Official Languages Committee on Oct. 22nd, 2009

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Ms. Guay.

Thank you too, commissioner, for the distinction between border services and security services in airports. We'll take note of that.

Ms. Boucher.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Good morning, Mr. Fraser. I'm here temporarily, for the moment, but I'm always interested to know that French is important virtually everywhere.

In recent months, there has been a lot of talk about Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, with regard to ensuring that the Games are broadcast in French.

Do you support the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission in its recent request to Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium and to Société Radio-Canada to at least agree on the broadcast of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympic Games for all Canadians?

[Graham Fraser]

I think it's important that all Canadians have access to the Games on television. I know that the Consortium has done a lot of work. I very much appreciated the interest the CRTC has shown in the subject. I also testified before the CRTC on this subject and I was impressed by the Chair's determination to put pressure on the Consortium and Radio-Canada. At the same time, however, I recognize that there are major challenges for Radio-Canada with regard to the talks underway.

However, what is important is that all Canadians have access to the Games on television. I don't want to go into the details of the negotiations. I don't know whether they're continuing or whether they've hit a dead end. According to the testimony you've heard here in committee, there was quite a considerable gap at the time, despite the Chair's suggestion.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

I have a question. There's a lot of talk about bilingualism. We know that we have anglophone communities in Quebec.

Do you think they will experience challenges similar to those facing the francophone communities with regard to broadcasting access?

[Graham Fraser]

From what I know about it, most anglophone communities have access to CTV, but there may be exceptions in the case of certain isolated communities. So the challenge remains. I don't have any specific information to give you on that subject.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

All right. I have another question.

Will VANOC's approach to the Association de la presse francophone be enough to make the Games known to the minority francophone communities?

[Graham Fraser]

The challenge with the AFO is that it represents weeklies in large part. There are few dailies, except in the Ottawa region and in Acadia. In a way, because of that, the information is not available in a balanced manner.

In Quebec, there are fewer problems because there is an agreement that took many months to reach. Following the agreement reached with English-language newspaper chains, an agreement was negotiated with the Gesca papers, which include Le Droit, for example.

I'm pleased with the agreement with the AFO, but communities served by weeklies definitely won't receive the same amount of information as communities that have dailies.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

So the rural or remote francophone communities may have less access to information on the Olympic Games. They'll have less information because they are served by weeklies.

[Graham Fraser]

That's always a challenge for remote communities.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you very much, Ms. Boucher.

We'll complete our second round with Mr. Godin.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

We're going to talk about Vancouver Airport again. It seems that Vancouver Airport is designated bilingual. Once again, it's sad to see that, with 113 days to go until the Olympic Games, we're still wondering about the service that will be provided there.

What else can we do to enforce the Official Languages Act? You already know my opinion; I believe we could discuss that for a long time. It's all well and good to be friendly and nice, to ask and use other similar means, but if a police officer asks me to drive at 100 km/hour and he's nice with me, I may drive at 120 km/hour. When I get a ticket, I'll have to think about it.

In Canada, we have an Official Languages Act. Some institutions take the liberty of violating the act every day. At Vancouver Airport, for example, that didn't start just with the Conservative government. It was being done during the time of the Liberals and before them, during the time of Brian Mulroney's Conservatives. It's been going on for 40 years. I'm talking about a lack of respect for the act. If an institution is designated bilingual and, 40 years after passage of the Official Languages Act, it still has not adjusted, we have a serious problem.

Apart from showing good faith, what do you suggest we do to try to solve this problem? I'm talking about Vancouver, but the situation is the same in Toronto and Ottawa. It's unfortunate to see that our colleague Richard Nadeau returns to Ottawa Airport and can't get service in his language. It's the capital of our country. There's nothing more shameful. In the capital of our country, an officially bilingual country, we can't offer service in both official languages. So what else do you suggest apart from simply holding talks?

[Graham Fraser]

Mr. Chairman, I can tell you that, at the Office, we've set the following priority: focus on the travelling public in the next few years. The idea is not to consider a single institution but to assess the overall needs of the travelling public.

The member refers to about contraventions. I'm going to use another metaphor. If an individual gets a ticket for driving 80 km/hour in a 50 km/hour zone, he may not repeat his act, but if you don't install a stop sign at the street corner, other drivers will continue to drive too fast. There won't be any systemic change. Often, when there's a speed problem in a neighbourhood, you don't intervene with individual drivers. Instead you ask city authorities to install stop signs at intersections, to assign crossing officers there, and so on.

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

You install radar systems equipped with cameras that make it possible to send out contraventions through the mail. In that case, you don't need police officers.

Something has to be done. It's like for white collar criminals. If you do nothing, they'll keep committing their crimes. The act has been in existence for 40 years. I'm not attacking you, Mr. Fraser.

I'd also like to talk about security at airports. Even though CATSA operates through third parties, is it subject to the act?

[Graham Fraser]

Absolutely.

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

In that case, why is it so difficult?

[Graham Fraser]

Mr. Chairman, that's why—

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

Mr. Fraser, you said it was difficult.? There's an act; so does that mean that the government doesn't enforce it? Someone has to do it.

[Graham Fraser]

It's precisely in order to answer those questions that we decided to make it a priority, Mr. Chairman. We want to examine the language rights and services offered to the travelling public.

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

I know you're making it a priority. You aren't the only one to do that. In my opinion, the Standing Committee on Official Languages shouldn't even exist since there is an act and it should be complied with. We have to address this subject week after week, even twice a week, appoint a Commissioner of Official Languages and have him intervene in the context of this committee, when an act has been in existence for 40 years.

Do you have any hope that the program you are implementing will work? You're talking about installing stop signs. Those signs were in existence for 40 years, but people didn't obey the law.

[Graham Fraser]

Mr. Chairman, if I had no confidence, we wouldn't be proceeding with the change of approach that we are making. However, our goal is to change the outcomes. Over a certain period, proceeding on a case-by-case basis has not had the necessary impact on the institutions. We're trying by other means to change the behaviour of the institutions that have clearly defined obligations under the act.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Fraser.

Thank you, Mr. Godin.

We'll now begin our third round with Ms. Zarac.

[Lise Zarac, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Good morning, Mr. Fraser. Good morning, Mesdames.

Mr. Fraser, I think it's very important for us to recall that this is not just a matter of national pride. The international francophone community as a whole is watching us. The Olympic flame was lit yesterday. The countdown has started, and I think we have to pick up the pace.

Earlier you were asked whether you were satisfied with the $7.7 million that had just been allocated. I'm sure you're very proud of that. In your last report, that of September 15, you spoke again about under-funding. You addressed the issue of the Olympic Games even in your first report. You are no doubt at the origin of that allocation of $7.7 million.

Is that amount enough? Has it come too late?

[Graham Fraser]

Mr. Chairman, I hope not. What is important in this entire process is not my moods, whether I'm happy or unhappy, whether I have or lack confidence.

[Lise Zarac, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

These are the facts.

[Graham Graham]

What is important are the results.