Evidence of meeting #32 for Official Languages in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was saskatchewan.
9:50 a.m.
Director of Education, Division scolaire francophone no. 310, Conseil scolaire fransaskois
I can give you a general answer. After all, I spent 14 years of my life in an immersion school. The results that it yields are understanding, acceptance and cultural enrichment. We are not alone, we also have—
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
9:50 a.m.
Superintendant of Education, Conseil scolaire fransaskois
Let me add that when the federal government agreed to implement immersion courses, there was a great deal of publicity. There was publicity to promote immersion, etc. When Franco-Saskatchewanian or francophone schools were created all over Canada, not much Canadian publicity was done to stress the fact that this was the road that francophones should take if they want to remain bilingual.
Our people were given the perception that immersion was sufficient for francophones. We must destroy this myth. Unfortunately, we were made to believe all kinds of things in the past, we were deprived of our rights and we were prevented from standing up for them. We were victims of oppression maintained by political decisions at times. We feel oppressed. How can the oppressed stand up for their rights? We could stand up and fight, but sometimes the partly assimilated francophones stand up and argue against us. Unfortunately, we are divided by this.
There is a historical background to all this. We have learned a lot since obtaining French education, but we must go further. We need post-secondary education programs to develop our population, because when people leave, they do not necessarily return.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
In Edmonton, the people told us that only 15% of eligible students had enrolled in their schools. What is the percentage in Saskatchewan?
9:50 a.m.
Director of Education, Division scolaire francophone no. 310, Conseil scolaire fransaskois
I would say that it is about 20%, but that might be optimistic. Perhaps it is 18%.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
9:50 a.m.
Superintendant of Education, Conseil scolaire fransaskois
We still have to do a great deal of publicity and develop a great deal of potential.
9:50 a.m.
Executive Director, Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise
Are we talking about the results of the Action Plan for Official Languages in education or in the communities? I feel that we are being given this fine gift called the Action Plan for Official Languages and that then we are left with the burden of providing the results. Let me tell you frankly that I wonder if one of you could build a two-story house with $20,000. This is the kind of results that are expected from us. For $20,000, we want a two-story house with six bedrooms etc. Currently, to provide funds for the development of the Franco-Saskatchewanian community, to work with Canadian Parents for French, to increase the number of eligible students in our schools or in their schools, we must turn to the private sector for marketing, promotion and recruiting because we have no tools for this.
The people who work in communities or schools often do not have the proper training. The people working in the regions on the overall development of the economy, education, communications and health, are fortunate if they earn $30,000 or $35,000 a year for working on this overall development.
Therefore, it is somewhat ridiculous to ask whether we have enough resources and if we are getting results. Moreover, this has to be written in a brief, in a document, under appendix F, etc. in order to demonstrate—
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
If we invest in a project, we must be able to measure the potential results. If it is not viable, we will not invest in it. With regard to the $360 million, the solution would perhaps consists in giving a bigger share to francophone schools rather to immersion schools. We must look carefully at such options. Mr. Gauthier, do you have any comments?
9:55 a.m.
Elected Member and Treasurer, Réseau santé en français de la Saskatchewan
I think that the Dion plan for official languages was really something new and interesting and substantial when it was implemented. It is a good plan, but it had some problems along the way. We cannot blame the francophone official language communities.
When we have resources, I guarantee that we spend them well. In some cases, it took some time before the funds arrived. With regard to some aspects of the Action Plan for Official Languages, there had not been enough preliminary research. We were handed certain tools that did not exactly meet our needs.
Personally, I would not want to throw the baby out with the bath water. No matter which party is in power, we must quickly resume the preparation of a plan for official languages. We must evaluate what we have done. As far as we are concerned, we did not succeed in everything. On the other hand, with regard to education, I can tell you that we have made headway because the province of Saskatchewan really supported us in this field. The Réseau santé en français made progress because the provincial government supported us. When we work together, things go well. In my opinion, our essential orientation should consist in carrying out a new study to determine how federal departments, with their mandates and with their experience with the first plan, could send out funds for a second time in 2008. If they want to do it, they must not wait until 2008 and then ask that we wait for two more years before telling us how the money will be spent.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Good morning.
There is much talk about difficulties, but I would like to remind us of some initiatives that were recently announced by Minister Verner. She announced that there would be a billion dollars for education. This involves a four-year agreement until 2009, and it is a 44.6% increase over the previous agreement. With regard to services, she announced a four-year agreement for $64 million until 2009. This is a 24.7% increase. For communities, she announced $120 million, with a four-year agreement until 2009, which is an 11% increase. Recently, in Saskatoon, Ms. Verner came to tell us that the Canadian government had granted more than $3 million for rebuilding and refurbishing community school centres in Saskatoon. We must not forget that, either.
That being said, I would like to ask the Réseau santé en français if it is still difficult here, in Saskatchewan, to get services in French. Is it easier now than it was three years ago, or is there still much work to be done?
9:55 a.m.
Director, Réseau santé en français de la Saskatchewan
It is still a problem. I think that this will be a long-term challenge.
For instance, during a trip to the region, a lady came to see me. She showed me how she would use the card prepared by the nurse which is in charge of her because she speaks only French. She was eight months pregnant, did not speak a word of English and lived in a rural environment. This lady had to carry the card around with her, in case she might have to call 911 and say the right things over the telephone, because the emergency services are not bilingual. This gives you some idea of the scope of the problem. In some parts of certain regions, this problem is still omnipresent.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Is it difficult for you to find francophone nurses and physicians who could offer these services?
10 a.m.
Director, Réseau santé en français de la Saskatchewan
It remains a challenge, even if things are easier today. There has been an improvement in the sense that we were able to identify the problem, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
At the Saskatoon and Regina health authority office, I am a part of the team in charge of recruiting medical specialists. We try to find medical specialists who speak French. Last year, we were unable to hire one single French-speaking specialist when we travelled to Quebec. It gives you an idea of the problem.
10 a.m.
Elected Member and Treasurer, Réseau santé en français de la Saskatchewan
As for us, we began at the very bottom of the scale in terms of the number of services offered. We have developed primary health care services. It's the foundation.
With respect to clinical care, and other hospital services, everything must be reorganized. We do not intend to create exclusively francophone hospitals or fully francophone surgical units. We simply want to make sure that people can be welcomed in their language when they first arrive. For people who are sick, this is a matter of survival.
10 a.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
When one is sick, one is sick in one's own language, and it is in that language that one wishes to be understood.
December 6th, 2006 / 10 a.m.
Elected Member and Treasurer, Réseau santé en français de la Saskatchewan
It is our belief that promoting health is a fundamental issue. Both the federal and provincial governments have an important role to play in this regard. We believe the partnership must also include the networks. We maintain our relations with the community, health care professionals, and training institutions. It is only together that we will be able to succeed, and there's still a lot to be done. In three years—
10 a.m.
Elected Member and Treasurer, Réseau santé en français de la Saskatchewan
Yes, only three years. In Saskatchewan, at the time, we didn't even talk about health care as a separate issue.
10 a.m.
Director, Institut français, University of Regina
I simply wish to come back to the figures cited earlier by Ms. Boucher. I cannot let it slip by. It's not the first time we hear this. It was the case 15 years ago, and it will remain the case in 15 years to come.
10 a.m.
Director, Institut français, University of Regina
In and of itself, it is a very positive thing, but if there is no follow-up, what will these figures mean in two years? Unless there's evidence to the contrary, there has been no follow-up. On the ground, those for whom these funds were allocated cannot work because for all intents and purposes, the money is simply not accessible. It is not accessible because there are intermediaries. We work mainly with majority institutions. In most cases, the money passes through these institutions. Without any monitoring mechanism, we cannot work.
These are great announcements, but what good do they do if they do not allow us to work? Do not kid yourselves: these funds do not always reach those working on the ground.
10 a.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Are you telling me that you do not have access to this money?
