Official Languages Committee on June 2nd, 2026

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

Does your office have the means to manage such a registry?

[Kelly Burke]

We are not the ones who are going to manage the registry, but Canadian Heritage.

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

I trust the Commissioner of Official Languages more than I trust Canadian Heritage, but that's my opinion. I wanted to give it to you.

Last week, I asked the representatives of Droits collectifs Québec about the fact that, unfortunately, in Quebec, the Coalition Avenir Québec government and its minister of official languages, Jean‑François Roberge, have made it possible for Quebec businesses to choose between the Charter of the French Language and federal legislation.

I agree with that organization that responsibility should have been given to Quebec.

Given that context, could the Office québécois de la langue française be mandated to management federally chartered businesses in Quebec? Do you think that's a good idea?

[Kelly Burke]

Again, I leave that to the legislators to decide.

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

Well, at some point, your office will have quite a few files to deal with.

[Kelly Burke]

We'll work with the entities responsible for implementing the act. As I said earlier, that includes the Office québécois de la langue française, the Canadian Industrial Relations Board, ourselves, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, and Canadian Heritage.

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

Right now, we have Canadian Heritage, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages and Canadian courts. We're a bit scattered, and we probably picked that structure to give the impression we'll be very proactive and rigorous in stopping the decline of French and protecting and promoting both official languages.

However, in reality, you're seeing the same thing we are with this proposed regulation, which is a bit of window dressing. In practical terms, based on your experience and my vision as a legislator, we don't think there'll be any results and we won't meet the objective. Allow me to use an expression and say that we're kicking the can down the road and just sending it out there.

Do you see it the same way I do?

[Kelly Burke]

What I can tell you is that we always look for tangible results. We have an oversight model that works for the Official Languages Act.

Similarly, a system that works for the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act will need to be put in place.

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

You're saying we need to put a system in place, but that comes with a price tag. How much do you estimate the government needs to give your office to manage these new responsibilities?

[Kelly Burke]

We're working on that estimate now, but I can tell you that there are additional duties related to the complaints process.

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

Right now, it's $27 million, according to the information I have.

[Kelly Burke]

It's about that.

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

How much more do you think you need?

[Kelly Burke]

I don't know exactly. Given the fact—

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

Is it $2 million, $10 million or $200 million?

[Kelly Burke]

It's hard to put a figure on, and I'll tell you why. We still don't know how many private businesses we'll be overseeing. We don't know that number.

The figures I gave you earlier illustrate that at least 70,000 new employees will have the right to work in the language of their choice. That means we'll have to manage a much higher volume of complaints, but first, it'll be necessary to determine whether the complaints are admissible.

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

Do you have—

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Sorry to cut you off, Mr. Godin.

I gave you more time so we could hear Ms. Burke's answer.

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

My apologies, Mr. Chair. I was on a roll.

Thank you, Ms. Burke.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

It's now over to Mr. Villeneuve for five minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, Ms. Burke. This is your second time here, and it's always a pleasure to see you. You're always smiling, which is quite nice.

We all want the regulations to be ambitious and to have the broadest scope possible. We know there are French-speaking Canadians in every single province and territory, and we want to increase the number of French speakers. We have to be realistic, however, and establish requirements that reflect the current limits of the Canadian economy.

In your view, is it realistic to think that businesses will be able to meet their labour needs if the requirements are extended to every province?

[Kelly Burke]

I also pointed to the inconsistency in determining regions with a significant francophone presence.

Yes, it is realistic to think that every province has private businesses that could provide services. However, I think it's about building a pool of skilled workers. It's the Department of Canadian Heritage's responsibility to assess the situation and clearly identify where the opportunities are for expanding the legislation's coverage across the country.

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

Thank you.

You also recommended that “consumer” and other terms be defined. You touched on that, but could you elaborate?

[Kelly Burke]

The term “consumer” suggests a commercial transaction, a purchase of some sort. Conversely, using a broader term such as “public” wouldn't limit the legislation's application to a consumer exchanging money for a product or service. The term “consumer” suggests that a commercial transaction is taking place. The term “public” would allow for a much broader application of the legislation.

Take a consumer in an airport, for example. That refers to the individual with the airline ticket who is taking the flight. However, is the person who drops the passenger off at the airport a consumer asking for service at the counter, because the flight is delayed? Something is going on there.

In my view, anyone should be entitled to receive the service, even if they didn't engage in a commercial transaction with the airport.

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

Thank you.

You said your office's expanded role also requires greater clarity regarding institutional coordination between the office of the commissioner and Canadian Heritage, the Canada Industrial Relations Board and the Office québécois de la langue française. Can you provide more information on that?