Official Languages Committee on May 5th, 2026

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

We've been familiar with consequences, such as orders and so forth, for 50 years, and they haven't amounted to much.

Now, the commissioner will be able to impose monetary penalties. We're starting to see some penalties. From what I understand, the UFPBA is really a toothless law. There are no consequences.

[Julie Boyer]

First, I would say that orders are a new power granted to the commissioner. There isn't a 50-year history of unsuccessful implementation behind this. It's new. Second, the regime is equivalent to the Charter of the French Language regime, with a few exceptions.

You mention withholding contracts, and that's a condition we don't have in place. However, the commissioner can enter into a compliance agreement, and if the organization fails to comply, the commissioner can apply for an order from the Federal Court.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

I'm sorry to cut you off, Ms. Boyer, but your time is up.

I now give the floor to Mr. Dalton for five minutes.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Ms. Boyer, thank you for being here. It's always a pleasure to see you.

I will continue along the same lines as my colleagues.

As a member of Parliament from British Columbia, I would like to know if there are any regions in that province with a strong francophone presence where these regulations will apply.

[Julie Boyer]

Currently, no regions in British Columbia have been identified as having a strong francophone presence with potential demand of at least 10%.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

You mentioned western Canada, specifically Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan, where there are two regions with strong francophone presence, such as Beausejour, Saint-Boniface and the Bonnyville area. How will you determine whether the regulations apply in Edmonton and Bonnyville, for example?

[Julie Boyer]

Since it will take two years to implement these changes, there will undoubtedly be a major awareness-raising effort to ensure that federally regulated private businesses around the University of Alberta's Saint-Jean Campus, which has a large francophone population, are fully informed of their new obligations to allow employees to work in French, to provide them with documents in French to and serve customers in French.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

I'm sure the campus will be ready to do that.

Minister Miller talked about “significant upfront costs”. Can you elaborate on what “significant” is?

What are the regulations? Have you projected what some of the costs would be for different sizes of companies?

[Julie Boyer]

Yes, we have a very robust methodology to evaluate the costs over a period of 10 years. We submit this to the Treasury Board. It will be made public once it's published, when we table the Canada Gazette, part I.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

My question isn't so much about the government costs. It's more about the costs for the businesses.

[Julie Boyer]

No, I'm sorry. We estimated the costs for businesses. That is part of the impact assessment we have to produce for the Treasury Board Secretariat so that it can make an enlightened decision before giving us a green light to table, for example, a regulation in the House of Commons.

I can say that the main costs are for training and the translation of documents. In our methodology, we also considered the eventual introduction of AI and other tools to translate, in order to cost out what it would cost a small or medium-sized enterprise to do these things.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

If you could have this submitted to the committee, that would be interesting.

[Julie Boyer]

It will become public when we publish the Canada Gazette, part I.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Okay.

For companies that have 25 employees in Quebec and, say, 1,000 outside, these laws apply to the entire company. Is that correct?

[Julie Boyer]

If they're based in Quebec, it applies to the—

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

No, it's not if they're based.... If they have a unit in Quebec, even of just 25 employees, does it apply to their entire operation across the country?

[Richard Léger]

It applies to the entire operation in Quebec and in regions with a strong francophone presence. The office in Toronto, which is not in such a region, would not carry that obligation.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Will this make some companies a little more hesitant to expand into Quebec if it's just a small office, because it would apply everywhere else? Do you see that as an issue?

[Sarah Boily]

Yes. Since this is a new regime, we'll have to wait and see if companies actually move.

[Julie Boyer]

In Quebec, this was already in effect.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

If a company is in a region with a strong francophone presence, the regulations would apply if it has 100 employees. Do you think there might be people who would oppose the idea of hiring a French-speaking person that would impose these responsibilities?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Time is up. Please answer in one sentence.

[Sarah Boily]

I think the summary of the regulatory impact assessment, which will be published and which outlines the benefits of the regime for companies, might persuade you.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Dalton.

I now give the floor to Mr. El‑Khoury for five minutes.