Official Languages Committee on March 24th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu.

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

Quickly, I'd like to extend my condolences to the families of the two pilots, of course.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Mr. Villeneuve, the floor is yours.

[Louis Villeneuve, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

I just wanted to add that I also offer my condolences to all the families, obviously.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve.

Mr. Godin, you have the floor.

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

Mr. Chair, you have noted the same thing as I have: All members of the official languages committee are sensitive to this matter. I think this is an issue that needs to be addressed. However, as I mentioned a little earlier, I would like us to add, in the second hour—since the motion was proposed today, I don't have a list of suggested witnesses—experts who can give us instructions so that the federal government can have tools to intervene in this kind of situation.

I don't have the solution. I don't have the key. However, I think this is important. Let us use what we're experiencing to correct the future. We can't put toothpaste back in the tube, but we can improve things in the future. I think we should use an amendment to add an hour to the planned study. That would make it a full meeting and enable us to hear from experts who can guide us on setting up rules to prevent this type of situation as much as possible.

We all understand that, if the CEO of Air Canada had the will, we wouldn't be in this situation. Unfortunately, he doesn't have that willingness or sensitivity toward French and francophones across Canada.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Godin.

You're proposing an amendment, then. Is that correct?

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

Yes, but I don't have the wording. You understand that—

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

I understand. You're proposing to add—

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

I propose adding, in the second hour, experts who can guide us so that we can find tools for the federal government to have the means and power to intervene in this type of situation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Mr. Deschênes-Thériault, you have the floor.

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

Since we have an amendment before us, I'll wait for it to be dealt with before I speak.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Okay.

Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor to speak to the amendment.

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

I support the amendment, but I think that if the government has the political will, it can take action and have an impact on Air Canada. Officials can let us know, but I'm sure that Air Canada has funding, loan guarantees or federal legislation to support it, and that can play a role. We'll see, but I support the amendment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

I just consulted the clerk. It would be helpful to have some wording so that we can agree on something concrete and not just on an idea.

Mr. Godin, can you propose some wording?

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

I can say the amendment that I'm proposing, and Madam Clerk could take note of it.

I propose that we add a second hour to this meeting to hear expert testimony to help us define measures that we, as legislators, should put in place to enable the government to act in this type of situation, wherever possible, obviously.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Madam Clerk, can you read the text you have so that we can make sure we have understood correctly?

[The Clerk of the Committee, Madeleine Martin]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The addition would be as follows: that the Committee hear, during the second hour, from experts to help the Committee define measures that legislators can put in place for the government to intervene in such situations.

We could change that wording. It's at the discretion of committee members.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Ms. Chenette, you have the floor.

[Madeleine Chenette, Liberal, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

I think we need to shorten the text. The first part was clear, but I would instead write that it's a matter of identifying legislative solutions to take better action in such situations. We could draw inspiration from that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Madam Clerk, can you read the wording that has been proposed by Ms. Chenette?

[The Clerk]

If I understand correctly, the proposal is to add the following to the motion: “That the committee hear, during the second hour, from experts who can identify legislative solutions that would allow the government to intervene in such situations”.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Does the committee wish to adopt this amendment?

(Amendment agreed to)

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

We're now back to the motion as amended.

Mr. Deschênes-Thériault, you have the floor.

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

I would like to quickly move an amendment. In the first paragraph, the words “and passengers” should be removed.