Question Period Note: Official Languages Sector in the Context of COVID-19

The current health crisis has significant impacts in various spheres of activity, including the official languages sector. The Government of Canada is taking measures to support official languages and official language minority communities in times of crisis.

• It is important to support the official languages sector, which is, like many other sectors, suffering the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.
• Our Government has implemented numerous measures to help Canadians in times of crisis. I encourage organizations in the official languages sector to take advantage of them.
• The crisis has highlighted where challenges remain. As our government pursues its commitment to modernize the Official Languages Act, we will have to take these observations into account so that the Act remains relevant.
• We work closely with the President of the Treasury Board, our Cabinet colleagues and the Commissioner of Official Languages to ensure that all federal services are offered in full compliance with the Official Languages Act, including in times of crisis.

· Access in the language of the minority to social and health services, public health directives (press conferences and others) and community activities to reduce isolation has suffered.
· On October 29, 2020, the Commissioner of Official Languages (COL) tabled his report in Parliament A Matter of Respect and Safety: The Impact of Emergency Situations on Official Languages. In his report, he says that he sounded "the alarm in regards to the non-compliance of federal institutions with the linguistic obligations in emergency situations ..." and makes three recommendations intended for federal institutions.
 
· Since the start of the crisis, the COL has received 72 admissible complaints, relating both to the lack of communications or the provision of services in both official languages by the Government of Canada (Part IV of the Act ) and on language of work rights of federal public servants in bilingual designated regions (Part V).
· A survey conducted by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne among its members reveals that the sectors hardest hit are community media, arts and culture, small businesses, as well as daycare centers. The main issues relate to postponement and cancellation of activities, loss of income, and the challenges of remote activities.
· Francophone communities outside Quebec constitute a vulnerable population because of their demographic composition (higher presence of people aged 65 and over) and their presence in greater proportion in rural areas or in small communities.
· The education sector is also affected. There is a risk of teacher shortages, which the pandemic could worsen if there is a higher rate of absences among teachers, a reduction in class sizes, and/or declining enrollments in post-secondary programs in education.
· For post-secondary institutions, revenue losses are expected due to the cancellation of student recruitment campaigns and, above all, lower enrollment of international students.
· In terms of second-language learning, confinement is detrimental to exposure to the French language. This is especially true for students in immersion programs. The lack of resources to support this distance learning was noted. Several inequalities would be exacerbated by home schooling, including the lack of support for parents who do not speak French, access to the Internet and computer equipment.
• Emergency financial assistance programs helped mitigate the shock of the pandemic for community organizations, their employees and Canadians as a whole.
• The crisis prompted the creation of an Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations of $ 500 million. Minority community media (newspapers and radio stations) were eligible, as were several arts and cultural organizations from official language minority communities (OLMCs).
o Nearly 500 organizations from OLMCs received a total of $ 9.6 million through this Fund. These figures include 74 organizations receiving support from Official Languages Support Programs (OLSPs) which received more than $ 1.2 million from this Fund through the OLSPs.
o For organizations ineligible for pandemic assistance measures or programs, they still benefit from continued government support and greater flexibility. Canadian Heritage has reviewed the administrative operation of its official languages support programs (OLSPs) in order to speed up fund transfers to beneficiaries, by leveraging existing flexibilities and process improvements. The Department is also taking administrative measures to accommodate organizations in the official languages sector, for example by extending certain deadlines.
o The 2020-2021 OLSP programming funds support the operational costs of more than 280 non-profit organizations. OLSPs represent approximately $ 431 million per year (2019-2020 forecast). 2020-2021 calls for projects under six program sub-components took place in fall 2019 and winter 2020, and successful projects are currently being approved.
• As part of Canada's Economic Response Plan to Respond to COVID-19, the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) is providing more than $ 1.5 billion (which includes the $ 600 million announced in October, on top of the initial $ 962 million announced in May 2020) to help businesses and communities that may need additional support to deal with and recover from the pandemic.
• This fund is implemented by the six regional development agencies (ADR) on an ongoing basis and until funds are exhausted. The OLMCs have access to the RRRF and have been identified as a priority by certain ADRs.
• Of this amount, an additional $15 million per year is earmarked from 2019-2020 to 2022- 2023 to increase support for minority-language education. This additional support, announced in Budget 2019, is conditional on commitments from the provinces and territories to improve stakeholder consultation and transparent accountability.
• On August 26, 2020, the Prime Minister announced up to $2 billion in support for provinces and territories through the Safe Return to Class Fund. This will provide the complementary funding provinces and territories need. This will provide them with the additional funding they need as they keep students and staff safe throughout the school year, working with local school boards and service centers.

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