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Bill 58, Franco-Ontarian Bookstore Promotion and Protection Act, 2025

Collard, Lucille

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Second Reading Vote

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Bill 58 Original (PDF)

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill enacts the Franco-Ontarian Bookstore Promotion and

Protection Act, 2025 . The major elements of the Act are set out below.

The

Act requires the Minister of Francophone Affairs to appoint a Registrar of

Franco-Ontarian Bookstores. Bookstore owners and operators may apply to the

Registrar to have their bookstore registered as an accredited Franco-Ontarian

bookstore. Publicly funded institutions must only purchase French-language

books from accredited Franco-Ontarian bookstores.

The

Act sets out a prohibition on book sellers engaging in predatory pricing

practices or providing disguised advantages. A failure to comply with this

prohibition could result in the revocation of accreditation for accredited

Franco-Ontarian bookstores.

The

Act allows the Minister of Francophone Affairs to establish a provincial

support fund to help Franco-Ontarian bookstores modernize and sustain their

operations.

amendment is made to the French Language Services Act

to require government agencies under that Act to actively contribute to the

maintenance and development of Franco-Ontarian cultural institutions, including

Franco-Ontarian bookstores.

Bill 58 2025

Act respecting Franco-Ontarian bookstores and other Franco-Ontarian cultural

institutions

CONTENTS

Preamble

Interpretation

Interpretation

Accreditation of

Franco-Ontarian Bookstores

Registrar

Application

Publicly Funded Institutions

Mandatory

purchasing

Prohibitions on Bookstores

Prohibitions

Support Fund

Support

fund

Regulations

Regulations

Amendments to the French

Language Services Act

French

Language Services Act

Commencement and

Short Title

Commencement

Short

title

Preamble

Bookstores play a vital role in promoting literacy,

education and cultural expression in communities across Ontario.

Franco-Ontarian

bookstores serve as essential pillars of French language culture, contributing

to the vitality of Ontario’s Francophonie by ensuring access to literature,

educational materials and cultural works in French.

The

sustainability of Franco-Ontarian bookstores is increasingly threatened by

market conditions that favour larger out-of-province retailers, online

platforms and institutions not subject to the same regulatory or financial

constraints.

is in the public interest to establish a framework that ensures fair

competition, protects the integrity of public investments in cultural and

educational materials and supports a diverse and accessible French-language

book ecosystem.

The

preservation and development of the French language and culture in Ontario are

recognized as matters of provincial importance and as fundamental to the

province’s social and cultural fabric.

Therefore,

His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of

the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Interpretation

Interpretation

1 In this Act,

“ accredited Franco-Ontarian bookstore ” means a bookstore

that is accredited under

section 3; (“librairie franco-ontarienne accréditée”)

“Minister”

means the Minister of Francophone Affairs or such other member of the Executive

Council to whom the administration of this Act is assigned under the Executive Council Act ; (“ministre”)

“ publicly funded institution ” means,

(

a) a

publicly funded organization within the meaning of the Broader

Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010 ,

(

b) the

Office of the Assembly or the office of an officer of the Assembly,

(

c) a

ministry of the Government of Ontario,

(

d) an

agency of the Government of Ontario,

(

e) a

municipality,

(

f) a

local board as defined in

section 1 of the Municipal Act,

2001 and

section 3 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 ,

(

g) a

long-term care home, or

(

h) a

prescribed entity; (“institution financée par des fonds publics”)

“prescribed”

means prescribed by the regulations; (“prescrit”)

“Registrar”

means the Registrar of Franco-Ontarian Bookstores appointed under

section 2;

(“registrateur”)

“regulations”

means the regulations made under this Act. (“règlements”)

Accreditation of Franco-Ontarian Bookstores

Registrar

(1) The Minister shall appoint a Registrar of

Franco-Ontarian Bookstores.

Duties

(2) The

Registrar shall maintain a register of accredited Franco-Ontarian bookstores.

Register

to be open for inspection

(3) The

Registrar shall make the register available for inspection on request.

Application

(1) A person may apply to the Registrar to have

a bookstore they own or operate be registered as an accredited Franco-Ontarian bookstore.

Accreditation

(2) The

Registrar shall register a bookstore as an accredited Franco-Ontarian bookstore

if,

(

a) the

bookstore sells French-language books from a physical location in Ontario;

(

b) the

applicant demonstrates a substantial commitment to serving the Franco-Ontarian

community, including by maintaining a significant inventory of Franco-Ontarian

books and other French-language books; and

(

c) the

applicant actively participates in the cultural and community life of

Franco-Ontarians by, for example, organizing events, organizing author talks or

engaging in community partnerships.

Certificate

to be issued

(3) The

Registrar shall issue a certificate of accreditation to every accredited

Franco-Ontarian bookstore.

Publicly Funded Institutions

Mandatory

purchasing

4 Every publicly funded institution shall only purchase

French-language books from accredited Franco-Ontarian bookstores.

Prohibitions on Bookstores

Prohibitions

(1) No person who sells books in Ontario shall

engage in predatory pricing practices, or provide disguised advantages, with

the purpose of unfairly capturing institutional market share.

Definitions

(2) In

subsection (1),

“ disguised advantage ” means the donation of books to a

purchaser, a discount that is not made public or any other advantage that is

not made public; (“avantage caché”)

“predatory

pricing practice” means selling books below a price that is determined in accordance

with the regulations or engaging in other pricing practices that are prohibited

by the regulations. (“pratique de prix prédateurs”)

Loss

of certificate

(3) If

the Registrar determines that a person who owns or operates an accredited

Franco-Ontarian bookstore has contravened subsection (1), the Registrar shall

revoke the certificate of accreditation.

Support Fund

Support

fund

(1) The Minister may establish a provincial

support fund to help Franco-Ontarian bookstores modernize and sustain their

operations.

Purposes

(2) The

funds in the provincial support fund may be disbursed to support digital

transformation initiatives, infrastructure improvements, community outreach or

cultural programming.

Appropriation

required

(3) The

Minister may only establish a provincial support fund or make a payment from it

if money has been appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature.

Regulations

Regulations

7 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing

anything that, under this Act, may or must be prescribed or provided for in the

regulations.

Amendments to the French Language Services Act

French

Language Services Act

(1) The French Language

Services Act is amended by adding the following section:

Requirement

to actively contribute to Franco-Ontarian cultural institutions

5.1 Every government agency shall, in accordance

with the regulations, actively contribute to the maintenance and development of

Franco-Ontarian cultural institutions, including Franco-Ontarian bookstores.

(2) Section 8 of the Act is amended

by adding the following clause:

(c.1) governing

the requirement to actively contribute to the maintenance and development of

Franco-Ontarian cultural institutions in

section 5.1;

Commencement and

Short Title

Commencement

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this

section, this Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

(2) Section

4 comes into force on the day that is six months after the day this Act

receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

10 The

short title of this Act is the Franco-Ontarian

Bookstore Promotion and Protection Act, 2025 .

Date Bill stage Event Outcome Committee

November 17, 2025

Second Reading

Vote

Lost on division

November 6, 2025

Second Reading

Question put

Vote deferred

November 6, 2025

Second Reading

Debated

October 20, 2025

First Reading

Ordered for Second Reading

October 20, 2025

First Reading

Vote

Carried

First Reading

October 20, 2025

Carried

Ordered for Second Reading

Second Reading

November 6, 2025

Collard, Lucille

Ottawa—Vanier

Fraser, John

Ottawa South

Gélinas, France

Nickel Belt

Hsu, Ted

Kingston and the Islands

Leardi, Anthony

Essex

Sarrazin, Stéphane

Glengarry—Prescott—Russell

Question put

November 17, 2025

Lost on division