Official Languages Committee on Feb. 3rd, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Welcome to meeting number 18 of the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(f) and the motion adopted by the committee on October 23, 2025, we are meeting today to conclude our study on the use of French in government communications and federal institutions.

I would now like to welcome the witnesses.

We first welcome the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages.

Welcome, Minister.

Second, from the Department of Canadian Heritage, we welcome Francis Bilodeau, deputy minister; Julie Boyer, assistant deputy minister, official languages, heritage and regions; and Sarah Boily, director general, official languages.

Minister, you have five minutes to give your opening statement. Then, there will be a question and answer period with members of the committee.

The floor is yours, Minister.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, committee members.

Good afternoon.

I'd like to begin by acknowledging that the land we're on is the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.

I’m happy to be here. I have known some of you for a very long time. This is my first appearance in my fairly new role as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, and I presume it will not be the last. Thank you for having me.

Culture is a pillar of our shared identity, a source of pride and a key driver of our economy. In a world undergoing profound change, it is more important than ever to protect and promote what defines us as Canadians. Official languages are at the very heart of our identity. Ensuring their vitality is an integral part of a strong, united and resilient Canada.

Here in Ontario, we had an excellent example of this when we celebrated 50 years of the Franco-Ontarian flag this fall. This celebration showed us the extent to which our francophonie and our two official languages are linked to our past, our present and, obviously, our future.

In Canada, the francophonie is more than just a language. It is a history, a culture, a source of strength that makes us unique in North America. Our government knows this, and my role as minister is to promote what nurtures Canadian identity and the collective pride of Canadians.

In his mandate letter, the Prime Minister set out several priorities for our government to protect our sovereignty, strengthen our country on the world stage and build a Canada worthy of our children and our grandchildren. In recent months, we've shown through our actions that we take this mission seriously.

In November, we reinforced our commitment to protecting what makes Canada unique and brings Canadians together through the 2025 budget.

In November, we also introduced in Parliament draft regulations on the system of administrative monetary penalties to ensure that people travelling in Canada can receive services in English and French anywhere and at any time.

On Monday, the government tabled the certificate of nomination for the next commissioner, Kelly Burke. I had the opportunity to speak with her and I am convinced that she will be a commissioner who can meet all of the expectations of both of the official language minority communities.

Each of these measures represents another step toward true equality between our official languages, a goal that our government has been actively working toward for 10 years now. We are proud to promote bilingualism across the country.

Our government is committed to creating a work environment in which officials are free to choose to work in English or in French and to receive supervision in the official language of their choice.

When the federal government issues communications, we work to ensure that all Canadians are able to understand important announcements and press releases. That is why every press release is available in both official languages. The process of modernizing the official languages regime did not end when the modernized Official Languages Act received royal assent, nor will it end with the tabling of the orders in council to implement the regulations. No, it will take time to achieve the changes that we all want to see, namely the promotion of French and true equality between the two official languages.

Rome wasn't built in a day, nor can the change we seek to effect in this country happen overnight.

The change we are seeking to implement is a cultural change. We need to continue promoting French within our teams, in our meetings and in our interactions with the public. We also need to talk about official languages as a common asset that belongs as much to official language minority communities as it does to the entire population of Canada because by defending and promoting our languages, we are investing directly in the vitality of our communities and thus in the prosperity of our beautiful country.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, minister.

We will now move on to questions and comments.

Mr. Godin, you have six minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you for being here, minister.

I want to thank the officials who are here with him.

Minister, you know that we have limited time in committee so I may have to interrupt you if I am not satisfied with your answer. I want to be upfront about that.

Just so you know, this will not be your last visit to the Standing Committee on Official Languages because during the work of the committee I proposed to the chair that we receive you for two hours. The first hour was meant to be reserved for the presentation of your mandate letter and the second hour was supposed to be devoted to today's topic. Unfortunately, there was not enough room in your schedule for you to appear for two hours, but I assure you that you will be invited again, very soon, I hope, to talk to us about your mandate letter.

As you know, minister, you are here because of a Radio‑Canada article about the rather minimal use of French by your Prime Minister, which indicates to us your government's willingness to sprinkle a little French here and there to give the illusion that French, one of the two official languages, is being used fairly. That is not my interpretation.

Minister, you have been in your role since December. Can you tell me what measures have been taken by yourself or your predecessor to address the correspondence from the Privy Council? What has the Minister of Heritage, who is responsible for official languages, done to increase the use of French, both by the Prime Minister and all the federal departments and agencies?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

Mr. Godin, I would say right off the bat that whether we are ministers or ordinary members of Parliament, we all have a duty to set an example, both in the workplace and in public, in the way we express ourselves in both official languages. It is extremely important. The work I have been doing within this department for the past six weeks or so—obviously it is a rather short period of time—consists of continuing the work we have done by investing $4 billion—

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

Minister, I have to interrupt you, I know the whole story. I have been a member of the Standing Committee on Official Languages for a long time. I know the story of the Action Plan for Official Languages. I don't want to know what has been done about that. I want to know what your government, your predecessor and you have done about the very specific case reported in the Radio‑Canada article I was talking about.

Have you been informed about what has been done? Are there any indicators and new tools to avoid repeating the same thing over and over again?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I think that the Prime Minister himself has publicly acknowledged that he should do better and he should set an example. It is no secret that the Prime Minister's French has improved immensely over the past year and I think it will continue to improve in the future.

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

I understand, Minister. I am not talking about the quality of the Prime Minister's French. I am talking much more about the proportion of French he uses in his public interventions. You say that he acknowledged that he needs to do better, but let's not forget that during his pre-budget speech at the University of Ottawa, a bilingual university, the topics he addressed in French were very simplistic—I mean no disrespect—compared to the topics he addressed in English, which were much stronger, much more important for society and more focused on the economy. He made that speech in a bilingual setting where he had the opportunity to speak French.

My question is simple. What did your predecessor do? What is going to be done? What have you done? I understand that you just got here, but what are you going to put in place to require the Prime Minister and other government agencies to use French?

Minister, you said that the Prime Minister was committed to a work environment where one can use the language of their choice. In that case, his choice is English.

Did I get that right?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I can't tell you what happens in cabinet but I have seen a significant improvement in his use of French. You can simply see for yourself in his statement during the Prime Time conference last Thursday where, in a largely anglophone environment, he decided to speak in French. It is significant, but there is still work to do. Of course, the evidence will follow.

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

Minister, you are aware that one of the problems with the Official Languages Act is that it doesn't give you any tools. We're still in a grey area where it seems that nobody can take responsibility and force the machinery of government to use French more.

What can you, as the new minister responsible for official languages, do about it?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Mr. Godin, you have 30 seconds.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

If you take a good look at the recent overhaul of the Official Languages Act, there are certain obligations that clearly apply to the public service.

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

What will you do to enforce these obligations?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

You may also carefully review the regulations that have just been tabled and draw your own conclusions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

You have 10 seconds.

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

Thank you. We will see again you soon.

[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.

Minister, thank you for being here with us today.

My questions today will be very simple.

First, in your view, does the Prime Minister speak French?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

You have seen it yourself. Yes, and there has been a significant improvement since the beginning of last year. It is very promising. He is a very intelligent person. People can see that he put in great efforts to improve the quality of his French. I have witnessed this myself. I am sure that all other members have seen it as well.

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

Indeed. Thank you.

Should the Prime Minister speak more in French?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I think that he has acknowledged that himself, that he should make additional efforts. The Prime Minister, like all members and all ministers, should lead by example in terms of using both official languages.

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

Thank you.

Is it important for ministers and members to speak both official languages?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

Yes. Building on my previous comment, I would add that it is very important for every member to make an effort.

Languages don't come easily to everybody and not everybody has had the opportunity that I've had to be raised in English and French. We can understand some members' situations. I know that, regardless of the party, many members make great efforts to take lessons in Quebec every year. I think that some of them are making great progress. They deserve credit for that. I understand that it can be challenging for an adult to learn a new language—in fact, I have done this—but we must make that effort.

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

Of course.

Do you think that speaking French should be a requirement for a member or a minister?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I wouldn't say that it should be a legal requirement. I would like all Canadians to speak French. However, the reality is quite different. We face a challenge to always stand up and defend the French language, particularly when we are in a sea of English. The reality is that many members only speak one language. That is a fact.

Having a requirement where every member must speak both official languages would pose a major challenge across the country.