Evidence of meeting #60 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 games.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:55 p.m.
NDP
Pierre Dionne Labelle NDP Rivière-du-Nord, QC
Thank you very much.
What is the outlook for French in British Columbia, as compared with the other languages spoken there? You said there were six main languages in the province. Will Mandarin soon take the place of French? I don't have any figures on that.
November 20th, 2012 / 12:55 p.m.
Chief Specialist, Language Statistics Section, Statistics Canada
In the case of British Columbia, there are obviously differences, depending on the factor used. To give you an idea, I would say that, in 2011, the province had nearly 71,000 native French speakers. Conversely, 300,000 people reported being able to speak French. The challenge there has more to do with figuring out whether an arena for communication exists, because there are people who can speak French. Is there an opportunity for these people to speak French in public? That is the challenge.
Earlier, the discussion focused on Toronto. For the record, Toronto is home to 100,000 native French speakers, as well as 450,000 people who report being able to speak French. So as far as an arena for communication goes, what is being done for all those people with the ability to speak French in common?
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Thank you, Mr. Dionne Labelle.
Thank you to our witnesses.
Thank you to our witnesses. It's been very helpful.
Meeting adjourned.