Official Languages Committee on Feb. 12th, 2018

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, ladies.

There were cuts or policy changes because the way organizations are funded has been changed and funding is now provided per project. Last week, departmental officials told us they are reviewing that because of what has happened with the literacy and skills development network, the Réseau pour le développement de l'alphabétisme et des compétences, or RESDAC.

Ms. Shohet, you have been in the field for 30 years. What impact has the change in the funding method had that was made two or three years ago? What has it changed on the ground?

[Linda Shohet]

I think some of it was very subtle. Some of it has been addressed in the answer to previous questions.

As the federal policy narrowed and changed and they began to demand that organizations focus their work that way, it changed the nature of the work that organizations were doing. You began to say, well, I can't do that project; I can't do a family literacy research project because they're not going to fund it. You would look to see if there was somewhere else you could get support to do that. If there was, then perhaps you would go there. If there wasn't, then you would move that off the agenda.

Margo talked a little bit about something that we haven't addressed today, and that is that over those same years, because of the results from the international surveys, the federal government began to focus on people who were at level 3. It said you need be at level 3 to function well in our society, and it began to tell organizations that their projects that were going to be funded had to be addressing people who could be moved from level 2 to level 3 fairly quickly. People in literacy organizations on the ground will tell you that this was excluding people in the greatest need. That is, people who had the most needs, the most gaps, and who needed the most intervention, couldn't be served because they weren't going to meet that criterion.

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

Last week, I tried to get a clear answer to a very simple question. I asked whether it was in response to a political order that core funding had been replaced by funding per project, and the lady who was here said she was not in the job at that time.

In your opinion, was the change from core funding to funding per project made in response to a political order? In my view, it is important to know whether the government of day made that decision. There have been consequences and we can talk about them, but if public servants made that decision without the necessary political authority, that is something we should know.

Can you tell us whether it was a political order or not?

[Linda Shohet]

I think it was internally that it was decided. Overall—

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

The decision was made by public servants.

[Linda Shohet]

—there has been a move away from—

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

I asked whether it is really possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the funding, or what evaluation tools were used to conclude that it was no longer effective and that led to the decision to make the change. Other departments still have core funding.

[Linda Shohet]

Yes.

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

Are they saying that core funding is no longer effective and that funding per project is preferable?

[Linda Shohet]

I'm going to say I don't think we had good or adequate measures to be able to say that. I don't think we had the measures right.

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

I heard you say earlier that life is one thing, but reality is another, and that the data is not that convincing. It is easy to spin the numbers.

[Linda Shohet]

Yes.

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

That is the truth.

That is all that for me.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Okay. Thank you very much.

I'd like to thank you very much, Linda and Margo, for this presentation, for the exchange that we had with you on behalf of the committee.

[Linda Shohet]

Thank you very much for the invitation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

We will suspend for a few minutes.

[The committee continued in camera.]