Official Languages committee  I am going to let the parliamentarians decide that question. We have to understand that we have to wait two or three years for the parts of the act to be implemented. How is it possible to assess the impacts of the act in five years? However, we need to ensure that the implemen

Official Languages committee  We have to put in place an accountability framework. That means determining the rules and regulations that federal institutions are required to follow to show they are in compliance with their official languages obligations. That framework does not exist at present.

Official Languages committee  Yes, I think that is extremely important because the airport authorities tend to have a very narrow, or even extremely narrow, definition of the travelling public. The decision in question has been appealed, in fact. The concept of travelling public has to be expanded. It does n

Official Languages committee  We need to make sure that positions in the regions reflect the demolinguistic reality. However, in the government as a whole, approximately 42% of positions are designated bilingual, 52% are designated "English essential", and, I think, 6% are "French essential". So there are ce

Official Languages committee  I think that in regions that are designated bilingual for language of work, people have the right to be supervised in the language of their choice and to work in the language of their choice. I am not familiar with what you are saying. We have never received any complaints in th

Official Languages committee  I would like to make two points on that subject. First, we have to deal with a shortage of employees...

Official Languages committee  When I talk about speed, it's relative. Prior to taking up my position in 2018, we were already talking about modernizing the act. We are now in 2022, it will soon be 2023, and we're still talking about it. As I mentioned earlier, there have been several consultations, and many

Official Languages committee  At present, the only real power the Commissioner has is to make recommendations. Bill C‑13 proposes that the Commissioner be given a graduated scale of powers. For example, he will be able to make orders, impose very limited monetary penalties, sign enforceable agreements, and of

Official Languages committee  I gave a partial answer to it in my response to Ms. Ashton's question. It's important to realize that there have previously been federal-provincial agreements that have included language clauses. There is nothing new about it. The federal government sends a very strong message

Official Languages committee  Absolutely.

Official Languages committee  Only Air Canada is currently subject to the Official Languages Act. If Bill C‑13 were adopted, the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act , the UFFRPBA, would apply to WestJet and other carriers. However, they would not have the same obligations under the UFF

Official Languages committee  No.

Official Languages committee  That discussion would have to be held in a different context; a political context.

Official Languages committee  We have been fairly clear in our brief about what we are proposing, which is that the Treasury Board should be acting as the central agency. Several other people who have spoken when they appeared before the committee have agreed. Of course, it's up to the government to organize

Official Languages committee  Federal institutions demonstrated a great deal of discretion with respect to the measures they could decide and act upon. The criteria set out in the FFCB decision are much more demanding than what is in the current act. The act currently allows a lot of flexibility, opportunitie