Official Languages Committee on Dec. 8th, 2009

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

So, there are some concerns.

[Graham Fraser]

The most recent news I've heard had to do with the fact that Shaw was resisting every—

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

That would mean that subscribers to Shaw would not have access—

[Graham Fraser]

From what I understand.

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

This is happening right now. It is serious.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Lise Zarac]

I will now hand over the floor to Mr. Petit for five minutes.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good morning, Mr. Fraser and welcome to your team.

On page 5 of your presentation, you state "I am still worried given the lack of certainty that certain key elements will be in place". This is the most important line in your presentation, I believe, as it summarizes your thoughts on the matter.

The word "key" is what you've chosen. In French it is used to refer to very important things. You are being alarmist and pessimistic, and I understand.

You also say, on page 2 "Once again, we cannot be content until 'Anneau olympique de Richmond' appears side-by-side with 'Richmond Olympic Oval' on the front of the building."

I am quite surprised and I will tell you why. If we look to the events that took place here yesterday, all you have to do is call representatives from Greenpeace and they will set up a French sign for you in less than an hour. So, I still cannot understand why after three months there would be such resistance. All you have to do is call Greenpeace and you will have all the signage you need. I am being facetious, but you see that I am upset because I do not understand. Fundamentally, as a francophone and a member of the governing party, I do not understand. In fact, I am very disappointed, quite disappointed.

There is another issue you raised which does not appear in your document but seems to be a concern to you. The RCMP is not responding. I am even more concerned about that. Yesterday, we saw that the RCMP police force was not responding, neither in French nor in English, they are nowhere to be seen, period. I believe that where the issue of French and English is concerned, this shows that there is a problem within this police force. I can assure you, as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, who is following this issue closely, that funds have been allocated, a large amount.

Today, I do not understand. I understand your concern and I share it. It is important. That said, there are only 66 days remaining before the opening of the games. You've heard the type of questions we've been asking as parliamentarians. I know what's going to happen in March. I'm going to take vacation time so as to not have to hear questions on how horrible the situation is. The act is 40 years old, the Conservatives have been in power for 4 years, so for 36 years the act was never enforced. It is difficult to enforce. Thanks to people like yourself and Mr. Goldbloom, we manage to enforce it somewhat.

With respect to Minister Moore, it is not because he is Conservative, he was in French immersion, he speaks French well. Further, he went to visit the Toronto Airport to exert pressure on officials so that French services would be offered.

The games will start in 66 days, you've heard the questions we've asked, you're going to see how we will be given a rough time. What I'm concerned about is the lack of will. The act exists, we have the instruments to apply it, we have invested funding, and we've added more funding. There seems to be a lack of will somewhere along the line. This act has been in existence for 40 years and it does not work. There is a lack of will. Can you do something about this?

[Graham Fraser]

Madam Chair, the member has put his finger on the source of my concern, the lack of reflexes and will. I will give you two examples.

Last summer, I was in Dublin to attend the Canadian Legal Conference. During the opening session, politicians and members of the Irish Bar Association made their speeches in English and Irish. When the President of the Canadian Bar Association spoke, he spoke in English and French and read a long paragraph in Irish. However, he is not of Irish origin.

Afterwards, I went to speak to him to commend him for it. He said he thought it was important because Ireland, like Canada, is a bilingual country. He went to the trouble of finding a Celtic studies professor to help him translate the paragraph and pronounce it correctly. He believed it was important and a sign of respect.

Yet, when the Olympic flame arrived in Victoria I heard three consecutive speeches from senior representatives who had just come back from Athens, but not a word was uttered in French. Linguistic duality was left up to the Prime Minister. I was shocked. It is a lack of leadership, of respect and of reflexes. There are 66 days remaining before the beginning of the games, and I hope that the leaders who are responsible for these matters will understand the issues and get to work to make sure what is needed will be done.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Lise Zarac]

Thank you, Mr. Fraser.

Mr. Nadeau, you have the floor.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Commissioner, according to my calculations, 2,042 years ago, on December 8, Immaculate Conception occurred. I hope that based on this we can have faith that the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver will be up to the standards of all stakeholders, and that there will be respect for both French and English. That was my biblical side, this morning.

Commissioner, there is also the issue of unforeseen communications in French and in English. Do you recall that for non-urgent cases we were told that information in the other language would be provided in under 12 hours and that in an emergency it would take less than 6 hours from the time the initial communication took place? Do you have any new information in that regard? We know that that does not in any way comply with the spirit of official languages, especially in emergency cases.

[Graham Fraser]

I was told that the problem had been rectified, but I would ask Ms. Tremblay to expand.

[Johane Tremblay, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Policy and Communications Branch, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages]

I would simply confirm that. VANOC assured us that given the additional funding they will be able to communicate messages in both languages simultaneously.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Very well. That is one issue for which there has been a positive resolution. We will see what happens, but still!

What about medical and emergency services being provided right away in French or in English depending on the situation? Have we been assured that such health care services provided by medical personnel, in emergencies and when people are hurt will be available for both athletes and spectators?

[Graham Fraser]

I have been told that arrangements are being made to make sure that is the case.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

That's good.

What about front-line personnel at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games? They will be the first point of contact with spectators, tourists, Quebeckers, Canadians and Acadians who will be attending. Is there some assurance that French services will be offered as quickly as possible when they are required?

[Graham Fraser]

I believe there are two issues. There is contact with the volunteers, they are trying to develop a protocol for referral to a bilingual volunteer if the first point of contact is not bilingual. The first point of contact could also be representatives from other institutions, security personnel. We've already received a complaint regarding the hiring of security staff. We're investigating the matter therefore I cannot comment, but I can tell you that we've already received a complaint regarding the hiring of security staff.

There are people from CATSA and the CBSA with whom we have already discussed existing problems at the airport. So, it all depends on the strengths and weaknesses of the institutions who may be acting as first point of contact.

It is based on that that we decided to embark on our own awareness-raising campaign with federal institutions, telling them almost a year ago that they have specific obligations in terms of welcoming people to the Olympic Games. Some institutions have come forward. Parks Canada organized an impressive video on active offer. Other institutions were inspired by it to create their own.

One might ask why, 40 years after the passage of the Official Languages Act, this training method would not have been a natural reflex for these institutions, but if the legacy of the Olympic Games is in part that federal institutions now take measures so that the act may be understood by all employees, that would be considerable progress.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

I simply have one small comment to make, Madam Chair. It would be wise to send this video to Air Canada. I believe it would be a good idea. I am of course saying this so they may improve their active offer of services.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Lise Zarac]

We have completed our third round, but we will do a fourth, because committee members have mentioned they would like to continue asking questions, if you will, Mr. Fraser.

I now give the floor to Ms. O'Neill-Gordon.

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

And welcome, witnesses. We're glad to have you and we appreciate the work you have been doing.

I'm also glad to hear you say that the bar is high, and we know that is what Canadians want. Our government wants that. As a result of that, we realized there was a need there, and as you know, on September 15 we announced $17.7 million for such things as translation and interpretation services for the 2010 games.

It was intensively negotiated with VANOC, as you know. It was not just a spontaneous decision.

My question would be whether you are happy with this amount that was announced and whether you can give us some idea as to where this money is going.

[Graham Fraser]

Yes, Madam Chair. I was very pleased by the announcement, and $5.3 million has been put aside specifically for translation. As recently as last night the agreement was signed between VANOC and the Translation Bureau. I haven't seen the details of the agreement, but my understanding is that it's an agreement that will ensure the quality of translation and work out the communication procedure by which the documents would be transmitted to the Translation Bureau. Because of electronic transmission, it's possible for that work to be done here in Ottawa rather than having the whole Translation Bureau move out to Vancouver. I think that's an important step, and I hope that can be a model for future international events where a large amount of translation is required.

Of the remaining amount, an amount has been designated for signage that will remain permanent. Just to pick up on the comment that Mr. Petit made, one of the reasons it has taken a while to have the final plans worked out for the permanent signage on the Richmond oval is that this is a very important architectural piece of work, and the last thing anybody wanted was to have a slapdash addition of French signage in a way that would look like it was a slapdash add-on. We're not talking here about a banner or a sign that's suddenly nailed to the building, but something that will fit in architecturally as effectively as the existing English signage does.

The rest of the money will go to ensuring that there is bilingual presentation at the medal ceremonies.

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

The money is going to good use, and I'm glad to hear that.

[Graham Fraser]

That's certainly my understanding.

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

Are you satisfied that French will have equal dimension in status, then, for all the signage?

[Graham Fraser]

The challenge, Madam Chair, is to ensure that the signage goes beyond the simple jurisdictions of the games themselves. A visitor to Vancouver, someone who is going up to Whistler, is going through several jurisdictions. It has required some considerable discussion between Canadian Heritage and the municipalities and VANOC and the municipalities to ensure that there is, if you like, a bilingual passageway. There have been ongoing discussions, and I think there is agreement in principle, but I haven't seen the final results yet.

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

I have one final question. Do you think the government took a wise decision by dealing directly with the Translation Bureau?