Official Languages Committee on Feb. 9th, 2011

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

When the Minister of Education, who is also responsible for official languages, meets with other ministers responsible for official languages or the Francophonie from across the country, are you consulted?

[Suzette Montreuil]

No. This summer there was a sort of--

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

The ministers had a meeting here.

[Suzette Montreuil]

Yes. We were invited to the dinner, but we were not invited to--

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

As for youth--

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

You don't have much time left, Mr. Bélanger.

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

How much time do I have left?

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

You have 10 seconds.

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

Then I will simply say that I commend you and encourage you to keep up your work.

[Suzette Montreuil]

Could I just let Mr. Bélanger know that I am from Mattawa?

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

We can talk later.

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

She answered my question.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Yes.

Ms. Guay.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I would like to know the exact meaning of the expression “rights holder parents”. Can you tell us exactly what that means? We have heard a lot about this, but no one has explained exactly what that represents.

[Marc Bilodeau]

It designates parents with children. It is to protect the children who are entitled to receive an education in French.

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

So, these are children who have one French-speaking parent.

[Marc Bilodeau]

Exactly, or a grandparent.

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

If the children have a French-speaking grandparent, they have the right to attend French school even if their parents are Anglophone. Is that correct?

[Marc Bilodeau]

No, not exactly.

[Suzette Montreuil]

Section 23 defines it in three ways. First of all, French has to be the language that you learned and still understand. After that, if the child attended a Francophone or French-language school—French as a first language—that child as well as his brothers and sisters are “rights holders”.

And what is the third way, Philippe?

[Philippe Brûlot]

I must have forgotten--

[Suzette Montreuil]

There are three specific categories. But it is important to understand that it does not imply that the parent speaks French.

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

It's pretty complicated.

[Suzette Montreuil]

I would just like to raise one other point. We feel that, despite the complexity, this is really basic. In some communities, such as Hay River, where there was no French-language education for many years, the loss of French is significant. So, we are trying to correct that. We are seeking people with Francophone heritage.

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

You told us a lot about young people. I saw you yesterday, I think.