Official Languages Committee on Nov. 5th, 2009

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

He is going to go.

[Jacques Gauthier]

Do you know on which date?

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

In the month of December.

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

It must be either December 4 or 5.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

It was supposed to be in November, but the date was changed.

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

It must be in Christiane Gagnon's riding.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

No, it's not in Christiane's riding.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

The Torch Relay will be going through Lévis before it arrives in Quebec City, but there is--

Now that we are through with the gossip, I think Mr. Petit may want to put a question to our witnesses.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Gauthier. There was discussion earlier about the City of Richmond. As you know, we have been asking questions for some time, because that is where the Olympic Oval is. If you read the “blues”, you probably recall that we had some trouble securing assurances that even Francophone athletes, or athletes whose second language is French, will be able to find their way. The same applies to visitors.

The City of Richmond has a population of 115,000, and 65% of the population is of Chinese or Asian origin, so that their mother tongue is neither English nor French. You stated—and I would like to receive confirmation of this—that you have a good relationship with the mayor or council. We are no longer talking about Anglophones and Francophones; we're talking about a completely different group. Since we live in a country that promotes multiculturalism, we have to reach out in order to be sure there is a good understanding of the Canadian reality.

Would you say that you have good relations with Richmond City Council, such that English and French will ultimately be equal, so that everyone is able to get to where they are going?

[Jacques Gauthier]

The answer is yes. Your colleague put it quite succinctly earlier, when she said that the City of Richmond wants there to be permanent signage in English and French, but does not want to pay for it. However, the federal government has already announced a contribution of $7.7 million, which is going to help us find a solution and ensure that the work gets done.

I am not a party to those discussions. So, I am not in a position to make any firm commitment, but I can tell you that I have been told by people at the appropriate level that relations are excellent and that the work will get done.

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

VANOC has entered into an agreement with the Gesca group in Quebec, which includes La Presse, Le Soleil, Le Droit, La Tribune, La Voie de l'Est and other publications. However, Gesca does not distribute newspapers outside of Quebec. Have you any plans to enter into an agreement with other newspapers that are not part of the Gesca group outside of Quebec? I imagine the answer is yes, and I would like to know which ones are involved.

Employees with the Gesca group are threatening to strike. So, even though you may have signed an agreement with them, the newspapers will not be distributed. You are the ones who will be criticized. If there is a strike, nothing will happen; and this is a press group of considerable size. Do you have a plan B?

[Jacques Gauthier]

You are right that most of the newspapers published by the Gesca group are in Quebec and in the regions, because that is where we wanted to focus our promotional efforts initially in terms of preparation for the Games, the Games themselves and ticket sales. The idea was not just to publish material while the Games are ongoing. We wanted to promote the Games and all the associated activities that are taking place before the actual Games in French-language newspapers across the province.

I should add that Le Droit, which is published in Ottawa and covers part of Ontario, is also part of the Gesca group. For the time being, we have no plan B, nor have we reached an agreement with other newspapers outside the province. Two years ago, we could not have guessed that employees of La Presse might go on strike. We will be looking at that in the coming weeks.

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

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you very much, Mr. Petit.

Ms. Bolduc, would you like to add something?

[Francine Bolduc]

Yes. Yesterday, we launched our official languages awareness campaign. That is why we distributed a brochure this morning. We have also developed a media information kit that we will be sending out to the Association de la presse francophone, which covers all the French-language newspapers in minority communities. We want to provide complete information to these newspapers, so that they can write articles aimed at Francophone groups outside Quebec. This awareness campaign will really assist us in getting information out to Francophones across the country.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you.

Mr. Nadeau, do you wish to add something?

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Yes. At the end of the previous round, we were talking about Vancouver Tourism and BC Tourism information kiosks.

Will an individual, either from British Columbia, Quebec or somewhere else, who goes to a BC Tourism or Vancouver Tourism kiosk be able to receive service in French?

[Francine Bolduc]

We are currently working closely with the tourism industry to develop a publication that will provide comprehensive tourism information for British Columbia. It will be produced in both languages and distributed--

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Yes, I am aware of the documentation that is being produced, but will people be able to receive service in French?

[Francine Bolduc]

During the Games, VANOC will have an information kiosk at every one of the venues, and information will be available in French and in English, both through our staff and [Inaudible--Editor].

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

So, there is no guarantee that it will be available orally.

[Francine Bolduc]

We can guarantee that everyone providing information at Olympic venues during the Games will be bilingual.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Will it be the same at Vancouver Tourism and BC Tourism information kiosks?

[Francine Bolduc]

No, only at Olympic venues.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you. That answers my question.

The Commissioner has some concerns about translation. It is said that there are 7.5 million words to be translated. What is the status of that work? I am not asking you to give me an exact count, but the Games are not far off.