Evidence of meeting #5 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 commissioner.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Clerk of the Committee  Ms. Josée Ménard
Raymond Théberge  Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages
Ghislaine Saikaley  Assistant Commissioner, Compliance Assurance Branch, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

11:05 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg

I call the meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number five of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages. The committee is meeting on its study on the annual report 2019-20 of the Commissioner of Official Languages and the main estimates 2020-21, pursuant to the order of reference of September 30, 2020.

The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. So you are aware, the webcast will always show the person speaking rather than the entirety of the committee. To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow.

I want to inform those participating in the meeting virtually that members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting. You have the choice, at the bottom of your screen, of either floor, English or French.

Before speaking, click on the microphone icon to activate your microphone. When you're done speaking, please put your microphone on mute to minimize any interference.

Remember that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair. Should members need to request the floor outside their designated time for questions, they should activate their microphone and state that they have a point of order. If a member wishes to intervene on a point of order that has been raised by another member, they should use the “raise hand” function. This will signal to the chair that they wish to speak, and their name will be added to the list.

To raise your hand, click on “participants” at the bottom of the screen. When the list pops up, you'll see next to your name that you can click on “raise hand”.

When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you are not speaking, your mike should be on mute. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, the use of a headset with a boom microphone is mandatory for everyone participating remotely.

Should any technical challenges arise, please advise the chair. Please note that we may need to suspend for a few minutes, as we need to ensure that all members are able to participate fully.

With regard to the speakers list, the committee clerk and I will do the best we can to maintain a consolidated order of speaking for all members, whether they are participating virtually or in person.

Madam Clerk, at this point, please let us know whether there are any substitutes.

11:05 a.m.

The Clerk of the Committee Ms. Josée Ménard

Yes. Mr. Mazier is replacing Mr. Williamson, Mr. Housefather is replacing Ms. Lambropoulos, and Mr. Drouin is replacing Mr. Duguid.

11:10 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg

Thank you.

I'd like to extend a warm welcome to our witnesses.

We're pleased to have you here.

We're joined by Raymond Théberge, Commissioner of Official Languages; Pierre Leduc, assistant commissioner, Policy and Communications Branch; Ghislaine Saikaley, assistant commissioner, Compliance Assurance Branch; and Éric Trépanier, assistant commissioner, Corporate Management Branch. We're also joined by Pascale Giguère, general counsel, Legal Affairs Branch.

The commissioner will do one statement at the beginning of the meeting addressing both the annual report and the main estimates. Questions for the first hour of the meeting should focus on the annual report, and questions for the second hour should focus on the main estimates.

I had the opportunity to speak with the commissioner this summer. We're pleased to welcome him today to the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

Mr. Théberge, you have the floor for the next 10 or 15 minutes.

We're having a small technical issue, Mr. Théberge.

I've just been told that we're having a little difficulty seeing Mr. Beaulieu. Also, Ms. Ashton has just joined us.

We'll take a break and come back in a few seconds. I'll suspend the meeting.

11:10 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg

The meeting is resumed.

Mr. Théberge, the floor is yours.

11:10 a.m.

Raymond Théberge Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

Good morning. Although we’re meeting today on a virtual platform, I would like to acknowledge that I’m addressing you from Treaty 1 territory, the traditional territory of Anishinabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and the homeland of the Métis nation. I’m pleased to be connecting with you today in your various territories and communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed so many aspects of our work and the way we interact with each other. I hope to be able to meet with you all in person in the not-too-distant future.

I see many familiar faces on the committee, as well as some new members. I’d like to recognize all the hard work this committee has done in the past and underscore the importance of your work at what is, now more than ever, a critical time for official languages in Canadian society.

I’m appearing before your committee to present my 2019-20 annual report, discuss our upcoming projects and share the highlights of the 2020-21 main estimates for my office. Joining me today are my three assistant commissioners—Ghislaine Saikaley, Pierre Leduc and Éric Trépanier—and my general counsel, Pascale Giguère.

As Commissioner of Official Languages, I'm responsible for representing official language minority communities in Canada. It has been my honour to carry out this role for nearly three years now.

My mandate thus far hasn't been uneventful. We've celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act. Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a worrying trend of erosion of support for official language minority communities across Canada.

Decisions that governments at all levels make with respect to official languages have a real impact on the daily lives of Canadians. I continue to hear their stories through the complaints that I receive and when I speak with the various associations across the country.

In 2020, Canadians are undeniably facing some real challenges in exercising their fundamental rights. These include the right to receive safety-related information, the right to receive services from the federal government and the right to vote in their preferred official language. Canadians are taking notice. In the past year alone, complaints to the Office of the Commissioner have risen by 25%.

In my 2019–20 annual report, which I tabled in September, I presented three main reasons why Canadians’ language rights are not being respected: the Official Languages Act is outdated; the federal institutions are not complying with the Official Languages Act; and the government is not doing enough to promote both official languages across Canada.

I issued three recommendations to the Prime Minister to address these problems. In one of those recommendations, I reiterated the essential need for the Official Languages Act to be modernized so it is relevant to today’s society, so it can adapt in step with change, and so it provides proper enforcement tools.

Official language minority communities, parliamentarians, the Office of the Commissioner and the federal government have made significant efforts to consult Canadians on the modernization of the act. Expectations are high.

I expect the federal government to pay proper attention to the 18 recommendations that I made last year. These recommendations are based on the results of the consultations with Canadians and on the Office of the Commissioner's experience in overseeing the enforcement of the act for over 50 years now. Modernizing the Official Languages Act in a meaningful way is about respecting the fundamental language rights of Canadians now and in the future.

In my annual report, I also recommended that the Prime Minister address systemic issues in federal institutions that limit the ability of Canadians to exercise their language rights and that he step up efforts to promote the importance of both English and French in Canada for all Canadians.

The COVID-19 pandemic has merely amplified ongoing problems, both within the public service and more widely in Canadian society. My recent report on official languages in emergencies sheds light on the existing shortcomings in respecting Canadians' language rights and ensuring their safety during crisis situations.

One of the most striking examples is with the dissemination of alert messages in English only. If a person is not able to understand the information that is being passed on to them, how can they ensure their safety? I believe that Canadians should receive alert messages in both official languages at the same time, anytime and anywhere, in order to protect their safety.

Press conferences taking place in only one language, information materials shared in only one language, alert emails sent to public servants in only one language—unfortunately, there are too many examples. One thing is clear: Not only does this show a complete lack of respect, but these shortcomings are also completely unacceptable, because they endanger the population's health and safety in an emergency situation.

There will certainly be other emergency situations, but the problems we have witnessed must not be repeated. In my report, I propose solutions to the federal government to address recurring problems of communicating with the public in both official languages in crisis situations.

This fall, the Office of the Commissioner is taking a closer look at the public service. It's specifically looking at problems with the linguistic designation of positions and at the issue of linguistic insecurity among public servants. In an effort to respond to these issues, the Office of the Commissioner has already undertaken work in this area. I'll be presenting two new reports, along with some new resources and tools based on the findings.

Early in my mandate, I set out some long-term priorities for making progress on official languages in Canada. I call these priorities “Vision 2025”. They focus on ensuring that the Official Languages Act is modernized; that the action plan for official languages achieves its expected outcomes; and that federal institutions meet the objectives of the act.

I'm pleased to say that progress has been made on all fronts. The modernization of the act has been and will continue to be a priority for the Office of the Commissioner. The implementation of the action plan for official languages has progressed over the past year, as a result of an ongoing collaboration with federal partners and institutions.

The Office of the Commissioner created and launched a new and innovative tool called the official languages maturity model. This tool shows institutions exactly how their current policies and procedures facilitate or hinder compliance with their official languages obligations. Approximately 40 federal institutions are participating in the exercise. In addition, 65 federal institutions and other organizations have requested access to the online tool.

The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages is also paying close attention to other key issues that significantly affect official language minority communities. It's looking in particular at how these communities are affected by immigration and how they're represented in the media. I plan to discuss these topics further with you in the coming months.

I'd now like to speak about my office's finances.

We have a budget of $21.5 million to carry out our mandate during the 2020-21 fiscal year. This amount includes $15.1 million in salaries, which is nearly 70% of the main estimates. An additional $4.3 million for operating expenses accounts for almost 20% of the main estimates. The remaining $2.2 million, or just over 10% of our main estimates, represents statutory expenditures related to employer contributions to employee benefit plans.

These funds are in support of my office's mandate, which is carried out through our three core responsibilities.

The first is the protection of rights related to official languages, which includes investigations, audits and other compliance activities, as well as legal services. Planned spending in 2021 for this program is $7.5 million, which represents 35% of the total budget.

Planned spending for the advancement of French and English in Canadian society in 2021 is $7.1 million, which represents 33% of our total budget.

Planned spending for the internal services sector in 2019-20 is $6.9 million, which represents 32% of our total budget.

OCOL's funding does not generally fluctuate greatly from one fiscal year to the next. There was a slight decrease of $0.2 million to the 2021 main estimates compared to last year. This variance is attributable to increased funding received in 2019-20 for the renewal of collective agreements and the use of frozen allotments created over the last years for these collective agreements.

Although OCOL has not received additional funding as part of Canada's COVID-19 emergency response measures, our 2020-21 budget has been impacted by COVID-19. That is, following parliamentary delays related to COVID-19, OCOL, like all other government organizations, has only received 75% of its full supply. We expect to receive full supply for the 2020-21 main estimates in December 2020.

As you know, new funding isn't provided for ongoing programs. However, one of the major challenges that we continue to face as an organization concerns the number of complaints received. Complaints have been on the rise since 2012. We've gone from about 400 to 500 complaints to over 1,300. This affects our ability to conduct audits and studies, to follow up on our investigation recommendations, and to liaise with communities and departments.

As a result, and because we're committed to using public funds with the utmost integrity, we've developed a culture of continuous improvement. Some measures have already been put in place, such as continued investment in information technology management to optimize business processes. These investments have helped us maintain business continuity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

That said, if our budget were increased, we would certainly be able to conduct more research, studies and audits. These activities are often set aside, especially if we need to allocate our resources towards addressing complaints and conducting follow-ups to complaint investigations.

Thank you for your attention. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the official language of your choice, and I'll be happy to answer them.

11:25 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg

Thank you, Mr. Théberge.

We'll move on to the questions.

The next six minutes are reserved for Mr. Blaney and Mr. Dalton.

Mr. Blaney, the floor is yours.

11:25 a.m.

Conservative

Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC

Mr. Chair, I'll start by welcoming our Commissioner of Official Languages.

Mr. Théberge, welcome to the virtual meeting of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. You're always welcome to meet with the committee, either in person or virtually, as is the case today. You can count on us.

I want to thank you for your presentation. I hadn't planned to start with the last budget issue that you raised, but I'll take note of it.

To sum up what I've just heard, you're sounding the alarm. You're saying that you've done your job with regard to the modernization of the Official Languages Act and that the committee has done its job. I have a letter here from the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, or FCFA, urging us to proceed with the modernization of the act.

You said that you asked the Prime Minister to address the modernization issue and stressed the critical need to modernize the Official Languages Act.

What did the Prime Minister say?

11:25 a.m.

Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

Raymond Théberge

The Prime Minister didn't respond to the recommendation.

However, we had discussions with other parliamentarians. As you know, the Speech from the Throne refers to strengthening official languages in Canada and the significance of official languages as languages of national conversation. Unfortunately, so far, there hasn't been any follow-up to these statements in the Speech from the Throne.

As you rightly pointed out, the parliamentary committees and associations have done their job. Last year, the federal government conducted a nation-wide consultation. At this point, we must take action. I and a great many stakeholders are waiting for information on when we'll have a bill and on whether parliamentarians will have a time frame for proposing a bill. We're also waiting for a signal from the government regarding the next steps.

Our analysis of the current legislation clearly shows shortcomings. If we don't address these shortcomings and conduct an extensive review of the legislation, we'll end up in the same situation in one, two or three years. Too often, the commissioner comes to the committee with the same questions and issues. It's time to take action with a modernized act.

11:30 a.m.

Conservative

Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC

Mr. Théberge, thank you for your presentation.

Last June, the Supreme Court of Canada awarded over $7 million to the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie Britannique. In his response, the Prime Minister seemed to blame the provincial government.

Was this a fair comment or a leadership role on the part of the federal government?

11:30 a.m.

Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

Raymond Théberge

I was very pleased with the Supreme Court's decision regarding French-language education in British Columbia. This case went on for several years and ultimately ended up before the Supreme Court of Canada. Of course, the outcome is good for the community. However, why did it take so many years to reach this decision?

The issue of French-language education in a minority community falls under provincial jurisdiction. At the same time, it's part of a federal program, the protocol for agreements for minority-language education and second-language instruction. We should note that it took a long time to address the issue. We must realize that losing a generation of young people has a long-term impact on the development and vitality of the community.

I hope that, in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, all governments can take proactive steps to meet the needs and requirements of official language minority communities.

11:30 a.m.

Conservative

Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC

We have less than a minute left, Mr. Théberge.

You said that the federal government wasn't doing enough to promote both official languages at the national level. At the same time, you referred to the Speech from the Throne, which states that the federal government must also fulfill the responsibility to promote French not only outside Quebec, but also within Quebec.

What do you think of this statement?

Would you be ready to fulfill the responsibility to protect and promote the French language in Quebec?

11:30 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg

Mr. Théberge, time is running out. You have five seconds to answer this question.

11:30 a.m.

Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

Raymond Théberge

The Speech from the Throne refers to the significance of the status of French in Canada. We must take a serious look at this issue.

11:30 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg

Thank you, Mr. Théberge.

11:30 a.m.

The Clerk

Mr. Théberge, could you select the French channel so that we can properly interpret what you're saying?

11:30 a.m.

Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg

Thank you.

We'll continue.

Ms. Lattanzio, you have the floor for the next six minutes.

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good morning, everyone.

Thank you so much, Mr. Théberge, for being among us this morning.

I've read with great interest your various reports, and of course the annual report, and took great interest in the one on the impact of emergency situations on official languages.

In my questions, I'd like to delve into that particular topic, because there is also a motion that this committee has presented with regard to the effects on the minority language communities vis-à-vis the services received during the pandemic.

Many studies in Canada and elsewhere have looked at language barriers that make it impossible for citizens to communicate with health care professionals in their own language. These studies demonstrate the importance of considering the impact of language barriers on the quality of health care services for language minority communities, and this situation is even more daunting during a pandemic.

We know that health is an area of jurisdiction that is primarily the responsibility of the provinces and territories. Can you tell us whether or not you have worked with the provincial and territorial language commissioners to ensure that their respective governments communicate as effectively as possible with Canadians in minority communities? If so, what were the results, and what else needs to be done in that regard?

Thank you.

11:35 a.m.

Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

Raymond Théberge

Thank you very much.

What we have done so far with respect to that is that I've had several conversations with my colleagues, namely from New Brunswick and Ontario, where they have commissioners—

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

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

I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman, but I can't hear the commissioner. I have background noises with children. I'm not sure if I'm the only one.

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg

Keep going, Mr. Théberge.

We'll look into this matter at the same time, Ms. Lattanzio.

11:35 a.m.

Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

Raymond Théberge

To get back to the question, as you mentioned, health is a provincial jurisdiction. However, in the report that we issued on security and official languages in emergency situations, we did consult Canadians, and they did indicate to us that it was extremely important that they receive communications in both official languages irrespective of the level of government.

Actually, for many Canadians, it's really hard to distinguish which level of government should be providing services. At the end of the day, what's important for them is that they receive that information in both official languages, be it from paramedics or from governments.

There is an issue in many provinces around the capacity to provide the information in both official languages, so what we did propose in our report is that the various levels of government work together using the expertise that the federal government definitely has in using both languages in these kinds of situations.

The work has to move forward. We will have a lot of work with respect to how we coordinate the work between various levels of government.

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

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

Thank you.

I have a follow-up question.

In your report, you also mentioned the signing of the most recent protocol for agreements for minority-language education and second-language instruction, 2019-23. How important is the signing of that protocol? Being from Quebec, I can't help but ask this question: To your knowledge, what were the reasons given by the Government of Quebec for not signing such a protocol?

Thank you.

11:35 a.m.

Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

Raymond Théberge

I think it's always important, when funds are transferred from one level of government to another, to ensure that, with respect to transparency and accountability, we have a clear idea of where the funds are going. We have no indication as to why the Province of Quebec did not sign this agreement. However, it's important that, moving forward, we have clear criteria for transparency, to ensure that the resources that are spent meet the objectives they were meant to meet.

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

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

What would be the deadline? Is Quebec still in a position to be able to sign on? What is the deadline to be able to sign on to this protocol?