Official Languages Committee on Nov. 29th, 2012

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to each and every one of you for being here. Thank you for all of your efforts for the French language and the Michif language. Bravo!

I would like to ask you the same question I asked all of our witnesses. We have to produce a report. It will not be the report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, but rather the report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. Therefore, we won't cover the whole issue of celebrations for the anniversary of Confederation. We must focus on two subjects.

First of all, we must ensure that both official languages will be fully respected during the celebrations and that there won't be unfortunate incidents, such as some others that are still fresh in our minds.

Second of all, we must ensure that the themes that are celebrated will honour Canada's linguistic duality. We have to get it right, both in terms of delivery and what we choose to celebrate. That is why we need your experience, your expertise and your suggestions.

Mr. Cooke, tell me if I miss something, but I'm going to summarize your three suggestions.

First, you suggest increasing opportunities for cultural and linguistic exchanges. I imagine you have a goal to propose to us. That would mean that we start now to build up to 2017.

Second, you suggest increasing access to post-secondary studies in French as a second language. As you know, that falls under provincial jurisdiction. What can we do to convince the provinces to correct things? In fact, west of Ontario, there are no requirements regarding French.

Third, regarding the celebrations, you propose creating a youth council, in both official languages I imagine, that would allow young people to celebrate Confederation according to the criteria and goals of their generation.

Mr. Chartier and Mr. Fleury, I think you are asking for three things. Let me know if I missed something.

First, you want us to increase our efforts to protect your language.

Second, you would like us to strengthen exchanges between young people or people of all ages with Quebec.

Third, you hope we will celebrate your flag in 2015.

Ms. Perkins, I didn't understand what you want us to do. I know that what Canadian Parents for French does is terrific.

I would like to ask you to clarify exactly what you think we should put in our report as a recommendation to the government for this opportunity we have to celebrate Confederation in 2017.

You can answer first, Ms. Perkins.

[Lisa Marie Perkins]

Thank you, Mr. Dion.

There are a few recommendations in our brief.

Number one, we would like every celebration across the country to be bilingual, and not rely on the fact that certain communities.... I'll speak from Red Deer's perspective, and when we have Canada Day

or a celebration like that.

If you were to ask the people in the organizing committee how much French should there be, they wouldn't necessarily recognize that 10% of the school population is in immersion or core French. They wouldn't know the history of Fort Normandeau or that our community was founded by people like Guy Lacombe. They wouldn't know that.

We recommend, first of all, that there be a stronger emphasis and it be much clearer what the language requirements are for all celebrations across this country.

Again, for those students who are learning French as their second language, and this speaks to Mr. Cooke's point, this means showing that French is a living language. It's a language we speak outside the classroom. It's more than math. It's more than social studies. It's who we are. It's part of our history, and part of where all Canadians live.

Number two, we would like official recognition of people like myself who are bilingual, who took time to learn les deux langues officielles to try to live, work and play in both languages and consider it so essential to our identity.

We've been working really hard at trying to work on the DELF program, Diplôme d'études en langue française, so that bilingualism is officially recognized across this country as a skill and an asset. Bilingualism is something you can bring with you and showcase and celebrate.

One of our other recommendations was to look at creating a bilingual national anthem. I can tell you from living in the part of the country I live in, I was at the Calgary Stampede this year, and I'm sure you all heard about the bit of controversy there. The English-only version was played at the grandstand show. What was really interesting was Calgarians said that this was not acceptable, that they want a French and English version. I can also tell you that people don't know what that means.

What is the real version of O Canada?

Is it the version sung in English and in French,

Is it a bilingual version that is shared across the country? Every Canadian should have an opportunity to learn that even if it's just

four sentences in French

that they learn, it's our national anthem and should be represented in both languages.

Thank you.

I don't know if what I said was clear.

[Max Cooke]

More briefly I will say number one is cultural and linguistic exchanges for French second language learners. I always say they have to make the French connection on their own. They have to have intrinsic motivation that comes from them, not because someone's telling them to do it, and exchanges are a great way for that motivation to happen.

Our second recommendation is post-secondary learning opportunities. We don't want our students to just go through the system that's been afforded to them in Canada, become functionally bilingual or better, and then to drop it. This is happening every year.

The 150th anniversary celebration could be this opportunity to leave a legacy. If we can build the knowledge that these programs, bilingual programs, French post-secondary programs, exist across Canada, this will leave a legacy on the bigger picture of our founding languages.

I would also say beyond my recommendations from what I've heard today we have to include our first nation languages, not to mention the hundreds of languages that are spoken in Canada every day, which has been a lasting legacy for—I'm not going to say how many years; I'm not an historian—a very long time. It goes way beyond the two founding languages. I think we have to find ways to incorporate that.

Third, there's the youth council, youth voice dialogue.

We have to move past the two solitudes. Youngsters must be the spokespeople for all of that and see for themselves. That is the third recommendation.

Let them lead the way.

In terms of ceremonies, all ceremonies in some aspect or another, no matter if they're in Red Deer, Bathurst, or wherever, should be bilingual. It's who we are.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Chartier or Mr. Fleury, do you have something to add?

[Clément Chartier]

I think you captured one of the points we made. That in itself would be positive.

I want to say taking an example from the Olympic Games, the engagement of aboriginal youth in the opening ceremonies and in the month prior to the games was very successful. If nothing else, if there can be some way to ensure the youth are engaged in some major event during that year, it would be quite engaging and quite helpful as well.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

We are going to have a short break of about five minutes.

I invite the witnesses to eat with us.

We are resuming the 63^rd meeting of the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

Mr. Trottier, you have the floor.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Once again, thank you to our guests for being here this morning.

All three of this morning's groups value youth highly. However, school was not necessarily central to your presentations. You placed greater emphasis on the importance of creating opportunities for young people to meet outside of school, to be able to get to know each other, to express themselves, and to truly cultivate a sense of pride and belonging.

It's somewhat among those lines that we are attempting to plan the 150^th anniversary celebration of Canada's Confederation. It must also be said that this anniversary is not just for young people. It's for all Canadians.

If we think of the youth aspect, which key elements would ensure young people's participation? When we create these opportunities for young people, there's always a risk that they won't come because they're not interested. So, what would be the key elements for youth?

I would like to hear from the representatives of all three groups, please. We could start with Canadian Parents for French.

[Lisa Marie Perkins]

As a parent — my son is 15 years old —,

I will answer that directly from my own experience. We would say not only do they have to have chances to meet, they have to have the opportunity to learn their other official language. First and foremost, if we don't have that

base in the educational system throughout Canada to allow Canadians to have the opportunity to learn the other official language,

we can't have that rapprochement you are looking for.

First, our experience is it needs to be accessible to the youth, in their second language in our case. Sometimes when francophone artists come, you are dealing with a different language style, a different niveau de langue than a core francophone speaker versus a francophile. Make sure the artists can speak to them where they are.

Second, give them examples of themselves. I appreciated Mr. Cooke's idea of having a jeune ambassadeur who is bilingual. Nothing excites youth more than having someone similar to who they are and not someone like me telling them this is what they should do.

Third, we would agree with our colleagues at French for the Future. Let the youth organize that. They know what they like, what they want, what's appealing. We're just guessing.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Very well, thank you.

Mr. Cooke, would you like to add something?

[Max Cooke]

Briefly, it has to be cool.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

And what does that mean?

[Max Cooke]

I'm really too old to answer that.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Max Cooke]

However, I can ask young people. Really, quite simply, I would answer that young people have to be asked. There are two organizations here that can ask them, well in advance, what they want to learn about Confederation and our history.

Furthermore, prior to that, I think an approach based on surveys is needed. We could have projects, maybe in schools, based on the fact that they know nothing of our history and have to start from scratch. Young people have to make personal discoveries that are their own. It's part of their history, whether or not it comes from them. Do you understand?

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Yes, yes.

[Max Cooke]

All of that has to be personalized. As I said, it has to be

led by youth, young boys.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Chartier and Mr. Fleury,

what is important for Métis youth when it comes to participating in these kinds of celebrations? What encourages them to move away from whatever their current distractions are and to participate?

[Clément Chartier]

Thank you, Mr. Trottier.

I gave a couple of examples earlier. One of the things for youth is to enable them to meet among themselves and to come up with their own ideas.

We used to have what was called the Métis National Youth Advisory Council, but unfortunately funding was curtailed about four years ago, so they've not had the capacity to meet nationally. Some of our provincial governing members do have youth councils. They continue to meet and come up with ideas.

I would go back to social engagement and exchanges, primarily in our case, with the Métis youth and the youth of Quebec to have social engagement at some kinds of camps. Batoche would be an ideal place in the west. I'm not sure where in Quebec. Lachine, Quebec would be good because that's where the voyageurs heading west left from. There is that historic connection.

I would think that combined with language instruction there would also be other activities that get their attention, whatever they may be. It could be sports, drama, theatre. It could be different themes at different times. Along with that of course there would be language and history, to learn about the various cultures.

That would be of significance to us. Our youth have asked for that for a long time.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Thank you very much.

I would like to know one thing, quickly. What do you think of the differences between Canada's 150^th anniversary and its centennial? What changed in Canada over the last 50 years? What could we do differently? I don't know if you are all old enough to know what happened in 1967. At the time, there were many projects. So, what could be, or rather, what should be different, this time around, with the 150^th anniversary?

Mr. Cooke, do you have any ideas about that?

[Max Cooke]

You are asking me what is the difference between the 100^th and the 150^thanniversary, is that right?

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Exactly. What should be different in terms of the format, the mechanisms, or the way we celebrate the anniversary of Confederation?

[Max Cooke]

First of all, I was born in 1973.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Max Cooke]

No, I am serious.

I would say that immigration has changed. Young people's origins and families have changed. The situation continues to change, and it is certainly different from that of 1967.

I think that, among youth, social media is a game-changer. Even we don't understand how it happened, but it has completely changed everything.

If you don't take advantage of that part and engage the young people, you're missing a great opportunity to hear their voice and have their participation.

So, I would simply point to those two factors.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Monsieur Lauzon.