Official Languages committee  Significant efforts have been made on the elementary and high school front. The use of French has grown significantly since Bill 101 was introduced in 1977. There is always room for improvement, but I think a balance has been achieved as far as elementary and high schools are con

Official Languages committee  I think the situation in Montreal—on the island mainly, but also in the greater Montreal area—is especially urgent. I would welcome the federal government, Quebec government and municipalities of the greater Montreal area joining forces on a response plan, in co‑operation with co

Official Languages committee  Thank you. First, I would say that, on a very practical level, the same principle behind the CRTC's quotas for French-language music on the radio should apply to YouTube and other digital media content. Second, I don't think it would be difficult to emphasize, within the act, t

Official Languages committee  Yes, it is. It's a very timely topic, in fact. The language legislation applies to the Internet. Under the Charter of the French Language, businesses must advertise in French, and that applies to the Internet as well. It has an impact on the language of work. If a business has t

Official Languages committee  Thank you for your question. If we were to apply the territorial logic outside Quebec, we could proceed by determining... The measures in place to protect the language rights of francophones in these provinces constitute a minimum, and there is no question of reducing them. W

Official Languages committee  Yes, I understand what you're asking. I'll start with your last point. It's important to keep in mind that there is always some tension on that front. On one hand, you have the right to work in French. On the other hand, you have laws, including Quebec laws, that provide for the

Official Languages committee  Thank you for your question. In my opinion, what Ms. Cardinal's text suggests is that the Quebec model is based on territoriality and allows for some accommodations. She also says that Quebec should strengthen its territoriality-based model. In Canada, federal policy is less bas

Official Languages committee  The answer is no. If we really want to promote French, we need to protect the right to work in French more, and not necessarily the right to work in English. The logic of the Charter of the French Language is that employees have the fundamental right to work in French. This does

Official Languages committee  There may sometimes be a contradiction between what the scientific literature tells us and the political factors. This is very clear and almost unanimous: a state that wants to ensure the long-term flourishing of a vulnerable language must concentrate its efforts in the regions w

Official Languages committee  Mr. Beaulieu, I presume you are addressing your question to me.

Official Languages committee  Thank you. From a legal point of view, the application of language law to private companies under federal jurisdiction has a twofold aspect. On the one hand, it is a matter of federal jurisdiction, and on the other, it falls under Quebec provincial jurisdiction. Both may apply,

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. I do think that Bill C‑32 can be a good starting point. If it could be reintroduced, we could recommend a number of amendments. The positive aspect of Bill C‑32, as I was saying earlier, is that it shows that the paradigm is starting to shift—in othe

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. That brings us back to what we refer to as asymmetry. Traditionally, the country has adopted a symmetric approach. The federal government wanted to protect the French minority language in other provinces and, symmetrically, it acted in similar fashio

Official Languages committee  Yes, thank you Ms. Ashton. I'd like to draw the committee's attention to the recent Federal Court of Appeal decision, of which you may already be aware. It's about a rather different matter, having to do with the federal government transferring the management of employment assis

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. If we were to apply a territorial logic to Ontario, it would mean having to determine which regions had a concentration of francophones. That would enable the federal government to focus its efforts on promoting French in those regions. This logic is