Official Languages Committee on Dec. 8th, 2009

[Graham Fraser]

Yes. The Translation Bureau has an international reputation for the quality of its work.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Lise Zarac]

Thank you, Mr. Fraser.

I'm sorry, your time is up, Ms. O'Neill-Gordon.

I will now give the floor to Mr. D'Amours.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Commissioner, our goal is for this to work. I would seriously hope Mr. Petit does not feel any need to take vacation time in March, as he was saying, and that we will be able to say, after the fact, that it was a success. That is always our goal.

But even on the government side, we see there are some concerns. So, without being able to say that concerns are generalized, because I may not have heard from everyone, I can say almost everyone agrees.

Mr. Fraser, I'm wondering if you could tell us what is going very well, currently, when it comes to the 2010 Olympic Games. What are you 100% satisfied with?

[Graham Fraser]

I am confident that the translation problem has been resolved. I am confident that the signage problem has been resolved. There were a number of infrastructure-related problems: billboards, translation, signage. These are real problems. And I am quite satisfied with the progress that has been made on these infrastructure-related issues.

It is on the issue of leadership and of organizing the bilingual staff to provide an active offer of services in person that I have some fears. I do not need to go into any detail to explain why, but we will have to wait to see the results.

I would simply like to add one point. There is one thing in particular that I have appreciated in doing this work: the feeling of cooperation I got from this committee. Your committee has played an extremely important role. If there is consensus or even unanimity, I believe it is a sign that everyone is indeed working in the same direction. All political parties want this to work.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Commissioner, I am 100% in agreement with you on that. At the end of the day, you see that the Standing Committee on Official Languages has been doing good work when it comes to Vancouver 2010. That the committee operates at 100% is one thing. But as for the rest, if you are unable to say that you are 100% satisfied, there is still a problem.

You said two things, and you expressed a major reservation. First off, you said you had “hope”. Then, you said you were “relatively satisfied”.

I understand that perfection probably does not exist in this world, but there is a difference between that and having hope or being satisfied. That is rather general. You are referring to posters, signage, translation. You have hope, you are satisfied, but it is not quite perfect. And as for the other issues, you are far from even being able to say that you have some hope.

[Graham Fraser]

Madam Chair, perhaps I am so conditioned by my job and my responsibilities that I remain skeptical, I remain cautious. What is important is not my feelings on things, but rather results. What is important is for no one to be complacent. Today, we need to rise up to meet the challenge, and I would not want my comments... What is important is not for the commissioner to be pleased, to have hope or to be disappointed, what is important are the results.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Commissioner, if there are no results, would you be disappointed? At the end of the day, that remains one reality.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Lise Zarac]

Your time is up, Mr. D'Amours.

Mr. Godin, you have the floor.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

First of all, I would agree that what matters are the results. That said, and I don't mean to offend anyone, we've been waiting for results for 40 years. We're talking about the Olympic Games. It's as though we were expecting results for the Olympic Games when the Vancouver Airport website is not even bilingual yet. You want to wait for the results to come in, but we've been waiting for 40 years, and it should be noted, it is the law.

Second, regarding active offer, I heard the story of the sound recordings on Air Canada flights. When you take a flight, you get a recording telling you what to do, but in an emergency, what language will be used? You know, Commissioner, when you're sitting in your seat, and you ask for something—earlier on, I was referring to the picture of a sandwich—and the person doesn't understand what you want, and they have to disturb everyone and go and get someone who understands what is on the photo, it is humiliating for a francophone.

You are waiting for results. I am too, and I have been waiting for a long time. Unless I'm mistaken, you are the only commissioner mandated by law, not by the Prime Minister, to do your duties, in the same way that the Standing Committee on Official Languages is the only parliamentary committee mandated by law under the Official Languages Act. This is not just a committee that decided to establish itself spontaneously one fine morning. That is not what happened . You do not need the authority of all political parties because this committee is mandated by law. And you are too.

I will conclude by sharing what I saw on television. I went to Prince George a few weeks ago, when the Olympic flame arrived. On French television we saw images of the plane aboard which the flame had been carried, with the door closed, whereas in English the flame was already in a canoe en route to Nanaimo. That is the difference between the two. I am very disappointed and those are the results. As far as I'm concerned, the Olympic Games have already started in Canada. The flame is travelling throughout the country.

[Graham Fraser]

Madam Chair, I appreciate the member's observations. I am fully conscious of my responsibilities as Commissioner of Official Languages. I've been given the honour of having the responsibility to ensure that the Official Languages Act be upheld. This act has a quasi-constitutional status. It is one of the rare acts in Canada to have that and I am fully aware of this fact.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Lise Zarac]

Thank you, Mr. Fraser.

Mr. Godin, you still have some time.

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

Madam Chair, that changes nothing to the fact that as far as I'm concerned the Olympic Games have already begun and that in Prince George, Canada, we were unable to see the flame exit the aircraft in French at the same time as others saw it in English. On Radio-Canada, the aircraft door was still closed, yet at the same time on CBC, the same corporation was broadcasting the events live but not for francophones. There is a problem somewhere. In my opinion there's resistance on both sides.

[Graham Fraser]

Madam Chair, one of the paradoxes of linguistic duality in Canada when it comes to the Olympics is first of all that the contract for official coverage of the Olympic Games was not granted by a Canadian institution but by the International Olympic Committee.

With respect to news coverage by news networks like CBC and Radio-Canada, that falls under journalistic decisions that are made by the networks. Radio-Canada and CBC are, rightly so, very possessive of their responsibilities, their power to make journalistic decisions and they insist—and as a former journalist I respect their position—on the Official Languages Act not superceding their right to decide what they want to cover or not cover.

There's considerable disagreement on the limits to programming and their obligations towards official language minority communities, but some decisions are taken by journalists regarding event coverage which I respect. We have disagreements on obligations and these disagreements have not yet been settled.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Lise Zarac]

Thank you, Mr. Fraser.

We are finishing the fourth round with Mr. Nadeau.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Fraser, this will be the last time we get to speak—you, as commissioner, and we, as members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages—before the Games are held, barring unforeseen circumstances.

If there were three things that I would consider important to note, this is what I would say.

First of all, I hope these games will not be politicized. For instance, there have been events like those that took place in Trois-Rivières, where the government introduced everyone who was on stage except the local MP. The same thing happened in B.C. to an NDP member. That is what I call “politicizing the Olympic Games”. I thought the cold war was over, but it is inside our own borders. It is deplorable, and I hope that that is the end of it.

There is another point that needs to be made. We will have to keep our eyes and ears wide open during the games to make sure that when there is a breach, people can lodge complaints. That way we will know exactly who fell short of having the Olympic spirit.

Further, the whole issue of leadership you were referring to earlier on raises some concerns. In my opinion, that is extremely deplorable. Leadership is what allows for any number of things to be put in place, and mountains can be moved, if need be, to ensure the success of an activity or of an event. This time around, the event is international in scope. For six years now, we have known that this event was going to take place, yet some basic elements are still being discussed in a country that considers itself to be bilingual.

Is there anything you would like to tell us? Should we raise some red flags? Earlier on, you referred to organizing staff to ensure active offer and you spoke of leadership. Should some red flags be raised on this front, so that we can make sure that the games are respectful of the French language, the minority language in B.C., and so that we may take certain steps before the beginning of the games?

[Graham Fraser]

To respond to the member's first point, I would like to reiterate the importance of acknowledging that these games belong to all Canadians. They do not belong to one single person. These are not just Vancouver's Olympics, B.C.'s Olympics; they are Canada's Olympic Games, the world's games.

I have a general message to deliver which I think is very important. I hope that all individuals who speak publicly, who make presentations, who play a leadership role recognize they are speaking for Canada, that they are not just representatives of their municipality, their province, their institution, that they are participating in a world-class event, as are Canadians.

It is extremely important that linguistic duality be reflected in all official statements surrounding the events. To date, that has not been the case.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Lise Zarac]

Mr. Nadeau, you still have some time.

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

Point of order, Madam Chair. I would simply like to correct a point made by Mr. Nadeau. Our member, in Nanaimo, was introduced when she was on stage. But she had been told she would have an opportunity to speak and was not given this opportunity. I simply wanted to correct that for the record.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Lise Zarac]

Thank you.

Mr. Nadeau, you may go on.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

That is all, Madam Chair, thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Lise Zarac]

You are done.

Would any other member of the committee like to ask another question?

Do we now move to committee business, or do I have agreement from committee members?

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

There are no further rounds.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Lise Zarac]

I know, but I need the committee's unanimous consent. I know that we have this motion, but there are 20 minutes remaining.

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

May I proceed?