Official Languages Committee on Dec. 8th, 2011

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

I mean you, the SFM.

[Ibrahima Diallo]

I cannot say how much the SFM has received directly from the roadmap. I cannot give you the amount. I have no exact figures for you.

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

Thank you for that answer. This is interesting for me.

Unfortunately, I have no more time. Thank you, I am sorry.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Mr. Diallo, if you give the numbers to the clerk, he can distribute them to all members of the committee. Would that be okay? Thank you.

Mr. Aubin, you have the floor.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good morning, everyone. First of all, I congratulate you on your fight to allow your communities not only to speak French but also to live in French. As a resident of Quebec, I have been receiving all this testimony in the last few weeks as a lesson in the tenacious defence of French. So thank you for this reminder, it is much appreciated.

First of all, I would like to address the representative of the FCCF, probably because I was very close to these issues in the past. You mentioned earlier some successful achievements, such as those of Damien Robitaille or Radio Radio. At home, we consider them almost as being from Quebec. By hearing the accent, we recognize that they perhaps come from somewhere else. At the same time, I am thinking about our group Arcade Fire, which seems to be very well-known.

I am wondering if this was because of the language, or the musical genre, or if it was not also related to funding. For example, the distribution of the financial envelope that covers the Vitrines Culturelles program; if it is not equal, is it equitable and does it permit each language to evolve well in this country?

[Éric Dubeau]

Coming from the same area as Damien, I forgive you for adopting Mr. Robitaille. I welcome it and so does he, for sure.

Our counterparts in the English-speaking community of Quebec may not like the answer to your question, but I will answer you this way. Arcade Fire and similar groups originating from Quebec, who record, tour and produce songs and music in English have already achieved great success thanks to the main programs at FACTOR, which is the English-language equivalent of MUSICACTION. In any case, FACTOR receives 40% of the Vitrines musicales envelope and MUSICACTION receives 60%. That seems disproportionate to us. We know that anglophones in Quebec already have access to a very high level of financing at FACTOR, while this is not the case for us. Our Damien Robitailles have a lot of difficulty obtaining financing from MUSICACTION. This is improving over the years, partly thanks to the roadmap investments.

However, we think that there is something not only asymmetrical, but also problematic in this distribution. I also think that we must recognize that Canadian francophone artists are distributed over 250 communities throughout our vast country, while this is just not the reality for our Quebec friends.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you.

I will discuss a second subject and I would ask you to respond briefly, because I really have little time and I have a lot of questions to ask.

You mentioned earlier in your presentation that there was a problem in publishing. I think that books are often the most long-lasting works of culture. If we read in French, we speak French, at least in our heads, and we may even be able to write it.

What was the difficulty you referred to? You haven't really mentioned it since all this was very fast.

[Éric Dubeau]

In my opinion, we have double the difficulty. On one hand, very few publishing houses have been able to receive financing from this program. According to our information, there are only two of them, one in our field and the other in education. You must know that the amounts of money received are very modest, from an envelope of approximately $2.5 million; so we are half-way.

On the other hand, we must recognize that, for us, book production is complex. This is not just a simple translation mechanism. Book fairs, festivals and activities require support. The authors require even more support. I was asked earlier if we have been consulted during the preparation of roadmap programs. Unfortunately, this is an example of a problem; it would have been better to consult with us more and better address our comments at the time when the program was developed. Something must be done about this.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you.

Since I still have some time, I will ask a third question.

You would like to see an arts and culture stream in the next roadmap, if there is one. Once again, you spoke very briefly about this, since you only had ten minutes. Could you tell us in the remaining minute what your priorities would be in an arts and culture stream?

[Éric Dubeau]

I can try.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Good luck!

[Éric Dubeau]

When we spoke generally about programs and the roadmap, we had a feeling that the approach was somewhat disorganized. We would rather see a more complete and comprehensive approach to arts and culture, with five aspects.

The first aspect would be centred on cultural development, but with a long-term vision. These would not be one-time projects.

The second aspect would revolve around artistic infrastructures. We know that our communities do not have enormous infrastructures. More investment is needed in this field.

The third aspect would consist of support or support mechanisms for artists. Let us take the example of the Music Showcases. They represent a support mechanism for popular artists.

We would also need a support mechanism for cultural industries such as cinema, publishing, the record industry, and so on. All these sectors need more support or mechanisms customized to their needs in order to help them better compete with the majority in a globalized world.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Weston, you have the floor.

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Welcome to everyone who is with us today.

I could ignore completely what was said about the CBC, but I will not do that. While a member of Parliament may present a petition to the House, this does not necessarily mean that the petition represents the opinion of his party. As a resident of British Columbia who listens to Radio Canada with enthusiasm in English and in French, I do not agree with this opinion at all.

The lack of consistency that has been mentioned several times, including by my colleagueMr. Bernard Trottier, worries us all. I have one question and you have five minutes to answer it.

If you could choose one person from everyone in the country who would represent an initiative with the objective of spreading the French language in British Columbia, Ontario and in Canada, who would that person be? This person would meet with 10 or 12 other people in order to hear all pertinent opinions to make the initiative consistent.

Who is your champion?

Go ahead, Ibrahima.

[Ibrahima Diallo]

You asked me a question that surprises me a bit. Are you asking me to indicate the ideal person to sit at a table to discuss consistency?

I could describe a profile rather than an individual. This person would have to know the country and the official language communities, both English and French, very well. It would be someone with a national stature, believing in linguistic duality and the importance of not only the survival but also the development of francophones. This would be the profile in my opinion but I do not have any specific individuals to suggest.

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

This is excellent, you provided a list of criteria. Would you be that person or perhaps someone else?

[Ibrahima Diallo]

It could be someone else.

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Gabriel?

[Gabriel Arsenault]

I think that the president of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada , Marie-France Kenny, would be a champion. If I had a second choice, I would choose our premier, Robert Ghiz. He is also the minister in charge of Acadian and francophone affairs. I meet with him regularly. In my opinion he is a champion.

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

What would you say, Ms. Doucet?

[Marie-Claude Doucet]

As for the arts and culture, I think that any Canadian francophone artist could represent the Canadian francophone movement. This could be added.

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

What about you, Ms. Cohen?

[Aline Bouffard-Cohen]

I am also in favour of Marie-France Kenny, president of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada. She speaks for us passionately and with an extraordinary knowledge of the area.

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

What is your opinion, Mr. Dubeau?

[Éric Dubeau]

I am sorry but my answer is much more complex than your question. In fact, we here represent three organizations, and there are hundreds of organizations like ours. If you ask me to nominate a champion in the field of arts and culture, I think of the president of our federation. She is certainly the champion of our members who elected her.

I think that the situation is the same for all of us.