Official Languages committee  I'm sorry to disappoint the members of the opposition parties who sit on the committee, but I think it corresponds to the mandates currently assigned to the Department of Canadian Heritage and Treasury Board. This subamendment is tailored to the organization of the government.

Official Languages committee  I'll start, then I'll give the floor to my colleague. Several elements have been raised. First, it's clear that we're trying to strengthen governance. This is done in several ways in Bill C‑13, including formally specifying the role played by the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and strengthening the powers of the Treasury Board, as well as those of the Commissioner of Official Languages, who determines when we're in error and who receives complaints.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I'd like to address this in a practical way. Later on, you will discuss subsections 41(1) to 41(3) of the act, which deal with taking positive measures in the communities to foster equal status and usage of English and French. The Department of Canadian Heritage encourages the other federal departments to work with stakeholders and recommends solutions, practices, or positive measures to put in place based on their mandate and what the communities want.

Official Languages committee  So that will need to be made clear. The way it's currently written, a cabinet committee would implement the act, not an individual in charge.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Généreux. We're dealing here with the proposed clause about government-wide coordination, which seeks to specify who will coordinate implementation of the act. This clause attempts to formalize the role that the Minister of Canadian Heritage already plays in implementing and coordinating the federal Official Languages Act.

Official Languages committee  As I told you earlier, you should write “the president of the Treasury Board”. It should also be noted that the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Treasury Board Secretariat have different mandates. The Department of Canadian Heritage is responsible for working with communities, understanding their needs, administering funds and distributing them.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for your question, Mr. Housefather. I would like to remind members of this committee that we are in clause 3, which is the object of the Official Languages Act and, therefore, its goal and intention. We are looking at an additional paragraph that would state that we are guaranteeing the existence of a majority French society in Quebec where the future of French is assured.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much. My comments will take less than two minutes. The effect of this amendment is to delete from Bill C-13 the reference to the Charter of the French Language. Instead, it makes the connection with the language regime established by the Quebec National Assembly.

Official Languages committee  I think any assumption is good at this point, because we don't know how the courts would treat this. Obviously, when you put it in legislation, it could influence the interpretation.

Official Languages committee  I'm not sure if it would cause a problem. It does introduce a new term into the legislation, but it is a descriptive term that is used in the Charter of the French language of Quebec.

Official Languages committee  That's correct.

Official Languages committee  I would say that's correct. It's what's currently.... Again, though, with this process, Bill C-13 can change and evolve.

Official Languages committee  Not to my knowledge. No.

Official Languages committee  I'm not sure how it would be interpreted by the courts. However, in the preamble here, it describes what the Charter of the French language says. It's more of a descriptor of the charter, which says that it is the official and common language in Quebec.

Official Languages committee  Yes.