Official Languages Committee on May 15th, 2008

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Audet.

[Stéphane Audet]

It seems to us that the officials in the regions are as uninformed as we are. There has been no contact. And yet they know that we've already started our work.

With regard to the evaluations, only yesterday we received an e-mail from Ottawa including an evaluation exercise. That on-line exercise was carried out by a major Montreal firm. Everything is being done at the last minute. It's really strange. We are partners, but sometimes we wonder whether we really are.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

I'm going to go to my second question, since I only have two minutes left.

The government has had more than two years to renew and announce the action plan. The old one expired on March 31. A new plan therefore should have been implemented on April 1. Your agreements will expire in less than two years. In fact, we're talking about months. As you know, we're no longer talking about the same thing. But are we talking about: a new structure?

Since this has taken so much time, but has not been resolved, are you afraid, with respect to your funding, that the agreements between the federal government and the communities aren't ready? We know that interest charges are high because the federal government, in particular, doesn't want to make its payments.

I'll let you answer.

[Stéphane Audet]

I can answer that briefly.

It's a big concern, and we are also concerned about the impact that has on the funding granted by other departments. I'm thinking of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, the Department of Western Economic Diversification and the Department of Health. The fact that the action plan still isn't known greatly delays the continuation of activities and services provided. So there's very great uncertainty and a number of departments are currently holding back funding. The activities are therefore not being renewed and it's very troubling for us.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

You're not receiving the funding, and the activities can't take place, but those activities have nevertheless been approved. You've done your job, and your projects have been accepted, but you aren't being given the money so you can carry out your activities.

[Stéphane Audet]

The departments are waiting for the Department of Canadian Heritage to make its action plan known first before—

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

And it's not making it known.

[Stéphane Audet]

And it's not making it known. So everyone is waiting for some leadership.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

In conclusion, there's no leadership, and the francophone and anglophone linguistic communities are waiting to be able to advance their rights.

Mr. Comtois, do you want to add something?

[Jean Comtois]

The important aspect of what you're saying is that, on the one hand, we don't have the action plan, and, on the other, we're being asked to develop a global development plan. It would be helpful to know what the major—

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

The major directions—

[Jean Comtois]

—the outlines of that action plan are so that we can match our projects to the plan, since those criteria are very important when we submit funding requests.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Comtois.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Chairman, that's proof that we're really short of time. There are too many witnesses, and it's unfair for them that there are six presentations. This penalizes them, in view of the importance of this issue.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

The only alternative available to us is to do a first round of seven minutes as well, provided members are in agreement.

Would you prefer that we operate that way?

[Maria Mourani, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

I would prefer an equal round because I'll also have something to say.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

All right.

We're already at six minutes. That isn't very different from the usual round.

It's now the Bloc Québécois' turn.

Mr. Gravel, you may start.

[Raymond Gravel, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

It's true there are a lot of people.

With respect to the agreements signed between the federal government and the communities, is the situation the same in Quebec? Is it the same in the case of the agreements between the anglophone community and the federal government?

[Sylvia Martin-Laforge]

Indeed, the Quebec Community Groups Network has established a collaboration agreement with the federal government.

[Raymond Gravel, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

So it's the same thing.

Mr. Audet, earlier you said that 300,000 persons in British Columbia understood French or lived in French. I assume they don't live in French but that they understand French. Is that correct?

[Stéphane Audet]

In fact, 300,000 British Columbians can or say they can speak French. The community consists of 64,000 francophones, but we have a vision of a much broader community than that.

[Raymond Gravel, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

You said that, if the situation didn't change, French would be threatened more or less across Canada, except in Quebec. However, French would be threatened elsewhere in Canada.

[Stéphane Audet]

We're currently seeing that pressure is being exercised services in French: the schools are overflowing, and people from across the country and elsewhere in the world want to enter Canadian society. So they need services at the college level in order to get a postsecondary education. However, those institutions don't even exist. We therefore have to meet the demand, and that's where we have a problem. We can't even properly integrate these people because we are unable to offer them adequate services.

[Raymond Gravel, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

So that means that francophones are increasingly anglicizing.

[Stéphane Audet]

Absolutely, and that's a crime. Our francophones are anglicizing and losing their language because assimilation rates are unacceptable.