Library of Parliament Legislative Summary of Bill C-13 on Official Languages Act

The Library of Parliament has prepared a legislative summary of Bill C-13, An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada's Official Languages:

"Bill C‑13 incorporates many of the amendments proposed to Bill C‑32, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts, tabled during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament. Bill C‑32, which died on the Order Paper at first reading, had itself been preceded by the release, on 19 February 2021, of a reform proposal entitled English and French: Towards a Substantive Equality of Official Languages in Canada. The bill was also preceded by many calls from civil society, parliamentary committees and the Commissioner of Official Languages to modernize the Official Languages Act (OLA)."

"The following list outlines some of the aspects of Bill C‑13 that are different from its predecessor, Bill C‑32:

• (...)
• the uniqueness and diversity of official language minority communities and their historical and cultural contributions to Canadian society,
• the fact that immigration is one of the factors that contributes to maintaining or increasing the demographic weight of francophone minority communities, and
• the fact that all legal obligations related to the official languages apply at all times, including during emergencies;
• the recognition that language rights are to be interpreted in light of their remedial character for the purposes of the OLA;
• (...)
• the addition to the list of new powers granted to the Commissioner of Official Languages (the power to impose administrative monetary penalties on certain transportation entities defined by regulation); and
• the withdrawal from the OLA of the rights to use French as a language of service and a language of work in relation to federally regulated private businesses in Quebec and in regions with a strong francophone presence and the inclusion of these rights in a new Act."

(...)

"Bill C‑13 has 71 clauses. It amends every part of the OLA, except Part I, which deals with the parliamentary proceedings. The bill also enacts an entirely new Act, on the language of service and language of work of federally regulated private businesses in Quebec and in regions with a strong francophone presence. This new Act is entitled the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act (UFFRPBA)."

It is possible to follow the progress of the bill in the federal Parliament on the LEGISinfo website.