Official Languages Committee on June 13th, 2017

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

I fully agree with my colleague Mr. Nater, who is proposing that the word “consult” be used instead, and for a very simple reason. I also agree with what François Choquette has just said, which is that this should not be applied only to the present government, but to all subsequent governments. In so doing, partisanship is removed from both the current government party and our party, which may one day form the government. This clarifies some things. From now on, when making the appointments as important as that of the Commissioner of Official Languages, the groups themselves on the ground must be consulted.

That's why I'm asking my Liberal colleagues to accept Mr. Nater's amendment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Okay.

Are there other committee members who would like to comment on the amendment? If not, I will immediately put the amendment to a vote.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Chair, I am requesting a recorded vote.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Right. The clerk will now proceed to the taking of the recorded vote on the amendment.

(The amendment was negatived on division, with 5 nays and 4 yeas.)

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

We are returning to the main motion.

Who wants to speak to the motion?

Mrs. Boucher, you have the floor.

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

I'm asking people to cut the official language communities some slack and to accept Mr. Choquette's motion.

I find it distressing to see, after all the controversy raised by Ms. Meilleur's appointment that we are still at loggerheads with the current government. The goal is not to protect MPs or political parties. Here, we are throwing a monkey wrench into the system that is meant to protect linguistic minorities. I find it distressing. I dare hope that somebody on the government side is going to have a brilliant idea, because it's starting to be enough.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Any other comments?

Mr. Généreux, you seem to want to say something.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

I'll agree with my colleague Mrs. Boucher.

The controversy the government has faced in Ms. Meilleur's appointment should have left traces. At the very least, notes should have been taken. What is being asked isn't too complicated. Moreover, as Mr. Choquette said, he doesn't personally want to meet with the Prime Minister. He is speaking for the two largest associations in the country that represent anglophones and francophones in minority situations and who want to meet with the Prime Minister to discuss the process with him. I don't know what threat the government is seeing there. After what has just happened, it seems to me that this should have been a matter of course. We should have at least opened the door to the idea of receiving these people, if only out of minimal respect for them. I find that unfortunate.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

I would just like to say that I think this was debated in the House before. In fact, the Minister of Canadian Heritage said that she was ready to receive them, or something along those lines.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

She did receive them, but they were not looking to meet with her.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Anyway, I just want to say that this was previously addressed in the House. I think the minister answered questions about it.

I didn't say that the motion was not in order. It is, we are dealing with it.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

We are going to vote. At any rate—

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Everyone is free to express themselves.

So we will go ahead and vote.

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

I call for a recorded vote.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Madam Clerk, a recorded vote has been called.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

By the way, Mr. Chair, it is just a motion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

I'm sorry?

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

It's just a motion, meaning that the government will handle it however it wants afterwards.

However, if the committee rejects the motion, there will be a kind of firewall between the government and the communities. In so doing, although your role is to represent those organizations, you are using your place on the Standing Committee on Official Languages to prevent those people from having access to the Prime Minister to simply discuss with him the way they see the appointment of the next commissioner. Honestly, that is, in a way, in line with the denial and the insults in committee over the past few weeks.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you.

Mr. Lefebvre, the floor is yours.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, I completely disagree with Mr. Généreux.

The motion before us is asking that those stakeholders be able to talk to the Prime Minister, but they have already made a request to the Prime Minister's Office. That completely exceeds the role of our committee, I think. Our committee has no power in that regard. Those people can make the request themselves to meet the Prime Minister.

Subsection 49(1) of the Official Languages Act is clear. Even the QCGN says so in its letter.

For those reasons, I am against the motion. If organizations such as the FCFA and the QCGN want to meet with the Prime Minister, they can make the request themselves. It does not have to go through the committee at all.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Mrs. Boucher, the floor is yours.

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

I don't agree with Mr. Lefebvre. If that's not the role of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, then what is?

You are the first to want to defend official language minority communities, including the anglophone community in Quebec. However, when we demand accountability, that's a whole different story. Yet it's not a big deal. We also received motions like that when we were the government and we accepted them.

Even if the committee carries the motion, we will not be the ones setting the Prime Minister's agenda.

What's the purpose of the Standing Committee on Official Languages if we can't even stand up for the communities that are asking us to represent them? What is your role in the Standing Committee on Official Languages? We will have to change its name, because, right now, you are not defending the official language minority communities. You are standing up for your government, which is unacceptable. The francophone communities, the Acadian community and Quebec's anglophone community need us. Regardless of our stripes, our committee must represent them and give a voice to the request those people are expressing in the newspapers, since they cannot submit the motion to our committee. If our committee can't even receive those requests and turn them into motions, why are we here, apart from looking at each other and preparing fine reports?

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you, Mrs. Boucher.

Mr. Choquette, the floor is yours.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Chair, I'm extremely disappointed. We have been at each others' throats for a month and a half. I thank Ms. Meilleur for withdrawing her candidacy. She was the only one with the dignity to do what had to be done.

That being said, what do the people from official language minority communities think? Perhaps you have talked to them recently. Perhaps you have talked to members from the FCFA, the QCGN, the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario or the Société des Acadiens et Acadiennes du Nouveau-Brunswick? What did they have to say?

They asked me whether we could set aside partisanship on the committee, particularly in selecting the next commissioner. However, once again, today, we are seeing partisanship.

If you did not like this motion fully, you would have been able to submit an amendment and do things differently. There is still time to do so. Instead, you have completely refused this request. However, the Standing Committee on Official Languages, our committee, has a mandate to defend the Official Languages Act, to ensure compliance, to stand up for official language minority communities and to ensure their vitality.

What have official language minority communities been asking for in the last few weeks? They have been asking to meet with the Prime Minister. They do not want to meet with members of the cabinet or the Prime Minister's Office, but the Prime Minister himself.

In that respect, you received the required notices. Last week, I was fine. I introduced the motion on Thursday and I proposed that you take the time to study it. We could have asked that it be addressed immediately, and we could have embarked on a partisan game, saying that your intention was to vote against the motion when we wanted to vote in favour of the motion, claiming that the government is not doing its job, and so on. Instead, we suggested that you take the time to consider the motion. That was fine and we agreed to study it on the following Tuesday. I don't feel that you have studied it. That's what bothers me.

Apart from tomorrow's meeting, I do not think there will be any more meetings before the end of the session. I do not know whether we have one planned for next Tuesday.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

We wanted to have the issue settled before the end of this meeting. That being said, we are supposed to sit next week.