Evidence of meeting #34 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 cuts.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
You are the Director General.
And Mr. Lemieux is trying to tell us that there are currently discussions with your organization and with a national organization.
Are there currently any discussions between you and the provinces, or has this just...?
Director General, Fédération canadienne pour l'alphabétisation en français
The federation submits projects. The federation's great challenge is to live with projects that often last only a year, hence the fits and starts we were speaking about earlier.
The provinces or the regions; it's the same thing.
Director General, Fédération canadienne pour l'alphabétisation en français
I will reply quickly.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
—and I only have one and a half left. When the government announced the extension of the program to Prince Edward Island, did it do so after discussing it with you or on its own?
Director General, Fédération canadienne pour l'alphabétisation en français
Not necessarily with us. It's with the regions, with the people in the province.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
All right, with the people in the province. So several provinces did not get a response concerning literacy?
Director General, Fédération canadienne pour l'alphabétisation en français
That's right. People are waiting all over the place.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
People are waiting, and when people are waiting, they don't know where they're headed.
Director General, Fédération canadienne pour l'alphabétisation en français
And in the meantime, there have been closings. That's correct.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Mr. Lemieux and Ms. Beaulieu were saying that the government was working with you.
Did the government consult you? You had the opportunity for a meeting with the minister. You spoke with her, but that's all.
Executive Director, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada
We met several people, to be sure. However, as I said at the beginning, I spoke about the accountability framework, about the importance of and requirements involved in consultation. I said it more than once and I will repeat it again: we were not consulted about the cuts that were made. That is why, when I asked earlier what you ought to be in your report, I said that there were certainly areas for improvement, but that meeting obligations struck us as something essential.
Director General, Commission nationale des parents francophones
No, we were not consulted.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Guy Lauzon
Thank you, Mr. Godin.
Things have gone quickly, but that is how we go about it here. I would ask all the members to stay here. We have a few minutes to deal with a number of committee details. I would like to thank our three witnesses and ask the other witnesses to come forward.
In the meantime, can the members tell me whether the meeting scheduled for Thursday ought to be cancelled?
Mr. Godin, would you agree to cancelling it?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Guy Lauzon
We could call them for January 30. I personally am prepared to stay until Thursday.
Are we prepared to have a committee meeting on Thursday?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Guy Lauzon
A motion has been circulated. I will ask the analyst to explain it.
Jean-Rodrigue Paré Committee Researcher
It is a straightforward routine motion to facilitate discussion at the end of the meeting. At the start of the meeting, we were to study immigration—
NDP
Committee Researcher
At the beginning of the meeting, we undertook three studies on immigration, health and the vitality of communities, respectively. As for the report, to avoid any problems of legitimacy related to the three separate studies, it is important for the committee to be able to include the testimony concerning the three studies in a single report.
If Parliament were to prorogue or something, then to ensure that everything is tied together properly, all that is needed is to adopt a routine motion in order to be able to include the testimony concerning health and immigration in the report on the vitality of communities.
The motion is here.
