Evidence of meeting #84 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 théberge.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
My riding is in the northern suburbs. It's not a rural area or Montreal. It's different.
Nominee for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages, As an Individual
In recent years, the number of services to the English-speaking community in Quebec has been declining, be it health services or social services. There has also been a decline in the socio-economic status among English-speaking Quebeckers. This contradicts the perception that exists among many Canadians with respect to the English-speaking community in Quebec.
Already, some time ago, when we were talking about anglophones, we were thinking about Westmount, but that is no longer the case. I think we will have to work closely with the Quebec Community Groups Network to find solutions. Earlier, I was talking about creating living spaces in French, but it is almost equally necessary to create living spaces in English. In fact, as services disappear, which is an important part of a community's vitality, there is a decline. It has been experienced often in the west, especially with the demographic changes that have occurred after the transition from rural to urban.
There was a meeting at Bishop's University recently, where the young people all said the same thing. They are willing to stay on the condition that there is employment. Most of them are bilingual, but there is an issue of opportunities. For example, very few anglophones work in the Quebec public service. It is not a matter for the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, but I'm making that observation.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Along the same lines, what is the first step you would take to ensure that the English-speaking community remains alive and well? You are talking about jobs and living spaces in English. Earlier, you talked about retention and all services. This fall, the Standing Committee on Official Languages travelled to the Eastern Townships.
As for the Eastern Townshippers, there used to be 50% over there; now there are 6%.
The percentage difference is very large.
So, what would be the first issue that you would tackle?
Nominee for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages, As an Individual
First and foremost, I would travel to meet the communities. It's one thing to read about the communities, but it's another thing to talk to them and live their experiences.
When policies or programs are put in place, it's extremely important to consult with the people who will be the first to be affected by these programs and policies.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
I'd like to come back to something you said earlier because I found your remarks very interesting.
You spoke about online training for adults, both anglophones and francophones,
Depending on the generation, people sometimes have some literacy problems, in French or in English. I'm quite interested in knowing what you think about that.
Nominee for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages, As an Individual
What do I think about literacy?
December 5th, 2017 / 4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
You talked about improving bilingualism through online training. However, there are some people who have a literacy problem.
Nominee for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages, As an Individual
Illiteracy is a problem in Canada, regardless of the language.
We did a lot of work on that when I was on the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada. We were part of an international research group that checked the illiteracy rate in various countries every five years. The illiteracy rate in Canada has not changed in 15 years. The illiteracy rate is still very high. It's even higher in rural areas. The rate is very high in Acadia, for example.
I would say there has been a decline. When people leave school in grade 11 or 12, depending on the province, the skills are getting worse because people don't read anymore. We must find ways to recreate reading habits, which isn't easy. There are all kinds of programs to encourage people to take classes. There are a lot of community programs, but the community volunteers are exhausted.
We need to find a new approach if we want to boost literacy in Canada.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Théberge, thank you very much for being here today.
I would like to start by putting things into context.
From the outset, in light of your resume and the answers you have given to our questions, I have no doubt that you have the skills required to fill this position. By the way, congratulations on the career you've had. However, if you're here today, it's because there was a fiasco in the spring. Poor Ms. Meilleur had to go through that period.
I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I'm obviously asking you to answer as best you can. I think this is important. Not answering questions could give rise to some suspicion. So I ask you to answer them.
Yesterday, in the Senate, you said that you became interested from the moment the position became vacant on July 28. However, Ms. Meilleur withdrew on June 7. Were you part of the first cohort?
Nominee for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages, As an Individual
No.
Conservative
Nominee for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages, As an Individual
No.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Between June 7 and July 28, you saw everything that happened and you thought you might be interested. Who did you approach to give your name in order to become commissioner?
Nominee for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages, As an Individual
I gave my name to Boyden.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Okay.
Did you give your name to the company?
Nominee for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages, As an Individual
Yes.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Right.
If I understand correctly, you took the lead. The company didn't do the research to find you.
Nominee for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages, As an Individual
I applied online. Then Boyden got in touch with me.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Okay. Perfect.
We don't want history to repeat itself.
Nominee for the position of Commissioner of Official Languages, As an Individual
I understand.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
The term is normally for seven to 10 years. If we don't want history to repeat itself in 10 years, it is an important thing to understand.
Liberal
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Absolutely. But one thing is for sure: my application would definitely not have been screened in.
You talked about the process earlier, and I found that very interesting. I would even say that you had stars in your eyes when you spoke about Manitoba's process for appointing the assistant deputy minister for Francophone Affairs, if memory serves me correctly.
