Denis Labelle, Isabelle Girard, Jean-Luc Racine et Gillian Anderson made statements and answered questions.

At 12:04 p.m., the meeting was suspended.

At 12:14 p.m., the meeting resumed.

Mario Beaulieu moved, — Given that

• the media reported on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, that the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, was still unable to converse in French during a visit to a community organization in Lévis, Quebec, and that she had to cancel some of the events planned for her trip to Quebec for this reason;
• the Governor General said she was “deeply committed” to learning French in 2021, when she was appointed, and she reiterated to Radio-Canada, in a 2023 interview, that she wanted to be able to “speak to francophones” by the end of 2024;

that the Committee

a) express its profound disappointment that, three years after her appointment, the Governor General of Canada is unable to hold a basic conversation in French in the course of her duties as the Sovereign’s representative in Canada, despite the Official Languages Act (OLA), whose purpose is to “ensure respect for English and French as the official languages of Canada and ensure equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all federal institutions,” according to section 2(a) of the OLA, and to “advance the existence of a majority-French society in a Quebec where the future of French is assured,” according to section 2(b.2) of the OLA; and

b) ask the Chair to report the matter to the House as soon as possible.

Debate arose thereon.

RULING BY THE CHAIR

The Chair ruled the proposed amendment out of order because it introduces a new proposition that should properly be the subject of a substantive motion.

At 12:30 p.m., the meeting was suspended.

At 12:33 p.m., the meeting resumed.

The debate on the motion continued.

By unanimous consent, the motion was withdrawn.

Joël Godin moved, — Given that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has failed to appoint a bilingual Governor General and that the latter is still unable to speak French after 3 years in the position,

therefore, be it resolved that:

a) The committee report to the House the Prime Minister of Canada’s failure to respect Canada’s official languages by appointing a Governor General that cannot speak French, and has not demonstrated any improvements over the past 3 years;

b) Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(f), the c ommittee undertake a study of the reasons which led the Prime Minister to appoint the Governor General unable to express herself in one of Canada’s two official languages and that, as part of this study, the c ommittee invite to appear:

• The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Quebec Lieutenant;
• The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, former Quebec Lieutenant;

Advisory Panel on the Selection of the Next Governor General:

• The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Co-Chair;
• Janice Charrette, Co-Chair;

Privy Council Office:

• Donnalyn McClymony, Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Senior Personnel and Public Service Renewal);
• Donald Booth, Canadian Secretary to the King;

Office of the Secretary to the Governor General:

• Ken MacKillop, Secretary to the Governor General;

that the committee allocate a minimum of 5 meetings to this study; and,

that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.

Debate arose thereon.

At 12:44 p.m., the meeting was suspended.

At 12:49 p.m., the meeting resumed.

The debate on the amendment continued.

The debate on the motion, as amended, continued.