Sylvie Boucher

[Official Languages, May 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, everyone in this House knows that this case is before the courts and I will not comment on it. The opposition made an emotional decision that unfortunately had consequences for all those who care about official language minorities. The Bloc is certainly not in a place to be giving lectures on this.

[Privilege, May 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about democracy here. I hope that as a Conservative, I have the right to have confidence in my chair and I also have the right to vote as I wish.

[Quebec Family Week, May 14th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the 12th annual Quebec family week to be held this year from May 14 to 20, with the theme “a parent and proud of it”.

This year we will be discussing the parenting concerns of today and obtaining information about the best way to create a quality environment for the family and, above all, how to enhance the role of parents.

The role of a parent is to promote fundamental values, create a loving space, provide unlimited affection and, above all, have a positive impact on the world around us.

Our government has established a new $2,000 child tax credit for every child under 18, resulting in tax relief of $1.5 billion. We are working on behalf of families.

[Official Languages, May 9th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I am proud to emphasize our government's steadfast commitment to linguistic duality and official language minority communities.

In November 2005, we voted for amendments to the Official Languages Act. The Bloc voted against those amendments. French and English have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada. We have produced a practical, innovative guide to help all 200 or so of these institutions fulfill their responsibilities with respect to the implementation of Part VII of the act. We want to highlight this initiative.

Now, more than ever, our government is committed to promoting the development of linguistic duality in a strong, prosperous, united Canada.

[Réjean and Stéphanie Gignac, May 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on December 24, 2006, Quebec City lost a pillar of the community, Réjean Gignac. A cruel fate befell Mr. Gignac and his daughter Stéphanie, who were swept away by the current of the Sainte-Anne River. They were friends of mine. I wanted to honour them here today, along with Francine, their wife and mother, who survived the ordeal.

Finding their bodies provides a sense of closure for Francine, their family and their friends. Now we are left with our memories, which are a constant source of inspiration: Stéphanie's hearty laugh, Réjean's unending jokes, Francine's joy at seeing her two most cherished loved ones live out their dreams and, for us, their friends, their commitment to bringing happiness to those less fortunate.

I cannot neglect to mention that Francine has been as solid as a rock during this nightmare, displaying both strength and fragility. I give you my word, Francine, I will always be there for you, and together, we will hold on to the dreams of your two loved ones.

[Broadcasting Act, April 25th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like it to be very clear that I am voting against this motion.

[Seventh Annual Non-Violence Week, April 25th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as the member for Beauport—Limoilou and in association with my colleague, the hon. member for Jonquière—Alma and Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, I would ask the hon. members of this House to join us in recognizing the seventh annual non-violence week currently under way in the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region, which is an initiative of the Jonquière youth table.

Event partners include the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean crime victims' assistance centre, the La Baie friendship centre, Alcan Inc., the Saguenay police department, the Jonquière school board and the Chicoutimi heath and social services centre.

Sadly, violence continues to be all too present in our communities, through either physical or verbal abuse. No violence is acceptable. That is what non-violence week is all about.

This is why we are asking each member of this House to support our efforts to have this week declared national non-violence week.

[National Volunteer Week, April 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, to give and share is to pass on something of oneself. This is National Volunteer Week, which turns the spotlight on Canadian volunteers. I want to pay tribute to the volunteers across Canada, who work to better their community and the quality of life of their fellow Canadians.

Volunteerism is a way to meet people's needs and getting them involved in good causes, wherever those causes may be. Canadians do more than 2 billion hours of volunteer work a year. As an important side benefit, volunteerism gives us a better understanding of people and their differences.

I want to mention the wonderful work being done in my riding, Beauport—Limoilou, by the ROSCB, the Little Brothers of the Poor, La Bouchée Généreuse, Maison Agapè and the Centre d’action bénévole Aide 23.

I pay tribute to these men and women who find a purpose for their lives in volunteering and who, by giving of their time and listening to others, give dignity to those who need it.

[Official Languages, March 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Government of Canada brought down an historic budget that addresses, in particular, the needs expressed by official language minority communities.

The Minister of Finance, showing his unequivocal support, increased the funding for linguistic duality and official language minority communities for the next two years by $30 million. This new funding comes in addition to the envelopes already budgeted.

This additional funding has been allocated for after- school and cultural activities and for community centres, and will help enhance the benefits related to linguistic duality for children, such as exchanges and programs.

This good news was received warmly by our partners in the official language minority communities, such as the FCFA. That is what it means to have a modern and dynamic vision of Canada's Francophonie and official languages. That is our true Canada.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada recognizes the value of ethnocultural media to effectively communicate with Canadians and ethnocultural publications, as well as ethnocultural radio and television, are some of the means used by government departments to reach out to new Canadians whose reading abilities in English or French may be limited.

Since 2003, following major expenditure reductions in government advertising, extraordinary efforts have been made to develop more efficient and effective advertising campaigns on government programs and services.

Despite this overall decline in government advertising, advertising in ethnic and official languages media has increased. In 2003-2004, spending in ethno-cultural media (print, television and radio) represented 3.4% of advertising expenditures. In 2005-2006, it was 4.8% and the trend continues. As of December 2006, government expenditures in ethnic media totaled $1,575,420, or 5.6% of expenditures, and more activity is planned. More specifically, as of December 2006, ethnic print represented 9.8% of all government print placements.

The responsibility for media planning rests with government departments responsible for implementing the advertising campaigns. Departments make decisions based on campaign objectives, audiences and resources available.

Through consultations and review of information produced by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Statistics Canada, and data such as circulation information and language of the papers, departments determine the optimal media mix within the budget allocated. With developments in ethnocultural electronic media, government can now access new communication channels to provide timely information to targeted ethnic communities in their mother tongue. With the right mix of print, radio, television, Internet and outreach activities, government is continuously improving toward its objective to effectively reach Canadians while ensuring transparency, accountability and value for money.

Government departments like Service Canada and Citizenship and Immigration also offer information at their points of service, or through service providers.

Advertising is but one vehicle used by government to inform Canadians. Service Canada is piloting a multi-language service, MLS, initiative aimed at aboriginal Canadians and at newcomers, people living in Canada for less than five years, who speak neither English nor French and who face significant language barriers when it comes to accessing government programs and services. The purpose of MLS is to help ensure these segments of the population receive the right information about government benefits and services available to them, in their native tongue. A related goal of the initiative is to make it easier for newcomers to adapt to life in Canada by integrating more quickly into Canadian community life and the labour market.

Pilots of the national MLS Initiative are being conducted using a range of service delivery approaches including outreach, in-person and three-way telephone interpretation services to deliver multi-language service. Basic information materials on Service Canada and the frequently-accessed programs and benefits it offers, for example: Canada pension plan, CPP; guaranteed income supplement, GIS; old age security, OAS; employment insurance, EI; social insurance number, SIN; and universal child care benefits, UCCB, have been developed. Based on an assessment of the priority needs of Service Canada’s clientele across the country, these materials will be translated into 12 foreign languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Tagalog, Persian, Gujarati, Tamil, and nine aboriginal languages by the end of March 2007.