Official Languages Committee on May 7th, 2026

[Gianluca Campofredano]

Mr. Godin, I don't have many specific comments for you on that point. As you requested, how are we going to assess the francophone presence? Are we going to base it on the language spoken at work, the language spoken at home, or the heritage language? I must admit that this is a criterion that is not really used in Quebec or in Quebec language law, because the Charter of the French Language applies to the entire province.

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

I understand that this is less within your area of expertise because it is outside Quebec, but I am going to ask you a question.

You are a lawyer. If we add complications to define zones, we make the task more difficult. Sometimes, the intention behind all this is to muddy the waters.

Wouldn't it be better to draw inspiration from the criteria in part IV to broaden the definition? I would add that it might be more effective, instead of defining two groups, to use only one, that of the bilingual regions in Canada. With that, we would add a larger number of areas. I think it would really demonstrate the government's intention to stop the decline of French and to promote the development of both official languages.

[Gianluca Campofredano]

Yes, absolutely. I agree with that. I would say that we could move towards bilingual regions. Eventually, should this act even protect francophones who are in very anglophone cities across the country or who are in regions where the francophone presence is weaker? It's clear that if we go by logic, there should be equal treatment. That would be something to look into.

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

Another point is that there are French schools located in areas that are not covered, which is absurd. Something isn't working here.

You told my colleague earlier that you had a recommendation for us regarding administrative penalties. Can you tell us a little more about that?

[Gianluca Campofredano]

Yes. The new version of the Charter of the French Language, amended by Bill 96 in 2022, provides for potential penalties, which could be included in the proposed federal regulations. For example, when a business loses its francization certificate in Quebec, one of the possible penalties is that it will no longer receive government grants, no longer be eligible for government programs and will no longer have access to certain public contracts. In my opinion, these penalties are interesting and add some bite. I believe the proposed regulations could draw some strong inspiration from them.

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

I think that's a good suggestion. Rest assured that I will try to include it in the report that the committee will provide, because I believe we need tools at our disposal. There needs to be more bite—I'm borrowing your expression. I think we would be well advised to do it, but we need to clearly demonstrate that we want to improve things.

What I feel about these regulations is that they are half-hearted. We try to please everyone, then we forget the primary cause, which is to protect francophone consumers by allowing them to access services in their language and to enable employees to work in a francophone environment.

Mr. Chair, I see that my time is up. Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Godin.

I now give the floor to Ms. Chenette for five minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to our witnesses.

Ms. Arseneau-Sluyter, I congratulate you on your contribution.

I understand the struggle in recent years. However, I will start by asking this: Don't we have incredible opportunities ahead of us now? French is the fourth most spoken language in the world. Now, it is in fact the fourth language on the internet. In the world, a large generation of young people will speak French, whereas we had to fight in the past. This fact has real global legitimacy.

At the same time, all across our beautiful Canada, there is a paradigm shift, and we must work from east to west and in the north thanks to the Official Languages Act. It is said to be an important asset, but now it must be applied so we can take advantage of it in our economic development. While we may have scars from the past, I believe there are opportunities arising.

My first question about that is for you, Mr. Campofredano.

We talk about Quebec, but wouldn't the fact that the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act applies throughout Canada, and that many businesses offer services only in the rest of Canada, be an advantage? Would the pressure exerted on the banking system, telecommunications sector and other sectors exerted across Canada—therefore not only operating in Quebec because there are business opportunities—not be a strength of the act for Quebec?

[Gianluca Campofredano]

Yes, obviously. As I have already mentioned to your colleagues, I believe the will is there, and it is a good sign that the federal government is taking action in this direction, even if it is to some degree following the same path as the Quebec government and legislators.

As I mentioned in my introduction, my office is located in downtown Montreal, in Old Montreal, so it is obvious that when I deal with chartered banks, the presence of English is very strong in terms of documentation and service. I think it would send a very strong signal.

If you have any questions about business communication and advertising on social media, I will come back to it. It is obvious that English has a very strong appeal and that this appeal goes beyond the Montreal area, because the internet obviously has no borders. I would say that if this new legislation could have an impact on private businesses in Quebec, especially in Montreal and Laval, where there is work to be done, and especially on the young people of generation Z and the upcoming generation alpha, it would be very beneficial.

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

I will continue on the topic of youth. Once again, we are in the midst of a paradigm shift regarding the pride of expressing ourselves in French without fear or reproach, and no longer feeling embarrassed to speak it, especially in a bilingual environment.

I turn to you, Ms. Arseneau‑Sluyter.

You agree with these regulations, so I will talk about their implementation. If, in your province, but also in the rest of Canada, we want to promote the idea that they are a catalyst and that we do not kneel down for the regulations to be enforced, this attitude needs to change. The Liberal government of Canada is very sensitive to the idea of having this strength at the table. I am sure that our colleagues across the way agree on that as well.

What is important to do when implementing these regulations to harness this strength and ensure it reaches the young people, who will benefit from these jobs?

[Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter]

I'll give you an example of this. My daughter, who graduated in 2012 from the only French-language school in Saint John, tells me that today, there are maybe five students out of the 30 in her class who still speak French. They are said to be bilingual, but after finishing school, children and youth in immersion programs do not have the opportunity to work in French and use the language.

In this case, we know what happens: The less we speak the language, the less capable we are of doing so, and the less confident we become. Here in Ottawa, one of my nephews always speaks English when I see him, even though, like me, his mother is a francophone Acadian from Balmoral.

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

If I may, we do in fact know that we need to change that. The Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act aims to create jobs and foster that pride.

So if we want to speed up the implementation of these regulations to rekindle the desire to speak French, do you have any ideas so that—

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

I'm sorry to interrupt you, Ms. Chenette.

Time is up, so I will ask you for a quick answer, Ms. Arseneau‑Sluyter.

[Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter]

The means to educate young people in French at the post-secondary level is necessary, so that they can express themselves properly, especially in majority environments. You need to have the means everywhere in Canada. We know that it is a problem in terms of resources for French, so we will need to invest in that in order to improve.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Ms. Chenette.

Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

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

Ms. Arseneau‑Sluyter, what is strange is that in Quebec, the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act, the UFPBA, applies to businesses with 25 employees or more, and the obligation to have a francization committee only applies to businesses with 100 employees or more; whereas outside Quebec, notably in New Brunswick, the act applies only to businesses with 100 employees or more.

Don't you think it would have been good for the act to apply at least to companies with 50 employees or more? I don't know how many there are.

[Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter]

I think we have to start somewhere. We would certainly like all employees to be able to serve in both English and French in New Brunswick. There are laws that protect us, but sometimes we need to keep pushing to make sure they truly protect us.

I think we have to start somewhere, and that's already a plus for us. We see this as a positive means.

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

I have a question for you, Mr. Chaisson: Do you have an idea of the number of businesses with fewer than 100 employees that will not be subject to the UFPBA?

[Ali Chaisson]

That's a fairly substantial number.

However, I am more concerned about the possible inconsistency between part IV of the Official Languages Act and the UFPBA, particularly in a situation that your colleague Mr. Godin mentioned. There may be a situation where young people from a school located in a region can apply for their passports in French down the road, because there is a federal institution nearby, but cannot open a bank account.

We will clearly see the inconsistency, and I wish the Commissioner of Official Languages good luck in managing this.

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

However, in New Brunswick, the UFPBA applies to the entire province. Elsewhere in Quebec, the application of the act is determined by the potential demand indicator, which designates bilingual regions. This would need to be checked, but if it doesn't include bilingual regions, that would be a bit surprising.

[Ali Chaisson]

It is still a question of section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which deals with justification by numbers. For us francophones, the defenders of the French language, if one francophone is involved, that justifies the request.

At some point, I feel that we need to seriously consider addressing the issue of the possible inconsistency in the province between part IV of the Official Languages Act and the interpretation of these new regulations. That could cause problems.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Time is up.

Thank you.

Mr. Bélanger, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm going to continue in the same vein as my colleague Ms. Chenette.

I find that New Brunswick is very similar to my region in northern Ontario, especially in the eastern part. I wonder whether this new act, which is supposed to protect and promote the French language, will create an environment that will help the language grow or just an environment to serve the francophones in these regions. In my riding, it is clear that French is in decline in the regions that are currently affected. If French is in decline in regions designated as having a strong francophone presence, what will happen when they are no longer designated as having a strong francophone presence?

I have a second question. Promoting French is also a responsibility that falls to francophones. I myself am guilty. To learn French well, you need to live, speak and work in French. However, assimilation is far too easy. I'll give the example of a bank, which is supposed to serve us in both official languages. If I go to the counter and ask for help in French, they tell me they will find someone else. It's easier for me to just speak in English. Even a businessman who uses his phone will speak in English rather than in French.

Is that enough? Is there anything else the government should do? It's about the environment. I'm not very optimistic, so I ask the question.

[Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter]

We need to start with the basics. We need to start with our grandchildren. That's where it starts. We need to have schools. In New Brunswick, French-language schools are not yet everywhere in the province.

What you're saying is true. I am probably guilty myself. We are tired of always asking for service. However, when we start to see results from promoting French, I think it will create a domino effect. It's been so long that we've thought it doesn't exist, so we're going to have to do a lot of work on the foundation.

It is true that internationally, French is really an asset compared to what we are experiencing now, in Canada and elsewhere. We really need to invest, starting with our grandchildren, by ensuring they can attend school in French. I could talk to you about assimilation all night. It takes just one generation. I live it and see it every day.

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

Assimilation will continue as long as there is no post-secondary education in French to ensure that more people can enter the job market in French. Next, the presence of people who speak French in management to continue the efforts will depend on private businesses.

I have another question. Since 2021 and Bill C‑32, we're talking about pretty much the same subject. In 2023, there was Bill C‑13,and today, we are still talking about it, so there hasn't been much progress all this time.

We ask ourselves all these questions. I am trying to address the issue of the environment. The UFPBA will be imposed in the rest of Canada in just two years, after it is implemented in Quebec. Now I wonder if in two years, private businesses will be able to use artificial intelligence instead of people to comply with the acts. I'm wondering about your comments on that.