Official Languages Committee on Nov. 15th, 2011

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Is there a role for an MP who is proud of our duality but does not speak French very well?

[Christine Sotteau]

Come see us next Saturday, Mr. Weston.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Ms. Doré Lefebvre, go ahead, please.

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I too want to thank our guests for being here today. It's very much appreciated. My question is for the representatives of the Société Santé en français.

Can you tell us about your plans starting in 2013. Could you perhaps tell us more specifically whether there is a priority that you would like to see in the next Roadmap?

[Dr. Aurel Schofield]

As I said earlier, we have conducted a consultation on the next Roadmap. The areas we have established are very much interdependent. Our network and strategy for developing and matching our partners are eliciting an enormous number of requests. So that's very important.

The projects we want to implement are actual projects intended to deliver services. As I said in my presentation, there are areas that we were unable to prioritize, in particular the use of new technologies and the development of meaningful data on the health and needs of our populations. All that really forms a whole. As you can see in the strategic plan, we've attempted to group all that together. So it's really like a table: if you cut off one leg, you throw the whole system out of whack. That's very important. The Toward Unity for Health strategy is an integrated approach directed at the needs of the communities. That's why all the factors are really interrelated. In our view, it is important for this to be considered in a comprehensive manner.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

That's fine, thank you.

I want to thank our witnesses for their testimony.

We are going to suspend proceedings for two minutes to allow our witnesses the time to leave the room. Then we will discuss two motions, that of Mr. Bélanger and that of Mr. Gourde.

Thank you, everyone.

We are suspended for two minutes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

We're coming out of suspension.

Before I give the floor to Mr. Bélanger, I just wanted to indicate to members of the committee that they have three documents in front of them that the clerk has distributed.

The first document is the calendar for our committee from now until the Christmas pause. It outlines all the witnesses who have been invited, and that will give members some idea of what we're going to be doing over the next five weeks. The first meeting after we get back from the pause I'll dedicate to committee business so that members of the committee can give me direction as to how they want to plan the January, February, March timeframe. But you have a calendar in front of you now for the rest of this calendar year and that will help guide our discussions.

The other two documents are a notice of motion from Mr. Bélanger and a notice of motion from Jacques Gourde. I just want to draw to the attention of members of the committee that the motions are the same. If the committee rejects the first motion that Mr. Bélanger will move, the second motion will be ruled out of order by the chair because the committee has already made its decision on that matter.

So I give the floor to Mr. Bélanger.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you for the schedule you've just distributed. However, I see that no representatives from the departments will be appearing before the winter break. I'm a bit disappointed by that. I would have thought it would be useful to hear from the representatives of at least one or two departments to ask them questions quite directly about what they're doing so that we can have an idea of what's being done and to prevent any duplication of work.

Would it be possible to arrange that? I leave it in your hands.

Mr. Chairman, I'm very pleased to see that my colleague Mr. Gourde has been inspired by my resolution. I will therefore be introducing the motion in public.

I'm essentially moving that we ask the Department of Canadian Heritage, which is responsible for coordinating the mid-term evaluation of the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality, to make its study public and to send it to us, obviously, once it's available. It's being done and, according to the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality, it should be complete in March 2012.

The motion is before you, Mr. Chairman. I move it. I will read it, and that way it will be very clear.

That the Committee respectfully request the Department of Canadian Heritage provide the mid-term report of the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality 2008-2013: Acting for the Future as part of its study on the evaluation of the Roadmap: improving programs and service delivery, and that this report be made public.

The motion is also in French. I am formally moving it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Okay, thank you, Mr. Bélanger.

Mr. Menegakis.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Chair, I move that we go in camera, please.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

I'll call the vote first.

(Motion agreed to on division)

I will instruct the clerk to move us in camera.

[Proceedings continue in camera]