The federal government is proposing sweeping new regulations that would require thousands of federally regulated private businesses outside Quebec to provide services in French, marking the first time bilingual obligations would be imposed on many private-sector employers.Edmonton grain millers, Winnipeg telecom providers and bankers in Yarmouth, N.S. must speak French under the new rules.Draft regulations released by Heritage Minister Marc Miller would require banks, airlines, telecommunications companies, grain elevators, interprovincial trucking firms and other federally regulated businesses with more than 100 employees to offer services in French if they operate in designated regions with significant francophone populations.Blacklock's Reporter says the proposal stems from Bill C-13, the Liberal government's 2023 overhaul of the Official Languages Act, which directed Ottawa to develop regulations aimed at strengthening the use of French outside Quebec.In a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement published Saturday, the Department of Canadian Heritage said the new rules are intended to address what it describes as the declining use of French across Canada."The decline of French in Canada is cause for concern," the department wrote. "The proposed regulations would foster the use of French and advance the equality of status and use of French in Canadian society."Under the proposal, affected businesses would be required to actively offer services in French, notify customers they may communicate in French, and provide bilingual services at every point of customer contact.The regulations would also require contracts, brochures, purchase orders and other customer-facing documents to be available in both official languages.The bilingual requirements would apply in Edmonton, Winnipeg, all of New Brunswick, and several communities in Ontario and Nova Scotia.Ontario communities identified in the regulations include Cochrane, Nipissing, Ottawa, Sudbury, Greater Sudbury, Timiskaming, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, and Prescott-Russell. In Nova Scotia, the rules would apply in Digby, Richmond and Yarmouth..The federal government acknowledged the new requirements could create challenges for employers and employees, particularly those who do not speak French."The new linguistic obligations could complicate the onboarding and adaptation of unilingual English or non-French speaking employees within federally regulated private businesses, potentially limiting their opportunities for career advancement," the regulatory analysis states.The department also estimated the changes would have a negative net impact during the first two years of implementation as businesses absorb compliance costs before any anticipated benefits materialize.No implementation deadline has been announced. However, the government noted similar language requirements imposed on airport authorities in 2025 carry fines of up to $25,000 for non-compliance.The proposed regulations follow years of federal concern over the status of French outside Quebec.In a 2023 evaluation of Ottawa's Official Languages Support Programs, the Heritage Department concluded that French-speaking minority communities remain vulnerable despite nearly six decades of official bilingualism and approximately $7.7 billion in federal spending on minority-language initiatives.The report also found bilingualism rates outside Quebec have continued to decline.
