The committee resumed consideration of a draft report.

It was agreed, — That the committee proceed to sit in public.

At 3:35 p.m., the meeting was suspended.

At 3:39 p.m., the meeting resumed in public.

On motion of Mario Beaulieu, it was agreed, —

That whereas a recent article by ONFR and an investigation summary by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages revealed that a federal public servant at Public Safety Canada was subjected to intimidation after seeking to have his language rights respected in the workplace, in this case, by requesting documents in French; and,

Whereas the Commissioner of Official Languages has ruled that this constitutes a violation of the Official Languages Act and that it is totally unacceptable for an employee to feel threatened, discriminated against, or intimidated because they wish to file a complaint;

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(f), the committee undertake a study of at least two meetings and invite the following persons to testify:

1. The Commissioner of Official Languages, for one hour;

2. The President of the Treasury Board, for one hour;

3. The Minister of Public Safety, as well as senior officials from Public Safety Canada, for one hour;

4. Ms. Sharon DeSousa, President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, for one hour; and

5. Any other witnesses the committee deems necessary

By unanimous consent, it was agreed, — That, notwithstanding the routine motion requiring that a 48-hour notice be given for any substantive motion to be moved in committee, Louis Villeneuve be permitted to move a motion.

Louis Villeneuve moved, —

That the committee express its strong indignation regarding the unilingual English statement made by the Air Canada President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rousseau, following the deaths of the crew members and passengers of flight AC8646 on 23 March 2026, which it considers incompatible with the obligations set out in the Official Languages Act and with the expectations of the Canadian public;

Debate arose thereon.

The debate continued on the motion, as amended.

After debate, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That the committee express its strong indignation regarding the unilingual English statement made by the Air Canada President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rousseau, following the deaths of the crew members of flight AC8646 on 23 March 2026, which it considers incompatible with the obligations set out in the Official Languages Act and with the expectations of the Canadian public; and,

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(f), the committee invite Air Canada’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rousseau, to appear for a period of one hour to explain this incident, no later than 1 May, 2026, and that the committee hear, during the second hour, from experts who can identify legislative solutions that would allow the government to intervene in such situations.

At 3:58 p.m., the meeting was suspended.

At 4:04 p.m., the meeting resumed in camera.

The committee resumed consideration of a draft report.

The committee proceeded to give drafting instructions to the analyst for a draft report.

At 5:16 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 115(5), it was agreed that the committee continue to sit.