Official Languages Committee on March 26th, 2013

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Yes.

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

You believe that, with a few minor changes, you will have our support.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

That is how I understand it, and that's a very good thing. Some provisions that affect people appointed on an interim basis are important to keep. It is understood that if amendments need to be made, the spirit of the bill needs to be respected. That is our priority.

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Your priority is to preserve the general idea.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

It is essential that the general idea not be diluted by various measures.

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

So you are flexible about accepting minor changes.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

For minor changes, yes.

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Ms. Bateman.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Ms. Latendresse, the members would like to know what the word you said in Russian means.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

“Spasibo” means thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Dionne Labelle, you have the floor.

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, Ms. Latendresse. In the words of Gilles Vigneault, “Aux âmes bien nées, la valeur n'attend point le nombre des années”, which can be translated into English as, “In souls nobly born, valour does not depend upon age.” I would like to congratulate you on this initiative. You know that we share an unconditional love for the poetry of Gilles Vigneault.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Absolutely.

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

I am pleased to see that you have taken the initiative for this bill.

In my naivety, when I read the preamble, I notice that it is very important because it reaffirms things that should be obvious in 2013, both for parliamentarians and for the government machine. If this preamble is there, it is because this did not seem obvious when the Auditor General was chosen.

I would like you to talk about your preamble, particularly the mention of the following:

And whereas persons appointed with the approval by resolution of the Senate, the House of Commons or both Houses of Parliament must be able to communicate with members of those Houses in both official languages.

This passage in the preamble is one that seems important to me, and it is as important to reiterate it today. I am still surprised that the Liberals, who were in power for 20 years, did not manage to add this to a bill, but that is a matter for another debate.

I would like you to tell me about your preamble.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

The purpose of the preamble is to set out why it is important for officers of Parliament to be bilingual. Otherwise, without the preamble, there is just a list of individuals who must be bilingual. We want to underline a fundamental fact, namely that, since Parliament is a bilingual institution, it is essential that the people who form it, in this case the people in the highest positions, be bilingual. That is how it works. We want the message to be clear.

As I mentioned earlier, the definition of an officer of Parliament is not very clear. That is why I think it is truly important that we explain that these are people appointed by the House of Commons or by the Senate. Therefore, a resolution of the House of Commons is necessary. In other words, if there is just a list, it may be difficult to understand why it is exactly these 10 positions that are on it. It is much easier to understand if it is set out in the preamble.

Lastly, I think it is always important to reiterate that English and French have equal status, rights and privileges with respect to their use in Parliament. I think that a number of aspects here are really essential.

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

A little earlier, our friends opposite spoke about a lack of consistency between the French and English versions of the bill, but the titles in question were taken from other legislation. But we cannot simply change the terms of other legislation.

I'd like to go back to interim positions. Why did you feel it important that individuals, even if they were in an acting position, be able to express themselves in both official languages?

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Even in the case of an interim position, most of the time these people are fulfilling the same duties as someone appointed officially. At the end of the day, it always comes back to the essence of the bill. We feel that it is essential for people to be bilingual if they are in these positions. Again, as I said, we are talking about 10 very high level and very important positions. I am convinced that we can find bilingual individuals capable of properly carrying out these duties, even on an interim basis. It is really important.

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Is language currently part of the criteria in the selection process for officers of Parliament?

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Appointing bilingual individuals to these positions is a long-standing tradition. For example, even in the case from last year, when the position was open, bilingualism was indicated as required, not preferable. When you get right down to it, that requirement was not honoured. Perhaps there was a miscommunication somewhere, I do not know. As Mr. Dion mentioned earlier, when unilingual people are in a position of authority, the people who work for them tend to use the language they do.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Fine. Thank you.

Mr. Dion, you have the floor.

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

I would not criticize Mr. Dionne Labelle in public, but since he took a bit of a mysterious jab at the Liberals, I will say that—

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Here comes the punching bee.

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

—the line “Aux âmes bien nées, la valeur n'attend point le nombre des années” is of course not attributed to Gilles Vigneault, but to Corneille. It's from the play Le Cid.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Merci.

That was not a point of order; it was a point of information, but it's been noted.