Official Languages Committee on Feb. 23rd, 2021

[Manon Bombardier]

That's not something we can answer, unfortunately.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Ladies, in her opening remarks, Ms. Aung Thin mentioned among other things that you were facilitating access to essential products in order to slow the spread of the disease. That's altogether laudable. However, I believe that it's important to communicate effectively with people so that they can take appropriate action. It's a health issue. If people don't receive instructions in their language, it creates a health risk. The goal is to properly protect people.

The fact that it took the Government of Canada three months before requiring that both official languages be used on labels and in publications makes me uneasy. As people say in many other contexts, COVID-19 has been blamed for a lot of things.

I'm sorry, but you haven't convinced me about the fact that we were in a crisis and needed time to find solutions. It took three months. It would have been easy to send translated information to retailers, who would then simply have had to make black and white photocopies onsite. I find that this aspect has been neglected.

Were you both involved in the decision to put up with this for three months?

I'd like to hear your comments on this.

[Manon Bombardier]

Thank you for your question.

When the policy was formulated, I was the Director General of the Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate and was therefore involved in the policy decision.

As I explained earlier, it was a decision that took many factors into account, including supply and demand and the large volume of exports that were to arrive in Canada to help flatten the curve, which was climbing exponentially, and the need to protect the health and safety of Canadians.

It did indeed take three months. It's nevertheless important to point out that early on in the pandemic, many hand sanitizers had already received marketing authorization. Unfortunately, the manufacturers did not have the capacity to produce more. That's why we increased the volume—

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

I understand, Ms. Bombardier.

I'm satisfied with your answer.

Would you do the same thing, which would lead to the same time lag, if there were a future pandemic?

[Manon Bombardier]

Everything would depend on the circumstances of the pandemic and the factors in play at the time. We would take them all into consideration.

We always factor in our official languages obligations. We take them very seriously.

In this instance, things were extremely urgent and the health of Canadians was crucial. With due regard to all the factors at the time, that's the decision that was made—

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Excuse me, Ms. Bombardier. I don't have much speaking time.

I'd like to give the time I have left to my colleague, Mr. Dalton.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

There is just over a minute and a half remaining.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Thank you.

I was disappointed and surprised by what you said earlier in your remarks, which you gave us ahead of time and which Mr. Arseneault also read. You wrote and said: “...communicating with Canadians in the official language of their choice is more than just a legal or policy requirement for us — it is a core communications practice.”

You went on to say that, “...federal institutions are required to communicate and offer services to the public in both official languages.”

And elsewhere, you added: “For example, every news release, statement or written product we issue is released in both English and French at the same time.”

This isn't what really happened.

It isn't what happened in Vancouver. I know that the francophone community found itself in difficult circumstances, because of the many immigrants who could only speak French. There was a lot of frustration, because we had to rely on the province for information. Fortunately, we have a provincial minister who speaks both languages.

In my view, Health Canada really failed to meet its obligations in this area.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you, Mr. Dalton.

Would it be possible, ladies, to give a very brief 15-second answer?

[Pam Aung Thin]

Thank you.

We've taken note of the committee members' comments.

When I said that we communicated in both official languages, I wasn't referring only to the national capital region, but everywhere in Canada, in every region.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you very much.

Now, for five minutes, we have Terry Duguid. Maybe he is going to share his time with Ms. Lalonde.

Mr. Duguid, the floor is yours.

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Winnipeg South, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I will share my time. Thank you to our witnesses.

Mr. Mazier and I are from Manitoba, and Manitoba has a very significant francophone community in St. Boniface, but also in southern Manitoba. I believe there are a few French communities in Mr. Mazier's district.

French seniors residences and 100% francophone communities, entirely French-speaking, were impacted by the pandemic. I certainly got the sense during the pandemic that these communities felt very underserved. The Manitoba provincial briefings were 100% in English, even Radio-Canada asked questions in English.

Could you comment on Health Canada's service to the region, and how you felt you did in this pandemic? I'm very interested in the next health crisis, and how you might improve service.

[Pam Aung Thin]

Thank you for the question. I will respond in English.

I feel that we performed very well, as far as official languages go. We hold press conferences. We offer our spokespeople in both official languages. Questions are responded to in English and French, depending on the language in which the questions are posed. We also offer simultaneous translation for those who may not speak the language that is being used. Media can ask questions in the language of their choice, and are responded to in that language.

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Winnipeg South, MB]

Ms. Lalonde.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Thank you.

First of all, ladies, I would like to thank you for all the work that was done.

I represent the riding of Orleans. I have only recently been elected at the federal level, so some of the things you were discussing are unfamiliar to me.

I'd like to return to one item in particular. You said that you had agreed to English labelling in designated unilingual regions. And yet, as my colleagues mentioned, there are francophones across Canada, even though the percentage is not always high enough for the region to be designated bilingual.

What have you learned from the situation we're discussing today in terms of health and safety? And how are we going to prepare for the future?

I'm worried about the rules you followed for providing information in unilingual regions, where there might also be francophones. It's an issue that was often raised in the region and in the riding of Orleans.

I'd like to hear what you have to say about this.

[Manon Bombardier]

Thank you for your question.

It's a Treasury Board Secretariat policy on recognizing certain unilingual francophone and unilingual anglophone regions. It doesn't mean that the community that speaks the other language does not exist in these regions, but rather that most of the people there speak the language recognized by the Treasury Board Secretariat. In these regions, we actually followed this practice for three months, early on in the pandemic. We allowed unilingual labelling in English or French for small businesses in these communities distributing products locally. However, in designated bilingual regions, bilingual labelling was always required.

It's important to note that there were very few products, compared to the 5,000 or so hand sanitizers we've authorized since the beginning of the pandemic. The sanitizers made by breweries and distilleries, which are what is at issue here, represent a low percentage of the hand sanitizers marketed during the pandemic.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Thank you, Ms. Bombardier.

What have we learned from all this? How are we going to make sure we're better prepared for another pandemic? It's not that I'm expecting another pandemic when we're currently living in one, but that's the reason for our study. What lessons have been learned by health Canada?

[Manon Bombardier]

Several factors come into play in reaching decisions on policies like these. We take it seriously and shoulder our official languages responsibilities. We make sure that Canadians are provided with the information they need to protect themselves from health risks.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you, Ms. Bombardier and Mrs. Lalonde.

Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

I'll pick up from where I left off earlier.

You are assuring us, then, that at all your meetings and videoconferences, interpretation services are available, or that things take place bilingually.

[Pam Aung Thin]

I mentioned official departmental meetings earlier. As for your question, we often organize meetings for all employees, and we make sure that these are held in both official languages. When we prepare speeches for senior officials, and communications for all employees, we always make sure that documents are available in both official languages. We also make sure that all briefing notes include a percentage of content in French and and a percentage of content in English, and that interpretation services are available for employees.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

You're saying then that all meetings and all documents are always available in both official languages.

[Pam Aung Thin]

I'm speaking about official documents provided to all employees.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

What about working meetings and internal communications with employees? Are you saying these are all bilingual as well?

[Pam Aung Thin]

We always encourage employees to speak the language of their choice at internal management and working group meetings. We arrange for these meetings to be held in both languages, make internal communications available as soon as possible in both languages, and make employees feel at ease to speak in the language of their choice.