Evidence of meeting #44 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 dawson.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
That's why I am once again talking about your school board. It only serves the population of Whitehorse, not all of the Yukon. Do you challenge those numbers?
President, Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon
We base ourselves on the census information that we have. In Dawson, people at the Centre tell us that there are 125 Francophones, and we believe them. We cannot rely on Statistics Canada or--
NDP
President, Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon
That's exactly the way they did it in Northern Ontario and New Brunswick, and we do the same thing. We get into the car and ask how many of them there are and how many women are pregnant.
President, Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon
No, it's not challenged by the federal government, but it is challenged in the courts by the Yukon government. According to them, Statistics Canada holds the truth: there are no Francophones in Dawson and there are 190 rights holders in Whitehorse; no more than that. The total for the Yukon is 190.
Executive Director, Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon
But we have 184 in our school.
President, Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon
And there are 125 people in Dawson.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
I really don't care whether it's one in five; that is the reality. I think that should be part of our report. That is no way to count people. That is what happens when numbers are low. It's not like in a big city in New Brunswick or something like that.
In my opinion, it's a fact: you need that assistance. I'm thinking of the money paid out by the federal government. Again, I am referring back to Part VII of the Official Languages Act, which deals with the federal government's responsibility. That has to count. Everything counts for you.
Member, Centre de la Francophonie à Dawson
In December, the population constantly fluctuates in the North. The population censuses are--
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
That means that if they do the census in the winter, you're finished.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
I am going to recommend that the government do the census in the summer.
Conservative
Guy Lauzon Conservative Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON
But the kids are not in school in summer.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
We are going to go with that. They are not in school in summer, but you have 1,380 in winter. What is the number of students in winter?
Member, Centre de la Francophonie à Dawson
A lot of people leave and go to Mexico for several months and then come back; or they go to Quebec or to Whitehorse to speak French. There is a lot of fluctuation.
Board Member, Centre de la Francophonie à Dawson
This year, just recently, one family went to Whitehorse and another family went to Quebec to receive educational services in French. That makes us mad because we are trying to retain our population in Dawson with our services. That is one factor. Everyone wonders what we are doing for families and in terms of education. Those things are constantly under discussion.
President, Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon
If you don't mind, Mr. Godin, I would like to make the point that Dawson was founded by a Francophone. During the gold rush, there were a lot of Francophones. By 1950, there weren't any left; the rate of assimilation in the Yukon was 100%. Since 1984, we have started counting them again. The situation here is precisely that. The assimilation rate is 100% and it's important to understand that. In the territories, the rate of assimilation is 100%, but we are in the process of rebuilding our communities.
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
You've given us numbers; you said that you went from 7 to 24 students. So, you are in the process of rebuilding.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
That is what occurred in Prince Edward Island, and it also what occurred in the other provinces.
President, Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon
Section 23 deals specifically with remedies. There are a lot of remedies needed here, because the assimilation rate is 100%.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Steven Blaney
Thank you very much, Mr. Godin.
We have been talking about assimilation, and you have made reference to remedies, rebuilding, reconstituting the core of the Francophone community, and yet Statistics Canada is saying that your Francophone community basically does not exist. Yet you have identified a certain number of community members and have succeeded in developing a program. Unfortunately, in the third year of the program, there seems to be less momentum for reasons that you yourselves say you are unable to explain tonight.
We will now begin our third round with Ms. Zarac.
Liberal
Lise Zarac Liberal LaSalle—Émard, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have a question for Mr. Bourcier that has several parts to it.
I would like you to talk about the Consultative Committee on which you are not allowed to have a seat. I would be interested in knowing more about its terms of reference and its overall goal, as well as the current membership. What difference would it make for the school board to have a seat on that committee?
President, Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon
It's a question of services in French. The Yukon French Language School Board is an organization that operates at arm's length from the government—in other words, it is a legal entity. And, as a legal entity, it is a member of the public in Yukon and, as a member of the public, it has the right to receive services in French. I will just address the general question about services in French.
In this context, it is important to understand that there are a considerable number of agreements with the federal government, which is important. The Official Languages Act stipulates that there are two ways of counting with a view to determining the requirement for services in French: demand or the nature of the office. In the Official Languages Regulations, it specifically states that, for the Yukon, what counts is the nature of the office. If we start counting, as you saw, the numbers here are not large. So, it is the nature of the office which is considered.
When agreements providing for the devolution of powers from the federal government to the territorial government were signed, all of a sudden there were these agreements in place and the Yukon Languages Act, which I was critical of earlier, came into effect. All of a sudden, it was no longer the nature of the office that was considered; instead, it was just numbers. For example, if you look at the devolution agreement that was just entered into, it says in section 235.1--