Official Languages Committee on Nov. 6th, 2006

[Cyrilda Poirier]

This summer, I went to two events, and Ms. Boucher was at one of them. The RDÉE had organized a happy hour. On a table, there was some local artwork and cultural products. All of the items were available at the Francoboutique. I was frankly impressed by the quality, quantity and availability of those products.

I'm going to ask Josée to take over here.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

There's only 30 seconds left. You can give us more details next round.

[Josée Dalton]

You've just used up 10 of them.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

I'm still going to give you your 30 seconds.

[Josée Dalton]

I should begin by saying that the community economic development projects are not entirely social economy projects. Our role is really to meet the needs of the community. That's what happened with Francoboutique, which Cyrilda talked about. We found a financial partner, in that case Industry Canada, to help us get the project off the ground.

The happy hour Cyrilda referred to was organized when the board of directors of RDÉE Canada was visiting St. John's. Each time, they visit a different province, a different RDÉE. It's different from Ottawa, and it's a chance for the host organization or province and -- as was the case for us in June -- to put on an exhibition. In our case, we exhibited our products and discuss them.

I'm talking fast, but it's because I see the clock ticking.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

We're going to let you keep going.

[Josée Dalton]

Thank you. That's very nice of you.

As I was saying before, the idea is to reflect the vitality of the community. In this case, there were artists and craftspeople exhibiting their work, but it was also about selling products and services. As was mentioned earlier, it's a website, but it's more than e-commerce. God knows we've all seen lots of sites like this. It's a way of doing business online, but it's also a tool to make everyone more aware of the business scene and what's going on in French in the province.

Actually, I found out a bit late that I would be coming here, but I wanted to say this. I have a list, in both languages, of all of the projects and project initiatives our RDÉE is currently working on. It is in the process of being updated. It includes the names of financial partners, the amounts involved and project descriptions. I'd like to know if I could send it to you later. Someone mentioned that organizations that weren't witnesses could send their brief later. I am going to undertake to send you that so that everyone has a copy in hand.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Fine.

Ms. Boucher.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Good morning.

I'm very happy to be here in Newfoundland. I think every one here at this table feels the same way. I had the opportunity to meet some of you on a previous trip.

Mrs. Dalton, you said a lot about your accomplishments. I'd like you to tell me about the one you are most proud of, the one you are particularly happy to have carried out.

[Josée Dalton]

When I first started as RDÉE coordinator, four years ago, a feasibility study on the tourism development potential of the Port-au-Port Peninsula had just been completed. As Cyrilda said before, that is kind of the cradle of francophonie. You had a pretty quick look at St. John's, but I can tell you that the Port-au-Port Peninsula, on the West Coast of the Island of Newfoundland, is even more beautiful. At least, that is what I think. It is a beautiful mix of mountains and ocean. Back then, it had untapped potential. That is still true today.

When I took up my duties, that study confirmed there was a need. So we set up a project to develop tourism infrastructure on the Port-au-Port peninsula. It looked like a tourism undertaking, but in fact, it led to a series of 12 initiatives that subsequently became projects. The most important one was a network of hiking trails.

Eventually, a network of snowmobiling trails may be added to it. Together with the Association régionale de la côte ouest, or ARCO, the local organization there, we are working to establish the Émile-Benoît Interpretative Centre. I don't know if any of you know of him. This symbol of Newfoundland francophonie was a violinist, storyteller and dentist to boot. There was nothing unusual about that back then. He even received an honorary doctorate from Memorial University.

The Interpretative Museum is going to create jobs, which is crucial, but it is also going to showcase the richness of this region and the contribution of francophones. Eventually, a wild animal mini farm will be built at the Interpretative Centre. In addition, the École des ancêtres, an old school house that was used at the end of the 19th century, will be converted into a museum. It will showcase all of the attractions, artifacts and items that may tell us a bit more about this region.

Three trails have already been completed. This summer, we worked with some Basques to learn how to build bread ovens. I don't know if you are familiar with this method. Personally, I was not familiar with it. That is another project the Federation wanted to do with the Société 2004. We relied on the expertise of those people to build a bread oven on one of the trails. It is a tourist attraction, but I should point out that the oven actually works. It is not just a decoration.

As you probably know, there are a lot of fishermen in this region. In one community, there are 20 francophone fishermen. There is also a huge harbour development project worth millions of dollars. It involves, among other things, upgrading the docking infrastructure. As I was saying before, we are not directly involved in pure economic development. However, that is going to make things easier for francophone fishermen. It will also have a unifying effect on these fishermen. When you distinguished between crab fishing and lobster fishing, that raises another aspect of their situation. This project will be a new way of tapping into the potential of these people.

There is also the development of Île Rouge, which is a real island, but with a bit of a mystical side. It is located directly across from the School-Community Centre. Given that we are talking about an island, there is obviously some water between them. However, there were some French fishermen. When people came to settle in the area around 150 years ago, there were Basques and French fishermen who had already settled there. In fact, some research was done, and artifacts were found that testified to their presence.

In one of our infrastructure development projects we will first use fishermen who are seasonal workers, which means that they do not work at certain times of the year because there is no fishing. And we will use them as guides or for boat trips in view of eventual archaeological excavations that are planned for Île Rouge.

We are already in touch with the archeology department of the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Basically, we want to have this site declared as a provincial historical site. In the vicinity, there is also Gros-Morne. This is not in the peninsula, but studies are being made at Gros-Morne, which has been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. So we would like to have a second site, but this one will be for the francophone community.

I think that I took up more than my allotted time.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

You have 20 seconds.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

You answered my question. All this is being done for the francophone community.

[Josée Dalton]

I did not even mention the francophone portal, which was the last project to be approved. We will deal with it next time.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you very much.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

We will certainly have time to discuss it.

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

You mentioned a place whose name I did not recognize.

[Josée Dalton]

I am talking about Gros-Morne. It is a national park.

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

All right.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Usually, Yvon Godin would be sitting with the other members and putting questions.

[A member]

Things are quiet today.

[The Vice-Chairman, Mr. Yvon Godin]

I think that I have never seen such a quiet committee meeting. I have a few questions for you. I would also like to take part in the discussion.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Ms. Poirier, you spoke about a legal challenge. I know that at this time, francophone minorities are working to raise awareness all over Canada. It began in the East, and according to yesterday's news, it has already spread to the West.

First, I would like to hear what you have to say about this matter. Then, I would like to put a question to Mr. Watt.

Now what did legal challenges obtain for you here in Newfoundland? You used them more than once, and what were the results? What would have happened if you did not have the Court Challenges Program?

[Cyrilda Poirier]

You have many questions.

Yes, in fact, people were mobilized; this was recently discussed in Ottawa. Thus, I am very glad to know that the country is awakening to this issue.

Yes, Newfoundland used the Court Challenges Program several times. To my knowledge, this probably dates back to 1985 or 1986, when they wanted to have French-language schools in St. John's. Then, once we won that case, the movement slowly spread to other places where people wanted schools. I think that even some Goose Bay residents used the program and, as I said, there is a case currently before the court in southern Labrador.

We must not forget the school management issue. You can ask any current or former member of the Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve-et-du-Labrador: without this program, we would probably not be managing our schools yet. The battle was long and hard. Without the program, we would not have won.

I cannot tell you exactly how many times we used it, but I know that we did use it without any doubt.

I do not know whether I have answered all your questions. I took some notes, but were there any other details you wanted to know about?

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

I wanted to know if you have used it in Newfoundland. I know that in New Brunswick, we have used it often. I think that all of the successes that we have had have been thanks to the Court Challenges Program. In our opinion, a single person, and individual acting alone cannot be successful.

[Cyrilda Poirier]

Absolutely.