Official Languages Committee on Nov. 29th, 2016

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

Okay. That's not a problem.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Could you provide us with a detailed map showing where the resources are going?

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

We will provide you with the breakdown in a document.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Thank you.

The Commissioner of Official Languages said that, in some provinces, access to French-language education was a major challenge. We often hear that parents in British Columbia and Alberta have to stand in line to enrol their children in schools. They know that, if they do not enrol them in kindergarten, they will no longer be able to access education in French.

We're talking about accountability. There is a budget and there are also rights under the charter, as my colleague said.

If there are more requests in some areas, should we not try to address them rather than wait and say that there’s nothing we can do, that it is the province's responsibility and just wash our hands of it?

We have obligations toward those people who, under the charter, have the right to access education in French.

[Hubert Lussier]

I want to clarify that the line-ups to which you are referring is mainly for the learning of French as a second language, where the question of rights does not exist.

In terms of access to the French-language education system, we’ve worked hard on it, particularly in a dialogue with the provinces. The recruitment of students and rights holders is one of the six areas in which we expect the provinces to invest.

Unfortunately, and this is particularly the case in British Columbia, some provinces are not as generous as others in terms of their policies on access to the French-language system.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

What can the federal government do?

You are saying that the rights holders have trouble with the provinces.

Is that what you’re telling me?

[Hubert Lussier]

No. The issue for rights holders is that some school boards want parents who are not considered to be rights holders by the province to be able to enrol their children in school. This is the case in British Columbia and elsewhere, including the Yukon.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

So my question is what can be done.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Mr. Lefebvre, can we go to Mr. Vandal right away?

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Yes, thank you.

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

Thank you.

There are many details in your reports. I will read the primary objective:

Canadians live and thrive in both official languages and recognize the importance of French and English for Canada's national identity, development and prosperity.

After two roadmaps—and I think there was a strategic plan before—has this major objective been achieved in official language minority communities?

[Jean-Pierre Gauthier]

I would say no, in the sense that this goal represents an ideal state. There is always work to be done to make progress, but we are pleased to see that progress is being made and is accumulating.

I don’t think that’s really disputed. When they take the time to reflect on it, people recognize that, in the past 10 years, 15 years or whatever period they look at, progress has been made.

More work needs to be done for the objective to be achieved. There will always be gaps, new situations that will require intervention, support, and so on. The goal itself has been deliberately established as an ideal that continues to be pursued.

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

Absolutely.

Better is always possible.

In fact, the situation is improving.

I have another question. Before the roadmap was created, the federal government invested in education, immigration and communities. What value does the roadmap add?

[Hubert Lussier]

The added value of our plan is to ensure that several departments have to step up with specific objectives. The exercise we are undertaking today will help shed some light on priority initiatives, including in health, economic development and education.

I would like to add to my colleague's answer to your first question. We are seeing progress in second-language education. There are 40% more immersion students today than 10 years ago. We hope that progress is the result of the roadmap. The rights holders recruitment rate in minority schools—although it is very difficult to check—has gone up, which was one of the main objectives.

Surveys have provided us with the results for Canadians' approval rate for official languages policies; they are encouraging.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

We'll give the floor to Mr. Nater.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

I'm going to start with Mr. Tremblay from the Treasury Board.

I want to follow up around page 6 of the presentation. I might have missed it, but where were these numbers gathered from, the number of bilingual meetings, the active offer by phone?

[Marc Tremblay]

Those are taken from the reviews submitted by federal institutions. They answer a series of questions, including those, and how you do on respecting the right of public servants to meetings in both official languages.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

On the numbers here, for example, bilingual meetings, “4”, “Almost never”, does that mean there are four departments that almost never have meetings that are bilingual?

[Marc Tremblay]

It would be 4% who have answered that, and it would have come with an explanation, presumably because this is an office in a unilingual region where there is no right or obligation to conduct bilingual meetings.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Okay, but now the numbers don't seem to be adding up, because we have an n of 53, so you're saying there are only 53 departments—

[Marc Tremblay]

We give percentages and numbers, yes.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

But the number is 53, so is that 53 departments?

[Marc Tremblay]

Right, that have reported on that question, in this—

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

So then the remainder of the departments listed in the Financial Administration Act weren't reviewed for this?

[Marc Tremblay]

That's right.