Official Languages Committee on Nov. 24th, 2011

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Yes because it seems to me it's really necessary in order to succeed.

[Suzanne Bossé]

I entirely agree with you: collaboration is necessary. We definitely talked about interdepartmental and intergovernmental collaboration. There is definitely a lot to do in that regard, in particular with the Citizenship and Immigration Canada – Francophone Minority Communities Steering Committee, on which a number of departments, such as Health Canada, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Industry Canada and, of course, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, sit with the community representatives. We're really trying to bring all these partners to work together. This is a job that requires a lot of effort. We recently managed to bring together all the partners involved in the economic integration of newcomers. We're very pleased with the success of that effort.

However, there is no authority, there is no office, whether it be at Canadian Heritage or elsewhere, that can require that collaboration. There's no accountability in the collaborative effort. We are therefore finding interdepartmental and intergovernmental communication difficult.

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

But there are apparently no collaboration problems among all the provinces and territories.

I'm particularly proud to see the Canada brand here.

[Suzanne Bossé]

Yes, absolutely. These are the census figures.

[Marie-France Kenny]

I'll answer your question very briefly: absolutely, there is collaboration among the organizations. All the organizations that represent the provinces and territories as well as those of the sectoral organizations, sit on the board of directors of the FCFA. As president of the FCFA, I have an incredible, united board of directors that collaborates and shares, which means a lot and improves matters. We can say that when the francophone and Acadian communities talk, they speak with one voice. That is the strength of our network, and that is what brings everyone together. It is the thread that runs through this beautiful Canadian francophone community.

And, yes, we have a great partnership with the government.

[Ronald Robichaud]

I would like to comment on what Ms. Bossé said. In the province of Nova Scotia, FANE brings the commitment of our associations and of the people in our communities to the table. They are proud to be francophone Acadians, and they have confidence that we will meet their needs.

However, we need all the assistance the FCFA and this committee can provide us. The efforts we have made are very significant and very critical to the survival of Acadia in the coming years. We are facing some enormous challenges. Collaboration is very important. It's the only thing that can help us succeed.

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Yes.

I come from Manitoba. My riding is Winnipeg Centre, and we are nearly as big as Nova Scotia. As you said, it's three point something. It's approximately the same size.

It seems to me the official language minority communities don't just need collaboration, as you said, madam; they also need big efforts. In what circumstances does that work or not work? I'm interested in that because I come from Manitoba and we are very small like you.

[Jean Léger]

I think it's a question of capacity. In my experience as a former executive director, I saw sectors develop because there was a community capacity that made it possible. For example, we know that immigration is important, that francophone immigration is important. How do we work toward that? We don't have the means, the resources, the capacity or the intelligence. We have to build that capacity.

The Roadmap, or funding from the federal government, particularly Canadian Heritage in our case, enables us to develop that capacity, this wealth of our communities, this knowledge, to address very important issues such as immigration. A sector that doesn't have the capacity or resources will find it very difficult to develop. We can have all the collaboration in the world, if we don't have the resources or the ability to do it, it will be very hard to do.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Godin.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Our colleague Mr. Lauzon said earlier that, when you are an adult, you take longer to learn a language, even if it's your first language, French. I think that's a bad sign for the new Auditor General. If it takes so much time, he won't be learning it in a year. I can't help but mention that because there are people who have jobs here and who think they're going to learn everything in 1,200 hours.

I appreciated your comments on the study that was conducted and the importance of community. Ottawa makes decisions. Even though we're in Ottawa, we come from everywhere. Ottawa is a building where you go in and make decisions. Ottawa is the federal government. We come from everywhere. I come from Acadia. I know people back home. I talk with people back home. Every member comes from his constituency.

If we consider the study that was conducted in Yellowknife and Whitehorse, it would be an insult not to move forward. We spent more than $100,000 to go to Yellowknife and Whitehorse. Some qualified people took notes. We have all those notes. We reported what the people said there. That was reported to Parliament. We hope the government will change its mind and we'll continue writing that report. Otherwise we'll be insulting those people in those communities. Those people really feel far removed from Ottawa and from the decisions that are made there. I wanted to make that comment because I know it's very important for those people.

We started a cross-Canada tour and those people were waiting for us. Now they want this report to be written. It would be a shame not to do it and it wouldn't be respectful of them. We have to continue. We have to go to the high north and finish the tour so that we can say we really visited all of Canada. We should also get the views of the people on the ground, which is important.

You say there is the Roadmap, all the institutions, the departments and so on, but there has to be a door where we can go and knock. It was recommended that we go to the Privy Council. The Privy Council has to be responsible. The Treasury Board issues directives, but then there's the Privy Council. There is a door where we can go and knock.

Are you in favour of those recommendations? Every time there's a problem, we turn to a department. Is Canadian Heritage responsible? The representatives of Canadian Heritage said that the department had a responsibility to provide money, but not a responsibility for what happens. Another department is responsible for that. What do you recommend? Someone should have responsibility for giving everyone orders, just as the Privy Council has the power to give orders to the departments.

[Marie-France Kenny]

I would like to clarify one point. We're talking about the Roadmap, not the act. There are two things concerning the Privy Council. There is definitely a coordination role in relation to the Roadmap, a central coordination role that would help clarify matters for everyone. Where do matters stand regarding the investments by year and by department?

It is important for the government and for the communities to know where those investments are going. If this is an action plan, a five-year Roadmap, let's have investments spread over a period of five years so that we can see and effectively plan the resources we can deal with. Then it would be easier for everyone to go and knock on one door rather than on 10 doors and try to sort out who is distributing what investment.

[Jean Léger]

My understanding of the federal government is that there is indeed a main door for the Roadmap, but the other doors shouldn't be closed either. We wouldn't want to go into a ghetto with one organization in particular and then lose our connections with the other departments. Industry Canada isn't there, but Industry Canada needs to play a coordination role in its sector. The same is true of Immigration Canada.

As for the Roadmap, Canadian Heritage, from what I understand of the Official Languages Act, is somewhat responsible for that. Now is it playing its role fully?

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

I don't want to say that we're closing the doors to the other departments because that wouldn't make any sense. We want the departments to work with the communities. However if something isn't working, there has to be a place where we can go and knock. If things aren't working with one department, there has to be a door where we can go and knock and say that they aren't working with that department.

[Jean Léger]

From what I understand, that's the role of Canadian Heritage.

[Marie-France Kenny]

It's the role of the Official Languages Secretariat. However, as I said earlier in my address, it isn't equipped well enough. We must ensure that it is given the tools and the resources necessary to play that role.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Gourde, go ahead, please.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The unemployment rate is 30% in your region. Are your federations putting forward any initiatives to develop entrepreneurship?

Very often, it is the entrepreneurial spirit, in addition to education, that counts for a lot and improves matters. In my region, we had a similar problem 30 years ago, and the authorities at the time implemented initiatives to enable people to take charge of their situation. Based on the resources and human capital available, people worked together to create their own jobs and develop businesses. There were fewer jobs at the time. Regardless of the time or place where you are in Canada, there comes a time when the unemployment rate is higher.

Today, the businesses that were established during that time are on their second generation, soon their third. A lot of initiatives involving the various orders of government have been put forward. I'm pleased to say that my region today has the lowest unemployment rate in Canada. A lot of businesses are flourishing there.

Are these kinds of initiatives being put in place in your riding?

[Jean Léger]

There are some in Nova Scotia. We have very close ties with Solidarité rurale du Québec, which plays a very important role in rural and regional development. Representatives from that organization came twice to present concepts used in Quebec. That doesn't mean that we are going to use Quebec's rural model. However, you are right that a certain effort has to be made to take charge of our situation. That's one of the main issues of the Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse. We will be working toward that to the extent we can and will be accepting all the assistance offered us.

Some partners are doing a lot of work, including RDÉE and the Nova Scotia Economic Development Council. These are essential players. Our university is also playing a key role. ACOA should probably sit down at the table with us as well.

Yes, efforts are being made, but I believe they are not targeted and organized enough to have an impact. However, we are working on that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

I want to thank the witnesses and committee members. We will suspend proceedings for two minutes to give witnesses the time to leave the room.

Thank you for your presentations.

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

I have a point of order, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Monsieur Godin.

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

The witnesses are not required to leave the room, Mr. Chairman. We are not sitting in camera.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

I understand that, but people have to leave the table. We're suspending for two minutes so that we don't have chaos while we go into committee business.

I want to thank the witnesses for their presentations, and the members for their participation.

We're suspended for two minutes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

We've come out of the suspension, and we're now into the second part of the orders of the day. We've been given

two notices of motion from Mr. Bélanger.

I will give him the floor so that he can introduce his first motion.

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

Mr. Chairman, as you will remember, in September, I talked about a report that had been tabled during the previous Parliament. We had suspended debate on the motion at the time out of respect for my colleagues, even though that report was public. They said this morning that they had not had the opportunity to read it.

Considering in particular what we have heard this morning, I would like to reintroduce the motion officially. It reads as follows:

That the Third Report entitled Recruitment, Intake and Integration: What Future for Immigration to Official Language Minority Communities? of the Standing Committee on Official Languages in the third Session of the 40^th Parliament be adopted again as a report of this Committee, that the Chair do present it to the House, and that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the Committee request a comprehensive response from the government on the recommendations contained in the report.

I don't believe it is necessary to add much more. In view of what the two groups have told us this morning and in order to continue this important work concerning immigration, we need to know the government's orientations. That would be possible if we obtained a response to the 21 recommendations contained in the report, which moreover the FCFA would very much like to see.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.