Evidence of meeting #10 for Official Languages in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was languages.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:20 p.m.
Bloc
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
So the program may not be suitable for small, French-language media.
5:20 p.m.
Director General, Association de la presse francophone
It's the same thing for English-language media in Quebec.
5:20 p.m.
Director General, Association de la presse francophone
Yes, I was talking about English-language media in Quebec and French-language media in the rest of Canada. The program isn't suitable, and neither is the envelope.
5:20 p.m.
Bloc
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
The supply of English-language media services in Quebec is considerable. If we look at all the media in Montreal, there are almost more English-language than French-language media offerings in radio stations and newspapers. But that's another matter.
5:20 p.m.
Director General, Association de la presse francophone
Think of regions, such as the Gaspé region and the lower north shore, where the media is struggling to survive.
5:20 p.m.
Bloc
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
My other question is for Mr. Borbey.
Mr. Borbey, you seemed to say in your remarks that everything is great, whereas the report of the Commissioner of Official Languages concludes that the language obligations of federal institutions in emergency situations aren't being met.
Commissioner Théberge says that the institutions operate primarily in one official language, with the other being relegated to the status of a secondary language. According to him, French is generally considered more of a language of translation, which has been set aside in the context of the pandemic.
How do you explain this discrepancy between the commissioner's finding and your own?
5:25 p.m.
President, Public Service Commission
I have shared with you my experience with my organization. I'm the chief administrative officer responsible for the Public Service Commission, so I've informed you about how we took on our responsibilities during the pandemic and, as part of the services we provide to departments—in our case, second language evaluation—how we were able to staff bilingual positions.
I've also told you how we've adapted so that we can continue to provide this service during the pandemic. That's what I've talked to you about. I don't have a broader responsibility for what the other chief administrative officers have been able to do during the pandemic, but I can give you the example of my own organization and how I, personally, assumed my responsibilities.
5:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Thank you, Mr. Borbey and Mr. Beaulieu.
Ms. Ashton, you the last six minutes.
5:25 p.m.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My question is for you, Mr. Borbey. The pandemic has shown that the government has had difficulty communicating its messages to the public in both official languages. We've also heard that there are problems within the government itself.
According to what we hear in the media and from government officials, French speakers are uncomfortable expressing themselves in French in meetings because they won't be understood by everyone. It's a problem that English speakers don't have when they want to express themselves in English. This seems to be particularly the case in the Gatineau and Ottawa region.
What should the public service do to fix this problem?
5:25 p.m.
President, Public Service Commission
That's a very complex question, and I only have a few minutes to answer it.
A few years ago, at the request of the Clerk of the Privy Council, I prepared a report with my colleague Matthew Mendelsohn. The report contained a number of recommendations aimed at improving linguistic duality in the public service. We highlighted certain problems, but also some best practices in certain departments, and we made a series of recommendations to the government under the theme of leadership in the areas of policy, culture—which is very important—training and tools.
So I've already commented on this matter, and I agree with you that we must continue to monitor this issue, since French is a minority language. It's always easy to forget things at meetings and cut corners. I can tell you that, as chief administrator, I don't allow that. Furthermore, I'm always ready to work with my colleagues to help them find ways to better respect linguistic duality.
5:25 p.m.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you. I have another question for you.
When people take the second-language exams in the public service, do you check what their motivation is? More specifically, do you think that, by increasing the bilingualism bonus, you would add an incentive to learn the other language, especially in designated bilingual regions?
5:25 p.m.
President, Public Service Commission
I am not responsible for the bonus, but I have made my position on it clear in the report I have just mentioned. In my view, the money is not well spent because the bonus is being given to people who have already achieved the level of bilingualism required for their positions. It's a measure from 30 or 40 years ago that has never really been brought up to date.
I would prefer to see that money reinvested, in cooperation with the unions, into better funding for second-language training, particularly for our young recruits just joining the public service. That would allow them to begin learning a second language, either English or French, right from the start. It would avoid situations where second-language learning becomes an obligation later on, in order to get over the language barrier inherent in management positions.
5:25 p.m.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
I would like to clarify my question.
What do you think about a bonus for those learning a language? Is that useful?
5:25 p.m.
President, Public Service Commission
I feel that those who want to learn a language would prefer well-funded language training.
December 8th, 2020 / 5:30 p.m.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you.
My next question goes to you, Ms. Lauzon.
Thank you for your testimony. The state of independent media is really concerning and your heartfelt comments have been heard. I come from Manitoba and I know the province's Franco-Manitoban community well. Independent francophone media are very important for the vitality of the French-speaking community here in our province.
I am shocked to hear that the government has not supported you, especially as we know that federal government communications in French leave a lot to be desired.
Buying advertising in your publications would have been critical, not only to allow the government to communicate through them, but also to support the media publishing the advertisements, who have seen their revenues melt away during the pandemic.
Why do you feel that the government has forgotten you?
5:30 p.m.
Director General, Association de la presse francophone
It forgot us a long time ago. In 2016, we even submitted a complaint to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages to object to it. We tried to negotiate with Public Services and Procurement Canada and to explain the situation.
Cossette Media is responsible for buying advertising in this country. At the beginning of the pandemic, we shared with them—in real time, believe it or not—an up-to-date list of all our publications, so that we would not be forgotten. We got peanuts in return. We tried everything to be able to get information into our newspapers and radio stations, not to mention community radio stations, which are also very important. However, it all got us nowhere.
The priority was television, and, as I was saying just now, also the public broadcaster, which is currently funded by the state to a considerable extent.
5:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Thank you very much, Ms. Lauzon and Ms. Ashton.
That is all the time that we have.
I would like to take a moment to thank all the witnesses who have contributed to our study.
My warmest thanks go to Ms. Lauzon, from the Association de la presse francophone, Ms. Guemiri, from the East Island Network for English Language Services, Ms. Johnson, from the Community Health and Social Services Network, and Mr. Borbey and Ms. Dubreuil, from the Public Service Commission.
I invite the witnesses to send any other information to our clerk.
I'm now going to talk to the members of the committee.
We have to approve a budget for this study. We have emailed it to you. The total budget is $4,250, which is made up essentially of expenses such as $3,500 for videoconferencing and $750 for meals, if there are any people in the room.
We do not need a motion.
Are there any objections to approving this budget so that we can continue the study that we are currently conducting?
Hearing none, I will sign the document and send it to the clerk.
My sincere thanks for your cooperation.
My thanks also go to the entire staff, the interpreters, the clerk and technicians, for facilitating our work so well.
Colleagues, you will soon receive the notice of our meeting on Thursday.
Goodbye, and I wish you a wonderful evening.
The meeting is adjourned.