Official Languages Committee on Nov. 29th, 2011

[Jean-Marie Nadeau]

As regards New Brunswick, RDÉE has a symbiotic relationship with the Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick, which is the New Brunswick council of business people. The board of directors of the Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick is the same as that of the RDÉE New Brunswick. Consequently, there may be a more significant alignment.

Whatever the case may be, the most important tool for francophone economic development in New Brunswick is the University of Moncton, which was founded in 1963. The funding the federal government allocates to it must continue. It's as simple as that.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you.

[Melvin Doiron]

I'll give you a concrete example. We are currently assisting a group of agricultural producers who are developing a completely new product. We're talking about the exploitation of an annual plant called reed canary grass that grows in abundance. It can be processed into pellets and used in that form as animal litter and even for heating. This is a very promising project since we're talking about local production, consumption and energy. The fact is that we need experts on the ground in order to provide these kinds of assistance services.

In that respect, I must honestly say that we really have our hands full. However, additional revenue could change matters, especially in view of the upcoming wave of business transfers. A form of cooperative is being considered, which we believe represents promising opportunities. In our province, the CCCM will soon be implementing a pilot project involving one or two large business owners who have no guaranteed succession plans. To go back to what could be added, I would say we should be better equipped to do this assistance work. RDÉE obviously supports our projects.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

How's my time?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

You have one minute left.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

I have no more questions to ask, but I would like to make some comments.

When petitions are submitted to MPs, they may table them in the House if they wish. However, I haven't heard one single Conservative, NDP or Liberal member recommend abolishing CBC/Radio-Canada. That's for sure.

Thank you.

I'm done.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Ms. Michaud, go ahead, please.

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

Thank you very much.

Welcome, everyone. I would like to say a word to the CCCM people.

Your work is extremely important. I hope that your message is heard and that you are included in the next Roadmap.

My riding is Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier. You may already be familiar with the Coopérative de solidarité d'alimentation de Rivière-à-Pierre. It has a gas pump, an SAQ, a grocery store and links with Desjardins, among others. It really helps the community. You were talking about social cohesion, and this is an example of that. All the people in the community are involved in that cooperative. It has made it possible to support business and development in the region. People are no longer required to drive 30 or 40 minutes to shop.

I think it will be important to bear in mind all the work you've done. I still can't completely understand how you've proceeded. You submitted a recommendation to the government that it include a cooperative development plan in the Roadmap. Was that recommendation solicited? Did you simply submit it to make sure it was taken into account?

[Brigitte Gagné]

That's exactly it. There were national consultations on the Roadmap. We appeared in all the regions. We took steps to do it, but they really didn't produce any results.

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

Your recommendation concerned the development of a national plan, a more specific cooperative development strategy. Why do you think that recommendation was merely dismissed?

[Brigitte Gagné]

I was told the Roadmap could not solve all the problems of the minority communities. Consequently, a cooperative economic development was viewed as not that important.

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

I hope things will change in future. I believe you'll be an important player. The economy is a factor in a number of debates in the House, in speeches and statements. It is time to explore new methods that would promote economic development.

Do you have something to add, Mr. Doiron?

[Melvin Doiron]

Allow me to share a perception.

In view of the quite surprising figures revealing the extent of the cooperative movement's assets, perhaps we were considered too rich to have access to certain programs.

In reality, it must be understood that every cooperative sector has its own mission which is related to its members. The money invested on an inter-cooperative basis is obviously related to the principle of solidarity. However, we can't sacrifice the assets of the members of certain sectors for cooperative development in general.

On that basis, the movement is doing what it can. However, the fact remains that this is nevertheless a cooperative, governmental and community responsibility.

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

Thank you very much.

My next question will be for the representative of the Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick.

You mentioned that more than 500 francophone children do not have access to school in their mother tongue. I think that's absolutely abnormal. Is that just in Moncton or in the province as a whole?

[Jean-Marie Nadeau]

It's not just 500 children, but 1,650 children.

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

All right, it's 1,650 children.

[Jean-Marie Nadeau]

It's 650 children in the Saint John area, 500 more in the Fredericton region and 500 children in the Moncton area.

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

It's worse than I thought.

[Jean-Marie Nadeau]

Those children don't go to French school because transit time can be 75 to 90 minutes, morning and afternoon.

The Sainte-Anne community centre in Fredericton is overflowing. The entire premises are occupied. The centre is very much involved in what we call rights holders intake. Previously, when 60% of rights holders went to the École Sainte-Anne, the Sainte-Anne community centre could accommodate the other rights holders for the first three months. It was possible to accelerate the francization process. Now we have to redistribute them. That has caused some extreme problems. It's complicating our mission to francize those children.

This is an emergency. We've been talking about it for three years. However, there isn't enough money from either the federal or the provincial government.

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

What solutions are you considering? What initiatives could be put in place under the next Roadmap?

[Jean-Marie Nadeau]

Historically, the federal government has supported the provinces well, particularly on education issues, even though that was not its jurisdiction. Funding should be increased in order to build community school centres. I believe it's scandalous that this abnormal situation should arise in New Brunswick, which is supposed to be the most bilingual province.

We're losing ground. The percentage of families where French is the first language spoken in the home used to be 30%, but it has just fallen to 11%. Something somewhere isn't working.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Nadeau.

Thank you, Ms. Michaud.

Now we'll have Mr. Leung.

[Chungsen Leung, Conservative, Willowdale, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm sorry, I'm probably the only anglophone here. Although in Canada I'm not considered bilingual, I speak five other languages. So I apologize for that.

In my opinion, the preservation, protection, fostering, and continuation of a second language should really be driven by commerce and not so much by political necessity and desire.

I'll give you an example. About 20 years ago, I went to Grand Manan and I wanted to buy dulse, but because only French was spoken there, I made an attempt to use whatever little French I had. What it brought to me is that I've done business all around the world—in the Middle East, in Asia, and so on—and everywhere I go, I attempt to use.... If I'm in the Middle East, I learn Arabic, and if I'm in Asia, I speak three other Asian languages.

One of the directions we need to face in a pluralistic society like Canada is to foster not just the French and English sides, because then you're limiting yourself to doing business with anglophones. There's a big market available to you in Asia, especially for all the natural resources that New Brunswick has to offer.

It's my opinion that we should take a further direction and start conducting business in the other languages that matter to your market. Commerce really should be your driving factor and not a political decision to do this.

Do you wish to comment on that? Perhaps it's time for the Acadians to learn Chinese and Japanese and so on.

[Jean-Marie Nadeau]

Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch, puedo hablar español también....

[Chungsen Leung, Conservative, Willowdale, ON]

Danke schön.