The Commissioner of Official Languages will now be able to impose penalties of up to $25,000 on Air Canada, provides for the Trudeau government’s bill tabled Tuesday in Ottawa. New rights to work and consume in French in private businesses under federal jurisdiction will also apply in Quebec, before being extended to Francophone minorities in other provinces.
Updated yesterday at 9:08 p.m.
“I am very proud to present a new version of the bill […] with more bite,” said Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor at a press conference Tuesday noon in Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia.
His Bill C-13, tabled a few hours earlier in the House of Commons, reinforces Bill C-32 of his predecessor Mélanie Joly. The latter, presented last June, died on the soap opera with the triggering of the federal elections.
The most notable reinforcement is the new power given to the Commissioner of Official Languages to impose “monetary administrative penalties” on Air Canada, VIA Rail and Marine Atlantic, as well as on all airport authorities.
The June 2021 draft only provided for allowing the commissioner to “enter into compliance agreements and, in some cases, issue orders”.
This was before the outcry provoked in early November by the big boss of Air Canada, Michael Rousseau, following a speech before the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The big boss of Air Canada, Michael Rousseau, during his speech before the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, November 3
His speech, delivered almost entirely in English, and his satisfaction, expressed in front of journalists, at having been able to live 14 years in the metropolis without having to learn French, had sparked a deluge of criticism and complaints.
“The Air Canada case demonstrates the importance of quickly modifying and strengthening the Commissioner’s powers,” read a briefing note prepared for the meeting of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Raymond Théberge, with Minister Petitpas. Taylor, November 29.
The commissioner’s and Canadians’ demands led to the addition of sanctions, the minister confirmed on Tuesday.
Air Canada is the subject of an average of 85 complaints per year for non-respect of the rights of Francophones. Asked about the real effect of penalties limited to $25,000, Ms.me Petitpas Taylor argued that “many other tools,” including mediation and order powers, were also added.
“It’s not a fine,” said a senior federal official during a media briefing. “It’s not meant to be punitive, it’s to encourage compliance. »
Francophones outside Quebec
“I want to make sure that francophones will have more rights to work and be served in French, not only in Quebec, but in regions with a strong francophone presence,” declared the minister, who describes herself as a “proud Acadian”.
These new rights, which private companies under federal jurisdiction will be required to respect, were already provided for in the June version. They are the subject of a separate bill that will be put into effect by decree “to give us enough time to prepare the companies”, explained a federal official. The terms “regions with a strong Francophone presence” and “consumers” still need to be defined.
The bill gives new power to the Treasury Board, which will have the obligation to analyze the consequences of government decisions on linguistic minorities.
It will also require the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to include objectives, targets and indicators in his Francophone immigration policy.
Immigration is “the only way” to counteract the loss of demographic weight of Francophones outside Quebec, said Minister Petitpas Taylor.
Reserves
“The proposed measures […] should breathe new life into the efforts made,” said the Commissioner of Official Languages in a press release. “Some linguistic issues would benefit from further discussion,” noted Raymond Théberge.
Even if he finds it commendable that Ottawa wants to protect and promote French in Canada, the leader of the Bloc Québécois is asking to exclude Quebec from the bill, reports The Canadian Press.
BLAIR GABLE PHOTO, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Yves-François Blanchet, leader of the Bloc Québécois
Quebec is quite capable not only of protecting and promoting French, but the federal government just needs to get its big legs out of there and stop harming us with blows from the Supreme Court.
Yves-François Blanchet, leader of the Bloc Québécois
“The first weakness of the bill is that the law does not have an obligation of result. And in addition, it is administered by four entities. Unfortunately, we will not stop the decline of French,” lamented MP Joël Godin, responsible for official languages at the Conservative Party.
The bill “includes substantial gains”, but certain elements will have to be reworked “before it can be said to be mission accomplished”, commented the Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities of Canada.