Skip to main content
;

LANG Committee Meeting

Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.

For an advanced search, use Publication Search tool.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

Previous day publication Next day publication

Minutes of Proceedings

44th Parliament, 1st Session
Meeting 49
Friday, February 10, 2023, 9:00 a.m. to 10:47 a.m.
Webcast
Presiding
René Arseneault, Chair (Liberal)

House of Commons
• Jean-François Pagé, Legislative Clerk
• Émilie Thivierge, Legislative Clerk
 
Library of Parliament
• Lucie Lecomte, Analyst
• Emilie Lusson, Research Assistant
Department of Canadian Heritage
• Julie Boyer, Assistant Deputy Minister, Official Languages, Heritage and Regions
• Marcel Fallu, Manager, Modernization of the Official Languages Act
• Chantal Terrien, Manager, Modernization of the Official Languages Act
Department of Justice
• Mr. Warren J. Newman, Senior General Counsel, Constitutional, Administrative and International Law Section, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector
Treasury Board Secretariat
• Carsten Quell, Executive Director, Official Languages Centre of Excellence, People and Culture, Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer
Pursuant to the order of reference of Monday, May 30, 2022, the committee resumed consideration of Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts.

The committee resumed its clause-by-clause study of the Bill.

The committee resumed clause-by-clause consideration on Clause 11 of the Bill.

At 9:14 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 9:19 a.m., the sitting resumed.

Clause 11, as amended, carried.

On Clause 12,

Mario Beaulieu moved, — That Bill C-13, in Clause 12, be amended

(a) by replacing lines 26 to 30 on page 7 with the following:

“12 (1) Subsection 20(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

20 (1) Any final decision, order or judgment, including any reasons given for the decision, order or judgment, issued by any federal court shall be made available simultaneously in both official languages.”

(b) by replacing lines 1 to 9 on page 8 with the following:

“the court is of the opinion that the obligation under subsection (1) would occa-”

(c) by adding after line 12 on page 8 the following:

“(2.1) No costs related to the obligation set out in subsection (1) are to be charged to any party to the proceedings.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Mario Beaulieu and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Mario Beaulieu, Bernard Généreux, Joël Godin, Jacques Gourde, Richard Lehoux — 5;

NAYS: Niki Ashton, Francis Drouin, Angelo Iacono, Arielle Kayabaga, Darrell Samson, Marc G. Serré — 6.

Clause 12 carried on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Niki Ashton, Francis Drouin, Angelo Iacono, Arielle Kayabaga, Darrell Samson, Marc G. Serré — 6;

NAYS: Mario Beaulieu, Bernard Généreux, Joël Godin, Jacques Gourde, Richard Lehoux — 5.

On new Clause 12.1,

Joël Godin moved, — That Bill C-13 be amended by adding after line 12 on page 8 the following new clause:

“12.1 Subsection 23(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

23 (1) For greater certainty, in addition to the duty set out in section 22, every federal institution that provides services or makes them available to the travelling public has the duty to ensure that any member of the travelling public can communicate with and obtain those services in either official language from any office or facility of the institution in Canada or elsewhere where there is significant demand for those services in that language.”

Debate arose thereon.

Marc G. Serré moved, — That the amendment be amended

(a) by deleting the following: “in addition to the duty set out in section 22,”

(b) by adding the words “under section 22” after the words “has the duty”.

After debate, the question was put on the subamendment of Marc G. Serré and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Francis Drouin, Angelo Iacono, Arielle Kayabaga, Darrell Samson, Marc G. Serré — 5;

NAYS: Niki Ashton, Mario Beaulieu, Bernard Généreux, Joël Godin, Jacques Gourde, Richard Lehoux — 6.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Joël Godin and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Niki Ashton, Mario Beaulieu, Bernard Généreux, Joël Godin, Jacques Gourde, Richard Lehoux — 6;

NAYS: Francis Drouin, Angelo Iacono, Arielle Kayabaga, Darrell Samson, Marc G. Serré — 5.

Mario Beaulieu moved, — That Bill C-13 be amended by adding after line 12 on page 8 the following new clause:

“12.1 Subsection 24(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

24 (1) Every federal institution has the duty to ensure that any member of the public can communicate in either official language with, and obtain available services in either official language from, any of its offices or facilities in Canada or elsewhere.”

After debate, by unanimous consent, the amendment was withdrawn.

Joël Godin moved, — That Bill C-13 be amended by adding after line 12 on page 8 the following new clause:

“12.1 Section 25 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 25(1) and is amended by adding the following:

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), the other person or organization is deemed to provide or make available services on behalf of the federal institution if

(a) the federal institution exercises control over the other person or organization; or

(b) the other person or organization implements a policy, program or legislative regime for which the federal institution is responsible.

(3) A province or territory that is acting under an agreement with the Government of Canada that provides for the payment of an amount to the province or territory is deemed to provide or make available services on behalf of a federal institution.”

Debate arose thereon.

Niki Ashton moved, — That the amendment be amended

(a) by replacing the word “deemed”, in subsection (2), with the word “presumed”

(b) by adding, in paragraph 2(a), the word “sufficient” after the words “institution exercises”

(c) by deleting, in paragraph 2(b), the word “policy,”

(d) by replacing paragraph (3) with the following: “For greater certainty, a mere financial contribution by the Government of Canada to another person or organization is not sufficient to trigger the application of subsection (1).”.

After debate, the question was put on the subamendment of Niki Ashton and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Niki Ashton, Mario Beaulieu, Francis Drouin, Bernard Généreux, Joël Godin, Jacques Gourde, Angelo Iacono, Arielle Kayabaga, Richard Lehoux, Darrell Samson, Marc G. Serré — 11;

NAYS: — 0.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Joël Godin, as amended, and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Niki Ashton, Mario Beaulieu, Francis Drouin, Bernard Généreux, Joël Godin, Jacques Gourde, Angelo Iacono, Arielle Kayabaga, Richard Lehoux, Darrell Samson, Marc G. Serré — 11;

NAYS: — 0.

Joël Godin moved, — That Bill C-13 be amended by adding after line 12 on page 8 the following new clause:

“12.1 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 31:

31.1 The provisions of this Part shall be implemented while taking into account the commitment to protect and promote the French language.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Joël Godin and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Mario Beaulieu, Bernard Généreux, Joël Godin, Jacques Gourde, Richard Lehoux — 5;

NAYS: Niki Ashton, Francis Drouin, Angelo Iacono, Arielle Kayabaga, Darrell Samson, Marc G. Serré — 6.

Mario Beaulieu moved, — That Bill C-13 be amended by adding after line 12 on page 8 the following new clause:

“12.1 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 31:

31.1 The implementation of this Part in Quebec shall take account of the objective to protect and promote French.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Mario Beaulieu and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Mario Beaulieu — 1;

NAYS: Niki Ashton, Francis Drouin, Bernard Généreux, Joël Godin, Jacques Gourde, Angelo Iacono, Arielle Kayabaga, Richard Lehoux, Darrell Samson, Marc G. Serré — 10.

Mario Beaulieu moved, — That Bill C-13 be amended by adding after line 12 on page 8 the following new clause:

“12.1 Paragraph 32(1)(d) of the Act is repealed.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Mario Beaulieu and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Mario Beaulieu — 1;

NAYS: Niki Ashton, Francis Drouin, Bernard Généreux, Joël Godin, Jacques Gourde, Angelo Iacono, Arielle Kayabaga, Richard Lehoux, Darrell Samson, Marc G. Serré — 10.

Joël Godin moved, — That Bill C-13 be amended by adding after line 12 on page 8 the following new clause:

“12.1 Paragraph 32(2)(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(c) any other factors that the Governor in Council considers appropriate, including the minority situation of the French language in Canada due to the predominant use of English and the linguistic specificity of Quebec.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Joël Godin and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Mario Beaulieu, Bernard Généreux, Joël Godin, Jacques Gourde, Richard Lehoux — 5;

NAYS: Niki Ashton, Francis Drouin, Angelo Iacono, Arielle Kayabaga, Darrell Samson, Marc G. Serré — 6.

On Clause 13,

Joël Godin moved, — That Bill C-13, in Clause 13, be amended by adding after line 26 on page 8 the following:

“(2) Section 33 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 33(1) and is amended by adding the following:

(2) In exercising its powers and performing its duties and functions, the Governor in Council shall take into account the minority situation of French in Canada due to the predominant use of English and the linguistic specificity of Quebec.”

Debate arose thereon.

At 10:47 a.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.



Michelle Legault
Clerk of the committee