Question Period Note: Tabling of a Bill aimed at the strengthening the Official Languages Act

On March 1st, 2022, the Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency tabled Bill C-13 An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts in the House of Commons.

• We recognize that the French language is threatened in, including in Quebec, due to the predominant use of English in North America. Our Government is there to protect it and promote it, and ensure the vitality our two official language minority communities.
• Bill C-13 embodies the vision and commitments of our Government to our two official languages and even proposes significant enhancements to better support our official language minorities across Canada.
• Our two official languages are an integral part of our country’s heritage and are of fundamental importance to our unity.

• On March 1st, 2022, the Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency tabled Bill C-13 An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts (Bill C-13) in the House of Commons.
o Debate at second reading started on April 1, 2022 in the House of Commons and concluded on May 30, 2022, following a vote where almost all parties supported the Bill.
o The bill is now before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages (LANG) and the Senate Committee on Official Languages (OLLO) began its pre-study on May 31, 2022.
• On June 2nd, 2022, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released an independent analysis of the financial cost of Bill C-13. The study was commissioned by the OLLO. Articles report that for the private sector, the PBO estimates one-time compliance costs of $240 million and recurring costs of $20 million per year.
• On June 9, 2022, the Quebec Government proposed amendments to Bill C-13 to incorporate the specifics of the Charter of the French Language. In a letter sent to the LANG, the former Quebec Minister responsible for Canadian Relations and the Canadian Francophonie of Quebec indicated that these proposals aim "to improve Bill C-13 in order to respond to the issues of the minority reality of the French language in Canada and to make the federal language regime more compatible and coherent with that of Quebec."
• Bill C-13 includes the key measures of the previous version of the Bill (C-32) including recognition of provincial and territorial linguistic realities, increased support for French across Canada, including Quebec, a significant strengthening of the powers of the Treasury Board and the Commissioner of Official Languages, and a ten-year review clause.
• Bill C-13 goes further, also proposing significant reinforcements from the previous Bill:
o A strengthening of the provisions relating to Francophone immigration.
o A strengthening of the provisions linked to federal institutions taking positive measures.
o A strengthening of the provisions in connection to the English-speaking communities in Québec.
o An additional strengthening of Treasury Board’s powers with regards to official languages.
o The addition of precision linked to emergency situations.
o The addition of the principle of interpretation as to the restorative nature of linguistic rights.
o A transfer of dispositions relating to the federally regulated private businesses in a new law.
o A new power entrusted in the Commissioner of Official Languages to impose administrative monetary penalties to certain privatized or Crown corporations in the field of transportation who communicates and offer services to travelers.
o Strengthening of the judicial decisions provisions to obtain immediate translation of more federal court decisions.
• On February 19, 2021, the Government of Canada unveiled its official languages reform paper, English and French: Towards Substantive Equality of Official Languages in Canada. This document, which followed a pan-Canadian consultation process that began in 2019, outlines the government's vision for a modernized OLA. This document outlines the federal government's intentions, which include a series of legislative, regulatory and administrative measures.
• On April 19, 2021, the Government of Canada presented its Budget 2021: A Recovery for Jobs, Growth and Resilience. It announced that it would invest $389.9 million over three years, beginning in 2021-2022, to support official languages. Among other things, it granted $6.4 million to Canadian Heritage and $2.3 million to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat over two years to modernize the OLA. In addition, $16 million for 1 year upon Royal Assent of the Bill was announced in the Economic and Fiscal Update 2021 to allow for the short-term implementation of certain key provisions.
• The OLA came into force in 1969 and gave equal status and use to English and French not only in Parliament and courts, but also throughout the federal administration. In September 1988, the OLA was reviewed in depth. This new version incorporated and clarified the language rights and principles enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982, and included, notably, a new part - Part VII - which contained a new commitment by the Government of Canada to promote English and French in Canadian society. The most recent milestone in the evolution of the OLA was passed in 2005, adding obligations to implement the Part VII commitment.

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