Official Languages Committee on Feb. 7th, 2011

[Ketsia Houde]

For example, Anglophone families have access to a program at the Canada Games Centre that is offered on Tuesday afternoons. They can go there to play games, obtain information to help their children learn to read, and so on. There is currently no such program in French.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Thank you.

I have a few questions for Father Claude Gosselin.

First of all, I found your testimony most interesting. I was moved when you talked about the passing of a Francophone. In my own family, my mother was Francophone and spoke English all her life, but for the six months prior to her death, she no longer would speak to us in English; she spoke in French. The fact that this happens is very interesting.

I believe you said that there are about 200 members of your congregation?

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Every week, there are between 45 and 60 people who come to church; it varies considerably. The age of those who attend also varies. Certain Sundays, there may be 18 or 20 children under the age of five among the 45 or 50 people. I can't say that there is renewed spirituality, but those who come are people who are returning to something they had abandoned, are affected by the beauty or grandeur of what they see here, or are seeking a community to be able to share that. It is the only community that can express its faith in French.

Furthermore, we are associated with the Anglophone Catholic Church, meaning that we come under the Whitehorse diocese. However, the service per se is not yet something the diocese has officially put in place; it is really only the result of the good will of certain people. When they wanted a priest, they found me. In other words, they went looking on their own. If I were to leave tomorrow morning, I think it would be a similar situation again. At the same time, the community is stronger. I think that services would continue to be provided by volunteers, lay persons, people committed to the cause, parents, faith education, seniors.

We meet with women seniors, because others who are close to them develop natural support networks. This is an unbelievable source of strength for all kinds of things that happen here in the Yukon. When people start to come together in a community, whatever community it is, they share the same centres of interest. It's like the fruits of a community that comes together based on a particular goal. It gives them an opportunity to get to know each other, as well as to share their common experiences.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Does the diocese support your efforts?

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

We have no choice but to see that they support them now. But initially, we really had to make our own place.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

You say that it has been about 20 years now?

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Yes. Now there are a lot more partners, because they also see that providing services in French has a certain impact and they would not be able to provide these same services. It is reciprocal as well, because we share responsibilities at a certain level.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Is the number of participants increasing?

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Yes.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

In my area, three Francophone churches have just closed down.

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

We can't close any, because we don't have any. Ah, ah!

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

I guess I would say that Francophones have stopped going to mass.

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Yes.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

But it's the reverse here, then.

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Yes, I'd say so.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

The members of your group attended mass in English previously?

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Those who attended English mass continued to do so. They continued to have services in English, because their community is English-speaking. They told me that they would not go to mass in French, because the people they know are Anglophone.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

But they are Francophones who attend mass in English.

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Of those who attend, there are a lot of people from provinces other than Quebec. I began to appreciate the importance of the Francophonie when I came here. People tend to think that there are Francophones in Quebec, and that Francophones elsewhere in Canada are from Quebec, but that is not the case. These people had also known something different before they came here. Often they perceived religion differently. They had not experienced the same oppression or the same problems in relation to their religion. Their connection to their spirituality or the Catholic faith is different, and they applaud the fact that they can now experience their spirituality or their faith in French.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

There are also a number of Francophiles who attend your mass.

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Yes, as well. There are exogamous or Francophile families who choose to come to mass in French, because the Francophone culture and faith are closely connected. They feel that this way of expressing their faith resonates more for them as well.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

You suggested that both levels of government should be providing financial support.

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Financially speaking, we know that we will never receive any money, but in terms of recognizing the language, for the benefit of Francophones in hospital or elderly Francophones in a seniors' home, I would like the staff of these institutions to be embarrassed to have to say that they do not provide services in French. We should not be embarrassed about asking for it. Do you understand? It's left to the good will of staff on site.

And, I should say that I have lost my temper with some at times. About three or four weeks before that person died, she only spoke French. As far as the staff was concerned, she was senile, because they didn't understand her. At her funeral, her daughter told me in English that they are also coping with the problem of not having passed on the language to their children, for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes the children feel as though they are being judged, because they don't speak French, even though their mother died speaking French. They are also embarrassed to ask for services in French. The daughter of that woman told me that she was sorry that she had not been made aware of the fact that, for many weeks prior to her death, her mother spoke to her children in French, even if they did not understand her. No one reacted. There were approximately 150 employees working in that institution, and yet no one thought to call someone.

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

To be certain that I have the correct understanding: what exactly are you asking of the government?

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

I think our demand is legitimate. If there are two languages in this country, why are we still sitting here demanding that people speak French? Are the review or enforcement mechanisms not effective? Why, all of a sudden, because the majority speaks English, are there no longer two founding peoples? If there are no longer two founding peoples, then they should say so. If we are a founding people, and we lose one of those founding peoples, then we lose our foundations.

The issue is not just whether people should be speaking French; it is also about contributing our way of seeing things in French. It's not just simply knowing whether or not I can speak French. If I speak French, you are going to know a lot more about what I think than if I speak English.