Official Languages Committee on March 21st, 2023

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

In fact, Mr. Chair, I will not be presenting this amendment.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Okay, thank you.

We will move on to amendment CPC‑37 proposed by Mr. Godin.

Mr. Godin, you have the floor.

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

Mr. Chair, I move that Bill C‑13, in clause 23, be amended by replacing lines 13 to 15 on page 15 with the following:

shall adopt a policy on francophone immigration whose purpose is to restore and increase the demographic weight of French linguistic minority communities in Canada in order to enhance their vitality.

Mr. Chair, by presenting this amendment I feel like I am speaking on behalf of the FCFA. This amendment is also a supplementary tool in the act for ensuring that attention is paid to this issue.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Before hearing questions and comments, if there are any, I want to advise members of the committee that if amendment CPC‑37 is adopted, amendment BQ‑43, the new amendment LIB‑21 and amendments BQ‑44 and NDP‑10 cannot be proposed due to a line conflict.

Are there any questions or comments on amendment CPC‑37 proposed by Mr. Godin?

Mr. Godin, you have the floor.

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

Mr. Chair, I just want to take this opportunity to say that, if we want to speed up the process, let's vote in favour of amendment CPC‑37, and then we can move straight on to the next amendment, which would be NDP‑10.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Are there any other questions or comments?

We will now vote on amendment CPC‑37, moved by Mr. Godin.

(Amendment negatived: nays 7; yeas 4)

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Let's move on to amendment BQ‑43, moved by Mr. Beaulieu.

Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor.

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

I move that Bill C‑13, in clause 23, be amended by replacing lines 13 to 15 on page 15 with the following:

shall adopt a policy on francophone immigration to re‑establish and augment the demographic weight of French-speaking Canadians, including in Quebec, that respects the provisions of the Canada-Quebec Accord relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you.

Before we proceed to questions and comments on amendment BQ‑43, I just want to remind you that, if it's adopted, then new amendment LIB‑21 and amendments BQ‑44 and NDP‑10 can't be moved because of a line conflict.

Are there any questions or comments on amendment BQ‑43?

I don't see any hands raised either on screen or in person.

In that case, I will call the vote, Madam Clerk.

(Amendment negatived: nays 10; yeas 1)

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Now let's move on to new amendment LIB‑21. Let me give you the reference number. It's 12262033.

Ms. Kayabaga, you have the floor.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

I move that the French version of Bill C‑13, in clause 23, be amended, (a), by replacing lines 13 and 14 on page 15 with the following:

cophone visant à favoriser l'épanouissement des minorités francophones du Canada, notamment en assurant le rétablissement et l'accroissement de leur poids démographique.

And (b), by adding after line 16 on page 15 the following:

b) des mécanismes de communication de l'information et de reddition de compte.

The changes are different in English. I want to read out the English version too, because the lines are a little different.

It says that Bill C-13, in clause 23, be amended by, (a), replacing line 15 on page 15 with the following:

ties in Canada, including by restoring and increasing their demographic weight.

It continues, (b), deleting, at line 17 on page 15, the word “and” after “(a) objectives, targets and indicators;” and, (c), adding, after line 17 on page 15, the following:

(b) mechanisms for information sharing and for reporting; and

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Chair, I have something to add, if I may.

The purpose of this amendment is to restore and increase the demographic weight of francophone minority communities by meeting the admission target for francophone immigrants to francophone minority communities and by increasing or at least maintaining the demographic weight of the francophone minority population.

The decline of French in many francophone minority communities has had an impact on services like day care, health care and other service delivery programs, due to a shortage of qualified francophone workers in those communities.

In a report submitted to the committee in April 2022, the FCFA argued that an effective reporting mechanism should be created and that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, should be asked to develop new tools and mechanisms for measuring the progress made as a result of its francophone immigration strategy. Indicators should also be developed for the federal, provincial and territorial action plan for increasing francophone immigration.

In the report, the FCFA also asked IRCC to increase the systematic communication of francophone immigration outcomes, including progress toward the achievement of the French-speaking immigrant target and broader results. This could be done through public reporting, such as the departmental results plan and the annual report to Parliament on immigration, and through meetings and information sharing mechanisms with partners and key stakeholders.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Ms. Kayabaga.

Before we go to questions and comments, if there are any, I want to point out to committee members that if the new LIB‑21 amendment is adopted, BQ‑44 and NDP‑10 cannot be moved because of a line conflict.

Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor.

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

That's why I will be voting against the amendment, because BQ‑44 is another amendment requested by the Quebec government. It's asking that we respect intergovernmental agreements on immigration.

We know that Francophone immigration is a touchy subject in Quebec. Given that the federal government sees such things as temporary immigration and temporary student permits as so important, fewer and fewer Francotropes are immigrating. It's one of the main causes of the decline of French in Quebec.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Mr. Godin, you have the floor.

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

Mr. Chair, we're pleased with my colleague's proposed amendment, because it strengthens the part of the bill related to Francophone immigration. I like the words “including by restoring”. That's much stronger and clearer, and the department will have to act accordingly. So I'd like to announce that the Conservative Party of Canada will support my colleague's amendment.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor.

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

I support raising and achieving Francophone immigration targets outside Quebec, but I don't see why we can't consult with Quebec and include a provision that says we need more Francophone immigration to Quebec as well.

If we weaken French in Quebec, everyone will be weakened everywhere. Moreover, we know that there is a very high rate of assimilation among Francophone immigrants outside Quebec, whereas in Quebec we have a better chance of francizing immigrants.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu.

Since no one else wishes to speak, we will proceed with the vote.

(Amendment agreed to: yeas 10; nays 1)

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

As I explained, because amendment LIB‑2 was adopted, we will skip BQ‑44 and NDP‑10, due to a line conflict.

Therefore, we now go to amendment CPC‑38.

Mr. Godin, you have the floor.

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

Mr. Chair, earlier, my colleague introduced an amendment related to immigration, and my remarks are somewhat along the same lines. I believe that words are important and that we need to give ourselves tools to be more demanding and firmer and obtain better results in terms of immigration.

We know that results have been abysmal—forgive me for using such a strong word—in the past. This year, the government met its target of 4.4%, but it took several years. As the FCFA said, we need to catch up and set the target at 20% for the next few years to restore the demographic weight of Francophones.

I therefore move that Bill C‑13, in Clause 23, be amended by replacing lines 18 to 20 on page 15 with the following:

“(b) a statement that the Government of Canada is committed to restoring and increasing the demographic”

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Mr. Godin.

Since no hands are raised, we will proceed to the vote, Madam Clerk.

(Amendment negatived: nays 6; yeas 5)

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

We will now move on to amendment BQ‑45.

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

I withdraw it, to save some time.