Official Languages Committee on Nov. 1st, 2012

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Welcome to the 58th meeting of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. Today is Thursday, November 1, 2012. Pursuant to Standing Order 108, we are here to study linguistic duality during the 150th anniversary celebrations of Canadian Confederation in 2017.

Our witnesses today represent three groups. We will hear from Ms. Kenny and Ms. Côté of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, from Mr. Couture and Mr. Groulx of the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française,

and Mr. Thompson and Madame O'Donnell from the Quebec Community Groups Network. Welcome to you all.

We'll begin with an opening statement from the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada.

[Marie-France Kenny, President, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada]

Good morning Mr. Chair and committee members.

I would like to begin by thanking you for inviting the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada to appear before the committee during its study of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Canadian Confederation in 2017. I am always happy to have the opportunity to speak to you.

According to the latest information from the 2011 Census, I am here today on behalf of not 2.5 million, but 2.6 million French-speaking citizens living in nine provinces and three territories. I will share some ideas about how we can make this celebration an event that defines a generation.

This is the second time this year that we have had the privilege of discussing this issue with parliamentarians. The FCFA appeared before your colleagues on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage earlier this year during its study of the 150th anniversary celebrations. We have reviewed that committee's recommendations, and I will come back to them later in my presentation.

By way of introduction, let me read you a quote:

...Canada is the country it is today because we have learned to accept our differences, to celebrate them, to gain strength from them, but also sometimes to see past them, to our shared values and our common aspirations, freedom, democracy, justice for all individuals and for all communities.

These words were spoken by the Prime Minister of Canada during a speech in Beaubassin on August 29.

Those words distill the essence of the FCFA's vision for the 150th anniversary celebrations: a vision of sharing, exchange and dialogue that highlights the importance of seizing every opportunity to strengthen ties between all of Canada's constituent parts.

Indeed, while linguistic duality and cultural diversity are now widely recognized by the government and Canadians as values that define our nation and society, opportunities for dialogue and exchange between the various communities remain limited. It often seems that Canadian society consists of groups that, owing to distance or different backgrounds, do not have the chance to talk to each other and understand each other.

Consider the media coverage and public debate about last week's publication of linguistic data from the 2011 Census. Canadians may recognize the value of linguistic duality, but their interpretations of it differ considerably. Some claim that the new bilingualism is English plus one of the many languages spoken by immigrants to Canada. Others believe that French is for Quebec and English is for everywhere else, period. It is easy for them to overlook the 2.6 million francophones living in nine provinces and three territories.

We believe that one of the goals of the 150th anniversary celebrations must be to restore Canadians’ desire to learn about each other and to move forward together. We want to be able to say in 2017 that all segments of Canadian society took the time to learn about each other, talk to each other and recognize each other as fellow Canadians while respecting their respective differences. This is not just a desirable outcome; it is of tremendous value for the growth and development of a country like ours.

For Francophone and Acadian communities, this would mean finally being seen as more than just minorities and instead being seen as distinct Canadian communities. This would mean that people would understand once and for all that French-speaking and English-speaking Canadians have equal language rights and that this equality benefits all of Canada.

Those are the key principles. Now let us look at how to put them into practice.

Dialogue and exchange initiatives that target youth have a particularly significant impact. Our communities know something about this: we need only look at the success stories of the Acadian Games, Jeux de la francophonie canadienne or youth parliaments organized by the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française. We recommended to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that these initiatives be used as models for establishing large-scale events that would enable youth from francophone, anglophone, aboriginal and ethnocultural communities to meet and experience Canada’s defining values together. Today, we are reiterating that recommendation.

Another way to help young people discover their country would be to foster greater mobility among post-secondary students through joint federal-provincial and territorial initiatives. We are not the first to have noticed that it can be easier for an Ontario university student to study abroad than in Quebec, and vice versa. Initiatives that foster student mobility would be launched during the 2016-17 school year and continue in future years, becoming a tangible legacy of the 150th anniversary celebrations. Not only would these initiatives enable young people to learn about how other Canadians live, they would also support second language acquisition and an understanding of the value of Canada's linguistic duality.

More generally, as the 150th anniversary of Confederation approaches, the Government of Canada could make it easier for more Canadians to learn a second official language by investing more in immersion programs, which, as we know, are struggling to meet ever-growing demand. A government that wants to highlight the entire history of Canada should make it a priority to celebrate the pact between its two founding peoples and two founding languages by striving to work with the provinces and territories to eliminate waiting lists for those who wish to learn one of these two languages.

In addition, the FCFA notes that your colleagues on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage included in their report a recommendation to increase co-operation among local museums to create and promote exhibits about Canada’s 150th anniversary. We recommend that this increased co-operation extend beyond museums to heritage and historical organizations, enabling them to forge links and work on joint projects that involve all communities. Such co-operation would promote intergenerational interaction, for example, giving seniors and youth the chance to share their thoughts on what it means to be Canadian.

These are some ideas that would make the 150th anniversary of Confederation an excellent opportunity to celebrate our shared values, including linguistic duality.

Finally, I would like to comment on the practical aspect, the mechanisms that will be implemented for the celebrations in 2017. The FCFA is delighted that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommended that the government consult with all the different groups in society, including representatives of aboriginal peoples, ethnocultural communities and official language minority communities, regarding the future framework for the celebrations. It would be appropriate and helpful for the Standing Committee on Official Languages to formally endorse this recommendation.

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage also recommended that the government create an independent agency or corporation to plan, organize and implement the 150th anniversary celebrations. We believe it is essential that this entity be bilingual and that it include representatives of francophone and Acadian communities. From the very beginning, when the government unveils its plans for the 2017 celebrations, it must send a message that everything created, implemented, built or presented for or to the public will be bilingual. This includes museum exhibits, family activities, official ceremonies during events paid for by the Government of Canada and any tangible legacies of the 150th anniversary, such as monuments and buildings.

I would like to end my presentation with a somewhat more philosophical but nevertheless important recommendation. Many Canadians who experienced the celebrations of the centennial of Confederation in 1967 remember them still. I still have my little passport, in fact. I was very young then, but I still have my passport. This shows how successful these initiatives were; they touched people and brought them together. That is how high the bar has been set for 2017.

I recommend that this committee think big while preparing its report at the conclusion of this study. It is important to talk about the mechanisms and processes that should be in place, and I am sure that some of your recommendations will touch on that. However, the how must not obscure the why. We want to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation because we want to rally Canadians around our common values and restore their desire to talk to and learn about each other, from one end of this vast country to the other. I hope that you—I hope that we—conceive of celebrations that can attain this goal.

Thank you. I am ready to take your questions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Ms. Kenny.

Now we'll have an opening statement from the Quebec Community Groups Network.

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

I have a brief question. For people who learn visually, it is useful to have the presentation in hand. Is a paper copy of the presentation available?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

No, not right now, because it is only available in French.

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

The next time we see Ms. Kenny, I would like her to make her presentation available. That would help us all. Some people learn with their ears; others with their eyes.

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

Others do both at the same time.

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

You may be versatile, but not everyone is.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

The clerk will have the document translated.

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

I think the same thing happened when Ms. Kenny testified in December. It is difficult.

I am very interested in what you have to say, but it is easier for me to understand what you are saying if your presentation is available on paper. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Okay.

These three organizations received their invitations to testify last week. Either they did not have time to translate their documents before giving their presentations, or they did not have the resources. The committee may be partly to blame if they did not have enough time.

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

We have the resources; the clerk could take care of it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

No, it's not possible. If it were possible, we would have had it done; House translation can't translate things that quickly.

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

A week is plenty of time for the House. Under the act, these documents must be translated.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

I've chaired committees now for a number of years. When we invite witnesses with short notice and they have to create an opening statement and they don't have the resources to translate it in time—

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

Okay.

I apologize, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

If we give them two or three weeks' notice, then it's possible for them and us to get it translated in time. In their defence, they were only given notice last week, and they had to prepare an opening statement. Even if we had received the statement, let's say, a couple of days ago, it wouldn't have been possible to get it all translated in time for the meeting.

What I will endeavour to do is to have all of the opening statements translated into both official languages and have them distributed to all members of the committee.

As for witnesses who are appearing in front of our committee in two to three weeks, we'll ensure that their opening statements are translated. If they don't have the resources to do it in-house, I'll instruct the clerk to ask them for the statements ahead of time, and we'll get them translated, but it simply wasn't possible for us to get that done. This is why we have simultaneous translation.

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

Okay. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Mr. Godin, you have the floor.

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

I would like to clarify that the only thing the law requires is that people be able to express themselves in their official language. That is why we have simultaneous interpretation.

I would never want our witnesses to feel intimidated or to feel that they cannot appear before the committee on a week's notice because their documents are not available in both languages. I just want to make sure that witnesses feel comfortable. In Canada, they have the right to express themselves in the official language of their choice.

It is up to us to take care of translation for committee members. That has always been how we do things in Parliament.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Madame Bateman, for your constructive suggestion.

Monsieur Godin, thank you as well.

We'll have an opening statement now from the Quebec Community Groups Network.

[Stephen Thompson, Director, Policy, Research and Public Affairs, Quebec Community Groups Network]

Good morning, Mr. Chong, Monsieur Godin, Monsieur Dion, Monsieur Gourde, and members of the committee. It is a pleasure for the QCGN to be back before this committee today.

We are especially pleased to be joined today by Lorraine O'Donnell, the coordinator-researcher of Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network, QUESCREN, a joint initiative of the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities, CIRLM, and Concordia University's School of Extended Learning.

QUESCREN is a dynamic alliance of researchers, community members, and institutions dedicated to developing research capacity related to Quebec's English-speaking communities. Significant community energy has been invested in creating and supporting QUESCREN, and there is no doubt that investment is paying off. Dr. O'Donnell has worked tirelessly to create an academic environment that is welcoming of research related to our community. Equally important, she has done so in a manner that includes the community sector. QUESCREN is allowing us to develop an organic capacity to generate research, creating an evidence base of value to practitioners and policy leaders.

The QCGN was pleased to see this committee undertake a separate study on preparations for our 150th anniversary of Confederation. A significant part of our history before, during, and since Confederation is rooted in the struggles, triumphs, and compromises of and between Canada's two official languages. Linguistic duality is not an add-on to our national story; it is the story.

We have reviewed the report of October 11, 2012, by your colleagues on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. The recommendations contained therein are arranged by activities: planning, legacies, participation, and museums. We will base our comments and recommendations to you in the same order.

On planning: if the Government of Canada creates an independent agency or corporation to plan, organize, and implement Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation, the QCGN hopes that such an organization would include representation from Canada's English and French linguistic minority communities. Canada's official language minority communities are living proof of linguistic duality, with Canadians living in both of our official national languages from coast to coast to coast. The QCGN often helps our public partners identify key community leaders suitable for similar undertakings, and we would certainly offer our assistance in this matter.

On legacies: English-speaking Quebec is blessed with a vibrant arts scene that is well organized and connected to the vitality of our community. We draw the committee's attention in particular to the English-Language Arts Network, a leading arts and culture sector community organization. ELAN works in six key areas that fit very well with the legacy recommendations of the heritage committee's report. We would urge the committee to remember that the arts and culture of English-speaking Quebec are unique, reflecting our special history as a linguistic minority. The stories of both Canada's French and English linguistic minority communities deserve equal consideration and equitable exposure during the anniversary's legacy projects.

The ESCQ is also very interested in benefiting from legacy projects to digitize Canada's documentary heritage as part of Canada's 150th anniversary celebrations of Confederation. This is an excellent way to enhance a community's vitality.

On participation: the English-speaking community of Quebec has established social media networks that could augment efforts to encourage participation in the 150th anniversary. We would also remind the committee of our network of community newspapers, many of which have online and web 2.0 channels.

Tourism is an important economic activity and employer in many English-speaking communities outside of the Montreal CMA, the census metropolitan area. Regions such as the Lower North Shore, the Gaspé, central Quebec, the Eastern Townships, and western Quebec are not only historically important to the story of Confederation but could directly benefit from tourism marketing initiatives focused on the anniversary. On the same principle, incentives to encourage Canadians to explore their country during 2017 can certainly be designed to steer people to the heritage of their French and English linguistic minority communities.

On museums: the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network, QAHN, is an umbrella organization engaged with its members in promoting preservation of the built, cultural, and natural heritage of Quebec. QAHN aims to advance knowledge of the history of Quebec's English-speaking communities by informing, inspiring, and connecting people through its activities. English-speaking Quebec should at once see and be seen in travelling exhibits and participate in museum projects, and our historical institutions should benefit from special marketing measures undertaken in support of the anniversary.

Linguistic duality has been a core Canadian value and must therefore be an integral part of our nation's 150th celebrations of Confederation. This is far beyond conforming to a law; it is about honestly representing our collective history.

The English-speaking community of Quebec is one of Canada's two linguistic minority communities. Our history predates Confederation by more than a century, and our story is an important and integral part of the history of Canada. We hope this committee's recommendations reflect this reality and lead to an anniversary that truly celebrates the heritage of both our official languages.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Thompson.

We will now hear from representatives of the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française.

[Alexis Couture, President, Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française]

Thank you.

Hello everyone.

Before I begin I want to apologize in advance to the interpreters. I hope I will not have to be stopped three times for speaking too fast like the last time. The other thing that is different this time from my last appearance is that I will not get the chance to skip my university classes since the university has so generously given us the week off. I am taking advantage of my time off to be here.

Above all, I want to thank you for inviting me to be here with you today. We believe—and I personally believe—that young people represent the diversity that our country has built and has welcomed over the past 150 years. It is with great pride that we represent Canada's French-speaking youth before you today.

For almost 40 years, our federation has been representing the interests of French-speaking youth and helping them to achieve their full potential by coordinating innovative activities and initiatives with associate members in nine provinces and two territories.

We provide opportunities for our youth to use French outside the classroom by providing employment and placement programs or organizing gatherings. Among our national events, we have the Parlement jeunesse pancanadien, which was held in the Senate chamber in January, the Forum jeunesse pancanadien, which will be held here in Ottawa and in Charlottetown in February, and the Jeux de la francophonie canadienne, as someone mentioned earlier, which brings together a thousand or so young French-speaking Canadians from across the country.

Our core value is the initiatives taken by and for our youth. That is where we want to begin our presentation here today. We are here above all to encourage the active participation of youth representatives in the planning process of the 150th anniversary of Confederation. We believe that it is important to give youth a place by allowing youth representatives, such as young leaders who were elected or appointed by their peers, to contribute to all of the planning stages for the 2017 celebrations. These young people have to be involved in the process to ensure that the youth-related events are a true reflection of today's youth.

The contribution of these young people is often very relevant and even surprising in every aspect in which they are included. These young people play a key role in promoting Canada's core values. Among other things, they will have to adhere to the principles of linguistic duality by sharing the vision of a country that values both its official languages. If I may—and pardon the expression—I think it is important to include young people not as tokens of youth, but as valid participants who have an active role to play and some decision-making power.

This linguistic duality we are talking about has to be promoted in every community, anglophone and francophone alike. Our two official languages have contributed significantly to shaping Canada as we know it today. They define who we are as Canadians in our daily lives. They are an integral part of who we are, of our history, and this must transcend the actions surrounding the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

To do this, a number of things can and must be done. For example, linguistic duality can be given a place in the educational programs that might be used in the schools, or official language communities can be involved in the preparations as well as the festivities. In planning this major celebration, it should be only natural to include linguistic duality. Actions speak louder than words. It is these actions that will remain etched into the memory of Canadians when the celebration is over.

Another essential component of what we are advocating is the possibility of offering French-speaking youth from francophone communities across the country to leave the school setting and attend community celebrations.

Our definition of French-speaking youth is simple. If a young person can speak French, he or she is invited to the federation and is welcome to join our activities. We are becoming a rallying point between the communities. Our experience shows that young people choose to speak French when they are in the right environment to do so. We must not underestimate the importance of environment on young people's linguistic choices.

In that context, it becomes essential to provide opportunities to celebrate in this language. We have to focus on programs or gatherings at schools, but also outside the classroom, in order to amplify the positive impact on youth. The 150th anniversary can become a tool for building a community's identity and for bringing communities closer together. These get-togethers can be physical or virtual.

As you know—it is a growing reality—young people are very active and engaged on the web. We have to use this reality to our advantage and provide them with a platform for virtual gatherings. This is an opportunity to open dialogues between the different Canadian communities. This platform could be used in conjunction with the various activities that are organized for the celebration. This web space must bring young people together in order to make Canada's 150th anniversary resonate with them.

To support this web world, it will be essential to use it together with the other communications tools 2.0 that young people are already accustomed to using and which they use all the time. For this idea to work, the content has to resonate with them. The best way to achieve that is to ask young people to work on this, by challenging a group of young people to lead discussions, add content or share accomplishments achieved by young people, for example.

We have to go to where the young people are and not try to bring them elsewhere. This idea can be taken even further by training young people across the country and assigning them the task of promoting the 150th anniversary among their peers in various ways, for example, by running events, organizing discussions or by meeting young people in the communities. The impact of the event will be unequivocal and this mission will give young people across the country the most rewarding, unforgettable and valuable experience.

Let us not forget that the communities have already planned activities for 2017. We have to consider the efforts being made and improve them or pair them up with new initiatives. We believe there is room to be proactive on this and that there are countless opportunities to promote linguistic duality.

For example, at the federation we are currently planning the sixth Jeux de la francophonie canadienne, which will be held in Gatineau in 2014. In 2014, we will ready to announce the host city for the 2017 Jeux de la francophonie canadienne. These games are the largest gathering of French-speaking youth in Canada and involve the participation of young people from every province, every territory and every linguistic background. This initiative perfectly reflects FJCF's values of inclusion. It represents opportunities to exchange ideas that will have a lasting impact and will promote a sense of Canadian pride.

The 150th anniversary celebration is an opportunity to promote Canada's rich diversity, but it also has a role to play in promoting existing initiatives by Canada's anglophones, francophones, Métis, first nations, as well as new Canadians and ethnic communities. In that sense, we believe we must build on these activities and on what will be accomplished by 2017 in order to prepare the communities for their role in the festivities.

We think that the 150th anniversary is a good opportunity to promote bringing Canada's French-speaking communities together. It is an opportunity to remind everyone that Canada's francophonie is alive and well, very active and very dynamic in every province and territory of our great country.

We think that involving young francophones in organizing the 150th anniversary celebration is key to bringing people closer together. It reinforces a sense of belonging to the country. Ultimately, these gatherings encourage an understanding of the different realities that we live in from coast to coast to coast.

French-speaking youth in minority communities identify first with their province or territory. They do not hesitate to say they are Franco-Albertans or Acadians, but they also strongly identify themselves as Canadians. We see the same pride among youth from Quebec when they attend our national events. The opportunity to build bridges to bring Canadians closer together is at our feet and to do that we must build on inclusive Canadian initiatives.

In closing, I would like to say that the essential thing in all of this for the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française, is without a doubt the importance of including young people through initiatives set up by and for young people. If we want to succeed then we have to establish winning conditions at the initial planning stages.

We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to speak to you today. We thank you again for this invitation. We want to remind you that the 150th anniversary is the ideal time to cement our gains and work together to bring every community even closer together.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

We will now move on to questions and comments. We have one hour and twenty minutes.

We will begin with Mr. Godin.