Official Languages Committee on May 7th, 2026

[Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter]

I agree with you: There are certainly some concerns.

There's a lot of work to be done. We've been doing it for a long time, and we need to keep doing it and not give up. However, the federal government has investments to make in order to improve the situation, put things in place and impose consequences on those businesses.

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

Do you think that we francophones can do things to improve the situation and use the tools given to us?

[Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter]

I'll give you an example of this. In Saint John, municipal elections will be held on May 11. I asked a candidate for mayor why she didn't have any posters in French. She told me that it didn't even occur to her to make any. Then, she went to make her posters in French and put them all over the city. This is a first in the history of Saint John.

Yes, as francophones, it is our responsibility to ask for things and to know our rights. This is what we at the SANB have been doing for 52 years, and we will continue to do so.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Bélanger.

Ms. Mingarelli, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank all the witnesses for being here today.

Mr. Campofredano, in your opinion, does the federal government have full jurisdiction to impose language obligations on federally regulated private businesses without encroaching on provincial jurisdiction?

[Gianluca Campofredano]

I believe this is an area that was not specifically covered in the division of powers under the Constitution of 1867. It is debated, but it does not seem to me that the courts have ruled on this constitutional issue.

However, I can tell you that the Canada Labour Code applies to labour relations in federally regulated private businesses. Along the same lines, we could say that the federal government has jurisdiction over official languages. I think it's a jurisdiction that can be shared. I am highlighting the work you are doing through these proposed regulations.

To answer your question, I believe the federal government can also legislate in this area.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

My second question is as follows: Can the UFPBA strengthen Canadian federalism on the linguistic front or does it open the door to future legal tensions between Ottawa and Quebec?

[Gianluca Campofredano]

There are certainly different notions or visions of federalism. There can be a more centralizing notion, but also a notion that, historically, there is independence from the federal system, and there may be less encroachment. This refers to a more traditional notion of federalism.

Could the UFPBA be beneficial or not to Canadian federalism? If we start from the premise that there are two official languages in Canada, and that these two languages can be protected in the same way—although the UFPBA concerns French more—I do not think that the UFPBA and the promotion of the use of French in federally regulated private businesses would be negative or have a negative influence on Canadian federalism. I even think it will create a balance, because, as I mentioned earlier, the appeal of English is naturally quite strong, given the number of speakers. In my opinion, it will not cause problems for federalism.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Thank you.

I have one minute left and a question for you, Ms. Arseneau‑Sluyter: How can the government ensure that the benefits of the act are fairly distributed among the various Acadian regions, including the most rural ones?

[Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter]

Can you repeat the question? I'm not sure I understood.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

How can the federal government ensure that the benefits of the act are fairly distributed among the various Acadian regions, including the most rural ones?

[Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter]

The act will apply to businesses everywhere, but, as I said in my speech, the rural areas of New Brunswick are emptying out. The rural regions of the north are Acadian regions. This means that if we have this act to encourage people to work in their language and stay close to home, it's a plus for everyone.

For English-speaking regions, it would also be a plus to have bilingual businesses to do business internationally, particularly in Africa, Europe or Asia.

In my opinion, it would be a win-win for everyone.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Ms. Mingarelli.

On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank all the witnesses for being here with us.

Ms. Arseneau‑Sluyter, once again, on behalf of the committee, I thank you for your work over all these years. We hope to see you again from time to time. Thank you very much.

I also thank all the witnesses.

Now, colleagues, the next hour of the meeting is dedicated to in camera work, so I will suspend the session. We will resume in camera.

I am suspending the session.

[Proceedings continue in camera]