44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 12, 2022 10:00AM
- May/12/22 8:02:50 p.m.
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I am sorry to inform the member that his book is considered a prop. The member may read an excerpt.
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Okay, Madam Speaker.
Gaston Miron is an incredibly talented poet. He only wrote one book, a collection of poems called L'homme rapaillé. He was a great wordsmith of the French language. His poetry was about survival. He fought for the survival of our culture.
The blessèd my mother is our life of lifeblessèd with a rip-roar proud heartblessèd with the everlasting handblessèd with the poaching head in our mountainsblessèd of my grandfather in the black illiteracyblessèd of my father gnawed sleeplessblessèd in my child-like eyesThe blisters of delirium the disarrayed colorsthe muteness of animals in knots of woodthe snag of history for two centuriesand here I amcoming out from cracks of cellar windowsmy shrouded face deserts its inert traitsI rear up in the call of a bony memoryI have a memory ache for I do not have memoryin the pallor of life and the moire of snowI ramble on inside out I tremble in doorwaysI frighten myself with my voice the stumps of my voiceDamn canuck of damn canuck of pea soupholy blessèd water of blessèd blessingholy blessèd water of blessèd ruined lifegorgeous girl of blessèd old buggy
That poem was written by Gaston Miron.
I treated myself tonight. In his day, Gaston Miron fought for the French language. Today, the Bloc Québécois and all those who love French in Quebec are also fighting for the survival of our language and our culture. It is a fundamental battle. The Official Languages Act makes no headway in this battle. It does not help us in this battle. It does not advance our quest to make this small corner of America a francophone land. We will work on it. We will do everything we can to improve it because for the sake of our children, we cannot lose this battle.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank Denis—
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- May/12/22 8:06:20 p.m.
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Order.
I would like to remind the member not to refer to another member by name.
The member for Barrie—Innisfil.
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Excuse me, Madam Speaker.
I listened to the member's speech. He has the same name as some of my relatives who live near Montreal: my uncle Gaston, who recently passed away, my aunt Cédia and my cousins Diane and Francine.
The member spoke about the need to offer support to the francophone community in Quebec. For me, it is very important to do so across the country. There is a francophone community in my riding of Barrie—Innisfil. When I speak to students, I talk to them about the importance of French. There are many opportunities in French, not just in Canada and Ontario, but around the world.
Could the member speak about the importance of French for the youth of our country?
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Madam Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague. My struggle was for the survival of French in Quebec, but I also want French to thrive everywhere, not just in Canada.
I think the latest figures show that there are 500 million French speakers around the world, a number that is growing because many countries in Africa still speak French, which is thriving in that part of the world.
The struggle is here in North America. I therefore share my colleague's concerns. While I am fighting for French in Quebec, I am fighting for French everywhere.
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Madam Speaker, my Bloc Québécois colleague gave a very spirited speech. I appreciate his fight to preserve the French language in Quebec. I also thank him for understanding that a large percentage of francophones are in Africa.
However, I have the impression that my colleague across the aisle does not understand that francophones outside of Quebec are also a minority. Does he understand that Bill C‑13 is not just about French in Quebec, but about French everywhere in Canada? There are francophones in my riding, London West.
Can he comment on francophone minority communities?
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Madam Speaker, I agree 100%, and what I would say to them is that we have to work to help francophone communities thrive.
That is not the problem with Bill C‑13. The problem is that it does not take an asymmetrical approach and once again puts both languages on equal footing even though there is no such thing as minority anglophones in Canada. They do not exist, and people need to stop thinking that way.
The federal government's Bill C‑13 puts up hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions even, to support anglophones in Quebec who are supposedly in a minority situation. My colleague from La Pointe-de-l'Île knows more about that than I do. There is no such thing though. Anglophones in Quebec get better treatment than any other minority in the known universe. Francophones are the ones who need protection both in Quebec and across the country.
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for his passionate speech. I was doing a lot of historical research while he was sharing his great stories. I checked to see when the Official Languages Act was first enacted. It was in 1969. It only took Canada 102 years to have an official languages act for the French language. If we compare that with the Indigenous Languages Act, which was not enacted until 2019, it took 152 years for indigenous languages to be protected.
I wonder if the member could share his views on, in addition to the French language protections, how important he feels indigenous language protections are, as they are also mentioned in this bill.
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Madam Speaker, I think that no one is in a better position than Quebeckers are to understand people who are fighting for their language and their culture. We Quebeckers know all about it. That is what we have been doing for 200 years: fighting for the survival of the language and culture. No one is in a better position than we are to recognize the importance of saving one's language and culture.
I completely agree with my colleague from Nunavut that it makes no sense that it took 102 years before there was an Official Languages Act, and 152 years for legislation protecting indigenous languages. It is high time that we have a major discussion on everything to do with truth and reconciliation in Canada, but that has yet to start.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert for his passionate plea, from the bottom of his heart, in favour of our magnificent language.
The previous question was about whether the Bloc was aware of the existence of francophone minorities in Canada. Yes, we are aware, but I would like to give my colleague the opportunity to explain to our colleagues across the way how easy it would be to specify either that Bill C‑13 does not promote bilingualism in Quebec, or that it applies in Quebec on condition that it does not contravene Quebec's Charter of the French Language, Bill 101. That would solve the problem.
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Madam Speaker, that is what this debate is all about.
What we want is for Bill 101 to apply to federally regulated businesses, as we asked for in our bill. It would be so much simpler. Even the minister responsible for Canadian relations and the Canadian Francophonie, Sonia LeBel, has said so. When the bill was introduced in February, she said, “When it comes to Quebec, hands off.”
In Quebec, we want to legislate on language ourselves. We have Bill 96, a strong piece of legislation that will soon be amended. We will see whether that is enough. This is our home, and we will take care of it. We can do it. The less the federal government gets involved, the better it will be for French in Quebec.
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Madam Speaker, I have a simple comment. I would like to thank the member for Longueuil—Saint‑Hubert for the bécosses story, because I have a “back-house” at home.
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Madam Speaker, I am sorry, but I did not understand the question. Do I need to repeat the story behind bécosses?
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- May/12/22 8:14:19 p.m.
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The hon. member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound was just thanking the hon. member for Longueuil—Saint‑Hubert.
The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan.
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Madam Speaker, one of the things that I note in the bill is the section on francophone immigration. It talks about the minister creating a policy on francophone immigration, but without really any specifics.
We have had a target on francophone immigration that we failed to meet, and part of the problem is there have been very high refusal rates, particularly for applicants from francophone Africa. I believe there is an opportunity for Canada to strengthen our engagement with Africa, yet we are failing that opportunity because of big backlogs, high refusal rates and really a lack of engagement through the immigration system.
I wonder if the member has a comment specifically on how we can strengthen our francophone presence in Canada through better engagement with francophone Africa.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right, and I agree.
There is a pool of people there. For unknown reasons—well, it depends on one's perspective—the federal government is not promoting francophone immigration to Quebec. This is a big problem. There is a huge backlog of applications from francophone immigrants from Africa who want to come to Quebec. We could not ask for better. Of course it helps the cause of French in Quebec if we make sure that the people arriving here already speak French. In fact, in the bill that we introduced, whose number I forget, we asked for Quebec to have sole authority over immigration so that newcomers would learn French as quickly as possible.
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Berthier—Maskinongé.
As the resident of a rather remote area, I think it is important to talk about the situation in Yukon.
Yukon has a population of 40,000. Fourteen percent speak French and English and about 5%, or 1,600 people, speak French as their first language. Yukon has Canada's third-largest per capita population of francophones. It is a dynamic, spirited, and engaged community that has made a lot of progress in the past decades.
The francophone renaissance in Yukon started in the 1970s after the passage of the Official Languages Act. Strengthened by the federal government's engagement, Yukon's francophone community has grown in every way ever since.
Culturally speaking, Yukon's francophone community is strong. It has an influence on all of Yukon's communities. The progress continues. In fact, Yukon will soon be opening a bilingual health centre. Recently, we learned that a third French-language school will open in Dawson City for the next school year. Dawson City is located in northern Yukon. It is a small city with a big spirit and a great history.
The number of students in French immersion classes in Yukon has skyrocketed. Now, you can hear people speaking French all over Yukon.
As a francophile, I am proud to see the progress made since the implementation of Canada's Official Languages Act.
Personally, I pretty much grew up with the advancement of French as an official language in Canada. In the 1970s, I found the idea of a bilingual Canada inspiring. I was inspired by none other than Pierre Elliott Trudeau to try to bring the two solitudes together through a better mutual understanding and through the use of the other language.
I went into a French immersion program in Alberta. I travelled. I studied in France. Later on, I lived in Montreal for a few months. I lived and worked in a francophone environment abroad. I did my best to improve my French through the years. Obviously, it is far from perfect, but the basics are there. It is enough to allow me to participate, at least to some extent, in the francophone community, a community that is very open to francophiles.
Now, my wife speaks French as a second language. Both of my children, who grew up in Yukon, went to French institutions for the majority of their preschool and school years and are perfectly bilingual.
Yukon has such a strong francophone population that it attracts people from Canada, Acadia, Quebec, France and other francophone countries who are looking for a life of adventure in a northern community while keeping their ability to speak French.
With Bill C‑13, we can go even further by supporting our official language minority communities and contribute to the richness of everyone's life.
When I was campaigning as a first-time candidate, I learned about the former Bill C‑32 and about how important it was to the francophone community that the bill be improved. The need for swifter, stronger action to amend the Official Languages Act was one of the key measures I had in mind when I arrived as a new member of Parliament.
I am therefore pleased to talk about the successful and hard work of the Minister of Official Languages, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages and their team, as well as the consultations and analyses that went into the development of Bill C‑13.
This bill is important for all Canadians, including those who live far from the centre and those of us who live in the north. A strong Official Languages Act is important for all languages, including indigenous languages. I know that people in Yukon are familiar with this cross-fertilization, with the active preservation and promotion of language rights, whether they be for official languages or indigenous languages. They each help the other.
It is in this context that I speak not only of the significant progress we have made with Bill C‑13, but also of the improvements that give this new bill more teeth. I am talking about positive measures, a central agency and a scope that will benefit us all.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my friend for his excellent French. In Yukon, if I am not mistaken, francophones represent about 2% of the population.
There is something mind-boggling in the Official Languages Act, namely the “where the numbers warrant” principle, which is even found in section 23 of the Constitution. It was improved somewhat with the concept of “linguistic vitality”. Under this principle, if there are fewer francophones in Yukon, because of migratory factors for instance, the federal government will reduce services in French.
Usually, laws are there to support something. For example, when employment goes down, the unemployment rate goes up. The government then brings in measures to support employment. In contrast, with the Official Languages Act, when French declines and has less vitality, support for French is reduced.
What does my colleague think about that?
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his interesting question.
I will add that with a strong core, it becomes a positive measure that draws more and more interest from immigrants and people who are on the move.
The growth of the community has always been supported by the federal government, who acted as a catalyst. There is a positive return that makes the francophone community stronger.
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