Senator Cormier: Thank you for your answer, Senator Gold, even though I am not sure I understand it.

Isn’t it true that appealing the Federal Court of Appeal decision to the Supreme Court of Canada could have a very negative impact on the development and vitality of British Columbia’s francophone community, which has not had any employment services centres for francophones in the past 11 years, and on other minority linguistic communities, and interfere with the legislative process for Bill C-13?

How does the government intend to reassure communities and parliamentarians when this decision clearly points to a lack of cooperation between the minister responsible for the Official Languages Act, the justice minister and the employment and workforce development minister? I apologize for my impatience.

Hon. René Cormier: My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. I’m following up on the questions that Senator Poirier asked, and I thank her for her commitment to official languages.

Senator Gold, much like Liane Roy, the President of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, I was stunned to learn that the federal government plans to appeal the Federal Court of Appeal’s January 28, 2022, decision in Canada (Commissioner of Official Languages) v. Canada (Employment and Social Development) to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Raymond Théberge, the Commissioner of Official Languages, called the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision a historic one because it fundamentally restored, and I quote:

 . . . the full force of Part VII of the Official Languages Act and made it possible to effectively enhance the vitality of the English and French linguistic minorities in Canada and to support their ongoing development.

However, as Senator Poirier pointed out, on Friday, Minister Lametti confirmed that the government did not agree with some of the aspects of the Federal Court of Appeal ruling, while reaffirming his commitment to strengthening the Official Languages Act through Bill C-13.

Could you clarify things for everyone here and for official language minority communities by listing the aspects of the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision that are problematic for the Government of Canada?