Official Languages Committee on Dec. 6th, 2022

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

You don't want French to be predominant.

[Mona Fortier]

I would say that French is one of the official languages of Canada, so I am talking about French and English.

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

In Quebec, however, French has to be predominant. It has to be the language of work, the common language. That doesn't mean that people...

[Mona Fortier]

Obviously, the language of work is going to be respected, in French, but we are also going to allow people to work in one of the two official languages: French or English.

We are well aware that there has been a decrease and a decline in French, not just in Canada as a whole, but we are well aware that in Quebec...

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

Knowing and acting accordingly are two different things.

Based on what you are saying, you are not prepared at all to respect the fact that French is the only official and common language of Quebec. That seems clear.

[Mona Fortier]

In conclusion, the language of service will take precedence over the language of work.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I'm sorry, but time is up.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu and Ms. Fortier.

We will now move on to the last round of six-minute questions.

You have the floor for six minutes, Ms. Ashton.

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

Thank you.

Minister, I would like to start with a short comment.

Your answer to my colleague Mr. Godin was that you wanted to have a power to implement whole-of-government strategies on Parts IV, V, VI and VII of the act. At present, we are including only one part of Part VII.

I would like to point out that I believe you are right. I believe we have to correct Bill C-13 to include all of Part VII.

With that said, I would now like to ask you a question.

You are very familiar with Canadian francophonie. A few years ago, you were the vice-president of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, the FCFA, and before that you were the president of the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française, or FJCF.

So you must be aware of the importance of language provisions to francophone and Acadian communities. You know that are often unable to access the services they are entitled to from provinces and territories, even when those services are funded with federal money.

Do you support their request for enforceable language provisions in federal-provincial-territorial agreements?

[Mona Fortier]

Thank you for reminding me that I was a member of the FCFA and the FJCF, Ms. Ashton. We can see that we were talking about the same things 20 years and even 30 years ago.

On the question of the provisions in federal-provincial-territorial agreements, Bill C-13 will obviously strengthen the obligations provided in Part VII of the act regarding positive measures, as you mentioned, to ensure the development of official language minority communities.

Treasury Board will therefore have a role in monitoring how institutions abide by their obligations in connection with that position when it comes to positive measures, but also in connection with our provincial and territorial counterparts. On the question of monitoring, evaluating and ensuring compliance, we are going to evaluate adherence to language provisions in federal-provincial-territorial agreements.

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

I want to point out that this request has been made in clear terms by the francophone and acadienne communities of Canada.

In addition, the communities are asking that Treasury Board be responsible for the preparation and general coordination of the federal principles and programs for applying the entire act and that it not have the power to delegate.

What is your position on that request?

[Mona Fortier]

Thank you.

Yes, I have heard the organizations express that concern.

To date, with the powers we have, we have never used that measure. We do not anticipate doing so, but yes, I have heard that concern. There may be a solution we can propose. As President of the Treasury Board, I do not intend to make use of that measure.

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

Fair enough.

For many years, a number of federal institutions have ignored their official languages obligations without suffering any consequences.

In addition to Bill C-13, do you intend to review the evaluation framework for senior managers in the public service so that all senior officials have to report to you on the efforts they have made to propose the positive measures that are needed in order to support the vitality of official language minority communities?

[Mona Fortier]

If I understand correctly, your question has two parts.

On the first part, concerning the accountability framework, a new framework will apply under Bill C-13, which I hope will be passed, so the answer is yes.

Could you repeat the second part of your question so I can be sure I am answering it properly?

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

Will senior officials have to report to you on the efforts they have made to propose the positive measures that are needed in order to support the vitality of official language minority communities?

[Mona Fortier]

I think we are on the same wavelength. We want to ensure the vitality of the language communities from one end of the country to the other for people who live in minority communities, in French or English.

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

Since I only have a minute left, I don't think I have time to get an answer to another question.

However, I would again like to point out the requests made by the francophone and Acadian communities. They say it is necessary for Treasury Board to take a much larger role as a central agency. We also have to be sure that Bill C-13 provides tools such as language clauses to genuinely support the communities where we see a very concerning decline in French.

We hope to be able to work to make sure that Bill C-13is improved in this regard.

[Mona Fortier]

Thank you.

To follow up on your comment, the role of Treasury Board will be strengthened. The additional powers will enable it precisely to respond to that question, which has been raised for a very long time by official language minority communities.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Ms. Fortier.

The next two questions will be of five minutes each, starting with Mr. Vis.

Mr. Vis, the floor is yours for five minutes.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Minister, for appearing today.

I've been looking very closely at part 2 of this bill with respect to federally regulated workplaces. Subclause 6(1) is of major importance. It says:

In relation to communications with or services provided to consumers in Quebec or in relation to workplaces in Quebec, Quebec's Charter of the French language applies instead of this Act to a federally regulated private business if the federally regulated private business chooses to be subject to Quebec's Charter of the French language.

Subclause 6(2) goes on to say:

A federally regulated private business must, in accordance with the regulations, give notice of the day on which it will become or cease to be subject to Quebec's Charter of the French language.

This is very problematic for me, because, one, the Minister of Justice outlined his opposition to Quebec's Charter of the French Language with respect to minority rights and the use of the notwithstanding clause. In this legislation, the Government of Canada is potentially subjecting Canadian workers to a law the justice minister has criticized.

Do you have any comments on this process and how the government will ensure charter rights are protected? Say, for example, that a business decides to be subject to a law the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice have criticized for its use of the notwithstanding clause and the potential charter challenges related to individual rights with respect to language.

Thank you.

[Mona Fortier]

Thank you, Mr. Vis. Thank you for your statement and question.

I know you will be receiving Minister Petitpas Taylor on Thursday. She'll probably go into more of a deep dive on that.

All Canadians deserve to be served in the official language of their choice by federally regulated sectors. We also expect that businesses in these sectors take the official languages obligation seriously, by demonstrating leadership and setting examples. The commissioner—

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

I'm going to interrupt you. I have a very short period of time.

[Mona Fortier]

You can, if you want to.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

With all due respect, on the notice paragraph, it specifically says that the business, not the individual, must provide notice. In this context, a business is determining the use of language—which happens, but you guys are encoding this in law—to which its employees will be subject.

That's why it's problematic. You have your justice minister making challenges about the notwithstanding clause and its use and in respect to language protection, but then you're allowing a business owner to make a charter decision for his or her employees.

[Mona Fortier]

As I said earlier, we will be bringing federally regulated sectors in to follow Bill C-13 to make sure Canadians can be served in the official language of their choice. I believe you—

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

But the law, Madam, states that it's the choice of the business as to whether it follows the federal law or the provincial law.