Hon. René Cormier: Honourable senators, Pericles, a politician born in ancient Greece in approximately 495 B.C., said, and I quote, “Because of the greatness of our city the fruits of the whole earth flow in upon us.”

The Greek capital, Athens, undoubtedly owes its most brilliant period to this statesman. In addition to his support for the arts, architecture, philosophy and the introduction of democracy, he had a vision that can surely serve as inspiration for us today.

It is with this in mind that I rise to speak to Senator Paula Simons’ inquiry, drawing the attention of this chamber to the challenges and opportunities facing Canadian municipalities and the importance of understanding and redefining the relationship between municipalities and the federal government.

I want to begin by acknowledging that we are on the unceded territories of the Algonquin Anishinaabe nation, a place where many municipalities were born.

Colleagues, we are all aware that Canadian municipalities are currently facing many challenges, be they economic, social or cultural. I’m particularly concerned about how these issues relate to human rights.

Growing poverty, the number of homeless people in some of our cities, including here in Ottawa, the affordable housing shortage, violence against marginalized communities and women — let me take a moment in remembrance of the women at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal — public transit needs, the impact of climate change on our lives, these are all issues that demand concrete action to strengthen cities’ ability to ensure that their citizens can live safe, healthy, full lives.

[English]

While Ottawa is our workplace where we collectively serve the best interests of all Canadians, our communities from coast to coast to coast play pivotal roles in our lives. Whether it be my hometown of Caraquet, New Brunswick, Kelowna, British Columbia or Iqaluit, Nunavut, our municipalities help to shape our cultural and linguistic identities. Those are the places we call home — the places where we live, work, celebrate, raise our children, love and imagine our futures.

As a more proximate level of government to citizens, municipalities are also the places where we can express our grievances on a myriad of issues, such as public transit, water and sewer services, animal control, road maintenance and waste management.

Colleagues, it is simply appalling that those democratic bodies are facing so many challenges today.

[Translation]

The first such issue is undoubtedly the unequal status of municipalities in relation to the provinces, a status enshrined in the Canadian Constitution and reaffirmed by the courts.

The term “creature of the provinces,” commonly associated with municipalities, derives from the division of legislative powers under section 92.8 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which provides that municipalities are under the authority of the provincial legislatures.

It is therefore provincial legislation that “creates” these entities by defining their powers of intervention. Legally, the provinces have the power to change the structure and governance of municipalities, whether it be the composition of a municipal council or even the powers of a mayor.

This lack of political autonomy can impede their development, and that’s unfortunately not the only issue facing Canadian municipalities. In particular, they have to deal with limited revenue sources, with the primary source being property taxes. This has a disproportionate impact on the delivery of public services.

From that perspective, many municipalities face challenges in the delivery of cultural and linguistic services. There’s also no denying that federal government support in these matters is crucial and expected.

I want to draw your attention today to the vital role that Canadian municipalities play with regard to official languages and the arts and culture sector by giving a few examples from my province, New Brunswick, and highlighting how the federal government can and must be a true partner to municipalities.

Our municipalities have a leading role to play in protecting and promoting our official languages.

Some provincial and territorial language regimes set out specific official languages obligations for municipal institutions.

For example, in New Brunswick, if the official language minority population of a municipality is at least 20% of the total population, the provincial legislation on official languages requires the adoption and publication of municipal ordinances, including services and communications set out in regulations, in both official languages.

Dawn Arnold, Mayor of Moncton, New Brunswick — the only officially bilingual city in the country — said the following about the impact of official languages on the economic, social and cultural development of her city, and I quote:

Moncton puts a great deal of emphasis on respect for its two linguistic communities and our bilingual status is a source of great pride. Moncton’s economy is flourishing in great part because of the presence of a bilingual workforce to support the ability of businesses to provide exceptional service to their clientele, generate greater economic activity and promote job creation.

[English]

Bilingualism also leads to infrastructure development as schools, post-secondary institutions, hospitals and more are built to accommodate this unique population. A market segment for products and services in French is also created, such as cultural activities, restaurants, services like translation, customer service, banking, et cetera, thus allowing a community to fully prosper.

[Translation]

The federal government also contributes to the prosperity of Canadian municipalities through the Official Languages Act, which, it is important to remember, is quasi-constitutional in nature.

Part VII of the act is vital to ensuring the sustainability and survival of official language minority communities, which are an integral part of our country’s municipalities. It sets out the federal government’s explicit commitment to enhance the vitality of French and English minorities and support their development.

In New Brunswick, for example, the implementation of this commitment resulted in a federal government investment of $776,000 in 2018 to support a governance initiative to improve the provision of French language services through municipal group projects. That is a positive measure that recognizes the contribution that municipalities make to the development, vitality and growth of the Canadian francophonie.

It is important to note that the current modernization of local governance in New Brunswick is the biggest reform the province has undertaken since the Equal Opportunity Program in the 1960s under the government of Acadian Premier Louis J. Robichaud.

Prior to that reform, approximately one-third of New Brunswick’s population lived not in municipalities, but in local service districts administered by the Department of Environment and Local Government, a structure that enabled the administration and delivery of local services to unincorporated regions of the province with neither mayor nor councillors.

This long-awaited reform, which strives to attain a higher democratic ideal, is radically transforming governance in my province by reducing the number of local entities and devising French versions of the names of certain entities, thereby affirming the importance of our communities’ linguistic and cultural heritage. This initiative explicitly recognizes municipalities’ contribution to the linguistic, cultural, political and economic development and vitality of our province and its Acadian regions.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of New Brunswick for undertaking this important reform, and I extend my heartiest congratulations to the recently elected members of the municipal councils of these new entities.

[English]

Going back to the Official Languages Act, I will highlight that Part VII of this act also provides that Canadian Heritage can take measures to:

. . . encourage and assist provincial governments to support the development of English and French linguistic minority communities generally and, in particular, to offer provincial and municipal services in both English and French . . . .

The implementation of this provision has notably resulted in the signing of agreements with provincial governments to help municipalities provide services and communications in both official languages, such as the translation of municipal bylaws. Notwithstanding Part VII, under Part IV of the act, members of the public have a right to receive services from federal institutions in the official language of their choice, notably if there is significant demand for these services in that language or if the nature of that service justifies it.

As we all know, colleagues, the federal government is in the process of modernizing the Official Languages Act to better attain substantive equality between Canada’s official languages through Bill C-13, which includes some provisions that touch, directly or indirectly, on the vitality of municipalities.

[Translation]

Bill C-13 clarifies the nature of the duty of federal institutions, including federal departments, to take positive measures to implement certain federal government commitments, such as enhancing the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities in certain strategic sectors.

[English]

Honourable senators, taking positive measures to support sectors that are essential to enhancing the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities equally helps to make municipalities more vibrant and robust. In other words, the development of official language minority communities is a catalyst for growth for Canadian municipalities whether it be economically, socially, culturally or politically.

[Translation]

Our Canadian municipalities, especially in the regions, are also facing a major challenge with regard to declining populations in the regions. Immigration is a key factor in addressing this problem, which is only getting worse, year after year.

Bill C-13 provides for the adoption of a francophone immigration policy. This provision, which will undoubtedly help counteract declining populations, will likely have an impact on the operations of municipalities, including francophone associations, whether at the stage of welcoming, integrating or retaining immigrants.

Beyond official languages, there’s no doubt that the arts, culture and cultural industries are true vectors for the development, growth and promotion of our Canadian municipalities, and that the federal government also has an important role to play in this area.

Before coming to this place, I had the privilege of leading the États généraux des arts et de la culture dans la société acadienne du Nouveau-Brunswick, a major social project aimed at promoting the cultural development of the province’s Acadian jurisdictions. This approach centred on ensuring that all sectors of society were involved in developing and implementing initiatives to integrate culture, the arts and heritage in their jurisdictions.

This major project, carried out by the Association acadienne des artistes professionnels du Nouveau-Brunswick and funded by the federal and provincial governments, sought to develop a global strategy for integrating the arts and culture into New Brunswick’s Acadian society. In other words, a national cultural policy had to be created for the Acadian people.

Today, the implementation of this global strategy is under way and has resulted in significant changes in Acadia. Municipalities in New Brunswick of varying sizes have adopted cultural policies with the help of a training and support project partially funded by Canadian Heritage. These cultural policies have embedded the arts and culture in several key sectors within municipalities, such as tourism, health, education and the economy, thus contributing to the economic, social and cultural development of our regions.

Guy Chiasson, Mayor of Balmoral, in New Brunswick, participated in this project and created a cultural policy. He said, and I quote:

The creation of a cultural policy for and by the people has made it possible for our municipality to develop in several areas at the economic, social and cultural level.

One thing is clear: Federal government support for the community partners of municipalities is a concrete way to contribute to the development and success of our municipalities.

I would be remiss if I concluded this speech without recognizing the role that Canadian municipalities can play in Canada’s cultural diplomacy. In 2019, the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade conducted an important study on this. In its report entitled Cultural Diplomacy at the Front Stage of Canada’s Foreign Policy, it recommends, and I quote:

That the Government of Canada explore opportunities for greater and more effective collaboration and coordination with provinces, territories and municipalities in its cultural diplomacy activities.

The use of cultural resources in our municipalities from one end of the country to the other can and must be at the heart of the federal government’s cultural diplomacy initiatives.

In this regard, while we often tend to focus on large cities, I want to reiterate how important it is that the federal government do everything in its power to support and help small and medium-sized cities, which are found throughout Canada. They are the true engines of cultural, economic and social development for our country.

Colleagues, these are all ways in which the federal government can support our Canadian municipalities. There is much more to be said about the fundamental role that these municipalities play in our country’s development.

Federal, provincial and territorial relations are key to ensuring that municipalities continue to develop. It is my hope that the various instruments available to these different levels of government will fully meet the needs of our municipalities.

In closing, I would like to quote Pericles once again: “To be happy means to be free and to be free means to be brave.” May we be brave enough to work together to strengthen the relationship between the federal government and our Canadian municipalities, so that our constituents can live happily and freely. May we create, as Senator Audette suggested, spaces for meeting, rebuilding and co-creating, where together we can dream of the country we call home. Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Clement, debate adjourned.)

[English]

On Motion No. 68 by the Honourable Frances Lankin:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs be authorized to examine and report on the impact of subsection 268(3) of the Criminal Code, enacted in 1997, including but not limited to:

(a)the reasons why there have been no prosecutions under this provision since its enactment 25 years ago; and

(b)the extent to which female genital mutilation is currently occurring in Canada and to Canadian girls taken abroad for such procedures;

That the committee make recommendations, as appropriate, to ensure the Criminal Code provision has its intended impact of ending such crimes being perpetrated against girls in Canada; and

That the committee submit its final report no later than December 31, 2023, and that the committee retain all powers necessary to publicize its findings for 180 days after the tabling of the final report.