Evidence of meeting #26 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 roadmap.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Jean Johnson  President, Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta
Salwa Meddri  Coordinator, Réseau en immigration francophone du Manitoba
Isabelle Laurin  Executive Director, Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta
Bintou Sacko  Francophone Hospitality Manager, Société franco-manitobaine
Clerk of the Committee  Ms. Christine Holke

10:35 a.m.

The Clerk

To date, no witness has told me he or she could not address one of the topics.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis

Mr. Lefebvre, you have the floor.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON

Madam Clerk, I also suppose it is not easy to take everyone's schedules into account. We can only hear these witnesses over a certain period of time, but they also have their schedules. I understand it may be complicated to coordinate all that and to ensure they discuss only immigration and the roadmap. It becomes complicated to determine who will be coming together and when.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

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

It was you who said there was a deadline for the roadmap. We did not say it because we are not in the government.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON

Yes, yes.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

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

People talk to us about immigration even when we ask questions about the roadmap. I have nothing against that, but there are other things in the roadmap. That is why I would like us to make a decision: do we want to address the roadmap or do we want to talk more about immigration? It does not bother me that we are discussing immigration, but there is more than immigration in the roadmap. That is all I wanted to note.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis

Mr. Lefebvre, you have the floor.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON

I agree with what Mr. Samson said.

So far we have heard more from people or groups who could talk about immigration and who put the emphasis on that. Other witnesses will come and talk more about the vitality of the francophone community or education. At that point, it will be up to us to ask more questions about financing, programs, or any other topic related to the roadmap, which could provide material for our study on that.

Ms. Boucher, I understand what you said.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

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

You are the one who has a deadline. That does not concern me since I am in opposition. I can ask all the questions I want. It is you who has a timeline, but we have not stuck to the roadmap timeline so far since we have just talked about immigration. A few people talked about education.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON

Yes, some people briefly addressed the education issue.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

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

Yes, a little, but that is not—

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis

We can ask the clerk to mention to the witnesses that they should speak a bit about education, about youth, about—

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

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

That would be very good.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis

Then we could ask them questions on that.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

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

Yes, but when we ask questions, it depends on the tangent they go off on. We cannot talk about the roadmap if they have said nothing about the roadmap.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS

We can nevertheless ask them questions.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis

Yes.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

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

All right.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis

Is that it for that question?

10:35 a.m.

Some hon. members

Yes.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis

I just want to note that, if we have not received any news about the test very soon, I will send a letter demanding that it be sent to us.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

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

It would be good for us all to try the test, to see whether we pass.

10:40 a.m.

Conservative

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

Ms. Lapointe, I just want to tell you that you will have to send me off somewhere on a boat because I failed the test five years ago. Based on my result, I would not even be supposed to be Canadian.

10:40 a.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

10:40 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis

Have a good week in your ridings meeting your fellow citizens. We will see each other again when the House resumes. Thank you.

The meeting is adjourned.