- Member of Parliament
- Member of the Joint Interparliamentary Council
Whip of the New Democratic Party
Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees
- NDP
- Edmonton Strathcona
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $141,604.97
- Government Page
Madam Speaker, I apologize to my friend. I do not speak French very well, so it is hard for me to express myself on this issue. I will therefore speak in English. I am sorry.
The importance of the French language is vital. The riding of Edmonton Strathcona, which I am so happy to represent, has the French Quarter in it. In fact, 20% of our population identify as francophone in our communities.
When I spoke today of Bill C-40, one of the things I addressed is that there is a disproportionate impact on indigenous women. For me, it is important that every Canadian, whether they are francophone, indigenous or whatever region of the country they are from, is able to be represented adequately. I would need to ensure that there were services available in both official languages.
I would also want to make sure that all of those people who are on the commission adequately represent the population of Canada, particularly those who are marginalized and who are deeply impacted by our criminal justice system.
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- Feb/8/24 1:37:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will try to speak in French, but it is hard for me. I am sorry.
In Alberta, more specifically in Edmonton Strathcona, we have a fast-growing francophone community. In fact, Edmonton's French quarter is in my riding and the people there add so much to the city.
Does the member not think that we should focus on the objective of francophone immigration and adequate resources instead of targeting immigration levels?
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- Oct/31/23 4:21:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, many people may be surprised to know that my riding includes the French Quarter in Edmonton. It has a huge francophone community.
I know that this member will not be surprised because he has helped me practise my French many times, and I have told him all about my community. For me, the biggest strength we have is that there are communities across the country that are francophone, and they can incorporate the francophone immigration numbers we want to have. My concern, of course, is that we do not have the housing, and the cost of living is very extraordinary.
Does he not agree that, if we stopped the profiteering of big corporations and fixed some of those other problems, we would be able to take in more of these francophone immigrants, who I think make our community so much richer across the country, not just in Quebec?
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- May/11/23 5:18:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in Edmonton Strathcona, the number of francophone immigrants is increasing. We are very happy about that. These new francophone Canadians bring so much to our community. As the member knows, Edmonton Strathcona is the heart of the Franco-Albertan community. I would like to see more francophone immigration to my riding.
However, the Government of Canada has not met the francophone immigration target for years. Why is this?
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Mr. Speaker, that question was something that I tried to ask one of her colleagues in my very clunky French, so I understand why maybe it was not understood adequately.
I actually do believe that there is a role for the federal government to have strings attached to ensure that there is equitable quality of care across the country. Something she might be particularly interested in is that I think there should be linguistic ties to our child care agreements. I think we have a charter obligation to ensure that French child care is available across the country, including in Alberta, and that this is something that is possible, because 15% of my population is francophone. They have every right to have child care in French.
I think there should be some strings attached to the funding coming from the federal government to the provinces for things like that.
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Mr. Speaker, I wanted to ask my hon. colleague about immigration because, of course, for a place like Edmonton, Alberta, immigration is a key component for ensuring that the vitality of the French language is able to be maintained.
In 2003, the government set an objective to maintain the demographic weight of francophones outside of Quebec and that was meant to ensure that 4.4% of immigration settled outside of Quebec in the rest of Canada and that they could speak French. We have never made the target. The government, in 20 years, has never reached that 4.4%. This bill has no catch-up clause.
What would the member say about the potential for adding in something to catch up for all of those years that we missed our target of 4.4% immigration?
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague will know that in Edmonton Strathcona we have a large francophone population, and we are home to the only francophone campus in western Canada, Campus Saint-Jean. I know that the government has failed in its obligations, as found by the Federal Court of Appeal twice, by not meeting its obligations to French speakers outside of Quebec and not protecting minority language rights.
We have seen our Alberta government not support Campus Saint-Jean. We have seen the federal government step up to provide that support. However, what else can the federal government do to make sure that provinces like Alberta provide those French-language teachers that are required?
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