Official Languages Committee on Oct. 25th, 2012

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Welcome to the 56th meeting of the Standing Committee on Official Languages on this Thursday, October 25, 2012. Pursuant to Standing Order 108, we are here today to review the 2011-2012 annual report of the Commissioner of Official Languages. The report was referred to the committee on Tuesday, October 16, 2012.

I want to welcome our five guests today. We have Mr. Fraser, the Commissioner of Official Languages;

Ms. Charlebois, Ms. Cloutier, Mr. Giguère and Ms. Tremblay.

They are all from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

Without further ado—

Yes, Mr. Godin.

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

Mr. Chair, I would like to provide the committee with the following notice of motion:

That the Committee invite the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages to discuss his report on official languages for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, by December 1, 2012, at a two-hour televised meeting.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you for introducing this notice of motion.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Without further ado, we'll begin with an opening statement from Mr. Fraser.

[Graham Fraser, Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, honourable members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

I'd like to thank your committee for its interest in the activities of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. The relationship between Parliament and my office is of the utmost importance.

Mr. Chair, to present the findings of my 2011-2012 annual report, I am accompanied today by my team that you have already introduced.

Last week, I tabled my 2011-2012 annual report in Parliament. This is my sixth annual report.

I tabled the report within the context of the restructuring of the public service workforce and the streamlining of federal organizations following the budget cuts announced in the last federal budget.

Despite the fact that the Official Languages Act is now into its fifth decade, Canada's linguistic duality too often goes unnoticed. When everything runs smoothly, bilingual services are just a part of normal, everyday life. Only in their absence do they attract attention. Failure is obvious, success is invisible.

This year, I want to emphasize successes, and my report focuses on being pragmatic and encouraging.

I make some recommendations and I mention the importance of actions that need to be taken now to prepare for Canada's 150th anniversary in 2017. Canada's linguistic duality should always be visible and audible, and even more so when we celebrate our history.

I also present the findings of our observations in the National Capital Region that caused a media stir in August 2011. The observations sought to recreate the experience of English- and French-speaking visitors in the National Capital Region, and proved to be very encouraging.

I take a look at the approach of businesses that have chosen to promote linguistic duality in their business practices. I also discuss the complaints filed with my office and the results of some of our investigations.

As I mentioned, it's very important that linguistic duality be visible when Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2017. Giving young Canadians more opportunities to experience the other official language is an excellent way to help Canada celebrate its shared heritage.

According to the figures published by Statistics Canada yesterday, Canada's bilingualism rate went from 17.4% in 2006 to 17.5% in 2011. Despite the various initiatives proposed by the government of Canada to promote English and French second-language learning, the proportion of bilingual Canadians remains low. Canadians are very interested in becoming bilingual. However, in some regions, the availability of programs in the second official language cannot keep up with the demand. Every year, 20,000 young people want to take part in exchange programs, but only 8,000 spaces are available.

Therefore, in my 2011-2012 annual report, I make two recommendations to promote second language learning in order to increase the number of Canadians who speak our two official languages.

I recommend that the Prime Minister take the necessary measures to double the number of young Canadians who participate each year in short- and long-term language exchanges at the high school and post-secondary levels.

I also recommend that the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages work together with provincial and territorial governments as well as post-secondary institutions to increase the number of programs in which students can take courses in their second official language.

This year, Ottawa takes centre stage in my report.

In the preamble to the Official Languages Act, the Government of Canada is committed to enhancing the bilingual character of the national capital region and to encouraging the business community, labour organizations, and voluntary organizations in Canada to foster the recognition and use of English and French. The act also mentions that it's the commissioner's duty to take all actions and measures within his authority with a view to ensuring recognition of the status of each of the official languages.

With these aspects of the act in mind, my office conducted a number of observations to find out whether linguistic duality is truly a fundamental value in the nation's capital.

We recreated a typical visitor's experience in the National Capital Region, on the Ottawa side as well as the Gatineau side. The objective was to determine whether it was possible to be served in French at various businesses in Ottawa and in English at various businesses in Gatineau.

Our observations showed that there is substantial bilingual capacity for visitors, but that it is often invisible. The bilingualism of businesses in tourist areas is Ottawa's best-kept secret. Few employees of these businesses used the "Hello, bonjour" bilingual greeting to show customers that they were able to provide service in both official languages. Employees of federal institutions, for whom bilingual greetings are a legal obligation, are doing better.

In Gatineau, on the Quebec side of the National Capital Region, almost all of the businesses were able to serve visitors in English, but only 10% of them made an active offer. In general, most hotels and restaurants in Gatineau set an example that businesses in other Canadian cities should follow.

My office is interested in the private sector because linguistic duality is everybody's business. Although they are not subject to the Official Languages Act, businesses operating in Canada are more competitive when they use both English and French in their approaches with clients.

For example, Rogers Communications and Mountain Equipment Co-op have chosen to incorporate the principles of linguistic duality into their management models. Both offer services in Canada's two official languages.

This is why it's important for the Government of Canada to continue to encourage the use of both official languages among Canadian businesses and international businesses located in Canada. I therefore recommend that the Minister of Industry create a support mechanism to support Canadian businesses to develop their capacity to operate and provide services in both official languages.

The high-profile appointments of two unilingual Canadians—one to the Supreme Court of Canada and the other to the position of Auditor General of Canada—had a substantial impact on public opinion throughout Canada. The controversy surrounding the appointments has shown that both English—and French-speaking Canadians have greater expectations when it comes to the bilingualism of senior public officials. Unfortunately, these setbacks have obscured a number of successes.

As the preface in my annual report says, “failure is obvious, success is invisible”. It is important to focus on the successes of Canadian language policy that go unnoticed, including the fact that many top government officials from western Canada are bilingual, that the majority of provincial premiers are bilingual, and that a great number of ministers and parliamentarians from all parties from across Canada are bilingual.

Part of my mandate is to ensure that federal institutions respect the language rights of their employees and of the general public. Sometimes, I do this proactively—for example, by intervening with institutions to help them comply with the Official Languages Act-and other times my office conducts investigations following complaints that were brought to my attention.

In 2011-2012, my office received a total of 643 complaints, 518 of which were deemed to be admissible. Out of these complaints, 341 involved communications with and services to the public, 79 pertained to language of work, 45 were related to the advancement of English and French, and 42 concerned the language requirements of positions.

My office investigated the federal institutions against which these complaints were filed. Some institutions reacted positively and took advantage of the opportunity to make changes.

The Department of National Defence corrected many shortcomings regarding the balance of English and French content on its websites, and ensuring the equality of English and French has become a higher priority for the Department of National Defence websites.

The Passport Canada office in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which is not required by law to serve the public in both official languages, went beyond its obligations by officially designating the office as bilingual in order to better serve the more than 2,000 Franco-Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Our investigations revealed an important truth: many of our federal institutions have an ongoing commitment to official bilingualism. This positive engagement deserves special mention.

Now let's take a look at the audits.

In September 2011, Air Canada published its linguistic action plan, at about the same time as the public release of our audit report. Because my office continues to receive complaints about Air Canada, it's important for the carrier to address all of the recommendation in the audit report as quickly as possible.

In 2011-2012, my office conducted an audit to determine how well Parks Canada was providing services of equal quality in English and French to visitors. Although there are a number of shortcomings that need to be addressed, Parks Canada has many strengths with regard to official languages.

In 2011, my office conducted an audit of Industry Canada. In the audit report, I made six recommendations to help Industry Canada improve its performance under Part VII of the act.

Before I answer your questions, I'd like to add one more thing: even though I am focusing on successes this year, we have to remember that success can be fleeting. If we are not steadfast in continuing to protect and promote language rights, the situation can degenerate rapidly.

Some organizations have chosen to centralize services outside of regions designated as bilingual for language of work purposes.

We have already received complaints about the impact of government cutbacks, including the closing of an experimental farm located in a rural francophone area, the closing of nine scientific libraries, two of which served French-speaking Canadians, and the termination of the co-operative development initiative, the only federal program dedicated to cooperatives.

We have also heard from public servants who are worried about losing their right to work in the official language of their choice. Other public servants are afraid to exercise their right to work in their preferred language because they don't want to be singled out in attrition exercises.

At a time when language issues are re-emerging on the Canadian political landscape, it is especially important to remember that the future of Canada's linguistic duality depends on our ability to foster a unified linguistic environment. English and French both have a place in every region of the country.

Thank you for your attention. I'd now like to take the remaining time to answer any questions you may have.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Fraser.

We have one hour and five minutes for questions and comments.

We will begin with Mr. Godin.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank Mr. Fraser, the Commissioner of Official Languages, for joining us today with his team.

Mr. Fraser, I am going to ask a number of questions, some of which concern me in particular.

You have taken the time to conduct a study about the private sector here, in Ottawa. This study was very important to you and you carried it out. It is over now. Some might say that you have gone beyond your mandate, but you have done the study and you have presented some surprising data. We should actually talk more about some of the results.

However, I am more concerned about something else, which really falls under your mandate. I am going to ask you a question by bringing an issue before you.

I am talking about temporary foreign workers who come here to Canada. If we look at the data from Statistics Canada, we see that the immigration rate has increased. So it is not so much about the fact that the use of English or French has gone down. That is what they are basically saying.

What are our francophones being told? The federal government has made cuts and changes to employment insurance. Yet it is saying that there are a lot of jobs in Canada and that employers are looking to hire people. What are our people told when they want to apply for a job in Alberta, as scaffolders for example, and the test is conducted only in English in Miramichi? There is no test in French. Yet, in Fort McMurray, Alberta, people from other countries are being brought in. They are temporary foreign workers who speak neither French nor English.

I believe that your mandate allows you to investigate that aspect. If you need a complaint, you have found the right person to file it. That is what I mean when I say that this falls under your mandate. Before providing permits to foreign workers who come to work here, the Government of Canada must make sure that there are no Canadians who can fill those positions.

Furthermore, women who would like to be able to work as chambermaids in the camps in Alberta are not allowed to because they do not speak English. That issue falls under your responsibility.

What do you think about that?

[Graham Fraser]

Mr. Chair, I had not thought about that when I made the recommendation that Industry Canada develop measures to help companies to provide services in both official languages. However, that fully applies to this type of process. It makes no sense that francophones, who are in the situation they are in because of changes made to the Employment Insurance Act and who are forced to look for work farther away, are facing language discrimination.

The federal government has a responsibility to address this problem. You talked about permits. Often, there are other support programs for industries that hire workers, such as training programs, assistance programs...

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

Mr. Chair, I know that the time is going by quickly, but this has to do with a language program. Our country has two official languages. How can we bring foreign workers here who speak neither English nor French, when we have francophones who can't even get first crack at the jobs in those places, with the permission of the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism? That is the point of my question.

[Graham Fraser]

This is the first time that I have heard of this problem. I am going to pay particular attention to the issue and see how it can be addressed.

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

I am going to read my second question because it might be a bit complicated.

You expressed your disapproval when a Quebec minister described English as a foreign language. Yet, in the courts of Alberta, when a person speaks French, it is called “foreign language spoken”. Francophones are even required to fill out the legal forms themselves. Even worse, over the past few years, we have seen that French-language statements made by the accused have disappeared from the official transcripts of the hearings.

You have recently refused to deal with a complaint like that. The Criminal Code, which falls under federal jurisdiction, provides for language rights provisions. In the Constitution, the procedure in criminal matters clearly falls under the federal Parliament. In our view, the practice in the courts of Alberta could well be contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Since the federal government is not doing anything to address this serious violation of rights, what do you plan to do to ensure access to justice in Canada's two official languages and to ensure that French is no longer treated as a foreign language in the courts?

I would like to add something else along those lines. Imagine how a francophone in Alberta must feel if, in a case under the Criminal Code, the person sees that the transcript has the English part, but the French part is labelled “foreign language”.

Mr. Fraser, could you comment on that?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Godin.

Mr. Fraser, you have the floor.

[Graham Fraser]

That is a serious situation, which has been reported. I think that the right of any person before the court to have access to justice in the official language of their choice is very important. Actually, to ensure that this right is upheld and that courts are able to respect it, we are in the process of undertaking a study on the issue of access to justice across the country.

Ms. Tremblay, could you maybe further explain the scope of this study?

[Johane Tremblay, General Counsel, Legal Affairs Branch, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages]

The purpose of the study under way is to examine the bilingual capacity of the judiciary in the superior courts across the country. The study will deal with two issues, namely the judicial appointment process and the language training given to judges in superior courts.

I would like to add a comment to the case that you brought to the attention of the commissioner and that we concluded that we would not be able to investigate. We explained to the person that the court in question, the Alberta Provincial Court, was not an institution that we could investigate. We can, of course, investigate the federal Department of Justice, but not the courts that fall under provincial jurisdiction. That is one of the reasons we had concluded that we could not carry out an investigation. To my knowledge, I don't think that it was a criminal trial. We would need to check that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Ms. Tremblay.

Mr. Gourde, the floor is now yours.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to thank the commissioner for being here this morning.

I appreciate that you mentioned education in your report. Even though education is a provincial issue and we are very limited in what we can do, could we push further? We want to promote linguistic duality across Canada. Actually, we might have tools available, but we may not want to develop them or have refrained from doing so. I'll give you an example.

There are some programs for children aged two to five years in French and others in English. However, we don't see programs where the content is half and half. This would enable French-speaking communities to have contact with English and English-speaking communities to have contact with French. The same program could go all across Canada. We would be promoting our country, what we are, our culture and our linguistic duality, all at the same time.

I don't know if CBC/Radio-Canada could have this in its mandate. In any event, its mandate is to unite all Canadians. Could finding a way to include educational programs for young children, and perhaps for another age group, be an integral part of its programming? Perhaps it could conduct a pilot project on this.

I think this would help promote linguistic duality. It would enable children starting school to have a much stronger base in both languages and would follow them throughout their education. When a child gets to the secondary and post-secondary level, they must already have reached a certain level. But we are already losing a lot of people. However, if the base was broadened, that would enable all Canadians to discover both official languages.

I would like to hear what you have to say about that, Mr. Fraser.

[Graham Fraser]

The issue of early childhood is of particular importance. During a regional consultation in Sudbury, Radio-Canada managers asked people what their priority was with respect to Radio-Canada programs. Their answer was very clear: their children.

Parents in official language minority communities are very keen for their children to have access to programs for children in French that target the problems and situations specific to their reality in a minority setting. Often, in official language minority communities, the concern is not so much learning a second language as reinforcing the mother tongue.

Furthermore, the most famous program for children in the world, Sesame Street, has traditionally included a segment on learning a second language. In Canada, it is French, while in the United States, the language is Spanish.

I am certainly no expert in that area. But this matter could be explored with broadcasters such as CBC/Radio-Canada, TVO, TFO and other educational networks that specialize in this area.

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

Do you think there have been studies on this? If not, will it take political will? Can you check what currently exists in the mandates? I know this, but minimally. I don't know if this may be of any significant value.

[Graham Fraser]

I admit that I am not an expert in this, and I do not know what resources have been allocated to children's programming and in what way university research is supporting this type of programming. It is a fairly specialized area of research and I hesitate to comment without background information.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

You mentioned Sesame Street. I think Mitt Romney is going to cancel it, along with Big Bird.

Mr. Dion, you have the floor.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

First, I would like to welcome the Commissioner of Official Languages and his colleagues.

I have seven minutes, but I have three important questions to ask. The first has to do with the census, the second with complaints and the third with budget cuts. But I would like to clarify something first.

The first recommendation covers Canada's 150th birthday. My colleagues will understand why I'm bringing this up.

Mr. Fraser, you understand symbols and know that it's important. In 2017, we will celebrate Canada on the 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation. We can't understand why French and English are our official languages if there is an impasse on what happened before 1867. No country abbreviates its history. We should not insult Canada's history. It is very important to speak about the 150th anniversary of Confederation, especially given your role. This is addressed to your team, as well.

[Graham Fraser]

That's a very good point, and I readily accept it.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Now, let's address the issue.

These two recommendations seem weak to me, even if they are helpful. You ask that the number of exchanges involving young people be doubled and that much more effort be made with respect to the number of programs giving students the possibility of taking certain courses.

Unless I'm mistaken, the census data released yesterday indicate that, for the first time since the Official Languages Act came into force, the percentage of Canadians who can hold a conversation in French has dropped noticeably. The percentage dropped from 10.8% to 10.2% in four years. That is extremely alarming. But this decrease is due solely to what is going on outside Quebec.

In the past four years, there has been a flagrant lack of leadership from the federal government in this respect. I hope it will adopt both measures. I'm tempted to say “but still”. In the testimony we have heard in committee as part of the report on the roadmap, we heard the following:

That the Government of Canada take the necessary measures to guarantee that Canadians have the right to learn a second official language as part of an educational continuum from early childhood to the post-secondary period.

I do believe that we must take this path. The federal government must show leadership, and allocate funding to this area, not for Spanish, even though it is a very beautiful third language. The funds must be for French. There is also English in Quebec, but things are going very well in that respect for now. It is important to be serious, but they aren't, and the recent results show that. We must demand that the Government of Canada also have a sense of symbols, realities, and that it inform Canadians that it has responsibilities. This means that the positions of responsibility have to be bilingual and that, if young Canadians want to occupy those positions, they must learn French. It's essential.

I'll let you comment on what I've said.