Speech (committee meeting)

{
    "time": "2022-11-01 11:05:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Mr. Denis Chartrand (President, Association des conseils scolaires des \u00e9coles publiques de l'Ontario)",
        "fr": "M. Denis Chartrand (pr\u00e9sident, Association des conseils scolaires des \u00e9coles publiques de l'Ontario)"
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"7544393\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Thank you for inviting the Association des conseils scolaires des \u00e9coles publiques de l'Ontario, ACEPO, of which I am president. I am accompanied by our executive director, Isabelle Girard. I am also the outgoing president of the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration nationale des conseils scolaires francophones, which has already shared with you an opinion that is very similar to mine. I am a retired professional engineer. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544394\" data-originallang=\"fr\">ACEPO represents French-language public school boards in Ontario. It manages 140 schools and offers quality education programs in French. Bill <a data-HoCid=\"11603137\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-13/\" title=\"An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts\">C\u201113</a> is a step in the right direction, but concrete and realistic amendments are needed so we can achieve our common goal of ensuring the sustainability and vitality of French and its cultures.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544395\" data-originallang=\"fr\">We need effective coordination without duplication. We need positive measures, which are required and not just appropriate, in order to achieve this. Today, we are asking for a very specific amendment, one we have asked for in the past. You will find it at tab 1 of the binder you received.<sup></sup></p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544396\" data-originallang=\"fr\">ACEPO members should be managing many more schools in order to provide French-language education to many more students. However, securing available land to build schools is a significant challenge to implementing section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The federal government owns a multitude of sites that it routinely disposes of, but it does not offer these sites to our members. All too often, our members learn too late, and too frequently from the media, that a site has been sold. One solution is to give French-language school boards a chance to acquire at market value\u2014we are not asking for money\u2014federal sites that are put up for sale.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544397\" data-originallang=\"fr\">In 2018, your committee went to Vancouver and discovered the same problem. For more than 20 years, the school board has not been able to build a school west of Main Street for lack of a site. The federal government implemented a disposal process that would meet the needs of this school board. The process began in 2005, but the school board still does not have a school west of Main Street.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544398\" data-originallang=\"fr\">These problems exist across the country. For that reason the committee recommended in 2019 that the Official Languages Act include \u201ca provision ensuring that the educational and cultural infrastructure needs of official language minority communities are identified as a priority in the Government of Canada's disposal process for surplus real property\u201d. Unfortunately, Bill <a data-HoCid=\"11603137\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-13/\" title=\"An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts\">C\u201113</a> is silent on that point. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544399\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Mr. Chair, you signed that report. Mr. G\u00e9n\u00e9reux, you signed that report. Mr. Samson, you signed that report. The Honourable <a data-HoCid=\"278907\" href=\"/politicians/mona-fortier/\" title=\"Mona Fortier\">Mona Fortier</a> also signed that report. I mention it because, as the President of the Treasury Board, she has the discretionary authority, but not the obligation, to improve the directive on the disposal of real property. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544400\" data-originallang=\"fr\">The directive in effect since 2006 specified that when disposing of real property, federal institutions were to consider the interests of communities, including official language minority communities. Despite that, school boards were ignored. Therefore, many of them have called for the Official Languages Act to be amended so that it expressly gives school boards a right of first refusal for federal sites subject to disposal.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544401\" data-originallang=\"fr\">The directive was amended last year. You would think that would be a good thing. However, the changes did not improve the directive. What I mentioned earlier was included in the 2006 directive, but it has disappeared. Now federal institutions only have an obligation to inform official language communities that they intend to dispose of a site. They are not required to inform them of when or how. </p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"7544393\" data-originallang=\"fr\"> Je vous remercie d'avoir invit\u00e9 l'Association des conseils scolaires des \u00e9coles publiques de l'Ontario, l'ACEPO, dont je suis le pr\u00e9sident. Je suis accompagn\u00e9 de notre directrice g\u00e9n\u00e9rale, Mme Isabelle Girard. Je suis aussi le pr\u00e9sident sortant de la F\u00e9d\u00e9ration nationale des conseils scolaires francophones, qui vous a d\u00e9j\u00e0 communiqu\u00e9 une opinion tr\u00e8s semblable \u00e0 la mienne. Je suis ing\u00e9nieur professionnel, maintenant \u00e0 la retraite.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544394\" data-originallang=\"fr\">L'ACEPO repr\u00e9sente les conseils scolaires publics de langue fran\u00e7aise de l'Ontario. Elle g\u00e8re 140 \u00e9coles et offre des programmes \u00e9ducatifs de qualit\u00e9 en fran\u00e7ais. Le projet de loi <a data-HoCid=\"11603137\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-13/\" title=\"An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts\">C\u201113</a> est un pas dans la bonne direction, mais des modifications concr\u00e8tes et r\u00e9alistes sont requises pour qu'il nous permette d'atteindre l'objectif que nous partageons tous, soit la p\u00e9rennit\u00e9 et l'essor du fran\u00e7ais et de ses cultures.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544395\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Il nous faut une coordination efficace et sans doublon. Il nous faut des mesures positives n\u00e9cessaires et non seulement indiqu\u00e9es pour ce faire. Aujourd'hui, nous vous demandons une modification tr\u00e8s pr\u00e9cise, que nous vous avons d\u00e9j\u00e0 demand\u00e9e par le pass\u00e9. Elle vous est pr\u00e9sent\u00e9e \u00e0 l'onglet n<sup>o</sup> 1 du cartable que vous avez re\u00e7u.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544396\" data-originallang=\"fr\"> Les membres de l'ACEPO devraient g\u00e9rer beaucoup plus d'\u00e9coles afin d'offrir une instruction en fran\u00e7ais \u00e0 beaucoup plus d'\u00e9l\u00e8ves. Cependant, l'obtention de terrains disponibles pour la construction d'\u00e9coles constitue un important d\u00e9fi \u00e0 la mise en \u0153uvre de l'article 23 de la Charte canadienne des droits et libert\u00e9s. Le gouvernement f\u00e9d\u00e9ral est propri\u00e9taire d'une multitude de sites qu'il ali\u00e8ne couramment, mais il n'offre pas ces sites \u00e0 nos membres. Ceux-ci apprennent, trop souvent trop tard et trop souvent dans les nouvelles, qu'un site a \u00e9t\u00e9 vendu. Donner la chance aux conseils scolaires de langue fran\u00e7aise d'acqu\u00e9rir des sites f\u00e9d\u00e9raux \u00e0 la valeur marchande \u2014 on ne demande pas d'argent \u2014 lorsque ceux-ci sont mis en vente serait donc une solution.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544397\" data-originallang=\"fr\">En 2018, votre comit\u00e9 s'est rendu \u00e0 Vancouver et y a constat\u00e9 le m\u00eame probl\u00e8me. L'absence d'un site emp\u00eache le conseil scolaire de construire une \u00e9cole \u00e0 l'ouest de la rue Main, et ce, depuis plus de 20 ans. Le gouvernement f\u00e9d\u00e9ral a entam\u00e9 un processus d'ali\u00e9nation d'un site qui r\u00e9pondrait aux besoins de ce conseil scolaire. Le processus a commenc\u00e9 en 2005, mais le conseil scolaire n'a toujours pas d'\u00e9cole \u00e0 l'ouest de la rue Main.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544398\" data-originallang=\"fr\"> Des probl\u00e8mes comme cela, il y en a partout au Canada, d'un oc\u00e9an \u00e0 l'autre. C'est la raison pour laquelle le Comit\u00e9 a recommand\u00e9 en 2019 que la Loi sur les langues officielles comprenne \u00ab une disposition qui fait en sorte que les besoins des communaut\u00e9s de langue officielle en situation minoritaire sur le plan des infrastructures scolaires et culturelles soient d\u00e9sign\u00e9s prioritaires dans le processus d'ali\u00e9nation des biens immobiliers exc\u00e9dentaires du gouvernement du Canada \u00bb. Malheureusement, le projet de loi <a data-HoCid=\"11603137\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-13/\" title=\"An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts\">C\u201113</a> demeure silencieux \u00e0 cet \u00e9gard.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544399\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Monsieur le pr\u00e9sident, vous avez sign\u00e9 ce rapport. Monsieur G\u00e9n\u00e9reux, vous avez sign\u00e9 ce rapport. Monsieur Samson, vous avez sign\u00e9 ce rapport. L'honorable <a data-HoCid=\"278907\" href=\"/politicians/mona-fortier/\" title=\"Mona Fortier\">Mona Fortier</a> a aussi sign\u00e9 ce rapport. Je le dis, parce que c'est maintenant elle, en tant que pr\u00e9sidente du Conseil du Tr\u00e9sor, qui a le pouvoir discr\u00e9tionnaire, mais non l'obligation, d'am\u00e9liorer la directive qui encadre le processus d'ali\u00e9nation des biens immobiliers.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544400\" data-originallang=\"fr\"> La directive en vigueur depuis 2006 pr\u00e9voyait que, lorsqu'elles ali\u00e8nent un bien immobilier, les institutions f\u00e9d\u00e9rales devaient tenir compte des int\u00e9r\u00eats des collectivit\u00e9s, incluant les communaut\u00e9s en situation de langue officielle minoritaire. Malgr\u00e9 cela, les conseils scolaires ont \u00e9t\u00e9 ignor\u00e9s. Plusieurs ont donc demand\u00e9 que la Loi sur les langues officielles soit modifi\u00e9e pour qu'elle encadre express\u00e9ment un droit de premier refus, par les conseils scolaires, des sites f\u00e9d\u00e9raux faisant l'objet d'ali\u00e9nation.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"7544401\" data-originallang=\"fr\">La directive a \u00e9t\u00e9 modifi\u00e9e l'an pass\u00e9. On aurait pu croire que ce serait bon. Pourtant, on ne l'a pas am\u00e9lior\u00e9e. Ce dont je viens de vous parler se trouvait dans la directive de 2006, mais cela a disparu. Maintenant, les institutions f\u00e9d\u00e9rales ont seulement l'obligation d'aviser les communaut\u00e9s de langue officielle qu'elles ont l'intention de disposer d'un site. Elles n'ont pas l'obligation de dire quand ou comment.</p>"
    },
    "url": "/committees/official-languages/44-1/38/denis-chartrand-1/",
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    "source_id": "11897312",
    "document_url": "/committees/official-languages/44-1/38/",
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