Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act (S.C. 2023, c. 15, s. 54)

Marginal note:Adverse treatment

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  11 (1) A federally regulated private business that has workplaces in Quebec must not treat adversely an employee who occupies or is assigned to a position in one of those workplaces for any of the following reasons:

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    (a) the employee speaks only French;

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    (b) the employee does not have a sufficient knowledge of a language other than French;

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    (c) the employee claims the possibility of expressing themselves in French;

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    (d) the employee has exercised a right under this Act or made a complaint to the Commissioner;

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    (e) the business is seeking to deter the employee from exercising such a right or making such a complaint;

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    (f) the employee has taken part in meetings of, or carried out tasks for, a committee established under paragraph 10(1)(c) or a subcommittee created by such a committee;

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    (g) the employee has, in good faith, communicated information to the Commissioner in relation to a complaint made under section 18 or participated in an investigation conducted as a result of such a communication; or

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    (h) the business is seeking to induce the employee to endorse a document prepared by a committee established under paragraph 10(1)(c) or to dissuade the employee from doing so.

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  Marginal note:Acquired rights in Quebec

  (2) A federally regulated private business that has workplaces in Quebec must not treat adversely an employee who occupies or is assigned to a position in one of those workplaces on or before the day on which this subsection comes into force for the sole reason that the employee does not have a sufficient knowledge of French.

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  Marginal note:Language other than French

  (3) Requiring an employee to have a knowledge of a language other than French does not constitute adverse treatment for the purposes of subsection (1) if the federally regulated private business is able to demonstrate that a knowledge of that language is objectively required by reason of the nature of the work to be performed by the employee and the business sets out the reasons that justify the requirement in any advertisement to fill a position that requires such knowledge.

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  Marginal note:Language other than French — minimum conditions

  (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), in order to demonstrate that a knowledge of a language other than French is objectively required by reason of the nature of the work to be performed by the employee, a federally regulated private business must, before requiring such knowledge, at a minimum,

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    (a) assess the actual language needs associated with the work to be performed;

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    (b) verify that the language knowledge already required of other employees is not sufficient for the performance of that work; and

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    (c) restrict the number of positions involving work whose performance requires knowledge of a language other than French.

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  Marginal note:Interpretation

  (5) Subsection (4) is not to be interpreted as imposing an unreasonable reorganization of a federally regulated private business’s affairs.

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  Marginal note:Prevention of adverse treatment

  (6) A federally regulated private business that has workplaces in Quebec must take all reasonable measures to prevent, in the work environment, the adverse treatment of an employee referred to in subsection (1) for any of the reasons referred to in that subsection or of an employee referred to in subsection (2) for the reason referred to in that subsection.

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  Marginal note:Cessation of adverse treatment

  (7) If a federally regulated private business that has workplaces in Quebec is made aware of the adverse treatment, in the work environment, of an employee referred to in subsection (1) for any of the reasons referred to in that subsection or of an employee referred to in subsection (2) for the reason referred to in that subsection, it must take all reasonable measures to make the adverse treatment cease.

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  Marginal note:Definition of adverse treatment

  (8) For the purposes of this section, adverse treatment includes dismissing, laying off, demoting, transferring or suspending an employee, harassing them or taking reprisals against them or disciplining or imposing any other penalty on them.