Air Canada’s linguistic controversy | Fines must be imposed, says the Commissioner of Official Languages

(Ottawa) The Commissioner of Official Languages, Raymond Théberge, highlighted the controversy caused by the unilingualism of the boss of Air Canada during a meeting with Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor. He tries to convince her to grant him more binding powers to enforce the law. The air carrier is one of the worst offenders when it comes to respecting the rights of francophones.

Mylene Crete
The Press

“The Air Canada case demonstrates the importance of quickly modifying and strengthening the Commissioner’s powers and reviewing the obligations of federal institutions,” reads a briefing note prepared by his team in anticipation of a meeting with the Minister of Official Languages, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, which took place on November 29.

It was a few weeks after the linguistic storm unleashed by the president and general manager of the air carrier, Michael Rousseau. He had first delivered a speech in English to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, despite warnings from a member of François Legault’s cabinet in Quebec and the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages ​​in Ottawa. Only a few sentences in French had been added.

Mr. Rousseau had subsequently told journalists during a press scrum that he had lived in the metropolis for 14 years without having had to learn French, which was “to the credit” of the city. This statement had raised controversy since Air Canada is subject to the Official Languages ​​Act and that each year, it is the subject of an average of 85 complaints for non-respect of the rights of Francophones.

The Commissioner of Official Languages ​​received 2,500 complaints in the wake of this controversy. They were all deemed admissible under the Official Languages ​​Act. His office is now investigating to determine if there was indeed a breach. Even if he determines that this is indeed the case, Mr. Théberge will have to content himself with formulating recommendations.

The power he has has not worked as expected with respect to Air Canada’s failings over the years. As proof, his predecessor had filed a report in 2016 in which he reported systemic compliance problems at the air carrier that had persisted since the law came into force in 1969.

Mr. Théberge therefore asked Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor to give him the power to impose financial penalties. “Adding this power would provide me with greater flexibility in my investigations to intervene quickly and effectively, but would also allow companies like Air Canada to follow suit in the right direction,” the memo reads. of briefing.

“It is important to seize the opportunity presented to us because once a law is adopted, it is not changed often,” notes Mr. Théberge. This reform of the Official Languages ​​Act would be the second in more than 50 years. It was modified only once, in 1988.

“We want a proactive law”

The Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities (FCFA) also wants the Commissioner to have more bite. “We want a proactive rather than reactive law”, summarizes its director general, Alain Dupuis. The organization is also asking that the Treasury Board be the sole agency responsible for implementing the act throughout the government apparatus, that the federal government be required to include language clauses in its agreements with provinces and territories and restore the demographic weight of Francophones through immigration.

The new version of the law is expected by the beginning of February.

Discussions to strengthen it are underway between Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor and her colleagues from other departments that would be affected by this reform, such as the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Department of Immigration, her cabinet said. .

A first version of the bill was tabled on June 15, a week before the end of parliamentary work for the summer break. It already provided for increased powers for the Commissioner, such as entering into compliance agreements and making orders in certain cases, but not imposing fines. The bill subsequently died on the order paper after the federal election campaign kicked off two months later.