Official Languages Committee on Dec. 5th, 2006

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Mr. Alary, I appreciate that you raised the childcare issue.

Ms. Boucher said earlier that the people in her riding were glad to receive the $100. This amounts to $1200 a year. Let me tell you that in my riding as well, people are glad to get this money. On the other hand, it does not solve the childcare problem.

You mentioned the fact that anglophones are ahead of us, that they have childcare centres in their schools and that we are behind. In your opinion, how could we quickly catch up?

Mr. Simard raised the issue. In fact, everyone is discussing it. We agree that parents whose children go to a childcare centre in a francophone school will be more likely to enrol them in that school, because they are already there and they are used to the place. This is a gateway for the children, but it also spares the parents from having to send them to an English-speaking school.

Currently, when the child comes home, it spends an hour or two with parents who speak more English than French. This is how assimilation goes on. The $1200 paid by their government is more than welcome. In fact, if the sum were $4000, no one would complain, but that is not the point. The point is, we need childcare.

[Josée Devaney]

I would like to say to Ms. Boucher that of course parents are happy to receive the money that they get. But the problem is the lack of infrastructure. Francophone daycare centres just don't exist. There is one in Edmonton, but I don't know if there are any elsewhere. We need help in setting up these centres, and this is what we used to get under the early childhood plan. We got money to build the necessary infrastructure.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

I will give you an example. My daughter lives in Gatineau. She tells me her situation is ideal. She starts work at 8 a.m.; she takes her son to the school daycare centre, this way he doesn't have to get up and go elsewhere for school: everything is on site. When the day's over, she doesn't have to worry because when class comes out her son goes back to daycare until she picks him up at the end of the day. It is the most wonderful education system that could ever exist.

[Josée Devaney]

I should also point out that junior kindergartens are located in the schools. So a child enrolled in junior kindergarten continues his or her education at that same school. But it would be ideal indeed to have the system you're referring to. However, our mandate isn't funded by the ministry of education in Alberta.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Mr. Blanchet wanted to make a comment.

[Martin Blanchet]

It is along the same lines as what Ms. Devaney said.

Junior kindergartens take up space in our schools. If we were able to set up daycare centres, we'd do so. However, the ministry of education takes into account the space used for classrooms, and junior kindergarten is naturally considered a class within a school and which looks after young children up until the age of 12. It's an infrastructure problem.

The money Ms. Devaney referred to would be used to subsidize this part of our school. The government would therefore not factor in the space used for junior kindergartens. The government, in its calculations, would only take into account the space used by K to 12 students.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Thank you.

Mr. Simard, you have two minutes.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Mr. Alary, how many subscribers does your newspaper have?

[Étienne Alary]

We have 3,000 weekly subscribers. Under an agreement with the Greater North Central school board, 2,000 additional copies are given each month to every student under its, jurisdiction. So 5,000 copies are circulated monthly, but we have 3,000 subscribers.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Is it a not-for-profit or for-profit business?

[Étienne Alary]

It is a for-profit company.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Mr. Collette, you said that your centre was currently being built?

[Denis Collette]

Yes, building has started.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Will it be a health care centre?

[Denis Collette]

The Saint-Thomas Health Centre is currently under construction. You'll be visiting the construction site this afternoon at 2 p.m.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Will the centre provide medical services and so on?

[Denis Collette]

Yes.

Last year, the federal government and Health Canada, through the Société santé en français, gave us a grant to set up our primary care centre. It's a health care model based on the Saint-Boniface Health Centre.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

You said that francophones were quite dispersed. In my region, roaming health care centres are being considered, for example in Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.

Is that something you would be in favour of for the next health care centre?

[Denis Collette]

I think we've discussed this for the Bonnyville region up north. A similar project has been put on the table. They're reviewing it to see if it's viable. But there will have to be negotiations with the regional board of health as well to ensure there is ongoing funding.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Mr. Blaney.

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

Mr. Luketa M'Pindou, does your funding come from the Official Languages Support Program, the OLSP?

[Luketa M'Pindou]

It comes from the Official Languages Support Program.

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

It's the core program with a total budget envelope of $300 million a year, I think.

Are you located here, in Edmonton?

[Luketa M'Pindou]

Yes.