Official Languages Committee on Feb. 9th, 2011

[Rachelle Francoeur]

Oftentimes, fundraising is on a project-by-project basis. An attempt is made to diversify both partnerships and funding sources. For example, applications are filed with the city and so on, but it is not always easy since the money has to be shared around and there are a lot of people with their hands out.

In our future projects we are definitely going to try and foster youth engagement in the community through training and concrete action. Between now and then however, we are going to continue to take up the challenge of finding new blood to conduct fundraising in other communities and of identifying activities created for and by our youth.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Dumas, I have a question for you

I’m from Quebec. Let’s say I decide to come and live here for professional or other reasons. Of course I’m going to try and see whether I can live in my language, whether I can get health care in my mother tongue and if I’m prepared to take a risk when it comes to my children’s health and education. Do you automatically share all this information with people or do they have to come to you to get it?

[Émos Dumas]

Folks do in fact come to me to get this information. They are told about the advantages of the Canadian north, but also about the drawbacks, so that they can make an informed choice. We don’t simply bring people here in order to swell the numbers in our francophone community. We know that some people will come here and realize after two weeks that it is not what they were looking for, and won’t stay. We want to foster loyalty in the community, so you have to paint an accurate picture.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

So services need to be improved in their language, in French. Otherwise there certainly won’t be any increase in the population. If children cannot live, enjoy themselves, study properly and get health care in their own language—which is extremely important—it will be extremely difficult for immigrants to come and settle here.

How many immigrants are there per year?

[Émos Dumas]

I don’t know about immigrants from other countries because I don’t have the statistics on that from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. In any event, last year, between 20 and 23 people used our service. Many of them stayed, but since we conduct follow-ups about every six months, it is a little bit difficult to know at that point whether these people have stayed or gone.

We therefore need to keep better track of statistics. Our service is young; it’s only two years old. We want to set up committees throughout the territories so that we can really promote the Northwest Territories and all the communities.

We’re just a service point. We simply refer folks to other services in areas such as health care, youth, and the francophone school board. Ours is truly a referral service.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you very much, Ms. Guay and Mr. Dumas.

Mr. Généreux, the floor is yours.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses here today.

Mr. Létourneau, our research analyst from the Library of Parliament presented us with a very substantial account of what has been achieved in the past 15 to 20 years in the NWT francophone community. When I read this document, I realized that you have often relied on the courts to have your rights upheld. Has this approach, which has been adopted over the years as a way of defending your rights, had an impact on the relationship that you have with the Northwest Territories government? That is my first question.

[Richard Létourneau]

That certainly has an impact. Now that the trial and legal dispute phase is over, we are trying to restore these relations, but it is not easy. It was a long and arduous battle. Our association fought in court for 10 years. A number of battles were waged by parents’ associations to have schools built and expanded. There were many court cases. This sometimes resulted in acrimonious relationships.

What is different here, in the Northwest Territories, when compared to a province such as Ontario or Alberta, is that if you decide to fight the government, you won’t be up against faceless administration. In Ontario, for example, you will never meet the minister or deputy minister. Here, in Yellowknife, however, you need to be mindful of the fact that the deputy minister might be your neighbour, and that you might be seated next to the minister at a restaurant or the cinema, that the prime minister’s children might be in the same hockey team as your children. You realize that when you face off, it can get personal. All of that makes these fights even tougher.

This is a heavy burden for volunteers to shoulder. Indeed, one doesn’t always feel like fighting one’s neighbours. Not only do we want to be part of a francophone community, we also want our NWT community to be strong. We are members of a broader northern community.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Do you get the sense that the Fédération franco-ténoise has become quite representative of your community over time? I assume that it has. One needs to remember that francophones were among the founding peoples. Now, we have to look to the future, 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years from now. Your association opened its doors about 25 years ago, didn’t it?

[Richard Létourneau]

Thirty-two years ago.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Are you taking steps to grow the association? Relationships can sometimes be strained, that much I understand. You are part of a small community and you sometimes rub shoulders with people you may come to blows with in order to achieve results. Having said that, I guess the association’s ambition is not only to ensure the greatest number of services for the francophone community, but also to swell the ranks of this community. Are the financial and human resources currently at your disposal sufficient to guarantee the growth of the association and, obviously, of its members?

[Richard Létourneau]

Obviously we always want more. We are never satisfied with what we have, and enough is never enough. Our role, as a federation, is to ask for, and demand, more.

I think that we are living in an era of renewal and expansion of language rights. The francophone presence was important in the early history of the Northwest Territories. Then, after the Métis uprising, a number of rights were abolished. For the past 32 years, we have been living in an era of renewal. I believe that bilingualism has a future in Canada and we want to continue to fight for it. We intend to plough ahead.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Your answer was interesting. I told the Languages Commissioner of the Northwest Territories earlier that if progress is to be made, you need to have the right tools. It quickly became obvious yesterday that the premises you occupy is tiny and doesn’t suit your needs. You’re aware that there are various federal programs in partnership with the territories that offer possibilities. The post office is a thing of the past. We now have to look to the future. Have you considered other ways of linking services? Last night you said that—and despite the beers I drunk I was still clear headed enough to understand you— some services could be linked.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Généreux, unfortunately, your time has run out. Thank you for your comments and input.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

I would like the witness to have an opportunity to respond.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

If there are any further responses or comments to be made, or documents to submit, they can all be submitted to our analyst.

Mr. Godin, the floor is yours.

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

I think that Mr. Généreux is right. Yesterday, you spoke at length about the petite maison bleue. We visited it and saw that people are packed in like sardines. There is no space to accommodate visitors. What plans do you have now? The post office is no longer an option, but there are still construction companies and other buildings. Do you have any plans?

[Richard Létourneau]

Having a space, a community center, a hub, where we can bring together all the francophone community organizations under one roof, is clearly a priority. It is crucial in order to create synergy and to share resources and save money. What’s more, there’s also the issue of continuity and making sure francophones stay put in the Northwest Territories. And the way to do this is through education.

We fought to obtain primary and secondary schools. The school board is fighting to get gymnasiums in schools. We established a college and we want to have the necessary funding to sustain it and to really… as Ms. Guay said: if a francophone comes and settles in the Northwest Territories, we have to be able to say to her that her child or children will be able to study in French from child care through to high school, and even on to college.

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

We’re going to meet with the francophone school board this afternoon and ask these questions.

I don’t want to come down too hard on the government—even if its members believe that that’s what I do—but if you are forced to use your line of credit… You say that people come here, stay for some time and leave. Do you sometimes have to lay people off, and get rid of people who work in the community?

[Richard Létourneau]

We have had to lay people off in the past, but that is not the major problem. The problem is that there is a lot of transience. That forces us to renew our resources every year. People don’t work for long or stay long in the Northwest Territories. As a result, it is difficult to implement a sustainable organizational culture.

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

As far as immigration is concerned—you welcome people, you describe the services that you offer—do you engage in a dialogue with the federal government and Citizenship and Immigration Canada to ensure that the immigrants are francophones? Are there any discussions? Are there any programs in place that produce results?

[Émos Dumas]

There was the Destination Canada program to recruit French and Belgian immigrants.

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

You said, “there was.” Does it still exist?

[Émos Dumas]

There was—

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

There was, the used to be, there no longer is.