Evidence of meeting #90 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 organizations.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC
Excellent.
When we heard from RESDAC last week, they were saying that they don't want to rebuild exactly as it was. There may be a new way to conduct something like the Centre for Literacy...something different. I just want to know if you are in communication with the RESDAC and if you have been.... I know that you were a member of—
Liberal
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks for coming, Ms. Shohet and Ms. Legault. It's so refreshing for me, being an Acadian from northern New Brunswick, to hear the exact same problem for the anglophones of Quebec.
I heard in your introduction, Ms. Shohet, that there there are 13 organizations in Quebec for literacy. Can you briefly come back to that?
Executive Director, Literacy Quebec
Yes. We have 12 member organizations that receive core funding from the Ministry of Education for English literacy.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
You said it was almost impossible to focus everywhere on the Quebec territory. You had to target some regions more than others. Coming from a very rural area...and just to give you a picture, my riding looks like the Gaspé coast. The majority are francophone.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
I didn't say that.
There are some very strong but small pockets of anglophone communities. For communities like the Gaspé coast or Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, do you see a difference in literacy between an English community in an urban area like Montreal versus an English community in Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine or in the Gaspé Peninsula?
Executive Director, Literacy Quebec
Definitely in the urban context there is a density of population there. But it is very difficult, no matter if you're in a rural or urban context, to reach adults with low literacy levels. I would say that the way in which they respond is very different. In the rural context, two of my members are starting to look at setting up satellite hubs. They're not able to travel, so they have their headquarters, and then they're looking to different school boards and community organizations to train people so that they're able to offer literacy. They're sharing the knowledge, because they cannot physically travel across the territory. They're finding ways of offering services and reaching out to people who are far away.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
All the English communities in the urban Montreal area have their big institutions: college paper, daily paper, university hospital, etc. Port-Daniel on the far east of the Gaspé coast is far from those institutions. Between you and me, when we speak about literacy that's a way to put a stop to the assimilation. The assimilating forces are a lot stronger at Port-Daniel compared to Montreal's English communities.
Executive Director, Literacy Quebec
Yes, we're seeing that. There is a difficulty in promoting and raising awareness through media, even in Montreal. In a lot of the suburbs or the municipalities, their newsletter no longer has an English component. Some of them have just one back page. Even our members within Montreal are having difficulty disseminating information. It's an ongoing issue.
As an Individual
Not only that, even in terms of disparity, if you look at the vitality surveys that are done every couple of years, the one that was done in 2015 showed anglophones living in the eastern part of Montreal have great difficulty accessing services. It depends what part of Montreal you're located in, whether there's a density of services and access. If you're in certain parts of Montreal you are also quite cut off.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Would you say that the need for literacy is the same or alike whether you're from the Montreal urban area or far east in the Gaspé Peninsula?
Executive Director, Literacy Quebec
Not that they're alike, but I believe there is a myth that, if you're in an urban centre, minority languages are not maybe as prevalent an issue. They still are. We're seeing that. Even our centres in Montreal are having great difficulty accessing regular media to find ways of reaching anglophones and promoting their services.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
In the weaknesses concerning literacy, the fact that you're living in an urban or a rural area is irrelevant.
Executive Director, Literacy Quebec
Not irrelevant but the intensity can be different.
