Sylvie Boucher

[Committees of the House, February 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, we will not take any lessons from the Liberals.

[Committees of the House, February 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell the hon. member for Beauharnois—Salaberry that, when we form a government, we make decisions, and we make thoughtful decisions.

The Bloc Québécois has never made decisions, and it never will. Bloc members can say whatever they want, they can tell anything to anyone, because they cannot even dream about forming the government.

[Committees of the House, February 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, our government has played a leadership role. It has invested a lot of money in minority communities. We will continue to do so. We are working on the second action plan and, as soon as it is available, the public will be able to see what we are really doing for minority communities.

[Committees of the House, February 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, here is what I have to say in response to my colleague's question. When it comes to spending taxpayers' money, we are committed to improving the lives of people, and we are doing so in a tangible and thoughtful way.

[Committees of the House, February 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would say to my colleague that our record is better than theirs. Ours is several million dollars while theirs is zero.

[Committees of the House, February 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would say to my colleague opposite that we put $30 million in the budget, which they voted against. Official language minorities will remember that.

[Committees of the House, February 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect for my colleague opposite, I will not discuss the CCP because it is before the courts. However, I will say this. We allocated an additional $30 million in the 2007 budget and you voted against it. You are telling us that you are defending the official languages?

[Committees of the House, February 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, our government is playing its role. It is acting as a leader alongside citizens, provinces and territories in order to strengthen our democratic institutions and to promote our collective heritage, including the two official languages of Canada.

Our government recognizes the importance of promoting both official languages and Canada's linguistic duality. Our accomplishments and our commitments in this area which were stated recently in the Speech from the Throne are proof of that. According to the most recent census data, these efforts are giving results. There are now 5.4 million bilingual Canadians. Never has there been so many Canadians reporting their ability to speak English and French.

Let us talk about the commitment of the government regarding the official languages as well as the future of the Action Plan for Official Languages. I would like to focus on the programs implemented by the Department of Canadian Heritage to support official languages and on the contribution of these programs today.

These programs pertain to minority language and second language learning, service agreements with provinces and territories, community living support as well as the development of both official languages.

I would like to go over each of the targeted programs.

Official languages education is one of the pillars of the government's official languages program. The government has ambitious goals: to improve access to education for francophone and anglophone minority youths in all the regions of Canada and to double the number of young Canadians who, at the end of their secondary school education, have sufficient knowledge of their second official language.

The Government of Canada has been providing financial assistance to the provinces and territories for over 35 years now so that they can discharge their minority-language education responsibilities and offer second-language instruction programs. This relationship is governed by a multi-year protocol negotiated between the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, and Canadian Heritage. For the period from 2005-06 to 2008-09 there is federal envelope of over a billion dollars.

Our investments, combined with those of the provinces and territories, have made it possible to introduce education programs tailored to the particular needs of minority communities. The goal of these investments is to keep the highest possible number of students in minority-language instruction systems and to offer Canadians in minority language communities the opportunity to get an education in their language that is as good as the education offered to the majority.

The department has contributed to the development and support of minority-language education programs; the promotion of French first-language education to eligible students; the recruitment, training and professional development of teachers in official-language minority communities; the enrichment of students' cultural life through artistic activities; the delivery of educational services to improve students' first-language skills; and access to post-secondary education through new technology. These investments also helped draw on new communications technologies and improve the way students' skills are evaluated.

In addition, the Department of Canadian Heritage devotes $80 million a year to second language education programs. Thanks to this funding, more than 2.4 million young Canadians can learn their second official language. Everyone agrees that bilingualism is an advantage for individual Canadians and an asset for our country. More than half of the students across the country today are learning French or English as a second language. We need these young bilingual Canadians so that our institutions can continue to provide services in both languages across the country.

In 2006, the Department of Canadian Heritage also signed a higher number of service agreements with the 13 provinces and territories. The provinces and territories are responsible for delivering a number of important public services. These agreements allow for service delivery in certain sectors of interest to official language minority communities, such as early childhood development, health, and social, legal and economic services.

The program's base budget is $13 million per year, or $65 million over five years. In 2003, the budget received a $14.5 million boost over five years. A service agreement for the anglophone minority was signed with the Government of Quebec, which had not been done in years.

Every year, $36 million is spent to help organizations that are dedicated to developing minority language communities.

For more than 30 years, the Department of Canadian Heritage has directly supported official language minority communities all over the country. Furthermore, our investments have helped thousands of anglophones from all regions of Quebec preserve their culture through the services provided by community organizations.

The agreements signed between the representatives of the 13 communities and the Department of Canadian Heritage provide the framework for the department's financial support. The current agreements cover the period ending in 2009. The current budget of the Cooperation with the Community Sector component is $36 million per year, including the money contributed since 2003.

Members of these communities are now able to pass on their culture and their language to future generations. We are also seeing that learning a second official language is becoming more popular among young people, who realize the opportunities that this may afford, in both their personal and professional lives. These initiatives are just some of the accomplishments of our government. The next strategy regarding Canada's official languages will be announced following consultations. It is important to take the time needed to develop an effective plan. That is what any good government would do and that is what we are doing.

Our government also introduced Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (criminal procedure, language of the accused, sentencing and other amendments), which guarantees access to the courts in either official language in criminal cases. That bill was just passed.

Thanks to these initiatives, we are giving Canadians the tools they need to improve their lives in the short and medium term. We are thereby creating a more equitable, open and prosperous society for all Canadians, regardless of their language, religion, cultural origins or any other defining characteristic.

We have to make some choices—sometimes difficult choices—regarding how to best serve our fellow citizens. When our government considers these choices, Canadians can rest assured that our decisions are not taken lightly.

[National Blood Donor Week Act, February 12th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, is there unanimous consent to see the clock as 6:39 p.m.?

[Quebec Winter Carnival, February 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind the members that Quebec City's Carnaval kicked off last week and that the party continues this weekend.

This weekend, the Calgary Stampede is paying a visit to its sister city in Quebec. Tomorrow morning, in finest Stampede tradition, there will be a pancake breakfast. The Prime Minister of Canada, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and many of our western colleagues will be there to flip some of their famous flapjacks.

Tomorrow evening, a huge barbecue organized by the folks from the Stampede will be held in Charlesbourg.

The people of Quebec City are in the mood for a party, and the Quebec region Conservative caucus invites one and all to come celebrate Carnaval, the Stampede, the 400th anniversary, and our national superstar, Bonhomme Carnaval.