- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Veterans Affairs
Associate Minister of National Defence
- Liberal
- Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe
- New Brunswick
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $101,260.44
- Government Page
Mr. Speaker, I would really like my friend and colleague from La Pointe-de-l'Île to stop spreading misinformation about Bill C-13.
We are the first government to recognize the decline of French and that is the reason for introducing ambitious legislation. The federal government wants to do its share to protect and promote French across the country, including in Quebec. I hope once again that members of the House will work with us because stakeholders across the country want this bill to be passed as quickly as possible and we have a lot of work to do.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, we acknowledge the decline of French across the country. We also acknowledge the statistics published this year after the census. That is why we introduced an ambitious bill to do everything we can to protect and promote our beautiful French language across the country and to protect our official language minority communities.
Our bill will make it possible for employees of federally regulated private businesses to work in French and for their clients be served in French. Once again, I hope the Bloc Québécois and the opposition parties will support us.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, we recognize that French is in decline in Canada. That is exactly what the census data published this week confirm.
We are the first government to recognize the decline of French, and that is why we have introduced an ambitious bill that will change things.
We want to ensure that, in federally regulated private businesses, employees and clients will be able to choose to work in French not only in Quebec, but also in regions with a strong francophone presence.
I hope the opposition parties will work with us to get this bill passed, because it will really improve the lives of all Canadians.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, Quebec and the government share the same goal. We both want to do everything we can to protect and promote French everywhere in Canada, including in Quebec.
That is why we introduced an ambitious bill, one with teeth, that will change things and enable employees and clients of federally regulated private businesses to work in French and get service in French.
I hope this bill will pass quickly.
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Mr. Speaker, the national awakening we should be seeing is the Bloc Québécois choosing to work with us to do everything we can to protect and promote French across the country. What we are seeing here is, once again, just for show.
The federal government has to be honest. We are the first government to recognize the decline of French across the country. That is why we put forward an ambitious bill. Now is not the time to squabble. Now is the time to work together closely to make sure this bill moves forward.
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Mr. Speaker, our government and the Government of Quebec share a common goal, which is to do everything possible to protect and promote French across the country. That is why we are implementing an ambitious bill to ensure that federally regulated private companies' clients and employees will have the right to work in French and to be served in French, and this also applies to regions with a strong francophone presence.
I hope the Bloc and the Conservative Party will support this bill, as stakeholders across the country want us to take the next step.
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Mr. Speaker, it is really disappointing that the Bloc Québécois continues to spread inaccurate information about Bill C‑13.
We are the first government to recognize the decline of French, and that is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill. Yes, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to meet with my counterpart, Mr. Roberge, this evening. We look forward to beginning to work together. Once again, as Minister of Official Languages, I will make sure I work closely with all of the provinces and territories to promote French across the country.
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Mr. Speaker, what we need right now are partners in the opposition to help us move forward with our bill, which will make a real difference in the lives of Canadians.
However, what are we seeing right now? Once again, the Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives are playing political games. I do not understand why they do not want to move forward with Bill C-13, which will give francophones in Quebec the opportunity to work in French at federally regulated private businesses. That will also be the case in regions outside of Quebec with a strong francophone presence.
I am at a complete loss for words, and I do not understand them.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, French is in decline in North America, including in Canada.
Yes, French is the only minority language in Canada. That is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill. Like the Government of Quebec, we want to do everything we can to protect and promote our beautiful language.
Again, I hope that the Bloc Québécois and all members of the opposition will work with us and stop playing political games. This bill will make a real difference. This new version of the bill has more teeth. I hope they will work with us to get it passed as soon as possible.
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Mr. Speaker, the serious mistake here is that the Bloc Québécois does not want to work with us on Bill C‑13. We designed this bill to do everything we can to protect and promote our beautiful language.
Once again, we have a shared objective with the Bloc and the Government of Quebec. We want to do whatever we can to protect our beautiful language.
I do not understand why the Bloc and the opposition members do not want to work with us to pass this bill as soon as possible.
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Madam Speaker, our government is firmly committed to protecting and promoting the French language across the country, including in Quebec.
We are also committed to supporting official language minority communities. This is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill that has more teeth. We want to rectify the situation in Canada.
I hope that the Bloc Québécois and all stakeholders will help us pass this bill.
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Madam Speaker, once again, our government is the first to recognize that French is in decline in Canada, including Quebec. That is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill. We also must recognize that the Bloc Québécois does not represent all of Canada's francophones.
As Minister of Official Languages, I want to ensure that I am putting in place a bill that will respect official language minority communities across the country. That is why I am very pleased to move forward with this ambitious bill that will make a real difference in the lives of those residing in such communities.
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Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to be here tonight. I would like to recognize that we are all gathered here tonight on the traditional unceded territories of the Anishinabe Algonquin nation.
Before I officially begin my speech, I want to once again mention that I am an Acadian from New Brunswick. What I did not mention earlier is that I am the youngest of a family of 10 children. I was able to attend elementary and secondary school and complete my post-secondary studies in French thanks, in part, to the Official Languages Act. Many of my older brothers and sisters did not have that right. They had to go to an English high school. The modernization of the Official Languages Act is therefore something very personal for me. As I said, it is my experience. It is part of my daily life. If I had the right to work in French in Moncton over the course of my career, it is once again thanks to the Official Languages Act. I think that all members of the House really want to put forward a bill that has more teeth to protect and promote our beautiful languages.
Since 2019, our government has given itself a mandate to update Canada's linguistic situation and take stock of the evolution of official languages since the passage of the first Official Languages Act more than 50 years ago. The linguistic situation is constantly changing. The world we are living in has also changed since 1969. The time had come to focus on the good things about this legislation and on the challenges in order to offer a new, modernized vision of our linguistic duality and our bilingualism. We are modernizing the Official Languages Act at an unusual time. While the planet is grappling with the COVID‑19 health crisis, in Canada, we have seen how the pressure and urgency to act can have repercussions on the obligation to communicate with and provide service to the public. We have a duty to act, and we did that in order to take this into account in our modernization plans.
It is clear that the Official Languages Act has shaped this country's linguistic landscape for more than 50 years. Not only did it establish institutional bilingualism and enable francophones to pursue careers in the federal public service, but it also ensured that francophones could receive services and education in their language. In addition to promoting our two official languages for over 50 years, the act protected the rights of our official language minority communities, both francophone communities across Canada and anglophone communities in Quebec. The act ensured their vitality.
This is an undeniable Canadian reality and a uniquely Canadian distinction, but it also presents a challenge. This situation calls for a Canadian response. We have a duty and an obligation to support the vitality of these communities from coast to coast to coast for generations to come. Our rich history recognizes the presence, perseverance and resilience of francophone minority communities across the country and anglophone communities in Quebec.
However, the figures can be worrisome as maintaining the demographic weight of these communities is important to us. The numbers speak for themselves. We heard this many times this evening. The demographic weight of the francophone population is plummeting. The proportion of people whose first language is French outside Quebec was 6.6% in 1971 and will fall to 3.9% by 2036. Once again, these are frightening statistics.
Despite efforts in the area of francophone immigration and the protection of the right to access federal services in the language of one's choice, our government needs to do more to fulfill its responsibilities and its commitment to enhancing the vitality of official language minority communities. We need strong institutions that serve as a beacon in their communities. We also need better data so we can fine-tune our interventions in these communities. In order to achieve that, federal institutions also need to listen to their communities. We know that minority communities, whether francophone or anglophone, need institutions and services in their own language.
These institutions are part of the public space needed in order to live and grow in their language. When we talk about services, we are talking about those offered by large public institutions, such as provincial and municipal governments and community organizations. That includes school boards, day cares, community health clinics and cultural organizations. Our government's bill seeks, among other things, to help these communities reach their full potential by supporting the vitality of institutions in key sectors.
To do that, we want to amend part VII of the Official Languages Act by including practical examples of positive measures. These include providing support for key sectors of the official language minority community, such as education, employment, health, immigration, culture and justice; including an obligation for the Government of Canada to contribute to an estimate of the number of children who are entitled to an education in the language of the official minority; and affirming the Government of Canada's commitment to strengthening the education continuum from early childhood to post-secondary studies in the minority language.
These amendments will require the government to take more positive measures to support official language minority communities and will clarify the obligations of federal institutions, particularly when it comes to consulting these communities and protecting their key programs and services.
The bill we introduced presents solid and lasting solutions to protect the future of our official language minority communities and their institutions. The bill also proposes some innovative improvements. One example is the creation of the new rights to be served and to work in French in federally regulated private businesses. Our government is deeply committed to both our official languages and to these communities across Canada.
The introduction of the bill to modernize the Official Languages Act is a milestone for our identity as Canadians and for the defence of our language rights today and for generations to come. We have known for a long time that our main official language objectives can only make a real difference in the lives of Canadians if they are implemented in collaboration with the affected communities. This bill sets the stage for closer collaboration between federal institutions and official language minority communities.
In recent months, I have had the privilege of meeting with many stakeholders across the country who have commented on the new version of the bill. Once again, by actively listening, we were able to adjust the new bill to include several of the recommendations made by a number of provincial and national groups, to ensure that the bill has more teeth.
I look forward to answering questions.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage my hon. colleagues to read through Bill C‑13. They clearly have not read it.
Under Bill C‑13, federally regulated workers will have the option, or rather, the right, to work in French, an official language. Once again, we want to ensure that we protect and promote French all across Canada, including in Quebec.
I hope that the Bloc Québécois will work with us to ensure that our bill moves forward.
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- May/10/22 2:41:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite the opposite.
With our bill on the Official Languages Act, we want to ensure that francophones inside and outside Quebec can work in their language, French.
We recognize that French is declining in Canada, including in Quebec, and that is why we are moving forward with a new version of the law, a law that has more teeth to ensure, once again, that francophones will be protected across the country.
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- May/10/22 2:40:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my friend for the question.
As a francophone who lives in New Brunswick in an official language minority community, I know the importance of protecting and promoting French throughout the country, including in Quebec.
That is why we are introducing a bill, a new version of the Official Languages Act, and I hope the Bloc Québécois and every opposition member will support our bill, which is very important and will make a real difference in the lives of all Canadians.
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- Apr/26/22 2:58:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.
Our two official languages are at the heart of our Canadian culture and identity. All Canadians deserve to be served in the official language of their choice, and that also applies to the private sector, which includes CN.
The lack of francophone directors on CN's board of directors is completely unacceptable, and we expect the company to rectify this situation as quickly as possible.
We are very pleased with the new version of the official languages bill, as we want to equip the commissioner with the tools he needs to do his job.
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- Apr/25/22 2:42:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my colleague for his question.
The protection and promotion of French are top priorities for this government and for me, as Minister of Official Languages. That is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill that has more teeth to ensure that all Canadians get the services they need.
I hope that my colleague will support our modernization by passing Bill C‑13 as soon as possible, because this bill will make a real difference in the lives of all Canadians.
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- Apr/25/22 2:41:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.
Both official languages are central to our identity and our culture. All Canadians deserve to be served in the official language of their choice by federally regulated businesses.
The lack of a francophone director at CN is completely unacceptable. We expect that this company will rectify the situation as soon as possible.
That is why we are moving forward with Bill C-13, a bill that has more teeth and that will give the Commissioner of Official Languages more tools to do his job.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right. One thing we observed during our discussions and consultations was that French is in decline not only in Canada, but also in Quebec. That is why the government is moving forward with an ambitious bill that will help us protect and promote French in Quebec and across Canada.
Bill C‑13 specifically states that Quebeckers have the right to work in their language in federally regulated businesses. We want to ensure that Quebeckers and francophones in regions outside of Quebec with a strong francophone presence have the opportunity to work in French.
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