Official Languages committee  The increase they were referring to was the last one for community groups that we, at the heritage department, funded. I think it dates back to 2005.

Official Languages committee  Given the dialogue we have with them, we are aware of the pressures community groups face, as well as the difficulties they have trying to provide certain types of services. They tell us about that. That's also, to some extent, what gave rise to the exercise Mr. Choquette was referring to earlier.

Official Languages committee  With the resources at our disposal, we checked whether some of those other departments could take over, thus allowing us to do a bit more with the money we had left.

Official Languages committee  I am going to give you somewhat of the same answer I gave Mr. Bélanger earlier. You're asking me for my opinion, and I would really be overstepping my role if I were to answer. It might be a good idea to ask that question to the President of the Treasury Board.

Official Languages committee  Yes, there is an interdepartmental committee, chaired by my deputy minister, Mr. Flack. A committee was also created at the assistant deputy minister level. The Department of Canadian Heritage coordinates the celebrations, but many other departments are involved, as well.

Official Languages committee  We are responsible for coordinating part VII of the act, which focuses on federal support for official languages activities in Canadian society. The President of the Treasury Board coordinates the parts of the act related to services, government communications, and language of work.

Official Languages committee  The Department of Justice is also responsible for official languages as they relate to justice. I'd just like to take this opportunity to point out that one of the reasons why it makes sense for us to assume the coordination of the roadmap is that it encompasses the activities of 14 different federal departments and institutions, and almost all of those activities come under part VII.

Official Languages committee  I would just add that 14 departments and institutions contribute to the roadmap, but the Department of Canadian Heritage's annual report mentions several dozen institutions.

Official Languages committee  The hurdle in question referred to the challenge our colleagues at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada encounter when trying to increase the proportion of francophone immigrants to provinces other than Quebec. That's really the crux of the challenge. Progress has been made, albeit slowly.

Official Languages committee  I'm referring to francophone immigrants from French-speaking countries such as France or Belgium, as well as from Arab-speaking countries where French is a language that is taught. Immigrants from Maghreb countries, for instance, could be expected to integrate into francophone communities in Manitoba or New Brunswick.

Official Languages committee  We don't have any figures on that for the time being. That's a project being managed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. We don't have any data on the Syrian immigration or the refugees who will settle or have settled in official language minority communities. It's also important to understand that community agencies have been given a very large role in the settlement and integration of the immigrants.

Official Languages committee  That's not one of the Government of Canada's objectives, explicitly speaking. I would venture to say that the small percentage of Canadian citizens who speak neither official language denotes either older people or newly arrived immigrants who have not yet had a chance to learn an official language.

Official Languages committee  You're right. Previously, in terms of minority community service delivery, the reflex was to have an organization from the community provide the service. It didn't hold true all the time; it was simply the natural reflex when an organization in the community was available to carry out that function.

Official Languages committee  There's a lot in that question. I'll try to address some of the points. First of all, in terms of the number of requests and the capacity of the school system to offer immersion, one of the biggest issues, I'm sure you're aware, is the number of competent teachers available, which creates a bottleneck.

Official Languages committee  I think it would be presumptuous for us and a bit outside of our duty to express opinions on how to go about it, but I will say that these issues, at the level both of recruitment and of integration, are the object of constant discussions between ourselves and our colleagues in Immigration.