Official Languages Committee on Feb. 16th, 2022

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Thank you, Ms. Tamilio.

My next question is for Mr. Laporte and Ms. Alepin.

Would francophone immigration to Quebec be a major asset? Do you have some idea of the number of francophone immigrants who would have to come to Quebec each year?

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

As we have always said at the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, It's not so much the number that's important but rather the way things are done. Knowledge of the French language is really the most important consideration.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

I don't know whether Mr. Laporte would like to add something.

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

He's not here.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I've just been informed that Mr. Laporte has left the meeting voluntarily.

We still have two witnesses: Ms. Tamilio and Ms. Alepin.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Okay.

I'll return to Ms. Tamilio then.

We were talking about the fact that it was difficult to find francophone teachers, but I'd like to have some idea of the scale of the problem. Is the shortage 20%, 30%, 50%?

[Tanya Tamilio]

We spoke about immersion schools earlier, but there are French-language schools where unqualified teachers have full-time positions at the moment. They speak French, but they're not necessarily qualified for the job. That's a serious situation. There are not even any supply teachers. We're looking for parents to act as supply teachers in the school; the only requirement is that they be able to speak French.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Ms. Alepin, I'd like to ask you a question that may seem strange.

I believe that my region, the greater Chaudière-Appalaches region, is the only place in Canada, or even North America, where anglophones have been assimilated. Our region is 99.7% francophone. I know some 70‑year‑old people who had been anglophones when they were young and who have now lost their English. They struggle to find the right words in English and they speak it with a French accent. It's truly bizarre.

The fertility rate among francophones appears to be a little too low to maintain a workable ratio.

What do you think can be done on that score?

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

You may find my answer equally bizarre. I'm not a demographer, but I don't think we need to return to the past and force people to have children.

The most important question is still the rate of immigration. It would be better to control our immigration process and accept more francophones. It's essential. Not just desirable, but essential.

As we wrote in the brief, we submitted in connection to Bill 96, the percentage of people admitted as permanent immigrants to Quebec—by which I mean that they have become permanent residents—who said that they did not know French, increased from 36.6% in 2011 to 50.2% in 2019. These people did not even know any French.

Earlier, my predecessor as general president of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, Maxime Laporte, who is now the President of the Mouvement Québec français, gave you some alarming numbers.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Thank you.

You ended on a roll and I think that it was important.

It's true that things are difficult in Montreal. There are a lot of anglophones, but many other languages are also spoken. My daughter is living in Montreal at the moment, and she says it's very different living in Montreal compared to the Quebec City area.

I wish you the best of luck. Even if Quebec were to become a country one day, the critical mass of Montreal would remain, and I don't know how you see the future playing out there.

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

Are you asking me?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Please answer in 10 seconds.

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

Well, as you know, we are in the minority, in an ocean of cultures including English and other languages, but the ideal is to continue to do battle and pass our passion on to our children.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I'm sorry for having interrupted you, Ms. Alepin.

The next speaker is Ms. Patricia Lattanzio.

You have six minutes, Ms. Lattanzio.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My questions are for Ms. Tamilio.

Your presentation was very interesting. I even read the article that appeared in The Observer newspaper, which reported that you had recently obtained a designation.

Could you tell us more about this designation, and about what you did, and what this new designation means for you?

[Tanya Tamilio]

Thank you for this question.

Earlier on, I spoke about the increased funding for human resources. In 2018, some volunteers went out and got some elected representatives on our side. They spoke with municipal, provincial and federal representatives. We didn't have to persuade Ms. Gladu, because she was already convinced that it was important for our region. We also reached out to francophone organizations in the region. I should remind you that it is indeed a small region. We have only six organizations that provide activities or services in French to the francophone community. That's not including federal services. There were consultations with people working in mental health, for example. We don't have services like that here in Sarnia. I say “here”, but I live in Montreal. But this doesn't exist in Sarnia. Community organizations provide it.

So in 2018, we submitted the application.

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

What kind of application? For the designation, was it to municipal elected officials?

[Tanya Tamilio]

Yes, that's right.

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

Okay.

[Tanya Tamilio]

At the time, when we submitted our application, we spoke with all the officials and obtained their support.

Ms. Lattanzio, in Ontario, there is a group called the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario. We don't take any action without them. They provide our political support. We consult this association before doing anything.

So we consulted that association and they gave us some very good coaching to ensure we weren't forgetting anything.

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

You're talking about how difficult it is to receive services in French. What services are unavailable in your minority community? Can you give us some examples?

[Tanya Tamilio]

At the moment, there are no services. It's going to begin in 2024.

Let's take the example of a newcomer to the Sarnia region who doesn't speak English and only speaks French. Persons like this who are settling in Ontario need to replace their licence plates. The province administers this, but there's no one who can serve them in French. They can't even replace their licence plates because they don't speak English.

We experience these sorts of minor problems every day. With the new designation, we will be able to effect some changes in cases like these.

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

What about medical services? How does that work in Sarnia?