Official Languages Committee on Nov. 4th, 2010

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you.

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

They are starting to do a bad job again. An empty library is like a school without books.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you.

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

We have received calls from people who do not want to be identified. They are soldiers who do not want to give their names, but they tell us what is going on.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Godin...

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

It is still going on this week.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Godin...

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

If possible, could you complete your investigation as quickly as possible, because they are removing the books from the library as we speak.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Godin, your time is up.

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

Fine.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you.

We will conclude with Ms. Tilly O'Neil-Gordon.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and welcome to everyone joining us this morning.

Coming from a classroom, I'd like to focus my attention on training. We know that training is available. We also know that our government has put more money into official languages than any other government in Canadian history.

Training is available in my constituency in the daytime or the evening, and there's also private tutoring. Not only is it up to the manager, but the leadership also has to come from the individual employee. I'm quite certain and happy to say that in my constituency I see that happening on many occasions.

Your report also touches on some success stories. I wonder if you could focus on some of those success stories that have taken place, with people going forward and putting good effort into taking training to become bilingual.

[Graham Fraser]

Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for the question.

I'd like to say something in particular about the Canada School of Public Service. While there are some shortcomings in terms of what we discovered in terms of our observations, I am impressed with the initiative they are taking in terms of developing a pilot project with 11 post-secondary institutions. This is an approach that I think is extremely important for laying the groundwork so that universities provide language training for future public servants so that they arrive on the job with the language classification they need to progress in the public service.

The federal government is Canada's largest employer. I noted with some considerable interest, a week or 10 days ago, a Globe and Mail special supplement on universities. One of the sections asked students who their choice employer would be, and in every sector, whether it was medicine, whether it was law, whether it was arts, or whether it was science, their employer of choice was the federal government.

I think it is extremely important that training exist not just for new employees and not just for employees as part of their career planning, who intend to qualify themselves for the executive ranks or for supervisory ranks, where they would have language responsibilities. The federal government should send the message to universities that this is something that is very important for advancement in the ranks of the public service, since, quite clearly, students have sent the strong message that they see the federal government as an employer of choice.

Similarly, universities have to send the message to secondary schools that they will consider language an important criteria when they evaluate applications.

I think there's a cascading effect that needs to happen, from Canada's largest employer to the universities and from the universities to secondary schools and school boards.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Ms. O'Neill-Gordon.

It is 10:40 and almost time for the committee to close. Mr. Lunney was asking for some short comments, but I'm not sure we can afford it, since we have to finish.

I will give you one minute, Mr. Lunney, since you're an honorary member. So use this minute with lots of brightness, please.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

In British Columbia, there is a huge demand to study in French. There are francophone schools for children who have a francophone parent, and other immersion schools. Many parents want to send their children to school in French. In this very room, there is a young woman who studied French at the University of Victoria and who completed her studies in Strasbourg, France. She works for the government here in Ottawa. The demand for schooling in French is on the rise in British Columbia.

[Graham Fraser]

I would like to thank the member for his remarks, which I agree with entirely. I have also seen the interest in schooling in French and how excellent it is.

I have visited French schools which are doing very interesting things and offering distance learning. I participated in a physics class. The teacher was in Victoria, and small classes across the province could follow the lesson by computer. I also visited immersion schools. I was very impressed by the dedication, the commitment, and the interest of students and teachers. At Simon Fraser University, students in a specific program can take all their courses in French.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Commissioner and Mr. Lunney, for that digest of information on second-language learning.

I would like to remind members that today or tomorrow morning they will be receiving the final version of the report that we will consider on Thursday. As for the witness who was unavailable on Tuesday, and who shall remain nameless, we have proposed some dates. I will give you those dates on November 16.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Chair, do you mean that we will examine the report we are going to receive today or tomorrow morning at the first meeting after we come back?

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Absolutely.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

That is the following Tuesday.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Yes, Tuesday, November 16. I will be getting confirmation of the date when the witness we were unable to hear from on Tuesday will appear.

Commissioner, I want to thank you and your team for appearing, and we will see you again soon.

[Graham Fraser]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

The meeting is adjourned.