Evidence of meeting #53 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 jazz.
A recording is available from Parliament.
1:20 p.m.
Flight Attendant, Head of the Francization Committee , Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4091
When I said hot, I may have meant something else. I wanted to say touchy.
1:20 p.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
“Touchy” and “hot” are basically the same.
1:20 p.m.
Flight Attendant, Head of the Francization Committee , Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4091
Okay, we're in agreement.
As I said, the mindset in western Canada is different. I'm talking about people who were hired a very long time ago and who are now 50, 60 and almost 70 years old. I meant to say that, culturally, the need to speak French and so forth is fairly recent. We're working very hard.
I want to stay positive and to try to encourage people to get involved. They have skills, such as a level four in French. We can't, from one day to the next, remove them from the list of employees who speak French because their French is no longer good. The company pays for courses for employees, except they need to work fewer hours to be able to take the courses. Often, they have children and they need to pay for daycare, so it's not free.
1:20 p.m.
Liberal
1:20 p.m.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
I'll continue along the same lines.
Earlier, I asked the Air Canada representatives how the Government of Canada could help them recruit bilingual people in primarily unilingual areas. How can the government address this?
1:20 p.m.
Flight Attendant, Head of the Francization Committee , Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4091
I'm not sure the problem is that Air Canada has trouble recruiting francophones. There are people who speak French.
People have an idea of a flight attendant's job that doesn't mesh with reality. In the beginning, it's very difficult. A bilingual person may have more assignments. When you're a bilingual flight attendant, it's difficult to start with a very low salary, and to work on Christmas, New Year's Day, your birthday or your mother's birthday. In the first five years, you're never there. The young people who are starting today live with seven or eight other people in an apartment because they don't have much money and they're always gone. I'm not talking about the ground agents, but about the people in my group. Bilingualism isn't the only issue. It's very difficult to recruit these types of people.
1:20 p.m.
Liberal
1:20 p.m.
Flight Attendant, Head of the Francization Committee , Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4091
I don't know. It could create a pool.
1:20 p.m.
Liberal
1:20 p.m.
Flight Attendant, Head of the Francization Committee , Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4091
Yes, a pool of bilingual people who are interested in working in the hotel or travel industry.
1:20 p.m.
Liberal
1:20 p.m.
Flight Attendant, Head of the Francization Committee , Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4091
Yes. It would be good to have a pool of employees.
1:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
On behalf of the committee, thank you for appearing this morning and for shedding light on the topic.
1:20 p.m.
Flight Attendant, Head of the Francization Committee , Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4091
Thank you.
1:20 p.m.
Liberal
1:20 p.m.
Liberal
1:20 p.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
An incident happened earlier that makes me a bit uncomfortable, but I won't go into the details.
Our committee works very well and we all work together. I would never allow our committee or a member of this committee to be verbally insulted. I want there to be a rule of conscience here stating that if this ever happens again, the people concerned must leave the meeting.
1:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Okay, it's noted. In the future, I won't be as tolerant as I was today.
1:25 p.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
I hope so, because you'll see Ms. Boucher from up close, and I'll be the one who gets sent out!
1:25 p.m.
Voices
We'll say hello.
