Official Languages Committee on March 24th, 2009

[Judith LaRocque, Deputy Minister, Department of Canadian Heritage]

Ms. Glover, had we appeared before the committee two years ago, we would have been a little more anxious as far as the media coverage is concerned. Now, I can tell you that CTV and its partners have worked hard to ensure there will be good francophone media coverage. We are talking about the highest number of hours of coverage ever. The committee has already thought of inviting them; this may be the right time to do so. On Friday, they told me that they are covering 96% of the country. There is the possibility of offering three months of free service so that people can have either cable or satellite for the Olympic Games. We hope that the vast majority of the people who wish to have access to the media coverage of the Olympic Games in the language of their choice will have it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you very much, Ms. Glover.

We are indeed planning to meet with people from the Olympic Committee in April.

We'll now go on to the second round of questions.

Mr. Rodriguez.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister Moore, I would first like to congratulate you on the efforts you and your family have made to learn French and keep it up over the years. It's remarkable and should be pointed out. I would also like to thank you for your presence here, which is quite different from the attitude of your predecessor. I won't get into that, because Mr. Godin has already done so. The committee members felt somewhat insulted in the past. The minister refused to testify during our discussions of the Court Challenges Program. I want to ask you a question on that and then I will go on to another subject.

In light of everything we have seen, do you think that the abolition of the Court Challenges Program was a mistake?

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Are you asking me whether I think it was a mistake?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Looking back, and given the outcry across the country, was abolishing the program a mistake?

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

I voted in favour and I believe that was—

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

We can admit our mistakes, on occasion.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Godin does not agree with my vote. This program was abolished and replaced by the new Language Rights Support Program. Our government made that decision in 2006 when it was re-elected. I believe Canadians agreed with our decision.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Maybe some of them did, but others didn't.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Pardon?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Maybe some of them did, but others didn't. I don't think that you were re-elected because you abolished the—

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

In a democracy there is always debate.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

I'm going to quickly go on to another subject.

The Roadmap is a major feature that we've been waiting a long time. First, there was the Lord tour, which went on and on, then there were pre-consultations and then consultations. Next, Mr. Lord crisscrossed the country again, and then the file was submitted to the minister. In the end, what was adopted was basically the Dion plan for five years, with some minor additions. That's all that I can see.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Two hundred and forty million dollars is a minor addition?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

But we don't see those details. We see what was in the Dion plan and what was extended, but there is nothing concrete with regard to cultural innovation, for example. I get the impression that you don't really know where you're heading, even though consultations were carried out for a very long time. You want to get somewhere, but it's dragging on and on.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

This is a five-year plan, as you know. The plan put forward by Mr. Dion, the minister at the time was a good one, which is why we renewed it. However, we improved it through new investments. We increased the budget by 20% and included arts and culture in our plan. This is important for me as minister, and we will continue along this path. We also added economic development, health and immigration. These are important new avenues.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

It is important, and we recognize that. What I'm saying is that most programs are simply an extension of current funding. It seems like there's an awful lot of grandstanding. It's a good thing that this program is being renewed. In fact, it would have been a disaster if it had been cut. In my opinion, we should commend the initiative of Mr. Dion and the Liberal Party of the era in that regard.

I'm going to come back to the subject of CBC. Minister Moore, the solution is in your hands. I am in contact with CBC representatives, just as you are. CBC cannot borrow money from the bank like private broadcasters can. CBC has not requested money, merely a loan. So you could solve this problem.

CBC is calling for bridge funding. It is requesting a loan or a margin of borrowing power to tide it over while advertising revenues are down. Once things improve, CBC will repay the loan. It won't cost you a single cent. But you are refusing, even though the solution is right in front of you. Why are you refusing to authorize it to borrow funds?

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

This is a problem that may arise again in future. If CBC was authorized to borrow funds from the government or the private sector... If advertising revenue continues to decline, perhaps things will never be the same. As you know, private broadcasters say that the industry is in crisis and will never bounce back, that the system is broken and that we can't go back to the time when advertising guaranteed a return on our investment.

There may be a problem. If CBC continues to count on advertising for one-third of its revenue and the taxpayers' share represents two-thirds of its spending, what will happen in 24 or 36 months if advertising revenue continues to plummet? CBC is already having problems with advertising that does not guarantee value for the private monies invested, and in addition it would have to repay any funds borrowed from banks.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you very much.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Then CBC would have a real crisis on its hands with regard to its services. As I told Mr. Godin, I have spoken with Mr. Lacroix on several occasions, and he told me that he is confident that CBC will be able to continue offering the services that Canadians expect of it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Rodriguez.

We will now go on to Ms. Guay.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good day, Mr. Moore. I had the opportunity to watch you last weekend during your appearance on the show Tout le monde en parle, and you made a valiant effort.

I have some concerns. Back home, we hear a lot about the budget cuts that affected the Court Challenges Program. We haven't heard anything new since 2006. Two years later, we still haven't heard anything new and we're still waiting to see what will happen. You promise us things but you don't know exactly what. You conduct studies. I would like to obtain a clear answer.

What will replace the Court Challenges Program? When? How? Who will be entitled to use it? Who will have access to the program?

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

The Language Rights Support Program will be set up and operational by the end of 2009. We issued a call for tenders yesterday. I encourage you to read it to see how we want this program to be directed by a group that is at arm's length from the government. We're encouraging organizations that want to get involved to participate. It will be set up before the end of 2009.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

I have another very important concern. It is unacceptable that we have Supreme Court justices who are not bilingual. All of the Supreme Court justices should be bilingual. Having ambassadors who are not bilingual is just as unacceptable. All of Canada's ambassadors should be bilingual. Bilingualism should also be mandatory for deputy ministers. Thirty-four per cent of federal public servants are unilingual English; they are not bilingual.

What has to happen before you change this, Mr. Minister? I know that you alone are not responsible for the situation, because there were other people in the position before you, but it was your party that was in power. Nothing is happening. Why not take action? I would like some real answers to these questions.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

I answered every question. What can we do? As I said, we can invest in official languages at the Public Service Agency. Our Roadmap talks about an investment of $17 million to help people learn French.