Official Languages Committee on Feb. 7th, 2011

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

As soon as I came, they told me that all of them were not. That was fine; I was comfortable with that, because I had just arrived from Quebec.

[Voices]

Ah, ah!

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

I had no such expectations, and I didn't learn anything about that there.

However, I also think that, if we're talking about spirituality—I'm not talking about Catholic faith here—if we can do that in French and offer activities that allow people to feel comfortable, well, that requires openness. That's the challenge. You can't force them to get involved in what we do. The challenge is to provide a spiritual service to the population that helps them.

You can forget about that; that is not the way things work here. It's not about forcing people to get involved. As you said, there are 1,200 of us. So, the more we work together, cooperatively, and the more things we do that help people, the better it will be. Without feeling any obligation--

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

I think what you're doing is admirable, and the same applies to the testimony we heard this morning and this afternoon.

Ms. Houde was saying that there are 25 pregnancies at the present time. I guess that means that husbands are not always violent.

[Ketsia Houde]

I don't think there is any connection between pregnancies and violence.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

I assume that those ones were conceived with love.

[Ketsia Houde]

I don't think we can assume anything, but ideally, you are right.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Galipeau, are you finished?

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

There are lots of other things I would like to say, but I prefer to say them confidentially.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

That's fine.

Mr. Murphy, please.

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

I have a few questions. In your briefs, you don't talk very much about education and the Church. Historically, in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and the other provinces, the Church has been very heavily involved in founding schools.

I note that for more than a century, there were a great many missionaries here in the Yukon, and yet the first schools go back to the 1990s, if I'm not mistaken. L'école Émilie-Tremblay was the first.

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

It is a Francophone school, but not a Catholic one.

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

It is just Francophone.

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

That's correct. There are three English-speaking Catholic schools in the territory.

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Has the Church been involved in founding Catholic schools here in the Yukon?

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Yes, through the English-speaking educational system; there are two schools, but they are Anglophone only.

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

I see. Are there immersion programs?

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

They are Anglophone only.

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

So, there was no French language education available before l'école Émilie-Tremblay came into being?

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

That's correct. In fact, Francophones residing here worked and lived their lives in English. Most of the missionaries came from Europe. In fact, there are still some left, who are 80 years of age and over. It's quite interesting to hear them. They came here to live in English.

Some came from Quebec. They would speak French among themselves, but they were too few in number to found a Francophone Catholic school. The idea was to have at least one Francophone school.

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Was the Church involved in managing the three or four English-speaking Catholic schools?

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Yes.

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

So, it was involved in the management.

[Rev. Father Claude Gosselin]

Yes. In fact, it was shared.

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

There was no school board. The Church alone managed the Catholic schools. Was it under the direction of--