Official Languages committee  Mr. Choquette, it would already be a very good thing if those two items were implemented. I would also emphasize how actively involved the federal commissioner, Mr. Théberge, is in this societal debate. He recently proposed some new and constructive ideas for moving matters forw

Official Languages committee  Your question concerns a point of law, and, yes, we are a few lawyers and a few lawyer apprentices. Not everyone drags the Constitution around in their briefcase. Your question elicits two answers. First, the act confers certain optional powers on Mr. Brison and not on Ms. Joly.

Official Languages committee  In order, it's Mr. Brison, Ms. Joly and Mr. Rodriguez. Why? Because, when the government reshuffled portfolios, a decree was issued providing that powers normally attached to Canadian Heritage would follow Ms. Joly to her new position. That's the technical answer to your technica

Official Languages committee  All the parties have either contributed directly to the Official Languages Act or made specific suggestions to improve it. The Liberals got the ball rolling in 1969; the Conservatives are responsible for an act that was excellent in 1988; and the New Democrats made all kinds of s

Official Languages committee  I'll begin by emphasizing that the Federal Court judgment is long, detailed and thoughtful and is a source of ideas for a revision of the act, including part VII. The government needn't attempt to have the judgment overturned on appeal, or even to institute an appeal, if the Fed

Official Languages committee  I'm going to be more succinct, and I accept feedback. The Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, the CSFCB, submitted a brief to your committee. On page 7, it suggested the exact wording of section to be added to the act. That section would have the effect of r

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Choquette! I want to think that the two official languages are important enough for a beautiful consensus such as the one you have in your committee to continue. I'm reassured to know there's unanimous support for a beautiful upcoming announcement. I also want to

Official Languages committee  Yes. Mr. Clarke, I can assure you it's not ridiculous. We'll explain it to you in writing. Depend on us and we'll give you the information you need. At tab 12, you'll find an excerpt from the Official Languages Act of Nunavut. It's far away, but the purpose is to see how thing

Official Languages committee  First, the federal Official Languages Act touches on the education issue. Take a look—not now but later—at paragraph 43(1)(b) of the act, which concerns encouraging and supporting the learning of English and French. That was good in 1988, but it's bad in 2018. Things have changed

Official Languages committee  Mr. Samson, that's already being done in other sectors. The Canadian government sometimes signs agreements directly with community organizations. It has already done that in economic development, but, to date, not in education. Why? I would suggest the following hypothesis. Since

Official Languages committee  Mr. Samson, the point is that the Government of Canada has thus far been inconsistent in the way it signs or doesn't sign agreements with the communities. The basic aim in modernizing the act is to ensure greater consistency. In education, the provinces and territories negotiate

Official Languages committee  To date, our recommendations have focused solely on official languages. What is requested, with respect to federal transfers to the provinces and territories, is that a section be added to the act clearly stating that, where a federal institution signs an agreement with a provinc

Official Languages committee  Mr. Deltell, I admit I hadn't anticipated that question. So I'm going to answer from the heart. In my opinion, the problem with official languages is entirely different. If you look at the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, you'll see that it focuses mostly on official lang

Official Languages committee  I think the official languages in Canada would be better served if Parliament actually implemented realistic ideas. Some things we definitely don't recommend. For example, after Thursday's announcement at Queen's Park, we don't recommend that you transform the Commissioner of Of

Official Languages committee  Personally, I hope Mr. Ford changes his mind and keeps his election promises regarding a university for French-speaking Ontario. In a general way, this crisis emphasizes just how important it is for the federal government not to forget its power of persuasion or the economic lev