Official Languages Committee on Feb. 24th, 2009

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Théberge, thank you very much for meeting committee members this morning.

We will take a few minutes to thank our witness and then we will resume committee work after a brief pause. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Before we begin, I would like to present a housekeeping motion. It pertains to our study on the standardization of braille in French. I need committee members' support for the proposed budget of $12,950. Is that agreeable to you? We will forward this matter to the proper authorities.

Mr. Galipeau?

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Mr. Chair, maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, but I would like to know what the $12,950 are for.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

It's the committee budget to cover the expenses of the witnesses that we are inviting as part of our study on the standardization of Braille.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

How many witnesses are we planning on hearing from?

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

We have put eight of them down. We usually put down fewer rather than more, so that we do not have to bother the members with a subsequent motion.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[A voice]

You mean fewer rather than more.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

We put down fewer names rather than more.

We will now proceed to the other motion.

Ms. Guay.

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

It's concerns braille. Can we hold an additional meeting? Can we continue our discussion?

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Yes, we can discuss that immediately. As concerns the witnesses, at least one other working meeting has been scheduled to hear the two witnesses that we did not hear from this morning.

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

Some witnesses were unable to come. I know some people who would like to testify, but they were unable to prepare their submission by the deadline.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Perhaps you should send your—

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

We'll do that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

—to Ms. Dumas.

Two groups were scheduled for this morning. The Canadian Braille Authority was also mentioned. This seems to be, at the national level, the association with an interest in the subject at hand, that is French and English braille.

I have been told that the Office for Disability Issues, which is part of the Department of Canadian Heritage, is the federal organization that should be invited. If the committee members agree, we can check the availability of representatives to come and testify on this topic. This morning we not only addressed the challenge of standardization, but also service delivery and our role at the federal level with regard to persons with visual impairments. If you agree, we will give ourselves some leeway so that we can see where this subject leads us.

Mr. Petit.

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

I have contacted certain witnesses, and in my riding, a number of them are on the agenda. One of the problems that certain witnesses seem to have is that the period between when they are invited and when they appear is so short that they do not have time to make the necessary adjustments. We should perhaps consider the fact that we sometimes miss out on hearing some witnesses because the timeline is too short.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

On Thursday, we will be hearing from the Commissioner of Official Languages.

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

He is here in Ottawa, and so there is no problem.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

We definitely will not be hearing from the next witnesses on standardization before next week, which will give them a bit more time to prepare.

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

I discussed this with Ms. Guay, and it's definitely a problem. Today, we were forced to turn away good witnesses who would have given us excellent guidance. This is not an easy topic, and I would like us to give special attention to these witnesses.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Pardon the pun, Mr. Petit, but I would say that we are flailing around blindly in this area.

Let us now go on to the motion tabled by Mr. Godin and distributed by the clerk's assistant.

Mr. Godin.

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

Mr. Chair, this motion is usually introduced at the beginning of each meeting, but I think that it was forgotten this time. It reads as follows: "That, whenever possible, all meetings held with a Minister or with the Commissioner of Official Languages be televised."

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Godin.

Are there any comments on the motion?

We have ensured that on Thursday, the appearance of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Mr. Graham Fraser, will be televised.

Are there any questions or comments on the motion?

Ms. Glover.

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Godin, for your motion. I am in full agreement.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Excellent.

Mr. Petit.