Official Languages committee  That's the message we give to members or students in general. It's a personal investment. Basically, we can provide training sessions as much as we can, but there's a personal investment that's required by any student. We give examples like watching TV and reading in the second l

Official Languages committee  The program dates back to the early days of the Official Languages Act. We were one of the forerunners. At the beginning, we used to send members for immersion, primarily at the training centre at the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean. We used the facilities and the school t

Official Languages committee  That is correct.

Official Languages committee  The number of people registered typically increases after an election, but then it drops off gradually. After each election, the administration of the House of Commons has to adapt the services it offers to the new members elected by Canadians. It depends on the members' demograp

Official Languages committee  The administration of the House of Commons took part in a strategic review of activities that led to budget cuts. That was in 2010, 2011, and 2012. The Board of Internal Economy then had to consider where to make the cuts. That was before I arrived, in about 2011. It was a decisi

Official Languages committee  That is noted.

Official Languages committee  That was one of the shortcomings of the service model at Saint-Jean. It focused primarily on French as a second language. By diversifying the training we offer and having service providers right across Canada, we can actually go to various places and we also offer English immersi

Official Languages committee  Yes, we have seen an increase. I'll speak about my personal experience. Although I was gone for eight years, I was employed by the House the first time from 1993 to 2005. I don't quite have 30 years experience with this program, but not far from it. Indeed, from election to ele

Official Languages committee  Shadow cabinets are formed by the opposition parties. Members of a party are made the opposition spokespeople for a given area, for instance finance.

Official Languages committee  No, but it's the usual term.

Official Languages committee  I can answer that question. I have seen the same figures, basically, since 1993. Indeed I see that the number of people who take English classes has always been lower. In a previous job I managed a language school and it was the same thing. Here we always start from the premise

Official Languages committee  Are you talking about members' employees?

Official Languages committee  Let's say that it is easier to do that with the population our services are intended for. Most of our positions are designated bilingual imperative. There is a profile for the position and an individual profile. If the linguistic profile of the position is BBB, for understanding

Official Languages committee  That is a generalization.

Official Languages committee  It is a fact in this region. I have been in this area since 1990, and so in the region...