Official Languages Committee on Oct. 18th, 2011

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

I think so.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Thank you, it should be sent to the clerk.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Please forward all the information to the clerk, who will circulate it to the members of the committee.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Are we going to get the summative evaluations when they are done?

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

Generally, they are public documents.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

That's generally, but are they going to be public?

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

To my knowledge, yes.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Thank you.

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

I would like to make something clear. The evaluations are the property of the departments. So I am speaking for 15 departments. That is why I am cautious but, in principle, the answer is yes.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

On page 17, there is a reference to dialogue and consultations. When did the dialogue and consultations take place?

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

On various occasions. Some were listed. As I said, there were some for the mid-term report in particular.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Can we have the list?

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

Yes, absolutely.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

What was the event? When did they take place? Who was invited to participate?

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

We can send that information to you, no problem.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Can you tell me whether members of Parliament participated?

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

The answer is no.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Were they invited?

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

No, because those meetings generally take place with community representatives.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Why were MPs not invited?

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

We just wanted to hear what the communities had to say.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Would it have hurt to have the members there as witnesses, just observing?

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

Oh, just to observe. Well, that didn't happen because we invited community representatives.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

I'm sorry, but it did happen between 2003 and 2008.

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

I am talking about these specifically. The various initiatives I am talking about were meetings often organized by the various departments, the Department of Health and the Department of Justice in particular. They called on their communities. We took notes.