Official Languages Committee on Dec. 11th, 2025

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

The Prime Minister, Commissioner—

[Raymond Théberge]

To me, the—

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

It was a simple question.

Has the Prime Minister taken the necessary steps to promote both official languages equitably over the past nine months?

[Raymond Théberge]

I'm really not in a position to say.

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

Thank you.

Commissioner, you've been with us for almost 10 years. I don't have the exact date, but you and I came here around the same time. We worked together on the modernization of the Official Languages Act.

A member from Montreal worked behind the scenes against Quebec's Bill 96. Last week, this member was appointed Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, responsible for official languages, among other files. That said, I find it odd that there isn't a minister of official languages, but that's another issue.

Do you think that's acceptable? A prime minister who, in my opinion, is very vulnerable when it comes to French, one of the two official languages, appoints a minister who has fought against it behind the scenes. What message does that send? The only one who went to battle was MP Anthony Housefather.

It should be noted that Marc Miller and other Liberal MPs from Montreal were working against francophones. Today, he is responsible for official languages.

Do you think that's acceptable? What message does that send to Canadian citizens?

[Raymond Théberge]

I'm really not aware of that. I find it very difficult to comment on it. In addition, I don't know the criteria used to appoint ministers.

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

Actually, I'm just going to quote a political analyst, Ms. Lefebvre, who said on TVA that Mr. Miller had worked against his colleague Mélanie Joly.

I would remind you that Mélanie Joly, who used to hold that position, had tabled a white paper talking about the central agency, as I was saying earlier. However, Marc Miller, behind the scenes, worked against her and other people who were working for francophones.

Was Marc Miller chosen by Prime Minister Carney because he took that position?

[Raymond Théberge]

I can't comment on that.

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

You follow the news.

[Raymond Théberge]

Yes, but I'm not aware of everything.

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

You are aware of it, but you don't want to talk about it because you maintain discretion as Commissioner.

[Raymond Théberge]

As Commissioner, I always maintain discretion.

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

Commissioner, I appreciate your candour.

Now, with all the information and indicators you have, can you say that the new Prime Minister, who has been in power since April 28, 2025, has demonstrated the will and intent to promote the French fact and give it equal weight with English in a bilingual country?

As I said, we have French and English. His predecessor appointed a Governor General who doesn't speak French. This is a representative title that should be bilingual.

With what he is doing, is the current Prime Minister showing us that he has the will and the intent?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Mr. Théberge, please be brief, as the time is up.

[Raymond Théberge]

That's an interesting question to which I don't have an answer.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Mr. Deschênes‑Thériault, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I join my colleagues in congratulating you on your years of leadership in protecting and promoting our two official languages. I am pleased to welcome you to the committee on your last appearance.

For the record, when I was starting my bachelor's degree in 2012 at the Université de Moncton, you arrived at the same time. I was a young political science student and you were president. Now, for your last appearance, I'm a member of the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

We're talking about the use of French today. I think raising the bar requires leading by example. The administrative monetary penalties regulations were recently tabled in the House. I'd like to know how you think these regulations will strengthen the capacity of the Commissioner of Official Languages to ensure compliance with the Official Languages Act.

Do you have any comments on those regulations?

[Raymond Théberge]

It's certainly an important tool in the Commissioner's tool box, especially in the transportation sector, because that's what it mainly affects.

However, as in the document we sent you, there is one aspect that is of great concern to us, and that is the administrative burden for implementing administrative monetary penalties, or AMPs.

There are a lot of AMP regimes that are much lighter. I think it's a huge workload for us to get to the point of imposing an administrative monetary penalty.

Therefore, I think the implementation aspect needs to be reviewed. The whole process people have to go through is extremely cumbersome.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Regarding the use of French, I would like to add that a strict approach should be taken with all institutions and businesses, including Air Canada. According to your annual reports, Air Canada has received a number of complaints. The allowed penalties will be between $25,000 and $50,000, but will the cumulative effect of multiple offences mean that a number of penalties will be imposed?

Do you think that will have a real deterrent effect on Air Canada and will encourage the administration to take its language obligations seriously?

[Raymond Théberge]

I don't think any company will want to be subject to administrative monetary penalties. As a result, they might make the necessary efforts. However, the point you raised is interesting, because it's for each offence.

If there are 300, 400, 500 violations….

That said, imposing a penalty will require a lot of gymnastics.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

I'd like to take you in a different direction.

A few weeks ago, you tabled a midpoint report on the action plan for official languages. As we know, the action plan for official languages is one of the government's main tools for supporting the vitality of our official language minority communities.

In 2023, there was a historic investment of $4.1 billion. It was the largest investment in the country's history, even after adjusting for inflation. I read the document carefully. At the end, in your conclusion, you said that the report urged us to avoid funding gaps as far as possible and to ensure a smooth transition from one action plan to another.

Since this is your last appearance, I'd like you to tell us more about this message.

[Raymond Théberge]

Very often, funding over a five-year period as part of the action plan is granted either to the provinces or to organizations. The action plan is coming to an end, but there is no new action plan in place. This can lead to a funding gap for organizations in the field of education, for example. What's important is to make the action plan permanent. These are five-year action plans, of course, but if you look at them carefully, you will still see some continuity in terms of priorities.

It's really important to ensure a transition between the action plan from 2023 to 2028 and the one that starts in 2029. We also have to take into account the recommendations, the suggestions made in the report leading up to the new action plan.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

You have 30 seconds.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

At the end, you mentioned that we also had to adapt to the changing, specific needs of our various communities across the country.

Can you tell us a bit more about that?

[Raymond Théberge]

All of our communities have their own unique characteristics. Obviously, they have features in common, but each of them is different.

New Brunswick is not Manitoba. Manitoba is not British Columbia.

I think we have to be aware of local needs, of the unique characteristics of each environment, and have programs that meet their needs.