Evidence of meeting #63 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendments.
A video is available from Parliament.
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jenica Atwin
Shall amendment G-5 carry?
(Amendment agreed to)
(Clause 52 as amended agreed to)
(On clause 53)
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
3:50 p.m.
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Yes, Madam Chair.
I have an amendment to propose. It's already gone out to the committee members.
I move that Bill C‑45, in clause 53, be amended by replacing line 12 on page 47 with the following:
(2) If there is a demand for services in a par‑
I will explain. Clause 53 pertains to the availability of services in a particular official language “if there is a significant demand for services” in that language.
Some of the first nations in my riding may not be large enough to represent a significant demand in relation to all of Canada, but they are listed in a schedule and are entitled to receive services in French. That point was made during the study on languages.
The purpose of the motion is to ensure that those communities have access to the same services as others first nations. I want to be sure services are available to them in French, which is their second language, after Innu. I'm proposing the amendment to ensure that they are able to benefit from the provision.
May 8th, 2023 / 3:50 p.m.
The Clerk of the Committee Ms. Vanessa Davies
Madam Chair, I sent out the amendment.
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jenica Atwin
Excellent. Thank you, Madam Clerk.
We will suspend briefly for members to consider the amendment.
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Madam Chair, I asked our technicians to consider this and give us their feedback on what they think this impact could be in terms of overall thoughts around official languages. We want to make sure that those first nations and indigenous people in Quebec have access to that service. I just want to make sure that our technicians are okay with taking away the word “significant” and just going with “if there is a demand”. That's the gist of this question we're asking.
If we say “if there is a demand” rather than “if there is a significant demand”, what is the impact in terms of the considerations around what we should be doing moving forward on this legislation?
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
3:55 p.m.
Christopher Duschenes Director General, Indigenous Institutions and Governance Modernization, Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
Yes. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
That is a difficult question to answer because it's highly operational in terms of knowing exactly what those significant requests could be. However, there is a commitment for the provision of services in both languages. From here, yes, to actually know what the repercussions would be at an operational level.... It's very hard to tell.
In the English version, it says, “significant demand”. However, if there is a demand, obviously the institutions will be trying to provide those services in both official languages. It's not us providing the service, so it is rather difficult to answer.
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
John Aldag Liberal Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Can we ask for a brief suspension so that we can have a further discussion before we make a decision on this, please?
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jenica Atwin
We will resume proceedings.
Is there any further debate or discussion?
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Madam Chair, we will support this. There has been some discussion, and the folks in the organizations have let us know that they have several French members and that they can accommodate this. They're confident, so we're happy to support it.
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jenica Atwin
I will call the question.
Shall the amendment BQ-1 carry?
(Amendment agreed to)
(Clause 53 as amended agreed to)
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jenica Atwin
Please note that there are no amendments submitted for clauses 54 to 63. Do we have unanimous consent to group them for the vote?
3:55 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
4 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jenica Atwin
That's great.
(Clauses 54 to 63 inclusive agreed to)
That's excellent. Nice work, committee members.
Shall the title carry?
4 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
4 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
4 p.m.
Liberal
4 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
4 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jenica Atwin
Shall the committee order a reprint of the bill as amended for the use of the House at report stage?