Official Languages Committee on March 23rd, 2022

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Thank you very much.

I'm sure that we will have other opportunities for further discussion the next time the bill is being studied by the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

You have one minute left.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

It will be hard to say very much about the francophonie when we only have a minute left.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Would you like to give the time that remains to one of your colleagues? No? Okay.

Mr. Beaulieu, it's over to you now for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm looking in the public accounts at the so‑called positive measures, which are indeed positive for English in Quebec.

Would you agree that, under the Official Languages Act, the objective of all of the grants to Quebec under the Development of Official-Language Communities Program, the Enhancement of Official Languages Program and the Official Languages Health Program is to strengthen English and institutional bilingualism?

[Isabelle Mondou]

I'd like to make a distinction here, but will allow my colleague to do so.

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

All right.

[Sarah Boily]

I wouldn't say that it's true of all the programs.

Let's take the Young Canada Works program, for example, to which you referred the last time we spoke. The Official Languages Branch transfers funds to the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec to create internships for young anglophones who want to practise French in a real-life situation, and for young francophone Quebecker who want to learn English.

Over the past three years, we transferred $3 million to the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec to fund internships like these. We paid approximately 50% of these funds to young francophone Quebeckers and 50% to young anglophone Quebeckers. These programs therefore also contribute to the Quebec francophonie.

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

Let's say that it enables young anglophones to learn French.

Does it allow young anglophones from Quebec to have internships in English settings outside Quebec or internationally?

[Sarah Boily]

For a while, we were able to offer interprovincial internships, but with the pandemic, our team is restricting it for the time being to internships in the province.

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

Nevertheless, almost all of the programs promote English in Quebec. The Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec's program has two components, but I don't know the details. We could talk about it again, because it's difficult to know about all the programs. But the rest of the money is primarily paid to groups like anglophone schools. I think that a very small portion of the funding…

[Sarah Boily]

Currently, 50% of the funding from Young Canada Works goes to French-language instruction. And it wouldn't do to forget the Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie's initiative, in which Quebec is participating. It's an initiative we fund that is very beneficial to the Quebec francophonie and the Canadian francophonie. The Department of Canadian Heritage also supports a number of cultural and media organizations that make a strong contribution to Quebec's francophonie.

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

On the other hand, based on what I've seen, in Quebec it's the anglophone organizations in the QCGM that are receiving the funding. It's only every now and then that it has to do with French.

Normally, in matters pertaining to the Official Languages Act, does the Department of Canadian Heritage consult Quebec groups that defend French?

[Sarah Boily]

Yes. I was in charge of the consultations held in 2019, in which these groups participated…

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

Which Quebec groups?

[Sarah Boily]

There is Impératif français...

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

That organization also works in Ontario, but in Quebec, there is the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, and the Mouvement Québec français.

[Sarah Boily]

In the course of our consultations, we generally discuss things with the representatives of these movements.

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

That's not what they told me.

I've already been a member of these groups and I was never consulted by you. In the consultations conducted by Minister Mélanie Jolie on the Official Languages Act, almost none of these groups had been invited.

For Bill C‑13, will there be any changes that affect the positive measures?

[Sarah Boily]

Definitely.

I'll answer the question, Ms. Mondou.

You've read Bill C‑13, and you've seen the added attention we are paying to the promotion and protection of French everywhere in Canada, including Quebec.

We can accordingly expect that these measures will be addressed in the renewed action plan to support Quebec's francophonie, but all the work remains to be done. It's all very positive.

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

One of the things that the Quebec government has asked for is to be consulted and to have its say on positive measures rather than having so‑called positive measures that strengthen the anglicization of Quebec imposed unilaterally.

[Isabelle Mondou]

I'll respond to that observation.

In all our programs, we have always worked with our provincial partners, because we have bilateral agreements with them on these programs. By definition, therefore, we work under these agreements with the Government of Quebec.

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

That's true for the Canada-Quebec Agreement for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction, but it's also the case for all the granting programs.

It's therefore peculiar that for the modernization of the act, the Government of Quebec is asking not only to be consulted and informed, but also to have a say about it.

[Isabelle Mondou]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

There are 30 seconds left.