Evidence of meeting #142 for Canadian Heritage in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was groups.
A video is available from Parliament.
Saint John—Rothesay, Lib.
Can you elaborate? You also mentioned, with respect to funding and the bill, that one size does not fit all. Can you elaborate on what you meant by that?
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
Absolutely. Thank you for the question.
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
It's a very important question. It became very clear from day one that there are different needs for different languages and different groups and we had to have a bill that would be flexible enough to take that into consideration.
The other thing that was clear for us from day one is that this is a long-term process. You cannot arrive there with a bill, and the day after, you have helped to revitalize many languages and have protected them. It's a long-term effort that requires long-term funding. It requires multi-year funding, which this bill provides.
In the meantime, as we head there, we have this other program, which has, as I mentioned before, $90 million over three years. That's something which is there, but we want way more. We're more ambitious and the needs are more important than the program that is actually there. That is important, but this bill goes a long way in terms of respecting those rights and saying clearly that indigenous languages are a fundamental right. We say it in writing, and we also say in writing that there will be long-term and stable funding. We're committed. We're stuck. We tied our hands, and it's a good thing we did, so we have to provide that money.
David Yurdiga Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC
Thank you, Madam Chair; and thank you to the minister for taking time out of his busy schedule to come to speak to us.
I'd like to talk about the mechanics of implementation of indigenous languages within our communities. I understand first nations; they do have the infrastructure in place, so it's a lot easier for them to put a program forward. Then we have Métis settlements, which is fine; they also have infrastructure in place.
What I'm concerned about is how we are going to reach the urban indigenous people. There are little clusters here and there, and they just intertwine into the fabric of their communities. Are there any plans to address these people who don't have infrastructure to pursue learning the indigenous language, whatever it may be?
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
That's an excellent question and a question that I asked the team also. How are we going to be able to reach all these people we want to reach out to and all the people who want to participate in this? How will we elaborate the actions with the different national groups? By sitting with the leaders of the first nations and the leaders of different groups, we will work on solutions on how to reach them. For now, there is no clear answer.
Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC
Thank you, Minister.
I didn't want to go into the budget side of things—
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
Okay. Madam Laurendeau might want to add something.
Hélène Laurendeau Deputy Minister, Department of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Minister, with your permission, the only thing I would add is that the bill provides that we can enter into agreement with various types of organizations. It could be band councils. It could be government, self-governing nations, but it can also be indigenous organizations. One of the things we've heard is that there are some educational organizations or friendship centres, particularly other types of groups in urban areas that actually can provide some programming based on the demand they have. Therefore, we have provided that agreements can be struck with any of those organizations.
Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC
Thank you very much.
I was saying earlier that I didn't want to go into the budget side of things, but obviously the department has figured out how much it's going to cost to roll out the program, the initial steps. It's not going to just happen with no money.
How much has the department established as the cost of initial rollout of this program?
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
We are working on that, on determining how much money will be requested, based on exactly what is being done. This is done through consultation with the different groups: the Métis, the Inuit, first nations. It's ongoing discussions that will end with different numbers that will be applied to different groups for different projects, based on needs.
Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC
What you are saying is that you don't have any budget in mind. You have no business plan.
Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC
It's administrative. You must have an idea.
Is it—
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
We do have ideas, but those are things that we are discussing with them because it's something that we're still co-developing with them. It's in partnership, and it's something that, for now, is among the groups that are discussing it.
Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC
There must be an anticipated cost. Any business always anticipates what it will potentially cost for the first year of operation. We're not going and buying.... Say we have no money...but you have to have money to move forward.
What's your estimate of how many dollars are going to be spent in the first year once you start implementing the program?
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
Those are things that will be public eventually when we get those—
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism
We have ideas. Of course we know how much different routes will cost.
Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC
Are you not willing to share that with committee?
