Official Languages Committee on April 13th, 2021

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Let me stop you there, Minister Joly. We keep coming back to the provincial governments, when the Constitution says that the responsibility lies with the federal government. All we're seeing, even in the letter that you brought, [Technical difficulty—Editor] I wasn't consulted regarding the university or the government for help. You have a responsibility.

We have already promised that, within the first 100 days of a possible Conservative government, there would be a new Official Languages Act and a budget to help francophone universities outside Quebec.

Will the federal government provide financial assistance to francophone universities, such as Laurentian University?

The budget will be tabled on Monday.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Sorry, Mr. Rayes. Your time is up. You can ask your question again in the next round.

We'll move on to the six-minute question and answer round with Mr. Arseneault and Mrs. Lalonde.

Mr. Arseneault, you have the floor.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister Joly, thank you for being here.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Arseneault.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

I hope that you're doing well.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Yes. I hope that you're also doing well.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

In Acadia, in New Brunswick, there was some concern not too long ago about certain provisions that couldn't be found in the white paper. This concern started to grow a bit and spread to francophone communities outside Acadia and Quebec. What can you tell us about this?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Arseneault, I think that you're referring to the specific nature of New Brunswick and its status as a bilingual province. The reform document acknowledges that New Brunswick was the only bilingual province in the country. As a result, the federal government had to adapt its approach.

I'm very open to the issue of francophone immigration in New Brunswick. I'm fully aware that it concerns the future of Acadia and that the future of francophones in New Brunswick is certainly at stake. I'll gladly work on this issue. That's why there will be a strategy. It's necessary to include a francophone immigration strategy in the Official Languages Act.

I'm also aware of the desire to increase the number of bilingual services in the province. The upcoming amendments to the regulations under part IV of the Official Languages Act will certainly help in this area.

Lastly, we also acknowledge the importance of language of work and the right to work in French in federally regulated undertakings in regions with a strong francophone presence, such as northern New Brunswick.

These were the key points discussed in my conversations with the Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick and several other francophone groups in New Brunswick.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you.

We've created a committee, which is currently working hard on developing recommendations.

What's the committee's mandate and what purpose will the recommendations serve in the planned reform based on the white paper?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I want to point out to my colleagues on the committee that my colleague René Arseneault has worked very hard on the modernization of the Official Languages Act and the white paper. I want to thank him, in front of the committee, for his work and his passion for official languages.

To answer your question more specifically, Mr. Arseneault, the committees have 60 days, meaning until the beginning of May, to give me clear recommendations that would establish two things: first, the recourse options available to francophones working in federally regulated undertakings with regard to the recognition of the right to work in French, receive service in French and not be subject to discrimination on the basis of language in regions with a strong francophone presence outside Quebec; and second, the criteria for designating regions with a strong francophone presence and for establishing their boundaries.

Distinguished Acadian Donald Savoie has been appointed to serve on this committee, along with six other individuals. I look forward to their recommendations on this matter.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you, Minister Joly.

Do I have any time left, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Yes, Mr. Arseneault. You have two and a half minutes left.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Minister Joly, I'd like you to talk about the central agency and everything that we've heard over the years from francophone stakeholders outside Quebec or from anglophones in Quebec.

In concrete terms, what does this mean for the future of official languages in Canada?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

We all acknowledge that the Official Languages Act needed more teeth. To achieve this, the federal government needs to acquire more official languages reflexes, while giving more power to the Commissioner of Official Languages.

By having a central agency within Treasury Board, the public service will be able to sharpen its official languages reflexes. The challenge right now is that departments operate in a vacuum. A great deal of work is done at the political level. I must contact my colleagues personally to follow up, whereas the reflexes would be simpler if they came directly from the public service. We want to create this central agency within the Treasury Board to maintain this approach and to ensure that it doesn't change from one government to the next.

In the past, under my predecessor Stéphane Dion, there was a central agency within the Privy Council. Unfortunately, when the Harper government was elected, it was eliminated. This undermined language protection in the federal public service.

If we incorporate our approach into the Official Languages Act, the approach will be much stronger. This will enable us to increase monitoring within the public service and thereby strengthen the Government of Canada's official languages reflexes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Your time is up, Mr. Arseneault. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Joly.

Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor for six minutes.

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

Good afternoon, everyone.

Thank you, Minister Joly, for joining us today.

I'll pass on some of the Quebec government's requests regarding the modernization of the Official Languages Act.

First, do you agree that French should be recognized as the only minority official language in Canada?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

We acknowledge that there are eight million francophones in Canada in a sea of over 360 million mainly anglophone people in North America. As a result, English dominates in a number of areas of activity. We need to do more to achieve real equality.

That's exactly why we're acknowledging, for the first time in our history, that the two official languages aren't on equal footing and that we must do more to preserve the French fact.

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

Thank you, but you didn't answer the question.

Do you agree that the modernized Official Languages Act should explicitly state that French is the only minority official language in Canada and, of course, in North America?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

The Constitution recognizes language rights for our language communities [Technical difficulty—Editor]. We acknowledge that French needs more support to achieve equality between the two languages.

The Supreme Court recognized this again last summer in the Chilliwack decision, Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique v. British Columbia. We must do more to support the institutions of our language minority communities. This was recognized in Lalonde v. Ontario (Health Services Restructuring Commission), a case decided by the Court of Appeal a few years ago. We all remember the Montfort Hospital saga that took place when the Ontario Conservative government made cuts to health care services.

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

The issue is that this model doesn't reflect reality. Even in Quebec, French is really a minority language. We're subordinate to the federal government, unless you concede that we're independent, which isn't the case. So French is threatened in Quebec.

For 51 years, the Official Languages Act has only strengthened English in Quebec.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I don't agree with you on that.

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

It's a fact. The Official Languages Act and the official languages support programs advocate for francophones and anglophones in minority communities. You said that this was historic and that you acknowledged that Canada must also advocate for French in Quebec.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

We acknowledge both. The French language is in decline in Quebec and across the country. We agree on this point.

I disagree with your statement because the federal government is the level of government that funds the francization of immigrants in Quebec. Hundreds of millions of dollars are sent to the Quebec government so that it can proceed with the francization. In this regard, we're a major driver of language transmission. We'll continue to be a driver, because we've been funding francization for many years.

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

Quebec also funds the francization of newcomers. You fund it with the taxes sent to you from Quebec.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

These are taxes from across the country.