Official Languages Committee on June 9th, 2026

[Nathalie Lachance]

Either. It's totally ad hoc. It really depends on whether people speak French or not. It's not related to ensuring that people are bilingual.

If we're lucky enough to have bilingual employees, services are offered, but it's really an ad hoc approach.

[Chris d'Entremont, Liberal, Acadie—Annapolis, NS]

What kind of services would you like to have in your regions?

[Nathalie Lachance]

The UFPBA is really about federally regulated businesses. I think that's really important.

I'm thinking of the Canadian banking system and how complex it is. The Canadian population needs to be more financially literate. It is becoming extremely important to have access to this type of information in the language of one's choice.

I'm thinking of the transportation sector, which is very important, and the airlines and railways. I think it's essential for us to ensure that we can be served in French in all federally regulated private businesses.

[Chris d'Entremont, Liberal, Acadie—Annapolis, NS]

We had representatives from the banking system here a few days ago, or rather a few weeks ago. Time flies. They told us that they offer bilingual services online, on cellphones.

Do you think that's enough?

[Nathalie Lachance]

It's absolutely not enough. It's true that many of us use our phones to conduct our daily transactions. However, the fact remains that, when it comes time to invest money or take out a mortgage or car loan, you should be able to meet an employee at a branch. People have to be able to be served in the language of their choice.

[Chris d'Entremont, Liberal, Acadie—Annapolis, NS]

I think I have a minute left.

When the time comes to designate regions with a strong francophone presence, the challenge I often see is that there aren't francophones all over Edmonton and Calgary.

In the large regions, could we think about doing things a little differently when designating regions with a strong francophone presence to make them smaller?

[Nathalie Lachance]

I think that's the danger posed by the current draft regulations. There's absolutely nothing planned for Calgary, and that's very problematic. In Edmonton, there's only one neighbourhood, whereas we have schools in every neighbourhood. I think we need to look at where the francophone community lives and ensure that French-language services are provided in areas with a significant number of people who need them.

We need to adopt a much broader vision than the one currently outlined in the draft regulations and consider designating smaller regions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you very much, Mr. d'Entremont.

Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor for two minutes.

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

Thank you.

I think the non-regression provision is very important. Otherwise, it's a bit like going back to the “where numbers warrant” criterion. The linguistic indicators have been adjusted to increase the proportion of people belonging to an official language minority community outside Quebec. This artificially inflates the figures, and the government thus considers it legitimate to do nothing or let things slide.

In my opinion, the non-regression provision should also apply to the Official Languages Act, even taking into account the remedial target for francophone immigration for certain historic communities.

What do you think?

[Nathalie Lachance]

I completely agree with you.

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

That's right.

If we look at the data on the main language spoken at home in Alberta, we see that it has dropped from 1.4% in 1971 to 0.7% in 2021. I think it will likely increase with the arrival of francophone immigrants. It might not be visible in the next census, but it will eventually show up. Furthermore, if we succeed in integrating these people, I think it will help you a great deal.

What do you think?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

There are 35 seconds remaining.

[Nathalie Lachance]

There is no doubt that immigration is a major driver of growth for Alberta's francophone community.

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

Furthermore, if we do not increase opportunities to live and work in French, the assimilation rate will continue to rise. I believe it is crucial to find ways to strengthen the ability to live in French—that is, to have more regions designated under the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you very much, Mr. Beaulieu. Your speaking time has expired.

I now give the floor to Mr. Godin for four minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Lachance, you used the phrase “where numbers warrant” earlier. You mentioned a criterion that has not been examined so far, namely the number of schools. I think you could make a recommendation to us—I suggest this—so that we can ask Canadian Heritage to go back to the drawing board to take into account the number of schools and organizations on the ground.

What do you think?

[Nathalie Lachance]

I think it's a good idea, because there's no doubt that schools are at the heart of our communities. We recognize that we transport a lot of students, but the fact remains that this allows us to create a more francophone environment around the schools.

The francophone neighbourhood has been able to take root thanks to the many francophone schools located there. People wanted to settle in this neighbourhood because there were schools nearby. Furthermore, this could provide better incentives to create more synergy around our schools.

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

We agree on that.

You mentioned reassessing the designation of regions with a strong francophone presence every 10 years—that is, after two censuses.

Regarding the non-regression provision, why must regions be placed under review from one census to the next?

Couldn't we instead adopt a provision or ask the department to establish a much more rigorous mechanism?

If we want to grow the francophone community in Canada, particularly in Alberta, we shouldn't put a region at risk from one census to the next, but—as you said—we should take historical communities into account and ensure that these communities grow. We want to grow the French-speaking community in Canada. So, we need to give ourselves the means to do so.

What do you think?

[Nathalie Lachance]

That's an excellent idea. We were very conservative in our request, and I really like yours.

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

I invite you to share your thoughts on this. Perhaps you can propose something more concrete based on what we've just discussed. There may be an opportunity here.

You mentioned historic communities. How can we exclude regions that have helped foster the French presence in Alberta and that enabled the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta to celebrate its 100th anniversary this year?

I'm referring specifically to St. Albert and St. Paul. You've named others. There's an inconsistency here. On the one hand, we say we want to halt the decline of French; on the other, we're stifling these small regions. In my view, their inclusion is justified, even if their numbers aren't large.

How might we define the phrase “where numbers warrant”?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

You have one minute left.

[Nathalie Lachance]

It won't be easy in just one minute.

We really need to think more carefully about how we arrived at these figures. In my opinion, simply applying percentages doesn't make sense, because it doesn't take into account large population centres. We really need to examine how to create synergy that could be beneficial and ensure that it contributes to the community's vitality.

I don't have an easy answer. That said, I think we need to revisit the formula.

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

Thank you, Ms. Lachance.

Subsection 62(2.1) of the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act states the following:

In making a regulation that defines “region with a strong francophone presence” under paragraph (1)(b), the Governor in Council may take into account any factors that the Governor in Council considers appropriate, including: (a) the number of francophones in a region; (b) the number of francophones in a region as a proportion of the region's total population; and (c) the vitality and specificity of French linguistic minority communities.

In your opinion, what other criteria should be added to this?

What should we tell Canadian Heritage to get them to return to the negotiating table and improve this draft regulation?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Mr. Godin, I'm sorry. Your speaking time has expired. We do not have time for a response.

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

I thought so.