Official Languages Committee on June 8th, 2006

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Thank you for your question. As you know, I will be working very closely with my colleague on this issue.

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

Thank you.

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

Minister, I would like to ask you a question about the Action Plan for Official Languages, and its $750 million budget. Could you please tell us about current expenditures, as well as achievements that have been made and challenges that we face.

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Thank you for your question.

Thus far, a significant number of intergovernmental accords, the majority of which are multi-year agreements, have been further developed and improved. I could cite, by way of example, the accords that the government has with New Brunswick and Manitoba.

I also appreciate that linguistic communities are still waiting to see whether their expectations concerning the plan will be fulfilled. I am still in the process of holding consultations with communities, but a decision will be made in the near future.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Over to you, Ms. Brunelle.

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

Good morning, Minister.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

I have two questions. Firstly, you told us that you have a full report as to what happened when Mr. Diouf arrived in Canada. Could you please table that report with the committee?

Minister, you are a Quebecker. You know that the presence of French in Quebec serves as a foundation and a support for all French-speaking communities across Canada. I am utterly convinced that the more French is used as the normal workplace language, the more strenght it will gain across the nation.

Secondly, the official languages committee is committed to increasing the use of French from coast to coast. We are allies on this issue.

I would like to ask you a question concerning your presentation. You said that, since your government came to power, it had worked to reach an agreement with Quebec on the services provided to the province's English-language community. Do the provisions under this agreement differ from those that currently exist?

Later on in your presentation, you again said that your government was going to sign a collaborative agreement with English-language communities. Were you referring to the same agreement on all three occasions? What exactly does this agreement entail? Will additional funding be given to Quebec's English-speaking community?

I would like to have an explanation, please.

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Thank you for your question, Ms. Brunelle. You made several assertions in your preamble. Firstly, I never professed to have in my possession a report on the events surrounding Mr. Diouf's arrival in Canada. I never said that, Ms. Brunelle.

Secondly, you spoke of how important it is to support French-language communities outside Quebec. I would say to you that if that were indeed your conviction, you should have supported Bill S-3, which provided support to linguistic communities outside of Quebec. Your party was the only one to vote against it.

I would point out that your colleague and fellow Quebecker, Mr. André Boisclair, recently said that there is no francophonie outside of Quebec. I think that your party should reconsider its position on linguistic communities outside of Quebec.

Thirdly, the agreement to which you refer is an agreement with Quebec's minority English-language community. If I am not mistaken, it is the first time that an agreement has been signed with this community. I would ask our expert to provide more information on the agreement.

[Hubert Lussier]

You are right, Minister. It is indeed the first time that what we call a collaborative agreement has been signed with this particular community. By means of this collaborative agreement, the budget for Quebec's English-speaking community has been increased by 11 per cent.

In addition, you made reference to a future agreement that will be signed with the Quebec government for the provision of services in English. That agreement will also constitute a first, as no such agreements have been signed for several years.

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

Do I have any time left?

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

You have one more minute.

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

I had the privilege of being in the House when Bill S-3 was adopted; as you were not, certain elements must have escaped you.

To our minds, it is problematic to create a situation of enforceable equality between French and English in Quebec. The Bloc Québécois asked that Quebec be granted an exemption on this matter; our request was refused. We therefore had no choice but to vote against Bill S-3. Our decision was in no way related to our commitment to the French language or to our appreciation of how important this matter is for the various linguistic communities.

Thank you.

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Chairman, I assume that you will grant me a few seconds to answer.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

You have approximately 28 seconds.

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

You are right, I had not yet been elected at that time. However, together with my colleague who is now the chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, I was our party's critic on the bill.

We tabled an amendment aiming to protect Quebec's jurisdiction on linguistic matters, but the Bloc Québécois voted against it. I would remind you that we are talking about federal institutions offering services in both official languages.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you, Minister.

We will now move on to a second question for Mr. Godin.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I have got it now! It took me a while, but your excellent explanation made everything clear, Minister. When our guest arrived in Canada, we gave him such a warm welcome that he had to take off his coat. He was too hot!

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

It was a warm day.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Minister, a lot has been said about the previous government. However, that does not change the fact that whenever we speak about language or the need to provide training in the regions so that services can be provided in both official languages, the former official opposition, now the government, asks, “How much is that going to cost us?”. It is almost as if it were a pre-recorded message.

Are you currently focusing on how much it will cost to promote and ensure the respect of our country's two official languages?

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Godin. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to say that is not what we are doing. As you know, we supported Bill S-3. Our commitment to Canada's linguistic communities is unfaltering, and we fully intend to see that all communities get the services to which they are entitled.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

I would like to officially congratulate Ms. Sylvie Boucher on her appointment as parliamentary secretary. I do have to say, however, that it took quite some time for the appointment to be made. I think that is why Canadians feel that official languages and matters relating to the francophonie are not a priority for the government.

Secondly, one of my colleagues asked you a question on the appointment of the Commissioner of Official Languages. We would like to know whether the commissioner will take up his or her position before the end of summer. I understand that you have to familiarize yourself with your portfolio. You have not yet dealt with the matter. However, this is an extremely important issue for us. We cannot simply ignore it. Communities regularly file complaints with the commissioner. It would be unthinkable for us not to have a commissioner for the months of August and September. The Commissioner of Official Languages is an officer of Parliament with an extremely important mandate.

Ms. Adam deserves to be congratulated for the work that she has done during her term as commissioner. She worked to promote both official languages, not just one. You would not want to give the press the opportunity to say that the Conservative government has no respect for official languages because it was too late in dealing with the commissioner's appointment.

Lastly, we were told last week by Service Canada officials that, from now on, no job offers would be posted on their web page without first having been revised by a translator. And when I say a translator, I am talking about a person and not translation software. Do you support Service Canada's position?

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Thank you for your question.

My first comment is on the budget. Our government has set out five priorities. However, in no way whatsoever do these priorities preclude us from pursuing the other aspects of our programs and commitments. In other words, nothing has been stopped, nor diminished in importance because of our five priorities.

There's no need to be concerned over the communities, since the budgets have been maintained, and most recently, I announced several multi-year agreements with the provinces.

I also want to reply to your comment on the Commissioner of Official Languages. The commissioner meets the needs of different communities.

As regards Service Canada, I will be discussing that issue with my colleague. I invite you to address your concerns on official languages to my colleagues.

I believe Mr. Lussier may wish to complete my answer.

[Hubert Lussier]

Not on that point, no.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you. That ends the second round of questions.

We have time for a third round of five-minute questions.

Go ahead, Ms. Folco.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Verner, for coming here.

Before asking my question, I wish to clarify a few things. Since I am the third Liberal to speak, I have the opportunity to come back to certain comments some of my colleagues did not have time to make.

Earlier, my colleague, Mr. Raymond Simard, talked about budget cutbacks. You pointed out that it was the Liberal government that had made those cutbacks. I simply want to point out, Minister Verner, that the Liberal government was forced to make those cutbacks because we were running a $42.5 billion deficit—

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Per year.