Official Languages Committee on March 6th, 2012

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

You mentioned the consultative approach with the linguistic communities. For example, if you have a project that is being launched in Témiscaming or Timmins, where there is a large francophone community, FedNor may intervene, or the Department of Natural Resources, or the department concerned with Small Business and Tourism.

Who ensures that the service is offered in both official languages, that all communications are good and that they reach the linguistic communities in their official language?

[Mitch Davies]

Technically, the officer who provides the service is responsible for that. That means, in FedNor's case, that Mr. Dimatteo and his team are directly responsible for knowing whether there is staff, whether requests have been properly handled in the clients' language of choice, if they have been taken seriously and whether we have a rigorous program. That is the role of managers in the field.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

So this is a project execution issue. What problems arose in planning and developing plans for the roadmap? What problems surfaced when you designed the various parts of the roadmap? What problems were there in coordinating with the Department of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, or with the Commissioner of Official Languages, for example? What challenges did you face in developing the plans from 2008 to the present?

[Lisa Setlakwe]

I admit I wasn't here in 2008. As I mentioned, we work very closely together. I imagine we didn't always share the same view on everything, but we nevertheless all have the same goal and the same objectives. The first idea was formed the right way because every agency has its own procedures. We still have a framework objective that guides us, but the agencies have the necessary flexibility to respond to needs in their community.

It was not necessarily very difficult to agree on a national plan because the way it was structured gave us that flexibility.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Bélanger, go ahead, please.

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

I want to verify first that I'm not mistaken. FedDev is not coming to this committee. Is that correct?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Let me verify that.

Go ahead.

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

Well, my questions will be based on that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Off the top of my head, I don't know.

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

We have FedNor. We have ACOA. We have Western. We have CanNor. But FedDev, the one for southern Ontario, is not coming. Is that correct?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

You are right.

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

It's the only one I'd have some real questions for.

Mr. Davies, do you have any responsibility for it?

[Mitch Davies]

I wish we did, but no, we're not responsible.

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

Would you convey some questions to it?

[Mitch Davies]

I'm certain they'll be recorded.

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

I understand it started at the same time as CanNor. But CanNor has, according to our numbers, at least, done 24% of its spending, and it seems to be doing its job. It's willing to be here, and it offered, I thought, an interesting briefing.

I'd love to get a similar briefing from FedDev. I'd love to know why, as of the end of 2010-11, our numbers tell us, it has spent only 11% of its funding. I'd like to know also, systematically, who it is consulting and when and how. As someone from so-called southern Ontario—because it includes the east as well, since it includes everything that FedNor doesn't cover—I haven't heard a single peep from it since it's been in existence. I represent a riding in its territory and I haven't heard a peep. Obviously it doesn't care about MPs, and that's fine; I expect we're not its clientele. But if it needs any help in reaching out to communities, it's not.... I haven't heard from the communities in eastern Ontario either that they're even aware of its existence.

Convey these things to it for me, please.

Perhaps we can squeeze it in at some meeting, Mr. Chairman. It's the only one not coming.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

I will say just two things about that.

First, it wasn't on the list of witnesses suggested by any of the members here. But what we can do, and what I'll instruct the clerk to do, is to call up FedDev and ask that it submit a brief to the committee that would be distributed to all committee members.

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

And it's part of the feuille de route.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

I understand. We'll ask FedDev, which is out of Kitchener, to submit a brief to our committee with respect to our study, and we'll have it distributed to all committee members.

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

I don't understand. We seem to have invited every other agency and department that's included in the feuille de route, but not FedDev. Does someone have something to hide?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

I am the servant of the committee. I asked committee members to submit witness lists to me.

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

Maybe it's been misdirected by a phone call to go somewhere else.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

I asked committee members to submit a witness list to me. We went over it two or three times. It wasn't on the witness list.

That being said, even though it has not been invited to appear, we can demand that it submit a brief on the road map. I've instructed the clerk to contact the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario to give us a brief on what it's doing for the road map.

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

Thank you.