
Does the committee unanimously consent to this decision?
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
I call the meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 53 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages.
Pursuant to our routine motion, I want to let you know that all members and all witnesses did the necessary connection tests before the meeting.
Pursuant to the order of reference adopted on Monday, May 30, 2022, the committee is resuming its examination 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.
Welcome to the officials from the Department of Canadian Heritage, Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, who are here to support the committee on technical issues.
From the Department of Canadian Heritage, we again have with us Ms. Boyer, Mr. Fallu and Ms. Terrien.
From the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, we have Mr. Saint-Germain, who will be joining us shortly by videoconference.
From Treasury Board Secretariat, we again have Mr. Quell with us.
Before beginning, I would like to give you a few updates.
Mr. Beaulieu, are you wanting to speak to the agenda?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we are extremely proud of the work our team did on Bill C-13 to protect linguistic minorities across the country. We will always be there to protect official language minorities across Canada.
That is why we will continue to move forward. I would like to emphasize that it is also important, by the way, to stand up against the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause, an issue on which this member has unfortunately been weaker than the communities would have liked.
We will always defend linguistic minorities across the country.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Mr. Speaker, the modernization of the Official Languages Act should be a historic moment. This is our chance to support French in this country and linguistic minority communities.
Despite the fact that it is their own bill, the Liberals are in chaos. They are taking contradictory positions, and several MPs are threatening to vote against Bill C-13.
Where is the Liberal vision? French is in decline in Quebec and in Canada. We must take action.
Rather than playing political games on the backs of these communities, can the Prime Minister assure us that his caucus will vote in favour of Bill C-13?
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Fine.
In that case, we are adding two minutes, at the most, and we will then adjourn the meeting.
First, we have to consider Ms. Ashton's amendment.
Correct me if I'm wrong, Ms. Ashton.
Ms. Ashton is proposing to add six and a half additional hours for debating the remaining clauses. That's all. If I have understood correctly, there is no mention of postponing the consideration of clause 54 of Bill C-13 to the end.
Is that it, Ms. Ashton?
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
I'd like to introduce a motion. Once again, for the wording, I have no ill intent, but I'm asking that my colleagues cooperate to get it worded correctly so that it's compliant and in order.
I move that, in connection with the 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, we extend the consideration time for four more meetings. In addition, I move that consideration of clause 54 of Bill C‑13 be postponed to the end of clause-by-clause consideration and be subject to debate before the end of the closure of this clause.