LANG Committee Meeting

STANDING JOINT COMMITTEE ON OFFICIAL LANGUAGES

COMITÉ MIXTE PERMANENT DES LANGUES OFFICIELLES

EVIDENCE

[Recorded by Electronic Apparatus]

Monday, October 22, 2001

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[Translation]

The Joint Chair (Mr. Mauril Bélanger (Ottawa—Vanier, Lib.)): I hereby declare that we are no longer sitting in camera. Mr. Sauvageau, you sought leave to raise a point. Do you care to do so at this time, or do you prefer to wait until tomorrow?

Mr. Benoît Sauvageau (Repentigny, BQ): One must never put off until tomorrow what one can do today.

The Joint Chair (Mr. Mauril Bélanger): You can stay if you like as the meeting is open to the public. Or you can leave. It's as you wish. Thank you very much.

Mr. Benoît Sauvageau: Mr. Chairman, since I'm not an expert in procedural matters, I would like to formally table this letter to the committee. The Honourable Senator Jean-Robert Gauthier has received a copy of it. I would like to share with committee members the subject-matter of the letter. I would have like to see more senators present. I see one senator, and that's fine.

You may or may not know that Senator Gauthier has tabled in the Senate Bill S-32, an Act to amend the Official Languages Act. He addressed the Senate when he tabled the bill, as did a number of other senators. Fortunately they are not members of the committee, because my comments would have been directed to them as well.

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When Senator Gauthier tabled Bill S-32, he stated in response to a question, and I quote:

I specifically do not wish to have Bill S-32 referred to the Joint Committee on Official Languages [...] because in my view, this committee is not effective.

He also made a number of other comments. The text of his speech is surely available. He would like to see the bill referred to another committee so that senators can debate it in a serious manner, since it is, as I'm sure you can appreciate, a very serious bill. Furthermore, in his opinion, a discussion within the forum of the Joint Committee on Official Languages would become partisan. We can agree or disagree with that contention. His main reason for making the request was to ensure that the debate would achieve the correct intellectual tone, something he felt would be impossible here in this forum.

In response to his comments, I wrote that this lack of respect toward his Senate and House colleagues on the Joint Committee on Official Languages was unacceptable. I also wrote that as a former joint chair of this committee, he was in fact accusing himself of being incompetent by calling the committee ineffective. That is patently clear to me. I urged him to show some clarity of thought and to make the necessary decisions, in light of his observation that the Joint Committee on Official Languages was inefficient.

I simply wanted to share with you the contents of this letter which I sent him as a birthday gift. I learned earlier this afternoon that it was the senator's birthday. He left with the letter in hand and I hope to receive a response or some feedback from him.

The Joint Chair (Mr. Mauril Bélanger): Mr. Sauvageau, you letter is formally received into evidence. I admit that I will have to check a few things out, since you are requesting an answer. I'll have to get a head start and read the pertinent regulations. However, we won't get around to that today. This is a serious matter that needs to be resolved, if possible, when the senator is present.

The Joint Chair (Senator Shirley Maheu (Rougemont, Lib.)): I would like the letter to be translated into English.

Mr. Benoît Sauvageau: Yes, by all means, it will be.

The Joint Chair (Mr. Mauril Bélanger): We'll make the arrangements.

Mr. Benoît Sauvageau: You will? The letter will therefore be in compliance with the Official Languages Act.

The Joint Chair (Mr. Mauril Bélanger): Go ahead, Mr. Godin.

Mr. Yvon Godin (Acadie—Bathurst, NDP): Mr. Chairman, I'm satisfied with your decision because I'd like to hear Senator Gauthier's side of the story. Perhaps his actions stem from a lack of confidence. The Official Languages Act was adopted 30 years ago and in spite of everything, not only must we continue to fight for our rights, but we're told that maybe we'll have to wait another 30 years before the legislation's provisions are upheld. It's all very discouraging. I don't wish to take his side, but perhaps his comments were born of a sense of frustration and I'd like to hear what the senator has to say in his own defence.

The Joint Chair (Mr. Mauril Bélanger): Is that everything? Is there anything further?

We will reconvene tomorrow afternoon.

The meeting is adjourned.