Preserving our French-speaking society on a predominantly English-speaking continent is a challenge that we must meet with every generation. The vast majority of the business community is well aware of this. She understands the implications of declaring French the official language of Quebec: Quebecers have the right to live in French, as citizens, workers and consumers. It also means that the government has a duty to ensure that these rights are respected.
At regular intervals, Quebeckers wonder about the state of play and assess whether we are succeeding in preserving the status of French as a common language.
This year, faced with the growing concern of Quebecers about the decline of French in the public sphere, the two levels of government tabled bills to strengthen the protection of French.
The metropolitan business community, through the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, expressed its support for these reforms, particularly during public consultations on Bill 96.
English, the international language of business
Our support for strengthening the protection of French does not contradict our other message: for our economic success, we must maintain a balance between our right to work in French and the need to make room for bilingualism in our active companies. internationally and at the head offices of foreign subsidiaries established in Quebec.
Let’s be clear: the place of French in our companies is fundamental. However, our economic future depends in part on an interrelation with the rest of the world where English is, de facto, the international language of business.
Concretely, doing business outside of Quebec requires advanced knowledge of English in several spheres: governance, business development, legal services, marketing and communications, procurement, etc.
Our challenge is particular. In almost all regions of the world, the preservation of the local language is not threatened by business decisions whether or not to require knowledge of English.
This requires us to properly calibrate our laws and regulations to achieve these two objectives.
Corporate responsibility
The vast majority of business leaders understand the need to protect French in Quebec.
Obviously, the unilingual speech delivered in our gallery by Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada, and the remarks he made following his speech generated a strong reaction and brought forward l importance of the place of French within companies.
Mr. Rousseau admitted that his comments were unacceptable and he apologized for it. Air Canada’s board of directors informed him that his performance evaluation would take into account his fluency in French. Mr. Rousseau is committed to learning French.
Beyond this particular case, it is important to recall the evolution of the responsibilities of boards of directors. It has long been held that directors should choose officers solely on the basis of their ability to create shareholder value. This situation is changing.
We now know that the most successful companies are led by leaders who understand the importance of other equally critical factors, including the environmental performance of the company, the integrity of its governance, the equal place given to women and inclusion of talent from diversity.
The message that Quebec society has just sent to boards of directors is very clear: to be the director of a company established in Quebec, you have to understand and recognize the importance of respecting the place of French in the Quebec identity.
The Chamber’s commitment
The Chamber’s mission is to be the voice of the business community to communicate business issues effectively and help find solutions to strengthen our economy. As such, we invite to our forum all business leaders likely to have a major impact on the city’s economy.
Until now, we have always invited the directors of companies established in Quebec who have recently joined, even when their knowledge of French was limited. In these particular cases, they had the courtesy to deliver parts of their speech in French.
Obviously, this condition is insufficient.
In the future, we will ensure that these leaders fully recognize the importance of knowing French to run a business in Quebec and, if they do not master it, that they publicly commit to learning it over the years. next three years.
It is incumbent upon us to go even further.
The Chamber is already active and has been working for more than a decade to facilitate the francization of SMEs and businesses in its territory. We are committed to launching a major initiative to raise awareness among management teams and directors of large companies located in the metropolis of the need to adopt a corporate culture that respects the right to work in French, at all levels. . It is a question of leadership.
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