Official Languages Committee on Nov. 24th, 2011

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

In fact, I see that all the regions are represented in certain sections of the profile you've presented here. A report such as that can simply enhance the information that you submit to us and improve our recommendations regarding the representation of all francophone communities in the north. It was in that perspective that I asked you the question.

[Marie-France Kenny]

Absolutely.

[Suzanne Bossé]

The same is true regarding the immigration report. We have all come to appear. We're taking a lot of our time to support the committee's work. It is very important for us that the government give us a response so that we can determine how to orient our actions, develop our plan and establish better collaboration.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Ms. Michaud. Thank you as well, Ms. Bossé.

Mr. Menegakis, go ahead, please.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Good morning. I want to thank you for coming to appear today and for giving your presentations.

The Roadmap is a very important initiative for our government. It represents an investment of more than $1 billion. I believe the cultural programs are very important for our youth and seniors.

Could you tell us how the Roadmap has helped in the development of those kinds of programs?

[Suzanne Bossé]

For youth and seniors?

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Yes.

[Suzanne Bossé]

For youth, we can very definitely talk about the Jeux de la Francophonie. The Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française, which has testified before this committee, also administers programs related to employment preparation and translation scholarships. Of course, all that is very important in preparing young people for employment, but also for reinforcing their identity and sense of belonging to a community, leading them to act as citizens and thus to contribute to the development of their community and their country.

As for seniors, I know they are working hard to establish the policy on aging. The New Horizons for Seniors Program, which is administered by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, is also very important for them. It is also a very interesting pilot project in a number of communities, in Ontario, among others. The seniors are encouraged to get more involved in the community and to work more closely with the municipality.

It was Roadmap funding that made it possible to promote these actions. Without Roadmap funding, they would not have been possible These are a few examples, but every organization can provide more.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Ms. Kenny, do you want to add something?

[Marie-France Kenny]

The entire Music Showcases Initiative for Artists from Minority Official Language Communities component is very important. We have magnificent artists who are not very well known across the country. When they become known, Quebec adopts them as its own. I'm thinking of Roch Voisine, among others. Everyone thinks he's a Quebecker, but he isn't. In fact, he's Acadian. There's also Damien Robitaille, Marie-Jo Thério, Daniel Lavoie, who is Franco-Manitoban, and so on. This is a showcase for our young artists, and it helps establish stars, idols for francophones, and that makes an enormous contribution to identity reinforcement.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Robichaud, Mr. Léger, are cultural programs available in French across Nova Scotia?

[Jean Léger]

The survey that we conducted of our member organizations established that the Cultural Development Fund had contributed to our community as a whole. Funding from that Canadian Heritage program is available across the province. A number of organizations have benefited from it, although I believe a lot of work remains to be done in the cultural area, particularly with regard to youth and cultural identity. Leadership sessions have to be provided. There is still work to do, but the availability is there.

In addition, let's simply say that the federal government enables us to do things that the province perhaps can't afford to provide for us. Nova Scotia is currently going through a period of budget cuts. That's probably the case in a number of other places in the country. As culture budgets are not increasing, the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality has provided our communities with supplementary funding.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you.

Do you want to add something, Mr. Robichaud?

[Ronald Robichaud]

In difficult budgetary times, as is currently the case, cultural activities are always the first funds affected. However everyone really needs them. In our province, people are losing their French. That's the case of a lot of seniors, who nevertheless spoke French when they were young. Cultural activities afford people an opportunity to take part in Acadian francophone culture. And that's very important for us.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Robichaud.

Mr. Harris, go ahead, please.

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Thank you very much.

Thanks to the witnesses for being here today.

I would like to pick up where my colleague left off regarding the study on linguistic duality in Canada's north.

Since we are in a period of budget cuts, we have to spend every cent the right way. Our committee has already spent $100,000 on the northern study. We believe it is very important to finish it so that organizations such as yours can see the results of that research.

Do you have any other comments to make on the northern study?

[Marie-France Kenny]

I would just like to repeat that I have a great deal of respect for the work that is being done here by all members, as well as for those who were here before you, and I hope the next committee will have that same respect for you. If the study were not completed on time and something happened, I hope the next committee would resume the study that you are conducting because you and the departments have devoted a great deal of time to it. I simply wanted to say that again.

[Suzanne Bossé]

I also think the northern reality is very specific. It's definitely very appropriate that the committee complete its study and take into consideration the current struggles between our community organizations and their territorial government in that context.

Cases have gone before the courts and judgments have been rendered. You can't imagine how much effort our poor—and I mean "poor"—little organizations, with so few resources, have had to make for those judgments to be implemented—I'm talking about the Northwest Territories here.

I think it's very important for the federal government, through this committee, to be aware of these facts in order to find the best way to support these communities in a federal-provincial relationship.

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

The Canadian north really has its own challenges. In my former life, I was employed by a company that worked with the Nunavut government on its website. even though that territory has a very small population, that site is offered in four languages. That raises new challenges.

I would like to go back to the case of Nova Scotia. I've told the committee a number of times that I spoke French more often when I worked in Alberta in last year than in Toronto. And frankly that was because the majority of Francophones there came from Nova Scotia and the rural regions.

I find it very interesting that you spoke about research and innovation since I am the deputy critic for science and technology, which includes research, discovery and innovation. You said Industry Canada was previously involved in language programs, but no longer. In fact, you want that to include an economic component for sustainable rural development.

Could you elaborate on your thinking on that point? I would definitely be very interested in talking to you about it later to see what we can do in the long term.

[Jean Léger]

Currently, for example, we are involved in raising our community's awareness of sustainable rural development. We have had two seminars and one annual general meeting, AGM, to make our communities aware of the importance of getting organized to engage in rural development.

The second stage is mobilization, in which people commit to working on their rural development.

We are facing a challenge because we have very little research. There is research, but it isn't put in a context that we can use. Industry Canada could definitely support us at some level in developing or finding this research, but also to find ways to resolve or work toward resolving specific difficulties or problems in our communities. So I think a relationship with Industry Canada might enable our communities to get along much better.

It's true that we nevertheless have relationships with the Rural Secretariat, which reports to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, but I believe Industry Canada, like ACOA and all the other economic departments and agencies, needs to work with us. A department as important as Industry Canada could play a role like the one Canadian Heritage plays in the language field. It could be the gateway department that would enable us to address the entire problem with the Canadian government as a whole.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Harris.

[Suzanne Bossé]

The most recent summative evaluation states that Industry Canada's programs, as designed, do not at all meet the needs of the official language minority communities. It would be very important to refer to that evaluation in the next Roadmap.

The federal tourism strategy was introduced very recently, in early October. It states that Industry Canada is a leader in ensuring that the needs of the official language minority communities are taken into consideration in the strategy's implementation. We will be having a meeting with the department's officials on December 1 to determine how they will go about that. It is a very important event on the committee's radar.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Ms. Bateman, welcome to our committee.

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

It's a pleasure and thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you for all the presentations this morning. I find them very interesting.

I am very impressed to see the collaboration involved in this publication. It's much more than a brochure: it's an extraordinary collaborative effort.

With regard to collaboration, do you think the current methods promote exchange and permit greater collaboration among all the Roadmap partners?

[Suzanne Bossé]

You're asking whether there is greater cooperation, whether we are satisfied with the cooperation?