Evidence of meeting #109 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was action.
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
Great.
You talked about promotion and advertising. When you live in a minority community and you often have to fight to be served in French, how do you promote the French fact? Coming from Quebec, where the majority is French-speaking, I don't have that problem. How are you able to reach people so that they are able to access your services?
11:20 a.m.
Executive Director, Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique
That question could easily be directed to everyone.
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
Indeed, others should feel free to answer as well.
Advertising is a huge advantage in a minority setting. In each of your spheres of activity, how do you make sure people know that you exist and that you need them, and that you are there for them if they need you?
11:20 a.m.
Executive Director, Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique
Since my microphone is on, I'll go first, and then I'll turn the floor over to the others.
In our case, we do two types of advertising. Of course, we use all the online tools. Considering how spread out our population is, it's quite an effective approach. It's worth noting that we've been very successful on that front. I imagine other organizations that have done the same will have similar success stories to share.
This summer, we began doing community-based education and promotion by taking part in popular culture events intended mainly for anglophones and allophones. The idea was to make the majority population aware of our existence. We also realized that newcomers often participate in these kinds of events, so it's a first point of contact.
For instance, we participated in the popular celebration held in the Khatsahlano neighbourhood. Mr. Clarke may be familiar with it. This area in the city's west end has a lot of French-speaking newcomers, so by the time we left, we had about 50 people who had signed up to take advantage of our services. All we invested time-wise was a single day. Sometimes highly targeted efforts can prove highly successful.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you all for going to the trouble to be here today.
Again, welcome Mr. Lewis and Mr. Cyr. This is the second time we've seen you.
Unless I'm mistaken, Mr. Cyr, you're originally from the Republic of Madawaska.
11:25 a.m.
Executive Director, Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique
I am from its capital, Edmundston.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Earlier you shared some incredible statistics that bear witness to the work you have done in economic development. You provided information and insight to some 700 enterprises in British Columbia about the integration of francophone employees, and 350 were given training in this area. You also provided assistance to some 750 individuals. All of that work takes human and financial resources.
Who provides the financial support to do this type of field work with entrepreneurs?
11:25 a.m.
Executive Director, Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique
Our funding comes from two main sources. Western Economic Diversification, WD, provides funds to allow us to offer services directly to the businesses, and do training. The other half of our operating funds come from ESDC, Employment and Social Development Canada. These funds are used to find projects. Our immigration, career objective and newcomer support projects are funded by ESDC.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
11:25 a.m.
Executive Director, Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique
Yes.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
So your funds all come from a single provider, the federal government, even if there are two different departments involved.
11:25 a.m.
Executive Director, Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique
Yes. We often work with the province, but it does not provide the bulk of our funding. We work directly with the province on tourism. We receive funds to promote British Columbia in France and in Quebec.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
11:25 a.m.
Executive Director, Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique
We do receive some provincial funds, but we receive more from Western Diversification.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Fine.
I'd like a short answer to my next question, because I want to ask questions of the other witnesses.
The Standing Committee on Official Languages has been discussing the coming modernization the Official Languages Act. Are there any amendments to that act that could help your organization?
11:25 a.m.
Executive Director, Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique
Absolutely. We would really need to receive more funds from the Department of Industry. We would also like to receive more funds from Western Economic Diversification Canada. In fact, what we would like to have, basically, is more funds.
I will also answer the question on what we do to promote our services so that people know about us.
We work directly with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, with the Vancouver Economic Commission, Small Business BC, and Community Futures British Columbia. We have memorandums of understanding with those organizations; when francophones arrive in these organizations, they send them to us. We don't need to make the first contacts because they have already been made. Essentially, we need additional funds in order to be able to provide more services.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Fine, thank you.
Mr. Lewis, yesterday we visited an immersion school in the Yukon that was bursting at the seams, in Whitehorse, more specifically. It was an old building but it was jam-packed with people learning French.
You have testified before, but regarding the modernization of the Official Languages Act we are about to undertake, I would like you to tell us what priority amendments you would like to see to that act, amendments that would help the cause of francophones or francophiles who want to receive their education in French, from primary school to high school.
11:25 a.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Parents for French - British Columbia, & Yukon
Since the last time I presented to this committee, I've had a chance to meet with Mr. Samsonin Ottawa. We talked a little bit about this, and what I mentioned was that I went through French immersion here in Burnaby, and today, if I wanted my kids to go into the same program, they're not guaranteed that right. I would have to line up, and in some cases I would have to put my name in a lottery to try to get them in.
My argument—and I think our argument—is that it seems systematically unfair in a bilingual country that people who love the language, who have learned the language, and who promote the language can't get their own kids into these programs for sure. With respect to the modernization of the act, I think that's something to look at.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
In summary, you are saying that the right to education in French, and even immersion, should be a guaranteed right, since French is one of the two official languages.
11:30 a.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Parents for French - British Columbia, & Yukon
Yes.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Thank you.
Mr. Rothon, I don't have time to ask you about the origins of your name, but perhaps we can talk about it again later.
I imagine that your federation is the umbrella organization for several others. Who are the main French-promoting actors and organizations you represent?
11:30 a.m.
Executive Director, Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique
We have about 40 members. All of the sectors are represented, of course.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
So, health, education, the arts, culture and sports are all represented.
11:30 a.m.
Executive Director, Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique
As well as social services. Everyone is there.
You asked what we would like to see in a modernized version of the Official Languages Act, and my answer is that insofar as we are concerned, it's simple. Of course because of the Gascon ruling—if the members of the committee have not read that ruling, I strongly encourage them to read it—our concerns centre around Part VII of the act. It involves positive measures, their status, their place in the act and the way in which they are interpreted and implemented. This is a major concern for us.
In a related matter, there are the negotiated agreements between the federal level and the provinces and territories to decentralize federal powers. That is a concern for us, because at least in British Columbia, those transfers are sometimes catastrophic for the community, and there's no point denying it. That whole system could stand to be reviewed.
To follow up on Mr. Lewis's comments, I think that the new version of the act must take into account the fact that Canada has evolved a great deal since 1969. Linguistic communities are less watertight than they used to be. Canadians are literally more connected, which was not the case 50 years ago. We also have to take the whole phenomenon of bilingualism as such into account, and the way in which it aligns with a francophone or anglophone identity.
