Question Period Note: Conseil scolaire francophone provincial de Terre-Neuve et Labrador v. Patrimoine canadien

On March 31, 2023, the Conseil scolaire francophone provincial de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador wrote to the Federal Court to provide an update on the status of the discussions between the parties and to inform the Court that the talks had broken down and that the case against the Department of Canadian Heritage had been reopened.

• Access to quality education in both official languages is essential to maintaining the vitality of official language minority communities and promoting English and French in Canada.
• The modernized Official Languages Act significantly strengthens Part VII of the Act by further specifying the responsibilities of federal institutions, including the duty to consult official language minority communities.
• The Government of Canada is proud to work with the provinces and territories to support minority and second official language education.

• In February 2017, the Conseil scolaire francophone provincial de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador (CSFPTNL) filed a notice of application in Federal Court under section 77 of the Official Languages Act (OLA), when it alleged that the Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) had contravened to Part VII of the OLA, and section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom.
o According to the CSFPTNL, PCH transferred federal funds for minority language education to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) without any real consideration of the FNLMSC's needs. Also, PCH would have an obligation to consult with minority language communities and to ensure that funds are actually used to support minority language education.
o The instance was suspended in 2017 to allow for a review of a new agreement negotiated between PCH and the NL government and to see if it would address the CSFPTNL's complaints.
• On March 23, 2023, the NL government tabled its budget in which allocations for French-language education were not increased. The CSFPTNL expressed its disappointment with the budget unveiled by the province.
• The Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction 2019-2020 to 2022-2023 (the Protocol) between the Government of Canada and all provinces and territories, except Quebec, was signed by all parties in February 2020. This multilateral framework sets out the broad parameters for cooperation between the two levels of government in the area of official languages in education and provides a mechanism by which the Government of Canada contributes to the costs incurred by the provinces and territories for minority and second official language education. Formal negotiations for the renewal of the Protocol have not yet begun. PCH has been informed that the NL government does not currently intend to be a signatory to the next Protocol.
• Following the conclusion of the Protocol, PCH signs bilateral cost-shared agreements with each province or territory. These agreements include provincial/territorial action plans outlining the investment priorities of each government.
o The agreement between PCH and the Government of NL expired in March 2023, but has been extended to cover the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
• Under the bilateral education agreements, the Government of Canada provides $235.5 million (M) per year to the provinces and territories ($150.2M for minority language education and $85.3M for second language instruction). To this amount, an additional $15M per year is set aside from 2019-2020 to 2022-2023 to increase support for minority language education. This additional support, announced in Budget 2019, is contingent on commitments from provinces and territories to improve stakeholder consultation and transparency in accountability.
o For the 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 period, the NL government received over $5M for minority language education and over $7.9M for second language instruction for a total of $12,9M.
• The 2023 Federal Budget announced $679.2M in funding over five years, beginning in 2023-2024, for PCH to support, in collaboration with provinces and territories, access to quality minority language education, second language learning opportunities and bilingual government services across Canada.
• The 2021 Federal Budget 2021 announced additional investments of $180.4M over three years (2021-22 to 2023-24) to help students achieve higher levels of bilingualism, $121.3M over three years (2021-22 to 2023-24) to support quality post-secondary education in the minority language and $81.8 million over two years (2021-2022 to 2022-2023) to support the construction, renovation, and development of educational and community spaces that serve official language minority communities.
• Part VII of the OLA (Advancement of English and French), which is the subject of this proceeding, was created during the last major revision of the OLA in 1988. Since 2005, federal institutions have been required to take positive measures to implement this commitment and this part of the OLA has become justiciable before the courts.
• On June 20, 2023, Bill C-13, for the modernization of the OLA received Royal Assent. The modernized OLA consolidates Part VII by clarifying the issue of positive measures in order to provide a better framework for federal institutions. Among other things, it specifies the process leading to the taking of positive measures by federal institutions by basing their analyses on dialogue and consultation activities, on research and evidence, and on structural decisions that could have an impact on the two official language communities across the country.
• In this bill, the federal government also recognizes the importance of cooperation with the provinces and territories in the implementation of Part VII, given the diversity of provincial and territorial language regimes that contribute to the advancement of the equal status and use of English and French in Canadian society.

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