Debates of Nov. 25th, 2020

Status of the French Language in Montreal

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague and riding neighbour for his question. I also thank him for his outstanding contribution to the Standing Committee on Official Languages. In fact, he is one of the longest serving members of the committee. He has travelled the country and defended those communities.

Indeed, the Conservative Party communicated this in writing and verbally to the committee. Also, a motion was adopted yesterday calling on the government to introduce its bill before Christmas so that we can concretely support the vitality of linguistic communities across the country.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Chair, I have heard a great list of Quebec artists this evening. I am hearing beautiful demonstrations of love for the French language, but the numbers prove that French is in decline in Montreal. What I am hearing tonight is talk, talk, talk. When will there be concrete action? For instance, Bill C-10 could include a percentage of francophone music, or the House could pass the Bloc Québécois bill that would make federally regulated companies subject to the Charter of the French Language.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Madam Chair, we support applying the Charter of the French Language to federal bodies and we also want people applying for citizenship in Quebec to have a knowledge of French. We have concrete measures that will modernize the Official Languages Act, and we will continue take concrete action to support the vitality of linguistic communities. We could bring in a bit of culture and music as well.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Madam Chair, I want to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the member for Hochelaga.

First of all, I want to note that Marc-André Bédard has passed away. He was a great Quebecker who did a lot to modernize Quebec and who was, according to all those who were fortunate to meet him, a very gentle man who was very charismatic and intelligent. I offer my sincere condolences to his family, in particular to his son Eric, who I worked with at Fasken Martineau and who, when I was 26 years old, gave me my first piece of political advice when embarking on this political adventure. It was a very simple piece of advice. However, it is important to remember it, and easy to forget. He told me never to speak ill of my adversaries. That is very much the philosophy of the entire Bédard family. We should not be surprised because the apple does not fall far from the tree, of course.

As for the subject at hand this evening, I have a few comments to make in the little time I have available.

The first is that one cannot change what one is unaware of, be it because of ignorance or because one refuses to see things as they are. The fact is, when it comes to language, we know one thing with absolute certainty. French is in decline in Quebec. Many Quebeckers perceive this as a feeling they get from time to time, but one look at the numbers turns feeling into knowing, and that knowledge is deeply disturbing.

What do the numbers tell us?

Between 2001 and 2016, the number of Quebeckers reporting French as their mother tongue fell from 81.4% to 78%. It is the first time in the 150 years that these records have been kept, the first time since 1871, that the percentage of Quebeckers whose first language is French dropped below 80%. According to Statistics Canada, if this trend continues, the percentage of Quebeckers whose mother tongue is French will be somewhere between 69% and 72% by 2036.

The situation is even more dire in Montreal, where the percentage is five points lower than it was 15 years ago. Francophones now account for less than 50% of the population, and this is happening in the suburbs too, in places like Laval and even Longueuil. Demographer Marc Termote did a study for the Office québécois de la langue française in 2011, and such findings recently prompted him to state that things were progressing much faster than he thought just 10 years ago.

This is due in part to the fact that more and more people are speaking English. Unlike people who live in France or Belgium or even Spain or Portugal, people who live in Quebec are not removed from the magnetic attraction of English. They are immersed in its electromagnetic field. They are stuck right to the magnet.

It took craftiness, resilience, persistence, intelligence and courage to resist for four centuries and to still have a francophone society in the Americas. More than 100 years ago, Armand La Vergne's determination brought about the first language law in Quebec, and this determination was mirrored by Dr. Laurin and René Lévesque with Bill 101. Much like my former colleague, Stéphane Dion, I think this is a great piece of legislation, which enshrined the French language in law and cemented its place in Quebec, all while respecting the rights of the anglophone minority in Quebec, which was fundamental to the authors. This is just as important now as it was back then.

It is in our hands now, and to borrow the words of Antonio Gramsci, I am a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will. I sense that will in Quebec. I sense it here. We heard it in the throne speech.

Frankly, I am more concerned about the indifference I see and feel, especially among people of my generation. I hope with all of my heart that I am wrong, but I think this shows how important this evening's debate is.

I believe that we have an individual and collective duty, as Quebeckers, to ensure that the French language is passed on and that it survives. Our language is central to the soul and character of the Quebec people.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Chair, it is rare for a Liberal member to quote René Lévesque.

I think that is interesting and fantastic. If Quebec were a country, I do not think that we would be talking about the decline of French in Montreal today, but that is not currently the case.

From the beginning, we have been told that we are causing division with our bill, which calls for Bill 101 to apply to federally regulated businesses in Quebec. We have seen that agreements have been made. For example, standards set by the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail apply in the Port of Montreal because the commission has an agreement with the federal government.

What is the problem? If an agreement can be reached with the government regarding health and safety, why can Bill 101 not apply to federally regulated businesses in Quebec?

We are being told that our bill is divisive. The Quebec National Assembly unanimously adopted a motion in that regard. The three opposition parties in Ottawa support the bill. Who is being divisive? In my opinion, it is the Liberals.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Madam Chair, I might surprise my colleague again, because I recently learned that I share ancestors with René Lévesque: Robert Lévesque, from Rivière-Ouelle, and Jeanne Chevalier.

It goes back many generations, but there it is all the same. I am a Lightbound, I was born under the rose, but I was raised under the lily in Quebec City by a Lévesque mother and a Lightbound father. The two linguistic solitudes flow through in my veins, so to speak.

The will I spoke of, I can feel it. We heard it in the Speech from the Throne. The Minister of Official Languages is doing an incredible job of protecting and promoting French in Quebec and across the country. I have full confidence in the minister.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Chair, I really enjoyed the comments made by my colleague from Louis-Hébert.

They were intelligent, eloquent and relevant. His genealogy is interesting and we also understand that the apple did not fall far from the tree, to say the least.

My colleague mentioned the former Liberal leader, Stéphane Dion. I would remind members that Stéphane Dion is the former member for Saint-Laurent and that the current member for Saint-Laurent has perhaps not been a credit to her predecessor.

The member for Louis-Hébert's party has been elected and re-elected for the past five years based on the promise and commitment to overhaul the Official Languages Act. However, after five years, we are no further ahead. Based on the Speech from the Throne, we expected that there would be a specific announcement on the overhaul of the Official Languages Act. However, that was not the case, and all we are learning today is that the government is going to table a white paper.

Why a white paper, when we need action, not just reflection?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Madam Chair, I am very proud of the work that the hon. member for Ahuntsic-Cartierville and minister responsible for official languages is doing. She is working hard to modernize the Official Languages Act.

I am a bit perplexed. The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent ran in the election with full knowledge of the facts after a decade of darkness for the French fact in Canada. Stephen Harper gutted the budgets at CBC/Radio-Canada and appointed unilingual anglophones to serve as Auditor General and on the Supreme Court. With such contempt for French—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We have time for a brief question.

The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Chair, my colleague from the Bloc Québécois was surprised to hear a Liberal MP quote René Lévesque, but I am even more surprised that he can quote Gramsci. I find that fascinating, and I would love to debate that with him.

Does he not think that the broadcasting bill should include clear directives and guidelines on the creation of original French-language film, television and radio content in Quebec and Canada?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Madam Chair, the sector was calling for new broadcasting legislation. I think our government will always be motivated to promote the most Canadian content and more French-language content.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Madam Chair, it is my turn to thank the House for the opportunity to speak in this important debate.

I join my hon. colleagues in this debate on the status of the French language in Quebec and our government's commitment to protecting and promoting the French language.

Anyone who knows me knows that even though I was not born here, I am a Montrealer and Quebecker through and through. I am now the member of Parliament for Hochelaga, and I am proud to be so connected to my community.

I came to Canada in 1980 with my single mother. We settled in the heart of the francophone community in eastern Montreal. I grew up in the age of Bill 101, and I learned French, which I speak today in the House, and my family and children learned it as well. Many people are surprised by my French, because I do not appear to have an accent. Actually, I have a Québécois accent, and I am proud of it.

Today, I represent the people of Hochelaga, a bastion of francophone culture in Montreal. From the Maisonneuve market to Place Simon-Valois to Ontario Street, we are proud to live in French.

This is not always easy. The use of French is declining in Montreal, and that worries me. It worries all of us here in the House. In Quebec, French is being used less as the primary language spoken or language of work. More and more stores are greeting customers in a language other than French. As a Montrealer, a Quebecker and a francophone, I find this worrisome.

It is extraordinary that we are all having a conversation here about the decline of the French language. As my colleague Pablo Rodriguez said earlier this evening—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I would remind the parliamentary secretary that she must not identify members by their names. She must use only their titles.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Madam Chair, can I excuse myself on the grounds that I am new here?

There is no single solution, no small action we can take. A whole series of measures is needed, and those measures will require all of us to really want to protect French.

For the first time, the federal government is recognizing that there is a minority in Canada and North America: the francophone community. I am the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Most importantly, I am an immigrant who went through the French integration process and the newcomer classes and who watched her mother make a concerted effort to integrate into her new city. To me, it is obvious that immigration is important and crucial to the future of French.

Our government is responsible for ensuring that the newcomers who come to Canada every year without knowing French start to learn French. We do that by transferring significant amounts of money to Quebec to support French integration, under the Canada-Quebec accord, which gives Quebec the exclusive power to select immigrants in several categories and to ensure that considerations such as French are respected and maintained.

According to Quebec's 2016 Samson report, more than 43% of those who settle in the Montreal area do not speak French when they arrive in Canada. As for the rest of Quebec, the statistics are a little more encouraging. Between 75% and 89% of newcomers, depending on the immigration class, say they speak French. However, 54% of those in the economic immigration class do not speak French when they arrive.

That is why investments in French integration are essential to ensure that all immigrants and newcomers like me, my family and my children can learn French, integrate into the host society, work in French, be taught in French and consume culture in French.

That is why the bill to modernize the Broadcasting Act put forward by my colleague the Minister of Canadian Heritage is important.

Like all members of the House, I want to ensure that we work together for the future of Quebec and Montreal in French because they must continue to be the cradle of the francophonie in North America.

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

Madam Chair, I congratulate my colleague on her speech. We have talked a bit about the situation in Montreal.

We have heard a lot of Liberal support recently for Bill 101. What does the member think the purpose of Bill 101 was, and what language planning model is it based on?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague and riding neighbour for his question.

I have always said that I was a child of Bill 101. It is because of Bill 101 that I, as an immigrant, speak French today. Our government will continue to promote and protect the French language.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague from Hochelaga for her speech.

I also salute her because she is my neighbour and a fellow Montrealer. We share many realities regarding the situation and the precariousness of the French language.

If she is so convinced of the need to give workers the right to work and live in French, why does her government seem to be blocking the NDP's idea of applying the Charter of the French Language to federally regulated businesses?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his question. We are indeed neighbours, and our Montreal ridings each include a portion of the eastern part of Rosemont.

Interestingly, the 2016 Samson report concluded that a course correction was needed to strengthen the position of French as Quebec's common tongue, beginning with enhanced measures to help those who choose to come live here learn the language.

My colleague is well aware that many more immigrants are settling in Rosemont, in his riding. We need to make sure that immigrants can work and be taught in French. That is what we want to do.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Chair, I really appreciate what the member said. She can certainly be proud to say that she is a child of Bill 101.

As I have said before and am proud to say again, those who have benefited most from Bill 101 are newcomer children and the anglophone community, which have been given a chance to learn French. These people became bilingual thanks to Bill 101, and children of immigrants speak unaccented French, or those in Quebec do, anyway.

She wants to focus on Bill 101, which had the support of the former member for Saint-Laurent, Stéphane Dion, as someone mentioned earlier.

However, if French is under threat, why not do whatever it takes to apply Bill 101 to areas under federal jurisdiction? What does the member think of that?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my opposition colleague for his question.

I would like to remind members that French is protected not just by one measure but by a series of measures. Over the past five years, our government has been working to protect French in Quebec, and we will continue to do so. I look forward to seeing the modernization plan that the Minister of Official Languages is going to present.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Madam Chair, I have a good question for my colleague, because I know that she is a strong advocate for official languages and also for immigration.

Our government implemented several measures with respect to francophone immigration. I would like her to inform the House of our various initiatives.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for her question.

One of the most important things is that for the first time, in the plan for immigration levels, there is a specific line for francophone immigration. This demonstrates the importance of maintaining the proportion of francophones across the country.

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

Madam Chair, I am proud to address you in French this evening as an MP from the Quebec nation and the member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier.

Language issues have always been very important to me. I am a member of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie and I also have an international responsibility. I have the privilege of chairing the Parliamentary Affairs Committee, which represents more than 88 parliaments that use and promote French.

Let's get right to the point. The decline in the language of Molière in the beautiful province of Quebec, particularly in the Montreal region, is real, and I am extremely concerned. The same sort of thing is happening in francophone communities outside Quebec and, as parliamentarians, we need to protect the language. Statistics show beyond a shadow of a doubt that there has been a decline in the use of spoken French at work and at home in Quebec.

An article published by Le Devoir in 2019 indicated that the number of people who speak French most often at home is dropping by 1%. That may not seem like much, but if we lose 1% every year, then we will lose a lot and francophones will no longer be heard by their communities.

This decline may seem minor, but it will translate to much bigger losses in the next 20 years. We need to act now.

Quebeckers are concerned. According to a Leger Marketing survey, nearly six in 10 Quebeckers feel that the situation has gotten worse in the past decade. The same proportion of people feel that the use of French will continue to decline over the next decade. Sixty-three per cent of respondents said that they were concerned about the situation of French. I repeat: I am very concerned for our future generations.

However, what I find most embarrassing is the Liberal government's inaction. Seriously, I ask myself this question a lot: Where have the Liberal members from Quebec been for the past five years? Back in 2015, this government campaigned on promises about official languages.

I must say that over the past year and in recent days, the Quebec Liberal caucus has shown that it has no respect for or credibility when it comes to the French language. First of all, in the WE Charity scandal, the Liberal government awarded an untendered contract to an organization with no ties to Quebec and no way of communicating with francophone Canadians.

In recent weeks, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, a Quebecker, introduced Bill C-10 to modernize the Broadcasting Act. There is no provision to ensure that French is protected.

As if that were not enough, the member for Saint-Laurent expressed doubts about the decline of French in Montreal, and the Quebec president of the Liberal Party agreed. Without mincing words, and said that Bill 101 is quite simply oppressive.

We might have thought it was a lapse in judgment or a misinterpretation of what the member for Saint-Laurent said. However, a few minutes after she quit the Standing Committee on Official Languages, the member for Saint-Laurent was at it again. She “liked” a tweet that said that the crisis around the decline of French was exaggerated. Seriously, it is unacceptable. Was she expressing what the Liberal MPs from Quebec are thinking? Maybe.

When we add it all up, we can say that we know the current government's real opinion on the decline of French, despite the fine words from the Minister of Official Languages and the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. The Minister of Official Languages often likes to say in this chamber that our political party has no lessons to give her party. I would just like to take this opportunity to remind her that it was the Conservative Party of Canada, led by the the Hon. Brian Mulroney, that repealed the Official Languages Act in 1988. The Liberals can brag outside the House and say that they were the ones who brought in this legislation in 1969, but again, history shows that it was the Conservatives that had to improve policies brought in by the Liberal Party.

That statement is not unfounded. According to Linda Cardinal, a political scientist and research chair in Canadian francophonie and public policy at the University of Ottawa, “The 1969 legislation had no real might. It conferred primarily political rights, whereas the 1988 legislation had more to do with human rights.”

The Conservative Party has always made it a priority to defend the interests of people across the country, and amendments to that act certainly made things better for all francophones across the country. However, the act is in dire need of an overhaul because it is 2020 and the act has not been modernized in over 30 years.

In 2017, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages asked parliamentarians to modernize the act, but the government never did more than talk, like the lyrics from that famous song that goes, “Words, words, words”. I do not sing as well as the member for Shefford. I do not have that talent.

I would add that the government has nothing but words to offer Canadians. When it is time to put plans into action, this government simply cannot.

In June 2018, Mark Power and Darius Bossé, lawyers working in the area of language rights, wrote in an op-ed that the survival of French in Canada requires a thorough revision of the federal Official Languages Act. I could mention several other experts who have publicly criticized the current situation. In spite of everything, it is obvious that there is no linguistic sensitivity on the part of this government. To this day, the member for Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Minister of Official Languages cannot tell us when she will introduce her legislation to modernize the act.

When I was preparing this speech, I was surprised to learn that the current Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry in this government voted against the Conservative motion moved in 2006 recognizing the Quebec nation and, by extension, the importance of French in Quebec. Worse still, 15 Liberal members voted against that motion. That is not counting those who did not show up for the vote. Fifteen Liberals voted against that motion, and several others were absent. We can therefore conclude that the member for Saint-Laurent is not the only one in the Liberal Party of Canada caucus who does not really care about the decline of French.

There is a genuine consensus on our side of the House. Our leader publicly announced it a few months ago. He did not play politics like the members opposite. He was clear about the issue and our caucus has been too. We will always respect Quebec's areas of jurisdiction and work with Quebec's elected officials as real partners.

We agree with the Legault government that Bill 101 should be applied to federally regulated businesses in Quebec. Quebeckers deserve to be represented by members who will stand up for them, who will defend the French language and who are able to say loud and clear without any ambiguity that French is declining in Quebec and Montreal.

I would like to close with a famous quote by Albert Camus, which represents the essence of my political commitment and which should inspire the member for Saint-Laurent and the other members of the Liberal Party. He said, “Democracy is not the law of the majority but the protection of the minority”.

Liberal members from Quebec did not do their duty and the Minister of Official Languages is not doing anything to resolve the situation, but we will continue to protect and defend our two official languages in Montreal, Quebec and all across Canada.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Chair, I thank my hon. colleague for his intervention.

I have two questions about the criticisms of Bill C-10 on broadcasting. On the issue of percentages in the bill, the Association québécoise de la production médiatique said, “The AQPM believes that it would be hard to include percentages in the legislation and that it is better to go before the CRTC to debate better conditions to impose on online broadcasters and undertakings.” That is what independent producers are saying and that is what ADISQ, the Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo says. By the way, ADISQ says it is grateful to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and his team for being so receptive.

Will the Conservative Party vote in favour of Bill C-10?

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

Madam Chair, I appreciate the question from the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

He just quoted two organizations. I have a list of more than 25 organizations that do not agree with his bill. This evening, it is important that we work together, recognize the problem of the French language in Montreal, start working on it and stop saying that they are working hard.

They must give us a date for the modernization of the Official Languages Act. Will it be before December 31, 2020?