Do I have time?
Evidence of meeting #22 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 francophone.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #22 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 francophone.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
I will be brief.
First, I want to thank you for your presentation.
You said you got better results when you were more creative than the prescribed standards. Can you give me some examples of what you mean?
9:45 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
As I explained earlier, we cannot do what we want with the money Canadian Heritage gives us. We have to abide by what is called the contribution agreement. We have to do what we are required to do. We have our own funds, which come from our members, with whom we carry out various projects. That is where we can be more creative.
We are currently developing a project that will include a mission in France, where we will have a hub or a portal for all matters pertaining to francophone mobility within and outside Canada. The portal will provide information on mobility opportunities. People will be able to make twinning arrangements. That is a creative approach because it is something that does not currently exist.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
What are the implications for the next strategic plan?
9:45 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
Are you talking about Canadian Heritage?
9:45 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
We are talking about the international component here. Canadian Heritage is really for official languages. What I am explaining does not necessarily concern official languages. We are talking about mobility, the international scene. We should find a way for that to have an impact on official languages. We have not yet gotten around to funding, but I wanted to give you an example.
We have introduced the program to provide support for international experts. A teacher, an executive, or anyone at a college in Canada wishing to make a transfer of expertise in an emerging or developing country submits an application to us and receives a response two days later. That is not long. We support that person. We do not pay for all his or her travel, but we do provide substantial assistance. We have created this program ourselves. It is something we decided to do for our members. This is an example of the things that are being done off the beaten path.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much.
Mr. Généreux, you have the floor for four minutes.
9:45 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Let us continue off the beaten path, Mr. Harvey.
What is the idea behind these special programs that do not fall within the funding framework of Canadian Heritage and official languages? What are your intentions in doing these things?
9:45 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
Our intention is to expand our range of services for our members, to offer them one or two more opportunities to do something. That is our primary objective. The present period is not an easy one for cégeps and colleges, especially for cégeps. Not a lot of good things are happening these days. Budgets have been very tight in recent years for lack of funding. This kind of project is intended as a way to motivate the teams and individuals who work at the cégeps and colleges.
In our opinion, this is an appropriate project because we have lost a lot of members in recent years as a result of budget cuts. All the colleges outside Quebec have stayed in our network, but we have lost a lot of Quebec members. Colleges and Institutes Canada has lost half its Quebec members. Quebec seems to be turning in on itself.
However, our special project enables us to recruit members. The more members we recruit, the stronger we are and the more interactions we generate between Quebec and the rest of Canada. We have introduced this project in that perspective.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Ideally, what type of funding or level of funding are you seeking an order to achieve all your objectives?
9:50 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
We are not talking about millions of dollars, far from it. In fact, we would like to have one or two more individuals to conduct research and development.
You asked me a lot of questions about whether we have conducted research or other projects of that kind. Unfortunately, we are unable to do so for lack of money. If we had one or two individuals to conduct research and find other funding sources, that would be enough. We do not have 500 or even 20 employees. We would simply like to have a little more capacity for research and funding.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
I would like to go back to the spirit of the so-called special project. Earlier you said it would be a good idea to add an "other potential projects" box. That was obviously not possible in the funding applications submitted to the government. To obtain funding, you have to undertake to carry out the project described in the funding application.
What recommendation can you make to the committee to make the government accept projects that do not necessarily fall within the official funding framework?
9:50 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
Under the programming or planning component of the funding application, it should add a “special projects” box or something of that kind, in the same way “other related duties” is added to the end of job descriptions. The initial budget should also provide for “special projects”, which would allow us to set aside a provision of $75,000, for example. Of course, applicants would have to account for the way that money is spent.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Accountability is important.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Your time is up, Mr. Généreux.
I now turn the floor over to Mr. Choquette for one final question.
9:50 a.m.
NDP
François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
You mentioned the Toronto campus of Collège Boréal, which is working well and has a good francophone immigrant clientele.
Can you give us any further details on this point? Why does that college work well? Is it because of the province's immigration policies that promote the retention of francophone immigrants?
And do francophone immigrants tend to stay in their francophone communities once they have completed their studies, or do they return to Quebec or another province? Do they take part in the life of their francophone minority community?
9:50 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
Yes, but I am going to begin at the beginning.
What is particular about Collège Boréal is that it has set up where the people are. Collège Boréal has 24 locations. It is everywhere: in Windsor, Kapuskasing, and Petawawa—I may be mistaken. The thing about Toronto is that it has a large number of immigrants.
You wanted to know whether people stayed on after their studies. I went to Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, three weeks or a month ago. I do not know whether you have ever been there, but it is a small town. And yet there are Africans there, people who come from Madagascar and a lot of other places.
The same is true in New Brunswick. I have not gone to Nova Scotia, but I am going there soon. I am sure the same is true there.
Many immigrants stay on after their studies, and that changes the francophone communities. They become more varied.
I unfortunately have no figures to give you.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much, Mr. Choquette.
That brings our discussion to a close.
On behalf of the committee, Mr. Harvey, I thank you very much for the light you have shed on this matter.
We will now suspend for a few minutes.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
We will resume our session. I remind you that this is a public, not an in camera, session. Unless I am mistaken, the committee will now consider the Air Canada matter.
Who wishes to speak first on the subject?
Mr. Généreux, you have the floor.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
On Monday, I asked that we consider the Air Canada question once again. In late June, following the tabling of the report of the Commissioner of Official Languages, our committee held a number of meetings on the subject. I felt it was appropriate to close the loop, at least as regards the intentions expressed by the commissioner in his special report, which he tabled two weeks after his annual report. I had introduced a motion, which we debated, but which was not officially tabled, or rather not adopted. Is that correct?
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
We merely discussed it. After reflecting on it and holding meetings in recent days, I reconsidered the matter and the motion that I had introduced. In view of the fact that, as members of this committee, we are not in a position to alter the situation since we do not necessarily have the authority to do so, it would be appropriate to conduct an analysis.
We have just distributed a new version of my motion. I have essentially amended three or four words in the upper portion of the motion and added a paragraph.
Personally, I am not in favour of coercive measures such as fines. I prefer to cooperate with organizations that are found to be at fault so that they can improve their methods. I am not fundamentally opposed to the solutions proposed by the Commissioner of Official Languages, but what I am seeking in this motion, which I am amending, is an evaluation of the feasibility of implementing the four solutions that were outlined in my motion and that are obviously drawn from the report of the Commissioner of Official Languages.
I think it is important for me to reread the motion. Here it is:
Whereas Air Canada has been subject to the full Official Languages Act for close to 50 years; The committee recommends that the Government of Canada evaluate—
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Mr. Généreux, with your permission, to ensure that we are on the same page, I would like to advise you that you may not amend your own motion except with the unanimous consent of the members of the committee, since the matter is already before the committee. I therefore take it for granted that all committee members have received this proposal that you have—