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C A N A D A
PROVINCE OF QUEBEC
CITY OF CÔTE SAINT-LUC
EXTRACT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2023 AT 8:00 P.M. AT 5801 CAVENDISH BOULEVARD, CÔTE SAINT-LUC
230328
Resolutions regarding Act to amend the Official languages Act, to enact the use of French in Federally regulated private businesses Act and to make related amendments to other acts (Bill C-13)
WHEREAS the preamble of the Canadian Official Languages Act states the following:
WHEREAS the Constitution of Canada provides that English and French are the official languages of Canada and have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and government of Canada;
WHEREAS officers and employees of institutions of the Parliament or government of Canada should have equal opportunities to use the official language of their choice while working together in pursuing the goals of those institutions;
WHEREAS the Official Languages Act is of vital importance to the residents of Côte Saint-Luc as it has historically guaranteed equality of the English and French languages in the country;
WHEREAS the City of Cote Saint-Luc is a bilingual city which has recognized status according to the Charter of the French Language to communicate and provide services to residents in both Official languages;
WHEREAS Quebec’s English-speaking community has been deeply impacted by Law 96 which was adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec in 2022. This law reduces services available in English, limits those people who have the general right to receive services in English from the Government, challenges the equality of French and English before the courts as guaranteed by the Constitution Act and makes the Quebec Charter of Rights subservient to the Charter of the French Language and uses the notwithstanding clause of the federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms preemptively;
WHEREAS the federal Official Languages Act is based on the equality of minority language communities and not asymmetry and has not referred to provincial language legislation, particularly legislation that is opposed by almost the entire minority language community;
WHEREAS the Government has introduced a Bill entitled Bill C-13 An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts or as its Short title states this Act may be cited as an Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages;
WHEREAS Bill C-13 includes elements of deep concern to the English-speaking minority, namely references in the Official Languages Act to Quebec Law 96 and creates parallel legislation that only guarantees employees and customers of privately owned federally regulated businesses the right to work and be served in French, and not in English;
WHEREAS the Côte Saint-Luc City Council (“Council”) strongly supports Members of Parliament who have been before the Official Languages Committee proposing amendments to ensure the Bill reflects the needs of Quebec’s English-speaking minority as well as it reflects the needs of the French speaking minority outside of Quebec;
WHEREAS the Council has been extremely disheartened to see the amendment to remove the reference to Law 96 defeated and even more disheartened to see the myriad of amendments that seek to have the Official Languages Act remove the federal government’s role to promote the vitality and development of the English-speaking minority of Quebec and substantively require federal law to follow Quebec’s Law 96;
WHEREAS the proposed amendments are of significant concern and disturbing for the residents of Cote Saint-Luc as they undermine the mission and purpose of the Official Languages Act which is to provide equality of status and opportunity for all Canadians to use either official language in accessing federal services across Canada including Quebec;
WHEREAS language legislation should not cause a minority community to feel that its rights are being diminished and this feeling is clear today amongst the members of Quebec’s English-speaking minority.
It was
MOVED BY COUNCILLOR STEVEN ERDELYI
SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR LIOR AZERAD
AND RESOLVED:
“THAT the Council hereby calls on all federal political parties to maintain and respect the original purpose of the Official Languages Act, to ensure equal status for French and English throughout all federal institutions and federally-regulated companies, and not make any reference in the Act to the Quebec Charter of the French Language as amended by Law 96;
THAT the Council calls on all members of the Official Languages Committee to reject any additional amendments that reduce the rights of English speaking Quebecers by referring to the Quebec Charter of the French Language or creating asymmetry in the Act and to accept those amendments that would remove the references to Law 96 and revise the parallel legislation to create an equivalent right to work and receive services in English in federally-regulated institutions;
THAT the Council calls on the Government of Canada, if and when Bill C‑13 is returned to the House of Commons, to remove all references to the Quebec Charter of the French Languages which reduce the rights of Quebec’s minority language community;
THAT the Council directs its clerk to send copies of this resolution to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Minister of Official Languages and all members of the federal Parliament as well as all other Quebec municipalities and boroughs with bilingual status and the City of Montreal.’’
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
CERTIFIED TRUE EXTRACT
Pascalie Tanguay
City Clerk