Official Languages Committee on April 3rd, 2012
Evidence of meeting #35 for Official Languages in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was community.
A recording is available from Parliament.
On the agenda
MPs speaking
Also speaking
- Charles Childs President, English Language Arts Network Quebec
- Guy Rodgers Executive Director, English Language Arts Network Quebec
- David D'Aoust President, Quebec English School Boards Association
- Michael Chiasson Executive Committee Member, Quebec English School Boards Association
- Gerald Cutting President, Townshippers' Association
- David Birnbaum Executive Director, Quebec English School Boards Association
- Ingrid Marini Executive Director, Townshippers' Association
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
9:35 a.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
9:35 a.m.
President, Quebec English School Boards Association
We live with that.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Townshippers, I had a good time a couple of years ago when I went to your AGM. When's your next one? Let me know.
9:35 a.m.
Ingrid Marini Executive Director, Townshippers' Association
It is June 1.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
9:35 a.m.
Executive Director, Townshippers' Association
We'll be doing a vernissage celebrating young artists.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Oh, great.
What StatsCan and you folks did was excellent. It was very useful. So congratulations again on that document.
I have a more touchy question on this week's L'actualité. May I have your comments on this?
9:35 a.m.
Executive Director, English Language Arts Network Quebec
I have thought about that.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
9:35 a.m.
Executive Director, English Language Arts Network Quebec
Fifty percent of anglophones are married to francophones.
April 3rd, 2012 / 9:35 a.m.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Ottawa—Vanier, ON
For colleagues who don't know, L'actualité is the Maclean's equivalent, if you will. I know the chairman is aware.
They ran a cover this week that could become rather controversial, or rather is controversial, about the future of French in Montreal. It's not very complimentary. I'll just leave it at that.
9:35 a.m.
Executive Director, English Language Arts Network Quebec
I mean, 50% of anglophones have married francophones. Partly that's because of love and partly it's kind of strategic. If you want your kids to stay in Quebec, they have to be bilingual, so having a francophone spouse is a very good advantage. I'm one of the traitors who's raised his kids in French.
This study somehow excludes all of those bilingual kids. Half of those kids are the most integrated, the most forward-looking part of our population, but he only interviews people who are not in that category. There's a ton of transient students. It's a completely biased, unfocused, unjust, reprehensible portrait, so there's a lot of controversy. We have made tremendous strides to increase our level of bilingual integration. Where this came from and what Jean-François was trying to do with this is a complete—
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
9:40 a.m.
Executive Director, English Language Arts Network Quebec
He's written a couple of letters saying what he didn't intend to do, which makes no sense at all.