The federal government is moving to enforce bilingualism in federally regulated transport and travel services, threatening fines of up to $25,000 for companies that do not provide service in both French and English. Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said the measures are intended to guarantee equality between Canada’s official languages.Guilbeault said Thursday that “people traveling in Canada should be able to receive services in French and English anywhere, anytime.” Blacklock's Reporter says the new penalties will first target Air Canada, VIA Rail, major airport authorities from Vancouver to St. John’s, and Marine Atlantic, the Crown-owned ferry service to Newfoundland and Labrador.The regulations are tied to Bill C-13, passed in 2023, which directed the federal government to ensure equality of use for both official languages. Cabinet said details on which private-sector businesses would be affected and in which regions would be set out in forthcoming regulations, but Ottawa has yet to release the legal text or confirm when the rules will take effect..Government briefing notes acknowledge that Ottawa already imposes heavy regulation on private businesses in sectors such as telecommunications and competition, but official-language requirements for workplaces and customer service mark a new expansion of federal oversight.Industry groups have raised concerns that enforcement of bilingualism rules has been inconsistent. In 2022, the Association of Canadian Port Authorities told the Senate that the Commissioner of Official Languages had ordered companies to retroactively translate years of English-only tweets, and a complaint was even filed over an English-only sign that was not on port property.Census data show French as a first language has declined to 21% nationally from 27% in 1971, with only 3% outside Quebec. Meanwhile, the number of Quebecers whose first official language is English surpassed one million for the first time in 2021, rising to 13% from 12% in 2016, highlighting demographic pressures that may be shaping the new regulations.
