Official Languages Committee on Oct. 22nd, 2009

[Graham Fraser]

With regard to translation, I know that the Translation Bureau is now engaged in a process. However, I couldn't tell you at this stage exactly how many translators, how many hours, how many resources will be assigned to the work at that bureau.

As for the simultaneous transmission of information, we're trying to determine how to prevent the unheard-of phenomenon, which we identified in our report, in which a comment made in French by an athlete might be translated into English then translated back into French. I find that phenomenon implausible, and we're still monitoring that.

However, I don't have any additional information to give you, but that's one of the issues that is very important to resolve, in my view.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Will medical services, emergency services, be available in French? This may concern a fransaskois, Quebec or Acadian athlete, all francophones, or one from Switzerland, Luxemburg or another country. We know that performance is important in the world of sport. Injuries are unfortunately part of the picture, and there are even accidents.

Do we have any guarantee that physicians, people from the health field will be able to take care of athletes or spectators? For one reason or another, people on site, who speak French, may have an accident. We know how that happens when it comes to health: you want to speak your language, which is entirely natural and normal.

Will we have a country—Canada—where it will be normal and natural to respond to those people in French?

[Graham Fraser]

I was told that an additional effort was being made to ensure that there is a certain level of bilingualism in the security field.

As for medical teams, I'll take note of that. We're going to raise that question with a degree of emphasis because I entirely agree with you. We can be completely capable of getting along in normal situations with all kinds of institutions or in all kinds of exchanges, but, from the moment we suffer an injury, we would like to speak in our mother tongue.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Another aspect is bilingualism as such. How high is the bar being set to determine whether a person is bilingual? Of the 25,000 volunteers, 3,500 are considered bilingual. Are their comprehension and oral communication good enough to say that there are indeed bilingual? A situation in which they know only a few words, a few phrases should not arise.

[Graham Fraser]

Interviews are being conducted to determine the level of bilingualism of the people designated bilingual. We're going to monitor the training closely. I know there are people who aren't in designated bilingual positions but who have some knowledge of French. They would be able to have a basic conversation and to redirect a person seeking information, but they would not necessarily be able to provide a very detailed explanation. Not all meetings with volunteers or employees require—

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Have you been asked to be part of the team responsible for determining the level of bilingualism?

[Graham Fraser]

It's not my role to take part in that kind of team; it's that of the institutions that have signed agreements or that have obligations and responsibilities. It would be difficult for me to play a monitoring role if I was also part of that kind of evaluation system.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Nadeau.

Commissioner, if you want to elaborate further on certain subjects but don't have the time to do so in the time allotted to you, you can transmit that information to committee members by sending it to me or to the clerk. We'll then distribute it to members during discussions and questions.

[Graham Fraser]

Mr. Chairman, if anyone wants more information on the complaint concerning the Rigaud centre, Ms. Charlebois could give you more details.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

That was more a general comment, but that subject could indeed interest committee members. We'll be able to talk to you about that again.

We'll now begin our fourth round.

We'll begin with Mr. Albrecht.

Welcome to the committee, Mr. Albrecht.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank Mr. Fraser and his team for being here today.

I certainly found the discussion very encouraging today. It's very informative to see the initiatives your team has taken to ensure that service is provided in both official languages at the 2010 Olympics. Also, I was pleased to see that you commented favourably in relation to the $7.7 million investment on the part of our government after negotiations with VANOC.

I want to just turn for a few minutes to the 11 recommendations you made in your follow-up report. I want to ask a few questions regarding your involvement with the official languages advisory committee.What progress has been made so far in your dealings with the official languages advisory committee as it relates to the 11 recommendations?

Also, do you know if the Grand Témoin of the Vancouver games, Pascal Couchepin, will be closely involved in the advisory committee's work?

[Graham Fraser]

Those are two separate roles. First of all, my knowledge of the workings of the advisory committee is only partial and indirect. I've had a few conversations, but as an example, one of the things the advisory committee has been considering is the question of the opening and closing ceremonies, which they are keeping an absolute secret.

Mr. Chair, I'm assured that I will be pleased by the result, but as is totally their right, this is something they are keeping to themselves and they don't want anybody outside a very tight circle to know. The whole purpose is to have something that is going to be a surprise.

I have had conversations in the past with Judith LaRocque, the deputy minister who is a member of the advisory committee, and with Jacques Gauthier, who is a member of the advisory committee. I wasn't able, because of a conflict in schedule, to have a meeting with Mr. Raffarin yesterday. But I'm not a part of their discussions.

Similarly, on his way to his first visit to Vancouver, Monsieur Couchepin stopped off in Ottawa. I had a meeting with him. We had a very useful discussion, but he's not part of the advisory committee either. He reports to the International Organisation of the Francophonie. I made sure, as I did with Mr. Raffarin, that he had our reports, that he was aware of what we were doing. So he's aware of our activities.

Although we are all working in the same direction, we're all doing our work separately.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

But dialogue is occurring between your different groups. You mentioned that one example with Mr. Couchepin in your dialogue.

[Graham Fraser]

Yes, I did.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

I would be concerned to find that there were three different silos all doing their different work with no intercommunication in the interim.

[Graham Fraser]

Mr. Chairman, candidly, one of the things I wanted to make sure, in ensuring that our reports were being shared and that all of those organizations were aware of what we were doing, was that we weren't being played off against one another. I didn't want a situation in which VANOC would say to me, for example, that Mr. Couchepin doesn't have a problem with such-and-such and ask me why am I giving them a hard time, or alternately say that to the International Organisation of the Francophonie.

It would be important that we not be played off against one another and contradict one another, and that there be some communication between us. We are approaching it from different angles with different criteria, but we are going in the same direction.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Do I have another minute, Mr. Chair? Oh, I have 30 seconds.

We focused today on the games themselves and on the travel to the games. I'm wondering if you could also comment in terms of the ability for francophone communities to participate in the Olympiads and also the torch relay. Will francophone communities be represented well in those aspects too?

[Graham Fraser]

I was struck by the explicit effort that the organizers of the torch relay made to ensure that this very complicated route included francophone minority communities. In terms of the cultural Olympiad and various other cultural events around it, the Fondation canadienne pour le dialogue des cultures has been very involved in the cultural discussions around the Olympics. I think they have had some positive news recently about support for La place de la francophonie 2010, where there will be a whole series of French-language performances on Granville Island during the games.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Albrecht. The torch will be in my riding in Lévis as well.

Okay, Monsieur Rodriguez.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I don't want to dwell too much on Ms. Glover's comment, but I nevertheless want to say that it isn't because Mr. D'Amours asks questions about a case that concerns the commissioner that he has less respect for him. I would say that it doesn't take a lot of courage to attack someone who isn't here to defend himself. You're on television and you're offering a pathetic spectacle that doesn't reinforce the good perception that people may have of politicians. You should have reservations in this regard. Furthermore, he doesn't work for you, and you don't have to defend him every time someone questions something.

As regards the websites, you said that you move from one jurisdiction to another. When you're in a place that is under the jurisdiction of the Government of Canada, it's obviously bilingual. At VANOC, it's bilingual. However, are there lesser restrictions elsewhere? For example, are there any partners where everything is done in English only?

[Graham Fraser]

I think the Internet is a considerable challenge for linguistic duality. Following a question that was raised here and a complaint that we received concerning Tourism BC, even though the complaint was not admissible because the Official Languages Act does not apply to provincial institutions, I had a conversation with the Vice-President of Tourism BC, and, since then, that agency has made efforts to ensure that there is information in French on its website.

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

Essentially what we're saying is that partners that play an important role in the organization and that are linked to the main site don't have any bilingual obligation. If, for example, I'm going to see VANOC's partners and I realize that everything is offered in only one language, we can do nothing about it because they aren't subject—

[Graham Fraser]

We can't impose obligations, but we can nevertheless encourage. That's what we did. There have also been partnership experiences between Parks Canada and parks in British Columbia in which a relay relationship was established as a result of which, when a British Columbia parks employee received a service request in French, the requester could be referred to a Parks Canada employee.

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

Is there a budget or an amount available somewhere to make it possible to offer the service or to go see one of those organizations or jurisdictions to say that there is a budget that it can access to do translation. Otherwise, would that budget not be useful?

[Graham Fraser]

It would be very useful, but is there that kind of budget?