The witness made a statement and answered questions.

At 9:55 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 10:05 a.m., the sitting resumed.

Bernard Généreux moved, — Whereas Air Canada has been subject to the full Official Languages Act for close to 50 years;

The Committee recommends that the government of Canada take immediate action regarding Air Canada following the release of the special report by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages:

a) That the government strengthen the enforcement regime applicable to Air Canada and expand the powers of the Official Languages Commissioner, in particular to enter into compliance agreements.

b) That the government amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act to give the Federal Court the power to award damages for violations of certain provisions of the Official Languages Act without the claimant having to prove an actual loss stemming from the violation. The Federal Court could assess damages based on a number of explicit factors to be taken into consideration.

c) That the government introduce provisions for fines to be imposed by the courts for certain regulatory violations.

d) That the government provide for administrative monetary penalties that can be issued in response to non-compliance with the legislation.

Darrell Samson moved, — That the motion be amended by deleting the words “for close to 50 years”, by adding after the words “Official Languages” the following: “Whereas serious concerns were raised by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in his special report on Air Canada”, by deleting the words “The Committee recommend that the government take immediate action regarding Air Canada following the release of the special report by the Commissioner of Official Languages: ”, and by adding after the words “special report on Air Canada” the following: “That the Committee continue the study of the Commissioner’s report on Air Canada at a date to be determined later and that it report its findings and recommendations to the House of Commons.”.

It was agreed, — That the debate be now adjourned and deferred to the Committee businees meeting on Tuesday, September 27, 2016.

François Choquette moved, — That the Committee invite the Governor in Council to publish the job posting for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages and select a candidate as soon as possible in order to provide for time to transfer files, knowledge and expertise between the new commissioner and the outgoing commissioner, Graham Fraser.

After debate, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That the Committee invite the Governor in Council to publish the job posting for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages and select a candidate as soon as possible, in accordance with procedure, in order to provide for time to transfer files, knowledge and expertise between the new commissioner and the outgoing commissioner, Graham Fraser.

It was agreed, — That, in relation to the study of the Roadmap and immigration in francophone minority communities, the three political parties meet informally to prepare a calendar and a list of witnesses and that this plan be presented to the Committee at its meeting of Tuesday, September 27, 2016.