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 .

[Antoine Désilets]

It's important to seize the opportunity. The objectives in Bill C‑13 must be clarified and the right measures put in place.

I obviously agree that the bill has to be reinforced in order to guarantee its impact. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that language isn't a barrier for francophones in the health field. We want all Canadians to be well served across the country.

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

Given that observation, should Bill C‑13 be reinforced in order to reverse the trend toward assimilation of francophones outside Quebec?

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

According to Bill C‑13 and the white paper, we're trying to increase the funding granted to immersion schools. However, there's no talk of increasing funding for schools managed by francophones and intended for francophones.

Many stakeholders have told me that immersion schools guarantee a minimum level of French-language learning but that, in many instances, they promote the assimilation of young francophones.

Don't you think we should also increase the funding granted to schools managed by francophones and intended for francophones?

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks to the witnesses for taking the time to join us today to help us study Bill C‑13.

My first question is for Mr. Laberge.

I'm very pleased that you're with us today and that the school sector is represented. I was a commissioner on the largest anglophone school board in Quebec. So I'm very pleased to have you with us because you may be able to give us some ideas about how to preserve the schools. We're talking about a provincial jurisdiction here, but, as you said in your speech, we're talking about communities, not schools. It's a question of inclusion, culture and, actually, identity.

I'd like to go a little further with a view to helping you. Apart from increasing the number of French teachers in our schools, are there any other measures or other investments that could enhance the presence and maintenance of French in Manitoba.

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

Thank you, Mr. Désilets.

I'm going to test an amendment respecting language clauses that I've considered and intend to move.

You have to understand that there are areas of provincial and territorial jurisdiction and areas of federal jurisdiction. I believe that Mr. Désilets deals with that situation every day.

Let's say we introduced an amendment to Bill C‑13 respecting language clauses in which we stated that bilateral agreements would be reached between the federal government and the provinces and territories regarding every infrastructure investment but that additional funding would be allocated to provinces and territories wishing to introduce specific measures for minorities. Would that be realistic and effective?

I'll let you answer, Mr. Laberge.

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

Pardon me, Mr. Laberge. I'm going to stop you right away.

My question is very specific: what do you think would be the best language clauses that we could include in Bill C‑13 to achieve a specific result?

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks to the witnesses for taking part in this exercise today. As I told the previous panel, you are helping us to be better.

My question is for both organizations.

In your opening statements, you gave us an overview of the situation, and we all feel the same: an enormous amount of work must be done to improve the situation of the French language, one of the two official languages in Canada. Now, how can we do that?

We are here today to improve Bill C‑13, the purpose of which is to modernize the Official Languages Act. My question will be very specific. How can we establish tools, statutory provisions, that would enable action to be taken in the provinces and territories? How can we improve the bill by considering language clauses, for example? What do you think would be the best amendment to make language clauses effective?

I'll ask Mr. Laberge to answer first, and then it will be Mr. Désilets' turn.

[Antoine Désilets]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I'll try to speak more slowly. I don't often make presentations to committees.

Allow me to say a few words about the Société Santé en français.

We are a national organization supported by Health Canada. We celebrated our 20th anniversary this year. We are a network of networks, essentially as a result of the administration of health services. Since we need to have bases in all provinces and territories, we support 16 independent French-language health organizations across Canada. Those 16 members are directly connected to their health systems and to a group of essential partners: governments, health institutions, health professionals, training institutions and the communities themselves. Our job is to make known the needs of francophones and the contributions that these health partners can make. We support the development of capacity to serve francophones in order to transform programs and public health policies in a sustainable manner.

As you will have understood, we receive funding from the federal government for the purpose of offering our support. We cannot intervene directly in the delivery of services. Consequently, we engage in support work to foster systems and capacity development, but it's a David and Goliath struggle.

The federal and provincial governments spent a total of $300 billion on health in 2021. Keep that figure in mind. However, federal government support for the official language communities amounts to $40 million a year. That money is earmarked for 13 separate English and French health systems for professional training and capacity development. Essentially, one penny for every $100 spent in Canada every year is allocated to official language communities. We really are a tiny canoe competing with big ocean liners.

All of which brings me to two recommendations respecting Bill C‑13.

I want to start by noting that we have been a member of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada since December 2021 and that we support all the proposals that the FCFA has made regarding, for example, management of this issue by a central agency. However, the two proposals I am presenting today are more specifically related to health.

Our first recommendation is that authority to subject the federal government's spending power to official-language-related conditions in sectors essential to the vitality of the official language minority communities named in part VII be reaffirmed in the act.

What kinds of conditions are we talking about? I am suggesting two. First, they may be conditions respecting the collection of data on the health status of official language minority communities. We still don't have a clear picture of the health status of French-speaking official language minority communities relative to the majority population. The data are collected by system or by institution and are not standardized nationally. However, it seems essential that we have a clear idea of the situation in order to provide official languages support programs. A second type of condition would be that the delivery of services in both official languages be reflected in the government's priorities as set forth in its bilateral agreements for both mental health and long-term care.

Our second recommendation is that it be clearly stated in the act that health is divided into two parts: health services and public health. Allow me to explain the distinction. By health services, I mean the public system, health professionals, hospitals and everything falling under provincial jurisdiction. By public health, I mean the health status of populations, healthy habits, prevention, vaccination and health promotion. This is a field in which the federal government makes a direct contribution because it is a shared responsibility.

[Antoine Désilets, Executive Director, Société Santé en français]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks to the members of the committee. It is a genuine pleasure to be here today.

First, I would like to acknowledge that the land on which the Société Santé en français sits is part of the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people.

Before proposing two amendments to Bill C‑13 regarding the health of the francophone and Acadian minority communities, I would first like to provide you with some figures on access to health services in French in Canada. These figures date back to 2020 and come from a survey that the Léger organization conducted for Health Canada. They reveal how official language communities perceive access to health services in French.

The first finding is that access to health services in French still faces challenges. One-third of survey respondents reported that they had received health services entirely in French, another third that they had received partial access, and the remaining third that they had received no services in French.

The second finding was that progress had been made in providing access to services but that there had also been some backsliding. Some 19% of survey respondents said they had seen improvements in the previous 10 years, while 42% had seen no improvement, and 16% reported that the quality of access had declined. The remaining 23% had no opinion on the matter.

Lastly, the survey reveals that the main barriers to access to health services in French stem from a lack of human resources, fear of long waiting times in hospitals, a lack of information available in French and concerns about receiving poor-quality services.

[Alain Laberge, Executive Director, Division scolaire franco-manitobaine]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, everyone.

As the chair mentioned, my name is Alain Laberge, executive director of the Franco-Manitoban School Division, a school division representing nearly 6,000 students and located in the territories of treaties 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and the lands of the birthplace of Louis Riel and the Red River Métis.

I would like to begin by thanking the House of Comments Standing Committee on Official Languages for allowing me to appear this morning. Modernizing the Official Languages Act is no mean feat, but it was necessary after all those years. I also appreciate being able to present our school division's views on the proposed amendments.

Before commenting on the various specific specific amendments proposed in Bill C‑13, I would like to share a few thoughts inspired by a reading of this document.

As we all know, education is a provincial jurisdiction, but let's stop for a brief moment to consider the reasons why we neither can nor must dissociate the bill from what we call the education world and, more specifically, minority community education.

Having been thoroughly involved in the field for more than 30 years, at times swimming against the current, I think it's important, even essential, to note that minority community education entails far more than the mere acquisition of knowledge. It's more a concept or a universe anchored deep within us and includes: the language, with its beautiful accents that come from many places; inclusion, which is who we are and how we come together; culture, which enables us to express ourselves creatively; identity-building, which constructs what we are; and many other things such as health, immigration, youth and the economy.

In fact, minority community education is our inheritance from the past and our wealth for the future, because are we not learners from the cradle to the grave?

It would be easy to discuss health, education and the economy under the individual umbrellas of their respective departments, but why not use Bill C‑13 to connect those various sectors so that our minority communities can develop more fully?

We welcome the wording that would replace the tenth paragraph of the preamble to the act, and more particularly the following two statements concerning what the federal government recognizes:

AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of providing opportunities for everyone in Canada to learn a second official language AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of supporting sectors that are essential to enhancing the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities

As you can see, we refuse to view "education" as one single thing.

For this recommendation to be implemented, it will be important to ensure that major and continuing investments are made and that francization programs can be offered in both urban and rural areas.

Now allow me to present the major themes of our discussions of the latest amendments to the Official Languages Act. Note that I will emphasize certain changes but will also underscore other parts of the act that are decisive for the survival of our francophone schools.

We consider it necessary to emphasize the importance of the amendments proposed to the seventh and eighth paragraphs of the preamble to the act. After providing that the the Government of Canada is committed to "enhancing the vitality of the English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and supporting and assisting their development," the new version adds the following:

taking into account their uniqueness, diversity and historical and cultural contributions to Canadian society…

This addition truly builds a bridge between our two solitudes, but also, I should say, a bridge among our various solitudes because let us not forget that the Canada of today and tomorrow must take into consideration our new compatriots and the fact that we will be blending our histories with those they will have brought with them in their suitcases.

We also consider it necessary to underscore the importance of the elements of the tenth paragraph of the preamble and of the amendments proposed thereto, particularly the following:

AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of providing opportunities for everyone in Canada to learn a second official language… AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of supporting sectors that are essential to enhancing the vitality of…French linguistic minority communities… …the Constitution of Canada provides every person with the right to use English or French in the debates of the Houses of the Legislature of Quebec and those of the Legislature of Manitoba…

I want to draw your attention to the inclusion of "those of the Legislature of Manitoba" because it was not a foregone conclusion.

I also welcome the new wording making clear that the purpose of the Official Languages Act is to

(b) support the development of English and French linguistic minority communities in order to protect them; (b.1) advance the equality of status and use of the English and French languages within Canadian society, taking into account that French is in a minority situation in Canada and North America…

The addition made to clarify that French is in a minority situation is crucial to an understanding of the everyday struggle in which the various minority school boards are engaged. Make no mistake: the vitality of our educational communities hangs by a thread and is supported by hundreds, indeed thousands, of educators and parents across the country. These people, like the Gaul Village, have chosen to live in French, knowing full well that nothing will come to them easily. Consider the allegory of the tiny flower that, despite desert conditions, flourishes and resists the winds and squalls.

We consider it necessary to emphasize the importance of the eleents set forth under the heading, "Définitions et interprétation", including the addition of three provisions on the interpretation of language rights.

We feel we have a duty to remember that thousands of francophones across the country have attended anglophone schools against their will and passed on their language in secret, concealing their books to avoid the ire of the majority. We have a duty to remember the rights holders who, despite their goodwill, lost the privilege of educating their children in French. In this regard, the three provisions concerning language rights, even unamended, must be interpreted as correcting the errors of the past. Can we stop these all too often political power struggles and let parents make the best choice when the time comes to take back their language and culture?

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Ms. Ashton.

Before suspending, I would like to thank our guests for their impassioned comments on the subject of Bill C‑13. It was very interesting.

If you were unable to share any information for lack of time, please feel free to send it in writing to our clerk. She will then forward to all the members of the committee.

Thank you very much for being here.

We will now suspend.

[Jean-François Parent]

The answer to your second question is simple: expand pre-departure services and, in particular, include the economic aspect in the equation. If we want a more significant presence in francophone Africa and to attract more international francophones to Canada, we must reinforce pre-departure programs, in which the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité, or RDÉE Canada, had been involved for a number of years before I joined the organization. That service was unfortunately taken away from us despite its tangible results on the ground. We hope it will be reinstated.

Since economic immigration plays an increasingly dominant role in our society, we need specific authorities and programs to meet the needs on the ground. With its 12 provincial and territorial agencies representing each of the minority communities, RDÉE Canada lends itself perfectly to this kind of initiative. Consequently, when the action plan for official languages is next renewed, or when the obligations associated with Bill C‑13 are reorganized, we would like to be able to play a greater international role in promoting francophone minority communities and increasing their appeal.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would first like to thank our guests for taking the time to come and speak with us.

Mr. Parent, Bill C‑13 would require the Department of Immigration to establish an integrated policy on francophone immigration with indicators, markers and targets.

What impact do you think that will have on the demographic weight of the francophone population, the vitality of French and our country as a whole?

[Jean-François Parent]

I think every bill can be improved, regardless of its form.

We think that, in its present form, Bill C‑13 should be amended to provide for a separate path for francophone economic immigration to official language minority communities. That opinion is shared not only by SEC and RDÉE Canada, but also by other organizations of the Canadian francophonie, including the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, the FCFA.

This subject is partly addressed in the text of the bill, but it should be clarified to state exactly what such a path would be.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Thank you very much.

I'll ask Mr. Parent the same question. I'm familiar with the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité, or RDÉE Canada, and the Société Économique de l'Ontario, the SEO.

Bill C‑13 includes provisions on immigration. Are you satisfied with that, or are you aware of any improvement or change that could be made to the bill on the subject?