Official Languages committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  It is a lack of accessibility because over time, we see that there aren't enough French-language schools. There aren't enough bus services. People are enrolling their kids in French immersion schools or in English schools. Once they do that, those kids are lost to us. What we see is that once a French-language school opens, it fills up quite quickly.

Official Languages committee  Good day to you all. Thank you for inviting me to talk about this very important bill which seeks to update the Official Languages Act. My presentation deals with the fact that schools and day cares are key institutions for the transmission of francophone language, culture and identity.

Official Languages committee  I agree completely.

Official Languages committee  In my opinion, we are talking about billions of dollars, because the Supreme Court of Canada has acknowledged that, for the 17 primary and secondary schools that we have to build in British Columbia, we would need about $350 million. If we count the schools that are needed in all provinces, we could easily exceed $1 billion.

Official Languages committee  The federal government must take the lead with both official languages. It must work with the provinces and territories because, in a federation, there are two levels of government with responsibilities for education, particularly post-secondary education. The federal government's spending power means that it can come to our assistance.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. I think the Official Languages Act should be amended to create a language rights tribunal that could rule on complaints about violations of the act. The commissioner’s role in investigating, reporting and making recommendations can be retained. However, if a solution isn't reached, there must be the possibility of recourse to an entity with teeth.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. We Franco‑Saskatchewanians are saying that we will be on the brink of extinction if a major project isn't set up by the federal government and the provinces to build more schools. At the same time, as francophones in minority situations, we recognize that second‑language learning by the anglophone majority is very important.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Dalton. It's true that francophones in western Canada, especially, have become increasingly urbanized. As you said, there were large families and small farms, whereas now there are large farms and small families. Francophones had to move to the cities, where there wasn't the homogeneity to preserve the language.

Official Languages committee  Yes. Thank you, Mr. Gourde. In my view, one of the gaps is that federal government partially funds construction of new schools, for example, but under the Constitution, that area is a provincial jurisdiction. Subsequently, the francophone minority inherits the responsibility of playing the middleman between the two levels of government to ensure that they both contribute to completing a project.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Beaulieu. I'm speaking to you as an individual. It's quite obvious to me that the francophone community is a minority within North America. I understand that, under the Canadian Constitution, the provinces have their own areas of jurisdiction, such as education.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question, Ms. Gladu. In my opinion, one of the problems is that the provinces and territories are not well aware of the needs of their official francophone minority. In their view, it is the responsibility of the federal government to fund schools or post-secondary institutions for francophone minorities.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Ms. Ashton, for the question. That's absolutely right. On the one hand, we're very happy to see that the federal government has created $10‑a‑day child care spaces and transferred money to the provinces for that. On the other hand, with no language clause or obligation to respect part VII of the Official Languages Act, this money ends up in the provinces' budgets, where it is distributed as they see fit, without any consideration of the past wrongs that have been done to the francophone minority, wrongs which they must repair.

Official Languages committee  That's exactly right. Currently, in Saskatchewan, there are still four courts in place. We're trying to get four new schools in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert. The government promised us this, but it has been slow to act on this issue. Francophones no longer have the funds to go back to court.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. In my eighth recommendation, I mention that the OLA should be amended to mandate the establishment of an independent tribunal to adjudicate violations of the OLA and to provide the power to impose remedies and financial penalties. I suggest following the model of human rights tribunals.