Official Languages Committee on Sept. 27th, 2018

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much, Mr. Kasongo.

Mr. N'Goandi, you have the floor.

[Kouame N'Goandi, Manager, Accountability, Conseil économique et coopératif de la Saskatchewan]

Good morning.

Today, I represent the Conseil économique et coopératif de la Saskatchewan. Our organization has been in existence for 71 years and is committed to economic development for Saskatchewan francophones.

People often ask us how we can engage in economic development in French in Saskatchewan. It's being done thanks to the men, women, entrepreneurs and organizations that want to be served in French and to many partnerships that we have established with the federal government. We nevertheless manage to provide services within our means.

For example, in western Canada, we have a partnership with Western Economic Diversification Canada, or WD. The four western provinces also have francophone economic organizations that help those provinces work together to provide services to francophones in the region.

The challenges we face in this project are still enormous. How can we provide services to Fransaskois residents without really being able to do it in a very professional way? I don't want to repeat what the others have said, but the resources available to address the expectations we have are always very limited.

In addition, some agreements, such as those we have with Canada Economic Development, or CED, which covers all the provinces and territories except Quebec, really give us a chance to put in place the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité du Canada, or RDÉE Canada. We always try as far as possible to provide services in the areas of community economic development, business development and employability.

Similarly, challenges differ from province to province. Consider the case of Saskatchewan. Since you won't be here for long, you won't have occasion to visit all our francophone communities. Since they are somewhat dispersed, no matter the organization at the table, it always costs more to provide services to francophones than to other organizations. Consider the example of an organization based in Winnipeg. In Manitoba, 80% of the francophone community lives in Winnipeg. Here in Saskatchewan, we have francophones in Regina, Bellegarde, Zenon Park and Debden, and I'll stop there. We face enormous challenges.

We nevertheless want to thank the government for the roadmap that is still in force this year. We made some proposals. I think some of them were considered and others even implemented.

My colleague from the Association des parents fransaskois raised a very important point: we have to see how the organizations in our communities can work together to determine challenges and solve problems. For that purpose, the government allocated funding to enable economic organizations such as ours, the Association des parents francophones and the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne to work together and to find solutions to our communities' problems. This is a very interesting point, but we still have to work on the mechanics. I think we have to move in that direction and keep an open mind. We can still enter into these kinds of agreements. I would like the next roadmap to include a partnership with Réseau santé en français de la Saskatchewan. I think there are some challenges facing the community that we can work on.

I believe some steps have been taken. However, given what we see on the ground and the projects we see that majority organizations are able to carry out, we still have some challenges to overcome. They must be taken into consideration in certain programs and agreements.

In closing, I would add that the agreements reached between the federal government and the provinces should be more clearly defined in some respects. The francophone file is not solely the federal government's responsibility. The provinces also have some responsibilities. The representative associations should probably notify the organizations affected by these programs and agreements so they can see to what extent services will be offered to francophones.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much, Mr. N'Goandi.

Now we will hear from Mr. Barry

[Alpha Barry, Chair, Conseil des écoles fransaskoises]

Thank you, Mr. Chair

Good morning, members, ladies and gentlemen. My sincere thanks for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the Conseil des écoles fransaskoises, the CEF.

The CEF has carefully analyzed the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023: Investing in Our Future.

First, we are grateful that significant investments have been announced in minority language education and early childhood services. The CEF thanks the federal government for listening to and acknowledging its concerns about the need to invest in the early childhood sector.

Unfortunately, the CEF has observed that one of its priorities is simply absent from the action plan, which includes no announcement on structural solutions necessary to address the defects of the current framework for managing federal financial support for minority language education.

Instead, the action plan advocates the use of the usual financial support instruments, which are clearly defective, that is to say, the Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction and its bilateral agreements. In short, the action plan confirms the status quo on this issue. However, your committee and the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages had acknowledged the various problems associated with these instruments and had made recommendations to address the problems of transparency, consultation and accountability.

The CEF wishes to take advantage of this study to present its observations and proposals for the permanent structural changes necessary to ensure the success of the framework for managing the federal government's financial support for French-language education. These changes call for the modernization of the Official Languages Act.

Here, then, briefly, are the four main failings of that management framework as well as proposals for amending the act that we respectfully submit to you. However, we invite you to consult paragraphs 14 to 23 of the brief we have submitted for our general explanation of how this framework operates.

First, the protocol is defective since it allows the needs of the francophone and Acadian minority communities to be determined unilaterally by the provinces and territories, which is contrary to the school boards' exclusive power of management and control.

Second, the protocol does not require the government to consult the French-language minority school boards.

Third, the protocol provides for no effective accountability mechanism worthy of that name.

Fourth, the protocol permits the funding allocated to elementary and secondary minority education to be used to fund the essential costs of that education, but not the truly additional costs. Our brief provides several examples demonstrating these failings and the harmful effects they have on French-language education in Saskatchewan.

Furthermore, with respect to early childhood, the CEF fears that the recent Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework reproduces the accountability, transparency and consultation problems noted in connection with the framework for the management of federal financial support for minority-language education. In its May 2018 report on early childhood, your committee recommended that the government amend the Official Languages Act to establish and specify an increased role for the federal government in the area of minority language education, including early childhood education.

In view of the status quo under the action plan, the CEF respectfully requests that you support its proposed statutory amendment, which fully acknowledges the constitutional management powers assigned to the school boards. Thus, the purpose of our legislative proposals is to establish an express obligation to consult the French-language school boards on the development and negotiation of the protocol. You will find the full text of the clauses we propose in paragraph 59 of our brief.

To sum up, the CEF is grateful for investments that have been announced. However, we are convinced that it is high time to reform the framework for managing financial support in the education and early childhood sector.

We thank you for listening and are prepared to answer any questions you may have.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much, Mr. Barry.

Now we will hear from Ms. Anne Leis.

[Anne Leis, President, Réseau santé en français de la Saskatchewan]

Good morning. My name is Anne Leis. I am a professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan and president of the Réseau santé en français de la Saskatchewan.

When I feel sick or vulnerable, I am sick in my language: French. Receiving health services and care in French is a matter of safety and quality. "Patients who experience a state of chronic or episodic vulnerability are at greater risk of suffering very serious negative impact on their health directly related to their inability to communicate their needs in a second language." That is what Danielle de Moissac states in a research report published in 2016. I know I'm telling you nothing new; you are aware of this. I am nevertheless trying to provide you with a bit of context.

The research has also conclusively and systematically established the negative impacts of linguistic barriers. I know you are absolutely aware of all this. Consider the following examples: "low participation in health promotion and prevention activities; delayed presentation for care; barriers to initial access for most health services; increased risks of misdiagnosis; poorer patient understanding of and adherence to prescribed treatment; lower patient satisfaction; increased risk of experiencing adverse events; poorer management of chronic disease; and less effective pain management." These are the impacts cited by Sarah Bowen in a 2015 report entitled "Impact of Language Barriers on Patient Safety and Quality of Care," a compilation of research conducted in recent years.

Allow me to introduce the Réseau santé en français de la Saskatchewan.

We established our network in 2006 and are one of 16 provincial and territorial member networks of the Société santé en français. We receive funding from Health Canada through the Société santé en français under the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023: Investing in Our Future. That funding is intended for our network activities with our five partner health groups: health services managers, health professionals, training institutions, political decision-makers and the community. We are formed in accordance with the five partners determined by the World Health Organization.

The Réseau's mission is to ensure better access to health and social services and programs in French in Saskatchewan. It's quite a challenge.

In Saskatchewan, the Réseau strives to improve access to French language health services, in particular for families and their children, newcomers and seniors, this last group representing approximately 55% of Saskatchewan's francophone population.

In the next few years, our main objective will be to work with our partners to implement and more effectively structure French-language health services in a completely anglophone community. We especially strive to work in the cities of Saskatoon and Regina, but also to improve access to health services in rural areas and to provide resources to students and health professionals so they are better equipped to serve francophone patients. Believe me, there are francophones out there, but you have to go looking for them.

Now I will talk about the health reform in Saskatchewan.

As you are no doubt aware, a major health reform is under way in Saskatchewan, and it is establishing new possibilities and better positioning the Réseau as a preferred health partner for Saskatchewan's francophone population.

A thorough reform was conducted in December 2017, and a single provincial health authority was created, replacing the 12 existing regional boards. This new health authority is engaged in a major process to transform the system. Allow me to cite a passage in English:

We are driven by the commitment to improve frontline patient care for Saskatchewan people [and I'll add that Saskatchewan people include francophones], and we are working together to better coordinate health services across the province to ensure patients receive high quality, timely health care, wherever they live in Saskatchewan.

This was a direct quote.

The Réseau has met on two occasions with senior officials of the health authority, who have expressed interest in cooperating. We want to formalize this cooperation by officially becoming a French-language health care advisory committee, as already exists in Manitoba, Nova Scotia and other provinces.

The Ministry of Health has expressed growing interest in working with the Réseau by adapting resources to support students and professionals. You may be familiar with some services such as Tel-Aide Outaouais. We are trying to determine whether we can have access to it here in Saskatchewan because it is a French-language helpline that could reach all francophones across the province, including seniors who live in isolated situations. The problem is that a little money and leverage are required to obtain those services. There is some receptiveness on this point, but the provincial government needs to be prodded or assisted.

That brings me to my last part, which is how you can help us. I see three possible sectors where you could support us.

First, there is the matter of bilingual human resources. It is impossible to obtain French-language health services without health professionals who speak French. These are essential to ensuring the effective delivery of high-quality and safe health services to the official language communities. We must establish a systematic registry of bilingual health professionals, a system that is more than word of mouth. It is not enough for someone to tell us there is a francophone physician in a particular place or a nurse who speaks French at some other place because we are never sure we can come across these health professionals who speak French. That's why it's important to keep a systematic registry of health professionals who speak French.

What can the federal government do in this regard?

We know that the professional associations gather or try to gather information on the languages spoken by their members, but that's done on a voluntary basis. Members may choose to indicate on their association registration forms whether they speak English, French, Arabic or other languages, but they are not required to do so.

There are also national surveys, and that's what interests me. The federal government conducts major surveys of health professionals, and they should ensure that they systematically record the language or languages spoken by those professionals. The surveys should also determine their training needs. Some surveys already do that, but not all. We aren't very familiar with their needs across the country. It might be useful to ask questions about that.

I would like to raise another point. By making targeted health investments, the federal government could also encourage the systematic recording of patients' language preferences on their health cards. This is already the case in Prince Edward Island. What incentives could the federal government put in place, in federal-provincial agreements or in another way, for that to become the universal standard and for patients' language preferences to be stated on their health cards? I put that question to you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Would you please wrap up your remarks, madame?

[Anne Leis]

I'm almost finished. I have one example left, and that is federal-provincial agreements on mental health and home care. Is there any way to require governments to take official language minorities into consideration in those agreements? This is very useful in the early childhood field, and it should appear in all agreements. Otherwise we will always fall through the cracks.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thanks to all all of you for your superb presentations.

We will immediately go round the table so my colleagues can ask their questions and make their comments.

I will begin with Mr. Clarke.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good morning to all of you, ladies and gentlemen. I am very pleased to be with you in Saskatchewan today.

This is the third place we have visited in three days. We've met with nearly all francophone groups from all provinces in the past year and a half.

Listening to you this morning, I sensed bitterness and considerable frustration. I sense it's not easy for you in Saskatchewan, but please know that we hear you and sympathize with you. We know your situation is not an easy one.

I will begin by telling you that French is an everyday struggle in Canada. Some people, like you, are in the trenches every day of their lives. I want to thank you, and I know this Isn't easy. As a Conservative from Old Quebec, I'm in a political trench, but you are in a linguistic trench.

Getting back to serious matters, although I understand your frustration and bitterness over your respective files, such as health, school boards, economic development, parents and the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise, I would like to hear what you have to say about topics other than your respective grievances. Our main task from now until the next election—at least it's my objective—is to lay the foundation for a revision of the Official Languages Act.

Mr. Barry, I believe you touched on that subject a little earlier when I went out for coffee. I heard you talk about modernizing the act. I was just leaving, and I felt I had to come back as soon as possible. However, I believe the concern you addressed was just about the school boards.

I would like each of you to give me one or two general priorities that you would like to see addressed in the Official Languages Act, such as enforcement powers for the Commissioner. That's a priority; it's a general one, and it's mine.

Let's start with you, Mr. Simard. What are your priorities for the revision of the act?

[Denis Simard]

I have three.

First, I agree that the act needs to have teeth. It needs something that will ensure it can be defended at all levels of government.

Second, every province and territory should have an ombudsman or commissioner of official languages who is responsible for ensuring that the official language minority communities are protected.

Third, we must ensure that the Official Languages Act affords protection for the education sector and confers the power necessary to ensure that the education sector can take major steps forward.

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

Mr. Labrecque, you have the floor.

[Ronald Labrecque, Executive Director, Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise]

I can add that the provinces should be urged or required to promote the vitality and maintenance of the francophonie in agreements between Canada and the provinces, including Saskatchewan.

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

Do you mean language clauses?

[Ronald Labrecque]

Yes.

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

That's what we've heard everywhere in the past four days.

Thank you.

Mr. Gagné, would you like to add a comment?

[Carol-Guillaume Gagné]

Yes, I'm going to take advantage of your question to tell you about one of my dreams.

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

That's great.

[Carol-Guillaume Gagné]

It's nice to have dreams, isn't it?

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

Yes. I have a lot of them.

[Carol-Guillaume Gagné]

Sometimes we have a few too many.

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

That's one of my problems too.

[Carol-Guillaume Gagné]

If we want our young people to remain francophone, we have to provide them with jobs, but we also have to make them love the culture. How can they be proud of that culture when they listen to radio and watch television that has no francophone content? They have to find the francophonie interesting.

The CRTC requires a minimum amount of francophone content in certain provinces. Here, on the other hand, there is no such requirement, and if we want to have francophone content, we have to tune in to Radio-Canada or browse the Internet. Our young people, our francophone majority, don't consume francophone content and therefore cannot share pride in their culture with their friends. Perhaps one day organizations like the CRTC may at least impose a minimum amount of francophone content on our majority.

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

That would be revolutionary in western Canada.

[Carol-Guillaume Gagné]

It would be nice. That's my dream.