Science and Research committee  The role of our institute…

Science and Research committee  Actually, further analysis remains to be done on research funding. We haven't really seen any difference in acceptance rates between applications submitted in French and those filed in English with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. However, the amounts awarded should be analyzed.

Science and Research committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank the committee for inviting me to appear, and I welcome the fact that the committee is examining research and scientific publication in French. Given the time allotted to us, I'll get straight to the point. To intervene in research and publication in French in a foundational manner, it is important to grasp the circumstances in which knowledge as a whole is produced and to have a clear understanding of the institutional framework within which research is conducted in French.

Official Languages committee  I believe that it's important to meet the challenge head on. It's often about changing the organizational culture. When people are part of a mainly anglophone group, certain dynamics become established. If these dynamics are to be reversed and replaced by a culture that provides equal space for French and English, then this fact needs to be taken seriously and it's essential to invest resources and time.

Official Languages committee  My comments are generally in line with what Mr. Landry said. The more a linguistic group has its own institutions, the better it is for the community. French-language living environments are also essential. The more of these there are, the more people will tend to express themselves in their language.

Official Languages committee  One aspect of the white paper that I liked was the desire to harmonize the federal linguistic framework with those of the provinces. In Quebec, for example, harmonization might be achieved by encouraging federal institutions to comply with the intent of Bill 101. Similar arrangements could then be made with the other provinces.

Official Languages committee  I'm not a media expert, but the CBC certainly has an important role to play. However, the media environment is being utterly transformed because of a shift towards digital. It's also important to understand just how this shift will play out, and the role of the francophonie in this new ecosystem, particularly in social media, where a major transformation is underway.

Official Languages committee  I'll start, and Mr. Landry could finish. I have never encountered the concept of "overcompleteness" in the literature. Things are either complete or incomplete. One can speak about levels of institutional completeness in various sectors of life, but I could not really comment on "overcompleteness".

Official Languages committee  We often carry out analyses for communities that need to know how many rights holders there are in their school zone and district. We do these piecemeal with limited means, because we do not have all the data required to come up with an accurate estimate of populations that meet the criteria set out in section 23 of the charter.

Official Languages committee  Minister Joly's White paper shows that this is the direction she would like to take as well. I believe that's a good thing. There have already been studies on the subject. Mr. Landry, who is here with us today, could speak about it. All kinds of indicators could be explored with respect to people's linguistic practices, whether in the family, in public places or at work.

Official Languages committee  At the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities, Mr. Rodrigue Landry conducted research into school resources, which were not the same on the anglophone and francophone sides. The attractiveness of English may explain such phenomena, hence the importance of building educational infrastructures that can retain francophone students.

Official Languages committee  I'll begin, and Mr. Landry can supplement my answer. An amendment has already been made to the regulations, the exact name of which I forget, the purpose of which is to determine the regions where there's adequate demand for services in the minority language. The definition of those regions is far more inclusive now.

Official Languages committee  I don't know for whom your question's intended, but I'll take the liberty of answering it first. We had an act that defined two official language minorities in a way that didn't correspond to the way we had imagined Canada's linguistic landscape. We saw that the Canadian francophonie rested on a more fragile and more delicate foundation across the country as a whole, but that's not what's set forth in the Official Languages Act.

Official Languages committee  No. I think that, as a result of one particular interpretation, the government took a long time to implement various measures pursuant to its part VII obligations. You have to understand that part VII is a more recent development in the history of the Official Languages Act. The federal government's duty to ensure that positive measures are taken is also recent.

Official Languages committee  Thank you. As you mentioned, I have been executive director of the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities, the CIRLM, since 2012. Rodrigue Landry, who is also here today, was executive director of the Institute from 2002 to 2012. The institute was created in 2002 with funding that Canadian Heritage granted to the Université de Moncton.