Official Languages Committee on Sept. 22nd, 2011

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

We are now voting on Mr. Galipeau's motion.

(The motion is carried 6 to 5. [See the Minutes]

We have carried all the routine motions of this committee. Thank you for your cooperation.

We are now going to discuss three other motions in this order: Mr. Bélanger's first motion, then Mr. Godin's, and then Mr. Bélanger's second motion.

The first motion Mr. Bélanger gave me in June reads as follows:

That the third report entitled "Recruitment, Intake and Integration: What Future for Immigration to Official Language Minority Communities?" of the Standing Committee on Official Languages in the third session of the 40^th Parliament be adopted again as a report of this committee and that the chair do present it to the House, and that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request a comprehensive response from the government on the recommendations contained in the report.

Could you move the motion?

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

Yes, Mr. Chair.

Do I have an opportunity to speak a bit about it? Good.

I understand that it may be asking a lot from the new members of the committee, given that they were not there then. All the same, I hope you will support this motion.

Some members of each party were present, including Mr. Godin, Mr. Gourde, Mr. Galipeau, Mr. Lauzon and myself. I hope I'm not wrong in saying that the committee worked very hard to conduct an in-depth study of the current situation in the communities and the effect of immigration and the need for immigration. The committee gathered information, then drafted and adopted a report in the hope of coming back to this matter. We were well aware that there were other issues to study, but we wanted to do that when we knew what direction the government wanted to take.

The report was adopted and tabled. If I remember correctly, that happened in December 2010. The House was dissolved before the government could respond. I would hope that we can take up the report again without making any changes and table it again with a view to getting a response from the government. It's as simple as that. Once we get a response, we would be able to start the second phase of studying this issue, which is a very important one for the official language minority communities. It's quite simple.

I am asking the new members to have confidence by trusting their colleagues. I for one would rely on myself.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Would any other members like to speak?

Mr. Godin, you have the floor.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I support the motion. I just want to say that all of this is normal, that if a study is conducted, an election will follow and we would not get a response to the report.

The conservatives are very concerned about the economy and taxpayers' money. We wouldn't want to disappoint the taxpayers because they paid good money for this report.

The government was in favour of the report. I think that it was unanimous in this case. We would like the government's response. It would be very important to get it. We have the opportunity to go back, to take the report that was studied and to ask the government to give us a response to the report. Otherwise, we might have to do all the work over again, work I think is important.

It is very clear that there are a lot of places in our communities where the birth rate is low. With immigration, people from elsewhere settle in these communities. This is the case in Acadian communities like ours. In New Brunswick, committees have been formed and people brought in. A ration was established so that a given number of francophone immigrants support the francophone regions. The situation is the same in Manitoba, in St-Boniface.

We have conducted a good study. Now, all we need to do is obtain the government's response. If I was in its place, I would be interested in responding to this study.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Mr. Menegakis, you have the floor.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

I can appreciate that this was something that was considered and discussed in the 40th Parliament, and I really would be mistaken if I wanted to speak against the merits of the work that was done there. By the same token, it's very hard to speak to the report, not having read it, not having seen it. As a new member here, it is very difficult for me to support something that I have not seen, that I have not heard, and that I haven't considered. That's the difficulty I have with this motion.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Monsieur Aubin.

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

I am one of the new members who has not read the report. I am also a newcomer to politics, and it seems to me that this would be an excellent opportunity to send the message that the time of an election brings committee work to a halt, but it does not cancel out the fact that the work has been done.

For these reasons, I will be voting in favour of the motion.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Ms. Michaud, you have the floor.

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

Since I am also new, I do not know what is in the report. But I think that it is a crucial issue for the good development of the minority communities. Their needs must be taken into consideration, and we have to ensure that we examine this matter to help them protect all the elements that are specific to them.

I trust the colleagues who were here. Generally speaking, these are sincere and experienced individuals. I think that the work they did had to have been of good quality. We will have access to it, and it is important that we get a reply back from the government on this.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Go ahead, Mr. Godin.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

We're not asking to change the report; we're just asking the government to answer to the report.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

I don't know what the report is. I haven't seen it.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Chair, I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary a question. If the government's position is that it cannot respond to the subject of the report because it has not seen it, perhaps we could make an amendment to the motion saying that we will ask the same thing in one month, to give everyone a chance to read it, if that is what is needed.

He doesn't need to reply, but he must go over the report.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Mr. Gourde, you may reply if you wish; it's your choice. You have the floor.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Out of respect for the new members here acting in good faith, I think that it would be better to refuse this motion today.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Chair, I am moving an amendment to have this motion postponed to one month from now, in other words four weeks. It will give them time to read it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Theoretically, as the committee chair, I must put this motion to a vote. If the motion is not carried, you will be able to bring it back the next week or in four weeks, if you wish, it's not a problem. But, according to the procedure, a motion that has been discussed must be voted on.

If you want to give the same motion in two weeks, that's fine.

If you don't want to debate it any more, we'll just call the vote. If it gets defeated, you can give me the exact same motion in a week, tomorrow if you want. That's the way we'll dispose of it, if you wish to move on to the next motion.

Is there any debate on the motion?

Mr. Bélanger.

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

Mr. Chairman, I'm a little bit sorry that it seems it's going to be rejected. This is a public document tabled in the House and available on our website. I gave notice of this in June, so anyone could have taken it upon themselves to obtain it. I'm quite prepared to ask our clerk to distribute a copy if it's simpler for members to get access to a copy of the document and read it.

But to defeat the motion on the grounds that we haven't seen or could not see the document I find is rather a weak argument. I'll respect it, and therefore I'll give notice that if that's the true basis of rejection, then fine, let's delay the vote or let's bring it back. But let's not be told, Mr. Chair, in two weeks' time when we bring it back that it's not acceptable to bring it back because it's been defeated once.

I'd like to know from you, first, that an exact same motion, to use your words, brought back in two weeks will not be rejected on technical grounds. If that's the case, then let's deal with it today. Then we'll see the true reason for a rejection in two weeks' time.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Just to clarify, it can't be the exact same motion.

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

I thought so, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

But if it's similarly worded, I'll accept it. If you want to do this correctly, technically, then what we should do is this. Monsieur Godin, if you could move a motion to adjourn debate on this motion, I will accept that motion.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

If I put a motion that we adjourn the debate on the motion, the same motion can come back?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Yes. I would ask if you're going to do that, to make the planning of the committee easier, you give me notice 24 or 48 hours ahead of the meeting that you're going to move the motion again, so I can put it on the orders of the day, so that we're all prepared to discuss it.

If you would care to move the motion....

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Yes, I do move the motion.