This is another bill that would raise the same criteria, that bills and motions must not clearly violate the charter. It would be presumably the same provisions of the charter—section 16 and section 20.
Bill C-421, an act to amend the Citizenship Act on adequate knowledge of French in Quebec, would amend the Citizenship Act to require that permanent residents who reside in Quebec would, in applying for citizenship, be required to demonstrate an adequate knowledge of French. Typically, under the act, permanent residents are allowed to demonstrate an adequate knowledge of either French or English.
I would first note that as with my comments with Bill C-420, subsection 16(3) of the charter allows for laws that “advance the equality of status or use of English and French”, and that courts in the past have found that the promotion and protection of French—which is arguably the purpose behind this bill—is substantial and pressing. I would also note that Quebec has a great deal more control over immigration than other provinces and so has some unique powers in that regard.
Of course, immigration and citizenship are not necessarily the same, but it's to say that this is a slightly different relationship between the federal and provincial governments. As such, it could—could, again—be argued that this presents a minimal and justifiable intrusion into the section 20 rights of permanent residents who would then be applying for citizenship.
It could—could—also be argued—and again this is hypothetical and simply being offered for this analysis—that the intrusion is particularly minimal since it does not bar a citizen who took the test in English in Ontario or elsewhere from subsequently moving to Quebec. Section 6 of the charter is about how once you become a citizen you can move within the country freely, and that would be untouched by this bill.
As with Bill C-420, there are complex constitutional issues raised by this bill. I would nonetheless, in my assessment, assess that it could be determined not non-votable, but as always, that standard is not mine to interpret or apply.