Official Languages committee  You referred to the mandate of Laurentian University, which is a bilingual universityx. But the most important thing for us—and it is part of our mandate—is to ensure the sustainability of programs offered in French in the mid-north. Our work is to protect the rights of francophones and to improve their status in Ontario so that they can receive as many services as possible in French.

Official Languages committee  The main problem is transparency. The solution is to make the data public. That would mean nobody could alter the numbers. That in itself is a challenge. We know how universities are administered. We need to make all the data available, as businesses do, when shareholders are provided every year with data at an annual general meeting, for example.

Official Languages committee  I'll talk about the Ontario experience. In all areas where Francophones took the situation in hand with respect to education, things are working well. That included elementary and secondary school management and the establishment of colleges. There are now two francophone colleges.

Official Languages committee  First of all, it would give us real numbers. Up until now, all we've had were estimates. In many instances, we didn't think they were truly representative of the francophone community. The figure mentioned was 744,000 franco-Ontarians, but I think there are more of us than that.

Official Languages committee  I believe that both levels of government need to discuss the issue of French in minority language communities and to make sure that the money really gets to where it is supposed to go. In this regard, I believe that the case of Laurentian University is rather clear. Among other things, we're asking the two levels of government to send the funds initially earmarked for Laurentian University to the University of Sudbury.

Official Languages committee  We've had several discussions on the subject with the provincial government, which has shown some interest in it. Minister Mulroney discussed an interesting project, and Minister Romano has set some reasonable conditions to make it happen. In the federal government,Ms. Joly said she was encouraged and prepared to contribute to the creation of an entirely independent university by and for francophones in Sudbury.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for your question. That's absolutely correct: the community has completely lost trust in Laurentian University's administration. Matters were already not going very well. As I mentioned, very little effort has been made to improve French-language programming in the past 20 years.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. First, I'd like to thank you for inviting me to speak as part of your study on government measures to protect and promote French in Quebec and in Canada. As our national organization, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne, or FCFA, wisely notes in its draft proposals regarding the Canadian government's commitment to protect and promote French across the country, the Government of Canada mainly promotes French in three ways: by funding the organizations and institutions of the francophone and Acadian communities; providing cash transfers to the provinces and territories for instruction in French as a first and second language and for providing French-language services; and funding official language learning in the public service.

Official Languages committee  I'll start. Local media were already in dire straits because both levels of government had placed their advertising with social media. Revenues have been declining for some time, and that has put francophone media everywhere in an extremely tough position. They've been forced to cut positions and reduce the size of the documents they normally publish.

Official Languages committee  Some of our organizations were in trouble even before the pandemic, and others couldn't qualify for funding. The pie is only so big. As I mentioned, we represent 54% of francophones outside Quebec and 23% of non-profit organizations across the country. Other non-profits are being created, but they aren't eligible for funding.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. The report from the Commissioner of Official Languages suggests creating an express translation service. It's important to note that with today's technology, you can have three or four people working together on the same document, as we sometimes do at the AFO, for example.

Official Languages committee  We were not consulted on the white paper itself. However, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne released a document quite some time ago indicating the changes we'd like to see.

Official Languages committee  We worked with the Government of Ontario to get simultaneous translation for the media briefings. We then approached the CBC about broadcasting these briefings. Of course, the press briefings were held at the same time as the ones in Quebec, but they could be broadcast later in the day or at a later time.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, everyone. To begin, I wish to thank you for your invitation to address the committee examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the government's ability to provide information in both official languages. As you know, 2020 has been a very eventful year because of the COVID-19 crisis.

Official Languages committee  We will get back to you about the work to be done on the Official Languages Act, which is being done under the auspices of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne. We will have the opportunity to get back to you on this subject. We have several suggestions for you about the work that needs to be done.