Official Languages committee  As the minister said, the fundamental reason for which we invest in the future is that it has been demonstrated that particularly among youth, and we have singled out youth, contact and cultural practices in French are a determining factor for one's commitment to one's community,

Official Languages committee  I would only add one thing, Minister. We did want to underscore something else through the cultural programs. I am referring to youth and potential contact between this group and young people who are learning French as a second language or who are learning English in Quebec. For

Official Languages committee  Just now, my colleague Jean-Pierre made reference to the consultations held by the departments responsible for Roadmap programs, such as Health, Citizenship and Immigration, and Human Resources and Skills Development. In the case at hand and in the case of the programs that Yvan

Official Languages committee  This is the most official vehicle for information gathering that we have access to at the moment.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, with all due respect to the committee, we acknowledge Mr. Bélanger's comments. But I have to reiterate that we have shown transparency in saying that we take your committee's work very seriously. That's crucial. You are members of Parliament, but we are also able to ga

Official Languages committee  My colleague Yvan Déry was the only one there at the time and he had a different role. I think it would be a bit much to ask him to fully answer that question. I got there soon after, but it is true that lack of coordination was perceived in terms of official languages. There wa

Official Languages committee  Mr. Bélanger, what we are saying is this: we are going to use the extremely important forum that you represent, as well as many other sources of information provided—

Official Languages committee  You're right that education is a provincial matter. We support the provinces in taking care of their responsibilities. In the case of a school/community centre, we do it because it is community based, but it is also education based because the draw that these centres have for par

Official Languages committee  What you are looking for doesn't seem to go against what we are doing. Something will follow the roadmap. The government must continue to take action in official languages. As for whether it will be known as the roadmap or by another name…

Official Languages committee  You're right, and that's why…

Official Languages committee  With respect to what could follow on the roadmap, it's completely clear that, during our consultations, aside from this one, we listen. When communities talk to us about these matters, we are always there for them. In fact, we are fairly fond of information that can help us provi

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. As the members will no doubt recall, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages has two duties with respect to official languages. These duties involve ensuring there is government-wide coordination of official languages issues, which includes