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 .

The House proceeded 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, as reported (with amendments) from the committee.

Speaker's Ruling

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

There are 15 motions in amendment standing on the Notice Paper for the report stage of Bill C-13.

Motions Nos. 11 to 14 will not be selected by the Chair as they could have been presented in committee.

All remaining motions have been examined, and the Chair is satisfied that they meet the guidelines expressed in the note to Standing Order 76.1(5) regarding the selection of motions in amendment at report stage.

Motions Nos. 1 to 10 and 15 will be grouped for debate and voted upon according to the voting pattern available at the table.

I will now put Motions Nos. 1 to 10 and 15 to the House.

Motions in Amendment

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

moved:

Motion No. 1

That Bill C-13, in Clause 2, be amended by

(a) replacing, in the English version, line 39 on page 2 with the following:

ties, including by restoring and increasing their demo-

(b) replacing, in the English version, line 44 on page 2 with the following:

ties, including by restoring and increasing their demo-

Motion No. 2

That Bill C-13, in Clause 3, be amended by replacing lines 3 to 8 on page 4 with the following:

taking into account the fact that French is in a minority situation in Canada and North America due to the predominant use of English and that there is a diversity of provincial and territorial language regimes that contribute to that advancement, including Quebec’s Charter of the French Language, which provides that French is the official language of Quebec;

(b.2) advance the existence of a majority-French soci-

Motion No. 3

That Bill C-13, in Clause 4, be amended by

(a) replacing line 14 on page 4 with the following:

2.1 (1) The President of the Treasury Board is responsible for exercising

(b) replacing lines 17 and 18 on page 4 with the following:

(2) The President of the Treasury Board shall, in consultation with the other ministers of the Crown, coordinate the implementa-

Motion No. 4

That Bill C-13, in Clause 6, be amended by deleting lines 23 to 28 on page 5.

Motion No. 5

That Bill C-13, in Clause 7, be amended by replacing, in the French version, line 14 on page 6 with the following:

d) ces droits doivent être interprétés en tenant compte du fait

Motion No. 6

That Bill C-13, in Clause 14, be amended by

(a) adding after line 2 on page 11 the following:

33.1 In this Part, “employee” includes an employee who represents the employer, a person who performs for an employer activities whose primary purpose is to enable the person to acquire knowledge or experience and a person who has been placed by a temporary help agency.

(b) replacing lines 7 to 13 on page 11 with the following:

(2) A person appointed by the Governor in Council to the position of deputy minister or associate deputy minister or a position of an equivalent rank in a department named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act shall, on their appointment, take the language training that is necessary to be able to speak and understand clearly both official languages.

Motion No. 7

That Bill C-13, in Clause 16, be amended by

(a) replacing lines 3 to 11 on page 12 with the following:

use of both official languages, managers and supervisors are able to communicate in both official languages with employees of the institution in carrying out their managerial or supervisory responsibilities; and

(b) adding after line 15 on page 12 the following:

(3.1) Paragraph 36(1)(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(c) ensure that, if it is appropriate in order to create a work environment that is conducive to the effective use of both official languages,

(i) managers and supervisors are able to communicate in both official languages with employees of the institution in carrying out their managerial or supervisory responsibilities, and

(ii) employees are supervised by their managers and supervisors in the official language of their choice,

regardless of the linguistic identification of their position; and

(c) adding after line 27 on page 12 the following:

(5) Section 36 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):

(3) Nothing in subparagraph (1)(c)(ii) abrogates or derogates from the right of a person to hold a position or carry out managerial or supervisory responsibilities in a federal institution if they held that position or carried out those responsibilities in the institution immediately before the coming into force of that subparagraph.

Motion No. 8

That Bill C-13, in Clause 21, be amended by

(a) replacing line 19 on page 14 with the following:

(4) The Government of Canada shall estimate periodically,

(b) replacing line 31 on page 16 with the following:

these mechanisms shall take into account the obligations set

Motion No. 9

That Bill C-13, in Clause 22, be amended by replacing line 38 on page 18 to line 2 on page 19 with the following:

43 (1) The Minister of Canadian Heritage shall advance the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society, and to that end may take measures to

Motion No. 10

That Bill C-13, in Clause 50, be amended by replacing, in the French version, line 9 on page 44 with the following:

(2) Le ministre du Patrimoine canadien fait déposer un rapport de l’examen devant chaque

Motion No. 15

That Bill C-13, in Clause 71, be amended by adding after line 39 on page 75 the following:

(1.1) Subsections 16(3.1) and (5) come into force on the second anniversary of the day on which this Act receives royal assent.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we are gathered is the traditional territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people.

I would also like to say hello to each of my fellow members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages and thank them for their meticulous work and dedication since last June. The clause-by-clause study of Bill C-13, an act for the substantive equality of Canada's official languages, was a colossal undertaking.

Many members of the committee know what it means to personally protect and promote our linguistic rights and our official language minority communities across the country.

We must never take our rights for granted, as many members here know. My community in northern Ontario is a minority community. One of the main reasons that I was able to live, work and pursue a post-secondary education in French is the Official Languages Act.

I am proud to have played a part in making this bill a reality, like my father, Gaetan Serré, did before me in 1969. I know that I would not be a member of the House today if it were not for the 1969 Official Languages Act. I know how important it is to complete the last steps in the modernization of the act. The last major updates to the act occurred 30 years ago. It no longer reflects Canadian society today and is no longer in sync with our communities, our institutions or our needs.

Since we introduced our first bill in June 2021, our government's commitment has never wavered. Today, more than ever, we want a modern, ambitious law with teeth, a law that will protect and promote French across Canada and the language rights of official language minority communities. That includes Acadians, Franco-Ontarians, Franco-Manitobans, all francophones elsewhere in the country and all members of the English-speaking community in Quebec.

That is what Bill C‑13 seeks to do, and that is what our government helped to strengthen during the Standing Committee on Official Languages' study.

Concretely, our committee stage amendments aimed to promote substantive equality between French and English, the respect of official languages obligations, and the creation of new linguistic rights, thanks to the enaction of the new use of French in federally regulated private businesses act.

We are on the right track. I sincerely hope that members will quickly pass Bill C-13 at third reading so that the Senate can pass it before the end of June. If we work together, the bill that many Canadians have been anxiously awaiting could receive royal assent.

There did really appear to be a spirit of collaboration during the committee’s study. This is has helped parliamentarians, and the numerous stakeholders involved, to clarify and improve Bill C-13. This was certainly not easy work, as many members know, but all parties showed good will in the end. In my opinion, this is an excellent illustration of the important work of parliamentary committees to help progress the priorities of all Canadians. The bill, now being considered by the House, is a net improvement, and I am convinced that it will receive significant support.

I would like to talk about this in more detail.

At the beginning of our study of the bill, committee members submitted more than 200 amendments. Amendments suggested by every party were adopted, allowing us to make adjustments. Let me give a few examples. One amendment clarified the meaning of adult learning and literacy in the minority language. This is an important nuance when it comes time to deliver on our commitments.

Two amendments acknowledged the importance of French in trade and the contribution of francophone immigration to the Canadian economy. Two others helped us clearly state that francophone and anglophone minorities have different needs. They also made it clear that French is a minority language in Quebec, Canada and North America.

Yet another key amendment will help federal institutions implement their commitments. It set out a new obligation to take the necessary measures to promote the inclusion of language provisions in our agreements with the provinces and territories. That is a major step forward.

The study by the committee also made it possible to examine the use of French in federally regulated private businesses act. This new act enacted by Bill C‑13 will serve as a lever for the private sector to play its role in promoting French as a language of work and service. It clearly sets forth the right, both in Quebec and in regions with a strong francophone presence, to work in French in these businesses and to obtain services in French. This applies to federally regulated private businesses like banks, postal services and transportation or telecommunications companies.

This collaboration with the Government of Quebec should, in my opinion, lead to strong support for the bill because, through collaboration, we found a way to serve everyone's interests. This bill will protect and promote French across the country, but also ensure the vitality of official language minority communities.

The study in committee gave us the opportunity to propose amendments to other parts of the bill. Briefly, I will mention that we also asked to clarify that francophone immigration is helping to restore the demographic weight of francophone minorities. The former wording suggested that immigration was the only factor that ensured demographic weight, and our suggestion recognizes that there are also other factors.

We have proposed strengthening our consultation mechanisms by defining the steps that federal institutions must follow. As had been requested by some school boards in official language minority communities, we have now included the obligation to consider the needs of English- and French-speaking minority communities in the sale of federal properties.

In closing, with Bill C‑13, we are preparing to appropriately support the French language, to better equip the Commissioner of Official Languages and to require that our institutions and businesses assume their responsibilities.

We are making the federal government and the provinces and territories allies. We are working together and we are encouraging collaboration to support French and anglophone and francophone minority communities. We are giving them a modern act that will have a positive impact on the very concrete reality of our communities.

I would ask that all members of the House and senators who will study the bill in the coming weeks work diligently. I thank the senators for having conducted a pre-study to expedite things. Like them, I look forward to the bill being completed. It is a massive job.

On March 28, in budget 2023, our government announced the largest investments ever allocated to official languages. If we take into account renewed investments, over $4 billion will go to promote official languages over 5 years.

With the adoption of Bill C‑13 and royal assent, we will have the means as a government to defend and, above all, advance the language rights of all Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge the work of my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages, with whom we worked on Bill C-13 at the Standing Committee on Official Languages. I would like to inform my colleague that, today, we are not debating the bill at third reading. We are studying the bill at report stage. My colleague should have spoken a little about the amendment motions he moved that delayed the study and passage of Bill C‑13.

I would like to know why my colleague did not move these motions to amend in committee when we were working on Bill C‑13.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank my colleague for his hard work on the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

Some 200 amendments were moved. We heard from 50 witnesses, and 6,500 people across the country shared their views last summer. We tried to improve the bill together. In committee, we agreed to the amendments moved by the Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois and the NDP. We worked together to make improvements to the bill. Now we have an improved Bill C-13 that is eagerly awaited by the community. The community wants the House and the Senate to pass the bill as soon as possible.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois moved Motion No. 13. I would like to ask for the unanimous consent of the House to debate it. I am told that I could have moved it during the committee study, but I believe that—

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

All those opposed to the hon. member's request will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

We do not have unanimous consent to study this motion. However, the hon. member for La Pointe-de-l'Île has time remaining for questions and comments.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague.

The action plan for official languages was announced today. At the beginning of the announcement, it talks about promoting French in Quebec and ensuring its protection. However, there are no measures for Quebec. There are basically only measures to strengthen English in Quebec. We saw that 20% of the new funding will go toward supporting English in Quebec, when it is French that is endangered.

Can my colleague explain how this squares with the statement that the government is going to protect French in Quebec?

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question and his work in committee.

Essentially, there are really two things here. We are talking about Bill C-13. Bill C‑13 is a major improvement to official languages legislation. There are new provisions concerning the central agency and immigration, and the commissioner of official languages will be able to impose monetary penalties.

My colleague mentioned the action plan. Since taking office in 2015, we have doubled the funding for the action plan. We recently added $1 billion to support official language minority communities across the country. These investments are extremely important for the organizations that will have access to them.

We also improved Bill C‑13 in terms of immigration, in collaboration with the Province of Quebec. I do not know why my colleague cannot acknowledge the fact that the federal government is working closely with the Province of Quebec to ensure the advancement of French across Canada, including in Quebec.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge my colleague's hard work and the historic result we are talking about today.

My question is, what is the next step?

Today, in its action plan for official languages, the government expressed its intention to grant core funding to francophone organizations and communities. These essential services and organizations, such as the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, youth programs, newcomer services, support for francophone artists, and French-language legal services, are the backbone of the francophone presence in Canada.

We commend this initiative, but how can we guarantee that the funding will find its way to the organizations and communities that need it to enhance French-language proficiency across Canada?

Does the hon. member believe that it is essential to provide these communities and organizations with stable core funding?

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank the hon. member for her work on the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

We heard what 6,500 people had to say about the action plan. We went to every province and every territory. We heard their concerns about funding. We responded accordingly. In 2018, we invested an additional $500 million. Today we announced another $1 billion. Organizations will have access to these funds, which will allow them to strengthen official language minority communities across the country.

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

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I just want to say that I would have liked to debate the motion moved by my Bloc Québécois colleague. I think that we Conservatives would have agreed to it, because it is consistent with what we presented in committee, in that it is about shortening the review period. Instead of 10 years, as written, we wanted to shorten the period to five years, but the Liberals refused. My colleague in the Bloc Québécois had an even better idea, which was to reduce the review period to three years. When something is urgent, we need time to react. The faster we react, the easier it is to close the gap in order to halt the decline of the French language.

As a fervent defender of French, I am always happy to rise in the House of Commons to defend the language. My goal is obviously to halt the decline of the French language and to protect and promote both official languages.

Before I get into the nuts and bolts of the issue, that is, the government's proposed amendments to Bill C-13, an act for the substantive equality of Canada's official languages, at report stage, it is important to understand how we got here.

Earlier, my colleague mentioned that funding was doubled, but we lost eight years that could have been spent providing the tools needed to protect French here in Canada. This government has been in power for eight years and, for eight years, it has dragged its feet when it comes to official languages. It gives organizations the illusion that it is doing enough to protect bilingualism in Canada.

Way back in 2018, the Prime Minister pledged to modernize the Official Languages Act, a promise that was repeated in the 2019 and 2021 Liberal platforms. It will probably be repeated again in the next election campaign, the outcome of which remains to be seen.

In 2021, the government tabled a white paper on the reform of the Official Languages Act, titled “English and French: Towards a substantive equality of official languages in Canada”. Bill C-32 was tabled by the then minister of official languages, who is now the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but it later died on the Order Paper when the government decided to call an election.

When she was appointed after the 2021 election, the new Minister of Official Languages promised that she would present a new version of the Official Languages Act in her first 100 days. She almost kept her promise. Bill C-13 was tabled in March 2022 to halt the decline of the French language in Canada and promote our two official languages, English and French.

Why am I focusing on the words “English and French” when talking about bilingualism? It is because the government appointed a Governor General who is bilingual, but who does not speak French. The Governor General is our representative, and has some lovely qualities, but unfortunately, she does not speak French. That is a good representation of how much this government cares about defending the French fact.

If it were as important to the Liberals as they say it is, rather than just an election promise, we would not be here today debating Bill C-13, since a reform would have been adopted long ago.

In rising in the House today, on April 26, at report stage of Bill C-13, an act for the substantive equality of Canada's official languages, I recall the many times the language minister rose in this chamber.

She stated:

I hope once again that members of the House will work with us because stakeholders across the country want this bill to be passed as quickly as possible and we have a lot of work to do.

She was right. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages tried several times in committee to shut down debate on this bill by limiting the number of witnesses who would appear before the committee and the amount of time that would be spent debating the amendments. The Conservative Party of Canada takes English-French bilingualism very seriously.

We had an incredible opportunity to modernize the Official Languages Act, something that has not been done since 1988. As parliamentarians, this was our chance to take meaningful action to reverse the decline of French, a very real problem in both Canada and Quebec.

We were good sports and reached out to find compromises to move this file forward. We took the time to listen to stakeholder organizations that are feeling the impact of the decline of French every day, and we took the necessary action to give Bill C-13 more teeth, as the minister has said. However, we were unsuccessful because of a lack of will on the part of the government.

At committee stage, the Liberals moved over 50 amendments, many of which were identical but were submitted by different Liberal members. Some Liberal members also monopolized the time for debate and kept the Standing Committee on Official Languages from moving forward. That shows three things: The Liberals are not working as a team, they are inconsistent and they are disorganized.

Now here we are today, April 26, 2023, at report stage, with about 10 government motions on the table, and that is after some were withdrawn. These motions do not amend the substance of the bill. They could easily have been put forward in committee, but the Liberals chose instead to draw out the process for passing the bill.

I heard my colleague talking earlier about moving forward as quickly as possible so that the bill can be passed as soon as possible, as all organizations are calling for. Unfortunately, this was not taken into consideration, which is why, today, we are talking about details that are wasting time and dragging out the debate.

In accordance with the normal legislative process, we will have to vote at report stage. That will be followed by another stage in the House of Commons. We do not know when this will happen, since the government has not revealed its strategy. However, we will have to return to the House, debate and vote. Then the bill will have to be studied by the other place, the Senate. This shows that the Liberal government is talking out of both sides of its mouth. It says it wants to move fast, but it is disorganized. Amendments were moved today. Amendments were moved in committee. I just want to point out that the Liberals moved 50 amendments.

They drafted a white paper, Bill C-32 and Bill C-13. They submitted Bill C-13 to committee and are submitting it again today. What does that show? It shows that the government does not necessarily want to fast-track Bill C-13. I think that is unfortunate.

I also think it is unfortunate that the Bloc Québécois was unable to move its motion because the Liberals objected. I respect and accept your decision, but the decision was made based on the fact that it could have been debated in committee, yet that also applies to what the government just proposed.

Unfortunately, the act will not have a shorter review period that would allow us to make adjustments when we find out, on the day it takes effect after the bill receives royal assent, that it cannot ensure that concrete action will be taken to halt the decline of the French language in Canada.

I think that this is important, that we should be proud of this bill, proud of our French language and proud of our English language. Bilingualism is something for Canada to be proud of, something that makes us attractive and unique. We owe it to ourselves to respect the organizations that work hard every day to protect our official language minority communities.

With all due respect for my colleague, we in the Conservative Party of Canada will once again reach out and not obstruct the progress of Bill C-13.

However, I hope the Liberal government does not have any more surprises in store for us that will slow the process down. We should pass the bill as soon as possible so we can move on to something else and give our organizations the tools they need to do what they do every day to protect the French language, halt its decline, and protect and promote English and French. We do not want to pit our two official languages against each other. We are proud of both.