Evidence of meeting #78 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 students.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
These people have come to Ottawa and we shouldn't be preventing them from speaking.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Mr. Dionne Labelle, thank you for your comment, but Mr. Dion asked the question in a federal context. He asked what, in Bill 14, affected federal jurisdiction.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
The question and the answers are acceptable.
I give the floor to Ms. Stein Day.
Go ahead. You have the floor.
4:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Quebec English School Boards Association
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
It should be remembered that French-immersion schools by law are English-language schools. Thus any limitations that might be imposed by Bill 14, we would suggest, are pertinent.
We would start on Bill 14 by reminding you that our raison d'être and something we have not frankly succeeded in having completely understood, as Madam Stein Day noted, is that we are agents of francization. Believe me, we know our other core roles as well. We're agents of francization and French immersion is one part of that. Very often those who we are succeeding in rendering capable and conversant in French are not going to get those skills otherwise. They're going to be looking for work. That's one part of it. We would start with the law in its entirety putting our system at risk.
Quickly on the military, I think it's important to note that we sought the intervention of all three federal party leaders on that matter because the military is a federal jurisdiction. We didn't receive any satisfaction on that.
We are deeply preoccupied by Bill 14. The other thing it does is that it sets further requirements for the right to work in French, which we respect, but the protections by all assessments are there already. Will that hurt our own workforce within our schools? We have worries about that. I just wanted to make those points on that matter.
The notion of the students we get to put in French immersion, in other words our overall numbers, while there continue to be risks, some that are inevitable....
Mr. Dion, you talk about the natural mobility of our community. That is normal. One of the things that's encouraging to us, and the federal government could help on, is that, as we mentioned, we think it absolutely normal and pertinent to remind other Canadians and people around the world through our embassy network and other means that it is good and possible to move to Quebec and be part of the minority language community, thus part of our schools, thus part of our French immersion programs.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
4:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Quebec English School Boards Association
I guess we would very quickly review some of the things we had said, one...sorry?
4:45 p.m.
Pedagogical Services Assistant Director, English Montreal School Board, Quebec English School Boards Association
Our wishes.
4:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Quebec English School Boards Association
Yes. I think we enumerated some of them.
4:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Quebec English School Boards Association
It's that the Quebec-Canada entente be very carefully dealt with and completed. The notion of community input, our own and that of other minority language associations, is absolutely essential. I'm sorry, but the amount of money is meaningless if we have no major input into how it gets distributed to our kids. We talked about the auxiliary areas. We've enumerated some of them where the federal government has jurisdiction; that helps set the table for our communities—employment, access to economic opportunity, second language programs, exchanges, and so on.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Thank you.
For the benefit of our analysts, I have two quick questions before we adjourn.
Are you aware whether or not the agreements for the renewal of the Canada-Quebec Accord have begun?
4:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Quebec English School Boards Association
We understand there are very advanced discussions, and quite positive ones, being done with great discretion, because the minister responsible in Quebec has made public statements noting they will simply try to grab every dollar without any discussion. But we do understand at the bureaucratic level, and thus through instructions presumably from the political leaders, that stuff is happening.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Okay.
Have you heard any discussion about when those agreements might be concluded?
4:50 p.m.
Executive Director, Quebec English School Boards Association
No. We understand that the signature on the overall one is—
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Then my second quick question is this. Is there anything specifically in the existing Canada-Quebec Accord, that expired on March 31, that you would like to see improved upon or changed in the renewal of that agreement?
4:50 p.m.
Executive Director, Quebec English School Boards Association
We don't have the new road map in front of us, but one of the things that struck us—with the understanding that this was at first reading and not with major analysis—was a focus in the language on a whole range of auxiliary and complementary programs. Frankly, what worried us at first reading was whether there was a pulling away from the capital support for certain projects, the nuts and bolts in delivery of minority language education every day that has to be supported by the road map.
The numbers were there. Most of the clearly described programs were some of the more complementary programs, which are important, but not as central and vital to our delivery of minority language education each day.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Okay.
Thank you to all members of the committee for their questions and comments.
Thank you very much for your brief and for your opening remarks, as well as your testimony. It's very much appreciated.
I wish you a wonderful weekend.
This meeting is adjourned.