Bill C-13: Senate passes federal language bill despite opposition from Quebec anglophones

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The Quebec Community Groups Network says it’s “deeply disappointed” by the adoption of the federal law, which includes references to Bill 101, as modified by Bill 96.

Published Jun 15, 2023 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 7 minute read

A “Senators Only” parking sign is pictured on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick /The Canadian Press

The Senate has voted overwhelmingly to adopt Bill C-13, an overhaul of the Official Languages Act that has caused anger and sparked concern among Quebec anglophones, one of the communities the law is intended to protect.

The vote Thursday night – 60 to five, with five abstentions – was the final legislative step. Before it officially becomes law, the federal language legislation needs royal assent, normally a rubber stamp.

The five senators who voted against the bill were Tony Loffreda, Judith Seidman and Larry Smith of Quebec; Victor Oh of Ontario; and David Richards of New Brunswick.

The five abstentions: Michèle Audette and Pierre Dalphond of Quebec; Brian Francis of Prince Edward Island; Elizabeth Marshall of Newfoundland; and Kim Pate of Ontario.

The Upper House rejected a proposed amendment – backed by Loffreda and Seidman – that would have removed references to Quebec’s Charter of the French Language, commonly known as Bill 101, from Bill C-13.

The federal law is a long-promised modernization of the Official Languages Act, with an emphasis on protecting and promoting French and encouraging francophone immigration.

Among other things, the legislation also gives the right to work and to be served in French in federally regulated businesses in Quebec, such as banks and transport companies.

“We heard about (anglophone Quebecers’) fear that the bill drives a wedge between English- and French-speaking communities and of the lack of adequate job opportunities,” said René Cormier, the New Brunswick senator who sponsored the bill in the Senate.

But Bill C-13 contains gains for anglophone Quebecers, he said, including recognition of their “uniqueness and diversity.”

“The English-speaking community in Quebec would be better off with Bill C-13 rather than without it,” Cormier said.

Eva Ludvig, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, a coalition of 40 anglophone groups, begged to differ.

She said she was “deeply disappointed” by the adoption of a federal law that includes references to Bill 101, as modified by Bill 96, which preemptively invoked the notwithstanding clause.

“This allows the provincial government to restrict rights guaranteed by the Canadian constitution, now with the acquiescence and tacit support of the federal government in the law of the land,” Ludvig said.

Canada’s Official Languages Act and Bill 101 are “now inextricably linked, creating a framework where one minority-language group is treated differently than another.”

The QCGN fully supports efforts to preserve and promote French as long as they don’t ”unjustly restrict or deny minority-language rights and access to services,” she said.

“Denying services to English-speaking Quebecers or restricting them in complicated ways as is the case with Bill 96, does not, in our view, do anything to help protect and promote French,” Ludvig said. “We raise issues with Bill 96 here because it is now part and parcel of a federal law.”

Bill C-13 — adopted by the House of Commons in May with only Montreal Liberal MP Anthony Housefather voting against it — includes three references to Bill 101.

That law was hardened last year via Bill 96. Several lawsuits are contesting parts of Bill 96 on constitutional grounds.

Critics say under Bill C-13, anglophone Quebecers will lose jobs and access to English services, and their constitutional rights would be left to the whims of the Quebec government.

In February, Liberal MPs tried to remove the Bill 101 references from C-13 but the effort was foiled by the Bloc Québécois, the Conservatives and the New Democrats.

More recently, Bill 101 concerns were dismissed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. Senior Liberals said the Bill 101 mentions were simply statements of fact and that anglophone rights would not be touched.

On Thursday night, the Senate rejected a proposal to amend Bill C-13 by replacing Bill 101 references with statements about the National Assembly declaring French as Quebec’s official language.

The amendment was proposed by Loffreda, who said the inclusion of Bill 101 was a “serious flaw.”

“If we adopt the bill as is, Parliament will be putting its stamp of approval on a provincial law currently being challenged in the courts for its unconstitutionality and for its preemptive use of the notwithstanding clause,” he said.

Loffreda was echoed by Judith Seidman, who called the Bill 101 references “superfluous and potentially harmful.”

“We can’t know now what unintended consequences references to (Bill 101) may have, but we do know with greater certainty that there will be no harm in removing them.”

Quebec Senator Jean-Guy Dagenais objected to the amendment, saying it would be “unacceptable” to remove the Bill 101 mentions.

He said anglophone Quebecers have many of their own institutions yet some “resist any political initiative aiming to guarantee Quebec francophones the right to live and work in their language in the province.”

The Senate’s official languages committee studied and heard from Bill C-13 supporters and detractors. In the end, it did not suggest any amendments.

But, in a report published this week, the committee noted the anglophone community’s strong objections to the Bill 101 mentions.

The committee urged the federal government to closely monitor the effects of Bill C-13.

“It will be essential for them to pay particular attention to developments affecting Quebec’s English-speaking communities and to report regularly on the effects of Bill C-13 throughout Canada, without waiting for the review that will take place 10 years from now,” the report said.

Here’s what some other key figures have said about the controversy surrounding Bill C-13.

RAISED CONCERNS

Member of Parliament Anthony Housefather

Rejecting his government’s position on C-13, the Liberal MP has said including references to Quebec’s language law in federal legislation could harm a federal court challenge of the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause.

In such a case, Quebec could defend itself by “noting the federal Parliament passed a bill that positively referenced (Bill 101) on three occasions,” Housefather said.

He said he’s also concerned about federal services in English in Quebec.

There’s a fear a future federal government could “acquiesce to a demand from Quebec to, for example, limit federal services in English to those people who are eligible for provincial services in English under (Bill 101), meaning people who have a right to attending the school,” he said.

Senator Tony Loffreda

Loffreda said he is a proud Quebecer, he agrees the French language must be protected, and he supports Bill C-13’s objectives

But, “I think it’s wrong — or, at the very least, rare and confusing — for a federal law to include a reference to a provincial law that uses the notwithstanding clause … I’m afraid the Liberal government may be establishing a troubling precedent and may be leading us down a slippery slope,” he said.

Senator Judith Seidman

Seidman has noted Bill 101 is the only provincial law referred to by name in C-13, saying the references “deliberately complicate this piece of legislation.”

She noted Bill 101 “could be further amended by a future Quebec government in ways that are even more harmful to the English-speaking community, yet the reference in our Official Languages Act would remain. This change also creates an asymmetry between the rights of official language minority communities within and outside Quebec.”

Law professor Robert Leckey

The dean of McGill University’s law faculty said the references to Bill 101 are problematic.

“Is it consistent for the federal Official Languages Act to endorse a provincial law that appears to infringe on language rights enshrined in the Constitution of Canada?” Leckey asked during Senate testimony.

QCGN president Eva Ludvig

Ludvig told the Senate last week that C-13 has left anglophone Quebecers very worried about what she described as misguided and harmful mentions of Bill 101.

“We live in a province where the English-speaking community, especially recently, has been under siege from its own provincial government,” she said. Quebec anglophones have traditionally relied on the federal government and Parliament to support them. “We feel that this support is now tenuous.”

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APPROVED OF THE BILL

Federal Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor

Petitpas Taylor has said references to Bill 101 are “simply a description of the Quebec law. At no time do we say that we are in favour or not of the Charter of the French Language.”

She said C-13 will not take away rights from Quebec anglophones.

Quebec English speakers are feeling “a lot of anxiety” because Bill 96 “has created a lot of uncertainty,” she told a Senate committee. But Bill 96 and C-13 “are two different pieces of legislation and one does not mean the same as the other.”

Senator Marc Gold

Gold, the Quebec senator who is the government’s representative in the Upper House, downplayed Bill 101 concerns, saying they were simply “statements of fact” that “in no way… incorporate the Quebec Charter into Bill C-13.”

He said the federal legislation would not affect anglophone Quebecers’ rights.

Quebec French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge

“Good news!” Roberge tweeted after the House vote in mid-May. “Bill C-13 must now pass the Senate, quickly, and in its current form.”

Law professor Michel Doucet

Doucet, of the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick, said Bill C-13 will help foster the use of French outside Quebec.

“Other than Indigenous languages, French is the only official language in a vulnerable situation in Canada and it’s essential that this reality be recognized, which this bill does.”

He added: “English is not in peril in any province or territory, including in Quebec. In Quebec, the anglophone community most likely has its challenges. But you can’t compare their situation to that of francophones in other provinces.”

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ariga@postmedia.com

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