Procedure and House Affairs committee  I don't see any function that requires members of Parliament to be physically present. It could be done virtually, though I would like to add to your description that I consider the House of Commons to also be a public forum, which means that freedom of expression has to be exerc

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I will answer you first in French, then add a few words in English, since I am more comfortable in French, quite simply. The original rule in the Constitution in 1867 was that the privileges and immunities of the House of Commons should not exceed those of the United Kingdom. Th

Procedure and House Affairs committee  If I may provide an answer. Obviously, as I said at the beginning, we are dealing with new rights, let's not forget that. In light of recent events, some things will evolve, and privileges will probably evolve as well. That being said, as long as a statement is made under the au

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'll answer you, if I may. You have to go back a little bit to the meaning of a parliament. A parliament is first and foremost an assembly, or a meeting of people who exercise the legislative function. In this case, the physical location is of secondary importance. The essence o

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Basically, where section 44 applies, it's a simple majority vote. It simply requires the passage of an act by the House of Commons and the Senate, which will eventually receive the assent of the Governor General. I'm using the Senate reform reference here. It's a decision that w

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'll answer you first in French, if you like, and then I'll add a few words in English. Immunity and privileges shall be accorded equally to all members of the Assembly. I do not see any disparity between members of the Assembly. This being said, immunity is related to the work

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's related to the work of the chamber. It means that a member has absolute immunity for everything that he or she says or does within the work of the chamber.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for inviting me to this meeting. I am very honoured. I feel a bit like I'm involved in the creation of new rights. I must say that I have approached today's topic from a constitutional perspective. I am better known as a constitutionalist than as a legal expert in othe

Official Languages committee  As you know, bilingualism exists at the federal level and in a more comprehensive way in New Brunswick. As for the other Canadian provinces, a certain form of bilingualism exists in Quebec and Manitoba under section 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867, and section 23 of the Manitob

Official Languages committee  I will begin by saying that the Commissioner of Official Languages defines linguistic duality as, “the presence of two linguistic majorities cohabiting in the same country, with linguistic minority communities spread across the country”. This evokes a concept we used to hear a lo

Official Languages committee  The Privy Council Office needs to be the central agency responsible. We agree that there are currently structural problems with the implementation of the Official Languages Act. Canadian Heritage has some responsibility, as does the Treasury Board. It would be important to have a

Official Languages committee  I don't think so. I have seen a number of recommendations about swapping “must” for “may” in the act. Every time I see that, I feel that it suggests a lack of political will or of will on the part of the Commissioner of Official Languages himself to fully exercise his powers. I

Official Languages committee  What I can say is that, when it comes to agreements like the early childhood agreement, it's down to intergovernmental negotiation. The federal government can go as far as possible by including clauses that favour Canada's francophone and Acadian communities. It has to negotiate

Official Languages committee  I picked up on two things you said. The first is the division of legislative responsibilities, which both levels of government must respect, of course. In other words, Parliament cannot directly legislate in an area such as education, as in your example. The division of legisla

Official Languages committee  Very good. I would like to thank the committee for inviting me here today to discuss an important topic, the modernization of the Official Languages Act. I would like to congratulate you all on your work to promote and develop Canada's linguistic duality. That brings me to my f