Good afternoon.
Mr. Yvon Godin is the MP for my riding. I would like to extend my greetings to him.
I would like to thank you for giving us this opportunity to speak. I wish to point out that some organizations may not be here because we only found out very late that we were to appear before this committee. That is why I am going to speak from a brief that was submitted to Ms. Verner in May. This is intentional, however, because the core of what we wish to say is contained in it.
One-third of New Brunswick's population is francophone, but the legal context is rather special. New Brunswick is indeed officially bilingual, but there is more than one act on the equality of the two language communities. You will see and the end of my presentation why I mention this.
I am from the SANB, an organization that represents the Acadian community, and hence the francophone community in New Brunswick. In her presentation, the president was also addressing the minister as president of the Forum de concertation des organismes acadiens, which is a federation of 32 organizations, a few of which are here around the table today. That explains the community structure of Acadian society.
There are three points to be taken into consideration. We must always be watchful in order to maintain our position and to improve compliance with official languages legislation, both the New Brunswick act and Government of Canada act. Everyday life would definitely be easier if the federal government were to consistently apply the requirements of the Official Languages Act in the specific context of New Brunswick.
The Official Languages Act and the equality of the two language communities are enshrined in Canada's Constitution. The federal government needs to keep this legal framework in mind when it takes action in New Brunswick. It must also factor in the impacts on our community of any administrative changes, the relocation of jobs—I think that was well explained just now—and the planning of French-language services.
Strengthening the ability of communities to work together with the various levels of government and to play an active role in the development of public policies is also an issue. Staff resources and volunteers are the key to strengthening communities and their infrastructures. On the other hand, the depletion of volunteers and the difficulty in recruiting, retaining and developing human resources is harmful to engagement in the communities. Support for community engagement is a part of the Official Languages Act. I believe that the government should continue to work towards supporting our initiatives.
We wish primarily to draw your attention to the need for support from the federal government and the importance of realizing that administrative decisions can have an impact on the community, including the relocation of services. We complained about the Customs offices. There were three districts in New Brunswick, one of which was run from Edmundston. The only francophone Customs district in Eastern Quebec was merged with another district where the ability of employees to work in French or in both languages was reduced. That is one example.
One position was relocated from Tracadie to Amherst. That is another loss for the Acadian community in New Brunswick, as well as a probable loss in terms of the ability of government employees to provide bilingual support to the communities. At the same time, we lost public servants from the community.
As an example of an administrative decision, I would not want to forget the budget cuts, which have a major impact on our work in the communities. We think that it is a poor decision and that the government should change its mind, particularly but not only with respect to the Court Challenges Program.
With respect to the RCMP—and this will be my final comment—we appealed to the Supreme Court; our case is under review. The RCMP does not provide bilingual services everywhere in the province. That is a good example of why the federal government should adapt to the context. New Brunswick law requires that bilingual services be available to all of its citizens everywhere in New Brunswick. We think that the federal government regulations should take this into consideration in implementing the Official Languages Act.
Someone described New Brunswick as the zebra province: as you travel along the highway to Edmundston, you are entitled to services in French from the RCMP; if you are in Woodstock, it is not clear that this will be possible; in Sussex, there appears to be no need; in Moncton, there is a need; a little farther on, you don't know.
Why, in a bilingual province like New Brunswick, would the federal government not at the very least provide the minimum required under New Brunswick law?