Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the committee. My sincere thanks for this opportunity to appear before you on behalf of the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, the CSF.

Official Languages committee  And we still haven't had any renewals. We tell each other that elected officials, at the federal level, can have the best will in the world, but we have no idea what the province tells them, because we are not consulted. At any rate, I don't consider that we were consulted, so th

Official Languages committee  We are fighting the same battles, province by province. We have all made our case in court at one time or another. Since I have the floor, let me use the opportunity to tell you that I am also from an exogamous family. I began working with the CSF when my boy was two years old a

Official Languages committee  I will let you answer for the feds. As for the province, it is supposed to represent us, the francophone school boards. We had a meeting in June with our representative. We were supposed to have a follow-up in December, but we still have not received the answers to our questions.

Official Languages committee  I should specify, at the risk of repeating myself, that one of the proposals we made regarding changes to the act consisted in increasing transparency as to the destination of these funds. I don't know if people from the federation submitted proposals to the Senate committee. Be

Official Languages committee  That is why we have to change the law.

Official Languages committee  Earlier you asked about the distribution of francophones in the province. I simply want to say that at a meeting of our board of directors last week, we learned that we had received four requests asking for new schools to be opened in the province. Clearly we cannot open four sch

Official Languages committee  Regarding new school construction, the province gives us Neighbourhood Learning Centres. We then have appropriate funds, and we ask the parents what they want to do. Generally, they want day cares, in order to build the community from the crib up, as Ms. Lavoie said.

Official Languages committee  We have a proposal for an amended Official Languages Act. We could send it to you. Yes, action plans, protocol agreements, and multilateral frameworks are all necessary, but they aren't enough. We have a proposed amendment to the act. Of course, it's a first draft. On pages 16 an

Official Languages committee  I'd like to add a few words to everything that has been said. We would like to be protected, no matter which party forms the government. That is why we are asking for changes to the act. On page 17 of our brief, in point 43.2(b), we talk about the importance of the role of coun

Official Languages committee  With the provincial government. That was in response to your first question.

Official Languages committee  Yes, 100%. In fact, we made that very recommendation to the Senate committee. We could forward you a copy. We proposed that the Official Languages Act be amended to include the necessity of enumerating all rights holders. In order to open schools and day care centres, you have to

Official Languages committee  You asked whether the province supported us, so I just wanted to make clear that this is the only province in the country without an agreement on French-language services.

Official Languages committee  Thank you. So I have five minutes. I apologize to the interpreters in advance.

Official Languages committee  Okay, I will try to be careful. Hello, Mr. Chair, dear MPs, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for this opportunity to appear before you today on behalf of the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, the CSF. You committee knows full well how important i