Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, distinguished members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages. I am grateful for this invitation and opportunity to talk to you about the mandate of the Ministry of Francophone Affairs, and about how French-language s

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. As for the first point you raised, the fact is that the Ministry of Francophone Affairs isn't responsible for university funding. I think my colleague has provided you with some details. As far as the commissioner is concerned, the Ministry of Francop

Official Languages committee  If I may, I would like to clarify a few points. The positions of commissioner or independent officer do not fall under the jurisdiction of the ministries. They do not essentially report to the government, but to the Legislative Assembly. With respect to independent officers—and i

Official Languages committee  I just need to reiterate what I said earlier. The Ministry of Francophone Affairs is not responsible for the transfer at all; it does not come under its authority. Also, the funding of independent officer positions comes under the Ontario Legislative Assembly's Commission of Int

Official Languages committee  Yes, that's right. I have no access at all to that kind of information. The request really should be addressed to the Commission of Internal Economy.

Official Languages committee  First of all, yes, I must say that I'm pleased to be part of the broader Acadian community. Listen, I know nothing about the political instructions that may or may not have been given by the Premier to my minister. Those conversations are confidential, and we don't have access t

Official Languages committee  I want to make one point before I give the floor to my colleague. To some extent, it will help me answer Mr. Samson's question. A public servant's responsibility is really to serve the government in power and to do so with integrity. In this regard, as a public servant, when I'm

Official Languages committee  The commissioner's authorities are based on the French Language Services Act. The commissioner's role is to monitor the application of the act. However, the commissioner's position—this was also the case in the old system—isn't under the aegis of the Ontario Ministry of Francopho

Official Languages committee  I can't speak for the ombudsman. This will be done within the ombudsman's budget, which falls directly under the Legislative Assembly's Board of Internal Economy. I imagine that there will also be discussions within the Office of the Ombudsman. It should also be noted that the o

Official Languages committee  The position of French Language Services Commissioner as it stood, meaning the position of officer who reported directly to the Legislative Assembly, has been eliminated. The commissioner position has been transferred to the Office of the Ombudsman. However, the French Language S

Official Languages committee  I believe you are referring to the Canada-Ontario Agreement on French-Language Services, which is different from the Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction.

Official Languages committee  I don't want to minimize its importance. I'm simply saying it is another agreement.

Official Languages committee  At the provincial level, the agreement falls under the minister, Ms. Mulroney, and the Ministry of Francophone Affairs, of course. It has been pointed out a few times that for more than a decade, Ontario has been receiving $1.4 million per year from the envelope for French servi

Official Languages committee  No, it is coming to an end. Ontario has thus invested the equivalent of $13 million over the past five years, in addition to everything it already invests in services through the—

Official Languages committee  For its part, the federal government provided $7 million over five years, or $1.4 million dollars annually.