44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 1, 2022 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for her incredible work on the official languages committee.
The member spoke about the importance of the Treasury Board being in charge. I am a bit concerned about that, because the Treasury Board has a lot of different priorities. I am concerned that maybe official languages will fall to the bottom of what it is doing.
Would it not be better for the Minister of Canadian Heritage to have the power to act?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her comments and her question.
We think that should be Treasury Board's job because its primary responsibility is to ensure that measures applicable to the federal government are upheld by the entire public service and the federal government.
That is consistent with recommendations from the Commissioner of Official Languages and many other people who submitted comments on the modernization of the Official Languages Act.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her French and for the work she is doing as a francophile for francophone communities across Canada and in Manitoba.
My colleague and I have fathers with similar backgrounds. Her father was a member of the Manitoba legislature, and my father was here in the House when the Official Languages Act was enacted in 1969.
We are currently studying Bill C‑13 at second reading, and we have heard several opposition members offer up suggestions. Would my colleague be in favour of a motion asking the Standing Committee on Official Languages to conduct a pre-study of the bill before it is passed at second reading and referred to the committee?
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for sharing that personal story about the fight for language rights and protecting French. We are all proud to continue the work of our parents and those who came before us.
To circle back to my colleague's question, when a bill is debated in the House, I feel it is paramount that all members of each party have the opportunity to share their views. It appears, based on the schedule, that we will soon have time to discuss this further in committee. Clearly, we all want to move forward as quickly as possible with the express goal of improving this bill.
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my hon. colleague on her speech.
She said she agreed with the principle that French is a minority language in Canada. What does she think of the fact that all of the Quebec government's requests have been refused or else accepted but in a very ambiguous way? Does she understand that Quebec should be allowed to implement its own territoriality policies?
I see that as a condition for ensuring the future of French in Quebec and in North America.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague has clearly described the situation in Quebec. I would also like to point out that he asked the committee to study the decline of French in Quebec, which gave us the opportunity to hear some troubling testimony on this reality.
The NDP supports Quebec's right to manage its own affairs. When it comes to the French language, clearly, Quebec is very familiar with its own reality and the need to respect the minority communities on its territory.
The federal government must respect Quebec's areas of jurisdiction and recognize that the decline of French exists not only outside Quebec, but also in Quebec itself.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for speaking so eloquently in support of this bill. I note how interesting and important it is to support minority languages across Canada, not just here in this place, but everywhere.
I come from Alberta and in Alberta we have a francophone community. Of course, in my city we have Campus Saint-Jean. We have seen significant attacks on Campus Saint-Jean over the last few months, particularly under the Conservative provincial government.
How does this bill help those minority communities to see that their language will be protected in other places, like Alberta?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague. He and our colleague from Edmonton Strathcona have been champions for Campus Saint-Jean, defending it and the francophone community in Alberta against vicious attacks by the provincial government.
It is because of this reality that we in the NDP are recommending several measures for improving Bill C‑13. One of them involves ensuring that federal-provincial agreements contain language clauses, investment requirements and specific protections for francophone communities outside Quebec. As we have said, we missed an opportunity to include such protections in the last federal‑provincial agreement on child care.
In all areas where federal‑provincial agreements are signed, such as post-secondary education and health, we must protect the rights of francophone communities outside Quebec and meet their needs.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my hon. colleague.
At the Standing Committee on Official Languages, she mentioned the importance of francophone immigration. I would like her comments on how we might improve Bill C‑13 in that regard.
How can we help community organizations from coast to coast to coast support and increase francophone immigration?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, for raising this important question.
We believe it was important for this bill to specifically address the need for an immigration policy, but it must go beyond that. The policy needs to include clear targets to get the numbers up to where they should be. As I said, the 4.4% target does not reflect the demographic weight of francophones, which is declining across the country. We need to get those numbers up and invest in community organizations, of course.
This week I visited the Association des communautés francophones de l'Ontario, or ACFO, here in southeastern Ontario. Representatives from the association made it clear that in order to support immigrants, they need recurring investments, not investments renewed on an annual basis.
The policy about accepting francophone students also needs to be changed, and we need to look at the unacceptable rejection rate among students from Africa. We need to bring in the francophones that our country needs. They want to contribute, and we want to build stronger francophone communities together. We have a lot of work to do.
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- Apr/1/22 1:16:56 p.m.
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The hon. member for Saint-Jean on a point of order.
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Mr. Speaker, although this is an interesting debate, I have noticed that there are not many members in the House right now.
I was wondering if you could check if we have quorum, including the members participating virtually.
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- Apr/1/22 1:17:21 p.m.
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All right. I would ask the members joining virtually to turn on their cameras so that we can count.
I confirm that we have quorum.
Resuming debate, the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages.
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Mr. Speaker, I will share my time with the member for Kingston and the Islands.
As a proud francophone from Nickel Belt and Greater Sudbury, a region with deep francophone roots, I am very appreciative of the opportunity to give this speech today. The Franco-Ontarian flag, which was designed by Gaétan Gervais, a history professor at Laurentian University, and Michel Dupuis, a student there, was officially flown for the first time in Sudbury on September 25, 1975, at the University of Sudbury.
In 1958, my father, Gaétan Serré, the former member for Nickel Belt, also attended the University of Sudbury. As an MP in 1969, he voted in favour of the Official Languages Act. I am so proud to be here today.
Since 2019, our government has made it a priority to gather and analyze information about the linguistic situation in Canada and to monitor the evolution of official languages since the adoption of the first Official Languages Act over 50 years ago.
The linguistic landscape is constantly shifting. The world we are living in has also changed since 1969. It is time we look at the successes and issues in this act in order to propose a new, modernized vision of our linguistic duality and bilingualism. The conditions in which we are modernizing the Official Languages Act are unique. The entire planet is in the midst of a health crisis with COVID-19, and in Canada we have seen how the pressure and urgent need to act can affect whether the requirements to communicate and provide services to the public are enforced. We have a duty to act and we have taken that into consideration in our modernization bill.
For more than 50 years, the Official Languages Act has helped shape our country's linguistic landscape. It established institutional bilingualism and enabled francophones not only to have a career in the federal public service, but also to be served and educated in their mother tongue.
For 50 years, in addition to promoting our two official languages, the act has protected the rights of our official language minority communities, both francophone communities across Canada and English-speaking communities in Quebec. It has ensured their vitality.
In my riding, the federal government's support and commitment have translated into direct support for francophone projects, such as Place des arts du Grand Sudbury; the West Nipissing Arts Council; the Réseau de soutien à l'immigration francophone du Nord de l'Ontario; and, in the area of post-secondary education, institutions like Collège Boréal.
This is an undeniable Canadian reality and a uniquely Canadian distinction, but it also presents a challenge. This is a situation that requires a Canadian response. We have a duty and an obligation to support the vitality of these communities from coast to coast to coast, tomorrow and for generations to come. Our rich history recognizes the presence, perseverance and resilience of francophone minority communities across the country and of anglophone minority communities in Quebec.
Maintaining the demographic weight of these communities is important to us. The numbers speak for themselves. The demographic weight of the francophone population is plummeting. The proportion of people whose first language is French outside Quebec fell from 6.6% in 1971 to 3.9% in 2011. The statistical projections are not getting any better.
Despite efforts in the area of francophone immigration and the protection of the right to access federal services in the language of one's choice, our government needs to do more in terms of its responsibilities and its commitment to enhancing the vitality of official language minority communities.
We need strong institutions that serve as a beacon in their communities. We also need better data so we can fine-tune our interventions in these communities. In order to achieve that, federal institutions also need to listen to our communities. We know that minority communities, whether French or English, need institutions and services in their own language. These institutions are part of the public space that these communities need in order to live and grow in their language.
When we talk about services, we are talking about those offered by large public institutions, provincial and municipal governments and community organizations. That includes school boards, day cares, community health clinics and cultural organizations.
Our government's bill seeks, among other things, to help these communities reach their full potential by supporting the vitality of institutions in key sectors. To do that, we want to amend part VII of the Official Languages Act by including practical examples of positive measures. These include providing support for key sectors of the official language minority community, such as education, employment, health, immigration, culture and justice; including an obligation for the Government of Canada to contribute to an estimate of the number of children who are entitled to an education in the language of the official minority; and affirming the Government of Canada's commitment to strengthening the education continuum from early childhood to post-secondary studies in the minority language.
These amendments will require the government to take more positive measures to support official language minority communities and will clarify the obligations of federal institutions, particularly when it comes to consulting these communities and protecting their key programs and services.
The bill we introduced presents solid and lasting solutions to protect the future of our official language minority communities and their institutions. The bill also proposes some innovative improvements. One example is the creation of the new rights to be served and to work in French in federally regulated private businesses.
Our government is deeply committed to both our official languages and to these communities across Canada. The introduction of the bill to modernize the Official Languages Act is a milestone for our identity as Canadians and for the defence of our language rights today and for generations to come.
Having spoken directly to francophone activists and passionate organizations in Nickel Belt and Greater Sudbury, such as the community health centre, the ACFO and post-secondary institutions, I know that they are proud of these initiatives.
They feel that the government understands the needs of francophones and is committed to building a region and services for francophones, by francophones, in addition to promoting the development of language and culture in minority settings.
We have known for a long time that our official language objectives can only improve the lives of Canadians through measures taken together with the targeted communities.
This bill sets the stage for a collaboration that will strengthen federal institutions and official language minority communities.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague opposite for an excellent speech and for his work on official languages.
I would like to know whether he thinks the sanctions that are now able to be imposed on those who do not comply with the act are adequate to drive the right behaviour.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for the work we have done together on several committees in the past.
The Commissioner of Official Languages made several recommendations. Some of those recommendations were included previously in Bill C-32. We have listened to communities across the country and we have also listened to the commissioner during this time. Bill C-13 now has more teeth for the commissioner in looking at making public statements and looking at les sanctions pécuniaires. I am not sure of the English term.
We know that the commissioner now has more powers and is really pleased with the additional responsibilities the commissioner now has to officially look at the Official Languages Act.
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Madam Speaker, my question will be similar to the one I asked earlier. We have heard a lot about francophone minority communities, but I would like to speak more specifically about Quebec.
Can my colleague name a single positive measure that provides further protection for Quebec?
I want to forestall a potential answer and clarify that giving people the right to work in French in Quebec is not a positive measure and does not improve the situation of French in Quebec.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
If we look at Bill C‑13, as well as minority communities in Canada and in Quebec, there are some positive measures that are proposed. The bill talks about a central agency and about federally regulated private businesses.
We all agree that French is declining in Quebec and in Canada. We must come together to find ways to work with the communities, the provinces and the federal government to protect French in Quebec and across Canada.
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Madam Speaker, I have been following today's debate with great interest.
Here is something that has long struck me as interesting: the number of MPs from all over the country with French names. This shows us how, throughout our history, French Canadians have travelled and settled all over.
Does the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages think that the bill before us today, Bill C‑13, will support Francophone communities across our great land and help them thrive?
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Madam Speaker, as my colleague said, we have francophones and francophiles here in the House who have travelled across the country.
Bilingualism is important from coast to coast to coast. We have to find ways to promote French and protect minority communities in Quebec, and we have to work together to find ways to support minority communities across the country. We will do that by working with the provinces, municipalities and organizations.
Bill C‑13 is a step toward helping French flourish everywhere in Canada.
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