Air Canada is pushing back against draft regulations that would impose $25,000 fines on federally regulated transport employers who fail to provide bilingual service, claiming the airline is being unfairly singled out.Blacklock's Reporter says under the draft rules released by Department of Canadian Heritage, companies like Air Canada, VIA Rail, Marine Atlantic and airport authorities that manage federally regulated airports could face penalties for failing to serve customers in English and French. Air Canada, the only major airline legally bound by the Official Languages Act due to its 1988 privatization, says competitors like WestJet are not subject to the same obligations.“Other air carriers do not have the same obligations as Air Canada toward the same public and will not be subject to monetary penalties,” wrote David Rheault, Air Canada’s vice-president, in a submission to the Senate languages committee. He noted that government bodies central to air travel services, including the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, Canada Border Services Agency and Canadian Transportation Agency, are excluded from the fines.Air Canada recommended that penalties apply uniformly to all organizations required to provide bilingual services to the traveling public, including government entities, to avoid singling out private operators..The draft rules follow Parliament’s 2023 passage of Bill C-13, which amended the Official Languages Act to reinforce equality of use in English and French across Canadian society. The regulations aim to ensure travelers “can receive services in French and English anywhere, anytime,” according to then-Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault.Census data show 21% of Canadians list French as their first language, down from 27% in 1971, while outside Québec only 3% are primarily French-speaking. In Québec, the number of English-first speakers rose to over one million in 2021, representing 13% of the population, up from 12% in 2016.
