Evidence of meeting #21 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 province.
11:40 a.m.
Coordinator, Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
I was contemplating exploring the process further when the cuts were announced.
11:40 a.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Yvon Godin
You should address a copy of your complaint both to the Commissioner of Official Languages and to our committee. In general, the committee likes to receive a copy of complaints filed with the Commissioner of Official Languages. It allows members to find out about any problems and follow up on how they are handled.
Ms. Thibodeau, in your capacity as director of the Fédération des parents francophones de Terre-Neuve-et-du Labrador, you spoke about early childhood and childcare. I would like to know what you think about the government's decision to give money to individual families rather than investing it in childcare spaces. I know the government will defend its actions by saying that i will also invest in daycare centres. Either way, the decision has certainly caused an uproar across the country.
I do not know how appropriate my question is. In the three brief minutes I granted you earlier, you told us that you were working hard to set up daycare centres and stressed the importance of having qualified staff. I would, nonetheless, like to hear your view on this decision.
11:40 a.m.
Director General, Fédération des parents francophones de TNL
Thank you, Mr. Godin.
Your question is both important and very relevant. The daycare centre to which I referred is the first French-language daycare centre in Newfoundland. All the work that has been done will serve us well in the future. We are not without hope. Obviously, the cuts introduced by the current government have hurt us. We have taken a step back, but perhaps it will allow us to be more successful in the future.
Let me tell you how I understand it: It was an election promise, and Mr. Harper is known as somebody who keeps his promises. I cannot be angry at somebody for keeping his word, although obviously the decision has been damaging for parents and our federation. We hope, however, that the government will re-evaluate the situation and, in the future, will introduce measures to support education, French-language communities, and families — all with a view to helping children.
In fact, the aim of our federation is not simply to help families, but, first and foremost, to help children. We have a duty to them, from the moment they are born, and even before, to convince parents of the merits of having French-language schools and daycare centres. At the end of the day, given that we are living in an English-speaking province, their children will certainly become bilingual.
Although the government has made a decision, I do not believe that it is set in stone. I hope that things will get underway soon, as we intend to prove how important it is to focus on children.
11:40 a.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Yvon Godin
As has been said before, if Canada's French-language minority wishes to preserve the francophonie, especially in provinces such as Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Alberta, or even cities like Vancouver, children have to be exposed to French from as young in age as possible. If parents are unable to send their children to French-language daycare centres and have to instead send them to English-language daycare centres while they are at work, they will face an uphill struggle.
It is like the situation in New Brunswick, which was resolved by separating the schools. When English-speaking and French-speaking children are together in the playground at break time, English inevitably dominates. This meant that children were going home after school speaking English rather than French.
You said that you had experienced setbacks with the daycare centres. Could you go into a little more details about this? Promises are fine and well, but we cannot escape reality.
11:45 a.m.
Director General, Fédération des parents francophones de TNL
You are absolutely right.
It is still very early to assess the damage. An impact study has not as yet been carried out, although I think it would be an excellent idea. Now that you mention it, I can see that it would be really useful to get some statistics on the impact it has had. It would be a good way of convincing the government of the merits of what parents are seeking.
11:45 a.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Yvon Godin
If the committee is in agreement, we could go around the table and give everybody, each party, two minutes, since it is already 11:50 a.m. Then we could make our announcements and the meeting would be adjourned at noon.
I will begin with Mr. Simard.
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
Thank you, Mr. Vice-Chair. I have 20 questions that I would still like to ask, but I will try to limit myself.
Mr. Watt, you mentioned a centre in Stephenville. Is this a bilingual service centre where several government levels provide services in French, a one-stop shop?
11:45 a.m.
Editor and Director General, Le Gaboteur
Yes. The travelling aspect of the service is a pilot project.
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
Are there any plans to set it up elsewhere in the province?
11:45 a.m.
Editor and Director General, Le Gaboteur
There are fewer needs in the other two francophone regions, because they are urban centres. So we simply need a bilingual employee, a bilingual position within the existing office. The problem arises from the fact that Stephenville is a one-hour drive from the communities where most francophones live. So there is a travelling service which leaves the Stephenville office two or three days per week and sets up in the Sainte-Anne school and community centre.
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
Thank you.
As far as immigration is concerned, Ms. Poirier, you mentioned earlier that your target market was perhaps Eastern Europe. That interested me because in Manitoba we are focussing on French-speaking Africa, that is just about our only target market and it is working very well. But we have a University College in Saint-Boniface which acts somewhat as a magnet for these people.
Do you have a francophone university here or something that could attract people, or not really?
11:45 a.m.
Interim Director General, La Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador
No, we do not have a francophone university or college here; we do not have this type of institution and that is, to some extent, a shortcoming.
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
So where do young people go once they have completed grade 12, if they wish to study in French? To Moncton?
11:45 a.m.
Interim Director General, La Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador
Acadie.
11:45 a.m.
Interim Director General, La Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador
There is no Acadie College.
11:45 a.m.
Coordinator, Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
They go to Moncton University, Sainte-Anne University, in Nova Scotia, and to MUN, the Memorial University of Newfoundland, of course.
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
So that would be quite a challenge for economic development as well, I would imagine, Ms. Dalton, because you have youth programs, knowledge-based economy programs. You train these young people and then you loose them after grade 12. Is that accurate?
11:45 a.m.
Coordinator, Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
We do have some mechanisms to deal with this shortcoming. For example, we have continuing education, ongoing education. There are many distance learning courses that are becoming more and more accessible. Unfortunately, we do not have any francophone post-secondary institutions here, in the province. We are, however, relying a great deal on the new Centre scolaire et communautaire des Grands-Vents, in St. John's, to try to set up an ongoing training program. This represents a dual challenge for us. We run a risk when we send young people away in order to study, we risk loosing them and then we have to try and get them back later on. I would say that there have been some success stories. Some people have left and then come back, but this is a challenge for us, one that we need to consider. We have to find some way to encourage them to come back once they have been educated.
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
On the issue of daycare centres, our plan calls for a second phase. We would like to create 125,000 places all across Canada. Minister Finley is currently working on this initiative and she would like to work with interested parties, with the associations directly, not with the provinces. She has just established a committee, and if you would like to submit your ideas, you may contact Minister Finley's office, because she is in the process of preparing a plan.
Secondly, as regards the $1,200 given to families for every child under the age of 6, could you tell me whether or not you are able to work directly with the parents, to get their financial support in order to establish francophone daycare centres? Six months ago, parents did not have this $1,200, but now they do. It is important to have a francophone daycare centre.
Are you able to work directly with the parents by telling them that, now that they have a little bit more money, they may give some thought to investing some of it in a daycare centre. In that manner, you would have the support of the parents.
11:50 a.m.
Director General, Fédération des parents francophones de TNL
Indeed, despite my lack of experience — as you know, I am not yet an expert in this matter —, I would say that it is very difficult to obtain money that has been given by the government for daycare centres, children or baby sitting services, by telling parents that, since they are receiving this money, they should perhaps hand it back so that their child can be placed in a francophone daycare centre. I do not think that this link occurs automatically. We would need to do a great deal of work to make people aware of this or to promote this idea in order to attract children to a francophone setting.