Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must send a "clear message" to the heads of federally chartered businesses in Quebec that the working language of their staff must be French, especially in Montreal.

The order to Trudeau on Wednesday comes from Quebec Premier François Legault, two days before the two leaders are scheduled to meet in Montreal.

With the decline of French in Montreal in the background, the subject of language of work will be on the agenda of the meeting, as well as the management of asylum seekers on Roxham Road and the eternal contention between Ottawa and the provinces on the contribution of the federal government in the calculation of health transfers, in particular.

In a press conference on the sidelines of the last cabinet meeting of 2022, Legault attacked Bill C-13, which is currently before the House of Commons and aims to modernize the federal Official Languages Act.

Legault is concerned about the impact of this legislation on the language of work in Quebec.

In terms of language practices, Bill C-13 would allow federally chartered companies operating in Quebec, including banks and transportation companies, such as Air Canada, to choose to apply either Canada's Official Languages Act or Quebec's Charter of the French Language, or Bill 101, which was recently revised and improved by Bill 96.

This will be left to each company to decide, which displeases Premier Legault, who is anxious to counter the decline of French in Quebec, particularly in Montreal.

To date, 28 of the companies, out of a total of about 400, have not yet chosen their camp. They say they are waiting for C-13 to be adopted.

Legault calculated that some 370 federally chartered companies have chosen to register with the Office de la langue française (OQLF) to undertake a francization process, in accordance with Bill 101.

He welcomed their initiative but wants Trudeau to put pressure on the others, to "send a clear message" that Bill 101 and its spirit must be respected.

Quebec has made French its only working language. The spirit of Bill 96, passed in May, is to affirm that French must become the "normal and usual" language of work in Quebec, while protecting the right of anyone to work in French.

The head of Air Canada, Michael Rousseau, a unilingual anglophone, has already stated that he prefers C-13 to Bill 101, a fact that Legault was quick to point out in offence.

"I don't see why a company like Air Canada shouldn't have the same requirements as a company like Bombardier," that is to say to operate in French in Montreal, he said.

Another topic of discussion between Trudeau and Legault on Friday will be the fate of asylum seekers who try to enter Canada illegally through the Roxham Road in Quebec.

This is a "really urgent" problem, said Legault, noting that some 36,000 people have used the route since the beginning of the year.

Ottawa and the other provinces should also do their part and assume their responsibilities in this matter — not only Quebec, which is forced to provide services to the migrants until their status is defined by Ottawa, added Legault, who was upset that the analysis of the applicants' files was unduly prolonged.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 14, 2022.