Official Languages Committee on Oct. 30th, 2012

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

Fine. Thank you.

Madam, I see that your title involves every region of Canada. I really appreciate your position on our great country's linguistic duality.

However, do you also have a plan to include immigrants? It seems to me that francophones are immigrants too. Anglophones like my grandparents are immigrants, of course. For the celebrations, do you have a plan to celebrate everyone who came here?

[Nicole Bourget]

Very likely. But we do not have a plan yet. The plan is being developed.

However, it is absolutely essential to include what you say. We want to involve new Canadians. Some have already been here for several generations or more. We also want to reach young people. We see that in all our initiatives. We were talking about First Nations a little earlier. We are taking about francophone groups and minority language groups, but also about new arrivals to our country and about the diversity of our communities.

In our work, we are always trying to present the history of all Canadians so that they can buy into it and get to know their country better. In its programming, our department is committed to try to reflect that and to get citizens, new arrivals and young people involved in the same way. That is part of what we are doing and what we are presently examining for the 150^th anniversary.

[Denis Racine]

It will be a challenge for whomever will be proposing activities to celebrate the 150^th anniversary. As we mentioned at the outset, the Canada of 1967 and the Canada of today are very different demographically. We were talking earlier about the franco-saskatchewan community that is undergoing very major changes with the arrival of French-speaking immigrants. Because of that new reality, we have to find ways to listen and to feature activities that will reach out to a community that has changed greatly, with the tools that we are beginning to use.

That means young people too. There are applications, for example, that bring young people together and that work well. There is a new way to present activities that commemorate events like the 150^th anniversary to a new audience.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

You have the floor, Mr. Dionne Labelle.

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Good afternoon. My thanks to the witnesses for being here. I have two questions.

In 1964, the government approved a budget of $743 million, in today's dollars, for the centennial celebrations. How much will be set aside for the 150^th anniversary?

Now, during your presentation, you said that people all over the country have started to think about and work on certain projects. The Department of Canadian Heritage sent some documents. The department has produced documents. Is that correct? Are you engaged in any correspondence about the thinking that is going on in the communities?

[Nicole Bourget]

We have not produced any official documents. People submit ideas for projects to us. They send us documents describing their ideas and their activities. The department has no formal program yet. The budget has not been determined yet. The minister will decide that.

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Okay.

I would like to address this question more generally. As you know, there are presently budget cuts at Radio-Canada and at Library and Archives Canada. To what extent will Canadian Heritage be able to ensure the quality and the quantity of the services provided to francophones across the country, given the current cuts? A little earlier, Mr. Godin was talking about the fact that the public broadcaster was filming the plane while the torch was off somewhere else. At the moment, there are cuts at Radio-Canada that are particularly targeting the corporation's services in French. How are you going to make sure that contact with French-speakers, both inside Quebec and outside, will be of the same quality and that the services to that population will be guaranteed?

[Nicole Bourget]

I cannot speak for the minister or for my colleague who is responsible for official languages in the department. The government has committed itself to the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality. The department's reports and plans demonstrate that. As for the programs we deliver to Canadians, our department does have an obligation in that respect and I also do not foresee—I can speak to this—an impact on francophone minority communities because they are requirements of our programs.

Do not forget that, when we are given funding envelopes, organizations are responsible for making things available, making sure of the quality of the French and that communications are done in both languages. That does not change. Our department is responsible for official languages, among other things. Our leadership role in this area remains.

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

We will certainly be looking out for that as and when the government chooses which type of organization will manage the 150^th anniversary celebrations. We will be very interested to see the documents promoting the Official Languages Act and the big picture. By that I mean the big picture within which these activities will be held. I hope that the provisions dealing with the promotion of both official languages will be part of that big picture. I hope that is a concern for you.

[Nicole Bourget]

Each contribution agreement, which we usually call Schedule E, is very detailed. They are public document detailing the obligations of organizations that receive funding from the government.

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Personally, I was very disappointed to hear about the recent decisions made by your department about the museum and about the section of the Trans Canada Trail that someone wants to rename the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Trail.

I wonder what the big picture of the activities commemorating the 150^th anniversary of Confederation will look like. Do we not already have an idea through these kinds of preparations, through name changes, through royalizing our symbols? What exactly is the 150^th anniversary going to be celebrating if, in the years prior, all Canadian symbols have been royalized?

I think that puts the celebrations in an awkward light. You are heading off in a strange direction.

[Nicole Bourget]

The Minister has already spoken publicly about the road to 2017. He has said that the government’s intention for the road to 2017 is to celebrate key moments and key figures.

As to your other remarks, I am not able to reply on behalf of my minister.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Okay. Thank you.

Mr. Gourde, you have the floor.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

When you are organizing events on such an ambitious scale, I feel that you have to keep in mind a sense of openness. You also have to be optimistic from the outset, given the challenge of implementing the plan. You really have to make sure that you surround yourselves with people who have the same idea in order to focus completely on the celebration and to make it a success.

Along the way, of course, you will meet people who are more negative, who will nitpick, who will say that you should have done things this way or that way. They are not often the people who are going to work hard to organize celebrations. We will always have critics; celebrations will always have critics. Even so, at the end of the day, they will be very happy to participate.

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

You aren't talking about me, are you?

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

No, no. I have no one in mind. I did not look at anyone.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

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

I have organized events as well in the past. In the first meetings, there are always critics. After a while, they go away. They are not up to the challenge. It requires them to give too much of themselves.

Will volunteers play a major role in these celebrations? Of course, you cannot put on major events like this and not ask Canadians to become interested and involved. Personally, I feel that the people who volunteer a lot will ensure that the celebrations are even more impressive. That goes without saying.

[Nicole Bourget]

I am happy that you brought up that point. Earlier, I mentioned consultations that other organizations are conducting. Volunteer Canada is consulting Canadians about the 150^th anniversary.

In terms of community initiatives, I agree with everything you say about volunteers. Without the support of thousands of people, it would be difficult, of course. We saw that with the 2012 Olympic torch relay. We see it in all the events we hold. There are even thousands of volunteers for Canada Day on Parliament Hill each year. They really make the difference. They help in defining the scope of the activity; they think of things to be done or people to be involved that we would not have thought of.

When we look at the demographics of volunteers, we see that we need a renewal and a way to get young people participating. Otherwise, the people sitting on the committees as volunteers will have the same colour hair as I do, or as Mr. Dion does, since I dye mine.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Nicole Bourget]

It is important to reinvigorate the movement. It is important to get the country volunteering for all kinds of activities. It is certainly important for the 150^th anniversary.

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

I have another question.

I am sure that Canadians are going to want to contribute money. When a celebration or a commemoration is held, there are always people who are ready to give or to collect money so that the events can be improved.

Are you going to recognize the ways in which people want to take the initiative and make financial contributions to the celebrations?

[Nicole Bourget]

We hope so. I believe that everyone would be happy to know that corporations and Canadians in general are investing in their communities in order to get projects done.

Additionally, even though these may not be direct investments, some large Canadian institutions are celebrating important anniversaries in the same year as the 150th anniversary of Confederation. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, just as one example, is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2017. I assume that it will hold some activities to celebrate that major point in its history.

We can only encourage Canadians to come together and to make a contribution to their communities. We can only encourage people to make that kind of gift, whether through contributing to events or through legacies.

As always, another ingredient is very helpful–the fact that people give their time and their money. As far as I know, the government will not be organizing any formal fundraising so that Canadians can contribute, but we will never discourage people from getting involved and making things happen in their own communities.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

We now move to Mr. Godin.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to quickly go back to Mr. Gourde's comments.

He was talking about people complaining. He also said that they should either put up or shut up. That comes a little close to home for me.

If what he says is the case, I do not know why we are having a meeting of the Standing Committee on Official Languages today. Here is one of the reasons. We have said that we want to make sure that some things happen or do not happen. He used to say that we must not miss the boat. If you do not complain, you do not get anywhere. People have good reasons to complain. Some things have not been done, in fact.

I personally had cause for complaint when Radio-Canada showed the plane rather than the torch. It was insulting to see the way in which francophones were treated. It was annoying to see how such an important event was covered. That must never, ever happen again. As Mr. Dion said earlier, sometimes the little things cause the most harm and cause beautiful things to break. I can never say that enough.

Do the contribution agreements that you are going to draw up have provisions about bilingualism? If so, are you going to be able to share them with members of the committee so that we can follow up to make sure that it is done properly?