Official Languages Committee on March 7th, 2023

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I call this meeting to order.

I apologize for the long delay. There were apparently technical difficulties, which I am sure will be dealt with.

Welcome to meeting number 52 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages.

On March 2, 2023, the committee received a request by four of its members pursuant to Standing Order 106(4) to discuss extending the clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-13.

On that topic, I will give the floor to Mr. Beaulieu.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We requested this discussion under Standing Order 106(4) because, as we have seen, to date we have adopted only 20 of the 71 clauses to be considered. We have just two meetings left—one and a half in fact, given the time we have just lost. It is clear we will not have time to debate all of the clauses.

I would like to remind you that this is the first major reform of the Official Languages Act in 52 years. French is declining across Canada, including in Quebec. Now really is a critical time for the language issue. The government has admitted that French is in decline. Therefore, we must act and we must have sufficient time to get it right.

Ideally, we feel we need enough time to go through all of the clauses or, at the very least, to debate clause 54 of the bill, which is very important. It sets out the application of the Charter of the French Language to federally regulated businesses. All the opposition parties agree. We want to at least review up to clause 54.

I will kick off the discussion. That is the aim of today's meeting.

First of all, this is important to Quebec. Quebec expressed its expectations in a document about a year and a half ago. A while later, it specified its expectations in a document where it proposed amendments. Not much of that was incorporated into Bill C-13. Principles of asymmetry were mentioned. The problem is that the Official Languages Act is based on the principle that official language minorities are categorized by province. That means that in the 1960s, when there was a major movement, the Official Languages Act stipulated that in Quebec—the only francophone jurisdiction in America—the federal government would defend English. We cannot go on like this. This must be changed, not only for Quebec's sake, but also for francophones outside Quebec. The future of French in Quebec matters to them because Quebec is also the market for artists from francophone and Acadian communities outside Quebec. Quebec is a key source of teachers and francophones who move to various regions of the country. I feel it is essential to do things right, to have the time to do—

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

One moment, Mr. Beaulieu. There is a point of order.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

I understand that when a meeting is called under Standing Order 106(4), we are usually supposed to discuss committee business. I hear all of the arguments Mr. Beaulieu has raised, but with all due respect, I am not sure what they have to do with how the committee plans to proceed. I have difficulty understanding how the operations—

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

The aim is—

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Just a moment, honourable members. We can only hear from one person at a time.

I take your point of order, Mr. Drouin.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

The floor is yours, Mr. Godin.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Before moving on, Mr. Chair, I would like to point out that we've lost an hour and a half. What are you going to do about that wasted time? We need to consider that. We are now left with only one meeting and one hour. If we add today's wasted time, we will have one meeting, plus one hour, plus one and a half hour. Does this mean that, after two meetings and 30 minutes, we will extend our study?

I'd like some clarification, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Before moving forward with the discussion and giving the floor to Ms. Lattanzio, for the benefit of committee members and our audience, I would like to point out that today's meeting is our eighth one, and we agreed to extend it by the length of half a meeting. Regardless of what happened today, this is our eighth meeting.

Ms. Lattanzio, you have the floor.

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

Point of order, Mr. Chair. I had not finished speaking when Mr. Drouin called a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

In fact, that's another point of order.

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

Oh, I see.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Ms. Lattanzio, you have the floor.

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I listened carefully to what my colleague, Mr. Beaulieu, said. However, I did not receive a motion from him. I don't know if you received it, Mr. Chair.

Has the clerk or anyone else received a motion regarding Mr. Beaulieu's request today?

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I just wanted to ask Mr. Beaulieu the same question, because neither I nor the clerk have received the motion.

I thought you were going to introduce your motion, Mr. Beaulieu.

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

I'd like to introduce more than one motion, but I wanted to see how people would react.

If you prefer, Mr. Chair, I can introduce my motion now.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

The ball is in your court, Mr. Beaulieu. You asked for an emergency meeting on Bill C‑13. You need to be more specific about what you are asking of the committee.

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

Ideally, I would like us to continue with the study until we have debated every amendment. There is an amendment in particular which I would like to introduce, but I first wanted to check with my colleagues to see what they think. I would like to find a solution which will work well for us, to find time to vote on most of the amendments and to have a debate.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, since we will indeed vote on every amendment.

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

We will vote on every amendment, but at a certain point we will stop debate on every one of them.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

That's correct.

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

I think we need to debate every amendment.

I can pass the floor to my colleague and, if need be, I will move a motion.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Chair, I have a point of order.

My colleague cannot pass the floor to someone else. He asked for a meeting under Standing Order 106(4). Does he have a motion to that effect, yes or no?