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

AMENDMENTS NOT IN FORCE

• — 2023, c. 15, s. 55

  • 55 Section 4 of the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act is replaced by the following:

    • Purpose

      4 The purpose of this Act is to foster and protect the use of French in federally regulated private businesses in Quebec and regions with a strong francophone presence.

• — 2023, c. 15, s. 56

  • 56 Subsection 7(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

    • Communications and services in French

      • 7 (1) Consumers in Quebec or a region with a strong francophone presence have the right to communicate in French with and obtain available services in French from a federally regulated private business that carries on business in Quebec or the region.

• — 2023, c. 15, s. 57

  • • 57 (1) The portion of subsection 9(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

      • Language rights at work

        • 9 (1) Employees of a federally regulated private business who occupy or are assigned to positions in a workplace in Quebec or a region with a strong francophone presence have the right to

    • (2) Subsection 9(2.1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

      • Duty — offer to fill a position

        (2.1) When a federally regulated private business that has workplaces in Quebec or a region with a strong francophone presence publishes in a language other than French an advertisement to fill a position — including through recruitment, hiring, transfer or promotion — that is assigned to one of those workplaces, the business must also publish the advertisement in French and ensure the simultaneous publication of both linguistic versions by means that are of the same nature and that reach a target public of a proportionally comparable size.

• — 2023, c. 15, s. 57.1

  • 57.1 Subsection 9.2(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

    • Rights of trade unions

      • 9.2 (1) A trade union that represents employees of a federally regulated private business who occupy or are assigned to positions in a workplace in Quebec or a region with a strong francophone presence has the right to receive communications and documents from the federally regulated private business in French.

• — 2023, c. 15, s. 58

  • • 58 (1) The portion of subsection 10(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

      • Fostering use of French

        • 10 (1) A federally regulated private business that has workplaces in Quebec or a region with a strong francophone presence must take measures to foster the use of French in those workplaces. Those measures must include

    • (2) The portion of subsection 10(1.1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

      • Generalizing use of French

        (1.1) A committee established under paragraph (1)(c) by a federally regulated private business that has workplaces in Quebec or a region with a strong francophone presence must develop programs intended to generalize the use of French at all levels of the business in those workplaces, through the following:

• — 2023, c. 15, s. 59

  • • 59 (1) The portion of subsection 11(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

      • Adverse treatment

        • 11 (1) A federally regulated private business that has workplaces in Quebec or a region with a strong francophone presence 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:

    • (2) Subsection 11(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:

      • Acquired rights in region with strong francophone presence

        (2.1) A federally regulated private business that has workplaces in a region with a strong francophone presence 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.

      • 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, in the case of a business that has workplaces in Quebec, the business sets out the reasons that justify the requirement in any advertisement to fill a position assigned to one of those workplaces that requires such knowledge.

    • (3) The portion of subsection 11(4) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

      • Language other than French — minimum conditions

        (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), a federally regulated private business that has workplaces in Quebec, before requiring knowledge of a language other than French of an employee who occupies or is assigned to one of those workplaces, must, in order 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, at a minimum,

    • (4) The portion of subsection 11(4) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

      • 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,

    • (5) Subsections 11(6) and (7) of the Act are replaced by the following:

      • Prevention of adverse treatment

        (6) A federally regulated private business that has workplaces in Quebec or a region with a strong francophone presence 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.

      • Cessation of adverse treatment

        (7) If a federally regulated private business that has workplaces in Quebec or a region with a strong francophone presence 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.

• — 2023, c. 15, s. 60

  • 60 Subsection 16(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

    • Part IX of Official Languages Act

      • 16 (1) Subject to this section and subsections 41(1) and (3) and 41.1(1) and (3), Part IX of the Official Languages Act applies in respect of rights and duties under section 7.

• — 2023, c. 15, s. 61, as amended by 2024, c. 17, s. 260

  • 61 Subsection 19(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

    • Part IX of Official Languages Act

      • 19 (1) Subject to this section, sections 18 and 21 and subsections 26(2), 41(2) and (4) and 41.1(2) and (4), Part IX of the Official Languages Act applies with respect to a complaint made under subsection 18(1), (1.1) or (1.2) as if the federally regulated private business that is the subject of the complaint were a federal institution.

• — 2023, c. 15, s. 62

  • • 62 (1) Paragraph 33(1)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:

      • (b) defining “close to retirement”, “conditions that could impede the learning of French”, “consumer”, “employee”, “many years of service”, “region with a strong francophone presence”, “treat adversely” and any other term or expression that is used in any of sections 5 to 13 but not defined in section 2;

    • (2) Subsection 33(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

      • Different numbers

        (2) A regulation made under paragraph (1)(a) may specify a different number of employees for federally regulated private businesses that have workplaces in Quebec, for those that have workplaces in a region with a strong francophone presence and for those that do not have workplaces in Quebec or a region with a strong francophone presence but carry on business in Quebec or such a region.

      • Factors for defining “region with a strong francophone presence”

        (2.1) In making a regulation that defines “region with a strong francophone presence” under paragraph (1)(b), the Governor in Council may take into account any factors that the Governor in Council considers appropriate, including

        • (a) the number of francophones in a region;

        • (b) the number of francophones in a region as a proportion of the region’s total population; and

        • (c) the vitality and specificity of French linguistic minority communities.

• — 2023, c. 15, s. 63

  • 63 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 41:

    • Compliance agreements — regions with a strong francophone presence (communications and services)

      • 41.1 (1) The Commissioner is not permitted to exercise, before the day that may be fixed by order of the Governor in Council, the powers under subsection 64.1(1) of the Official Languages Act in respect of a complaint made by a consumer in a region with a strong francophone presence in respect of a right or duty under section 7.

      • Compliance agreements — regions with a strong francophone presence (language of work)

        (2) The Commissioner is not permitted to exercise, before the day that may be fixed by order of the Governor in Council, the powers under subsection 64.1(1) of the Official Languages Act in respect of a complaint made by an employee who occupies or is assigned to a position in a workplace in a region with a strong francophone presence in respect of a right or duty under any of sections 9 to 11.

      • Orders — regions with a strong francophone presence (communications and services)

        (3) The Commissioner is not permitted to exercise, before the day that may be fixed by order of the Governor in Council, the powers under subsection 64.5(1) of the Official Languages Act in respect of a complaint made by a consumer in a region with a strong francophone presence in respect of a right or duty under section 7.

      • Orders — regions with a strong francophone presence (language of work)

        (4) The Commissioner is not permitted to exercise, before the day that may be fixed by order of the Governor in Council, the powers under subsection 64.5(1) of the Official Languages Act in respect of a complaint made by an employee who occupies or is assigned to a position in a workplace in a region with a strong francophone presence in respect of a right or duty under any of sections 9 to 11.