Official Languages Committee on April 2nd, 2009

[Richard Clément]

Yes, certainly.

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

And you could probably provide better service.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. D'Amours.

We will move on now to Ms. Guay.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for being here today.

I have a problem. These are two very different issues, in terms of our public service which is not bilingual, judges who are not bilingual, people being hired and deputy ministers who are not bilingual—who are recruited for their skills; I understand that—but who are then given five years to learn the second official language, be it French or English. If they do not learn it in five years, they can ask for another five years. In other words, the process is never-ending. Ultimately, these people never really learn to speak the second language.

I don't think that really concerns you. Yes, you have students. I know you are doing a good job. I know many young people who are pursuing their studies at the University of Ottawa and they are very happy to be able to learn both languages. The environment is important, as you said; there are both Anglophones and Francophones studying there, they talk to each other, and even couples are formed.

That does not necessarily relate to our current area of study—the problem we are experiencing here, which has gotten worse and worse every year since the Conservatives took office. I am not saying it is their fault, but there is definitely a need for the government to look closely at what its role may have been. The minister must make an effort in that regard.

I want to come back to your funding shortfall, because that is important. Have you made a specific request? The fact is that you provide services that are different from the other universities. What response have you had from the federal government?

[Sylvie Lauzon]

As you know, education is a provincial area of jurisdiction. As a result, we always make our representations to the Ontario government, so that money is set aside under the Canada-Ontario Agreement. Funding for bilingualism has been provided to bilingual universities in Ontario for several years now. As I was explaining earlier, the amount we receive at the University of Ottawa has not changed in 10 years. Our president has made representations to a number of government authorities in Ontario, and we continue to do so. We also submitted—

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

I am sorry to interrupt you, but I only have five minutes.

Are you still awaiting a response?

[Sylvie Lauzon]

Yes.

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

That is really a shame, in my opinion, because it is very much needed.

Do you think we should be focusing much more and putting greater pressure on the public service, so that senior officials really learn the second language—particularly when they are deputy ministers, that being an important position—and learn it as quickly as possible, rather than spreading the learning period over 10 or 15 years?

[Sylvie Lauzon]

I think the best strategy is always for many different sources and people to deliver that message.

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

It has to come from the universities as well.

[Sylvie Lauzon]

Yes, but I would just like to mention one thing…

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

Go ahead.

[Sylvie Lauzon]

We said that we had not yet received a response, but we have been given one-time funding. That money is not part of our base operational funding, but we have received additional funds in recent years.

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

For other programs.

[Sylvie Lauzon]

In the case of the University of Ottawa, there were for the Francophonie.

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

Great, thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Ms. Guay.

Mr. Godin, you are getting a second chance.

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

It's the chance to go to France.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Here is to France!

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

I would not want to just abandon France. Obviously, people in France study in French. Are there any agreements in place with France to receive textbooks, for example, so that physicians or people studying at McGill University in health-related disciplines can pursue their studies in French?

[Dr. Pierre Chartrand]

Professional medical training is offered in French in Francophone universities. However, I was referring to research where the material used is essentially scientific articles. Unfortunately—and this is absolutely universal—research is conducted in English, particularly medical and health-related research, with some variations, depending on the field of study. But even France has stopped releasing some of its prestigious publications in French; they now publish them in English.

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

Thank you.

You were saying a little earlier that we must not leave that up to the universities or primary or secondary schools alone; that it has to be extended everywhere. I agree with you on that. At the same time, education is a provincial responsibility. You said that you received some additional one-time funding. Organizations have told us that, as a general rule, that money arrives at the very last minute. This is money that you were not expecting to receive, that is not there for the long term and, even if you were expecting to receive it, you have to keep fighting to get more. You must have to devote a lot of staff time to preparing applications for this additional funding. I imagine you waste a lot of time in the process, and when the money arrives, there is not much time left to spend it.

Are you really able to take full advantage of this money? Should it come from a specific program? For example, if a program has not changed in 10 years, it should be. Then you submit a proposal setting out the university's requirements.

[Sylvie Lauzon]

We have already told the government exactly what you just said.

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

The more often it is said, the better.

[Sylvie Lauzon]

Exactly. There have been some changes, because we have multi-year agreements. Previously, we only had annual agreements. At least we are moving towards multi-year agreements. There used to be a lot of different programs: a program for this or for that; it was very difficult. At least now, there is money available that the university can spend as it sees fit.