Official Languages Committee on Jan. 30th, 2007

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to all our guests. Welcome back to members. I'd like to welcome the members who are new to this committee. We have quite a full schedule. We'll be hearing from six witnesses this morning. Let's try and remain concise.

We will start with Mr. Pierre Bélanger, President of the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité Canada. Mr. Bélanger, the floor is yours.

[Pierre Bélanger, President, Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité (RDÉE) Canada]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm going to call on Roger Lavoie, the Director General of our organization, to make a short formal presentation. We would then be pleased to answer your questions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

I'm going to ask that all the witnesses make their presentations before we have a question period.

[Pierre Bélanger]

Thank you.

[Roger Lavoie, Director General, Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité (RDÉE) Canada]

Mr. Chair, honourable members, we'd like to thank you for inviting us to testify before your committee. Your initiative attests to the importance you attach to the economic development of Canada's francophone and Acadian communities. I'd like to make an opening statement and then hand the floor over to our President, Mr. Bélanger, who will be pleased to answer your questions.

I'd like to briefly tell you about who we are and give you an idea of what we do. The question period will undoubtedly be an opportunity to talk about the economic development issues facing francophone and Acadian communities. Without this economic development our communities quite simply wouldn't be sustainable. We'll also have an opportunity to tell you about the challenges we face and the help we need from you in this regard.

RDÉE Canada's inception dates back ten years. It was established in 1998 following one of the most innovative partnerships between the federal government and francophone and Acadian communities. This partnership was sealed by the signature of nine deputy ministers of federal institutions and representatives from RDÉE Canada. It became the model upon which further collaborative action was based, particularly in the areas of health and immigration. Economic development therefore paved the way for a new era of cooperation and shared governance between the federal government and minority communities.

RDÉE Canada, the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité, is a fairly new network which is now comprised of 12 provincial and territorial RDÉEs. There are 120 expert consultants working with the network who are increasingly the drivers for economic development. RDÉE Canada is part-funded by the Human Resources and Social Development Canada Enabling Fund.

Based on this, we are able to provide a whole array of services to communities and business people, services which were previously lacking, with the aim of promoting the creation of lasting employment and an entrepreneurial culture. Thanks to RDÉE Canada's work, a new generation of French-speaking entrepreneurs is springing up in rural and urban areas across Canada. This new generation is a ray of hope when it comes to developing our communities, and is a good sign of things to come.

As a result of our work, numerous partnerships with the private sector, community organizations and various provincial, territorial and federal departments, have been established. In most cases, memorandums of understanding to establish joint committees and frameworks have led to ongoing cooperation with the various orders of government. This is a practical way, in our opinion, of coordinating efforts and enhancing the effectiveness of measures supporting the economic development of these communities. These partnerships, along with RDÉE Canada's services, maximize the benefits deriving from economic development initiatives which are crucial to the sustainability of minority francophone communities.

In the small amount of time I have available, I'm going to give you one single example—the first, chronologically speaking—to show how successful we have been. After the flood of the century in 1998, the Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities, CDEM, adopted its first vision plan, a planning model for community economic development. Some 60 communities across Canada have undertaken a similar process. Over 300 organizations—including business alliances, community associations, research and educational institutions, co-ops, municipalities, provincial and federal ministries and departments, and community development assistance agencies—and more than 7,000 individuals were involved in public meetings on local planning. This unprecedented mobilization resulted in a number of projects which, in the province of Manitoba alone, from 1999 to 2005, generated unprecedented spinoffs: 225 new businesses, 3,746 temporary positions, 1,159 permanent positions, 1,33 community economic development projects, for a total investment of almost half a billion dollars. Each dollar invested had a leverage effect of 650 per cent. This was unheard of for our rural communities! If you're interested, we'd be glad to give you other examples.

Before really taking off in 1998, our communities' economic development was never the focus of a systematic effort be it from governments or the communities themselves. This is to say that we are still only at the embryonic stages of development. Catching up is no easy task and therefore requires considerable resources.

I have run out of time, Mr. Chair, so I'll conclude my brief overview there. We'd be glad to answer your questions. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you very much, Mr. Bélanger.

I will now call on Mr. Hubert, from Santé en français au Nunavut, to make his presentation.

[Daniel Hubert, Director, Santé en français au Nunavut, Association des francophones du Nunavut]

Thank you for inviting us to appear before you today. I am here in my capacity as Director of the Santé en français au Nunavut network, but also as a representative of the Association des francophones du Nunavut. It is in the latter capacity that I making the presentation, because Mr. Belleau, the President of the Association, could not be here today.

We have prepared a PowerPoint presentation that deals with the main points, which I will now summarize.

In a 2 million square kilometre area there are just over 30,000 people, including 24,000 Inuit, 5,000 anglophones and 1,000 francophones. Like all of the North, this is a rich land: rich in oil, diamonds, gold, iron and uranium. However, in terms of the human development indicators, Canada ranks 5^th in the world, and Nunavut 77^th. That is no surprise given that the rate of tuberculosis is 10 times higher in Nunavut than in Canada and the percentage of students who graduate from grade 12 is only 35%. We do not expect to rank first in the world. So we have a lot of catching up to do in social and economic terms in Nunavut.

Nevertheless, government economic and social policy in Nunavut and the values and principles of development have been well established. They have been set out in a document entitled Pinasuaqtavut. These policies seek to improve living and working conditions in a situation where only 65% of the positions in the public service have been staffed. That means many positions are vacant. In addition, the unemployment rate among the Inuit is 30%, compared to 3% for the non-Inuit population.

The Pinasuaqtavut talks about five basic policy thrusts: healthy communities physically, socially and economically; unity and simplicity, in other words easy access to the government and to social programs; emphasis on autonomy, that is a concerted effort on the part of communities and the government to take care of people, particularly those in need; life-long learning so that all the Nunavummiut can achieve their full potential; and, finally, the introduction of the Inuit language as the language of the public service by 2020. This is a major issue for us.

Among francophones, most of whom live in Iqaluit, the political capital, the level education is high, as is job mobility. People stay on average about three years, and the unemployment rate is virtually zero. The emerging reality is one involving Inuit-francophone exogamous families. As a result, francophones in Nunavut are establishing some roots there and developing more and more cultural networks.

This year, 2007, is crucial for francophones in several regards: intense legislative activity within the Government of Nunavut, many administrative initiatives to provide service for francophones and possible significant progress on community projects. This includes three main areas of activity. This information was taken from the Overall Development Plan of the Association des francophones du Nunavut and the most recent decisions made at its general meeting, as well as a number of presentations made to interdepartmental committees in Ottawa.

Let us now turn to education and the management of our schools. We hope to add grade 10 to 12 to our high school education in French. At the moment, education in French is available from kindergarten to grade 9. We also hope that francophones will have full control of their school under the new education act which is currently being drafted. This is a key period in education for francophones.

I turn now to the official languages and the services that are well established. Two bills on the official languages in Nunavut are being tabled at the moment. One has to do with the protection and promotion of the Inuit language, and the other is on the official languages. This bill will eliminate the anachronism that occurred because Nunavut inherited the Northwest Territories official languages legislation when the territory was divided. Consequently, this updated legislation will be extremely important, because legal issues for francophones will arise, and in fact have already arisen.

As a corollary to this legislative decision, the Premier of Nunavut recently announced the establishment of a bipartite committee made up of government representatives and of the Association des francophones du Nunavut to report on services for francophones and to set the priorities and determine what needs to be done. At its general meeting, the Association voted to continue its efforts to get better front-line, high-quality services in French.

The issue of health services is well documented. There is a report in French, English and Inuktitut, which we will leave with you as a reference tool. The report is entitled Des services de santé en français dans un nord en mutation. Un défi intercommunautaire.

Why talk about intercommunity challenge? In a context of great poverty, the fact that francophones are demanding that a greater number of services be established and developed might appear selfish or like a grab for a larger share of the common good. We use the word “intercommunity” because francophone development has to go hand in hand with that of the other Nunavut communities. That is the challenge we have to meet if we want to be credible and achieve our objectives.

The last issue is the establishment of a carrefour de la francophonie, a new community centre that would allow us to merge existing Nunavut associations, organizations and institutions and increase their effectiveness tenfold. All documents will be available after the meeting.

Thank you for your attention.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you very much, Mr. Hubert.

The next presentation will be given by Ms. Sandra St-Laurent.

[Sandra St-Laurent, Coordinator, Partenariat communauté en santé du Yukon]

I want to thank the committee for inviting us today so that we can talk about the health related issues for francophones in the territories.

I want to talk about our circumstances and challenges. There are little or no health services offered in French in the territories. That is due to a number of factors, including the language barrier and agreements reached between Quebec and the territories for insured care. More often than not there is not active offer, and when there is it is a coincidence. Designated bilingual positions are few and far between, if not practically non-existent within the system.

We also face a greater problem. We know that there is a shortage of health care professionals across Canada. It is twice as great in our area because of the geographical remoteness and quite a significant turnover. To give you an idea of the situation, I would say that 50% of Yukon's population is renewed every five years, which places a great burden on the system and the network whose task it is to identify partners. As Daniel Hubert said during his presentation, the average stay of francophones in the territories is approximately three years. This means that there is a continuous turnover and many challenges facing us.

Concerning the response from francophones, I would say that between 70 and 80% of francophones in two of the territories would like to obtain health and social services in French. Unfortunately, they do not have access to them. Furthermore, many people are deprived of services for linguistic reasons.

However, we have to recognize that, despite the lack of services offered by the regional health authorities or the department, there is a truly dynamic community sector, which offers health services, workshops and promotion, similar to services provided to the rest of the community. In this regard, I would like to underscore the fact that it was the community sector that sponsored the creation of French language health networks, and thus achieve some progress in French language health services.

The networks identify the needs of francophones with regard to health and social services, mainly in mental health, substance abuse, family services—the population in the territories is very young—and emergency services. The networks also help francophones become aware of the importance of requesting services in French. We do a lot of work across the territories. For example, the three territories jointly manage an anti-smoking initiative for francophones. This is working out very well and achieving good results.

That also represents a first step towards greater cooperation in health care between the territories. Together with our departments, we do planning for the organization of health services. I would also like to point out that, in 2003, the government of Yukon sat down with people from the community and the network to establish a five-year plan for health and social services in the Yukon. That was the first time that the communities and the territories worked together. The plan was submitted to the federal government in October 2003, and we are still awaiting a response. We have not heard anything, and that is of considerable concern to us, because we worked together to develop partnerships and want to continue doing so.

The networks also take part in identifying, recruiting and maintaining bilingual personnel in the territories.

The networks need to be able to provide services on a sustainable basis. Sustainability has to be addressed today because we want to ensure the networks ongoing work. The federal government supported the creation of the networks by establishing the Société Santé en français, and we have to continue working with our partners to ensure our credibility and the commitment by both orders of government to the health of francophones.

We also have to invest in the development of local skills and use best practices—such as the community approach—for the maturity and vitality of francophone communities in our territories. Increased support for the recruitment of health professionals is also needed.

In conclusion, I would like to say that we sincerely hope that territorial and federal authorities will take the necessary action to support the initiatives of the health and social services networks. Francophones in the territories are entitled to health and social services that are adapted to their language and culture. Those are all compelling reasons to pursue this option and maintain service delivery models developed by and for the territories. This all goes to show that communities want to improve their circumstances and health.

These are the challenges we both face in the North. As you can see, health is a hot topic that should not be put on ice.

Thank you for your attention.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you very much, Ms. St-Laurent.

The last presentation will be given by Mr. Provencher.

[Léopold Provencher, Executive Director, Fédération Franco-Ténoise]

Mr. Chairman, committee members, thank you for your reception.

I have come here today to talk to you about the vitality of francophone communities in the Northwest Territories. I am speaking to you on behalf of the President of our federation, Fernand Denault, who apologizes for his absence. He has business today in Montreal. My name is Léopold Provencher and I am the Executive Director of the Fédération franco-ténoise.

I would like to give you some demographic data from the Northwest Territories. In 2005, despite the movement of some 5,000 people, the population increased by 1.8%, for a total of approximately 43,000 inhabitants. Francophones account for 2.5% of the population, or 1,200 people. Some 3,700 people speak French, or close to 9% of the population, making French the second most spoken language in the Northwest Territories.

The network of French language associations in the Northwest Territories is present in four communities, i.e., in Yellowknife, the capital, Inuvik, in the north, and Hay River and Fort Smith in the south. We are approaching a balance in the number of aboriginals and non-aboriginals, and the francophone population is stabilizing.

And now for some economic data. The economy is vibrant, and there are sizeable reserves of non-renewable resources, such as natural gas, oil, diamonds and gold. Government employment accounts for 38.8% of all jobs. Since 1999, the economy has grown by 71%. Our government's budget amounts to close to $1 billion, and over 75% of that amount comes from the federal government.

Here are some social data. The rate of assimilation of francophones in the Northwest Territories is 63%, and that rate is increasing by 1% a year. The community in Yellowknife has had a francophone school since 1989. Its development was adversely affected by the lack of a gymnasium and specialized space, which also had a negative impact on the retention of high school students. The school owes its existence to court rulings, and its future expansion will be the result of a court order. The school currently has 99 students out of a potential pool of 250 candidates.

Elsewhere, French-language education in Hay River got off to a difficult start in 2000. The Boréale School in Hay River opened its permanent spaces in 2005. The school already has 71 children from kindergarten to 9^th grade, and 18 preschoolers.

The community had to bring the two higher orders of government to court. In a very elaborate ruling handed down on April 25^th, 2006, Justice Moreau highlighted evidence of systemic gaps and shortcomings with regard to the communications and services given to francophone citizens, and the absence of an implementation plan for the Territorial Official Languages Act.

We find that the federal government's laisser-faire approach and inaction with regard to its obligations is unacceptable, as is the territorial government's unwillingness, through its delegated official, to respect both its own Official Languages Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

I would now like to make a few comments on the political structure of the Northwest Territories. We have a so-called consensus government, i.e., without any political parties. Its spending power is dependent on the territorial government's obligation to report to the federal government. The territory's Official Languages Act recognizes 11 official languages, and executive and administrative authorities claim that they have almost equal status.

And yet, there are only two official languages in Canada that have equal status, in which people can receive services of an equal quality and which have an obligation to produce results. Up until now, the devolution of authority has been done without any consultation with the francophone community, despite the 2002 Treasury Board policy. The Cooperation Agreement regarding French aboriginal languages in the Northwest Territories has not yet been signed with the federal government, and neither have the latest nor the previous Canada-communities agreements.

I would like to mention four of the main projects currently being considered. A community educational centre will be built in the short-term in Yellowknife, and a French post-secondary training institute will be established in cooperation with the Collège Éducacentre in Vancouver and the Canadian Network of francophone CEGEPs and colleges, as well as with the Northwest Territories Economic Development Council.

Our third major undertaking is a field research project whose purpose is to identify the best way to revitalize our northern francophone communities, in partnership with the Yukon and Nunavut communities and in collaboration with the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities. We are currently seriously focusing on funding in order to achieve this important project. Our fourth undertaking is a consolidation of permanent positions within our francophone youth, literacy and health sectors.

This sums up the areas of support that we need and that we wanted to tell you about this morning. Our main undertakings are the community educational centre, a future college—we don't expect it to be built tomorrow morning but perhaps within the next 15 years—research that will focus on how to revitalize the communities over our three territories, support funding renewal, and, finally, protection of language rights.

Thank you for your attention. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you, Mr. Provencher.

All your presentations were very interesting. We will now move on to questions, beginning with Mr. Murphy.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the witnesses for their presentations.

Last fall, some members of this committee travelled to western Canada. We heard testimony from groups in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and some groups from the North. The elimination of the Court Challenges Program was obviously an area of concern. Throughout their travel, committee members heard many complaints over the decision to abolish that program.

The government has not changed its position, obviously, but there are still questions that we have not received concrete answers to, for example, whether or not the government can, in terms of minority language rights outside Quebec, take action to make up for the elimination of the Court Challenges Program. The role of this parliamentary committee consists in, among other things, assisting the government, especially with respect to the decision to abolish that program. This question is for all our witnesses. Are there any suggestions you think I should make? For example, you may want more authority to be given to the Commissioner, Mr. Fraser. That would be one solution. Do you have any suggestions other than a new court challenges program?

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Who is the question for, Mr. Murphy?

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

The question is for everyone but we could begin with Mr. Provencher.

[Léopold Provencher]

There's a well known saying that if it isn't broken, don't fix it.

If it's not broken, don't change it.

In our area, over the past 20 years, the Court Challenges Program has been essential in establishing our community infrastructures. Without that program, we probably wouldn't have any schools. We certainly wouldn't have been able to have the communities' point of view heard before the Northwest Territories Supreme Court: we simply wouldn't have had the means to do so. The role of the program was to help those who did not have the means to plead their case. These are extremely important issues that affect a citizen 's integrity.

Therefore, why look for something else? The program proved that it was able to see justice done and that it was effective in providing small communities access to justice within the Canadian democratic system. The results are there. A context was created where actions are measured in terms of their results. In fact, projects must be evaluated in terms of results. I think that that program led to very important results. In our case, it was essential. We could be creative and call it something else but that won't change the fact that what is fundamental is that the least powerful be given the means to see justice done in Canada, within this democratic system that we are so lucky to have.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you, Mr. Provencher.

Would any other witnesses like to respond to those questions?

Mr. Murphy, you have three minutes.

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

I have a few questions to ask Mr. Lavoie or Mr. Bélanger about networks.

Your annual report published about a year ago mentions an enabling fund of $12 million per year over three years. Is that fund currently operational? Have there been any changes?

I also have a few questions to ask about directors. There are four directors: Mr. Deveau, Mr. Durepos, Ms. Montague and Ms. Lowther. Was there a change in directors?

[Roger Lavoie]

They're still the same people.

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

I see that you were the recipient of the Laurier Awards in May 2006. Do you expect to win those awards again this year?

[Pierre Bélanger]

You have given me a perfect opening, Mr. Murphy. You are invited to come here, to Ottawa, on the 10th of November for a Laurier Awards celebration for small- and medium-sized businesses in francophone and Acadian communities. This has been done in some provinces, in New Brunswick and in Ontario, with the Chambre économique de l'Ontario, but not at a national level. We think it's important to highlight the presence of these businesses in the world of business and economic performance.

I will turn quickly now to your first two questions, Mr. Murphy. The coordinating group on economic development and employability is an organization that is off the radar. It's huge. You referred to the annual budget. Roger mentioned earlier that 120 individuals now work full time as economic development professionals in francophone and Acadian communities. This is a first. They represent a small army of very efficient people working throughout these communities, in nine provinces and three territories, and getting tangible results.

I won't bore you by reading all of this, but their work is similar to the work that is done in your communities, elsewhere in Canada by the Community Futures Development Corporations or the SADCs in Quebec, that are taking a new approach. In terms of linguistic or cultural equality, the federal government took a truly active approach to economic development. I'm not talking about the development of educational rights, cultural rights, or access to bilingual services, but rather the economic development of these communities.

You referred to the board. There were others. This is interesting because the Board of the Coordinating Group on Economic Development and Employability, by definition must be made up of business people or people from the francophone business sector in Canada.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you, your five minutes are up.

I will now call on the new member of our committee, Mr. Nadeau, to ask the next question.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Lauzon.

Good morning to you all from the far North.

I am particularly affected by some of the things you have said. This is Canada, a supposedly bilingual country with an Official Languages Act. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been in existence for 25 years, and article 23 of that Charter has been in existence for 25 years, and yet Nunavut and the Northwest Territories still do not have total school management. Have I understood you correctly?

Thus, in this great supposedly bilingual country, you are still fighting to get French-language schools, where French is the first language, in your territories.

In a country where French and English are supposedly equal, there's one that is more equal than the other—we agreed on that.

Mr. Hubert, could you tell us about any collaborative efforts that have been made with the Government of Nunavut to obtain high schools or, at least, French as a first language courses at the high school level?

[Daniel Hubert]

First, the Trois-Soleils school, a francophone school with francophone staff, offers schooling from kindergarten to grade 9. Parents from that community would like the school to offer a full high school program in order to make sure that the children remain within the francophone school network and do not switch over to the English school network, or have to return to their province or territory of origin.

In terms of collaboration with the government, we feel that a very important political move was made when a premier asked his deputy premier, as was done a few weeks ago, to strike a committee made up of deputy ministers from many departments to look into the issue of services.

The issue of education is unique. Several attempts were made to change education legislation. The anglophone, francophone and Inuit communities have still not reached a consensus on this. The government is aware of this. Because the Government of Nunavut works through consensus, because there are no political parties, reaching the broadest possible social agreement is critical. As long as that doesn't happen, we don't move forward.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

I see what you mean, Mr. Hubert.

What is happening with the federal government? The territories are creatures of the federal government and must report to the federal government in order to obtain funds and to be able to function the following year. Has the federal government assisted in establishing French schools or does it prefer to repeat that that is an area of provincial jurisdiction and that any assimilation issues or issues dealing with the French fact fall under the territories?