Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister responsible for French Language Services): Madam Speaker, I have a statement for the House. I am rising in my capacity as Minister responsible for French Language Services.
Madam Speaker, I am not sure if the official opposition has received a copy of the statement, but there were three copies provided in my tabling.
It is my pleasure today to table in this House the review of the provincial judge, Richard Chartier, on the operation of the province's French language services policy. In addition to the formal tabling, I believe we have a copy for every member that has been provided on their desks. Judge Chartier's report is aptly titled Above All, Common Sense. It focuses on making bilingual services more readily accessible in designated areas of the province. We believe the report contains a reasonable set of measures to enhance the implementation of the French language services policy of our province.
The report comprehensively covers the areas that Judge Chartier was asked to examine, and it would be useful to summarize them. First, he was asked to review the government's statement of French language services policy that was tabled in this House on the 6th of November, 1989. He was asked to comment on the text and recommend on updating it, making it more relevant to today's context and clarifying and/or strengthening it, all with a view to ensuring more consistent and effective implementation of services in French.
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Like all policies, the FLS policy should be reviewed from time to time to assess vital matters such as its effectiveness and the changes in circumstances and needs. We also asked him to review structures and systems supporting the implementation of the FLS policy and comment on their effectiveness in light of the results of the assessment of the active offer and delivery of services in French. Judge Chartier was asked to make recommendations respecting the existing and/or desirable ways to actively and effectively offer services in French.
The third aspect of the review was to examine the areas where Manitoba's French language population is concentrated to ensure that services are made available to those who wish to use them. In the course of his review, Judge Chartier consulted with members of the French-speaking community and with government staff who were instrumental in administering the FLS policy. This government agrees with Judge Chartier that we can better meet the objectives of our FLS policy by making sure that our services in French are actively offered in those regions where our Francophone population is concentrated. In addition, his recommendation that community service centres be established to serve as outlets for government services in designated Francophone areas is an idea that clearly merits serious consideration.
Madam Speaker, we are moving at once into the implementation stage respecting this report. We have set up an implementation strategy team, composed of the Clerk of the Executive Council and several deputy ministers and supported by the government's senior adviser on French language services and have asked them to report to the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and myself as Minister responsible for French Language Services on practical methods of acting on the recommendations.
We have also written to the heads of a number of provincial Franco-Manitoban organizations to invite them to submit opinions and comments on the report. We hope and expect to receive the implementation strategy and to begin implementation this fall. We will act as quickly as possible on Judge Chartier's recommendations.
Madame la présidente, j'aimerais souligner certains points dans la conclusion du rapport de Juge Chartier. Il écrit qu'il est: "important de chercher à trouver des solutions pratiques, immédiatement applicables et surtout des solutions qui mettent en valeur le bon sens." Comme lui, je suis convaincu que toutes les parties en cause veulent une amélioration de la prestation des services en français, d'une part, pour mettre en valeur le Manitoba, et d'autre part, pour assurer la vitalité et le développement d'une communauté qui a beaucoup donné et qui donnera beaucoup au Manitoba.
[Translation]
Madam Speaker, I would like to emphasize some points in the conclusion of Judge Chartier's report. He writes that it is "important to try to find practical solutions that could be applied immediately, above all, solutions that make use of common sense." Like him, I am convinced that all the parties involved want to improve the delivery of French language services, on the one hand, to enhance Manitoba and, on the other, to ensure the vitality and development of a community that has contributed much to Manitoba in the past and will continue to do in future.
[English]
Mr. Praznik: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan): Merci, Madame la présidente. Je voudrais remercier le ministre pour ce rapport aujourd'hui. Je voudrais dire que nous avons reçu ce rapport il y a 10 minutes et nous voulons avoir l'opportunité d'examiner, d'étudier ce rapport.
Je voudrais dire quelque chose d'abord. Premièrement, je suis heureux que nous avons un processus pour déterminer, pour examiner les systèmes à adopter pour l'amélioration des services en langue française au Manitoba. Je voudrais demander au gouvernement d'adopter un processus avec des dates pour déterminer quand nous allons adopter ces recommandations. Je voudrais, pour le Nouveau parti démocratique, que nous ayons l'opportunité comme tous les gens et toutes les organisations au Manitoba d'étudier et d'évaluer toutes les recommandations dans le rapport.
Je suis heureux que le ministre a dit que le Premier ministre sera responsable de déterminer le processus. Je pense que c'est quelque chose de très important, que le Premier ministre du Manitoba détermine le futur de la langue française ici au Manitoba.
Je voudrais dire quelque chose d'intéressant aussi, Madame la présidente. Nous avons déterminé que ce rapport a été donné au gouvernement en mai 1998. Le ministre de la Justice a dit que le Juge Chartier n'est pas en situation pour siéger comme juge, mais il a donné son rapport il y a un mois. Il serait intéressant de déterminer quand il a fini son rapport et quand le gouvernement a obtenu son rapport.
Nous aurons l'opportunité d'examiner les recommandations et de déterminer le futur de la langue française au Manitoba, mais pour la plupart, nous allons adopter la position de tous les Manitobains qui veulent améliorer la situation et déterminer un bon futur pour tout le monde au Manitoba qui parle français. Merci, Madame la présidente.
[Translation]
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the minister for this report today. I would like to say that we received this report 10 minutes ago, and we want to have the opportunity to examine it.
I would like to say firstly that I am pleased that we have a process to determine and examine the systems to be adopted for the improvement of French language services in Manitoba. I would like to ask the government to adopt a process with dates to determine when we will adopt these recommendations. For the New Democratic Party, we want to have the opportunity, like all other people and organizations in Manitoba, to examine and assess all the recommendations in the report.
I am pleased that the minister has stated that the First Minister (Mr. Filmon) will be responsible for determining the process. I think that it is very important that the First Minister of Manitoba determine the future of the French language here in Manitoba.
I would like to note something interesting also, Madam Speaker. We have determined that this report was given to the government in May 1998. The Minister of Justice (Mr. Toews) has stated that Judge Chartier is not in a position to sit as a judge, but he provided his report a month ago. It would be interesting to know when he finished his report and when the government obtained it.
We will have the opportunity to examine the recommendations and determine the future of the French language in Manitoba, but in general, we will adopt the position of all Manitobans who want to improve the situation and to ensure a positive future for all persons in Manitoba who speak French. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
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