Official Languages Committee on Dec. 4th, 2006

[Michelle Rakotonaivo]

I'm going to start, then I'll let Ms. Friolet continue.

The funding we receive from Canadian Heritage is vital: it forms the basis of our community. As you said, Mr. Godin, our community is tiring. There's no room for growth. That's where we stand.

In British Columbia, we determined our needs and submitted a comprehensive development plan together with supporting figures. In spite of everything, the cost of living is rising, and we now only have one employee. That's all we have, whereas development has to be done.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Mr. Watters said that they were building schools and that enrolment was doubling. So people speak French here. A number of immigrants arriving in Canada learn French, including the Chinese. During the tour that I did with the French, we observed the same thing, that the French language is alive here.

Can the committee follow or go back? In Sudbury, people told us they were still there and that they were the ones making things happen, but that they seemed to have been abandoned.

[Michelle Rakotonaivo]

You're entirely right.

[Yseult Friolet]

Perhaps we should emphasize two points. We have immersion here. At the postsecondary level, it's important, once grade 12 is completed—if we really want a bilingual country—to give students and every citizen opportunities to function in French. In British Columbia, 7% of the population is bilingual, but French must not be spoken solely at school or in the home. It has to be spoken in other places. A little earlier, we were talking about community spaces. Our school system is operating and developing, but we need other places, once students have left school. For the community as a whole, things have been frozen since about 1999. So there's no room for growth.

We want immigrants to enroll in our schools, but we also want them to attend our community centres and associations. The Action Plan for Official Languages has been very beneficial in that regard. Believe me, this initiative has to continue, but we have to consider matters at the grassroots level. When there are no more Francophones, what will be the point of immersion? It has to be done together. I'm very pleased to show that the Chinese are learning French, but why are they learning it except so that they can live and take part in something in French? It's not out of snobbery; they acknowledge that.

To conclude, a major initiative is coming: the 2010 Olympic Games. We need approximately 30,000 bilingual people in the greater Vancouver region and in Whistler. These people won't come from Moncton—except a few perhaps—but it's here that we need them. We and the Francophone community and francophiles—we're working with Canadian Parents for French—are ready to welcome the world, but we have to be given the means to do so.

Unfortunately, Canadian Heritage is slow in recognizing the Francophone community as the host community. It's starting to do so, but we need funding in order to play host to the world. We mustn't wait until the last minute in January 2010 before we realize that we should allocate some funding to this. I say this because this is also one of the major challenges that we have to address.

Earlier we talked about challenges. The City of Vancouver is a major challenge. Like Toronto, Vancouver is a city where the Francophone community is developing. There are three major cities in the country, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Developing and obtaining French-language services is harder. You've seen the urban sprawl. So we need to be established, we need child care centres, schools and community centres in order to be recognized. We also want to work. As a result of bilingualism, people are using French more and more. We're increasingly asked whether we're bilingual. The event that's coming to our country—the 2010 Olympic Games—isn't a minor affair. Our population is increasingly being asked if it can provide bilingual people. So we're going to be able to work increasingly in French, but we need the support of all of you.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Thank you, Ms. Friolet.

Mr. Murphy, go ahead, please.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have two questions, including one for Michelle, if I may call you by your first name. We're all friends here, and members are usually friendly during their trips outside Ottawa.

I read in one presentation that, except for the City of Coquitlam, no municipal services are provided in French at any other municipalities in British Columbia.

First, is that true? I imagine so. Second, why is it that way in Coquitlam? I don't know that region. Third, how did Coquitlam come up with that kind of solution? Are the French-language services in Coquitlam limited to phrases like “Hello!”, “How are you?”, “Would you like a coffee?” or “Do you want to pay your taxes?” I'm a former municipal politician, and I know perfectly well that it's very important for people to pay taxes.

Those are my three questions.

[Michelle Rakotonaivo]

With regard to municipalities that offer French-language services, I can tell you that it's a start. Recently, the City of Nanaimo translated its Web site into French. Earlier it was asked what the associations were doing. In Maillardville and Coquitlam, the Société Maillardville-Uni is working in close cooperation with the municipality. Perhaps you'll have occasion to take a closer look at our history, but let's say for the moment that Maillardville is in a way the cradle of the Francophone community in British Columbia. That's where it all started. That community has been in existence for a long time, and that's why it has such close ties with the city.

The associations are increasingly working together with the municipalities. They're starting to do that in Prince George, for example. The Francophone community is being promoted, and you often see the mayors of the cities at the activities that are organized. In one way or another, there's no choice. Some associations, which are out of resources, are starting to cooperate with the province and municipalities so that they can continue community development.

I don't know whether Donald has anything to add.

[Donald Cyr]

The Société de développement économique often works with entrepreneurs, but we're also working on community economic development. We joined the Maillardville association to see whether it was possible to restore to the municipality of Maillardville the appearance it had 80 years ago. We prepared a development plan to revitalize Maillardville together with those people and with the help of Industry Canada. We have the support of the municipal council and the mayor of Coquitlam. In fact, Maillardville is part of Coquitlam. It's been mentioned a number of times that the 2010 Winter Olympic Games are a very positive factor for us. In working with these people, our objective is to develop this Francophone face that even Mr. Campbell, the premier, recognizes.

In addition, the Société de développement économique is working with the Nanaimo people on the Bonjour project. The goal in that case is to establish exchanges between the city and Quebec. Things are going very well. In anticipation of the 2010 Games, the Quebec City and Montreal Chambers of Commerce are being encouraged to come and do business in cooperation with the Francophone community of British Columbia. I attended some meetings last week. We were very successful. Even Mr. Furlong, the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Games' Organizing Committee, came with us to encourage Quebec to joins us.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Thank you.

Ms. Brunelle.

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

Mr. Cyr, you're very good at knowing how to sell Vancouver. This is the fourth time I've come here since 2004, and I like this city more and more. I've seen Nanaimo and Victoria, which are also very beautiful places.

Your Société de développement économique wants to create an economic area for the Francophone community. Is your organization different from that of an Anglophone EDC? Do you, as we do back home, have EDCs everywhere that mainly attract businesses and that are provided with support and conditions in which they can establish themselves? How does that fit into the mission of the Francophone community? Are you associated with other EDCs elsewhere in British Columbia and Canada?

[Donald Cyr]

Yes to all your questions. Tomorrow I'm leaving for Saskatoon to meet with our Anglophone counterparts. The four western provinces have joined forces as part of the Community Futures program. I belong to the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité de la francophone canadienne, RDÉE Canada. We cooperate with equivalent organizations in all the provinces of Canada, except Quebec.

However, RDÉE Canada has signed an agreement with the Quebec SADCs. We're exchanging information instruments. In Quebec, you have very good research tools, whereas we have very good socio-economic tools. We're working in close cooperation with the Quebec SADCs and with similar organizations to ours in all the other provinces and territories. Here in British Columbia, the work done in cooperation with Community Futures has been very positive.

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

On a previous trip, I thought I heard—and correct me if I'm wrong—that the Chamber of Commerce was offering French courses. I was surprised to see that it had taken on that responsibility. We were at a meeting with French parliamentarians. Brochures from the Chamber of Commerce were distributed to us announcing these French immersion courses. Do you know what that's about?

[Yseult Friolet]

I can answer you. In fact, they're courses offered by the Alliance Française Vancouver to the Chinese community, among others. That organization signed an agreement with representatives of this community. The mission of Alliance Française is to promote French culture, but also to teach French.

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

Are the Alliances Françaises separate organizations, corporations?

[Yseult Friolet]

They are creations of the French government. In Vancouver, the Alliance Française is a support member of the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique.

[Donald Cyr]

Perhaps the confusion stems from the fact that Mr. Becker is president of both the Chamber of Commerce and the Alliance Française.

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

That may be the case. Thank you for that information.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Mr. Blaney.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm pleased to be with you today. I'm a replacement on this committee.

As a Quebecker, I have a great deal of admiration for what you're doing. You're in the vanguard in the promotion of linguistic duality. In my opinion, the positive effects are being felt as far as Lévis. Unfortunately, the situation of Francophones outside Quebec is not known in Quebec.

So here I have the opportunity to become aware of that situation. I listened closely to your comments. Like you, I believe that the 2010 Olympic Games are clearly an invaluable opportunity for Francophones across the country. Yesterday, I saw the logo in a little store and was delighted to see it was bilingual. I should have brought one.

Mr. Cyr, does your program stem strictly from the Action Plan for Official Languages, or did it exist before that?

[Donald Cyr]

It existed before.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

I believe we're talking about approximately $300 million in the case of the federal government's official languages program, whereas the action plan totals $150 million. That may be because I'm an engineer, but whatever the case may be, what you said about capital investment and child care centres got me interested. I think the idea that children should be in a Francophone environment before kindergarten is brilliant.

Could you explain to me how the federal government contributes to capital investment in child care centres? What percentage comes respectively from the regular program and the action plan? If you had any recommendations to make, how would you suggest matters should develop in this regard?

[Dr. Jean Watters]

As regards capital investment, the federal government provides two kinds of spaces, community spaces and child care spaces. But it must be kept in mind that child care centres aren't managed by the Francophone school boards, but rather by the Fédération des parents francophones and the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique.

In Prince George, for example, there's already a child care service. So it's very important to understand that the role of the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique isn't to duplicate what already exists. People are working in close cooperation on that.

As for funding, I don't think the Action Plan for Official Languages provides anything for capital investment.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

There's $10.8 million for child care services.

[Dr. Jean Watters]

Capital investment is very important. I'm going back to that once again.

In many cases, we originally inherited leftovers that people no longer wanted, schools that were about to be closed and that had asbestos, for example.

It's important that Francophones have adequate premises. Otherwise, it's hard to attract young people. Earlier we were talking about the postsecondary level, which is very important, and about the fact that we're starting to offer services. But across Canada, it's not easy to keep Francophone students at the secondary level because facilities are inadequate.

To get back to your government, I'd say that the essential points are restoring the Court Challenges Program and granting extensive capital investment to enable Francophones to have access to schools equivalent to those of the Anglophone majority.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

I'm not sure I understood you clearly. You're telling me that that's not included in the action plan? Perhaps Ms. Friolet could give us some more details on that subject.