The new wording of amendment BQ‑32 consists of, first, amending clause 21 by adding the following, regarding positive measures:
(a.1) shall be taken in consultation with the Government of Quebec when they relate to the Province of Quebec;
This is really the least one can ask. We want Quebec to be consulted, at the very least. As for positive measures, we shall see how things go. In any event, since its earliest days, the only effect of the Official Languages Act has been to strengthen English in Quebec, when it is French that is threatened. At present, the decline of French is accelerating. The least that can be done is to consult the Government of Quebec regarding the next positive measures.
Second, the amendment refers to subparagraph 41(6)(b)(ii) as proposed in the bill, where it refers to "the necessity of considering the specific needs of each of the two official language communities of Canada". We want to replace the wording after that with "taking into account the minority status of the French language throughout Canada".
The concept of equality that has been applied up to now involved treating anglophones in Quebec in the same way as francophones outside Quebec. The needs are very different, however. As I said earlier, in Quebec, we consider French to be threatened. We therefore have to take the minority nature of French everywhere in Canada into account.
Third, the amendment seeks to add subparagraph 41(6)(b)(iii), which refers to the jurisdictions and powers of the provinces and territories, including the Charter of the French Language.
The government says it wants to protect French in Quebec. If it really wants to be consistent, it has to respect the jurisdictions of all of the provinces, including Quebec's. That includes everything that the Charter of the French Language implies in areas under Quebec's jurisdiction.