- 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, here is some good news: The Senate has just confirmed that Bill C‑13 has received royal assent. I am extremely proud of the work we accomplished to modernize the Official Languages Act. This legislation will better equip us to slow the decline of French and more effectively protect our official language minority communities. It will also require the adoption of an immigration policy, strengthen the powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages, and provide official language minority communities with new tools to maintain their vitality.
Today is a good day for official languages.
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- Jun/2/23 11:59:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, let us be very clear. We are the first government to recognize the decline of French in this country. That is why we are moving forward with a bill that is ambitious, that has teeth. It does not stop there. We have made historic investments in our action plan, namely $4.1 billion to ensure that the federal government will do its fair share to protect and promote French across the country. Let us also not forget that the Commissioner of Official Languages will now have many more tools to do his job and to ensure that he plays the role of watchdog to protect our official languages.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his question. I would also like to thank the Commissioner of Official Languages for the report he released this week. We accept his recommendations.
As Minister of Official Languages, I am very pleased with the work we have accomplished so far. We recently passed Bill C‑13. We were able to get all parties in the House onside to support this bill. Once again, we look forward to the final step in the legislative process, royal assent. Let us not forget that we have also made historic investments in our action plan, specifically $4.1 billion to support our official language minority communities and to combat the decline of French.
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Mr. Speaker, first, I would simply like to say that, since 2015, our government has basically doubled the investments in all areas of official languages through our official languages action plan. We are making historic investments of $4.1 billion over the next five years.
Second, I listened attentively to my colleague's comments. He said that he listened to what the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, the Société nationale de l'Acadie and the Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick had to say. I would like to know whether he really paid attention to what they were saying because, over the past six, seven or eight months, stakeholders across the country have been telling us that they are looking forward to the passage of Bill C-13. They openly and publicly told us that this is a good bill, an ambitious and robust bill.
All of the parties in the House have told us where they stand on this bill except the Conservative Party. Their position is a big mystery.
My question is this. Will the Conservative Party support the bill, yes or no? If my colleague wants to ensure that his grandchildren have the opportunity to talk and live in French, then I think it would be a good idea for the Conservative Party to support the bill.
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Mr. Speaker, French is the language of love.
I want my message to anglophones in Quebec to be very clear. Bill C-13 in no way removes any rights from English-speaking Quebeckers.
With this legislation, the modernization of the Official Languages Act, we want to make sure that we do all we can to protect and to promote both our official languages. That Canada has two official languages is a comparative advantage to other countries. However, with this piece of robust legislation, we want to protect our communities and address the decline of French.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend, as well as the NDP member for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, for the work that she has done on Standing Committee on Official Languages. She has truly been a partner, and I appreciated working with her.
If this were an easy piece of legislation, governments in the past would have moved it forward a long time ago. We had the ambition, and we wanted to make it a priority. That is why we moved forward with many steps in modernizing our Official Languages Act, as well as making sure that, as a federal government, we did all that we could to protect and promote our official languages. My friend and colleague, the Minister of Global Affairs, started that work when she was the minister responsible. Now, I have been privileged to continue that work.
We tabled Bill C-13 last year. I took it as a priority to meet with stakeholders to make sure we had an appreciation of what they wanted to see. We have moved forward with presenting a robust piece of legislation that really meets the needs of the interveners from coast to coast to coast. It would make a real, tangible difference in making sure that we address the decline of French, all while supporting our official-language minority communities from across the country.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I want to thank my Bloc Québécois colleague for the work he has done on the Standing Committee on Official Languages.
I think we share a common goal with the Bloc québécois. We recognize that French is the only one of Canada's official languages in decline and that we need to work together to address this decline. I must also mention that we are the first government to recognize that French is the only one of Canada's official languages that is in decline. To counter this decline, we introduced an ambitious and robust bill.
Also, last week, or two weeks ago, we announced an action plan containing unprecedented investments of $4.1 billion that will really make a difference. If we have any hope of ensuring that Canada's francophonie will thrive, we have to follow through with the necessary investments. As I often say, if the francophonie is thriving across Canada, it will surely thrive in Quebec as well.
I should also say that the Quebec government has publicly stated that Bill C-13 is a very good bill. This week, I even had the chance to talk with Minister Roberge. Quebec wants this bill to pass as quickly as possible.
I would like to once again thank my Bloc Québécois colleague, who openly and publicly stated that he will support the bill. This bill is really going to make a difference for our official language minority communities and it will also help us address the decline of French across the country, including in Quebec.
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moved that Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact An Act respecting the use of French within the federal private sector and to make related amendments to other Acts, as amended, be concurred in at report stage with further amendments.
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- Apr/27/23 2:41:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a historic day for this country's official languages.
The action plan makes a historic $4.1-million investment to support our official language minority communities and reverse the decline of French across the country, including in Quebec.
The funding we announced yesterday does not include funding for English in Quebec. On the contrary, we are funding the vitality of Quebec's English-speaking community with French courses and the help these people need to find jobs.
Once again, yesterday was a good day.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his important question.
As he aptly noted, Bill C‑13 is currently before the Standing Committee on Official Languages for a clause-by-clause review. Official language minority communities have been waiting for this bill for a long time. Like them, I look forward to having this bill adopted.
I hope that the committee will complete its work shortly since stakeholders from one end of the country to the other want this bill passed as soon as possible.
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Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear, my priority as Minister of Official Languages is to make sure that we are doing everything we can to protect and promote French across the country, including in Quebec. We also have a responsibility to protect official language minority communities.
I think this is a goal we share. It is what we all want. We want to make a fair contribution so that we can bring solutions to this decline problem. I hope that, eventually, this bill will get passed, since implementing this legislation is going to make a real difference. Our stakeholders are eager, they want to see the bill passed, and I hope that happens as soon as possible.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear about our commitment to do our fair share to protect and promote French across the country, including in Quebec, and to protect and promote our official language minority communities.
I want to take a moment to thank the committee members who are working to advance this file.
With the passage of Bill C‑13, we will be able to give the Commissioner of Official Languages the tools he needs to do his work, which is essential. We will also be seeing changes for federally regulated private businesses to make sure that people can work and get service in French.
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- Dec/13/22 3:01:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, we are the first government to recognize the decline of French, and that is why we are moving forward with Bill C‑13. It is an ambitious bill that will make changes in federally regulated private businesses throughout Quebec and in regions with a strong francophone presence outside Quebec.
I think that when we look at the Commissioner of Official Languages' recommendations, it is important to give him more tools to do his job. He must do his job, and that is why we have really improved his work tools. We look forward to seeing the bill passed.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague from Etobicoke Centre for his important question and for all of the work he does on official languages.
I was in Toronto last week for consultations on the action plan for official languages. Members of official language minority communities told us that reforms are urgently needed and spoke about how Bill C‑13 is the cornerstone of an action plan that strengthens the institutions that these communities rely on.
Our government is committed to protecting and promoting French across the country. I hope that the opposition will stop obstructing and will work with us to get the bill passed as soon as possible.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.
We agree that French is in decline in North America and, indeed, in Canada. We also agree that the French language is the only minority language in the country. That is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill to do everything we can to protect and promote our two beautiful languages.
I hope that the Bloc Québécois and the opposition members will work with us to ensure that this bill is passed as soon as possible. It is urgent.
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- Jun/8/22 2:49:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Théberge, the Commissioner of Official Languages, for his work and his report.
The House of Commons is still studying the bill to modernize the Official Languages Act. This is a very important bill because we want to do everything we can to protect and promote the beautiful French language. I hope that the Bloc Québécois will work with us to pass this bill as quickly as possible.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. I also want to thank the Parliamentary Budget Officer for his work.
Our modernization of the Official Languages Act is still being debated in Parliament, and it is customary to wait until a bill is officially passed before drafting any accompanying regulations. That is particularly important in a minority Parliament.
We look forward to passing the bill as soon as possible. Once again, we hope that all opposition parties will work with us to ensure that it receives royal assent soon.
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Madam Speaker, as the Minister for Official Languages, I am very pleased to present Bill C-13. As I mentioned, I hope that the debates will continue so that our bill can be improved.
However, this is the fourth day of debate in the House, and the Standing Committee on Official Languages will continue the work. I look forward to closely following this debate.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. It is very important to our government to support organizations in official language minority communities. If we want to sustain the vitality of these communities, we must make the necessary investments. Ever since coming to power, our government has made historic investments in all areas of official languages. Our government will continue to do the work that needs to be done.
I am very much looking forward to starting the national consultations on developing the next action plan, which will enable us to develop a road map for the next five years. I am really looking forward to our cross-Canada consultations.
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Madam Speaker, I think we share the same goal of improving the bill and ultimately protecting and promoting our official languages. This debate will continue in committee, which is exactly what we want. We want to have a constructive debate with the members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages so we can produce the best version of the bill. The Official Languages Act has not been reviewed in depth in some 30 years.
We want to ensure that discussions continue so we can come up with a bill that the House of Commons can pass.
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