Evidence of meeting #25 for Official Languages in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was subamendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
President, Quebec Community Groups Network
Our figures are based on a report published in 2021 by the Office québécois de la langue française, which noted an increase in the use of other languages, but no decline regarding the use of French in public settings.
Reports from the Office québécois de la langue française also show that in terms of immigration, French is adopted more often by children of newcomers to Quebec. These results corroborate the findings of demographers like Calvin Veltman and Jean-Pierre Corbeil.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Thank you, Ms. Jennings. I'm satisfied with your answer.
Would you agree that we should give more power to the Commissioner of Official Languages in connection with part VII of the act?
President, Quebec Community Groups Network
Yes, I'm in agreement with that. In our brief, we underscored the importance of strengthening the powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages in part VII. We are fully in favour of that.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Do you think that the language clauses should be negotiated respectfully with the provinces and territories?
Given that the federal government is responsible for enforcing the Official Languages Act, would you be receptive to the idea of having language clauses included in Bill C‑13 as an amendment?
President, Quebec Community Groups Network
Yes. The QCGN Has been talking about it for years, because the federal-provincial agreements have never before contained provisions like that. We are in favour of it.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
In your address, you said that there was only one official Language in Quebec.
Could you tell us more about that, because I don't get the same impression of the situation when I walk around in Montreal.
President, Quebec Community Groups Network
I turned 70 in November and will be 71 this coming November. I can tell you that the status of the French language and other languages hasn't really changed in Montreal, but I'm speaking from anecdotal observation.
Serious demographic studies have reported that the use of French at work has increased, that the use of French as a common language in the public sphere has increased, and that the only area where there is a decline is in the use of French at home.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Thank you, Ms. Jennings.
Then what you're saying is that there is no decline in the French language in Quebec. That's what I infer from your answers.
President, Quebec Community Groups Network
That's not what I was saying. I said that according to reports from the Office québécois de la langue française...
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Ms. Jennings, unfortunately, I have to interrupt you. I've taken note of your answer and will interpret it in my own way.
Thank you very much.
My next question is for Mr. Doucet.
Mr. Doucet, You spoke about the need to ensure the security of minority groups.
Could you tell us more about this?
Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Law, Université de Moncton, As an Individual
My position differs somewhat from what was presented earlier. I believe that one of the most important aspects of Bill C‑13 pertains to the protection of French. We know that the status of the French language in Canada is vulnerable in the provinces.
What I am very often unhappy about is that the problems experienced by the minority communities outside Quebec are often forgotten in the debate between anglo-Quebecers and French-speaking Quebecers. The language debate in Quebec is important. It's a debate between what I often call “two majorities and two minorities”, depending on the point of view. In Quebec, this debate is certainly not viewed in the same way as it is in francophone communities outside Quebec. These communities need a major change in direction if their development is to be supported.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Thank you, Mr. Doucet.
I'd like to ask you another brief question.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Do you believe that Bill C‑13 should be amended to require that the lieutenant governors of all the provinces, and the Governor General of Canada, be bilingual and capable of expressing themselves in English and French?
Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Law, Université de Moncton, As an Individual
Yes I do. If the federal government were ever to believe that this was inconsistent with the Constitution, we could always ask the Supreme Court to rule on the matter. I believe it's important. It could be done fairly straightforwardly through an amendment to the act requiring that the selection committee for candidates ensure that the person recommended be bilingual. It's important to avoid the kind of chaos that occurred in New Brunswick and…
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Thank you, Mr. Doucet and Mr. Godin.
Mr. Iacono, you have the floor for six minutes.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank the witnesses for being with us today.
Ms. Fraser, why are you recommending that the linguistic minority be defined in relation to the province or territory?
Director, Board of Directors, Quebec Community Groups Network
We are making this recommendation largely because there is, in the wording of Bill C‑13, a degree of ambiguity with respect to what constitutes a national linguistic community compared to a regional or provincial one. This is explained in greater detail in our brief. However, we believe that it is always preferable in any legislation, and particularly in a quasi-constitutional act like this one, that things be as clear as possible.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
What would be the impact of a definition like that from the legal and national standpoints?
Director, Board of Directors, Quebec Community Groups Network
I'm not a lawyer, and would therefore like to ask our legal counsel, Ms. Sandilands, to give you an appropriate answer.
Marion Sandilands Counsel, Quebec Community Groups Network
Thank you.
Of course, we want to avoid problems. For example, if there is a francophone minority nationally, we want to avoid confusion between the assistance and support given to linguistic minorities in each province, which is what the QCGN wants to define as a linguistic minority, and the fact that the French language is a minority language within Canada. We would therefore like to have an equitable definition for linguistic minorities in each province.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Thank you.
Ms. Jennings, can you tell us how the Court Challenges Program supports your rights as members of an official language minority community?
President, Quebec Community Groups Network
First, the QCGN would like the program to become permanent to make it difficult to discard, as a previous government once did.
Second, I'd like to take a few moments to say that the QCGN fully supports Mr. Doucet's comments about supporting and assisting francophones outside Quebec, and the fact that these minority language communities are often not included in the discussion. We would like them to be central to the debate.
And we also believe that the Court Challenges Program should become permanent and its budget increased significantly. We are all well aware of the fact that defending a court challenge all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, as we saw recently in the case between the francophone school board and the Government of British Columbia, costs well over $1 million. The funding available under this program is currently inadequate.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Thank you, Ms. Jennings.
My next question is for all the witnesses.
Although Quebec is the only province in Canada with a francophone majority, many of the speakers mentioned the decline in the use of French resulting from the increased use of English. But in Quebec, the anglophone community is the linguistic minority.
What compromises do you feel could be reached to ensure that legislative provisions protect and promote linguistic minorities while safeguarding and promoting the use of French?
Mr. Doucet, would you like to make a start on answering the question?