Official Languages Committee on April 8th, 2024

[Angela Cassie]

Thank you for your question.

I'd also like to thank you for telling us about your Franco‑Manitoban roots and connections. This shows the richness of our Francophonie. We can see the future there.

We work very closely with the Franco‑Métis community. We're building bridges for reconciliation between francophones and Franco‑Métis.

We've developed a community strategic plan that explains our vision for the future and touches on everything from education and early childhood, as already mentioned, to access to justice and health care in French, and, of course, arts and culture.

We want to continue to be able to live in French, and not just in the city of Winnipeg, where we're seeing an increase in the number of immersion programs.

For me, this is really an opportunity to build bridges, to ensure that immersion students don't see French only as a mandatory course, but as a way of feeling that they are part of the Francophonie. Ms. Hendricks talked about linguistic security. Other people like you, Mrs. Kusie, have chosen to send their children to immersion programs. I hope that we won't lose these young people after Grade 10, but that they will continue to get involved in the community, that they will see the richness of the French language as I do, and that they will also fight to assert our language rights. I also hope that one day these rights will no longer have to be asserted because they will be recognized and respected.

The French language is an asset not only in the city of Winnipeg, but also in Beauséjour, Thompson, Saint‑Malo and Sainte‑Anne. There are a number of francophone communities throughout our beautiful province. In 20 or 30 years, we would like them to continue to identify as bilingual municipalities and for their population to be proud and able to live in French.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Thank you very much, Ms. Cassie. I'm really happy to know that, in both Manitoba and Calgary, many parents choose to send their children to francophone environments.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing your organization now?

[Angela Cassie]

One of these challenges is the sustainability of our community organizations. Many of these organizations rely on project-based funding, but it's very difficult to focus on your main mandates when you're always presenting projects and chasing funding.

Labour is another challenge. There's a lot of competition for francophone talent. Like this committee, which now operates in a hybrid format, people from Manitoba can work anywhere. So our community organizations are in competition with many other organizations, particularly when it comes to salaries. So we need to be able to retain our workforce.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Ms. Cassie.

Next, for the Liberals, we have Marc Serré for five minutes.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Hendricks and Ms. Cassie, thank you very much for your testimony. It will help us to enrich the study.

Ms. Cassie, as you mentioned, the Commissioner of Official Languages has asked us to undertake a study on the bilingualism of senior officials and on measures that could be taken to stop the decline of French and improve the situation in the country. Clearly, we have a long way to go.

Ms. Hendricks, you said that you have been successful over the past two years, but that before that, the situation wasn't so good. Things were difficult when it came to official languages, with bills on the subject and the support of the federal government.

In terms of recruitment and retention, what do you think the federal government could do to help you and better equip you? You said that recruitment is doing a little better now that you're operating in hybrid mode. Is the work at your head office in Regina done in French or only in English? I know that you can recruit people across the country who are prepared to work in a hybrid manner, but what can be done to improve the bilingualism situation among senior managers?

[Justine Hendricks]

I would like to clarify one thing: since we are a Crown corporation, we have a certain amount of independence.

In terms of tools, we drew inspiration from the tools of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada. So we use tools that have been developed to determine which executive or other positions must be designated bilingual.

In terms of the job offer, we immediately look at whether candidates are bilingual, even before the interview stage. If the position is designated bilingual, but the candidate's language skills aren't high enough, we'll enter into an agreement or require the candidate to take language courses. We'll support the employee using our own budget so that they can improve their French in the workplace.

You asked me whether there were francophone communities in Regina, and the answer is yes. We've recruited bilingual people. In fact, the person at the head of my translation bureau is bilingual and speaks French very well.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

I have no doubt that there are francophone communities.

Do you provide interpretation services at meetings at your head office? You mentioned that there were a few meetings.

We're going to hold consultations to determine what constitutes a high concentration of francophones. Are there any changes that need to be made? What constitutes a high concentration of francophones, in your opinion?

[Justine Hendricks]

I want to be specific. You asked me if we work in French in Regina. The percentage of people who work in French every day is lower in Regina than in Saint-Hyacinthe because of the greater concentration of employees who aren't bilingual in Regina.

As for our translation services, we have them across the country, but the team is concentrated in Regina. We also have instructors across Canada.

You asked me whether we had interpretation at all meetings. My answer to you is that the possibility is there. The KUDO application is actually quite interesting, because it makes it possible to get interpretation on site when the meeting is held. We already use that app, but we could certainly use it more often. That said, we make sure that employees who wish to discuss and do business in French have access to this application.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Ms. Hendricks, thank you for your efforts to improve your organization.

Ms. Cassie, you represent the Société de la francophonie manitobaine, and you strive to promote the vitality of French in the communities. What a wonderful job. Our study doesn't necessarily apply to senior executives in your organization, but do you have any recommendations to improve the situation in federal organizations in Manitoba and to make more room for French there?

[Angela Cassie]

We certainly have to continue recruiting to attract bilingual talent. We also need to keep investing in that talent during their public service careers.

I'm going to briefly talk about my own story. I worked in the federal government for 25 years in various capacities. I was able to receive training that helped me grow a great deal in a professional setting.

Very often, people don't seem to be comfortable, because they are linguistically insecure. It would be a good thing to invest to make sure that this training can continue. The Université de Saint‑Boniface and the Alliance française du Manitoba offer quality programs that members of the public service could enrol in.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

That's perfect.

Thank you, Ms. Cassie and Mr. Serré.

Mr. Beaulieu, you now have the floor for two and a half minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Cassie, as we know, French has declined quite significantly. In fact, the percentage of the population who use French as their main language at home has fallen from 4% to 1.3%. In your opinion, does the federal institutional bilingualism system work? Has the system counteracted assimilation?

[Angela Cassie]

The reason we wanted to modernize the Official Languages Act was precisely to be better equipped to fight this decline. Now it's time to adopt policies to implement the act. We feel that one of the important things is the federal government should provide services to the community, and that's why we really want to continue talking about these investments.

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

Would you say that a sufficient number of federal public servants in Manitoba know French?

[Angela Cassie]

I don't have the numbers with me.

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

Can francophones get served in French just about everywhere in Manitoba?

[Angela Cassie]

Not everywhere, but it's certainly possible in the departments we work with more frequently. However, people in the Saint‑Pierre‑Jolys community would say that it's harder to be served in French.

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

Often, despite the language requirements for bilingual positions, unilingual anglophones are hired as long as they agree to take French courses. Don't you think we should require knowledge of French before hiring for a position, rather than focusing on training?

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

That's an excellent question, Mr. Beaulieu, but your time is up.

If you want, Ms. Cassie, you can respond in writing to the committee through our clerk.

We now go to Ms. Ashton, with our final questions, for two and a half minutes.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Ms. Cassie, with respect to access to services in French, I'm going to talk a little about the justice system. We know that it's very important that people have access to justice services in French in our province. However, we know that no Manitoba judges are able to hear a case in French, and that's clearly unacceptable. That's not theoretical, it's a reality back home. For us, it's important to address an aspect of Bill C‑13 that could better foster bilingualism among judges.

Coming back to Manitoba, we don't have any judges who can hear cases in French. Do you think Franco-Manitobans should have access to adequate legal services in French? Is there a role for the federal government to play in this right now?

[Angela Cassie]

Thank you for the question. Yes, absolutely. Access to quality services in French is important, especially for essential services such as justice. We make sure that bilingual lawyers are trained, but we also need bilingual judges, otherwise we could see incredible delays for extremely important cases. Yes, that's something we would need to work on urgently.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Ms. Ashton, I'm going to give you a little more time, but before I do, you need to raise the boom on your microphone because it's a little low. I'll give you another 15 seconds.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Regarding incentives to work for the federal government, we heard that increasing bilingualism bonus from $800 to $3,000 would play a key role. In your opinion, would a higher bonus help attract and retain candidates in the public service?

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you for your question, Ms. Ashton. As I told you, time was of the essence.

Ms. Cassie, unfortunately, you have to pay the price.

Ms. Cassie and Ms. Hendricks, I want to thank you. The discussion was excellent and you answered right away. You know your stuff. If there's any other information you wanted to share with us, please feel free to send it to us through our clerk, who will forward it to all our members. Thank you for being part of this. It was really fascinating.

We'll suspend momentarily and go in camera.

The meeting is suspended.

[Proceedings continue in camera]