Official Languages Committee on April 13th, 2021

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

I am a new member of Parliament. I notice that when you have the opportunity to answer questions from members of the official opposition, you often attack them by saying that premiers are cutting funding to francophone institutions, like Campus Saint-Jean in Edmonton. My family is Franco-Albertan. My father attended Campus Saint-Jean in the 1940s. I have two sisters, cousins and many other relatives who were educated there. It's all well and good to blame Doug Ford and Jason Kenney, but what will the Liberal government do to help these francophone institutions?

You have the power to support these institutions; you have the portfolio. I know it's a collaboration, but what are you going to do to help them, other than pointing fingers?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Thank you [Technical difficulty-Editor]. I am very pleased that you have been faithful to your family's Franco-Albertan heritage. This makes us both allies of Campus Saint-Jean.

In fact, the answer is simple. We're here to provide some of the funding, and that's why we've increased funding to the provinces for French-language education by $40 million. That's why we've provided more money to provinces and groups across the country for the training and retention of French-language teachers. That's why we've also increased funding for construction projects, that is, for any additional funding for buildings or infrastructure for universities and community centres in francophone minority communities.

So the funding was increased through the Action Plan for Official Languages three years ago, a plan that was robust, ambitious and that...

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

Thank you, Minister.

I have more questions for you and would also like to share my time.

You have had five and a half years to introduce a bill to modernize the Official Languages Act. Now we have a white paper that, while nice and allowing for discussion, is not binding. There are essentially two paths to take. First, there is the responsible path, which is to bring a bill to the House that actually modernizes the act, which we have asked for as a committee. Second, there is the insincere, partisan path, consisting of promises made during an election campaign that may be in the near future, perhaps within a few weeks.

Which path will you choose?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Dalton, do you support the reform document or oppose it?

Does the Conservative Party support the appointment of bilingual judges to the Supreme Court?

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

That's a good question.

My sister, who is a judge in Alberta, is perfectly bilingual. In fact, she speaks French better than I do.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

This is good news.

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

I will now yield my remaining time to my colleague Mr. Blaney.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Thank you, Minister, for being here with us. I'm going to follow up right away with the question that my colleague Mr. Rayes asked you that you did not answer.

The budget will be tabled soon. There is an emergency situation in post-secondary institutions and you have the responsibility. You're a lawyer, so you know that; it's in section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Your mandate is to support the development of communities and protect their institutions. You have the opportunity to do that and there is a motion that was passed in that regard to encourage you to fulfil your responsibilities.

As federal Conservatives, we feel our leader was clear when he said that in the first 100 days we would increase funding for post-secondary institutions.

My question, which was also Mr. Rayes' question, is this: in the budget that will be tabled next week, do you have any money dedicated to post-secondary institutions and, in particular, to Laurentian University, which right now is in crisis and is looking for action and leadership from the federal government?

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

You have 15 seconds left.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Yes or no, Minister?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I will forward your question to the Minister of Finance.

In fact, we will always be there to help minority post-secondary institutions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Lattanzio, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Let me say at the outset that I will be sharing my time with my colleague Ms. Martinez Ferrada.

Minister Joly, thank you so much for joining us today and for contributing to the present study.

Our government is proposing a systemic shift in its approach to official languages, with the protection and promotion of French at its core all the while fulfilling its constitutional obligations to the English linguistic community in Quebec. However, we have heard and read some serious concerns from the stakeholders of the English linguistic minority community in Quebec.

Can you inform us today as to how the government intends to support, promote and protect the rights and vitality of the English-speaking community of Quebec through a modernized OLA?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Thank you, dear colleague.

Obviously, we want to make sure all official language minorities, including the English-speaking community in Quebec, are protected. We have constitutional obligations towards them, and we will abide by them and protect them.

That is why, for the first time, in this reform document we are making sure that first and foremost there will be an obligation on the part of the federal government to protect [Technical difficulty—Editor] institutions that are really vital to the future of a given community. Obviously, we're thinking about universities, cultural centres and the importance of a health care system and a school system, etc. That's the idea.

The second point that is fundamental also for the English-speaking community in Quebec, and for all official language communities, is the court challenges program. We want to make sure that the court challenges program is protected under the Official Languages Act, therefore we'll continue to do that.

Finally, we recognize that the English-speaking community has specific needs when it comes to funding its different organizations. It is also the case for official language minority francophones outside Quebec, and we'll continue to play a role in supporting their operations and their different projects.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Ms. Martinez Ferrada, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being with us today.

I would like to return to the issue of immigration. We also had Senator Joyal here at the committee, who gave us a long presentation on the challenges of francophone demographics in Canada, but also in North America. I would like you to remind us what is in your reform plan regarding the issue of immigration and francization.

What are the key measures in your reform plan?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Thank you, dear colleague.

I know that you have worked very hard, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, on the issue of francophone immigration in the past.

The reality is that the demographic weight of francophones outside of Quebec is declining. We have to make sure that we maintain it at 4%, and I hope that we can increase it in the future. This will require an immigration policy that recognizes that there must be francophone immigration. We must attract francophone immigrants to our country, welcome them and, ultimately, integrate them. These francophone families who come to settle here and who may come from North Africa, Lebanon or Europe must have the reflex to send their children to French-language schools, even if they are outside Quebec, in a minority situation.

The objective of the reform document is to ensure that the Official Languages Act recognizes the federal government's obligation to establish a national francophone immigration strategy. This is going to be a game changer, because the federal public service is going to find itself with the obligation to integrate this into all national immigration strategies.

We will also continue to respect the agreement between Quebec and Ottawa on the francization of immigrants. This is fundamental to the future of the French fact in Quebec. Moreover, I will be happy to continue to work with my counterparts in Quebec on these issues.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

I only have a few seconds left, so I would like to remind people that under the Canada-Quebec agreement, Quebec is solely responsible for francization in Quebec and its immigration, and receives financial support from the federal government.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you, Ms. Martinez Ferrada.

I now yield the floor to Mr. Beaulieu for two and a half minutes.

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

Thank you.

The Government of Quebec considers it appropriate to require that federal financial contributions granted to Quebec under the Official Languages Act not be made without the agreement of the Government of Quebec. In other words, it should not be done unilaterally.

What do you think, Madam Minister?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I'm sorry, but my connection was briefly interrupted. Can you repeat the question?

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

Yes, but I would like my speaking time to not be cut.

The Government of Quebec considers it appropriate to require that federal financial contributions to Quebec under the Official Languages Act not be made without the agreement of the Government of Quebec. In other words, it should not be done unilaterally.

What are your thoughts on this?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

As several colleagues have mentioned, the federal government has constitutional obligations regarding language rights. It will continue to honour them. Under these circumstances, we will continue to play our role and provide funding.

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

You are not answering my question at all. For example, 51 years ago, anglophones in Quebec had an entire educational system that was very comprehensive and very well funded. A large part of the funding was used to strengthen anglophone institutions. The proportion was less for francophones outside Quebec.

For a period of time, in Quebec [Technical difficulty—Editor] continued to contribute, year after year, to the overfunding of English-language institutions. Quebec, on the other hand, already provides more than adequate funding to all health institutions, universities, and so on.

Why are you interfering by imposing funding on Quebec, without its agreement?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I'm sorry, dear colleague, but this is not the way things work in real life.