Evidence of meeting #29 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 needs.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Okay.
Have you thought about a court challenges program?
9:40 a.m.
President, Réseau pour le développement de l'alphabétisme et des compétences
When our core funding came to an end, we established a three-pronged strategy to figure out what to do to ensure that francophones in minority communities have access to literacy services in French.
We submitted a complaint to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages concerning the consultation process used by the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, since we did not feel respected as francophones in the consultation process. We may have been consulted without realizing it. We have not yet received the commissioner's report. It is supposed to be sent to us this week.
We have also requested a bit of legal advice to find out, under sections 20 and 23 of the charter, what the basis would be....
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
You are already out of time. Thank you very much, Mr. Samson.
In closing, I will allow you three short questions, starting with Mr. Arseneault, who will be followed by Ms. Lapointe and Mr. Généreux.
Mr. Arseneault, go ahead. Please keep you question short.
I ask that the witnesses provide a quick answer.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Mr. DesRoches, I was very surprised earlier by the percentage—65%—of New Brunswick people who do not meet the criteria in terms of basic skills in literacy, numeracy and computer literacy that you brought up. I am summarizing.
Can you put that statistic into context? In what context did that figure of 65% appear?
9:40 a.m.
President, Réseau pour le développement de l'alphabétisme et des compétences
It comes from international studies. Those surveys were done by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, around the world, on competencies at levels 1 to 5.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
9:40 a.m.
President, Réseau pour le développement de l'alphabétisme et des compétences
Certainly.
9:40 a.m.
President, Réseau pour le développement de l'alphabétisme et des compétences
That percentage is higher among francophones than among anglophones in New Brunswick. In Ontario, the discrepancy is not as dramatic, but it is very large in New Brunswick.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Have you established a correlation between rural areas and urban areas?
9:40 a.m.
President, Réseau pour le développement de l'alphabétisme et des compétences
Of course.
9:40 a.m.
Acting Director General, Réseau pour le développement de l'alphabétisme et des compétences
Recently, Statistics Canada undertook a more in-depth analysis of the data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences, PIAAC. When the latest international survey was carried out, in 2013, a special analysis was done for New Brunswick. We asked them to do that for Ontario, and they also did it for New Brunswick. I will send you that information, as well.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
I would like to put a question to Ms. Ngoga Tona.
You said that child care was not available in French. What problems are caused by that lack of child care services in French?
9:40 a.m.
President, Alliance des femmes de la francophonie canadienne
Waiting lists are very long. There are insufficient child care services. My children are aged 4 and 6, and their names have been on the waiting list for years. So the children had to attend anglophone kindergartens, and they then had to be refrancized when they went to school. The waiting lists are very long.
That's just the situation experienced by one parent. The supply is insufficient to meet francophone parents' demand. I am talking about only the situation in Winnipeg. If we gathered data across Canada, I think that we would see that a lot more parents in minority situations don't have access to francophone kindergartens.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
May I continue?
Mr. Bahaya, I would like to ask you a quick question about immigration and the retention rate of francophones in minority communities. Have you been able to calculate how many people are remaining in francophone communities?
9:40 a.m.
Executive Director, Reception, Settlement and Integration, Centre d'accueil et d'établissement du Nord de l'Alberta
I don't have the exact figures, but in Alberta, I think the retention rate is 90%. We are happy because very few people leave despite Alberta's current economic context. We continue to receive clients. We have reached our targets, and no drop has been noted.
Those who are there stay on. They receive a small amount of community support, but that support must be enhanced. Community services people are working very hard to help them feel comfortable, as that enables retention. Despite the difficult economic conditions, they are successfully staying on.
October 25th, 2016 / 9:45 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Bahaya, I will nickname you Mr. Accountability. Your remarks are very thought-provoking. Organizations are actually forced to take accountability seriously. When it comes to members, a government election every four years is how we remain accountable, in a way. I think it is worthy of merit that you care about ensuring that the money is spent productively.
In the last election, the government announced that it would put in place infrastructure programs, and it is currently implementing them. There is a lot of talk about social infrastructure for early childhood. Ms. Ngoga Tona talked about that. Do you feel that francophones in minority communities have access to those programs?
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director, Reception, Settlement and Integration, Centre d'accueil et d'établissement du Nord de l'Alberta
I am not sure. As for infrastructure programs, I don't think they have been implemented yet. So we are waiting for them, and the community is calling for them.
We have asked that a community centre and a health centre be established in Calgary. We are waiting and we have been lobbying for that. That program is good news because there is a flagrant lack of infrastructure in our communities.
9:45 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Everyone has talked to us about that, especially with regard to early childhood.
Ms. Ngoga Tona, earlier, you put a lot of emphasis on social infrastructure when you said that people from all walks of life must be allowed to use that infrastructure.
What exactly were you trying to say?
9:45 a.m.
President, Alliance des femmes de la francophonie canadienne
Thank you for your question.
On that note, I want us first to acknowledge that the current francophonie is multicultural and that there needs to be an active offer where people are informed that the services exist.
Mostly, we must promote the services to new immigrants. If the structures don't reflect reality and the fact that a multicultural francophonie exists and that it includes people who have different levels of education and literacy, very few people will know that services are available.
The existing services are not very well adapted to reality and needs. How many daycares are available? When do they open? Can women who have children under the age of two access them, for example?
We must keep in mind that activities should be organized not only in daycares, but also in cultural centres.
We also must keep in mind that women will come with small children. The social structures must meet needs, given that women need daycares when they take part in activities and that they will have many children. There needs to be a space where children can take part in activities at the same time as the parents.
For the most part, we aren't meeting the needs of parents and women here. That's why I'm saying the infrastructure must reflect the reality of the women, whatever it may be, regardless of their social strata.