While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flies to France for the Francophonie Summit, oppositions accuse his government of delaying tabling the decrees and regulations allowing the modernized version of the Official Languages Act — adopted in June 2023 — to come into force.
“When we have the will, the intention, we accelerate the process. […] This shows that this government does not care about the French fact in Canada, about the French language and (its) decline, and that it is not consistent with its public discourse,” said the Conservative spokesperson on the matter. of official languages, Joël Godin, in interview with The Canadian Press.
Up to three regulations and nine decrees are expected. These are “fundamental things”, insisted the Conservative MP.
One of these regulations will make it possible to determine which are the famous “regions with a strong French-speaking presence” where, in addition to Quebec, it will be possible to work and be served in French in private companies under federal jurisdiction. Another will specify the fines that may be imposed on those who do not comply.
When the modernized law obtained royal assent, the Minister of Official Languages at the time, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, told journalists that it would be necessary to wait approximately two years before knowing its content.
Initially, a spokesperson for his successor, Randy Boissonnault, refused on Wednesday to confirm that the initial timetable will be respected, nor the more precise 18-month timetable agreed with the Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities (FCFA).
“As soon as the obligatory steps in the development of the various regulations are concluded, they will be tabled in Parliament,” said press secretary Mathis Denis. He specified that “pre-consultations” took place “this spring”, that the drafting of the regulations is “in progress” and that the government wants to “do things well”.
A government source, who was informed of the fears of opposition politicians and the organization that represents francophones outside Quebec, however, on condition of anonymity, affirmed that the officials working on the file believe that a deposit could take place in December.
The president of the FCFA, Liliane Roy, who accompanies the Prime Minister’s delegation to the Francophonie Summit, declared that it is “not normal” that it takes years to know the regulations and decrees.
“We agreed with what we heard, the 18 months. We said “ok” with all the elements that had to be done, but no more. But here, what we are told is that we don’t really know when the 18 months began,” laments Mme Roy.
And while the time left for the Liberal government is more than uncertain, her fear is “that all the work that has been done will have to be done again,” she said.
Mme Roy, however, welcomed the unveiling of a federal policy on Francophone immigration which presents “concrete measures” for communities, including the establishment of an economic immigration program. “That is a direct result of the new law,” she said.
But regarding the Liberals’ general lack of will to protect French, both the Bloc spokesperson for international Francophonie, René Villemure, and the NDP spokesperson for official languages, Niki Ashton, said they were on the same wavelength as conservative Joël Godin.
“The federal government in several areas is a government of announcements. We announce projects that have no follow-up or a law is adopted, but is not implemented,” mentioned Mr. Villemure.
He said he hoped that Mr. Trudeau’s participation in the summit would be “beneficial” and that it would give him “a little boost,” although he was not counting on it too much.
For Mme Ashton, the delay in implementing the law is simply “unacceptable”.
“The Liberals wanted to be able to tick off the election promise (to adopt the modernization of the law), but not do the real work needed for implementation […] as well as financing,” she argued.
She also fears the election deadline and the arrival, if the polls are true, of a conservative majority government in Ottawa led by Pierre Poilievre. “We will see the same lack of respect, the same negligence, towards the protection of French that we saw during the Harper years,” she insisted.
Mme Ashton fears cuts to support official languages and cuts to the public broadcaster Radio-Canada / CBC, in particular.
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