LANG Committee Report

G. Youth

1. 2008-2013 Roadmap Investments: Initiatives and success stories

1.1 Youth Initiatives Fund (Canadian Heritage)

As indicated in the previous section on minority-language education and second-language instruction, youth figure prominently in the Roadmap. In fact, “building the future by investing in youth” is one of the five priority areas for government action identified in that document.

Under the programs delivered by the Department of Canadian Heritage, $12.5 million was allocated to youth initiatives in 2009‑2010. According to the department, resources allocated to youth initiatives made it possible to fund projects such as youth gatherings, sports and cultural events, training that appeals to the interests of young people (film, newspapers, Web content, and so on), initiatives promoting dialogue among Francophones, Francophiles and Anglophones, and the development of community spaces.

The Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française (FJCF) praised the Roadmap’s contribution to promoting linguistic duality to young Canadians:

The FJCF is extremely enthusiastic about seeing that one of the five areas for action under the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality is building the future by investing in youth. For the FJCF, linguistic duality is of major importance for the vitality of the minority Francophone communities because it is by making all Canadians aware of the fact that our country’s two official languages are an asset that the French language will be more appreciated and valued by everyone.

This valuing of linguistic duality is one of the ways of stopping the assimilation and decline in the French-speaking population. So it’s encouraging to see that the government understands the importance of linguistic duality, knowing that the objective is not to achieve a bilingual Canadian population, but rather to ensure respect for both official language cultures in Canada.

The youth network in Canada is pleased to see that many plans for the country’s youth have been implemented with Roadmap funding. Significant amounts of money have been allocated at various levels for youth, including internship awards, employment internships for translation students, summer language bursaries and, in particular, the Youth Initiatives Fund.[227]

1.1.1 Evidence and recommendations — Youth Initiatives Fund

On the other hand, the FJCF believes that the Roadmap investments could have been optimized:

However, the amounts allocated for youth initiatives have definitely not been invested in optimal fashion: first, because half of the budget set aside for the initiatives was invested in infrastructure; and second, because the youth initiatives amounts were to be spent in a single fiscal year.

… However, we know that premature initiatives that must be taken quickly and produce immediate results are not initiatives that will have permanent, strategic impact in our society.

That is why longer-term investments would have been preferable to ad hoc investment, over a single year, and why youth initiatives with demonstrated strategic impact should have been preferred.[228]

The FJCF made three recommendations for a future horizontal official languages initiative: implement structural programs that promote the civic engagement of young Francophones; promote initiatives outside schools; and invest in postsecondary education to ensure accessibility and quality. Those demands are consistent with the demands made by the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada, who in his Annual Report 2008‑2009 asked the government to give young people “more opportunities […] to participate in language exchanges and Canadians will have to be given the opportunity to acquire the language skills they need outside of the education system.”[229]

The FJCF also thought that it would be appropriate to strengthen relations between the federal government and young Francophones and suggested that the government clarify its vision for Francophone youth:

With youth, the government must more clearly establish the role of this important segment of the population with a view to promoting the development of the official language minority communities and linguistic duality.[230]

Lastly, the FJCF recommended that the government invest in current community stakeholders to enable them to do a better job of working with youth. A tripartite consultation mechanism would help establish common priorities and promote maximum use of federal investments in youth.

In view of the above, the Committee recommends:

Recommendation 20

That the Department of Canadian Heritage, with a view to a future horizontal official languages initiative, consult youth organizations in official language minority communities for the purpose of evaluating their needs and implementing structural programs.

1.2 University Scholarships Program in Translation (Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada)

Public Works and Government Services Canada’s (PWGSC) Translation Bureau received $8 million under the Roadmap to establish the University Scholarships Program in Translation. The purpose of the program, a component of the Canadian Language Sector Enhancement Program, is to enable postsecondary educational institutions to produce more translation and interpretation graduates.

According to a document submitted to the Committee by PWGSC, the department granted $735,250 to the University of Moncton, $1,789,508 to the University of Ottawa, $400,018 to York University’s Glendon College, $331,148 to St. Boniface University, $37,800 to McGill University, $160,920 to the University of Sherbrooke and $1,982,928 to the University of Montréal.[231]

The Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française (FJCF) expressed its appreciation of the scholarship program:

Some initiatives presented under the Roadmap are related to translation. They have been very well done. Public Works and Government Services Canada has played a role in managing a project that would grant translation internships to young translation students. The department has done that together with our federation to ensure that the program reflects what employers and students think and want.

It’s an initiative that has been very successful. It’s currently underway and is a tremendous success. For example, the data base contains the names of 300 students seeking an internship, whereas there are only 80 employers. We’ve reached the limit. We can’t give out any more than what the money allows. It’s a very big success.[232]

The Committee hopes that this program will be included in a future Government of Canada horizontal official languages initiative.