Evidence of meeting #36 for Official Languages in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was quebec.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Jennifer Johnson  Executive Director, Community Health and Social Services Network
James Carter  Program and Policy Advisor, Community Health and Social Services Network
John Aylen  President, Board of Directors, Youth Employment Services
Iris Unger  Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
Kevin O'Donnell  President, Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network
Matthew Farfan  Executive Director, Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network
Roderick MacLeod  Past President, Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network
Paule Langevin  Project Director, Community Learning Centre Inititative, Leading English Education and Resource Network
Debbie Horrocks  Assistant Project Director and Community Liaison Coordinator, Community Learning Centre Initiative, Leading English Education and Resource Network

10:10 a.m.

NDP

François Lapointe NDP Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC

No problem.

10:10 a.m.

Executive Director, Youth Employment Services

Iris Unger

The centre itself is open to anybody, so people walk in and they sign up. We have workshops provided by staff. We have 22 staff; we have staff who do daytime workshops, but we also bring in a lot of volunteers. We have a lot of evening workshops when we bring in people from the business community. We have mentors. Those are volunteers.

We take our 22 staff and leverage those people to help secure volunteers. Those are the 300 volunteers who do workshops, mentorships, sit on advisory committees. That's our format.

Also, once people come in for workshops, we will then do one-on-one coaching, if somebody's looking for a job.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

François Lapointe NDP Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC

Okay.

10:10 a.m.

Executive Director, Youth Employment Services

Iris Unger

It's Emploi-Québec.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

François Lapointe NDP Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC

Emploi-Québec and local centres of employment are all financed by Quebec. Why can't they manage to have a real collaboration with you? You said it wasn't working well, so I'd like to know why and how.

10:10 a.m.

Executive Director, Youth Employment Services

Iris Unger

There are two points there. Emploi-Québec gives organizations x amount of money to service...it's a pay-per-client model right now. I think some of the issues we're facing are similar to those the francophone communities are facing—we sit on several coalitions with those groups—as far as cutbacks or changes in the way they give out the money. I think those are common to the francophone and anglophone communities. Proportionately, because there are so few anglophone organizations providing service, when there are cuts from Emploi-Québec they impact English-speaking communities more.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

François Lapointe NDP Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC

It hurts even more.

10:10 a.m.

Executive Director, Youth Employment Services

Iris Unger

Right. So that's number one.

Two, I think the provincial government is invested in para-government organizations like the CJE and the CLD. For whatever reason, people from the anglophone community do not access these services for the most part. I don't know if there is the perception that they won't be served in English. That goes for Montreal and the regions as well. So unless you live in a predominantly anglophone neighbourhood, chances are you won't get services in your language of choice. If you live in the east end and you're anglophone, you have to go to the organization that's set up, because it's divided by regions. They're forced to go. So we get the people who are living in the east end of Montreal who can't access English services.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

François Lapointe NDP Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC

Thank you, Ms. Unger.

Ms. Horrocks, earlier on, you described a rather gloomy future. You made reference to the demographics and to average family incomes. This seems to somewhat contradict Ms. Langevin's conclusion, who said that funding campaigns last year had raised $2.5 million and that this had worked rather well. I would like you to clarify for us what worked well, but then in what way you are concerned about the future.

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Michael Chong

Thank you.

Ms. Horrocks, you have the floor.

10:10 a.m.

Assistant Project Director and Community Liaison Coordinator, Community Learning Centre Initiative, Leading English Education and Resource Network

Debbie Horrocks

The future is worrisome. I almost hesitate to say this, but we've become a victim of our own success. More and more demands are being placed on CLCs. Our communities are looking to them more and more to provide services and resources, especially the CLCs in the regions where services like YES aren't available.

We have a network of video conferencing for all our CLCs. Workshops like YES offers are now being made available to communities across the province. The $2.5 million is coming from the various community organizations that are contributing to offering the resources through our CLCs. Most of the time it's not in the form of cash. A lot of them are in-kind contributions and volunteer time. Our CLCs work with a network of volunteers, like most of our organizations. Without volunteers we would probably be in dire circumstances.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

François Lapointe NDP Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC

What are the demographics outside Montreal for English communities for the next 50 years?

10:10 a.m.

Assistant Project Director and Community Liaison Coordinator, Community Learning Centre Initiative, Leading English Education and Resource Network

Debbie Horrocks

The demographic in the English community—especially in the school system, because I also have a connection there—has seen a huge decline in the past 25 years, and it's going down.

At the CLCs we're working very hard to bring people back to the regions.

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Michael Chong

Thank you very much, Madam Horrocks.

Thank you, Mr. Lapointe.

Thank you to all our witnesses for your testimony. I know you had much more to say in your opening statements than the time afforded you, but the briefs have been given to the analysts and the members of the committee, and I'm sure they'll be incorporated into our report.

Thank you very much for appearing.

[Proceedings continue in camera]

[Public proceedings resume]

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Michael Chong

We're in public session for the consideration of the second part of our committee business, which is a notice of motion from Monsieur Godin.

Go ahead, Monsieur Godin.

10:30 a.m.

NDP

Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I will read the motion that I am tabling:

That the Committee invite the President of the Treasury Board to appear for a televised two-hour meeting between now and May 18, 2012, regarding his report on the status of programs relating to the official languages of Canada in the various federal institutions in respect of which the Treasury Board has responsibility, which was referred to the Committee on December 9, 2011, pursuant to Standing Order 32(5).

In terms of the date, we will have time because we will be drafting the report. So some sessions will be free. It would be a good time to do it. It is important that the minister speak to us about his program. I am certain that the minister wants to present his program. I would like to have the committee's support on this.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Michael Chong

Merci.

We'll go to Mr. Harris.

10:30 a.m.

NDP

Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON

I would just like to emphatically support Monsieur Godin's motion on this. When we have ministers and ministries that touch on our subjects, it's critical that from time to time we have them come and present before the committee and that this is done in public for public consumption. I wholeheartedly support the motion.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Michael Chong

Okay. We have a motion in front of the committee right now. You should all have copies of it. We'd been given notice of it previously.

I'm going to give the floor to Mr. Menegakis.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Costas Menegakis Conservative Richmond Hill, ON

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I think we all want the minister to come before the committee. We'd all like to hear what he has to say. I know he has a very busy schedule; he's travelling all over the place.

I wonder if this would be the appropriate time to propose an amendment to Monsieur Godin's motion.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Michael Chong

Why don't you move the amendment and explain what the amendment is doing?

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

Costas Menegakis Conservative Richmond Hill, ON

Sure.

I'm moving the following amendment:

That the Committee invite the President of the Treasury Board to appear for a televised meeting, at his convenience, regarding his report on the status of programs relating to the official languages of Canada in the various federal institutions in respect of which the Treasury Board has responsibility, which was referred to the Committee on December 9, 2011, pursuant to Standing Order 32(5).

Basically, what this does is give flexibility to the minister and it allows us to work with him to schedule coming to a meeting here at his convenience.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Michael Chong

Okay.

There's an amendment in front of the committee. It would strike two phrases from the motion. It would strike “two-hour” and it would strike “between now and May 18, 2012” and replace it with “at his convenience”.

We're going to go to Mr. Harris and then to Mr. Bélanger.

10:35 a.m.

NDP

Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON

I'm just going to ask Mr. Menegakis, if he could nod his head yes or no, whether he would be amenable to changing that amendment to say that the minister appear before the committee “before we break for the summer”. Would he be okay with that?

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

Costas Menegakis Conservative Richmond Hill, ON

No. I think he'll probably be here before the summer. I wouldn't change it. I would not.