Official Languages Committee on Dec. 4th, 2006

[Marc Gignac]

No, I don't think that amount will enable one of the parents to stop working and stay at home; at least I'd really be very surprised.

With regard to junior kindergarten centres, to ensure that children spend as much time as possible with their parents, the concept adopted here in British Columbia is probably a good solution. In junior kindergarten, it involves the parents' active participation. In addition, play groups respond to another need that has been identified. Every week, mothers and fathers join other Francophone families one morning a week to play.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Thank you. My five minutes are up.

Mr. Murphy.

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The research that I've done with my assistant in my region, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, shows that 5,200 students are enrolled in French-language programs in Moncton. As you know, there's also an English system, in which the majority of students are enrolled in an immersion program.

It was said that there were more than 4,000 students in your system. Education is still a provincial responsibility. Unless I'm mistaken, there are only two very important tools at the federal level supporting sound education. There's the Official Languages Act, of course. I also think that the Court Challenges Program can help solve some problems, such as cases in which there is conflict with the province.

The question is simple: can the federal government take measures and take on additional responsibilities to support healthy education in your province?

[Pauline Gobeil]

I'm going to say a few words, then I'll hand over to Marc. Since he's been with the association from its inception, he knows a lot more than I do about the subject.

I believe that the federal government's role is mainly to set a direction by giving priority to the establishment of junior kindergartens, kindergartens or schools. The necessary funding to buy buildings so that we can continue providing services to the public is what's lacking the most everywhere.

Abundant funding is granted for official language immersion. A lot of money is invested in bilingual language learning. In addition to immersion classes, these amounts are used for curriculum guidelines Whatever the case may be, we need more money: we're lacking the entire infrastructure, which counts for a lot.

Marc, you can continue.

[Marc Gignac]

I can continue by saying that the federal government can also encourage or motivate the provinces to respond better to the needs of the Francophone communities. When funding programs are established, the federal government could tell the provinces that, for example, in the case of an early childhood funding program, they should ensure, within the budget granted, that they focus on the needs of the Francophone communities.

That's important because, in the past, we've too often seen large amounts allocated to British Columbia, under Health Canada programs, for example, and we were able to claim absolutely nothing because, as a result of our specific situation, we weren't eligible or didn't meet the criteria. That's one aspect that the federal government could develop.

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

For example, a number of infrastructure programs included environmental requirements. Do you think it would be a good idea in future to require that certain parts of infrastructure programs have a linguistic component?

[Marc Gignac]

Yes. As regards the memorandum of understanding on learning and child care services that we talked about in our presentation, that was the first time in British Columbia that there was a sentence in the protocol dealing with the needs of the Francophone communities. That was a historic step. Yes, I think it would be a good idea to include that.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Thank you, Mr. Murphy. It's Mr. Lemieux's turn.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Thank you very much.

I asked a question about the family this morning. Thank you for your comments, Mr. Godin, but I didn't have time to develop my position. I'm going to do that now.

In my opinion, the family plays a key role in language promotion. It's the parents who raise their children. When I spoke this morning, it wasn't so much to discuss various assistance programs for child care centres, families and so on, but simply to emphasize the role of the family, particularly in the Francophonie issue.

There are resources outside the family to help parents, to help families, but I think families should be helped directly if we want parents to promote la Francophonie, our heritage, and the French language within the family. It's in the family that we learn the most important things, particularly concerning values. If we want the Francophone community and the French language to be important, that's a value that we have to transmit to our children within the family.

We spoke a little about exogamous marriages and concerns on that subject. However, when the Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique made its presentation, it didn't talk about the parents of children born in exogamous unions or about how to provide direct assistance to families in promoting the French language at home. We talked about child care centres; I say yes, child care centres occupy an important place, but that's not the key to success. If children can speak French or learn French in child care centres, that's part of a solution, but it isn't the entire solution, because, if the French language isn't considered important in the family or isn't the first language in the family, we'll lose what we've gained in the child care centres.

I'd like to know your strategies for working directly with families, particularly exogamous families, because that's where the French language must be promoted. We'd like to assist in promoting the French language, our culture, in the family. That's my question.

[Pauline Gobeil]

Yes, that's very important because 80% of the families that use our system are exogamous. That means that only one of the two parents speaks French.

In a majority of those homes, the language spoken is English. I think we're talking about two different subjects. There's assistance to families and there are child care centres and junior kindergartens. They shouldn't be mixed up because those are really two separate situations in the Francophone community. The majority speak English in the home.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

But how can we change that? That's the key.

If French becomes more important at home, the children will learn Francophone values. The Francophone community, our heritage and our language are really important, and that's what they'll take into the world.

[Marc Gignac]

We're very much aware of that, and we're taking realistic action in that area. Three years ago, we set up the Ex Team, for Exogamous Families Team. These are Anglophone parents who have taken training, which is based on the guide for exogamous families entitled I'm with You, which was prepared in Alberta. These parents will meet with other Anglophone parents in the school—because we know they're close to the school—to discuss what a Francophone school is and how they can get involved, despite the language barrier. Lastly, they'll determine the expectations that the Francophone school people have of the parents who don't speak French. So this is a question of attitude and awareness. In fact, we call that family linguistic development, that is to say the place that the family gives to French in the home. These are the kinds of discussions that will be conducted.

We're in the process of developing this workshop, and we want to alter it for the parents of preschool-aged children. We really want to get down to the basic level and make families aware of the importance of linguistic development in the home. That's underway. This workshop will be systematically offered to all families who have children registered in junior kindergarten programs or child care centres.

I'd also like to recall that there are four Francophone child care centres and 16 Francophone junior kindergartens in British Columbia. We've set up a lot of junior kindergartens that are increasingly offering a child care program to accommodate the parents.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Thank you.

Ms. Brunelle.

[Paule Brunelle, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

I'd like to make a brief comment on what was just said.

I don't think you can set the family and child care centres against each other. I think both are part of a living environment and that the major challenge is to see that French is seductive enough to attract people and make them want to live in French, and make them understand the need to do so. It's definitely a complex problem. Minority groups must be seductive while they're increasing awareness. Since there's no coercion, no act to require people to speak French, as there is in Quebec, it's difficult at times. We have to try to convince people. That was my brief message as a Quebecker.

Mr. Conway, I'd like to talk to you about health. I'd like to get a better understanding of what you're doing. Is there a shortage of doctors in British Columbia? Back home, we have trouble finding a family doctor, period. However, you have the additional challenge of finding a doctor who speaks French.

Second, you're distributing health cards, which you call health guides. What are they used for? What do you do with those? We know that health is a provincial jurisdiction. How does that fit in with your province's other responsibilities? So how does that work?

[Dr. Brian Conway]

I'll start by answering your last question. The federal government's role within RésoSanté is really as a catalyst. It has to establish a structure to group together all the participants, that is the institutions, governments, community groups, health professionals and so on, to bring them together to discuss a problem and then to provide solutions or partial solutions and create projects that can address the problem identified. Furthermore, when the time comes to deliver services or implement solutions, a partnership has to be forged with the provincial authorities.

That's where the federal government's role stops. By that I mean the structure is put in place, we propose the solution and then it's up to us to convince provincial authorities. Thus far, in British Columbia, we've really been lucky to have the support and cooperation of all health authorities, including Vancouver Coastal Health and others, in establishing effective programs. The first one we put in place, which was really a winning solution, was the BC HealthGuide, which is distributed to all homes in the province. It's a French guide distributed to all Francophone households that people can consult in the event of a minor, or major, health problem to determine whether they should consult a doctor or whether there is a home remedy that can be used, and so on. When we introduced the guide in French, we immediately had the uncontested support of the Ministry of Health because, ultimately, this was less a linguistic issue than a public health issue. The best delivered service is the one that's delivered in the best way the first time, that is delivered in the most appropriate language.

From there, we realized that we probably had more Francophone resources than we had thought, that there were doctors and other professionals who could speak French and who would be prepared to provide services in French, not within a separate structure, but within their usual framework. They'd be ready to make themselves available to see Francophones on a special or preferential basis. So that would be the next step toward introducing programs, once again, with the federal government as a catalyst and provincial authorities to help us adapt the solution. That's how we're managing to make progress.

Furthermore, the cards are another tool. They're available in the form of written documents and on the Web site, and they provide more information to improve the health guide. The idea is really to establish a Francophone health system integrated into existing structures. In British Columbia, this will also serve as a model for the delivery of health care services to other linguistic communities and cultural minorities. This is how we're really managing to improve the delivery of health care services in French.

I'd like to say one final thing: 25 percent of young street people in Vancouver are Francophones. So we have a population at risk that has to be considered, and that's another element that has helped us get our program accepted.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Thank you, Mr. Conway. Your five minutes are up.

Does the Société Maison de la francophonie de Vancouver compare to the Centre francophone de Toronto? In Toronto, there's a centre where a number of different services are offered directly. In Vancouver, are any services provided in French? I know that since the centre in Toronto is quite popular, even though it's housed on various floors, the people responsible want to expand it and have their own building. That's one of my questions.

My second question is this: how do you see the Olympic Games here in Vancouver? Do you think they're making enough room for the Francophone community? Does the Francophone community have its place in the Games?

[Marie Bourgeois]

With your permission, perhaps I can answer the first part of your question. I'll ask Pierre Senay to answer the second part.

With regard to the services offered at Maison de la francophonie, since the Maison accommodates the associations, it's the associations housed there that provide services. As for the Centre culturel francophone, it's clearly one of the biggest focal points. People go there to see the art gallery, for shows, for courses, for a full range of activities. But all our other Francophone tenants are associations, like the Fédération des parents francophones and now the Fédération des francophones. So anyone looking for information on the francophone community will be directed to the Maison de la francophonie.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Now let's talk about the Olympic Games.

[Pierre Senay]

There are two ways of looking at the Olympic Games. First, it's an event about two weeks long during which there'll be a lot of people here. I don't mean that it's only going to be a party: it will also be an opportunity for advertising and promotion, whether it be for Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver or Francophones. The associations have the matter in hand.

However, as regards the way in which we're preparing and will experience the event and what follows, the Francophone population and tourists interested in Francophone culture need a place where they can meet. During the Games, that will involve volunteers, spectators and people who won't necessarily be participating in all the events. They'll need a place where they can be in French. There is no such place in Vancouver. I believe that establishing a place of that kind is part of the action plan of the Fondation canadienne pour le dialogue des cultures. We'd like it to become a lasting legacy for the community. So we'd like there to be a French quarter, regardless of how you want to call it, in the area around the Maison de la francophonie.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

“French quarter” would be very suitable.

[Pierre Senay]

Mayor Sullivan said that five languages were spoken at Vancouver city hall, but French wasn't one of them. How do we go about promoting the offer of services in French in Vancouver? We have to create places and a critical mass; federal services have to be grouped together in one place so that Francophones are no longer invisible and there are sufficient numbers of them to generate other services. The Maison de la francophonie would like to be at the heart of that development.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Thank you, Mr. Houle.

You say that Vancouver and British Columbia aren't culturally self-sufficient. We've previously had the idea of establishing exchanges between the provinces. What do you think of that?

[Alexandre Houle]

I think that's a brilliant idea.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

We could send you Wilfred or Jean-François, and you could send someone to New Brunswick.

[Alexandre Houle]

Mr. Godin, Wilfred Le Bouthillier gave a show at Kitsilano school last Thursday.