Official Languages Committee on April 3rd, 2008

[Régis St-Pierre]

The mechanism has been improved somewhat.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

How long did it take in the past? Twelve months?

[Régis St-Pierre]

An improvement was made to the mechanism that may lead to an even greater improvement. As it stands, an amount is released in the first quarter of the fiscal year. So normally we receive an amount.

The Association franco-yukonnaise is different because it is diversified. Canadian Heritage agreements represent less than 25% of our annual budget. We have diversified our economic development, employment assistance services, immigration services, and as a result we do not have the same problems as other community groups. We are an advocacy organization, but we offer several services.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Despite that, Canadian Heritage still makes you wait five months. You say that things are running well and that with 75% of funding, you are more independent, but when you deal with the government... I am not out looking for problems, but I am asking you to be direct.

[Régis St-Pierre]

Several agreements were reached with the federal government, but the financial mechanisms and forms are different in a number of cases. In fact, there are 26 different forms. It is a bit strange to think that one department can provide us with funds every month while another makes us wait five or six months.

Perhaps it would be easier to adopt a mechanism by which funds would be made available at the start of the year. I am always told not to worry, and that the money is in the appropriations. For example, after listening to last year's throne speech, we were very pleased to learn, regarding our agreements, that additional money would be put into the support fund.

The announcement was made in February. At the end of the summer, during the holidays, we received a letter calling on us to undertake projects. The letter was sent out in August, during the Yukon summer. We were given until September 26 to submit agreements. In other words, we had four weeks to draft those agreements. At the end of February, we received the official document announcing that some projects had been accepted, but I had yet to receive the agreements at my office. That is a concrete example of things that occur year after year.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Your organization has to spend a lot of time simply trying to obtain those agreements when it should rather be implementing them on the ground.

[Régis St-Pierre]

Indeed. Moreover, the projects are viable when we submit them, but they become difficult to carry out once we receive confirmation of their acceptance. That is the case, for example, if a project must begin on October 1, 2007, but I receive a response in March 2008. I then have to prepare my project retroactively and change all the budgets. That is not always easy to do. In some cases, the Association franco-yukonnaise has had to turn down funds.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

For example, if you prepare a project starting in August and the funding is only given to you the following March, then things simply can't work.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

You have 30 seconds remaining.

[Régis St-Pierre]

In fact, there have been improvements, and we do take all that into account when we draft our applications.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you very much, Mr. Godin.

I would also like to thank our witness.

We will now move on to Pierre Lemieux.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Thank you very much.

Thank you again for your presentation.

I would like you to talk about culture, which plays a significant and even crucial role in the vitality of our minority official language communities. As you might know, I represent a riding with a francophone majority. This is an official language community in a minority setting.

From time to time, we hear people say that arts and culture do not receive enough support, but a few weeks ago, I was able to announce a $30 million investment to support community radio stations. The initiative was supported by the Bloc Québécois, whose members here I would like to thank. The $30 million are part of a major initiative for our communities.

I would like to know what kind of cultural projects you undertake in the Yukon.

[Régis St-Pierre]

The funds that we obtain through the Canada-community agreements are used as a stepping stone. They allow us to hire a permanent employee in the cultural sector. That person has to work incredibly hard to obtain funding from the Canada Council for the Arts and Yukon Arts Fund, among others. That is of great help.

Language and culture are the essential components of a strong francophone community. Concretely speaking, in terms of culture, we now organize a multilingual and multicultural festival. It is held on June 21, in conjunction with National Aboriginal Day, which is celebrated across Canada, and Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, the traditional holiday on June 24. The festival also reaches out to the French and Acadians. It is a festival for the Francophonie, but in a multilingual and multi-ethnic setting. We've named it the Solstice because the days are very long in the Yukon around June 21. The festival showcases music in French, English and often in aboriginal languages. There are bilingual presentations and bilingual artists. This is a way of promoting our culture. As well, a cultural caravan will cross Canada this year and stop off in Whitehorse, Yukon. The Fédération culturelle canadienne-française and artists from the Yukon will contribute.

In the early 1980s, there were very few francophone artists in our region. Today, the culture is alive and well. Some artists produce compact discs and have their own websites. That is the case, for example, of a group called Soir de Semaine, with whom we partner. You can go to their website and listen to their music by typing their name in Google. The group is made up of Yukon residents who perform music in French in the Yukon, where most people are English-speaking. All the same, residents pay to go see their shows. Just imagine! So, is culture important? It is very important.

With regard to our Franco-Yukon community, even our association is composed of people from various countries. We do a lot of promotion in Europe to increase the number of francophone residents. In fact, people in our area do not belong to a single culture. We have Acadians working in our offices. Our demographics include Franco-Ontarians, people from the Ottawa area, and, of course, from Quebec, but also people from France, Belgium and the Ivory Coast. Given the statistics that were published yesterday, we will have to increasingly think in those terms. Needless to say, travelling to Europe to do promotion as part of our work is expensive, whether you consider the price of plane tickets or hotel rooms, or the exchange rate with the euro.

There are Canadian programs, but more of them could be offered in our communities. Rural development is also very important. There are people from rural areas here. The remote regions should not be overlooked when these nice programs are designed. It is all well to bring immigrants into the major centres, but you cannot overlook Canada's rural areas. If you want a vigorous Francophonie and a strong Canada, then there has to be immigration everywhere.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Thank you.

You talked about a project and a festival that will be held, but I would like to know whether associations or organizations play a key role in Yukon's cultural life. What is their relationship with you?

[Régis St-Pierre]

Things are going well because in fact we are dealing with our own members. We are labelled an association, but we are a kind of francophone community assembly, an integrated Francophonie. The association, which is the mouthpiece, includes what we call sectors. The cultural sector of the Association franco-yukonnaise is responsible for developing cultural projects.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

And what about les EssentiElles?

[Régis St-Pierre]

Les EssentiElles is the women's advocacy group.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Very well.

[Régis St-Pierre]

The name is a play on words given that women are essential. At the Association franco-yukonnaise, the cultural committee in fact organizes or oversees the activities. It does not always organize them, but it does overall coordination. In March, there were more than 16 cultural celebrations, including an informal talent night. Young people, both anglophones and francophones, went on stage to show off their talents, while the audience enjoyed a dinner among family and friends. Over 150 people attended the event. In the Yukon, that amounts to 10% of the population.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

You were able to hire a few employees thanks to the agreements. Those people coordinate the shows and solicit the financial support of the federal government by way of other programs. I have already mentioned the $30 million amount. Is that how you operate?

[Régis St-Pierre]

Yes. As I indicated, our funding is very diversified. At present, less than 25% of our funding comes from the agreements. On the cultural level, for example, we receive funding from the French Embassy to organize CINÉ-France, a French film festival. The French Embassy supports this initiative.

As well, we celebrate Francophonie Day and the French national holiday. We also receive funding from the Bureau du Québec, through the SAIQ and bipartite agreements, in order to promote cultural products. There are also agreements with the Yukon government and the federal government's arts fund. Yes, the base funding allows us to go and get... We could not survive with a minimum level of funding.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you very much, Mr. Lemieux.

We have now completed our first round of questions. Given that we have only one witness, some committee members have suggested we have a second round. After that, it will be up to you to decide if there are other questions. We will begin the second round with Pablo Rodriguez from the Liberal Party.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Welcome Ms. Bourque and Mr. Saint-Pierre. I am very pleased to hear from you. I would like to congratulate you for your determination and commitment to protect and promote the French language.

Your comments are quite unusual. You are probably the most positive group that I have met here, and I have been a member of the Standing Committee on Official Languages for four years. That's something. Generally speaking, I believe that things are going rather well. If you had to name one major challenge, what would it be? Are things going as well as you say they are?

[Régis St-Pierre]

No. Nine men out of ten in western Canada are married to an anglophone—I am as well—and do not pass on their language and culture to their children. Can I appear before you and say that I am not pleased to acknowledge that my two children speak French just as well as anyone in the world, that I have a francophone school in the Yukon, that I have just attended a Francophonie festival, that I can celebrate my culture and my language, that the Government of Yukon has proclaimed May 15, 2007, as Francophonie Day in the Yukon? Yes, what we have to say is different. I understand and I am a bit...

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

I wasn't criticizing you, on the contrary. Hearing from Mr. Godin all the time, you get the impression that everything is wrong.