Sylvie Boucher

[Business of Supply, April 1st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, first, I thank my colleague for his question; but the Bloc Québécois has no lessons to teach me, especially on the subject of the francophonie.

They appropriated the Quebec nation because they were sovereignists but for us that means a great deal. I live my life in French; my reality is a Quebec reality. My emotions are Quebec emotions, and when I hurt, I hurt in French.

They do not understand that for the Quebec nation, for all the other Quebeckers who are not sovereignists, that has enormous meaning. We are no longer ashamed to walk the streets of Quebec and to say that we are happy to live in Canada while defending our Quebec and our language.

[Business of Supply, April 1st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said that our Conservative government practices open federalism that respects the historical fact of Quebec’s cultural and linguistic specificity and gives Quebec the flexibility and autonomy it needs to maintain its francophone identity within a strong and united Canada.

Linguistic duality is fundamental to Canadian society and enriches both the country and its citizens. According to a Decima poll taken in 2006 for the Department of Canadian Heritage, 69% of Canadians born abroad think that they are culturally enriched by Canada’s linguistic duality and 72% think that the Government of Canada should play a leading role in promoting and protecting the status and use of French in Canadian society.

The English and French languages and the official languages policy are at the heart of the Canadian identity. Knowledge of these languages helps Canadians participate socially, economically and culturally.

For these reasons, our government promised in the last throne speech to bring forward a strategy for implementing the next stage of the Action Plan for Official Languages. We appointed Bernard Lord to act as special advisor and conduct extensive consultations. He has submitted his report now and it was recently made public. The government will build on it to develop the next stage of the Action Plan for Official Languages.

The government has begun examining the initiatives that have been undertaken as part of its final evaluation of the action plan and it will ensure that the best practices are incorporated into the new official languages program.

We will continue the constant support we have shown for the official languages by bringing forward a strategy to give effect to the next stage of the Action Plan for Official Languages running from 2008 to 2013.

We are currently reviewing all the projects and the federal strategy. This will enable us to renew, modify as necessary and improve the government projects for promoting linguistic duality.

There are some bilateral and multilateral agreements among the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories regarding the official languages. Our support includes recognition of the key role that Quebec plays in the Canadian francophonie.

From a multilateral perspective, the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie is the main forum for intergovernmental collaboration. Established in 1974, the MCCF brings together the provincial and territorial ministers responsible for the Canadian Francophonie, francophone affairs, Acadian affairs, French-language services or similar matters, and the federal minister responsible for official languages.

The MCCF’s mandate is to promote intergovernmental cooperation, debate intergovernmental issues that involve the Canadian Francophonie, and sustain dialogue conducive to the development of public policies that strengthen the Canadian linguistic duality.

During the September 2007 annual MCCF meeting in Halifax, the ministers endorsed and agreed to proceed with implementation of the report titled Canadian Francophonie: Issues, Challenges and Future Directions, which summarizes consultations held across the country in the spring and summer of 2006.

It will also take into account results from community assemblies, such as the summit of francophone and Acadian communities, reports from standing parliamentary committees, the report of the Official Languages Commissioner, the results of the 2006 census published on December 4 and the important Post-Censal Survey on the Vitality of Official Language Minority Communities conducted by Statistics Canada.

Our government will continue to build on existing achievements, so that Canadians can benefit from all the advantages of being in a country with two official languages, a cultural treasure that is unique in North America.

Since our government came to power, open federalism has been our watchword, and our achievements reflect that approach.

While everyone agrees that bilingualism is valuable to an individual and an asset for our country; it is also true to say that better understanding between francophones and anglophones requires that the two language communities get to know and support each other.

Our young people are the key to that better understanding. Thanks in part to support from the Department of Canadian Heritage, more than half the students in our schools today are learning French or English as a second language throughout the country.

In the 2007 budget, we also announced an amount of $30 million over two years to promote increased use of minority languages, especially among young people, in the daily life of Canadians living in minority language communities.

We also want to create opportunities outside the classroom for young Canadians to enjoy linguistic and cultural experiences in their second language. We especially want all young Canadians to have an opportunity to appreciate the French language and culture and to understand what an asset they are for our country.

As the Speech from the Throne pointed out, our initiative takes account of the contributions made by other levels of government. One of the key objectives of our government is to strengthen our federation and to work more closely with each level of government, while respecting each other’s jurisdictions.

It is beneficial for everyone because the work we are doing, in cooperation with the provinces and territories, is producing solid results on the ground.

In addition to the agreements dealing with education and services in the minority language, we have made significant investments along with the provinces and territories to establish, enlarge or renew community infrastructure in francophone communities in the various regions of Canada.

The Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages has met with the provincial and territorial ministers responsible for culture and heritage. They discussed measures for promoting and increasing awareness of francophone communities, in particular, through cultural tourism and festivals, for which we have announced the launch of a new support program.

Last fall, the minister also met with the ministers responsible for the Canadian francophonie in Halifax. This federal-provincial-territorial conference is an excellent platform for ensuring that the very diverse objectives and challenges of francophones all across the country are taken into account when developing our programs and our policies.

The members of the Bloc can continue to try, in vain, to justify their presence in Ottawa by inventing new squabbles but Quebeckers are not taken in. They support a government that offers them real, open federalism that promotes French everywhere in Canada.

[Business of Supply, April 1st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to discuss the motion introduced by the Bloc Québécois calling for the Charter of the French language to be applied to enterprises under federal jurisdiction in relation to the language of work. The motion is based on a misunderstanding of the role of the federal government in promoting French in Canada and it is for that reason that I would like to discuss what the government does in this area.

Contrary to what the Bloc asserts, our government is committed to expanding the influence of French language and culture and that is what I would like to demonstrate.

I would first like to provide assurances that my government is firmly committed to honouring its commitments and obligations in terms of supporting official languages and promoting French and English, throughout Canada. I would like to talk about our commitment to official languages, a few of our achievements, and other initiatives we have taken, such as the government’s participation in the celebrations marking Quebec City's 400^th anniversary, which illustrate the importance of the French fact to us.

The Conservative government takes the francophone reality of Quebec into account in everything it does, including the implementation of the Official Languages Act. It gives full measure to the linguistic duality of Canada, which it is committed to promoting both in Quebec and in the other provinces and territories.

In a speech delivered to the chamber of commerce in Rivière-du-Loup on December 7, 2007, Prime Minister Harper said that our Conservative government practices...

[Business of Supply, April 1st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask a question of my dear friend from the Bloc, for whom I have great respect, it must be said. Does she think that to be part of the Quebec nation one must be a Quebecker and a sovereigntist or can we federalist Quebeckers be part of it too?

[March 13th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, here is what Canada has done. The Government of Canada is the second largest supporter, after France, of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and francophone institutions and contributes approximately $35 million annually.

In addition, the Government of Canada has already committed $57 million for planning the 12th summit of la Francophonie, which will take place in Quebec City in October 2008.

We have a proud record of supporting la Francophonie—a record the Bloc will never be able to lay claim to.

[March 13th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, one very important question still remains before this House, and I would like to ask it now. What has the Bloc Québécois ever done for French Canadians?

The Bloc Québécois has been in Ottawa for 15 years now and they have absolutely nothing to show to their constituents. Their record: zero. As the opposition member well knows, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is a francophone. He is a proud Quebecker and Canadian, through and through.

To question the minister's loyalty to his own language is a disgrace. It is ironic that the opposition member should attack the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Does he not know that, last year, the Minister of Foreign Affairs agreed to chair the ministerial conference of the Francophonie for the next two years?

At the end of his participation at the conference in Vientiane, Laos on November 20 and 21, 2007, the minister underscored to his counterparts from across the francophonie Canada's priorities during his mandate. As we all know, beautiful Quebec City will be hosting the 12th Francophonie Summit in October 2008. Canada will chair the summit, and we will be the co-hosts, along with the Government of Quebec. It will be the third francophonie summit to be held in Canada.

This event will give Canada's Francophonie an exceptional opportunity to demonstrate its vitality, its energy and its contribution to the international Francophonie. The minister himself put it well when he said that the Francophonie is an international organization that has done much to promote and strengthen French language and culture throughout the world. French language and culture have been at the heart of Canada's identity since our country was founded.

Allow me to note that in a few days, my government will join millions of francophones across Canada and around the world to celebrate International Day of La Francophonie. Canada is proud to be a member of the Francophonie family. Our participation in this organization bears witness to our country's socio-cultural reality. French is one of Canada's founding languages, and it is spoken by nine million Canadians. The francophone and francophile community is a large one, and it is an integral part of Canada's identity, one that makes us unique. In recognition of the French fact in Canada, the federal government has played a leading role in promoting the Francophonie both nationally and internationally.

Beginning in the 1960s, Canada has been a leader in promoting the Francophonie through active participation in the creation and development of its many institutions. Since the Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie was created in 1970 in Niamey, Niger, Canada has either founded or joined all of the Francophonie's multilateral institutions, and now plays a leading role in them.

Our government therefore fully supports efforts to promote the development of francophone communities in Canada. The Francophonie enables Canada to create essential links with other francophone countries around the world.

Our government is working to build a stronger, safer, better Canada, a Canada that succeeds because of its proud, hard-working people. We are a united, respected country, a magnificent country whose history, identity and future have been and will continue to be forged by francophones.

[Status of Women, March 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, women in Canada need help. That is why, this week, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages announced the following amounts: $528,800 to Women in Cities International for a project entitled “creating safer communities for marginalized women and everyone”; $479,798 to the Native Women's Association of Canada for a project entitled “violence prevention toolkit”; $358,600 so that immigrant and visible minority women—

[Status of Women, March 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind my hon. colleague that our government has increased the women's program budget by 76%, to the highest level it has ever reached. Furthermore, on March 4, 2008, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages allocated funding totalling $1,934,732 to seven national women's groups for projects that empower women everywhere—

[Official Languages, March 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we on this side of the House are working hard to promote both languages in Canada.

[Official Languages, March 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, as we on this side of the House have always said, we are working to strengthen Canada's linguistic duality. As usual, all the Bloc can do is whine and complain. It never has a positive contribution to make, especially when it comes to official languages.