Official Languages Committee on March 21st, 2018

[Jean-Pierre Corbeil]

I hear you and I completely agree with you. I was not arguing that point.

In terms of the method, I can just tell you that it's our job and it's not just a matter of figures. People who know me know that, in 2010 and 2012, Statistics Canada released more than 800 pages of analysis, which provides a provincial and territorial snapshot of official language minorities. Our goal was to start a discussion on figures.

I am a sociologist by training and not a statistician. We are getting people talking about figures, so that they can understand that human beings are behind those figures. Our work, at Statistics Canada, consists in informing the public debate through statistics. So statistics are necessary.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you.

Mr. Choquette, go ahead.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

I have no further questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Okay.

I would like to make a comment. I want to come back to what the committee members raised in reference to the determination process. I'm looking at the dates, and in the first table, the period from September 2017 to February 2018 is for consultation with census data users. The second period is spring/summer 2018. The third is spring/summer 2019. Fall 2018 does not appear anywhere. Are you on vacation then?

Could fall 2018 be used to expedite the work? Fall 2018 is not included in your calendar.

[Jane Badets]

Conducting qualitative and quantitative tests is a complex process.

We're not on vacation during those periods. We're actually preparing them. It takes a lot of work to prepare even for a quantitative test. There's getting the questionnaire ready, the sampling ready, and the interviewers ready. There's a lot that leads up to any of our surveys, or even the census—

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

However, each table contains two periods of the year. Once again, fall 2018 does not appear anywhere.

To follow up on the comments of my colleagues from all parties, is there a way to tighten all that up by using fall 2018 to try to provide the cabinet with a presentation earlier?

We mentioned the situation at the last meeting. Cabinet's presentation will take place at the same time as the election. We said we were not happy about the presentation happening at the same time as the election. During the election, everyone has other things to do than evaluate your questions. We suggested that those questions be submitted to the cabinet before the election. I will officially ask you to revise your schedule for rights holders, so that the presentation will not be done during the election. We want to ensure it is done before the election because, otherwise, the cabinet will not take care of it. It will not have the time to do it during the election period. We want to make sure that the work is done well by you and the cabinet. Okay?

[Jean-Pierre Corbeil]

Regarding the period that seems to be missing, let me mention that, once qualitative tests have been conducted on all the census questions, both in the short and the long questionnaires, we have to analyze the data. For a number of questions, there are a number of possible options. The objective is to identify the best questions for the entire census. Afterwards, we have to conduct quantitative testing.

So we go from the quantitative test to a certain number of wordings; we reduce the options. We can still test a number of options with the same question. That must be analyzed before we can have conclusive results.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

I understand your explanation, but I once again ask you to revise your calendar to get closer to that timeline when it comes to rights holders. People have been complaining for years that rights holders are poorly enumerated. The committee would need to be convinced that this will be done properly.

Mr. Samson, go ahead.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

My memory is coming back to me. My colleague Mr. Clarke will appreciate what I have to say.

If memory serves, when it comes to the enumeration of students in order to get French schools, a British Columbia court said that the samples were insufficient, that a questionnaire should have instead being given to everyone and that the sampling the school board had looked at was insufficient to obtain the information needed to make a decision. If sampling is used and the short questionnaire is not used but only the long one, British Columbia's jurisprudence will not have been taken into account.

I would like you to look into this and provide us with a response.

[Jean-Pierre Corbeil]

We will absolutely do so.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much, Mr. Samson.

Thank you for testifying before our committee. We will suspend the meeting for few minutes, so that we can move on to today's second panel.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

During this second hour, we will continue our work, pursuant to Standing Order 108, on the review of support programs for official language minority community media.

It is our pleasure to be hearing from François Côté, Director General of the Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada; Francis Sonier, President of the Association de la presse francophone; and Richard Tardif, Executive Director of the Quebec Community Newspapers Association.

Good afternoon, everyone.

As we mentioned earlier, we are expecting to be called in for a vote. So we will try to limit the length of statements. I will be pretty strict when it comes to the length of presentations. We will also reduce the discussion time with members because we will most likely have 15 minutes less than anticipated.

We are listening to you.

[Richard Tardif, Executive Director, Quebec Community Newspapers Association]

Ladies and gentlemen members of the committee and Mr. Chair, thank you for having us.

We are here before you this afternoon as members of the consortium for official language community media serving anglophone and francophone minority populations. The three members of this consortium are l'Association de la presse francophone, or APF; l'Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada, or ARC du Canada; and the Quebec Community Newspapers Association, the QCNA. Since the summer of 2016 we have pooled our expertise, our experience, and the strength of our respective networks. All three organizations in this consortium speak with one voice.

The simple definition of the term “the media” is that it is a singular collective noun referring to an “intervening agency, means, or instrument”. Years ago this instrument was the simple printing press, a newspaper, a radio station, and later a TV outlet in each city, in each community, with local issues discussed between neighbours over the backyard fence—short-distance communications. The role players were owners: press owners, radio and television owners, distinct and identifiable. Today Facebook, Google News, Twitter, YouTube, and other media termed “social” play a role almost without distinction, but it has become long-distance communications, where neighbours are discussing the larger issues across a digital fence.

Traditional media today are publishing also on these platforms. Everyone has a role, and that's good. They may be discussing global issues across a digital fence, but local residents are still in their backyards, and they still want to know what's happening in their local communities.

Recent years have witnessed changing forces in media. Media staffs have been cut by a third since 2000. Major media company stock has fallen over the same period. No one is denying this. The root cause, according to many, is that the Internet has reduced the return that news outlets can earn by selling the attention of their consumers to advertisers.

In the last 18 years, one thing does remain. We are still supporters of Canada's official language communities in a unique way—through traditional media, along with a digital presence. What a delivery system. At your fingertips, we're still there. We've always been there. We were there in October 2016, more than two years ago, as part of the 2016 pan-Canadian consultation on official languages, when we—the QCNA, APF, and ARC du Canada—collaborated on a brief delivered to the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage. Our brief outlined a series of possible solutions and positive measures that will enable Canadian Heritage and targeted government departments and agencies to work closely with the consortium.

Unfortunately, we feel that we are no further ahead today.

[François Côté, Director General, Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada]

You may be wondering why minority community media should be treated differently from other media.

The role minority community media play is protected by part VII of the Official Languages Act, as it is an essential service and very often the only source of information for the official language community it serves. It is the voice and a reflection of communities that are often isolated, in remote regions or even in urban settings. It is a symbol of attachment to a community, of a development tool of community cohesion and of identity-building that contributes to communities' growth and sustainability. It is a key platform for Canadians to express themselves freely. It is an indicator of the vitality of official language minority communities used by government authorities.

The negative effects of the advent of social media at the expense of traditional media escalated to an emergency a few years ago for many media. You are surely aware that the federal government's decision to invest in advertising on foreign digital platforms to the detriment of domestic traditional and digital media has been devastating. What is even more worrisome for us is that those platforms are not state imposed. By making that decision, the government certainly did not take into account its direct and indirect impact on our economy. For small official language minority media, which are primarily isolated in remote regions or in an urban minority language setting, the impact of the government's decisions can easily be multiplied by 10.

In June 2017, our consortium was relieved to see the report of the acting commissioner of official languages. In her report, she agreed with the organizations that submitted complaints in 2015, according to which Public Services and Procurement Canada, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat did not take into account their obligations under part VII of the act in their decision to cut community media advertising.

It should certainly not be forgotten that, until complaints were filed with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in 2015, government advertising revenues for official language minority community media had been melting before our eyes from year to year.

As of fall 2017, bolstered by the final investigation report and the acting commissioner's recommendations, and more importantly convinced that the affected departments would want to work with our consortium to implement win-win solutions, we have begun a series of meetings with a number of government representatives to move the file forward.

We wanted to propose an aligned action plan that would engage a number of affected departments through an interdepartmental approach. We have noted some openness at the Department of Canadian Heritage and have begun working with them. As for Public Services and Procurement Canada, we ran into a brick wall. Those in charge would accept no responsibility and sent the ball back into the court of the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Privy Council Office.

In December 2017, Public Services and Procurement Canada even published a bogus study on minority language Canadians' media habits, which was ordered immediately after the acting commissioner's preliminary report was submitted, in September 2016, without consulting the community or the members of our consortium, as required by the Official Languages Act. This study has been criticized by many official language minority communities, both francophone or anglophone, owing to questionable methodology and worthless or invalid data, which will have cost Canadian taxpayers $200,000.

We were told about this study in September 2017, and we ordered the department officials not to publish it and to comply with the Official Languages Act by redoing the study—this time also consulting the members of our consortium. Yet those officials did not see it fit to accommodate our request and made their study public, as planned, in December 2017.

You are probably also aware of the recommendations made by your colleagues from the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. They carried out a study entitled “Reaching Canadians with Effective Government Advertising”, the report on which was submitted in December 2017.

In that report, the committee identified a number of anomalies in the way Public Services and Procurement Canada had managed the government advertising file. So it issued a series of 10 evidence-based recommendations, including this one:

The Government of Canada increase advertising purchasing for weekly, multicultural and community newspapers and other local media, so that the government meets the directive that communications are responsive to the diverse information needs of the public.

From December 2017 to January 2018, we tried to conduct a national awareness-raising campaign with the ministers and deputy ministers in charge, but with no success.

The decisions over the past 10 years have resulted in the slow death of official language minority community media.

[Francis Sonier, President, Association de la presse francophone]

As you can see, since the acting commissioner of official languages submitted her final investigation report, in June 2017, ARC du Canada, the QCNA and the APF have been facing major challenges in engaging all the affected government authorities in the implementation of the aligned action plan that would meet the recommendations of the report and the urgent needs of official language community media.

On December 22, 2017, we asked the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages to do something it had never done before: facilitate a meeting between various government bodies likely to contribute to the development and implementation of an aligned action plan with emergency measures and short, medium and long-term measures, not only to ensure the survival of official language community media, but also their continuing development.

We saw this meeting of all key stakeholders as an opportunity to create a co-operative space and take concrete measures to ensure a sustainable future for official language minority media.

We need not add that, since some of our community media have already ended or reduced their operations and others are closing their doors, this meeting should be held urgently. Yesterday, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages told us that its mandate did not require it to facilitate such a meeting and that, in any case, some departments were reluctant to participate. It preferred to refer us to the Department of Canadian Heritage to facilitate that meeting.

It is clear that some of the affected departments do not share our sense of urgency, which is real. As a result, within three months, we will need firm commitment from the government on implementing emergency measures—a minimum advertising investment of $1,850,000 for next year, in addition to emergency fees, including coordination and distribution, will all be under the responsibility of the APF, the QCNA and ARC du Canada. In addition, we need a clear directive on immediate investments for national campaigns, such as a campaign on the legalization of marijuana.

Under the desired aligned action plan, official language minority community media need the government's and its departments' support to ensure their survival and their development in an increasingly digital world.

It is good to specify that ARC du Canada, the QCNA and the APF understand and accept the trend toward a digital presence and that this shift is an integral part of the aligned action plan we are proposing.

Official language minority communities' realities cannot be compared to those of other communities. It is unthinkable that, in the coming years, community media would generate enough revenue through a digital platform to be able to continue their operations and serving their communities.

A transition period adapted to the pace of each official language minority community is essential for official language minority community media to be able to prosper, continue to fulfill their mandate and grow with their communities.

So our objective is to develop an aligned action plan that will help official language minority community media continue to inform Canadians in the language of their choice, pursuant to the Official Languages Act.

To achieve the desired results, this action plan must include the necessary resources. In addition to emergency measures, short, medium and long-term measures must be set out to help our media continue to serve our communities. We must also ensure a digital presence of community media by respecting our communities' pace. Finally, a joint accountability framework should be developed that would include continuing investment by the government as part of an agreement between Canada, the communities and community media.

We believe that the following departments have a duty to contribute to the development and creation of this action plan: the Department of Canadian Heritage; Public Services and Procurement Canada; the Privy Council Office; the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat; Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; and Employment and Social Development Canada.

Beyond the emergency measures already set out, here are the short-term measures, over the next 12 months, we advocate in this plan: an envelope dedicated to official language minority community media included in the $50 million announced in the latest federal budget to support local journalism in poorly served regions; an assistance program for editors; support for employment and internships; support for a digital presence; special projects; a support program for official languages, involving an increase in contributions to the consortium's three member organizations. Over the medium and the long term, between 10 and 36 months, we recommend a permanent program for official language community media with a budget envelope of $10 million a year, whose parameters could draw inspiration from the community media operating assistance program from Quebec's department of culture and communications.

There would also have to be support for digital presence and for developing business plans and related marketing. We also suggest that a recurrent envelope be dedicated to advertising in minority community media, for each of the official language organizations that receive program funding, or funding for projects under the official languages funding programs.

As you can see, we are proposing measures that are for the most part easy to integrate into the existing budgets envelopes of the federal departments concerned.

You have already heard a series of witnesses who have confirmed that there is an urgent need for action. We hope you will also hear witnesses from the four departments targeted by the complaint filed in 2015.

The members of the consortium are at your disposal if you need any further information.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

I thank you for all of these excellent presentations, which I am sure will raise questions and comments from my colleagues.

I am going to limit speaking time to five minutes because time is passing quickly.

Mr. Clarke, you have the floor.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Mr. Sonier, you referred to emergency measures. So here we are; we are facing an emergency. If nothing is done, and the worst case scenario avails, when will French-language newspapers in minority communities close their doors, since their death is imminent?

[Francis Sonier]

As of April 1, the days of certain newspapers and radio stations are numbered. I would say that by July 1...

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

That's in two weeks. Good grief!

[Francis Sonier]

The fiscal year ends on March 31. If nothing is done, it will be extremely difficult, I can tell you.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

The last way of coming up with $1.8 million might be to request an emergency fund, or to submit a request under the Action Plan for Official Languages, which is coming out next week.

[Francis Sonier]

There was a $50-million envelope in the last budget. Yesterday, we were told that applying those measures would take from 9 to 12 months, and we can't wait six months or a year.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

That answers my second question: for the time being, what is contained in the budget will not improve the situation.

[Francis Sonier]

According to the signals we are being given, absolutely not. That is why we talked about advertising. It might be the fastest way to inject funds into community media. Those funds would not be enormous; we're talking about $2 million. I think that is possible.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

It's useful for the government.