Official Languages Committee on Nov. 3rd, 2009

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you. I would like to know whether unilingual anglophones and francophones recruited by the Canadian Forces, as well as their dependents, are given an equal opportunity to learn the other language.

[Col J.P.L. Meloche]

The answer is yes.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

The same opportunities are offered to them?

[Col J.P.L. Meloche]

Yes, because we operate based on needs, based on a functional approach. For example, a francophone from Saint-Georges de Beauce who enrols as an infantryman will receive his recruit instruction in Saint-Jean, then will be posted to an infantry battalion at Valcartier. As an infantryman of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment at the Citadelle, for example, his language of work is French. Does that individual need English? The answer is no. Later in his career, if he chooses to become an instructor at one of our national schools, at the Gagetown Infantry School, for example, he may need to use the other language. At that point in his career planning, he may choose to go and take a language course.

As regards the second part of your question on families, we have family resource centres. Each centre offers the dependents of military members second-language training at various levels. The chief of military personnel, General Semianiw, issued a directive last spring according to which the officers responsible for the Canada Forces Personnel Support Agency must standardize language training so that it is accessible to everyone, regardless of location. When people who are originally from Quebec are posted, for example, to Edmonton, Alberta, their spouses and families can take English courses.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

All right, thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Gravelle, you have some time left.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

I have finished.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Petit.

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

Mr. Gosselin, you have managed recruits and schools. There was a break in Quebec; Mr. Whelan must know that. The Royal Military College Saint-Jean was closed for 10 years. As a result, an entire generation of francophone officers will not enter the senior ranks at the same time as anglophones. The college has resumed its activities and we're seeing progress.

We've learned from various newspapers that recruitment in proportion to population is good in Quebec. A lot of recruits are coming from Quebec and going to schools directed by Mr. Gosselin or by people who work with him.

At the time, francophone officers were trained at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and could spread their knowledge of their occupation, know-how and leadership at other bases in Canada in their own language. However, there was a 10-year interruption.

How are you making up for that lost time? We're talking about material, but ultimately you need students and officers, as well as leadership, which is currently lacking. I don't mean you don't have any. The college in Saint-Jean was one of the biggest francophone officer training schools. However, they were simply shut down for 10 years.

Mr. Gosselin, do you currently have enough staff to make up for those 10 lost years?

[MGen J.P.Y.D. Gosselin]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

In fact, we don't have any shortage. You're obviously talking about military colleges.

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

I'm talking about Saint-Jean.

[MGen J.P.Y.D. Gosselin]

When the two military colleges of Royal Roads and Saint-Jean were closed, there was an increase in the number of recruits at the Royal Military College in Kingston. The programs at Kingston are given in both official languages. The percentages of enrolled anglophone and francophone officers did not change as a result of the college's closing. I have the figures and I could give them to the committee. I believe the percentage was even higher than the Canadian proportion. We have no trouble recruiting officers for the basic training program at the military colleges.

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

Do I have any time left, Mr. Chairman?

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

You have a minute and a half left, Mr. Petit.

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

With regard to recruitment, those who want to become officers are naturally attracted to the Collège militaire Saint-Jean. They want to go there. In terms of studies, the college is equivalent to a CEGEP. They can continue their studies there, etc.

Mr. Gosselin, you mainly recruit at a lower level, based on what you've explained. I'd like you to repeat what you said about material so that we can be sure we clearly understood. Do you have enough teaching material to permit proper instruction in both official languages? I'm mainly talking about material for francophones because that's the question that interests me personally.

[MGen J.P.Y.D. Gosselin]

Thank you for your question. First, I want to point out that I'm not responsible for the recruitment group; another general handles that. All recruits joining the Canadian Forces, officers and non-commissioned officers, have to go to the recruit school in Saint-Jean for their military training. Then they have to be selected to attend a military college—that's the case of approximately one in four recruits. The military colleges in Saint-Jean and Kingston are under my command.

With regard to the matter of teaching material and so on, I'm going to let Colonel Whelan answer because he commands the recruit school. All Canadian Forces recruits go through Saint-Jean, not to military college, but to the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School.

[LCol S.J.R. Whelan, Commander, Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School, Department of National Defence]

Thank you, general.

What I can say is that I consider the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School a model, one of the leading-edge models for schools in the Canadian Forces as it pertains to the material, the instruction.

As regards the choice of language of instruction, the documentation at the school, I have the people I need who speak the necessary language of instruction. The instruction is offered in both official languages, and all the documentation, 100%, is available in both official languages at Saint-Jean.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you very much for that answer.

Thank you, Mr. Petit.

We're going to begin our second round with Ms. Zarac.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Good morning, gentlemen.

We've just learned, from listening to the previous witnesses, that it's important to follow a model, to have encouragement. One of the responsibilities of the official languages champion is to constantly hire bilingual staff. From what I've just heard, it does not appear to be an obligation to have bilingual instructors.

Why not encourage instructors to be bilingual and follow the example of the witnesses we've just heard?

[MGen J.P.Y.D. Gosselin]

In fact, we have a lot of bilingual staff at our schools, especially in the schools I command, but not all are 100% bilingual. That's not possible. Not everyone is bilingual, especially when—

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

You say it's not possible. Do you firmly believe it's impossible to get bilingual instructors?

[MGen J.P.Y.D. Gosselin]

No. In fact, we have bilingual instructors, we have them everywhere, but—

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

It isn't 100% of them.

[MGen J.P.Y.D. Gosselin]

They don't constitute 100% of the school's teaching staff.

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

That couldn't be an objective?