Official Languages Committee on June 4th, 2026

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

What do you think would be a reasonable threshold? Should the law apply when there are 100 employees or when there are 25?

[Jean-Michel Beaudry]

I have a hard time weighing in on this, since I don't know which businesses are subject to it. We're missing a bit of information to form a firm opinion on this matter. However, I think it would be reasonable to have the same standards everywhere. For example, we could build on what's been established for Quebec and apply it outside of Quebec.

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

Here's another difference between Quebec and areas outside of Quebec: In Quebec, when it comes to business signage and communications, French must be the predominant language. This isn't in the act, but it's in the regulations. However, I didn't see anything about signage for businesses outside Quebec.

What are your thoughts on this? My question is for all the witnesses.

[Jean-Michel Beaudry]

I'm going to continue along the same lines as Ms. Chouinard.

The active offer principle would immediately include signage-related issues. If all aspects of active offer were included in the draft regulations under the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act, the issue of signage would be an intrinsic part of it.

I don't know if Ms. Chouinard wants to add anything, but I'll turn it over to her.

[Stéphanie Chouinard]

Section 15 of the draft regulations states that businesses must clearly indicate to consumers that they can communicate with and obtain services from that business in French, but it doesn't go any further than that. In my opinion, this language is far too weak and far too permissive, which is why I propose going further with a concept that has already been tested and is well known, the concept of active offer. With active offer, we could also ensure that the rules aren't just for show, but that they enable a service that actually exists—without wasting time or embarrassing consumers who want service in French.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Mr. Beaulieu, your time is up. I'm sorry.

I'll pass the floor over to Ms. Kronis for five minutes.

[Tamara Kronis, Conservative, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Thank you to all the witnesses for their testimony today.

Ms. Chouinard, Nanaimo is not on the list of regions with a strong francophone presence, but the francophone community is growing in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith. Nanaimo is a welcoming francophone community designated by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. The city offers tailored federal support to francophone newcomers to help them settle in, find employment and integrate socially and culturally into the region. We want francophone newcomers to feel welcome and supported. That's one of the reasons why I'm learning French.

However, Nanaimo remains predominantly anglophone, and many federally regulated businesses already face challenges with staffing and compliance. How can these draft regulations help growing francophone communities like Nanaimo without creating rules that are too burdensome for businesses serving a predominantly anglophone community?

[Stéphanie Chouinard]

Nanaimo, as a welcoming community, has been the envy of many because British Columbia was the first province in the country to receive a second welcoming community designation, if I'm not mistaken.

I think this is one of the questions that was on the minds of those who drafted the draft regulations. How can we support francophone communities as much as possible without placing undue or insurmountable pressure on businesses, especially in regions where the communities are vibrant but not necessarily very large?

So I don't have a clear answer to your question, but I am nevertheless convinced that the draft regulations, as they stand, can be refined to better address regions where there is demand without imposing insurmountable requirements on the businesses they target.

[Tamara Kronis, Conservative, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Thank you.

I am yielding the rest of my time to my colleague from Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt.

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

Thank you very much.

My colleague asked a question that I believe is very relevant for the future. Maybe this is a question I can ask the witnesses from Manitoba as well, because they may have experienced something like this in the past.

Furthermore, the criteria for determining regions with a strong francophone presence may not be the best. We discussed earlier that francophone associations might be best positioned to propose which regions should be designated and to influence the continued development of French in regions where the francophone presence is currently weaker but could be stronger in the future.

[Jean-Michel Beaudry]

I think that, fundamentally, there's a lack of consistency between certain existing regulations. Ms. Chouinard has already mentioned the official languages regulations under part IV of the Official Languages Act and the draft regulations under the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act. That's one of the challenges we're trying to address.

In addition, as in British Columbia, I think only part of one of the two welcoming francophone communities we have in Manitoba has been designated in the draft regulations.

So I think that, yes, certainly, the communities are well positioned to attest to the vitality of our communities. The presence of schools and other institutions is a factor that could be added to the draft regulations. This would make it more consistent with the official languages regulations under part IV of the Official Languages Act. We also need to add the “ratchet” principle and the idea of adding designated areas each time the regulations are reviewed. I believe this principle—the idea of expanding designated areas rather than simply reassessing their status every five years based on the new census—should be included directly in the draft regulations.

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

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Bélanger.

Thank you, Ms. Kronis.

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

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

Thank you to all the witnesses.

From what I understand from the witnesses' responses, there's the issue of having more designated regions, there's the issue of having clearer requirements, hence the proposal to require active offer rather than just clear instructions, and there's the issue of businesses' ability to meet these requirements.

My question is for the witnesses from Manitoba, because their association has experiences that could be useful for the rest of Canada.

If we want to ensure that we make progress, would it be more beneficial to grant businesses a transition period? For example, in Quebec, they could be given two years to prepare just like the others. In addition, regarding the employee threshold—which is proposed to be lowered from 100 to 25 outside Quebec, as I clearly understand—the resources needed to do so would pose a challenge. So, in order to foster bilingualism in the regions, would lowering the threshold from 100 to 25 employees and giving businesses two more years to prepare be an option? Is that the kind of thing we should explore, or would it complicate matters?

[Jean-Michel Beaudry]

I don't think that would complicate matters.

I'll give you an example that doesn't come from the draft regulations. Regarding the issue of francophone immigration targets in minority communities, we've set progressive targets and we're committed to achieving them. If the draft regulations included a “ratchet” principle, that is to say, a no-backsliding principle under which we must always move toward providing more services in official language minority communities rather than constantly reassessing those services, that would be positive. This same principle is part of the official languages regulations under part IV of the Official Languages Act. So, just because there's been a slight drop in the percentage of francophones in a region doesn't mean that it will automatically be removed from the areas designated by the draft regulations. I think that's important.

On the issue of active offer, I just want to add one thing. As Mr. Bentley briefly mentioned, there is also the matter of end-to-end service. The initial contact, often at reception, can take place in French, but when matters become a bit more complex, such as when initiating bankruptcy proceedings, telecommunications companies or banks don't necessarily, at this time, automatically offer their services in French. Perhaps the draft regulations should make it clearer that businesses must not only provide frontline customer service in French, but that they also have an obligation to offer services in French in the context of more complex processes and legal matters.

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

To help implement these draft regulations, given that businesses outside Quebec will have two years to prepare, what measures could be put in place to help businesses prepare and secure the necessary workforce? Are learning technologies a solution? How, in your opinion, can we create real momentum to foster bilingualism so that people don't feel they're being forced to work in French and find it truly frustrating?

[Jean-Michel Beaudry]

Once again, we don't have a complete list of businesses that will be affected, but if I understand correctly, there are still a large number of truly national businesses that will be affected by the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act. These companies have francophone teams elsewhere in the country. I think there's a way for regions to support one another so that services can be provided in areas designated as regions with a strong francophone presence.

This doesn't necessarily address the right to work in French in these regions, but I think that can be developed over time. If, first of all, services can be provided in designated areas, there may even naturally be a redistribution of staff so that, in those designated areas, we can attract staff who want to work in French from across the country.

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

That's it. Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you very much, Ms. Chenette.

On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank our witnesses.

Mr. Bentley, Mr. Beaudry, thank you very much.

Ms. Chouinard, your ability to multitask with Romane was very impressive. As chair, I thought I was good at multitasking, but you've really put that into perspective for me. So, thank you for being here with us, and for the work you're doing.

Colleagues, the meeting is adjourned.

Thank you.