Question Period Note: Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer Report Cost Estimate of Bill C-13

On June 2, 2022, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released a report containing an independent analysis of the financial cost of Bill C-13, An Act to achieve substantive equality between the official languages of Canada. The study was commissioned by the Senate Committee on Official Languages. Articles report that the Parliamentary Budget Director criticizes the fact that the ministries involved have not explained how these funds will be allocated.

• Upon Royal Assent, our Government will invest $16 million for the initial implementation of Bill C-13 starting in fiscal year 2022-2023. This funding will support the adaptation process of four federal institutions that will be required once the legislation comes into force.
• The modernization of the Official Languages Act is still under review and the development of related regulations can begin upon Royal Assent. For federally regulated private businesses, regulations defining regions with a strong Francophone presence will be required to estimate the costs of these new legislative obligations.
• The new Action Plan for Official Languages will provide details on the additional costs of implementing the modernized Act.

• On June 2, 2022, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released a report containing an independent analysis of the financial cost of Bill C-13, An Act to achieve substantive equality between the official languages of Canada. The study was commissioned by the Senate Committee on Official Languages.
• When the new Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act comes into force by order-in-council at a time determined by the government, it would apply to federally regulated businesses in Quebec. Bill C-13 also provides for the extension of the new Act to "regions with a strong Francophone presence" at a later date.
• The PBO report focuses on the proposed extension of Francophone language rights to federally regulated private businesses:
o The PBO projects that for the private sector, one-time compliance costs would be $240 million, plus recurring costs of $20 million per year. These costs would be primarily for language training and bilingual bonuses paid to managers in regions outside Quebec designated as bilingual.
o While the administrative cost of implementing these rights for the public sector would be $2.9 million.
• PBO presumes that the financial cost of this Bill arises solely from the proposed extension of French language regulatory obligations to federally regulated private businesses.
o It also assumes that in order to be able to serve consumers in French in each workplace, the number of French-speaking sales or service employees will have to be proportional to the number of people in the region who have French as their first official language spoken, i.e., a minimum of 25% of employees.
o It is estimated that there are currently approximately 3,413 managers in the federally regulated sectors who do not speak French.
• In the Fall 2021-2022 Economic Statement, $16 million was provided for the initial implementation of Bill C-13 in 2022-2023.
• With regard to the spending plans of the organizations concerned (Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Canadian Heritage and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada), the Director notes that the funding allocated is not expected to be sufficient to cover the recurring costs arising from Bill C-13. According to the PBO, all three departments refused to disclose their planned expenditures to comply with the changes set out in Bill C-13, and provided little detail on the specific actions they planned to take. In the event, the Department of Canadian Heritage indicated that it would use the additional funds to: "create tools and best practices to guide and inform the businesses involved about their new obligations under the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and its regulations."
• From the $16 million envelope announced in the Economic Update to implement some of the amendments in the Bill, as of Day 1 of their coming into force, some $4.6 million would be allocated to Canadian Heritage for 2022-2023.
• The mandate of the PBO is: "...to provide independent, non-partisan analysis to Parliament on the budget, estimates and other documents, on matters of particular importance to the financial or economic condition of the country as set out in its annual work plan, and, at the request of a committee or a Member of Parliament, on the costs of any proposed measure within the jurisdiction of Parliament. Certain committees may also request analyses of Canada's finances, economy or estimates."

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