Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Dear Committee members, listeners, good morning. Thank you for inviting me to appear before this committee on the impending modernization of Canada's Official Languages Act, or OLA.
The modernization of the OLA has been eagerly awaited for several years. This is particularly important in the case of francophone minority communities. Indeed, for them, the OLA provides not only a guarantee of public services and a real opportunity to participate in Canadian public affairs, but also a status and recognition of their place in the political and social system.
The situation of Acadians is also exceptional, if only because the vast majority of them live in New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province in Canada. The Acadian Society of New Brunswick is very supportive of the bill that has been tabled by the federal government and would not want to see its passage delayed in any way because of multiple proposed amendments. In our view, the Bill does not need to be significantly reworked because it pragmatically addresses all of the important elements that have been brought to the government's attention through numerous discussions in House of Commons and Senate committees and through public consultations in all regions of Canada.
As has been pointed out on several occasions, including by the Commissioner of Official Languages, the greatest challenges at the national level are not due to significant deficiencies in the Official Languages Act, but to institutional problems of implementation. We now have a bill that will really advance the cause of bilingualism in Canada. It just needs to be supported by equally progressive regulations to ensure its implementation.
However, our purpose today is to identify the few issues that still require the attention of Parliament and the government and to make some suggestions for addressing them. Some of the issues relate to the fact that no special status is granted to New Brunswick by virtue of it being a bilingual province and having its own Official Languages Act, which guarantees the provision of public services to all residents in all regions, not just where there is evidence of significant or sufficient demand.
As in the case of New Brunswick, the federal system should not, in our view, provide services in the French language that are inferior to those provided by the New Brunswick government. We suggest, therefore, to clarify this in the act through an amendment. It could also be done through a regulation.
With respect to immigration, it is not enough to just state the importance of francophone immigration for the development of francophone minorities. Francophone immigration must be significant enough to ensure that the demographic weight of the francophone minority is sufficient to ensure its sustainability. In our opinion, the act must state clearly that regulatory authority will be granted to establish standards ensuring that a balance is maintained.
With respect to public services, a specific provision should be added for New Brunswick in which the Government of Canada would go beyond the general standard and provide for access to federal services in both official languages throughout New Brunswick. Of course, if services are provided in both official languages, it should also be recognized that the conditions needed to allow French to be used in the workplace generally exist.
In the justice system, we would like to emphasize the importance of recognizing the right to be heard on appeal in French when the trial court has heard the case in that language.
Finally, with respect to the law on the use of French within private enterprises under federal jurisdiction, we would like to propose, as in the case of public services, that the law be enforced throughout New Brunswick, and not only in regions said to have a strong francophone presence. Our intention is to ensure that New Brunswick's bilingual status is recognized in the private domain as well as the public domain.
That said, I reiterate that we must act now and that this important bill must be passed as soon as possible.
Thank you for your time and for this opportunity to speak before your committee. I am now available to answer any questions you may have.