Official Languages Committee on March 31st, 2023

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

Mr. Chair, I think it's important that the content of this amendment appear in Bill C‑13. It's vital to recognize that the province of Quebec is different from the other provinces and territories, in that it's the only place in North America where the common language is French.

The concept of implementing measures so that federally regulated businesses can require their employees to work in French is very significant. As we saw, Canadian National and Air Canada supported this objective. I can tell you ahead of time that I will be supporting the amendment.

Again, this is a very significant decision. It's like earlier, when I was talking about people in the highest echelons of this country and saying that the Governor General should speak both French and English. I think that in Quebec, people have a duty to work in French, and that duty should be written into Bill C‑13.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

The floor is yours, Ms. Ashton.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I want to start by acknowledging that this is an important issue. Obviously, we've discussed it several times.

We recently learned about the great co-operation between the Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada on Bill C‑13. We want to respect that co-operation and recognize that collaboration between these two levels of government, which have already expressed their intention of protecting the French language and—

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Ms. Ashton, I think someone else had their microphone on, but it's off now. Please continue.

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

Let me repeat my last sentence.

The NDP feels it's important to respect the co-operation going on between the Government of Quebec, which was elected by Quebeckers, and the Government of Canada, which was elected by Canadians. They are co-operating in order to protect the French language in all areas, including at work. We think that this collaboration between the governments of Quebec and Canada should be respected and that it should be the conduit for moving forward on this crucial issue.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Ms. Ashton.

Mr. Beaulieu, the floor is yours.

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

I'm really disappointed to hear that. We've seen the NDP repeatedly vote against the amendments proposed by Quebec, but now the NDP is using them as a cop-out. It seems like the Sherbrooke declaration isn't worth the paper it's written on.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Ms. Ashton, you have the floor.

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

I just want to make it clear to my colleague, Mr. Beaulieu, that I'm not here to play politics—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

It's true. If anyone wants—

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I would ask everyone to please be respectful.

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

If anyone wants to know my opinion of what the Bloc Québécois is doing to promote the francophone cause in this country, that's a whole other discussion. That said, I'm being serious. I have a great deal of respect for the Government of Quebec, as well as for the Government of Canada, of course.

What we need to do now is not to play politics, but to respect the collaboration between these two levels of government, which have a responsibility to promote the use of French in the workplace. As a sign of respect, we need to leave them to it.

If anyone else is here to play politics, so be it, but I just wanted to clarify our position.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Ms. Ashton.

There being no further comments, I will now call the vote on amendment BQ‑64.

(Amendment negatived: nays 6, yeas 5)

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I'm being told that amendment LIB‑40 will not be moved. Amendment CPC‑64 has already been withdrawn from the package.

Now we're on amendment BQ‑65.

Mr. Beaulieu, are you moving this amendment?

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

Yes I am, Mr. Chair.

I think consistency is important. We're not playing politics; we've always been open about our position, and we've always been very clear. There is a significant consensus. The Government of Quebec is doing its part, and so are we, and our actions often line up. We don't systematically vote with another party. I think it's important to stand by your convictions. Up until recently, we were being told that other members would support this proposal, so it's disappointing to see them going back on their word.

Amendment BQ‑65 proposes that Bill C‑13, in clause 54, be amended by replacing lines 7 to 21 on page 41 with the following, in part:Quebec's Charter of the French language applies in its entirety to every federally regulated private business in Quebec instead of this Act.

This amendment was suggested by the Government of Quebec. The Bloc Québécois intends to do everything in its power to push for as much progress as possible under this federal language law, because the existing version is hurting French in Quebec and is probably the main factor driving the anglicization of Quebec. Our language is a crucial defining feature of the Quebec people and the Quebec nation. We want Quebec to maximize its gains, and we will continue in the same vein. Essentially, this amendment seeks to apply the Charter of the French Language to federally reguated businesses.

As we know, improvements are going to be made to the bill, and we will support them. That said, what's being proposed is disappointing for Quebeckers. Even though it will allow for some progress to be made, it's nowhere near equivalent to what we're proposing. It's a step in the right direction, but it's not what the vast majority of Quebeckers wanted.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu.

Unfortunately, amendment BQ‑65 is out of order. This amendment provides that the regulations to be made respecting private businesses would be conditional on the federal government entering into an agreement with the Government of Quebec specifying the content of those regulations. That is a new concept that was not provided for in the bill when it was sent to the House of Commons at second reading.

Page 770 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition, states: “An amendment to a bill that was referred to a committee after second reading is out of order if it is beyond the scope and principle of the bill.” The chair is of the opinion that the amendment is beyond the scope of the bill and rules it out of order.

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

I'd like to appeal your ruling, Mr. Chair.

I believe everyone was expecting this.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Yes, I understand.

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

We had also talked about it at previous meetings.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Mr. Beaulieu, you're perfectly entitled to appeal my ruling.

Mr. Godin, do you have a point of order?

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

No, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

If someone wants to appeal the chair's ruling, that's perfectly fine. We have to vote on the chair's ruling. After that, if anything else—

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

Mr. Chair, thank you for clarifying the situation. That's something I expect to hear from the chair, not from my colleagues opposite.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

No problem, Mr. Godin.

Now let's vote on whether to sustain the chair's ruling.

(Ruling of the chair sustained: yeas 6; nays 5)