Evidence of meeting #15 for Official Languages in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was survey.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:30 a.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The advisory committee that appeared before this committee enabled us to identify serious shortcomings in the data on the real situation of francophone immigration. What are those shortcomings?
9:30 a.m.
Senior Population Analyst, Demography Division, Statistics Canada
We can adopt two approaches when we conduct a study in the field in an attempt to understand difficulties or obstacles. We can use a more qualitative approach whereby we meet with a representative of such an association who knows someone else, and by doing so, we build a small sample. We spend about an hour or an hour and a half interviewing these people, who tell us about their experiences, their problems integrating, and so on.
This approach gives us a picture which, even though it is not necessarily statistically significant because it is not representative of the whole immigrant population, does nevertheless enable us to obtain information on obstacles, difficulties, and constraints facing certain groups. Of course, we cannot extrapolate and say that this picture applies to all immigrants in Canada, but it takes into account French-language immigrants and those kinds of things.
We can however draw on this kind of survey when we are developing more standardized and more widely-administered questionnaires. As for surveys conducted by Statistics Canada on French-speaking immigrants, we are really at square one.
9:35 a.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
I do not understand. There are not a million hospitals in New Brunswick. Go to the George-L.-Dumont hospital, to the one in Moncton, in Saint-John, in Fredericton, or in Bathurst and ask questions about the doctors, about their language, about their knowledge of French, etc. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to obtain this data.
9:35 a.m.
Senior Population Analyst, Demography Division, Statistics Canada
Look, perhaps in New Brunswick...
9:35 a.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
We know that 80 per cent of francophones are in the Acadie-Bathurst region. I do not work for Statistics Canada, nor am I an expert, but let's use some common sense.
9:35 a.m.
Senior Population Analyst, Demography Division, Statistics Canada
As I was saying, it is surely...
9:35 a.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
I am having trouble understanding that you do not have the methods you want.
9:35 a.m.
Senior Population Analyst, Demography Division, Statistics Canada
New Brunswick is a unique case, as its population is one-third francophone, and francophones are concentrated in certain areas. Moreover, the reality is totally different from the reality in certain regions of Ontario and in most other provinces outside Ontario and New Brunswick. It is also for comparison purposes, since the question will immediately be asked...
9:35 a.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Let's take Fort McMurray, Alberta. The francophones in that region may be located in all of the camps, but they are nevertheless in Alberta. What services are they being offered? Are there hospitals in that region?
9:35 a.m.
Senior Population Analyst, Demography Division, Statistics Canada
According to the contacts and the meetings that we have had with specialists and stakeholders in the field, we do not know to what extent people are calling for services in French. If we were to decide to set up programs and to allocate funds to provide services in French, we need to know if francophones are calling for these services and whether it is important for them to receive services in their language.
Many bilingual people accept to receive services in English instead of waiting six months to obtain services in their language. Many of the surveys have been conducted...
9:35 a.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Is the bilingual person who prefers to wait six months considered a person who wants services in French?
9:35 a.m.
Senior Population Analyst, Demography Division, Statistics Canada
That is why we conduct the study on vitality. We want to know if it is important for these people to obtain services in French.
9:35 a.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
If you ask a question like that, the answer could be misleading. The respondent could say that he prefers to receive services in English instead of waiting six months. What is more, since he will not necessarily know who he is talking to, he could say everything is fine, because he would not want to wait six months. How reliable is a questionnaire like that?
9:35 a.m.
Senior Population Analyst, Demography Division, Statistics Canada
In the questionnaire, we ask why it is important for the respondent to obtain or not obtain services in French, or why he has not sought to obtain services in French. If this person did not try, it is perhaps because the service was not offered or because the person was reluctant or because he did not want to waste time or delay the process. We will be in a position to gather those reasons.
That is why we are trying to gain a better understanding of the entire issue of services being provided in French.
9:35 a.m.
Senior Population Analyst, Demography Division, Statistics Canada
A copy was sent that we can circulate. It is a copy of the health module.
9:35 a.m.
Senior Population Analyst, Demography Division, Statistics Canada
I also sent a version of the description of the Post-census Survey on the Vitality of Official Language Minorities, with a description of each module. If you are interested, we can circulate it.
9:35 a.m.
Conservative
9:35 a.m.
Conservative
Daniel Petit Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Good morning, Mr. Corbeil, and good morning, Mr. Hamel. I want to start by thanking you for appearing this morning on behalf of Statistics Canada.
I would like to raise the following problem with you. You know that health is one of the Conservative Party of Canada's five priorities — all you need to do is consult the platform. A little earlier, you raised a problem that is starting to worry me. You talked about immigration and about people coming from abroad. I live in the province of Quebec, which is experiencing a migration loss, because many Quebec migrants are going to work in Alberta, where they can find work. Francophone Quebeckers go where the work is. Your survey deals with immigrants who come from outside Canada and move to various provinces. Your statistics do not take into account migrants. We are talking about approximately 50,000 Quebeckers, who spend six months in Alberta, who come back for two or three days to continue to be entitled to their health care insurance card, and who return to Alberta and stay there for 12 months. These people need health services. They are in Canada, and they need health services. That is not accounted for in your statistics. I am using the word “migration”.
In Moncton, there is a completely francophone neighbourhood that has schools, including the Collège Saint-Jean, etc. Many migrants from Quebec need health services. Last week, Mr. Hubert Gauthier, who is in charge of the Société santé en français, appeared before us. Naturally, I asked him the same kind of questions that I am going to ask you today. That organization advocates outreach to retain francophone personnel, to enable doctors to stay and treat francophones in Alberta, etc. I do not know if you are familiar with the Société santé en français.
Do you think that organization can answer your questions, but without including migrants who come from Quebec?
9:40 a.m.
Senior Population Analyst, Demography Division, Statistics Canada
Thank you for your question. I would say we have to make a distinction. You talked about immigrants...
9:40 a.m.
Conservative
Daniel Petit Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
There is a difference between migrants and immigrants.
9:40 a.m.
Senior Population Analyst, Demography Division, Statistics Canada
That is true. When we spoke of immigration a little earlier, we mentioned the Longitudinal survey of immigrants to Canada. The Postcensus survey on the vitality of official language minorities also includes francophones who left Quebec...
9:40 a.m.
Conservative
