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]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, thank you for being here today.

We all have the same objective: to work at strengthening bilingualism in Canada, both English and French.

You said in your statement that you had conducted many consultations. I believe that's true because we've seen your itinerary. You have a very busy schedule. So I'm satisfied that you met with the representatives of organizations.

However, I'd like to know something. We've had the white paper, BillC-32 and the consultation that you conducted this past year. Did you hear loud and clear what the representatives of the official language minority communities told you?

I'm going to talk to you right now about the first demand of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne, the FCFA. It has requested that the Treasury Board be designated as the central agency responsible for implementing Bill C-13. Do you support that request, which I believe is unanimous among all the communities represented by the FCFA?

We can see that there's some confusion. Earlier the Minister of Canadian Heritage didn't seem to be aware of the issue. He gave you all the responsibilities, but your position isn't mentioned in the bill. He has no powers.

Would you be inclined to amend the bill to implement the FCFA's first recommendation?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll do it calmly.

Good afternoon, members of the committee. Thank you for inviting me to appear today.

I would first like to take a moment to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people.

We have made considerable progress since I last appeared before this committee in March. In May, I began national consultations on the next action plan for official languages. They were held across the country and culminated in the official languages summit in Ottawa, which was attended by nearly 300 stakeholders.

During those 22 virtual and in-person consultations, more than 6,500 participants painted comprehensive pictures of their communities, the challenges they face and the opportunities available to us. In the next few days, we will be releasing the Report on the 2022 Cross-Canada Consultations on Official Languages, outlining the key themes that the communities raised during our discussions.

We know that much hard work is still needed in order to move forward with our official languages action plan for 2023 to 2028, which will help put in place many ideas and initiatives that are at the centre of the modernization of our Official Languages Act.

I am aware that, although we have made progress, we still have a great deal of work to do to achieve our official language objectives.

Like you, I'm very concerned by the 2021 census data released in August and last week. With only 8 million francophones in Canada living in a sea of more than 360 million anglophones across North America, there is an urgent need to restore our demographic weight. If we do nothing, the decline could worsen. Consequently, our government has committed to stepping up efforts to ensure that does not occur. We must therefore work together with our partners, the provinces and territories to implement strategies that enable us to reverse this trend. I sincerely believe that only by working together can we all have a genuine impact in the coming years. The published 2021 census figures remind us how important it is to pass Bill C-13 now.

In fact, I have heard this frequently from communities across the country. Groups like FCFA, AFO and SANB have told us that they want to see Bill C-13 adopted quickly because the federal government needs to play its part in supporting official language minority communities across the country.

Expectations of the modernization and strengthening of our language regime are great, and rightly so, considering the enhanced powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages, new rights regarding the language of work and being served in French by federally regulated private businesses, increased compliance by federal institutions regarding official languages and the adoption of a policy on francophone immigration.

It's clear that Bill C-13 provides us with the tools we need to achieve these goals and to ensure that both our official languages are supported. That is what we need to do, and that is why we need to adopt Bill C-13 without any further delay.

Linda Cardinal, an informed voice of the Canadian francophonie, reminded us of this fact in the following terms when she appeared before the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages: "The longer it takes to pass this bill, the higher the price francophones will pay. When you can’t move forward, you aren’t treading water. …you’re falling behind."

As a proud francophone and Acadian who grew up in a minority community, I understand what a constant struggle this is, and we cannot, for a single instant, cease our efforts to defend our official language minority communities.

That includes both English-speaking Quebeckers as well as Francophones across the country and outside of Quebec.

I would remind you that Bill C-13 is the result of extensive consultations with our partners, the provincial and territorial governments, and with stakeholders across the country. Consequently, we believe that the specific measures proposed in the bill will reflect the needs of the communities across Canada.

As the Hon. Michel Bastarache, former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, said, "What we have is a bill that will markedly improve the official languages situation in Canada…"

This bill is part of a broader process of modernization that includes a number of administrative measures, associated regulations, and the upcoming action plan for official languages.

Even after this bill is adopted, friends, our work continues.

We will have to define what a positive measure and a region with a strong francophone presence are. That will require hard work and extensive consultation.

In short, our objective remains the same: to pass a bill that is relevant, promising and strong for the benefit of all Canadians.

Allow me to take advantage of my appearance here today to confirm once again my sincere cooperation in making Bill C-13 a reality.

I will be pleased to answer your questions.

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

It's always the same thing. You don't answer questions. You respond with generalities. You sidestep the issue.

We wonder whether that's why endless attempts have been made to silence the committee so that Quebeckers don't realize that you're fooling them and that nothing in Bill C-13 will really help shore up the French language.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

That will depend on how Bill C-13 is applied and on the discussions.

As I told you, Ms. Petitpas Taylor recently had a very good meeting with the Quebec minister Jean-François Roberge. She can tell you about that as well. We discuss many issues every day, including the language issue, Mr. Beaulieu.

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

I'll ask another question.

The Quebec government has made requests regarding language requirements in federal institutions. As we know, 68% of federal public service positions in Quebec require knowledge of English, compared to 9% of positions for which knowledge of French is required.

Will Bill C-13 change that situation?

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Minister, we've heard certain English-language groups from Quebec express concerns about the consequences the act will have for their communities.

How do you respond to those groups?

Will they lose their language rights when Bill C-13 is passed?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Iacono.

Since we came to power, all judges who have been appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada have been bilingual, by which I mean they don't need interpretation services.

We acknowledge that access to justice in the language of one's choice is a fundamental right, and I repeat that we want to ensure that judges sitting on Canada's highest court are able to understand the court's proceedings in the client's language.

I added that obligation to Bill C-13 in order to entrench it, since we want to ensure that future governments can't change this policy. We think this is a fundamental right, and we want to make sure it stays that way.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Minister, when the Liberal Party committed to appointing bilingual judges to the Supreme Court of Canada, the Conservative Party opposed it for a long time. That's deeply disappointing for anyone who believes that all Canadians deserve to be heard in the highest court in the land in the official language of their choice.

Could you tell us a little more about how we can entrench that principle in Bill C-13?

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Ms. Petitpas Taylor, would you tell us a little more about how we can entrench this principle in Bill C-13?

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks to the ministers for being with us this morning.

Ms. Petitpas Taylor, I've often heard francophone columnists and commentators say that Bill C-13 wouldn't go as far as Bill C-32.

I don't get the impression that's true, but I want to give you a chance to state your view of the matter.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

The bill contains a lot of fine words. It states that we will support francophones, for example. However, many witnesses told us that the bill didn't go far enough to preserve French.

Do you think that Bill C-13 can be improved, yes or no?

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

As was previously said, that state of affairs is a problem. Virtually all the witnesses we've heard in this committee want a central agency, the Treasury Board, to assume responsibility. I respectfully submit to you, based on what the communities tell us, that the way things are being done now is a problem.

Once again, Bill C-13 continues to confer significant powers on Canadian Heritage. If you haven't managed to carry out your mission thus far, how would you be able to do so in future?

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

All right.

My second question concerns Canadian Heritage's coordination role, which your department wants to preserve under the provisions of Bill C-13. When Canadian Heritage directs other departments to discharge their official languages obligations, why can't you ensure that your colleagues and their departments comply with your decisions?

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

You're deflecting. You're ultimately giving us the same answers as we've previously been given.

You agree to none of Quebec's requests. You've accepted the general principle that French is in decline. That alone is scandalous because French has been declining for 52 years. You've acknowledged it for two years now, and I congratulate you on that. However, you don't want to act accordingly. You say you're going to help the French language, but nothing gets done.

You mentioned language of work. The unanimous view in Quebec, the view of the former provincial premiers, including Liberals, the unions and the major cities, is that the Charter of the French language applies to federally regulated private businesses. However, Bill C-13 prevents that by giving those businesses a choice. Those less inclined to accept French as a common language will cop out if we fail to entrench this principle.

I'm going to put the same questions to Ms. Petitpas Taylor in a moment, but you're supposed to answer now.

You constantly repeat that your government is establishing the right to be served in French in Quebec. Yes, I hope it's a right now, 50 years later.

You've often said that Bill C-13 is a carbon copy of Bill 101 for federally regulated private businesses. However, that's not the case at all, and it's actually misinformation. Bill 101 is designed to make French the common language in Quebec, and that's not at all the purpose of the Official Languages Act. The act doesn't provide for French to be the predominant language in signage. Bill 101 provides for a right to work in French, but the federal act defends the right to work in English in federal institutions. That's not at all the same thing.

So you don't accept Quebec's requests. I'll let you answer.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think it's appalling that you aren't adhering to the spirit of the motion that was adopted, but I don't want to waste too much time on that.

Mr. Rodriguez, the Quebec government made a request that was intended somewhat as the premise of negotiations. It would like us to acknowledge that only one of the two official languages, French, is in the minority and threatened. You don't agree with that. You always refer to minorities, in the plural. You think that anglophones form the minority in Quebec. Based on that premise, part VII of the Official Languages Act, for which your department is responsible, has promoted only English as an official language and funded anglophone community groups for 52 years.

How will Bill C-13 change that?