Official Languages Committee on Feb. 12th, 2026

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

Subsection 42(1) of the modernized act states that the federal government is committed to promoting the French language in its diplomatic relations.

However, as far as I can tell, the draft regulations don't include this aspect.

Would it have been possible to include something to put into practice the implementation of subsection 42(1)?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

You have 30 seconds left.

[Carsten Quell]

In developing the regulations, our approach has been to ensure that they cover all federal institutions.

We know that the act focuses on certain federal institutions, such as Global Affairs Canada or Statistics Canada, when it comes to the enumeration of rights holders. However, the current version of the regulations was designed to apply to all federal institutions.

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you.

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

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

The purpose of the regulations is indeed to clarify the obligations of part VII of the act. Is that right?

Do the regulations take into account the purposes of the act as a whole?

[Carsten Quell]

The regulations take into account the purposes of part VII. The goal is to define and set out the procedure for implementing part VII.

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

If we look at the new version of the act, the really new aspects are the asymmetrical components.

Ms. ShankarNarayan also said earlier that the goal was to protect French in Quebec.

What part of the regulations covers this? I didn't see anything about this. All I saw was the usual asymmetrical approach.

[Carsten Quell]

As I just explained, the regulations reflect part VII of the act. Part VII of the act reflects this new asymmetrical approach. The regulations set out the procedure for implementing part VII of the act. As I did earlier, I'll give the example of support for the creation and dissemination of information in French that contributes to the advancement of scientific knowledge in any discipline.

It's an example of how a federal institution taking a positive step can promote and protect French in Quebec and in other parts of Canada.

[Annie Proulx, Director, Regulations and Policy, Official Languages Centre of Excellence, Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board Secretariat]

I would like to add that the draft regulations do indeed propose a common framework that would clarify the obligations of part VII of the act. The draft regulations include provisions for federal institutions to implement all these commitments. One of these provisions is to protect and promote French throughout the country, including in Quebec.

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

One purpose of the act is to maintain a francophone majority in Quebec and to make Quebec a hub for the French‑speaking world. In part VII of the act, subparagraph 41(6)(b)(i) also refers to “the necessity of protecting and promoting the French language in each province and territory…”. This includes Quebec. However, all the statements in the regulations refer to the English and French linguistic minority communities, but never to French in Quebec.

During your consultations regarding the regulations, did you consult with people who represent francophones in Quebec?

[Carsten Quell]

We consulted the Quebec government when developing the regulations. Perhaps more broadly, if I look at a document that we use to provide information to the federal institutions, our approach to explaining—

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

You didn't consult any groups, such as the FCFA, for francophones outside Quebec. Is that right?

Quebec has community groups, and the same thing exists. You didn't consult any of these groups.

Is that right?

[Carsten Quell]

I don't know whether we consulted with any institutions in Quebec.

[Annie Proulx]

We did consult with some Quebec government officials. We could give you—

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

However, you didn't consult any representatives of the community organizations that advocate for French in Quebec.

Is that right?

[Annie Proulx]

We met in particular with organizations that advocate for bilingualism in the country. We can give you a more detailed list if you would like.

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

I find it unfortunate that the new regulations don't clarify this aspect. So far, when we look at the public accounts, for example, we don't see any new positive measures for French in Quebec. I'm not talking about French outside Quebec.

Yet the act says the opposite. A number of ministers talked about protecting French in Quebec. However, if we look at the public accounts, for example, we don't see anything for French in Quebec.

Will the regulations clarify this issue?

[Carsten Quell]

No. The regulations will help institutions fulfill their obligation to take positive measures. The positive measures must be taken in three areas. These areas are the vitality of minorities and the promotion of official languages, the protection and promotion of French and, in this case, the recognition that French is in a minority situation.

The focus is on the implementation of the regulations through positive measures on the part of federal institutions.

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

Basically, you're repeating parts of the act, but not clarifying them.

This isn't related to Quebec. However, the FCFA said that there were no purpose statements to guide the implementation and interpretation of the regulations.

Wouldn't there have been a way to include purpose statements to clarify things?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

You have 15 seconds left. Please give a brief response.

[Carsten Quell]

We're now at the draft regulations stage. We welcome all recommendations, proposals and comments. We're waiting for briefs from community groups. We'll certainly make a point of looking at any new proposals for the final development of the regulations.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu.

We're moving on to the second round. I'll shorten the round proportionally, as always.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Quell, I find it interesting when you talk about draft regulations. It means that you're open to proposals and comments.

With regard to language clauses, under the heading “Provincial and Territorial Government Agreements”, the regulations state the following:

7(1) For the purposes of paragraph 41(7)(a.1) of the Act, federal institutions must take the necessary measures to promote the inclusion of the provisions referred to in that paragraph by: (a) informing the parties of the expectations […].

I don't want to read it. That said, I do want to see whether it's possible to add a component. This would probably be a paragraph (c), which would follow paragraph (b). It would state in the regulations that the federal government, in all its negotiations with the provinces and territories, must make public the proposed provisions for inclusion in the agreements.

I don't want to know about what happens at the negotiating table. However, the federal government has an obligation to propose provisions.

Can we know what proposals have been made? When we have the final agreement, we'll know how things turned out.

Is it possible to add this?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

You have 35 seconds left.