Official Languages Committee on May 14th, 2009

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Nadeau.

We will move on now to Mr. Godin.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Trudel, I want to come back to Tourism BC. Has the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique been involved in any talks with the government in that regard? Tourism BC must surely be receiving money from the provincial government.

We have noted that their site is aimed at more than six other countries in the language of those countries, but that there is nothing in French. Perhaps you could tell us how many Francophone countries will be attending the Olympic Games in Vancouver, countries that Tourism BC does not seem to be at all concerned about.

[Yves Trudel]

In terms of our contact with the provincial government, we have set up a coordinating committee which includes one of our member organizations, the Société de développement économique, or SDE, which has long been one of the partners of the province of British Columbia when it comes to providing tourist information in French.

Very early on in the process, several months ago, the SDE got in touch with Tourism BC to propose its assistance with the French material and to suggest that, until it is ready, there at least be links provided to SDE sites in order to provide partial tourist information to visitors. That had not yet been done. So, that is something that was done by one of our members.

We also have had direct contact with the provincial government, as has the SDE, of course. The provincial government was made aware of your comments, Mr. Godin, and I want to thank you for them. I still find it quite unfortunate that someone at the opposite end of the country has to intervene in order for a local government, which already has links to the Francophone community, to do the work it is supposed to do.

That is unfortunate. It simply reflects the fact that all of this work does not depend only on regulations, agreements, understandings and protocols; it also depends on the good will of staff and decision-makers. Sometimes, that good will has to be supported, encouraged and even given a good nudge from time to time, to ensure that important issues, such as linguistic duality at the Olympic Games, are dealt with appropriately.

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

I agree with you; that is unfortunate. Canada is recognized as being an officially bilingual country—French and English are its two official languages. At the same time, one of those languages is completely absent and I, for one, make no bones about saying that this is an insult.

[Yves Trudel]

People outside of British Columbia are not always aware of our ongoing relations with other minority communities in the province. It is important to understand that these communities provide ongoing support to Francophones and consider linguistic duality to be one of Canada's fundamental values. That is reflected in all the public opinion surveys conducted in British Columbia. It is one province which publicly acknowledges the reality of linguistic duality in all its communities.

For example, a large proportion of the people enrolled in immersion programs in British Columbia are from Asia and South Asia. Those programs are the most successful in Canada. So, the problem is not one of support for linguistic duality by the population at large.

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

I was referring more to the government. The problem is certainly not the population. If there is one place where the Francophonie can take its rightful place, it is certainly British Columbia. There are also agreements with France. In my opinion, the message Canada is sending is regrettable. British Columbia decided to put its name in the running to host the Olympic Games. So, it represents all of Canada, not just British Columbia. That does not present a very positive image to the rest of the world. Do you agree with me?

[Yves Trudel]

Yes.

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

In one document, it is mentioned that the offices of Tourism BC are located right across from VANOC's. And yet, Tourism BC's signage is in English only. We still have quite a way to go.

[Yves Trudel]

What is important to us is signage on the different sites and in the environs, as well as on the roads leading from one site to the next. We are wondering what kind of plans are in place to welcome and accommodate tourists in the province and the host cities of Whistler and Vancouver, and what kind of staff will be in the streets and at the sites where the celebrations are occurring to welcome everyone to the Games.

As regards the official signage of the provincial ministries, it is important to understand that British Columbia has no legislation or regulations in place with respect to services in French. So, it is a little difficult to pressure the authorities at that level with respect to the ongoing activities of provincial agencies.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you.

Would you like to ask one last question, Mr. Godin?

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

Yes. With respect to satellite reception of Olympic Games coverage, has anything been organized by you, CTV or the Olympic Games broadcast consortium? For example, will there be satellites set up in centres where Francophones can go to see the coverage? Is that feasible?

[Yves Trudel]

That is a good question. It would certainly be possible to establish community viewing sites. Up until now, there has been no discussion of that possibility.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Godin.

We move on now to Mr. Petit.

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Good morning, Mr. Trudel. Are you able to hear me?

[Yves Trudel]

Yes, thank you.

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

You are part of the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique. I live in Quebec City and saw on television that you have created the Société historique francophone de Colombie-Britannique. We saw some pictures of Maillardville. Is that the oldest community in British Columbia?

[Yves Trudel]

Well, the community of Maillardville is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. In terms of cultural, community and tourism promotion, the year preceding the Games is clearly critical for that community, as it is celebrating its own centenary.

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

I believe one person said it was the first time the story of Francophones in British Columbia was being told, even though they have been there for 100 years. Is that true?

[Yves Trudel]

I am sorry; I am not sure I understand your question.

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Someone from the Société historique francophone de Colombie-Britannique, relating the history of Francophones in that province, mentioned on television that this was the first time in 100 years that anything official was being done to acknowledge the Francophone presence in the province.

[Yves Trudel]

An associative movement has been around in British Columbia for quite a long time. The Federation is 65 years old, and our organizations in Victoria are almost 75 years old. Maillardville has been around for 100 years.

The fact that an historical society has just been created will help us raise awareness of this and put it in context, in terms of how the province has evolved.

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

That is very much to your credit, Mr. Trudel. I am not being critical; on the contrary, I found that report to be extremely interesting.

I have a second question. Are your relations with VANOC—you raised the issue, and we read the documents that were provided—positive at this time? Are things going well with VANOC right now?

[Yves Trudel]

I am inclined to say that our relations with VANOC are excellent. We sit on an official working committee, a tripartite committee, which includes the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, VANOC and the Fédération des francophones de Colombie-Britannique. Committee members meet several times a year.

In addition to that, there are liaison arrangements whereby we communicate with VANOC on a weekly basis. Information is exchanged electronically, of course. We also work with the volunteerism promotion committee to promote the Torch Relay.

I think there is a good cooperative relationship there. Every time we have concerns regarding the visibility of the French language, I am sure you can understand that VANOC is the first to hear about them. We seek solutions through the Committee and work cooperatively to find those solutions.

I do not think there is any problem as regards the relationship between the Federation, as a community organization, and VANOC. However, I believe VANOC's responsibility, in terms of presenting bilingual games, goes beyond just its relationship with community organizations. It has a responsibility to the population as a whole, its municipal partners and the province, and its sponsors. It is much broader than merely its relationship with the Federation.

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Do I have any time left, Mr. Chairman?

Thank you very much.

Mr. Trudel, we know that the Official Languages Act applies to the Olympic sites. There are some sites in Whistler, you mentioned Richmond, there is the airport as well and they are considered to be Olympic sites—in other words, places where both official languages are required and even mandatory.

Let us talk about your relationship with the municipalities. At the provincial level, in British Columbia, the linguistic situation is different from what it would be in New Brunswick, say, because the latter is an officially bilingual province. In British Columbia, there is no law on bilingualism, but at Olympic sites, both languages have to be recognized. Has this subject been addressed, either with VANOC or with an organization able to make decisions, with a view to confirming that the federal official languages policy applies at all sites where the federal government has a presence? Has that been discussed? Can that be corrected between now and the opening of the Games, or as soon as possible?

[Yves Trudel]

Yes, we think it can be corrected and that it is important for that to happen. You must understand that when the Government of Canada and VANOC entered into agreements, those agreements were also binding for the partners. They are not only binding for VANOC.

In that context, we were also talking about coverage of cultural events, and not just sporting events. By that we mean the cultural Olympiad, the celebration sites and a lot of venues other than the competition sites.

Of course, we continue to make representations in that regard, both to VANOC and to the Winter Games Federal Secretariat at Canadian Heritage, to Committees such as yours, today, and to the provincial government, which does have a Francophone affairs program. So, we are making representations widely in order to continue to raise people's awareness of the importance of the French fact.