Official Languages Committee on Nov. 1st, 2022

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

That's right, it's coming in virtually.

In the meantime, I can continue, if you like.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I understand, but I'd prefer to address them one at a time, so we don't waste our time, unless you tell us that what you're proposing is related to the others. Otherwise, let's finish with this amendment before we move on.

Don't worry, Mr. Beaulieu, you'll get a chance to speak.

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

Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

We're waiting for the written text to come in. I may not see you on the screen because of the lighting. I don't see any raised hands.

I'm told that the clerk just received it and is forwarding it to all committee members.

Are there any questions on the subamendment?

Go ahead, Mr. Godin.

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

Mr. Chair, my first comment is that it's important to think carefully because we're getting caught up in the schedule. Unfortunately, the tabling of my colleague Mr. Serré's motion means that the committee's work is no longer moving forward and we're wasting time discussing procedure. Meanwhile, it is the French language that suffers.

It might be worth giving my colleague Mr. Serré the opportunity to seek unanimous consent to withdraw his motion. That's my first comment.

Also, Mr. Chair, regarding the following quote, “The committee also invite the following witnesses to appear and that they be divided into three different blocks”, unfortunately, I don't have the breakdown of the various parties and witnesses requested by committee members based on their political affiliations. As you know, we must respect the distribution.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I must stop you there, Mr. Godin.

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

Yes, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I gave you the floor, but on the subject of Mr. Beaulieu's subamendment. The first point you raised had to do with Mr. Serré's motion.

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

It was an introductory comment.

Now, Mr. Chair, let's look at Mr. Beaulieu's subamendment, which talks about witnesses. I think this is related to the subamendment, unless we're not on the same page.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

We weren't on the same page, but now I'm with you.

Go ahead.

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

We should be on the same page here at the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

The committee also invite the following witnesses to appear and that they be divided into three different blocks for a minimum of one hour to hear the evidence of each of them: (1) the Quebec Bar and French-speaking jurists, (2) the francophone school boards of Ontario, British Columbia and Acadia, and (3) the Université de Moncton and Alphabétisation Québec—

As I just mentioned, it would be important to have a breakdown of the witnesses chosen by each party.

The Liberal Party triggered the last election. They got the most MPs, but not the majority they wanted. Two years have been wasted.

Furthermore, the Conservative Party is the second party, and the Bloc Québécois is the third, followed by the NDP. From what I understand, the current witnesses are being proposed by the Bloc Québécois. So I guess I'm wondering why the second official opposition party would be given this privilege.

Do you understand the connection I'm making with the subamendment, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Yes, I hear what you're saying.

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

Now I'll come back to the second point, which refers to a date. The motion said November 17, my amendment proposed November 24, and now we're talking about December 8.

This is based on what I received from the clerk.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

December 1 is in the first point, and December 8 is the date for witnesses.

Do I have that right, Mr. Beaulieu?

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

December 8 is for the second point, but I haven't talked about that yet. We've only talked about the first one.

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

December 8 is the date in the first point.

Is that right, Mr. Beaulieu?

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

No, I didn't have the right—

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

Mr. Chair, I just gave the right information to the member who moved the subamendment.

We are working as a team, Mr. Beaulieu.

I seem to be trivializing that, but it's important to keep up.

So, regarding point 2 of Mr. Serré's motion, the amendments to Bill C‑13 should be submitted to the clerk in both official languages on December 8 and until noon on December 9.

Second, during clause-by-clause, the amendments related to the requests of the Government of Quebec and the francophone minority communities should be debated without any time limit, before being put to a vote.

What I'm trying to illustrate is that calendar dates are not useful to us. I think we need to talk about meeting numbers and work periods.

If everything gets delayed for even one meeting, we'll have to pass another subamendment. We will be wasting our time and not making any progress. Once again, Mr. Chair, the French language in Canada will be what suffers.

I'm therefore having some serious doubts. Once again, I invite the Liberal Party, of which Mr. Serré is a member, to withdraw its motion as far as dates are concerned and not impose time limits on us.

On the other hand, I do fully agree with point 5 of his subamendment:

5. During clause-by-clause consideration, amendments related to requests from the Government of Quebec and the francophone minority communities be debated without any time limit before being put to a vote.

I totally agree with this point, but I would apply it to everything. We shouldn't limit ourselves in terms of identifying clauses related to organizations. We need to work and not limit the debate on amendments.

So those are my first comments regarding my colleague's suggestion. We agree, but some adjustments are needed. Now I would like to hear from my other committee colleagues.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I'm going to follow the order in which I see the hands raised.

Those who are participating virtually, please raise your hands.

Mr. Beaulieu, you will have the floor first, followed by Mr. Dalton.

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

I'd like to clarify one point. The witnesses we're talking about in point 1 are not Bloc Québécois witnesses. None of them are.

However, we do see them as important. If indeed, as indicated in the Speech from the Throne, the federal government has a responsibility to defend not only English, as has always been the case, but also French, then we need to hear from these witnesses and have a diversity of views to come up with something important.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

It's important to set the record straight.

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

Each of them, specifically the Quebec Bar and French-speaking jurists, has important points of view to share. The same is true for the francophone school boards of Ontario, British Columbia and Acadia. We all know what a struggle it is for these organizations to find sufficient funds to run minority language schools. It's also important to hear from the Université de Moncton and Alphabétisation Québec. As I said, we didn't invite them. Fortunately, there are also people from Quebec who were invited by parties other than the Bloc Québécois. All of this testimony must be completed before December 8. I think that's entirely feasible.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you for the correction regarding who invited the witnesses. It was very timely.

Mr. Dalton, go ahead.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I am a little concerned that we are wasting time discussing dates. We are talking about November 17, November 24 and December 1. We're debating dates and wasting time. It would be much more efficient if the subamendment would specify the number of hours and the number of witnesses that will appear before the committee so we can continue. We missed an opportunity to hear testimony because we had to have this debate.

Of course, we'll have to do our clause‑by‑clause. That's normal. We've done several clause‑by‑clause studies here, but right now it looks like we're going to have to run on a very strict schedule, like a train, under Mr. Serré's motion. On such and such a date, we'll have to do this; on such and such a date, we'll have to do that. It all has to be done before December 1, and that will affect your powers, Mr. Chair.

In other studies, we've talked about the government's response to COVID‑19 and the health of interpreters. We have a responsibility to hear witnesses who have already been called. We need to do that work. Then we can move on to the clause‑by‑clause.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Mr. Godin, did you want to speak on the same subamendment, the one moved by Mr. Beaulieu?