The committee was studying the draft regulations on administrative monetary penalties under the modernized Official Languages Act, with appearances from Department of Canadian Heritage officials Julie Boyer, Richard Léger, and Sarah Boily, followed by representatives from Droits collectifs Québec and the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada.
Julie Boyer explained that the regulations give the Commissioner of Official Languages a discretionary last-resort power to impose penalties on Air Canada, Marine Atlantic, Via Rail, and designated airport authorities for violations of Part IV of the act, with three violation types carrying penalties up to $25,000 or $50,000. She noted that the regulations include procedural fairness measures, such as detailed notice requirements, and that the Commissioner received $10.8 million over five years in Budget 2024 to prepare for implementation.
Richard Léger described the consultation process, which included an online questionnaire with over 1,300 respondents, meetings with stakeholders, provinces, territories, and the Commissioner’s office, and input from Indigenous organizations. He confirmed that the public feedback aligned with the entities targeted in the regulations.
Sarah Boily emphasized that administrative monetary penalties are a last resort after mediation, compliance agreements, and orders, and that the regulations balance entity requests for clear limits with the Commissioner’s need for latitude. She noted that the Commissioner reports violations annually and that the cumulative effect of repeated $50,000 penalties could deter non-compliance.
Étienne-Alexis Boucher and François Côté of Droits collectifs Québec called the regulations disappointing, arguing that penalties are too low to deter large corporations, the scope is too narrow by excluding entities like the Canada Border Services Agency and security services, and the notice-of-violation process is overly cumbersome. They recommended expanding the regulations to all federal institutions under Part IV or V, creating a public registry, ensuring penalties do not interfere with other legal recourses, and requiring the Commissioner to inform complainants of outcomes.
Liane Roy of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada stated that the regulations lack teeth, with penalties insufficient to deter repeat violations and a complex notice process that hinders enforcement. She recommended extending the regulations to cover all traveller experiences, including port authorities, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, and ferry companies, shortening procedures, increasing penalty caps, and mandating a five-year review.
Roger Lepage provided an example of a Regina resident who repeatedly faced French service failures on Air Canada flights and had to pursue costly legal action with no improvement, arguing that penalties must be high enough to deter large corporations. He supported expanding the regulations to departments and creating a public registry.
John Mark Keyes criticized the notice-of-violation requirements in section 6 as unnecessarily detailed compared to other federal penalty regimes, such as the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, which he said opens the door to legal challenges. He recommended removing those details and adopting internal guidelines instead, and suggested a two-year limitation period rather than one year.
The committee briefly debated scheduling, with members agreeing to focus the next meeting on the Commissioner’s testimony regarding the use of French in government communications rather than the regulations, and confirmed the meeting would last one hour.
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