Official Languages Committee on Sept. 26th, 2018

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

So there is still no money from the 2018 action plan.

[Robert Rothon]

We need to distinguish based on funding sources. Those who receive Heritage Canada's program funding, which has been increased by 20% this year, have nearly all received a letter from minister Joly announcing the imminent arrival of that money.

Currently, the federation and one of the community coordination mechanisms are in consultation with the department's regional office concerning additional funding—the famous $25 million. The money is trickling in slowly. Unfortunately, I am not aware of other amounts that will be provided based on the action plan's timeline.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

One of Ms. Joly's core promises related to the action plan was to increase the proportion of money provided directly to OLMCs. Once you begin to receive money from the action plan, could you check with your members whether, starting in March 2019, there is indeed more money going directly to OLMCs, and let the committee know?

[Robert Rothon]

Yes, of course.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

That was one of the key points Ms. Joly brought up in May when she presented the new action plan along with the Prime Minister. I agree with that, and it got all of us excited. We do have to know, however, whether it will be done, and I would like you to get back to us on this.

I also think that the official languages issue must not be politicized and that, to avoid this, the act must absolutely be modernized before the next election. You know very well that I would like the Conservative government to proceed to that modernization after 2019. But I think the official languages issue is so important, Mr. Rothon, that I would be the first to shake Mr. Trudeau's hand and recognize his work if he was to modernize the act before the next election.

Therefore, if you have not done so already, you should write to Ms. Joly and Prime Minister Trudeau to tell them that the act should be modernized before 2019. After all, it is not complicated: everything is already written, there are lawyers all over Parliament Hill, no consultations need to be carried out and we already know what the priorities are. It is very clear, and everywhere we have gone in Canada, we heard what OLMCs wanted: the centralization of power, an administrative tribunal, allocation of enforcement powers to the commissioner, and so on.

Without getting bogged down in details, modernization is ultimately fairly simple. You would really need to push the current government to go ahead with the modernization before the next election, so that the modernization of the act wouldn't need to be made into an election promise. Even if that had to happen, I assure you that I would do everything in my power for that election promise to also be made by the Conservative Party. That way, you would have the choice of voting for one or the other of the two candidates.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much, Mr. Clark. Your time is up.

We are a down-to-earth committee. You shouldn't start dreaming.

Mr. Arsenault, go ahead.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I am touched by the completely non-partisan comments made by my colleague, Mr. Clarke. I am an offspring of official languages: I am from New Brunswick, and I am among those who are still resisting the invaders. Fortunately, I am not alone, as there are many of us.

That said, I think the worst thing we could do would be to rush the modernization of the Official Languages Act by doing it in six months. I think that is the most important piece of legislation in the country.

Dr. Conway, allow me to first congratulate you. You are still practising medicine, correct?

[Dr. Brian Conway]

Absolutely.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you for your commitment as president of RésoSanté in that great province. Mr. Cyr—or was it Mr. Rothon?—was saying earlier that francophones or francophiles accounted for 1.4% of British Columbia's population, and they were spread out over a tremendous territory. You established that network, and you have received 2,000 responses from the professional world. Have dentists also responded to the call, or was it only doctors?

[Dr. Brian Conway]

No, absolutely not, as representatives of a number of disciplines have responded—physicians, dentists, nurses, physiotherapists, massage therapists, speech therapists—from across the province.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

I am amazed to learn that 2,000 professionals have answered the call. This means that, across British Columbia, from north to south, there is a demand, there are people who are just waiting for an active offer of services in French. That is my understanding.

[Dr. Brian Conway]

It's about connecting supply and demand. The inventory has been in place for a dozen years. We did not start out with 2,000 professionals, but with only a few hundred of them. There was a ripple effect: some people found it rewarding to be able to provide services in French, and other professionals registered. The inventory is now part of the provincial landscape, and it is growing. It's important for people to be able to find someone who will provide them with services in French. If someone asks for those services, but they are not available the first time, they will try again a second and then a third time, before they stop asking. That is sort of what connecting supply and demand means.

If, for example, a parent decides to send their child to a school from the francophone school board, and asks for the services of a francophone pediatrician and obtains them, it is very likely that this parent will increasingly want to become integrated into their region's francophonie, as they will see that not only schools are available, but there are also health services, the business world, post-secondary education. In short all sorts of services are available.

Everyone needs health services at some point. Take the example of sixth-grade students who need to get their human papilloma virus vaccine, which is somewhat controversial. If their school used a francophone nurse to explain to them why they need the vaccine, they would disconnect less from their community than if the school apologized for not finding a francophone and sent them an anglophone because they all understand English anyway. So health is really important.

I will share a little 30-second anecdote. We went to an elementary school in Vancouver to encourage students to exercise more. We had a French-speaking player from BC Lions explain to all the students how important exercise is. They did a paced run twice around the school with Rolly Lumbala, and Radio-Canada came to film it. That is the type of activity that enriches the francophone community: building structures on the themes of health and mutual assistance. That is more of less what the movement's philosophy is.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Congratulations.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

So that means recruitment. By choosing a French or an immersion school, I'm guaranteed to have a francophone doctor.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

It's promotion.

[Dr. Brian Conway]

It is indeed promotion. The inventory is online. I don't know who among you has children, but when something is online, adolescents find it quickly.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Did you want to say something, Mr. Rothon?

[Robert Rothon]

I would like to add a quick comment to what Dr. Conway said concerning the issue Ms. Boucher raised earlier.

In a minority setting, it is often necessary to start by providing a service before a demand is created, which pretty much contradicts free market principles. The service often needs to be implemented before the demand is expressed. That is why it is important to be able to promote this service.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Very well.

Mr. Conway, I know that Canadian Heritage seems to be looking after the health sector well. Considering what anglophones provide in health care, what are we missing in French or what could we change or improve?

[Dr. Brian Conway]

Currently, integration in the health industry is based on the premise whereby public health is improved by providing people with services in French. So far, that has translated into pilot projects, a clinic or an inventory. However, what anglophones have and we do not is a set of structures within their health organizations. We will have to try to achieve something comparable on our side that integrates the language variable.

If, for example, an individual goes to the emergency room, which presumably has a francophone nurse, and the individual expresses the desire to get services in French, that nurse will be brought to them. The goal is to integrate the language variable within health organizations that provide services. That is how we need to proceed, as we will not have a francophone health services board like in New Brunswick. But we will manage anyway.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much, Mr. Samson.

I want to thank all the witnesses for their wonderful presentations. Your comments are certainly contributing to the committee's work, and I thank you very much on behalf of its members.

I would like to wrap up by thanking the staff, the clerk, the analyst, the interpreters and all those who are supporting us on this journey.

The meeting is adjourned.