Official Languages Committee on Dec. 4th, 2012

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Dubeau, Ms. Saint-Pierre and Mr. Racine, thank you all for being here. Your perspectives are very important.

Mr. Dubeau, I recall quite well the presentation you gave to the all-party arts caucus. And I thank you for it.

In your presentation, you proposed various approaches. I am very keen to hear the details of your plan to use social media. I am interested because social media is such an effective and accessible tool, not to mention less costly.

Do you have a clear and detailed sense of how that would work?

[Éric Dubeau]

I don't know if I can give you a clear and detailed idea, but I will do my best.

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

I hope so, because this is a very important instrument.

[Éric Dubeau]

I think the government would do well to invest in a fairly comprehensive strategy. We talked about concrete examples, and this is one. Capitalizing on social media is a highly strategic move and a winning proposition.

Obviously, 50 years ago, when we celebrated the centennial of Confederation, we weren't equipped to foster the instant flow of information. We didn't have the means to give Canadians around the country simultaneous access to the broadcast of a live performance, for instance. Nor could we give people in Whitehorse the opportunity to view a visual arts display in Toronto or St. John's, simply because it could not be moved.

So I think we have a whole slew of opportunities in that respect. The video collection my colleague suggested is a good example and also something we are exploring on our end. I would say that social media gives us the ability to shine the spotlight on arts and culture in a variety of new ways. Social media opens up many more gateways to artistic and cultural expression, giving the nation's francophone community even more reason to be proud.

I'm not sure if you have anything you'd like to add, Ms. Saint-Pierre.

[Simone Saint-Pierre]

I don't know if we mentioned it in our final brief, but when we were putting it together, we thought about an artist residency program. It may be true that only two groups benefit from that type of program on an exchange basis, but the reach of artist residencies often grows considerably through social media. So that is an option to consider.

I'll give you a made-up example. The artistic director of the Cercle Molière could set up an exchange with the Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui in Quebec. Both teams could interact via social media. The same goes for visual arts. Contemporary visual artists, in particular, rely heavily on the use of social media and new technologies.

That is certainly an initiative worth exploring, but it has to complement funding aimed at creating permanent infrastructure and artistic works.

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

That may apply not just to visual artists, but to singers as well.

[Simone Saint-Pierre]

It would apply to the entire artist community. I gave just two examples.

[Éric Dubeau]

I would add a clarification, if I might, a thought that just came to me. Social media may offer an effective mechanism or lever to promote linguistic duality under this initiative. With social media, it is often possible to make some sort of language content available in the original language, while providing a simultaneous translation to the country, indeed the world.

That is something that wasn't done before, or if it was, it required tremendous resources, TV channels, which still offered relatively limited capacity.

I think this option would give all Canadians greater access to certain products created as a result of the 150th anniversary celebrations.

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

Thank you.

I have another question for you, Mr. Racine. In your presentation, you talked about your plan involving francophone and immersion students. Given our country's linguistic duality, what are your plans to reach anglophone students?

[Jean-Luc Racine]

I would start by saying that we have quite a ways to go in terms of encouraging anglophone students to learn French.

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

You've targeted a prime market, haven't you?

[Jean-Luc Racine]

Precisely. It is extremely important to us.

I will speak to the senior dimension. We want to spark an interest in language among our francophones, first and foremost. Now, we're taking that to a second level. We want to arouse that interest among young people in immersion schools. What those administrators often say to us is, despite learning French, their students don't come into regular contact with native French speakers. What better way to stimulate those young French learners than to connect them with francophone seniors or Canadians? That would provide greater motivation and bolster these efforts.

As you said, there is a lot of promotional work that needs doing when it comes to the majority of Canadians and students who aren't in immersion programs. We need to advance that thinking.

The reverse is happening. My job is not to represent anglophones in Quebec, but I do know that efforts are under way in Quebec to encourage young people to learn English more. That movement exists.

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

Keep in mind that our schools offer a lot of core French programs to anglophone students.

[Jean-Luc Racine]

Yes.

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

That is an area to work on.

[Jean-Luc Racine]

Indeed, it shouldn't be overlooked. Unfortunately, we don't always have the necessary resources to satisfy all those needs. To some extent, therein lies our challenge.

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

Yes, we know.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Dion, your turn.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Saint-Pierre, Mr. Dubeau and Mr. Racine, thank you. Your presentations were quite in line with what the committee hoped to hear from you. You came here today with recommendations for the anniversary celebrations in 2017.

And I am going to ask you to repeat your suggestions but explain how they tie into the 2017 anniversary celebrations, just as Mr. Racine did in response to Ms. Michaud's question a little while ago.

You can appreciate that the government will receive an onslaught of requests. If you want yours to make it to the top of the pile, you need to clearly identify the connection between your proposal and the anniversary celebration. Otherwise, your ideas will be relegated to the bottom of the pile, and perhaps be considered for the next milestone celebration in 50 years' time. A great many organizations, groups and movements will see this event as a funding opportunity for potential programs to advance their work. Conversely, if the tie-in between their proposal and the anniversary celebrations is not clear, their request will go no further.

With that in mind, then, could you kindly repeat your main proposals and tell us why they represent an opportunity to mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation?

[Éric Dubeau]

I'll give it a go.

The activities I proposed would have a more lasting impact as far as arts and culture go, at the local or pan-Canadian level. I would say that investment is needed at both levels. The celebration would provide an opportunity to honour the local contribution made by artists and cultural workers on a regular, daily and permanent basis—their everyday achievements.

Unfortunately, as you know, we don't often stop to celebrate these days. We're in an especially unsettling time, and Canadians have been going through a transition for some years now, economically and otherwise. We're talking about a celebration that is shared by all Canadians, our emergence as a country on the international scene, through Confederation. And why not use that celebration to establish ties with artistic endeavours that are happening locally and have a lasting effect?

I am desperately trying to answer your question and make that connection. I think we also tried to illustrate that in our basic document.

[Jean-Luc Racine]

I think turning 150 is a time to get back to our roots and to highlight who we are, fundamentally.

At the end of the day, our country was built by three founding peoples: the first nations, francophones and anglophones. I think we need to build on those roots as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation. We need to remind people of them so they never forget; we need to shine a spotlight on that aspect of our history. We need to show that it is important, not just for us, as Canadians, but also for the world.

These celebrations are an excellent opportunity to do just that, and I believe our proposals are in line with that objective. The idea is not for people to celebrate separately in their own little part of the country, but for everyone to come together, to share stories and to engage with one another.

[Éric Dubeau]

It may also be a time to celebrate what we do best on the world stage. We are known champions of social development. In terms of our contributions to arts and culture, the impact of our innovation and creativity, Canada should not shy away from showing its pride to the world. Why not use such an occasion to celebrate that?

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

Are your proposals meant for the period leading up to 2017 or for 2017 itself, the year of the anniversary celebrations?

[Jean-Luc Racine]

The lead-up. In fact, as far as the New Horizons for Seniors program goes, I mentioned the process would have to begin in 2015, and not 2017. I think we should start gradually, because worthwhile results require preparation. Things have to be done in stages.

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

Do you want to be there in 2017?