Official Languages Committee on May 28th, 2026

[Jules Chiasson]

No.

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

Okay.

Here's the issue. I have a document provided by the Treasury Board Secretariat after a briefing with this committee concerning the different regions that do not meet the criteria of regions with a strong francophone presence because they do not meet the 10% population threshold established by Treasury Board.

Unfortunately, your province of Nova Scotia does not appear in the exceptions. You listed a number of cities. I have in mind a former colleague from Isle Madame, and I can assure you he would express his indignation if he were here. I had the pleasure of serving with him on the committee. Isle Madame has a concentration of francophones, but it doesn't have the 10% threshold and so it doesn't qualify. That's unfortunate.

This week, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada told us about the dissemination area.

I'd like you to give us some tools. For example, Halifax is not even on the list and yet Halifax is a francophone population centre and the capital city. The city is home to eight schools, a campus and 14 francophone organizations. However, federally regulated businesses are not required to offer services in French to this population. That is rather odd.

[Jules Chiasson]

Yes, I agree with you.

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

How can we address this? How can we incorporate a solution into the draft regulations? Give us some tools to help us persuade the government. I hope the government and the members across will try to press harder and listen more closely.

[Jules Chiasson]

I agree with the proposal made by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada. All provincial and territorial capitals should be included. The organization has also recommended using geographical units of 400 to 700 people and preserving historic francophone communities, such as my village of Chéticamp.

The proportion of the francophone population in a given area varies depending on the size of the territory. The whole of Inverness county has a lower population, but if we take the new electoral district, the proportion of the francophone population comes to 36% of the population, which would be sufficient for the designation of a region with a strong francophone presence.

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

As far as I know, Nova Scotia is not a bilingual province. New Brunswick is the only bilingual province in Canada.

[Jules Chiasson]

Correct.

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

Now, the community mobilized, and Nova Scotia created an electoral district that has been designated as francophone. It is rather odd that the draft regulations do not have cities in that area that are required to provide services in French.

[Jules Chiasson]

I agree 100 per cent.

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

Can a smaller area be used in the calculation? Can other criteria be used, such as the presence of a francophone school or school board, whether Catholic or not? Give us some actionable recommendations because this situation doesn't make sense.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

I'm sorry, Mr. Chiasson, but time is up. Please answer in one sentence.

[Jules Chiasson]

We agree with the recommendations made by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, including all the points Mr. Godin has just raised.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Villeneuve, you have the floor for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I know about my colleague Mr. Godin's passion.

Mr. Chiasson, I'm going to ask you an open-ended question. You can take all the time you need to answer.

What are your thoughts about the regions with a strong francophone presence in the draft regulations? We spoke about them earlier, but I'd like you to expand on that.

[Jules Chiasson]

As mentioned in our report, we agree on the three suggested regions. However, I think Halifax and Chéticamp should definitely be included. Other fairly large cities, such as Sydney, Truro and Yarmouth should also be included. The city of Yarmouth is in Yarmouth county. Truro and Sydney have fairly sizable francophone populations. The two schools in those cities have 350 students and they are already running out of space. There is a sizable francophone community.

We're not saying that private businesses should be forced to offer services in French in all their branches, but at least one location should offer these services. If the branch is easy to find, the community would know where to go to receive services in French in the designated area.

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

I saw my colleague Mr. d'Entremont nodding as you were speaking. If these cities or regions were added, what immediate impact would that have on the Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle‑Écosse and on communities?

[Jules Chiasson]

Clare, Argyle, Chéticamp and Richmond are among the historic Acadian regions of Nova Scotia. Over the years, the communities have mobilized and demanded to have French-language schools and services. That includes communities in Truro and Sydney, Annapolis Valley and Bridgewater, which is in Nova Scotia's south shore.

Organizations are fighting to protect and develop French and the Acadian culture in 12 regions. Adding another element like that will enrich these regions and help them to continue to live in a French-language environment and to protect and promote their language and culture.

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

What criteria, including qualitative criteria, should be considered in the designation of regions with a strong francophone presence?

[Jules Chiasson]

We agree with the recommendation by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada about communities with 400 to 1,600 francophone inhabitants. Capitals should also be designated. Historic francophone communities, which include my native village of Chéticamp, should be protected and the presence of francophone institutions should be used as a basis for determining areas for designation. There are francophone institutions in the 12 areas I just mentioned.

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

What challenges or advantages do you foresee with respect to harmonization among the various components of the federal language regime, particularly parts IV and V of the Official Languages Act and the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act?

[Jules Chiasson]

That's a big question. I think that the use of French in federally regulated private businesses would simply support the other components of the act and the other services that were introduced by the Official Languages Act. It would enrich communities and support their development.

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

Finally, in what way, if any, could implementation of the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act strengthen ties between federally regulated private businesses and francophone minority communities?

[Jules Chiasson]

It would definitely be a sign of respect for francophone and Acadian communities. As I said in my opening remarks, we are not asking for all branches to provide services in French. I'm sure that if we go to Halifax and ask a bank about the number of its francophone employees, we would find some francophone employees. Services in French could be offered in one branch, and not scattered across the whole city. The branch should be easy to find and that is where one would go for services in French. I can guarantee that people would use these services.

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

In closing, if we could grant you one wish, what would you choose?

[Jules Chiasson]

I would like action on the recommendations made by the Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle‑Écosse, including the recommendations that take Chéticamp, Halifax and Truro and Saint-Denis in particular into consideration in the draft regulations. These cities have a fairly large francophone community because of the size of the community education centre.