Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair and committee members, I want to thank you for inviting the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada to make this double presentation to you today. Founded in 1975, the FCFA is the key representative organization of the 2.6 million francophones l

Official Languages committee  Thank you for your question. There have been examples of success from the time the first plan went into effect until the current roadmap. For example, I am thinking of what has been done in health services since the first action plans. We in the francophone communities were poor

Official Languages committee  That is quite a broad question. First, I must say that the main reason we are here before you now is to talk to you about the federal government's responsibilities. Second, to my knowledge, the Quebec government invests approximately $2 million a year in aid of all kinds in all

Official Languages committee  I was in Alberta for the FCFA's annual meeting last weekend. One person who works in Calgary told me that one of his personal causes these days was to establish the equivalent of a French-language health or health services centre in a building in Calgary. That has not yet been do

Official Languages committee  Definitely.

Official Languages committee  Early childhood is not included in the present roadmap.

Official Languages committee  Yes. Training programs are provided in our communities. They are there, and I think more students would take them if there were more job opportunities. For example, current needs are so great that I know some untrained people who are working in day care centres and being trained

Official Languages committee  I do not have any figures for you, but you need only look at the registration in certain French-language schools, for example. The fact that francophone schools are expanding suggests that, if day care services were available, more children would come and feed into those schools.

Official Languages committee  I do not believe the roadmap specifically supports infrastructure.

Official Languages committee  The roadmap could support infrastructure, and certain other departments could as well. On this point, it is also important to realize that the action plan for official languages is an important factor in mobilizing departments that have specific responsibilities or that will be

Official Languages committee  A study was recently done on youth mobility to determine, in particular, why young people move from province to province. Mobility is also an issue for newcomers. How can we effectively promote our communities to people from other countries or provinces who come here? How can we

Official Languages committee  It ultimately causes problems.

Official Languages committee  We must welcome the action taken by the Liberal government, which assured us the next judges appointed would be bilingual. This is an important step in the right direction. When it was announced, we said, and we maintain, that this practice should be included in an act to ensure

Official Languages committee  You wanted a quick answer, so here it is: yes.

Official Languages committee  I am not sure we completely understand them all the time. It would probably be good to have information that is more comprehensible.