Official Languages Committee on May 5th, 2026

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to welcome our distinguished witnesses.

Ms. Boyer, you mentioned that in areas or cities with a strong francophone presence, a business, such as a bank, will be required to offer services in French. In such cases, does all the bank's staff have to be bilingual, or is the bank allowed to have only a few people who speak French? How can you monitor that?

[Julie Boyer]

Thank you for your question.

No, it doesn't mean that all employees of a business must be bilingual. For example, in the case of a bank branch in Saint-Boniface, which is a region with a strong francophone presence, all employees don't have to be bilingual. The bank must have bilingual employees to be able to provide services in French at all times upon request at the counter. This means there may be two people providing services in French, but the bank must ensure these individuals are available during business hours.

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

The government wants to remove barriers to interprovincial trade. Although French is the common language in Quebec, the only province where French is the official language, French is spoken across the country.

Does the law isolate Quebec or integrate it more into the pan-Canadian dynamic?

[Julie Boyer]

As a public servant, I will refrain from giving an opinion.

That said, I see that the regulatory regime grants the Canadian francophonie rights that did not exist before. In my opinion, that's a good thing. It allows French-speaking Quebeckers who occasionally travel to other Canadian regions with a strong francophone presence to be served in French if they need to make a bank withdrawal, for example. They could even find a job outside Quebec, such as in Saint-Boniface or Edmonton, and work in French with documents in French.

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Thank you.

[Julie Boyer]

I would say this is a real advantage for Canada's French-speaking community.

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

With the regulations coming into effect, the federal government is exercising its jurisdiction in Quebec. However, Quebec already regulates federally regulated private businesses, in accordance with Quebec's Charter of the French Language. One concern we hear from Quebec is that the two regimes are not aligned.

Can you explain the main differences between the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and the Charter of the French Language, as well as the main points of convergence?

[Julie Boyer]

I'll go first, and my colleague Ms. Boily, my committee expert, will chime in.

I can tell you that there have been extensive discussions and consultations, as well as close collaboration with the Quebec government's ministry responsible for the French language. We scrutinized the Charter of the French Language and the draft regulation, compared every comma and all the details that didn't match, and did our best to correct all the discrepancies. Some differences remain, but I can say with confidence that the two regimes are equivalent, apart from a few different implementation tools.

[Sarah Boily]

I'd just like to briefly add two examples.

Earlier, we discussed the first example, which concerned committees for the fostering of French promotion in Quebec. Quebec may require companies with 25 to 99 employees to have a francization committee, whereas under the federal regime, the threshold for the requirement to have such a committee is 100 employees.

Another minor distinction concerns the membership of these francization committees, on which the Office québécois de la langue française may sit.

Mr. Beaulieu also highlighted another minor difference regarding the award of contracts when companies fail to meet the criteria.

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

You would agree that the French language is declining in Quebec. I'd like to know what measures the government has taken to address this decline. Can you give us some examples?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

There is no time for a response.

[Julie Boyer]

It was a good question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

It was a good question, but we'll save it for next time.

We have about 14 minutes left with our witnesses, and so we can proceed with the third round of questions, but I'll have to limit time. Conservative and Liberal members will each have three minutes, and Mr. Beaulieu will have one and a half minutes.

Would you like to say something, Mr. Godin?

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

Is it indeed two three-minute periods for the Conservatives and two three-minute periods for the Liberals?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

That's correct.

Mr. Gill, you have three minutes.

[Dalwinder Gill, Conservative, Calgary McKnight, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, witnesses, for coming to this committee.

My question is about federally regulated businesses in Quebec, which can fall under either the federal regime or Quebec's Charter of the French language.

Do you think that choice creates a risk of confusion about which rules apply?

[Julie Boyer]

I'm happy to answer. Thank you for the question.

I would say if you have two regimes asking for the same thing, it's hard to get away from it.

[Dalwinder Gill, Conservative, Calgary McKnight, AB]

Bill C-13 created new rights for consumers and workers to use French in federally regulated private businesses, but the act is still not being enforced almost three years later.

Why has the government taken so long to bring them into effect? When will French-speaking consumers and workers actually be able to rely on them?

[Julie Boyer]

It did take some time, but the teams at both Treasury Board Secretariat and Canadian Heritage took this responsibility very seriously. We had extensive preconsultations, including with indigenous groups, because that group is excluded from this regulatory regime. We wanted to make sure we got it right.

The preconsultations and the preparation of a robust analysis of the impacts on the cost of making these regulations, which was as accurate as possible, required us to meet with several unions as well as federally regulated private businesses of different sizes to be able to assess, and this is the result of that work.

As for when it will come into effect, we'll see. The next step would be the Canada Gazette, part I, and then the Canada Gazette, part II. It would come into effect in Quebec, where, technically, federally regulated private businesses should already be subject to the Charter of the French language. If not, then they would have to become compliant with the federal regime. Two years later, francophones in strong concentrations outside of Quebec or in regions with a strong francophone presence would receive the same benefits.

[Dalwinder Gill, Conservative, Calgary McKnight, AB]

French language rights need to be backed by clear and meaningful consequences. What consequences will businesses face under these regulations if they fail to provide service in French or respect French language rights?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Give a brief answer, please, because there are 10 seconds left.

[Sarah Boily]

The citizens who don't get their services in French will be able to direct a complaint to the Commissioner of Official Languages, who will investigate and issue recommendations. The commissioner, as my colleague said earlier, can also try to get into a compliance agreement with the entity that's non-compliant. If that fails, the commissioner can bring out a stronger power, which we have yet to test, as it's brand new. It's the power to issue orders—

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Ms. Boily, I have to cut you off. I'm sorry. We're well over time.

I try not to interrupt the final answer if a question is asked before the time elapses—that's the principle I apply—but unfortunately sometimes we can't hear it all.

I'll turn the floor over to Mr. Villeneuve for three minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, witnesses, for being here this afternoon.

I'm a member of Parliament from Quebec. I'm wondering how these regulations represent progress in the protection and promotion of French in Quebec. Could you please help me understand where the progress lies?

[Julie Boyer]

I think this is a concrete measure to protect French in Quebec. It has been recognized in the law. The federal government said it would take action, and it's acting within its jurisdiction, namely federally regulated private businesses. It's the same thing for businesses that are already subject to the Charter of the French Language; it's equivalent.

That said, we will have completed this step following the modernization of the Official Languages Act. It's also a net gain for the Canadian francophonie, which did not have any rights prior to this regulation.