Official Languages Committee on Nov. 22nd, 2011

[Régis St-Pierre]

We talked about foundations. We've built something that is starting to be solid. Like any foundation, if you remove a pillar from it, it can collapse. It must be understood that, if the minor funding that Yukon receives for health partnership services is cut, there'll be nothing left. I have statistics on our cultural activities last year. The Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality provides $22.5 million for the vitality of the francophone communities, and we have reached 10,000 participants, whereas the population of Yukon is 35,000 inhabitants. We're very proud of that, and we're integrated into the community.

We talked about education, but education starts at birth. So I don't see any sectors in our community because we're growing and we had no services for a long time.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Weston.

Mr. Harris, go ahead, please.

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Thanks very much for being here today.

I would like us to continue on the topic Mr. Weston briefly addressed. I believe that, if there is a lack of funding in future, we must ensure that we don't waste one dollar. This goes back to the study on the north. We've already spent $100,000 of taxpayers' money on that study, and if we don't finish it, that will be money wasted.

Earlier you talked about the cynicism triggered by the appointment of a unilingual auditor general and unilingual judges. If we don't complete the northern study after all that's been done, do you think that might undermine relations and provoke cynicism in Yukon?

[Jean-Sébastien Blais]

The important thing is to see how to support the cultural communities across the country. If we set aside cynicism, I believe you have to see that the next linguistic investment priorities must enable us to be more competitive.

Mr. Weston, you talked about what might be a good idea for investing in the French fact outside Quebec. When people come and see Yukon, they're surprised to see that there are francophones. That supports tourism and our industry. Ultimately, investing culturally in our official languages secures an economic benefit for a number of our places, and we see that improves things in the Yukon. I believe we have to go through with the process because the results are decisive: things are better.

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Let's go back to education. I'm the product of the French-language school system in Toronto. Even in that city, people are surprised to see that there are francophones. When I was young, our schools were part of English-language school boards. The money set aside for the francophone community went into general revenue, and we didn't receive all the money owed us. That changed in the 1990s, and I believe we're starting to see the results now because those changes take years to become apparent.

Mr. Galipeau talked about the school yard. That's completely true. We spoke English in the school yard, but French in the classroom and in the school. That didn't really undermine our education, but instead gave us a chance to speak both languages and become bilingual.

However, the real challenge came when we left school. There are a lot of francophones in Toronto, but there isn't a major central community. So it was really difficult to speak French after I left school. Honestly, I spoke a lot more French in northern Alberta last year than in Toronto in five years as a result of all those people who go there to work.

Last week, representatives of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario talked about immersion because it's very important to teach anglophones to speak French in order to improve the environment in which francophones will have to live as a minority.

Do you have any comments to make on immersion courses for anglophones, in order to improve their situation?

[Roger Paul]

You're very proficient in French—I congratulate you on that—because you had access to an education in French.

The Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones definitely has not promoted immersion schools. That's not our mandate. Our role is to promote French-language schools. Is there a difference between a French-language school and an immersion school? Absolutely. Immersion schools enable students to become bilingual, to learn the language. French-language schools have a twofold mission. Students must of course be able to learn both languages there. Allowing someone to come into our schools just to learn French is out of the question. In our schools, French is the priority language, but students are perfectly bilingual when they leave our schools. I assure you of that.

Whatever the case may be, there is a difference between an immersion school and a French-language school. The main difference is that we offer more than language: we offer language and culture; language and community. Francophiles and anglophones are definitely welcome in our all community organizations.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Menegakis.

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

I'd simply like to make a brief comment—

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you for coming to meet with us today and for giving us your presentations.

My first question is for Mr. Blais and Mr. St-Pierre.

Cultural programs are very important for our young people and seniors. Are cultural programs available in French in the Yukon?

[Régis St-Pierre]

Yes. We really have to thank the Canadian government. Here I'm talking about the community component and about Canadian Heritage's Cultural Development Fund. Many initiatives introduced through Roadmap funding have been implemented in the Yukon thanks to that.

I'll give you an actual example. At the Olympic Games in 2010, the Franco-Yukon musical group Soir de Semaine, which represented the Yukon's cultural component, appeared on an international stage. Imagine that. That was in front of 50,000 people at BC Place. And that's thanks to our constant work and our determination to have a real culture. We're talking about people who were born in Yukon, grew up there and are still living there. In many cases, they went to school in French. That's very important for us.

We talk about school a lot. However, for my children, the school yard is Facebook and the Internet. There are a lot of school yards. I'm in Ottawa, and when my child sends me a message in French on Facebook, that warms my heart. For me, that represents the vitality of a cultural community. To answer your question, yes, it's essential to the development of our communities.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you.

Is it easy to get health care in French?

[Jean-Sébastien Blais]

A few days ago, my wife gave birth to our second child, whose name is François-Xavier. He's a healthy little boy.

Although the care in Whitehorse is excellent, at no point did we have access to a nurse who was able to speak to us in French. Of course, the doctors were unilingual anglophones. Fortunately, we're bilingual, but imagine what the situation would have been for unilingual francophones. The experience would no doubt have been intensely stressful. Those of you here who are parents can understand that. We didn't have access to services in French, but fortunately most francophones can understand English. Health care is essentially offered in English only.

Régis can add his comments on that subject.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

I have a general question for all of you.

Could you tell us exactly where you want to see improvements in the Roadmap?

[Régis St-Pierre]

I can start.

The Roadmap is a like a toolbox. There are a lot of tools. There are technologically very advanced tools. A lot of investments have been made in certain networks. For example, education will receive 50% of all funding.

It must be understood that, in remote regions such as Yukon, a report has been prepared by the Canadian government—the Department of Canadian Heritage funded it—which explains that we often haven't had those investments in the north in the past. We haven't had French-language schools for 50 years; we've just built our first schools and child care facilities. So support for community activities is extremely essential for the very remote communities.

In some cases, if there weren't French-language health networks, there would be nothing in French. If there was no economic development funding supported by the Roadmap, there would be no French-language chambers of commerce. There would be nothing.

[Josée Forest-Niesing]

Let me tell you that one of the points that often comes up in my speeches and exchanges on the importance of promoting access to justice in French is this entire issue of awareness. I would really like to see a focus on the importance of making both the francophone and anglophone communities aware of linguistic duality and to instill that sense of pride that is lacking in certain places.

Allow me to add something a little more pragmatic. Here you have brought together organizations consisting of individuals who have excellent training, abilities and skills that they can make proper use of as a result of stable funding provided by the Roadmap.

If we are required to advance on a project-by-project basis, we become preoccupied by the survival of our organization and cannot use our qualifications and expertise properly.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Godin.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

First, I will say that Mr. Weston took a jab at me earlier, by saying that I might be the Minister of Finance and that if we were appearing in British Columbia, people would take a dim view of it, meaning that I would be a spender.

I simply want it on the record that I would not have spent $185,000 to hire a headhunter to find an auditor general who is unable to speak French. I can guarantee that I wouldn't have spent the money. Instead I would have invested it in child care centres because that's how the francophone community will be consolidated. There are places where you have to spend money. I would make sure not to change the system or policies. For example, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has asked for business cards in English only because I think he was afraid of the francophonie. These are things that I definitely wouldn't do. If I were Minister of Finance, the money wouldn't be spent on that.

It's good to spend money. We have the Roadmap and all those things, but at the same time there have to be symbols. I'm coming back to that because it's important. We spend, and I believe the government is saying that it has spent 40% more than the Liberals. However, let's think about the symbol. Auditors general have been bilingual for 20 years, and the government turns around and says it has the right to select someone who is a unilingual anglophone because anglophones are entitled to have jobs. I think that's an insult to anglophones because those who have taken the trouble to learn French don't qualify for those jobs. That's an insult to anglophones, if you look at things from that angle.

Do you agree with me that it's a matter of respect? We also have to stop at symbols, the big symbols. The appointments the government has made are setting us back 50 years. It's time to move forward and to acknowledge that, in Canada... I often hear the government say that more people in British Columbia speak Chinese than French. It has to be acknowledged that, when people from other countries decided to come here, to Canada, there were two official languages, which were English and French, and two peoples that built this country together with the aboriginal peoples. It's respect for those two peoples that we want. Based on that, people who come here have to learn our two official languages or one of them. That's what has to be done. The day the Conservative government learns and respects that, the disputes between the anglophone and francophone communities will stop. It involves people in conflicts that should not occur.

Do you agree with me or not?

[Josée Forest-Niesing]

Who are you putting the question to?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Just a minute, there is a point of order.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

It's just to shed some light on Mr. Godin's question.

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

It's a point of order or a comment?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

You're asking whether people agree with you, but your preamble was so long that our witnesses are finding it hard to answer.

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

That's not a point of order, Mr. Chairman.

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

At every meeting, we have to raise that point, which is not really a point of order.

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

It's up to the witnesses, not to you Conservatives, to decide whether it's too long or not.