Official Languages Committee on Dec. 9th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Good morning.

Welcome to meeting number 16 of the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

Pursuant to the order of reference of November 26, 2025, we are meeting today to begin our study on the proposed official languages administrative monetary penalties regulations.

I would now like to welcome our witnesses for the first hour.

From the Department of Canadian Heritage, we have Julie Boyer, assistant deputy minister, official languages, heritage and regions; Sarah Boily, director general, official languages; Richard Léger, director, official languages regulations directorate; and Chantal Therrien, manager, official languages regulations.

Welcome. Thank you for being with us this morning.

The department will have five minutes for its opening remarks. We will then proceed to a question and answer period with committee members.

Ms. Boyer, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Julie Boyer, Assistant Deputy Minister, Official Languages, Heritage and Regions, Department of Canadian Heritage]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Honourable members, it's a pleasure to be here with you today. My name is Julie Boyer. I'm the assistant deputy minister of official languages, heritage and regions, at the Department of Canadian Heritage.

With me today are Sarah Boily, director general of the official languages directorate; Richard Léger, the director responsible for regulations; and Chantal Therrien, manager of the team that led the drafting of these draft regulations.

Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that the land on which we are gathered, in Ottawa and Gatineau, is part of the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe nation.

Our objective today is to present the key elements of the draft regulations on administrative monetary penalties, which were tabled in Parliament on November 26.

The modernized Official Languages Act gives the Minister of Canadian Heritage the authority to recommend to the Governor in Council regulations enabling the Commissioner of Official Languages to impose administrative monetary penalties.

Regulations are needed to define this power. It's a power of last resort that is discretionary. Its purpose is to strengthen the compliance of entities subject to the obligations under part IV of the Official Languages Act, which deals with communications with and services to the public.

The Department of Canadian Heritage led the drafting of these regulations in collaboration with the Department of Justice, the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Department of Transport.

In addition to equipping the Commissioner with a new power, the regulations will define the process towards procedural fairness and transparency.

Specific entities are covered by these regulations: Air Canada, Marine Atlantic Inc., Via Rail Canada and designated airport authorities, as defined in the Airport Transfer Act. These entities were selected because they fulfill the conditions set out in the Official Languages Act.

There are three types of violations outlined in the regulations, each with its own range of penalties. This approach allows the Commissioner of Official Languages to adjust the penalties based on the nature of the language obligation impacted.

The first type of violation covers services offered through third party businesses that have contracts with the entities outlined above. For example, restaurants, retail stores or car rental counters in airports would be subject to administrative monetary penalties. However, this type of administrative monetary penalty comes into force only a year after the regulations are made, in order to give entities time to prepare for implementation.

The second type of violation covers most obligations from part IV of the Official Languages Act and its regulations. Examples of that are signage or an active offer for a service in the official language of your choice.

The third type of violation is reserved for violations concerning public health and safety.

The Commissioner of Official Languages has the necessary latitude to establish the amount of the penalties while respecting the range of the amounts set out in the regulations.

The proposed regulations also set out how the Commissioner will determine the amount of a penalty by considering aggravating or mitigating factors, and they deal with procedural and administrative aspects.

For example, when issuing a notice of violation, the Commissioner will have to clearly explain how the amount of the penalty was established and provide evidence.

The result is regulations that respect the Commissioner's discretion, but provide clarity and predictability for the parties concerned.

Under the parliamentary regulatory process, after the proposed regulations are tabled, 30 sitting days must pass in the House of Commons before prepublication in part I of the Canada Gazette can take place.

Following that, there is a 30-day sitting period for both Houses of Parliament to receive comments, consider them and publish the final text in part II of the Canada Gazette. I'll stop here.

Thank you for your attention. We would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you very much, Ms. Boyer.

We will now move on to questions and answers.

Mr. Godin, you have the floor for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Could we stop the clock? It's because a very important event took place yesterday. It was our chair's birthday.

I would like to wish you a very happy birthday, Mr. Chair. You were scared, right?

[Voices]

Hear, hear!

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

You can restart the clock, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

I hope you're not going to sing.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

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

No.

I'm sorry. We have to be able to have some fun.

I thank the witnesses for being here. It's always a pleasure to see you, ladies and gentlemen.

Two years ago, two and a half years ago, we had the opportunity to work very hard on the modernization of the Official Languages Act. That leads me to say that it took two and a half years to produce these regulations, which I think could have been done more quickly. However, I'm not throwing stones at anyone; it's just an observation.

Something rather odd happened this morning in the House of Commons. The President of the Treasury Board tabled a report on official languages, but that was the second regulation. I'm not sure he knows what he's doing. That was my introduction.

I would like to ask you a question about the regulations.

I'm wondering about the discretion provided to the Commissioner. You gave him powers. That will add to his duties, which can lead to an overload of work.

Will he have access to additional resources? Perhaps you could let us know.

Will he have guidance on discretion?

That said, I still think that the application of the act should not be interpreted by a single person.

I'd like to hear your comments on that.

[Julie Boyer]

Thank you very much for the question.

First of all, the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada is an officer of Parliament. So he definitely has some discretionary power when it comes to managing his duties and obligations.

The regulations prescribe a range of penalties based on the nature of the violation and the control that the entity can exercise. Type A violations involve services provided pursuant to a contract because there's less control. Violations of part IV of the act can lead to a penalty of up to $50,000. The reason behind that is that it's a matter of direct control by regulated entities.

When it comes to health and safety, there is obviously a minimum administrative monetary penalty of $5,000, which can go up to $50,000.

In the regulations, a number of factors were listed to ensure predictability and transparency for the entities concerned. That still gives the Commissioner full authority over the implementation of penalties. It's based on the ability of the Commissioner as an officer of Parliament.

Among the criteria in question, I cite the systemic or repetitive nature of the violation; its nature; its accidental or isolated nature; its repetition; its duration; the number of persons affected by the violation; efforts to remedy the violation by the designated body that is believed to have committed the violation, and so on. That gives you an idea of what we're talking about.

It's defined, but we're talking about an officer of Parliament, so there can be flexibility. In addition, the regulations were developed following a consultation process. That has enabled us to present the draft regulations to you today.

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

Okay.

I'll draw a parallel by using a traffic ticket as an example. There's not a lot of room for interpretation for the police officer. I would like you to come back to this comparison with a ticket.

That said, there is one thing that worries me.

You said this was done based on the Commissioner's ability. However, that ability is limited, given the means at his disposal, his staff or the time frames.

Let's talk about time frames. It took two and a half years to draft the regulations. It took a year after the regulations were adopted to implement them. So it has now been almost four years.

I'm not accusing anyone, but is it responsible to take so much time, when urgent action is needed, given that French is in decline?

I often say that a will and an intent are necessary. I don't sense that here.

I'd like to hear your opinion on that, Ms. Boyer.

[Julie Boyer]

Thank you very much for the question, Mr. Chair.

Of course, I won't be sharing my opinion. I'm a public servant, and I'm here to share facts.

That said, I would like to remind you that the act gives the Commissioner a number of new powers. Right now, he can implement his right to mediate and publish recommendations stemming from a report. He can also decide to impose a compliance agreement and go as far as issuing an order if the agreement is not complied with.

Imposing administrative monetary penalties is a power of last resort. Among the examples I just mentioned, it is the last one that can be used, except for orders. It's only if a compliance agreement is not complied with that the Commissioner will be able to impose an administrative monetary penalty.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

There are 30 seconds left.

[Julie Boyer]

I'd like to clarify something else. Once the regulations come into force, administrative monetary penalties can be imposed immediately, except in the case of the mandated services I mentioned, those provided by third parties at airports.

They are the ones that need the adjustment year. That will enable those airport entities to eventually take corrective measures or offer incentives to their tenants to provide services in both official languages.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Your time is up.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We'll come back to this in the second part of the meeting.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Godin.

I now give the floor to Ms. Mingarelli for six minutes.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank all the witnesses for being here today.

Ms. Boyer, in the development of the draft regulations, did you consult external stakeholders?

If so, which groups, experts or organizations were consulted and how did their input inform the final text?

[Julie Boyer]

Thank you very much for your question.

The regulatory process is very rigorous, and certain parameters must be respected. We conducted extensive consultations with a variety of organizations during the drafting and development of these regulations.

I'll ask the director responsible for regulations at the official languages regulations directorate to give you more details.

[Richard Léger, Director, Official Languages Regulations Directorate, Department of Canadian Heritage]

Good morning.

First, in the spring and summer of 2024, a questionnaire was sent to all Canadians as part of an online consultation process. There were over 1,300 respondents.

From April to July 2024—so around the same period—we also consulted key stakeholders interested in official languages.

We held a number of virtual and in-person meetings with stakeholders from community organizations, as well as with spokespersons and representatives from the provinces and territories.

There was an extensive consultation process with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, the provinces and territories and some indigenous organizations.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Thank you very much.

These regulations will result in new responsibilities and an increased volume of work for the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

In your opinion, does the Office of the Commissioner currently have the necessary human and financial resources to take on these new duties?

If not, what additional resources would be required?

[Julie Boyer]

Thank you very much for your question.

This also ties in with Mr. Godin's question about the capacity of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. I'm pleased to note that the Commissioner received, in budget 2024, $10.8 million over five years to prepare for the implementation of the upcoming regulations.

That was based, for the most part, on estimates provided by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. During this preparation time, the Office of the Commissioner was able to hire people. The resources are available.

That said, the Commissioner is in the best position to assess whether additional staff are required. If so, he would be in a good position to make a budget request and increase his operating budget. However, an investment over a five-year period has already been made.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Okay, thank you very much.

How much time do I have left, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

There are two and a half minutes left.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

That's fantastic.

Modernizing the Official Languages Act has strengthened the role and powers of the Commissioner.

Can you explain what these new powers are since the modernization?