No?
Evidence of meeting #52 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 french.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #52 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 french.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:25 a.m.
Chief, Official Languages, Language Training and Assessment Centre, House of Commons
No. It comes out of our budget.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Okay. Very good. Every member of my team is in training. I have a team of four people who are all taking different courses, some in the riding, and the course is based on their initial proficiency level.
By the way, could I take courses to improve my written French?
11:25 a.m.
Chief, Official Languages, Language Training and Assessment Centre, House of Commons
Yes, absolutely. Are you referring to immersion or to courses that are offered here, in Ottawa?
11:25 a.m.
Chief, Official Languages, Language Training and Assessment Centre, House of Commons
Here. Yes, absolutely.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
I am in training right now. The teacher is very nice. She comes to see me to help me improve my spoken English. As to my French, though, I am always trying to improve it. Is that also available?
11:25 a.m.
Chief, Official Languages, Language Training and Assessment Centre, House of Commons
Absolutely.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Okay. That is interesting.
You referred earlier to courses at the Collège militaire royale de Saint-Jean. Were the courses there in French and English?
11:25 a.m.
Chief, Official Languages, Language Training and Assessment Centre, House of Commons
They were in French.
11:25 a.m.
Chief, Official Languages, Language Training and Assessment Centre, House of Commons
Yes, it was French immersion.
11:25 a.m.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Was English immersion offered at another military college, or not necessarily?
11:30 a.m.
Chief, Official Languages, Language Training and Assessment Centre, House of Commons
No, not necessarily.
11:30 a.m.
Chief Human Resources Officer, House of Commons
That was one of the shortcomings of the service model at Saint-Jean. It focused primarily on French as a second language. By diversifying the training we offer and having service providers right across Canada, we can actually go to various places and we also offer English immersion programs, which was not necessarily the case before.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Okay. Thank you. I will hand it over to my colleague, Mr. Samson.
Thank you.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Thank you very much, Ms. Lapointe. What you were saying was interesting. I will pick up from there.
I have a few quick questions. I often hear comments on the ground. I hear there are a lot more English teachers than French teachers available. I hear that people have to wait, that there is a waiting list for French teachers, whereas it is easy to get an English teacher.
Is that true? Yes or no?
11:30 a.m.
Chief, Official Languages, Language Training and Assessment Centre, House of Commons
No. We do not have anyone at all on a waiting list right now. Everyone is in training. Everyone is receiving training from a French teacher or an English teacher.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Okay. I had heard there were not enough French teachers, but you are saying that is not the case. Thank you very much.
11:30 a.m.
Chief, Official Languages, Language Training and Assessment Centre, House of Commons
No. It sometimes depends on schedules. If we send you a teacher at a time that conflicts with your schedule, we can sometimes find another. The trick is finding a good fit between the members' schedules and those of the teachers.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
That's good. I like your answer because it answers part of my second question.
Some members have also mentioned a lack of flexibility. In the case of someone who takes three classes a week, for instance, the classes have to be at set hours, such as on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. only. However, as you know, members' schedules vary considerably from one day to the next. Is there some flexibility? What I hear said is that there is no real flexibility.
11:30 a.m.
Chief, Official Languages, Language Training and Assessment Centre, House of Commons
It depends on the number of members the teachers have on their rosters. The majority of my teachers teach a minimum of 10 to 14 members of Parliament.
We really have to be able to align the schedules of the members and the teachers. If a member wants more flexibility, as has happened many times in the past, we change things by assigning a teacher to him who is much more available.
However, certain members prefer set schedules, and others do not. We try to meet their needs.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
So if I understand correctly, if a member prefers flexible schedules from time to time, all he has to do is talk to you and you will look at how to make a change.
11:30 a.m.
Chief, Official Languages, Language Training and Assessment Centre, House of Commons
Absolutely. Let me give you an example. Currently, I've assigned two teachers to the same member because his schedule changes every week. That was not a problem. I suggested two teachers. They organize their schedule according to the member's availability.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Very well. That's good. This will be my last question.
Mr. Parent, I know you mentioned this earlier. You said that from one government to the next, you cannot really predict an increase in the needs, because it depends on who is elected and we do not control that, the population does.
I have a general question. Has demand been higher over the past 10 years, as opposed to over the past 30 years? I know you were not in your position during all of that time, but try to answer.
Was there an increase, and a higher percentage of people who took classes for a longer period of time?