Question Period Note: Official Languages and Quebec Bill 96

On May 24, 2022, the National Assembly of Quebec passed The Official and Common Language of Quebec, French Act (commonly referred to as Bill 96) to make amendments to the Charter of the French Language (also referred to as "Bill 101") and to several other existing laws. Bill 96 was assented to and came into force on June 1, 2022, with the exception of certain provisions that were suspended by the Superior Court of Quebec.

• The Government recognizes the importance of protecting the French language in Canada, including in Quebec, and wants to work with the Government of Quebec to achieve this goal.

• Bill C-13 aims to better protect the French language and to achieve substantive equality between English and French by strengthening the Act, supporting the vitality of official language minority communities, and equipping federal institutions to achieve these objectives.

• Bill C-13, tabled by our government on March 1, 2022, will following its adoption, promote and protect the use of French as a language of work and service within private enterprises under federal jurisdiction in Quebec, as well as in regions with a strong francophone presence.

• On May 24, 2022, the National Assembly of Quebec passed The Official and Common Language of Quebec, French Act (commonly referred to as Bill 96) to make amendments to the Charter of the French Language (also referred to as "Bill 101") and to several other existing laws. Bill 96 was assented to and came into force on June 1, 2022, with the exception of certain provisions suspended by the Superior Court of Quebec.
o To this end, in August 2022, a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec temporarily suspended the application of two sections of Bill 96 which, in her opinion, could be likely to prevent certain English-speaking organizations from having access to the judicial system.
o The judgment rules that sections of Bill 96 that would require companies to pay a translator to produce French versions of legal documents should be suspended until their legal challenge can be heard on the merits. A trial is scheduled for November 2022 to decide the matter.
• During its presentation in the National Assembly, the Minister responsible for the French language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, stated that the purpose of this Bill 96 "is to affirm that the only official language of Quebec is French" and that "French is the common language of the Quebec nation".
• Here are the main elements of the reform proposed in Bill 96:
o the creation of a Ministry of the French Language
o the creation of a French Language Commissioner
o the application of Bill 101 to businesses with 25 or more employees
o an improved offering of French-language courses for newcomers
o a review of the bilingual status of certain municipalities
o A form of quota imposed on English-language CEGEPs, without restricting access to English-speaking right holders to access language minority schools
• Bill 96 provides (Sect. 19) that "Any person who is domiciled in Canada and not resident in Québec is entitled […] to pay the same tuition fees as a resident in Québec […]." Eventually, Quebec would become more attractive to all Canadian students, which would aggravate recruitment difficulties in post-secondary institutions in French-speaking communities in the rest of the country.
• Bill 96 also makes several changes with respect to French as a language of work and language of commerce and business. For examples:
o Employers of all business shall respect their workers’ right to carry on their activities in French (Chapter VI – The language of labour relations).
o Consumers of all businesses offering goods or services to consumers must "respect their right to be informed and served in French" (Chapter VII – The language of commerce and business).
o Section 89.1 of Bill 101 now states that "No provision of this Act may be interpreted in such a way as to prevent its application to any enterprise or employer carrying on its activities in Quebec". As such, the Charter would therefore apply to any business or employer operating in Quebec, including, although not explicitly stated, federally regulated private businesses (FRPB), as well as businesses and Crown corporations currently subject to the Official Languages Act (OLA). The Premier of Quebec and Minister of Justice and Minister responsible for the French Language have publicly stated that this is their intention.
o The Office québécois de la langue française sent a letter to Quebec businesses on July 18, 2022 asking them to undertake a francization process, in particular, by transmitting the name of the main manager as well as the number of employees working within the company.
• Federal Bill C-13, tabled in Parliament on March 1, proposes a new law called the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act (FRPB Act), which creates new rights to be served and to work in French in FRPB, in Quebec and in regions with a strong francophone presence.
• According to the FRPB Act, FRPB in Quebec will be subject to the new federal regime by default. However, this new law gives the later the option of voluntarily applying the Charter instead of the new federal law. The possibility for FRPB to voluntarily opt into the Charter only takes effect if an agreement is reached between the federal government and the Government of Quebec. Businesses and corporations currently subject to the OLA, for their part, will continue to be subject this Act and will not be subject to the FRPB Act.
• Some of the proposed amendments to Bill 96 could put pressure on the process of modernizing the OLA, notably on the FRPB Act and measures addressing key sectors essential to the development of Francophone minorities and which promote certain key sectors essential to the development of English- and French-speaking minorities.

None