Evidence of meeting #3 for Official Languages in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was station.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Executive Director, Association de la presse francophone
Discussions with the Irving company?
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
No, with the L'Acadie Nouvelle newspaper. The Irving company can take very good care of itself.
Executive Director, Association de la presse francophone
Yes. We have had some discussions with the L'Acadie Nouvelle newspaper. I think that the request will be made.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
I will come back to the issue of community radio later on. I will not forget you.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Steven Blaney
Pardon me for interrupting you, Mr. Godin, but your time is already up. You can have the floor during your next round.
We will continue with Mr. Weston.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being with us today. I am a member for British Columbia, and as a member of the committee, it is the first time that I have had an opportunity to put a question to witnesses.
I am particularly pleased to be able to commend you on your work. I am very proud of the French language and its development in British Columbia. All three of my children attend a school with French immersion. I think that, more and more, French is a language that everyone wants to speak, even in British Columbia where, traditionally, very few people used to speak it.
I just attended the opening of the Paralympic Games. I was surprised by the quantity of French during the ceremonies. It was a magnificent performance and we heard a lot of French. This brings me to my first question.
Can you tell us about the Franco Medias 2010 Project, which was held during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver? I believe that at least 23 journalists were able to participate in this project, which was a resounding success.
What are your thoughts?
Secretary General, Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada
The Franco Medias Project was an unmitigated success. It was a remarkable project both for the communities and for the participants. It was an extraordinary experience for the participants who, likely for the only time in their lives, were able to attend the Olympic Games and report on them in a different manner. They covered the sporting events, but it was much more than that. They were able to participate in the everyday life of British Columbians, street artists, and really everything that had to do with the French language in the province. That's what they talked about, as well as about the various francophone communities throughout the world. So it was an absolutely remarkable success, for our radio stations, the APF newspapers and the participants on site.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Mr. Potié, what do you think?
Executive Director, Association de la presse francophone
I would say the same. According to feedback from the participants, the on-site coordinators and our members, the whole thing was a resounding success. As concerns the written press, there were over 200 articles written by young journalists. Many young people who participated in the Franco Medias Project are now making connections with newspapers in order to carry out internships or get more involved with our association. We feel that this type of project should be conducted again in future.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
I think that this project also greatly encouraged anglophones to hear French being spoken.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Are there any lessons to be learned from this experience?
Executive Director, Association de la presse francophone
We have done many things, but this was the first time that we sent journalists to the Olympic Games. According to our in-house evaluation, if we were to do it again, we would change certain things. I believe that we need to be in contact with our youth, because they are the future of our media and our communities. For our communities, the vitality and relevance of our media depend largely on that. We have concerns with regard to the development of the capacity of our newspapers. When we refer to new technologies, it's not just about playing with gadgets. We need to think of our readers. Our communities must have the resources they need for this.
In terms of developing French language and culture, this is a situation that we have always had to deal with. Radio stations began going on air in the 1930s. In Saskatchewan, in the 1950s, francophone communities raised funds to set up a radio station. We're always 20 or 25 years behind. In such conditions, we lose people and this has an effect on assimilation and young people's sense of identity.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Steven Blaney
Thank you very much, Mr. Weston, for your first intervention on our committee.
We will begin our second round with Mr. Bélanger.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. My first question goes to Ms. Gazaille. We haven't heard from you yet, so now is the time. Could you give us the list of the 17 members of the APF?
Geneviève Gazaille Director of Communications and Government Relations, Association de la presse francophone
I don't think that I can name all of them. In fact, there are 24, not 17. For example, there is Le Nord in Hearst, L'Eau vive in Saskatchewan, Le Franco in Alberta, and La Liberté in Manitoba. There is also La Voix acadienne and Le Moniteur acadien, and I could go on.
Director of Communications and Government Relations, Association de la presse francophone
No problem, we can do that. I can perhaps give you a copy, I may have one with me.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
I subscribe to some of your weekly newspapers. Is it possible to subscribe via Internet?
Director of Communications and Government Relations, Association de la presse francophone
We have a website, francopresse.ca, which is the news site of the APF. In Ottawa, we have a full-time journalist, Danny Joncas, who reports on national issues.
Director of Communications and Government Relations, Association de la presse francophone
I don't think he's here, but I do believe he is listening to us. He adds content to our site every day. There is a cartoon each week. Members can also contribute when they so desire. Each member is also free to add any content they wish. You can access this site any time and see the content there.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Is it possible to subscribe electronically to some or all of the newspapers that are members of your association?
Executive Director, Association de la presse francophone
Readers can subscribe to some of them and receive them in PDF format. Another newspaper has an agreement with a company in England. Believe it or not, we are in a data base, but it is not possible to receive the full version of all the newspapers via the Internet.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Can you tell me which 17 members, according to what you said this morning, meet the criteria for the Canada Periodical Fund?