Official Languages Committee on Feb. 22nd, 2016

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

On Friday, I had the pleasure of meeting the president of the Université de Saint-Boniface. We had a lovely conversation. He was concerned about the wave of students who had graduated from immersion schools and were now heading to college or university, where the standards are not necessarily the same. The Université de Saint-Boniface often has to provide some students with extra help.

That's one university's experience, but it may be a national issue. That's something we could discuss with the appropriate stakeholders, in order to determine whether it's a nation-wide problem that we should examine.

I agree with Mr. Lefebvre about needing a good foundation of information. There are countless topics we could study, but what we'll be short on is time, I think.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you, Dan.

Would anyone else like to speak?

Go ahead, Linda.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Chair, I'd like to add something, if I may.

I agree with my colleague. Fundamentally, I am much more concerned about the issue of receiving services in French and English all over the country, as well throughout the public service. The whole translation tool issue is also very important, in my view. But we need to start by building a foundation before we can get into identifying what the challenges are. I get the sense that there will be a lot more to deal with than we'll be able to handle.

Those are my priorities, if you were wondering.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much.

Anyone else?

Go ahead, Paul.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

It's about how the motion is worded. Do we want to deal with that right now or work on it later?

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Are you referring to the Ontario motion?

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Yes. Are we going to end with that? Okay, then. Here we go.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

I think the purpose of the motion was to commend the Government of Ontario.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

I propose that the motion read as follows:

That the committee commend the Government of Ontario for apologizing to the Franco-Ontarian community regarding Regulation 17, which prohibited the instruction and use of French in Ontario schools, and that it recognize the harmful effects of the legislation on generations of Franco-Ontarians.

(Motion agreed to)

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Chair, I'd like to comment quickly on what Ms. Lapointe just said about the foundation of our work. It's also important that we meet with the minister responsible for official languages. This is part of her portfolio. Ideally, she wouldn't appear in June, but much sooner. She shouldn't be too far down our list of priorities.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

I fully agree. I was thinking that we would lay out a plan, see what's what and where things stand, and then ask the minister what her plans are. That was more or less what I was thinking in terms of next steps. I don't think that would put off our meeting with the minister for too long.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Should I propose a motion formally at our next meeting, or is that not necessary?

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

I don't think it's necessary. We'll make adjustments as we go. We'll start by hearing from the representatives we decided to invite for the next two or three meetings.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Very well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

My feeling is that, as things go along, the more pressing issues that we are looking to focus on will emerge. As per Greg and François's proposal, we do indeed need a deadline.

Of course, it's very important to know what the minister's agenda is. The committee members will certainly want that information.

On that note, the meeting is adjourned. We meet again Wednesday afternoon.