Official Languages committee  Thank you for inviting me to appear before the committee. I am going to talk to you about the education sector. I want to start by talking to you about the wrongs of the past that need to be righted using section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Official

Official Languages committee  You are asking me to express an opinion on what is happening in Quebec with regard to the Charter of the French Language and whether it is achieving its objectives. I was born and raised in Saskatchewan. I follow with interest what is happening in Quebec, as I should. I have rea

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. In my eighth recommendation, I mention that the OLA should be amended to mandate the establishment of an independent tribunal to adjudicate violations of the OLA and to provide the power to impose remedies and financial penalties. I suggest following

Official Languages committee  Thank you for that question, Mr. Beaulieu. Actually, beginning in 1917, in Saskatchewan, the School Act was amended to prohibit the teaching of French in French, except for, roughly, the first half hour of the day. In 1929, a new government was elected with the help of the Ku Kl

Official Languages committee  That's exactly right. Currently, in Saskatchewan, there are still four courts in place. We're trying to get four new schools in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert. The government promised us this, but it has been slow to act on this issue. Francophones no longer have the funds

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Ms. Ashton, for the question. That's absolutely right. On the one hand, we're very happy to see that the federal government has created $10‑a‑day child care spaces and transferred money to the provinces for that. On the other hand, with no language clause or obligatio

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question, Ms. Gladu. In my opinion, one of the problems is that the provinces and territories are not well aware of the needs of their official francophone minority. In their view, it is the responsibility of the federal government to fund schools or post-secon

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Beaulieu. I'm speaking to you as an individual. It's quite obvious to me that the francophone community is a minority within North America. I understand that, under the Canadian Constitution, the provinces have their own areas of jurisdiction, suc

Official Languages committee  Yes. Thank you, Mr. Gourde. In my view, one of the gaps is that federal government partially funds construction of new schools, for example, but under the Constitution, that area is a provincial jurisdiction. Subsequently, the francophone minority inherits the responsibility of

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Dalton. It's true that francophones in western Canada, especially, have become increasingly urbanized. As you said, there were large families and small farms, whereas now there are large farms and small families. Francophones had to move to the ci

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. We Franco‑Saskatchewanians are saying that we will be on the brink of extinction if a major project isn't set up by the federal government and the provinces to build more schools. At the same time, as francophones in minority situations, we recognize

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. I think the Official Languages Act should be amended to create a language rights tribunal that could rule on complaints about violations of the act. The commissioner’s role in investigating, reporting and making recommendations can be retained. Howev

Official Languages committee  The federal government must take the lead with both official languages. It must work with the provinces and territories because, in a federation, there are two levels of government with responsibilities for education, particularly post-secondary education. The federal government'

Official Languages committee  In my opinion, we are talking about billions of dollars, because the Supreme Court of Canada has acknowledged that, for the 17 primary and secondary schools that we have to build in British Columbia, we would need about $350 million. If we count the schools that are needed in al

Official Languages committee  I agree completely.