Official Languages Committee on June 2nd, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

I call this meeting to order.

Colleagues and guests, welcome to meeting number 37 of the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on April 21, 2026, we are meeting today to study the draft regulations on the use of French in federally regulated private businesses.

I would now like to welcome our witnesses.

From the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, we have Kelly Burke, Commissioner of Official Languages; Patrick Wolfe, assistant commissioner, compliance and enforcement; Pierre Leduc, assistant commissioner, strategic direction and external relations branch; and Pascale Giguère, general counsel, legal affairs branch.

You will have five minutes for your opening remarks. Then we'll go to questions from members.

Ms. Burke, the floor is yours for five minutes.

[Kelly Burke, Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages]

Mr. Chair, honourable members of the committee, hello.

First, I would like to acknowledge that the land on which we are gathered is part of the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people, an indigenous people of the Ottawa Valley.

I am pleased to be here with you today to talk about the draft regulations that aim to provide a framework for and ensure the implementation of the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act, or UFPBA.

This new legislation was introduced to foster and protect the use of French in federally regulated private businesses operating in Quebec and in regions with a strong francophone presence outside Quebec.

Achieving this objective requires clear, consistent and practical regulations. As currently drafted, however, the regulations do not meet this standard.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Do you have a point of order, Mr. Godin?

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

Yes, it's about the interpretation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

I've stopped the clock.

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

Excuse me, Commissioner. What you're saying is important, and it's easier for me to understand you in French. I don't know if we can start over, because I couldn't hear the interpretation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

You're not getting interpretation. Okay.

We'll suspend for a moment.

Ms. Burke, I'm sorry for the interruption. The clerk has asked if you could say a few sentences in English, just to see if the interpretation is working.

[Kelly Burke]

Yes, I'll start the sentence.

Achieving this objective requires clear, consistent and practical regulations.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

It's working, Ms. Burke.

Do you want to continue or start over? It's up to you.

[Kelly Burke]

I'm going to continue the part in English, because I think the French part was heard properly.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Okay, thank you.

[Kelly Burke]

I will repeat the same sentence.

Achieving this objective requires clear, consistent and practical regulations. As currently drafted, however, the regulations do not meet this standard. They are complex and contain significant ambiguities regarding terminology, application and the scope of the rights and obligations prescribed.

In my opinion, the regulations should mandate a reliable, regularly updated public registry of federally regulated private businesses, including those subject to the new federal legislation and those that are exempt.

The registry would be very useful, not only for the general public but also for my team, so that we can ensure that the complaints are processed efficiently and effectively. It would also demonstrate the federal government's transparency and its commitment to Canadians, particularly the consumers and employees affected by the new legislation.

One of the distinctive elements of the new legislation is that it allows federally regulated private businesses operating in Quebec to choose to be subject to that province's Charter of the French Language instead. However, in the rest of Canada, these businesses would still be subject to the federal law in regions with a strong francophone presence. This means that certain rights, obligations and remedies will vary, depending on which legislation each business chooses. This further underscores the need for a reliable and regularly updated public registry to make it easier to identify which businesses are subject to the federal legislation.

Another important point is that the draft regulations do not identify at least one region with a strong francophone presence in every province and territory, even though this is essential to ensure that the Canadian public has access to French-language services from federally regulated private businesses across the country.

Given all of these issues, it is vitally important that communities, parliamentarians and federally regulated private businesses take the time over the next few months to carefully consider the impact of the regulations on the Canadian public. I have taken note of the concerns of the Quebec English-speaking community about the potential impact of the new legislation on the vitality of that community. I am committed to monitoring its effect on both of Canada's official language minority communities, especially on the Quebec English-speaking communities, considering the concerns that have been raised in providing additional protection to French under the new legislation.

In addition, given that my office now has a key role in overseeing the implementation of the new legislation, additional resources inevitably will be needed. I am aware of the current budget constraints and am fully committed to the government's priorities of fiscal discipline and expenditure optimization. However, the implementation of the regulations hinges on additional financial support.

In closing, I am calling on the government to consider the issues I have presented in my position paper in order to ensure that the regulations fully reflect Parliament's intent. There is still time to take full advantage of this historic opportunity to ensure the successful implementation of the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act.

Thank you for your attention. I would be happy to answer your questions, which you are welcome to ask in either official language.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Ms. Burke.

We'll now go to questions from members.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Burke.

Last time, you were at the interview stage, and now you are officially a commissioner. Congratulations. I look forward to working with you in the coming years.

At the end of your remarks, you talked about Parliament's intent with respect to the act. Can you tell us what your understanding of Parliament's intent is, describe what you think it is, and tell us what doesn't work in the regulations?

[Kelly Burke]

Parliament's intent is built into the act itself. The purpose of the act is to protect French and promote it across Canada, first in Quebec and then in regions with a strong francophone presence.

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

I'm going to stop you just to be clear. According to your interpretation, did Parliament want to protect and promote both official languages, including French?

Did it also want to stop the decline of French? That's a sub-question.

[Kelly Burke]

Absolutely.

I think the legislative frameworks, which I oversee in my role, are intended to protect and promote both official languages and to address the issue of the decline of French across Canada.

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

Are you telling us to take the time to do things properly for the regulations we are discussing? Do the regulations meet Parliament's objectives?

[Kelly Burke]

As I pointed out in my previous remarks, I don't think the regulations reflect what Parliament has written into the act.

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

I would like to hear your comments on the qualitative and quantitative criteria. Currently the regulations contain only quantitative criteria to describe regions with a strong francophone presence. As you said, not all provinces and territories have designated regions, unfortunately.

In fulfilling my mandate as shadow minister for official languages, I had the opportunity to travel across Canada. I noted that there are official language minority communities in all provinces and territories.

How would you like the qualitative criterion to be included in the regulations?

[Kelly Burke]

I think the qualitative aspect could be incorporated based on part IV of the Official Languages Act. Some elements of the act can provide food for thought in terms of when and how to further increase the number of these businesses across Canada, in each province and territory.

Based on my reading of it, a formula was used to calculate the number of francophones in relation to a region's overall population. I don't think that's enough. I think the UFPBA points out that there are other aspects that could be incorporated into how we determine which regions have a strong francophone presence. It doesn't take into account the vitality of the communities, their specificity or their size.

Let's take the example of the greater Toronto area, or GTA. The number of francophones who live in the GTA indicates that there is a significant presence of francophones and private businesses in the GTA. Ideally, it should be considered a region with a strong francophone presence.

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

Could it be said that the regulations exclude British Columbia, the three territories, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador from the process of requiring companies to comply with the UFPBA?

[Kelly Burke]

Places that are specifically targeted as regions with a strong francophone presence are all concentrated in specific provinces, excluding the territories. Fortunately, they include all of New Brunswick, which is a good sign. They also include Alberta, Manitoba—

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

I'm sorry to interrupt.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

You have 40 seconds.