Official Languages Committee on Oct. 20th, 2009

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

Which commissioner?

[Camille Therriault-Power]

The Commissioner of Official Languages. Mr. Fraser and his employees come to our sites and look for bilingual services. An evaluation of our services versus our obligations is then done.

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

We should ask him to report the results to us.

You said that it took 40 hours to learn another language. At least I thought that was what I heard. Could you give us some further explanations? When I was 16 years old, I was living in Ontario and I can tell you that when I was 20 years old, I did not speak much English. Perhaps I do not speak it any better today.

[Pierre Paquet]

Thank you for the question. I must say that the first part of our Recruits Training Program is distance training. The training takes 40 hours over a period of four weeks. A part of this training is aimed at instructing the recruits about the Official Languages Act and about questions such as the primary examination and service to clients. This is not a 40-hour language course; a small part of this period of time deals with the Official Languages Act.

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

Ms. Therriault-Power, let me say in passing that Power is a beautiful name because my mother's maiden name is Power—she comes from Ireland.

[Camille Therriault-Power]

This is a part of the French-Irish mafia in Quebec.

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

It also exists in Acadia.

You said that there was a problem with the budget for training. Does the federal government not invest enough money in the agency so that it can give training? You did say that there was a lack of money. We should look at the blues, but I am sure that you made that comment.

[Camille Therriault-Power]

Yes.

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

Do not try to wiggle out of it, that is what you said.

[Camille Therriault-Power]

Many kinds of financial pressure are brought to bear on the agency. Some are due to a collective agreement that was negotiated last year and that made us increase our budget for wages. However, this does not mean that we must not meet our legal commitments.

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

This does not mean that because of part VII of the Official Languages Act, the government cannot make further investments, especially in official languages. Pursuant to section 43, it is in charge of promoting both languages in Canada. This could be distinct from your operating budget. You do not have enough money to do what you would really like to do.

[Camille Therriault-Power]

It is always good to have more resources available for our official languages program.

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

Is there a lack of money?

[Camille Therriault-Power]

We could always use more of it.

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

Could you do better if you were given money to promote bilingualism?

[Camille Therriault-Power]

Yes.

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Godin.

To conclude, we will actually continue with a fourth round.

Mr. D'Amours.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It will likely be brief. I will not refer to the matter I raised during the first three rounds.

Ms. Glover may not like my comments, but sometimes in life, we need to be able to repeat what we say in order to make things better. If we can only say something once and people are not listening carefully, maybe it needs to be repeated two, three or twenty more times.

An inquiry by the official languages commissioner is one thing, but we also need to find ways for it to resonate, for others to hear it and say to themselves, we also need to speak out about what is happening.

People are saying that I am trying to conduct an investigation, Mr. Chair. I am sorry to hear such comments because when our constituents give us files that are important to us, it is also our responsibility as parliamentarians to be able to defend and promote them. If we cannot promote them, what is the point of being a parliamentarian? There is not one.

We are considering important issues. Having to repeat myself two or three times does not mean my comments are irrelevant. That was my final comment, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. D'Amours.

I think that Mr. Nadeau would also like to comment.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

I have a question. I do not know whether you can answer it, but I am going to ask it nonetheless.

Would it not be easier for the agency to ensure that bilingualism, French and English, is an essential requirement when recruiting new staff?

[Camille Therriault-Power]

With regard to bilingual regions where bilingual services are provided, this is clearly our goal, and that is what we try to do. If at any time, there are no bilingual individuals available on the labour market, we hire unilinguals, on a non-imperative basis, and we train those individuals over a two-year period, if the position is a bilingual one.

However, clearly, our objective is to hire individuals who are already bilingual so that we do not have to spend money training them. These individuals are already bilingual at the time they are hired. Our goal and our hope is to reach that point.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Before we thank the witnesses, I want to give the final word to our analyst, who is neutral.

[Jean-Rodrigue Paré, Committee Researcher]

I would like to clarify a few things, since the commissioner will be here Thursday.

The official languages regulations set out the obligations concerning services to the travelling public, at airports, train stations, etc.

With regard to major airports, if we add the number of passengers arriving and departing, and it equals one million or more, services must be provided in both languages. For smaller airports, it depends on whether demand for services in the second official language represent 5% of the overall demand.

At border crossings, it depends. In New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario, it depends on demand for services at each crossing. If demand reaches or exceeds 5% of overall demand, services must be provided in both official languages.

So, the criteria are quite easy to identify. In airports, services are offered in both official languages when there are one million or more passengers or when demand represents 5% of overall demand by travellers.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you very much, Mr. Paré.

Now I want to thank Mr. Paquet and Ms. Therriault-Power. Thank you for coming to meet with the committee. Thank you for your efforts in the area of linguistic duality, particularly with regard to the Vancouver Olympics.

Thank you everyone.

The meeting is adjourned.