LANG Committee Report

On 2 August 1994, Cabinet approved an accountability scheme for the implementation of sections 41 and 42 of the Official Languages Act. In accordance with section 42 of the Act, the mission of the Department of Canadian Heritage is to act as a catalyst and promote a coordinated approach among federal institutions. The accountability scheme includes measures targeting key institutions in areas of intervention that are vital to official language minority communities and have the greatest impact on their development — primarily institutions that are active in economic, human resource and cultural development. A list published on 16 August 1994 designated 27 departments and agencies as key institutions. (An updated list of the designated institutions is provided in Appendix B.)

The designated departments and agencies must prepare an annual or multi-year action plan after consulting the official language minority communities as to their specific needs. These actions plans are presented to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, who highlights them in the annual report on official languages which he tables in Parliament. The same is true of the report on achievements which the designated departments and agencies must produce each year.

The 1995-1996 action plans were submitted to the Minister of Canadian Heritage in the summer of 1995. In testimony before the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages on 28 May 1996, the Commissioner of Official Languages presented the results of the evaluation of the action plans conducted in response to a request by members of this committee. At the same time, he made public two documents entitled respectively Analysis Framework for the Evaluation of Plans Implementing Part VII of the Official Languages Act, 1988 and Evaluation Report of the First Generation of Action Plans for the Implementation of Part VII of the Official Languages Act, 1988.

The testimony heard in Committee revealed that the institutions’ planning was generally inadequate and that the institutions did not have a sufficient understanding of the purposes and scope of the two commitments set out in section 41 of the Official Languages Act. They also showed that a number of plans contained no mention of the obligation to report.

In its report to Parliament on 19 June 1996, the Committee made two recommendations, the first of which was that the Prime Minister reassert his government’s determination to live up to the commitments set out in Part VII of the Official Languages Act. The second recommendation was that the Prime Minister establish a responsibility centre at the Privy Council Office in order to ensure the leadership, coordination and accountability of departments and government agencies with respect to the implementation of Part VII of the Official Languages Act.

The Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages held its organizing meeting on 21 October 1997. At that meeting, the Honourable Sheila Finestone, M.P., and the Honourable Rose-Marie Losier-Cool, Senator, were elected joint chairs and MPs Rahim Jaffer and Denis Coderre were elected vice-chairs. When, in accordance with Standing Order 106(1) of the House of Commons, the Committee elected a joint chair on 21 October 1998, the Honourable Sheila Finestone was confirmed in that office. MPs Inky Mark and Denis Paradis were elected vice-chairs.

The Commissioner of Official Languages, Victor Goldbloom has testified before the Committee on five occasions. The Committee began its public hearings, on 4 November 1997, by inviting the Commissioner to discuss his 1996 Annual Report. The next meeting was devoted to an examination of the Main Estimates, the Supplementary Estimates (A) 1997-1998 and the report on the performance of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages for the period ending 31 March 1997. The Commissioner took the opportunity to point out that the budget cuts had reduced the human resources of his Office to 126 full-time equivalents (FTEs) in 1997-1998, down from to 169 FTEs in 1993-1994; as a result he had had to ask those in charge of the various divisions to tell him what the Office of the Commissioner would no longer be able to do.

The Commissioner testified again on 25 May 1998, when the Committee considered and approved the 1998-1999 Main Estimates of the Office of the Commissioner, and heard the presentation of his 1997 Annual Report, which was accompanied by a special study entitled Government Transformations: The Impact on Canada’s Official Languages Program.

At the meeting held on 2 March 1999, the Commissioner provided an overview of the issues for which he is responsible. With respect to the implementation of Part VII of the Official Languages Act, the Commissioner stated the following:

On 11 May 1999, the Commissioner testified before the Committee, which considered and approved the 1999-2000 Main Estimates of the Office of the Commissioner and considered its 1998 Annual Report. Reflecting on his eight years in office, the Commissioner was gratified to note that school management had been implemented, the network of community radio stations created, a network of institutions belonging to the Regroupement des universités de la francophonie hors Québec had been organized, and some progress had been made in implementing Part VII of the Official Languages Act. On the other hand, he said that he was concerned that service to the public by designated bilingual federal institutions was not as good as it should be; by the finding that official language minority communities are really no stronger and receive no more support than they did eight years ago; by gaps in the provision of health care in minority communities; and by federal government transformations, and particularly by the absence of any appropriate recourse and redress mechanism in cases where federal responsibilities have been devolved to provincial authorities.

The President of the Treasury Board, the Honourable Marcel Massé, appeared on 9 December 1997 and 9 March 1999 to discuss his 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 annual reports, Official Languages in Federal Institutions. His presentation concerned the three components of the responsibilities of the President of the Treasury Board: service to the public, language of work and the equitable participation of both official language groups, as well as the effects of federal government transformations on the situation of official language minority communities. At his most recent appearance, he described two effective methods for ensuring that Part VII of the Official Languages Act is implemented: verification within the Treasury Board of the business plans submitted each year by the departments and the fact that the deputy ministers’ overall performance evaluation takes into consideration the implementation of their departments’ official languages plan.

The Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable Sheila Copps, appeared on
18 March 1998 and 3 March 1999, to discuss her annual reports for 1995-1996, 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 as they related to her official languages responsibilities. At her most recent appearance, she asserted that the $70 million a year over five years in new funds announced in the budget would make it possible to have a renewed vision for official languages. She said:

In connection with the appearances by the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Committee invited the Assistant Deputy Minister, Canadian Identity, to testify on 12 May 1998 and 22 April 1999. The two meetings provided an opportunity to clarify the administrative and budgetary aspects of the official languages activities of Canadian Heritage: federal-provincial agreements in respect of education and services, support for minority communities, interdepartmental coordination in relation to implementation of sections 41 and 42 of the Official Languages Act and promotion activities.

On 5 May 1998, the Chairperson of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Françoise Bertrand, testified before the Committee. She explained that in view of the radical changes in the communications world, the CRTC had adopted a new vision which is stated as follows: "World-class quality communications, with a distinct Canadian presence, in the public interest." She reviewed some of the CRTC’s recent decisions and announced a number of hearings to be held in the coming months as well as a review of the rule adopted in 1987 whereby 50% of the population plus one is the standard for determining whether a market is Anglophone or Francophone for the purposes of distributing specialized services, and she promised that a public process would be conducted on the notion of bilingual markets. Ms. Bertrand also announced that there would be public consultations prior to the hearings for the renewal of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s English and French radio and television network licences, which would afford the official language minority communities an opportunity to state their specific demands in less formal fashion than during the hearings. At the meeting of 12 May, the Committee passed the following motion:

On 9 June 1998, the Committee invited representatives of the English-language and French-language radio and television divisions of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to testify on the CBC’s annual or multi-year action plan for implementing section 41 of the Official Languages Act. The witnesses were asked a number of questions regarding a regional presence on the CBC’s airwaves, and more specifically the presence of official language minority communities. The witnesses assured the members of the Committee that the budget cuts suffered by the CBC in recent years had had no major effects on local and regional production hours.

On 11 February 1999, the Committee invited Yvon Fontaine, Chair of the Task Force on Government Transformations and Official Languages, to discuss the report of the Task Force entitled No Turning Back: Official Languages in the Face of Government Transformations. In his introductory remarks, Mr. Fontaine noted that the Task Force’s recommendations mainly bore on 5 major themes, whereas the conclusions were grouped around 11 recommendations. The five themes were as follows: (1) a reminder to the government that it must meet its obligations under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and under the relevant legislation, more particularly the Official Languages Act; (2) an invitation to the government to engage provincial governments and the private sector to promote official languages when carrying out the transformation process; (3) an unequivocal statement that the official language minority communities must be part of the whole process of government transformation as they are the ones who feel the effects most in the area of official languages; (4) the conviction that the government must have the political will to fulfil its official languages obligations, which means that there must be a comprehensive review mechanism to ensure the government is accountable for the outcome of the transformations that are undertaken and, where necessary, establish mechanisms for redress and report annually to Parliament; (5) an exhortation to the federal government to put official languages at the forefront of the dialogue on values it is pursuing with the Canadian population.

Mr. Fontaine summed up the Task Force’s position on the federal government’s obligations in making government transformations as follows:

Linda Cardinal, a member of the Task Force, invited the Committee to engage in sustained consideration of the theme of community development. She recalled that this notion was conceived outside Quebec during the 1970s and pointed out that certain Quebec Anglophone groups such as the Townshippers’ Association and the Quebec Farmers Association had also made a contribution to the concept.

The Committee heard from representatives of official language minority communities on several occasions. On 3 November 1998, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA) testified on the occasion of the visit to Parliament Hill by "Team Francophonie." This group, made up of representatives of Francophone and Acadian communities in Canada, had come to Ottawa to raise the MPs’ awareness of the importance of supporting the development of their communities. The FCFA had taken this initiative in the knowledge that the Minister of Canadian Heritage would shortly thereafter be summoned to appear before Cabinet to propose the budgets for her department’s official languages support programs for fiscal 1999-2000. On 8 December 1998, the Townshippers’ Association informed the Committee of the issues of special interest to their community, and claimed that inequitable funding is provided to the English-speaking minority in Quebec by Heritage Canada. The Association also complained that Heritage Canada treats English-speaking Quebeckers as a single entity, though their situation in various communities is very different.

On 1 June 1999, the Committee heard representatives of the FCFA and of the Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario (ACFO) regarding sections 41 and 42 of the Official Languages Act. The president of the FCFA stated that the overall results fell well short of expectations. However, he pointed to three positive elements: the framework agreement in the cultural sector, the announcement of the creation of an interdepartmental fund, and the work of the National Committee for Canadian Francophonie Human Resources Development, which now has a process for defining a strategy for economic development and vocational training. He said that in order for the interdepartmental fund to be effective, it would have to be "channelled to support clearly established strategic initiatives, rather than spread around to support a whole string of completely unrelated projects." He also hoped that the recommendations in the report submitted by Donald J. Savoie would be implemented.

The ACFO representatives discussed the conclusions of a consultant hired by the Franco-Ontarian community to work on interdepartmental coordination who said that "few practical measures have been taken in the past four years to ensure that federal programs other than those of Heritage Canada are making a contribution." ACFO’s representatives contended that the departments’ action plans merely proposed projects, but lacked any long-term vision or planning. They expressed their hope that the departments would follow the example of Human Resources Development Canada, which works in partnership with the Franco-Ontarian community, and expressed their full support for the Savoie Report recommendations.

On 3 June 1999, the Committee heard from members of the Table féministe francophone de concertation provinciale de l’Ontario. These members criticized the lack of coordination between the government and minority communities on interdepartmental matters, particularly as they affect women’s groups. They contrasted the constructive relationship that had been established with Status of Women Canada, with the very limited relationship that existed between the Table féministe and the other departments. They proposed that the next Canada-Community agreement should take greater account of the diversity within Francophone associations in Ontario and include a substantial increase in funding for women’s groups.

The Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages held its organizing meeting on 23 November 1999. At that meeting, the Honourable Rose-Marie Losier-Cool, Senator, and Raymonde Folco, M.P., were elected joint chairs. MPs Grant Hill and Benoit Serré were elected vice-chairs.

The new Commissioner of Official Languages, Dyane Adam, was the first witness invited by the Committee. She reviewed a few hot issues and recalled her support for the action by the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO) before the Federal Court concerning the Contraventions Act and its implications for the language rights of members of the Franco-Ontarian community. The Commissioner recalled her remarks before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport and the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications in the context of their studies on the future of the airline industry in Canada in order to ensure that regional carriers and other subsidiaries of the eventual dominant carrier are subject to the Official Languages Act. She also presented the highlights of two studies published in August 1999 entitled The Government of Canada and French on the Internet and Use of the Internet by Federal Institutions, which is the follow-up to a study published in 1996.

At its meeting of 7 December 1999, the Committee, on division, passed a resolution expressing the opinion that the Legislative Assembly of Ontario should determine, by way of legislation, that the City of Ottawa, as Canada’s capital, has two official languages, English and French. It was agreed that the Committee’s co-chairs should table, in their respective Chambers, a report informing the Senate and the House of Commons of the Committee’s resolution. The co-chairs were also authorized to write to the Prime Minister of Canada and to the Premier of Ontario to inform them of the Committee’s resolution and to publish a press release (the relevant texts appear in Appendix C).

On 29 February, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable Sheila Copps, appeared to discuss the recent achievements of the official languages support programs. She noted that major progress had been made since a substantial increase in funding for official languages support was announced a year earlier. She also discussed the renewal of the Canada-Communities Agreements (with the exception of that with Ontario) and accompanying substantial budget increases, as well as the introduction of the new interdepartmental partnership initiative with a fund of $5.5 million a year over five years. The Minister recalled the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada (CMAC) which, for the first time, includes an obligation to submit an action plan to obtain the supplementary federal funding granted to the provinces and territories to promote minority language and second language instruction. She also noted that her department had ensured that 50% of the additional $20 million investment allocated for the creation of Canadian content on the Internet during the 2000-2001 fiscal year would be earmarked for the creation of French-language content, in view of the omnipresence of English on the Internet.

The Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board, appeared before the Committee on 21 March 2000. She briefly outlined her department’s responsibilities in promoting linguistic duality within the federal Public Service and improving the delivery of services in both official languages. Ms. Robillard emphasized the efforts which the Government of Canada makes to contribute to the development of official language minority communities. As an example, she cited the appointment of an official languages champion in every federal institution where the Treasury Board is the employer. She specifically stated that these champions are high-level executives with whom the official language minority communities can communicate and that they are also responsible for ensuring that linguistic duality is included in the analytical criteria in departmental submissions to Treasury Board.

The Treasury Board President also submitted a document entitled Full Sail Ahead, which outlines the principal accomplishments made in government between 30 April 1998 and 31 December 1999. She explained that the recommendations of the Savoie and Fontaine reports had been grouped under four themes: reaffirming Canada’s linguistic duality, developing management tools, fostering awareness among institutions subject to the Official Languages Act, and supporting official language minority communities. As an example, she noted that the Treasury Board was developing a policy in response to the Fontaine Report recommendations that would very clearly state what departments must do when they change the ways in which they provide a service, particularly where they are considering transferring the administration of federal responsibilities to the provinces through agreements. She told the Committee that the departments and the communities were consulted on the development of this policy and invited members to submit their comments to her. She also recalled that, after the Savoie and Fontaine reports were tabled, the Prime Minister confirmed his commitment to linguistic duality, appointed an official languages coordinator at the Privy Council Office and renewed the terms of reference of the Official Languages Deputy Ministers’ Committee.

On 28 March 2000, the Committee heard the testimony of officials from the Treasury Board Secretariat. Gaston Guénette, Assistant Secretary, Official Languages, briefly described the Treasury Board Secretariat’s roles and the management tools it produces. He also solicited Committee members’ opinions of the draft policy on the impact of government transformations and initiatives on official languages. Mr. Guénette explained what this policy requires: an analysis of impact on service to the public, language of work, equitable participation and support for the development of official language minority communities; consultation of official language minority communities; the inclusion of clauses concerning language requirements and guarantees in agreements and transfers; and the implementation of redress mechanisms in the agreements and any other relevant document. Some Committee members asked that the wording of language clauses be clearer and that the policy be stated in firmer terms.

The Honourable Allan Rock, Minister of Health, appeared before the Committee on 4 April 2000 to outline his department’s progress in implementing Part VII of the Official Languages Act. The Minister reported that access to health services is one of the priorities of the official language minority communities, but he hastened to recall that health issues are a shared responsibility and that authority for health care organization and delivery is a provincial and territorial jurisdiction. He pointed out that Health Canada must find new ways of influencing its provincial and territorial partners and encouraging them to support the official language minority communities.

The Minister of Health affirmed that Health Canada had improved its response to the communities’ needs in order to contribute to their development and vitality. To illustrate his remarks, he explained that, through the Population Health Fund, Health Canada had funded a number of projects in support of the English-speaking minority language community in Quebec. He further noted that these projects had been funded by his department in partnership with Canadian Heritage and Justice Canada. He also noted that the Population Health Fund had made it possible to grant financial support to the Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada to broadcast information on health care services for children and adolescents, to Francophones and Acadians.

The Minister reported that, in May 1999, Health Canada had created the Official Language Minority Communities Coordination Bureau, which brings together a network of coordinators made up of representatives from the national level, the regions and the branches. He explained that these coordinators are the first point of contact for members of the official language minority communities. Mr. Rock also mentioned the appointment of a champion for official languages issues who, in particular, ensures that her executive management committee colleagues consider the impact their programs and policies have on official language minority communities.

The Minister declared that Health Canada had made significant progress to fully discharge its responsibilities under section 41 of the Official Languages Act, but he recognized that more must still be done. In this spirit, he announced the creation of an official languages minority communities advisory committee consisting of representatives of minority Francophone communities, Health Canada and Canadian Heritage as well as representatives from the provinces. He noted that Health Canada was considering the possibility of establishing a similar committee for the Anglophone minority in Quebec. Mr. Rock closed by confirming Health Canada’s commitment to respect its responsibilities as outlined in section 41, saying that this intention is of the utmost importance and that his department’s actions must reflect this commitment.

The Commissioner of Official Languages appeared before the Committee a second time on 11 April 2000 and noted with satisfaction that the federal government had responded favourably to the study entitled, The Government of Canada and French on the Internet, published by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in August 1999. She briefly described the studies under way at her office and recalled some of her targeted interventions. Arguing for greater leadership, she criticized the fact that the government had not formally responded to the recommendations of the Fontaine Report on the impact of government transformations on the implementation of the Official Languages Act. She contended that French is not often respected as a language of work in the departments and central agencies, particularly those with an economic orientation in Ottawa. She also regretted the fact that the national capital still does not have official status as a bilingual city.

The Commissioner announced that consultations were being conducted across Canada to promote thinking on changes that should be made to the ways in which her office operates and to establish partnerships in a context of shared responsibility. She closed by offering a few challenges that should be met in order to promote renewed commitment toward official languages by the Canadian government: offer better service in both official languages, in particular by taking advantage of new information and communications technologies, ensure fairness with regard to language of work, and help strengthen the official language minority communities by fully implementing Part VII of the Official Languages Act based on renewed consideration of the needs of those communities.

On 2 May 2000, the Committee heard testimony from Senator Jean-Maurice Simard, who was invited to present his study Bridging the Gap: From Oblivion to the Rule of Law, which was tabled in the Senate on 17 November 1999. In his opening statement, Senator Simard explained that his work began on 17 June 1998, when he tabled a motion of inquiry in the Senate to make his colleagues aware of the erosion of the foundations of Canada’s linguistic duality, which was a concern to him, and to invite them to debate those issues of national importance. He recalled that, at the time, he had announced his intention to undertake an in-depth study of the issues and to hold hearings across the country to determine what could be done to rectify the situation. He said he was more than ever convinced that the fate of official language minority communities in Canada and the fate of the Canadian Federation itself are intimately linked and that the vitality of the Francophone and Acadian communities constitutes a fundamental responsibility of Canada, of the state and of civil society.

Senator Simard offered the Committee a few recommendations. The first of these concerned the right to instruction in the language of the minority, guaranteed since 1982 by section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In particular, he deplored the fact that nearly half of the children entitled to attend French-language schools in Canada are being educated in English-language schools and he argued that there had been virtually no progress in this regard. Senator Simard recalled that, 10 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Mahé that "section 23 represents a linchpin in this nation’s commitment to the values of bilingualism." He asserted that it may be time, 18 years after these constitutional rights came into force, for the Government of Canada to articulate a plan for implementing these rights that is sufficiently robust to achieve the aim of section 23 before the 25th anniversary of the Charter.

The second recommendation advanced by Senator Simard concerned immigration. He explained that, if immigration outside Quebec benefited Francophones and Anglophones to the same extent, in proportion to their respective demographic weight, anglicization’s effects on the number of Francophones in this country would be neutralized. He contended that the systemic discrimination that currently prevails when it comes to promoting, welcoming and integrating immigrants undermines the demographic vitality of Francophone and Acadian communities and must be urgently corrected.

Senator Simard offered a third suggestion respecting the application of Part VII of the Official Languages Act, which the Commissioner of Official Languages had described as "inappropriate" in the opening pages of the most recent Annual Report. He admitted that there had been some improvements since, but argued that they were not enough to overturn this verdict.

Senator Simard concluded his statement by saying that a new consensus, more respectful of the rule of law, seems to be emerging in regard to Canada’s linguistic duality. He said he was delighted by the sense of leadership that seemed to be emerging from the activities of the Committee of Deputy Ministers of Official Languages. He also noted with satisfaction the government’s response to the recommendations by the Commissioner of Official Languages about French on the Internet and the bill on the transformation of the airline industry.

Messrs. Pierre LeBlanc, a management consultant who cooperated on the Simard Report, and Jean Poirier, President of ACFO (Prescott-Russell) answered Committee members’ questions. The discussion focused in particular on the pros and cons of the recommendations proposing the appointment of a Minister of State for Official Language Community Development and the creation of a Francophone and Acadian Communities Development Secretariat within the Privy Council Office. They also argued that it is difficult to engage in community development using a project-based funding formula.

On 9 May 2000, Françoise Bertrand, Chairperson of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), testified before the Committee. She reviewed a few of the Commission’s initiatives regarding the major policies put forward in the broadcasting sector, particularly as they affect Canada’s cultural and linguistic diversity. Ms. Bertrand recalled that, when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s licences were renewed, the CRTC particularly wished to ensure that CBC television offered programming that was a reflection of the communities, regions and Canada. She noted that the Board expects the CBC to allocate $7 million over the entire term of the licence to independent regional productions for network broadcasting.

The CRTC Chairperson recalled that, as early as May 1998, the Commission began an internal review and analysis of issues related to French-language broadcasting services for minority Francophone communities and this stage was completed in May 1999, when the Commission issued a call for public comments. She indicated that, on 10 March 2000, the CRTC distributed a public notice calling for comments on a draft policy designed to take advantage of digital technology in providing more specialty television services in the minority official language. She noted that this draft policy defined a market as bilingual where the number of persons speaking the minority official language is at least 5,000, or 10% of the total population. She added that, when the Commission received the order in council asking it to consult the public and report on the availability and quality of French-language broadcasting services in the Francophone minority communities of Canada, the Commission decided to suspend the process it had begun in 1998 in order to enrich it with the new issues the government raised in the order. She announced that the CRTC would be holding regional consultations in September and a public hearing in October.

In response to a suggestion by a Committee member, Ms. Bertrand indicated that it would be possible to propose in the public notice concerning the regional consultations and the fall hearing that Ottawa, as the national capital, constitutes an exceptional case and should be considered as such. Some Committee members wanted to know how the CRTC would ensure that the CBC respects the commitments made at its licence renewal hearing respecting the presence of Francophone minority communities on French-language television, which is deemed to be too much a reflection of Montreal. They were told that the annual report submitted to the CRTC reveals a failure to meet the conditions or commitments of a licence holder and that, if such were the case, the CRTC would inform the corporation that the situation should be corrected.

When asked whether the CRTC might voluntarily prepare an action plan for the implementation of section 41 of the Official Languages Act as the designated federal institutions do, the CRTC’s Secretary General, Ms. Ursula Menke, answered that this raised certain questions because the Broadcasting Act states a number of objectives concerning the CRTC, whereas the Official Languages Act has only one main objective. Ms. Bertrand pointed out that the CRTC could report on its implementation of section 41 of the Official Languages Act in its annual report.

On 16 May 2000, the Committee heard testimony from representatives of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) and the National Committee for Canadian Francophonie Human Resources Development (the National Committee). Mr. A. Bill Ferguson made a presentation as the Executive Head and official languages champion responsible at HRDC for the implementation of Part VII of the Official Languages Act and as co-chair of the federal side of the National Committee. He first outlined the implementation framework which HRDC had established to accommodate its commitments and responsibilities for the development and vitality of the official language minority communities. He recalled that HRDC’s mission is to enable Canadians to participate fully in the labour market and in society. Mr. Ferguson further stated that, as the designated champion for Part VII of the Official Languages Act, he strives to make official languages more visible to departmental executives so that consideration of the communities becomes a natural reflex and an integral part of the Department’s organizational culture. He noted that the creation of the Official Language Minority Communities Secretariat provides privileged support to these communities as well as the support offered by the Department’s vast network of national and regional coordinators.

Mr. Ferguson described the four areas of the Department’s 1998-2000 action plan: (1) increasing understanding of the importance of Part VII among all staff so that the provisions of section 41 form an integral part of internal culture; (2) obtain information on the needs of the various official language minority communities; (3) inform the communities of the goods and services offered by the Department; and (4) ensure close coordination between the regions and the various head office sectors. He continued by giving examples of HRDC’s achievements during the 1999-2000 fiscal year, including, for example, the fact that young workers from Cape Breton were able to study technology and aquaculture at the Petit-de-Grat campus of the Collège de l’Acadie. He emphasized HRDC’s innovative approach, which calls for a type of functioning which enables the communities to determine their actual needs and to get involved in measures most likely to meet the specific expectations of their environments.

Among the achievements of which he was particularly proud, Mr. Ferguson noted the creation of the National Committee for Canadian Francophonie Human Resources Development in 1997 and the creation, in 1998 of the National Human Resources Development Committee for the Anglophone Minority Community of Quebec. He also recalled the announcement made by the Honourable Pierre Pettigrew on 12 June 1999 of the creation of a support fund of $21 million spread over three years dedicated to the implementation of the strategic plans of these two national committees.

Mr. Ferguson devoted the last part of his presentation to the National Committee for Canadian Francophonie Human Resources Development. He noted that this was the first time representatives of the minority communities and of the departments and organizations with an economic orientation had developed together a strategic plan for the development of Canadian Francophonie. He outlined the National Committee’s origins, in particular the creation of a joint committee in 1997 and the signing, the following year, by nine federal agencies sitting on that committee, of the memorandum of understanding binding the Government of Canada and the Francophone and Acadian communities. He noted that the National Committee consists of an equal number of representatives of the Francophone minority communities and of the nine federal agencies, led by HRDC. On the community side, he reported that there are three representatives from the West, three from Central Canada and three from the East and that they represent their regions, not their provinces.

Mr. Raymond Poirier, Co-Chair, Communities, continued the presentation by explaining that the mission of the community side is to see to the communities’ economic and human resources development, whereas that of the government side is to recognize the Francophone community as a target clientele and provide it with access to the programs of the economic and human resources development agencies. He stated that the National Committee’s joint vision is to position the Francophone and Acadian communities strategically in the sectors of economic development and employability and reviewed the Committee’s five strategic priorities, which are to: (1) administer the national memorandum of understanding; (2) create a national framework for economic and employability development; (3) sign memoranda of understanding in all provinces where French is the minority language and, if possible, include the provincial governments, which has already been achieved in certain provinces; (4) develop strategies tying Francophone communities into major national and international economic trends; and (5) promote the National Committee’s strategic thrust.

Mr. Poirier explained that the National Committee is establishing a Regroupement de développement économique et d’employabilité (RDEE) (Economic Development and Employability Group) in each of the provinces and territories that have been asked to identify a group in the economic sector which will act as a delegated agency to the National Committee. He pointed out that the National Committee has identified four strategic sectors — tourism, the knowledge economy, rural development, and integrating youth into economic development — and has established four sectoral working groups. He expressed his satisfaction with the considerable support that Western Economic Diversification provides to Francophone minority communities and noted that there had been a change in culture at that department under the leadership of the Honourable Ronald Duhamel.

On 30 May 2000, the Honourable Ronald J. Duhamel, Secretary of State (Western Economic Diversification (WED)) (Francophonie) appeared to outline WED’s achievements in implementing section 41 of the Official Languages Act. He explained that the approach taken for this purpose involves three fundamental steps: engaging in meaningful dialogue with Western Canada’s Francophone communities, jointly identifying with them the primary needs in terms of economic development, and adopting a strategy whose underlying principle is to provide the minority official language communities in the West with the means for them to assume responsibility for their economic development.

Mr. Duhamel stated that the strategy adopted by WED is supported by the following four pillars: the presence of a Francophone economic development organization in each of the Western provinces, access to capital, development of the tourism sector and entrepreneurship development. He explained that WED has worked together with the Francophone communities in the West to establish an economic development organization in each of the four Western provinces. In addition, WED provides those four organizations with core funding, totalling almost $2.5 million over a three-year period ending 31 March 2001. In ensuring access to capital, WED has undertaken to set up a micro-loans fund in each Western province for the Francophone business community. He noted that WED’s investment would be in the $400,000 to $500,000 range in each province, in the form of a loan-loss reserve. He also indicated that the leverage from this kind of arrangement could generate up to $2 million in each province.

Mr. Duhamel went on to describe the third pillar of WED’s strategy, development of the tourism sector. He recalled that WED last year approved a contribution of $558,000 over three years for the establishment and operations of the Conseil touristique francophone de l’Ouest, a joint initiative of the four Francophone economic development organizations working to develop tourism corridors amongst Francophone communities across the West. As for entrepreneurship development, the Minister reported that WED supports various events or projects that promote entrepreneurship.

Mr. Duhamel indicated that the department is reviewing its strategy to integrate it more effectively into its ongoing programming. WED’s approach to the implementation of section 41 of the Official Languages Act will be integrated into the department’s multi-year plan, which will enable the Western communities to develop from both community and economic standpoints. In conclusion, Mr. Duhamel said he was convinced that WED is achieving the objectives of section 41 of the Official Languages Act.

The Committee then heard testimony from Mr. André Gladu, Deputy Minister of Canada Economic Development (CED), who described that organization’s role in the economic development of Quebec’s Anglophone minority. He emphasized the fact that, in March 1999, CED adopted a statement of principle to acknowledge the Agency’s commitments in the application of Part VII of the Act. He noted that, in this statement, Canada Economic Development vows to develop a yearly integrated action plan. It also commits itself to implementing special measures in major designated regions such as Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Outaouais, the Greater Montreal area, Estrie, Gaspésie and Côte-Nord. Finally, it proposes to establish better communication between English community spokesgroups and Canada Economic Development’s business offices.

Mr. Gladu then reviewed some of the initiatives introduced in the wake of the Agency’s action plan for the 1999-2000 fiscal year. He said that, for each of the past three years, CED has organized, in various regions, conferences/info-fairs that have attracted a significant number of English-speaking participants, who were thus able to acquaint themselves with the range of programs and services the Government of Canada offers to existing and potential entrepreneurs.

Mr. Gladu described some of CED’s initiatives in various Quebec regions, including an information tour conducted in the Basse Côte-Nord (Lower North Shore), a region severely affected by the decline in groundfish stocks; financial support for the operations of Youth Employment Services and Jobs in Focus, which are devoted to promoting entrepreneurship and facilitating access to the labour market for young Anglophones in the Greater Montreal area and the Eastern Townships respectively; and a joint venture with the Committee for Anglophone Social Action (CASA) to develop and promote the Baie-de-Casapédia Loyalist Village on the Gaspé Peninsula.

Mr. Gladu indicated that CED will conduct ongoing evaluation of the measures implemented to determine the value of the Agency’s contribution to the economic development of Quebec’s Anglophone communities. In closing, he noted that CED intends to scrutinize very carefully a report submitted last week by the Anglophone associations which, in partnership with HRDC, have conducted an assessment of all the needs of the Anglophone communities in Quebec.

Mr. Paul J. LeBlanc, Vice-President, Policy and Programs, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), explained that ACOA’s mandate is to increase the opportunities for economic development in Atlantic Canada and, more particularly, to enhance the growth of earned incomes and employment opportunities in that region. To do so, he said, the Agency seeks to support and promote new opportunities for economic development in Atlantic Canada, with particular emphasis on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He noted that, in the economic field, ACOA is tasked with serving as an advocate for Atlantic Canada’s interests, priorities and concerns in federal economic government policy making, program design and project selection. He stated that, in this role, ACOA continues to give special attention to the Acadian and Francophone communities.

Mr. LeBlanc reported on various initiatives which ACOA has taken to implement section 41 of the Official Languages Act. He recalled that the Agency has developed partnerships with organizations such as the Canadian Institute for Research on Regional Development at the Université de Moncton to undertake policy development studies for Francophone communities, including studies in various sectors such as forestry, fisheries, tourism and biotechnology. He also noted that, at the Francophone Summit, ACOA played a significant role in the areas of coordination, support and promotion of services surrounding the Summit, in which a large number of Acadian and Francophone businesses from the region participated.

Mr. LeBlanc also mentioned ACOA’s ongoing participation in the National Committee for Francophonie Human Resources Development and said that the Agency would soon be meeting with Atlantic Canadian Coordinating Groups on Economic Development and Employability (RDEE) to exchange on their priorities and to gain a better appreciation of their needs. He also reported that the Agency has invested in Acadian and Francophone tourism projects, including the development of the Village historique de Pubnico and the Parc historique national de Grand-Pré in Nova Scotia, as well as the Village historique acadien in New Brunswick.

Mr. LeBlanc informed the Committee that ACOA is seeking to strengthen the Atlantic region’s innovation and technology capacity and that, to accomplish this, it has partnered with organizations such as le Parc scientifique de l’Université de Moncton and the community colleges. He also noted that ACOA has assisted in the organization of an Atlantic conference and an International francophone conference, both on the use of information technologies. In the area of entrepreneurship and skills development, the Agency has worked with the Atlantic Provinces’ Education Foundation since 1993 to instil notions of entrepreneurship and enterprising values in schools throughout the Atlantic. The Agency has also been instrumental in the development of a Francophone television series, Temps d’affaires, promoting entrepreneurship, a series broadcast nationally and internationally.

Mr. LeBlanc explained that, within the framework of its Community Economic Development Program, ACOA has a mandate to help the communities plan and implement their vision to create long-term, self-sustaining economic activity. ACOA works in partnership with Community Business Development Corporations (CBDCs), supporting counselling and financial services which the CBDCs provide to SMEs in rural communities. ACOA ensures that Francophone SMEs receive services from the CBDCs.

With regard to access to capital and information, Mr. LeBlanc reported that the Business Development Program targets the start-up and modernization of small- and medium-sized businesses. He explained that ACOA’s network of service outlets throughout the region, in particular that of the Canada Business Service Centres, allows SMEs direct access to the expertise of ACOA’s officers to facilitate the development and implementation of their plans.

Mr. LeBlanc informed the Committee that ACOA intends to pursue its leadership role in economic development, with the Atlantic Francophone community in the context of its 2000-2002 Action Plan. He assured members that ACOA will pursue its efforts in partnering, collaboration and networking so as to maximize the potential for economic development in the region’s Francophone and Acadian community.

Ms. Brigitte Hohn, Executive Director for Industry Canada, Ontario Region, began her presentation by explaining that since there is no regional agency for Southern Ontario, the Ontario Regional Office of Industry Canada undertakes a number of activities that would normally come under the mandate of a regional agency. She noted that the Regional Office last year decided to conduct an independent study to assess its services to Francophone businesses in Southern Ontario, particularly in four areas: the Canada-Ontario Business Service Centre, access to information on exporting, a Community Access Program and the Community Futures Program. She said that eight focus groups had been held and issued a number of recommendations to improve service to Francophones. The Regional Office then developed an action plan which is currently being implemented.

Ms. Hohn reported the two main results of the action plan: better attention to information intended for Francophones and an expanded Francophone clientele as a result of improved partnership, particularly with the Chambre économique de l’Ontario and the Comité paritaire. She explained that collaboration with the Chambre économique de l’Ontario provides the Regional Office with much needed links to Francophone chambers of commerce, business associations and colleges. For example, thanks to this partnership, an entirely Francophone Info-fair was organized in Casselman last year and attracted almost 300 participants. She also noted the measures taken by the International Trade Centre to expand its consulting services in French.

Ms. Hohn also recalled that Industry Canada is committed to making Canada the most connected country in the world. She explained that the Community Access Program (CAP) is providing Internet access to communities in rural and urban areas, including 86 Francophone rural community access sites. She noted the action that has been taken to reach Francophone groups in urban areas and Francophone school boards to invite them to apply under the CAP. Ms. Hohn added that, over the past year, Francophone schools and libraries received 260 computers and 35 printers under the Computers for Schools Program. She concluded her presentation by saying that the Year of la Francophonie in Canada was an opportunity for Industry Canada to renew its long-term commitment to serve French-speaking clients.

Ms. Louise Paquette, Director General, FedNor, described the context in which FedNor operates in the economic development of Northern Ontario. She reported that FedNor serves a number of minority language communities mainly in the northeast, where 26% of the population is Francophone. She also noted that Northern Ontario represents 88% of the area of Ontario, but contains only 8.2% of the province’s population.

According to Ms. Paquette, FedNor’s success is the result of partnerships whose purpose is to improve small businesses’ access to capital, information and markets. Among FedNor’s main partners, she said that the Community Development Assistance corporations (CDAC) were FedNor’s key partners, a network that is an essential tool in the delivery of that organization’s programs. She told the Committee that FedNor encourages the CDACs across the province to serve the minority population where the region is bilingual or where the population warrants the offer of service in both official languages. She noted that a task force on services in the official languages was established this year to examine the delivery of fair and equitable services in Ontario. Consisting of representatives from the CDACs and FedNor/Industry Canada, the task force will prepare a directory of existing services and available resources and will propose improvements and service evaluation strategies.

Ms. Paquette also informed the Committee that FedNor is working in close cooperation with people from the region and the municipalities to implement long-term community economic development initiatives. She noted that among the financial institutions, one of FedNor’s essential partners is the caisses populaires system. In 1999, FedNor signed an agreement with the Mouvement des caisses to improve access to capital and promote the development of Francophone SMEs through the establishment of a loan-loss reserve fund. Ms. Paquette also described various joint actions established by FedNor with the Collège Boréal to develop Francophone entrepreneurship in the North. She then noted a large number of initiatives taken to ensure that northern youth are involved in economic development, in particular FedNor’s Youth Internship Initiative in which 25% of participants are of Francophone origin.

The budget for the 1999-2000 fiscal year granted additional funding of $70 million a year over five years for Canadian Heritage’s official languages support programs. Since the announcement, Canadian Heritage has renewed all the Canada-Communities agreements and provided considerable increases in budgets granted. Similarly, the interdepartmental partnership initiative, with its $5.5 million annual budget over five years, which was introduced during the current fiscal year, is an excellent mechanism for strategic interventions. Lastly, the memorandum of understanding signed by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada (CMEC) and the bilateral agreements signed by the provinces and territories contain for the first time an obligation to submit action plans to federal authorities in order to receive funds granted for instruction in the language of the minority and second language instruction. The Committee notes that this requirement is in response to demands by the official language minority communities.

The Committee was interested to read the report entitled Full Sail Ahead, which was tabled on the occasion of the appearance of the President of the Treasury Board. It feels that the federal government’s achievements, which are described in that document, also attest to the renewed support for the official languages program. It notes the four main themes developed to group the recommendations of the Fontaine and Savoie reports and it intends to monitor the implementation of those themes in the coming months and to propose any necessary recommendations.

The Committee notes the expanded terms of reference of the Official Languages Deputy Ministers’ Committee, an integrated leadership body. The expanded terms of reference provide, among other things, that the Committee will adopt annual integrated priorities together with an implementation plan and develop strategic objectives for institutional bilingualism, promotion of linguistic duality and community development, which must guide all federal institutions. The Committee recalls that one of the Deputy Ministers’ Committee’s priorities for the 2000-2001 fiscal year is to increase French content on the Internet, and it reports that the federal budget for the current fiscal year has granted $20 million for the purpose of increasing Canadian content on the Internet, 50% of which is reserved for French content.

The Committee in general welcomes the creation of the position of Official Languages Program Coordinator within the Privy Council Office and believes that this new position will strengthen integrated leadership, thus complying with the recommendations of many official languages observers. The Coordinator acts as an advisor to the Prime Minister, Cabinet and the Privy Council Office as a whole. He also ensures an active presence within the Privy Council in order to optimize the impact of government initiatives related to the program’s objectives and acts as a liaison between the Privy Council Office and the key institutions responsible for the program. The Committee believes the Privy Council’s closer involvement in official languages is an obvious sign of the government’s political will to make official languages one of its central concerns.

The Committee wishes to emphasize the work done by the National Committee for Canadian Francophonie Human Resources Development and the sustained support afforded it by Human Resources Development Canada. The true partnership that has been established between the federal and community sides of this joint committee are a model to be followed in other sectors. The Committee believes that Western Economic Diversification's successful implementation of Part VII of the Official Languages Act deserves special mention. WED's remarkable results are attributable to leadership that has inspired a change in the department's culture and stimulated the integration of the Francophone minority communities' specific needs into the department's programs as a whole.

The Committee notes that the National Committee for Canadian Francophonie Human Resources Development and Western Economic Diversification have clearly shown that the implementation of Part VII of the Official Languages Act is not an impossible task. It invites all federal institutions to draw on these two examples and to renew their commitment to support the development of official language minority communities.