DIALOGUE CANADA

Minutes - November 18, 2004
Compte rendu du 18 novembre 2004
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING/RÉUNION GÉNÉRALE ANNUELLE

QUORUM : There were 14 members present and 7 proxies for a total of 21. A quorum was attained. There were also six guests.

1. REGISTRATION:   The members chatted with each other informally during the registration.
   
   
2. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AND APPROVAL OF AGENDA / REMARQUES PRÉLIMINAIRES DU PRÉSIDENT ET ADOPTION DE L'ORDRE DU JOUR. :   The president, Viateur Bergeron, welcomed everyone and presented the agenda which was duly seconded and approved unanimously.
   
   
3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE LAST AGM (2003) / ADOPTION DU PROCÈS-VERBAL DE L'ASSEMBLÉE DE 2003. :   Laurent Isabelle moved and Roland Rainville seconded that the minutes be approved as presented. Passed unanimously.
   
   
4. BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES OF THE 2003 AGM. / AFFAIRES DÉCOULANT DU PROCÈS-VERBAL DE L'ASSEMBLÉE GÉNÉRALE DE 2003:   There was no business arising from the minutes.
   
   
5. APPROVAL OF FINANCIAL STATEMENT / ADOPTION DE L'ÉTAT FINANCIER COURANT.   Jim White moved and John Trent seconded that the treasurer's report be approved as presented. Passed unanimously.
   
   
6. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS / ÉLECTION DES MEMBRES DU CONSEIL D'ADMINISTRATION :   Since all directors had been elected at last year's AGM for a term of two years, there was no election this year.
   
   
7. REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE LAST YEAR/ RAPPORT SUR LES ACTIVITÉS DE L'ANNÉE PASSÉE..   Viateur presented a summary of last years' activities. This report will be posted on the Website.
   
   
8. NEW BUSINESS:   John Trent suggested a joint project between Dialogue Canada and other organizations in the National Capital Region which are also working towards Canadian Unity. He suggested such things as a National Capital Region Conference on French/English relations and the treatment of minorities. He hopes that out of this a permanent organization might be born. He left some documentation for the Dialogue Canada Board to study.
   
   
9. ADJOURNMENT:   Jon Legg moved and Ross Paquin seconded that the meeting adjourn for lunch.
   
   
10. ADDRESS AND DISCUSSION WITH JACQUES LEGENDRE, COUNCILLOR FOR THE CITY OF OTTAWA, ON BILINGUALISM AND THE LANGUAGE POLICY OF THE CITY OF OTTAWA:
    
    Summary of Speaker's Presentation

    SPEAKER: JACQUES LEGENDRE, OTTAWA CITY COUNSELLOR FOR RIDEAU/ROCKCLIFFE WARD AND MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON FRENCH LANGUAGES SERVICES.

    Mr. Legendre provided the group with a brief history and update on the status of the bilingualism policy for the City of Ottawa. Following are some of the salient points from his remarks.

    On May 9th, 2001 the City of Ottawa formally adopted a policy governing how service would be provided by city staff to their clients (taxpayers).This policy is identical to the policy of the old City of Ottawa and has been in place since 1982. In an amendment in 1994 all senior positions in municipal offices were designated bilingual. In essence this policy says that the client determines in which of the two official languages (English and French) he/she wishes to interact. When this amendment was passed there were only two francophones on the council.

    After the amalgamation to form the new City of Ottawa, the City asked the Province to incorporate the current City of Ottawa Policy into provincial law. The former provincial government said on 2 or 3 occasions that the City Services are a responsibility of the municipal government. Last year a new Liberal Government in the province said that they would address the issue. To date this has not been done and at present the Province is talking of starting a public consultation process about this. However, the City feels that, considering the amount of public discussion which has already taken place on this issue, another consultation process at this time could be counterproductive and divisive. However, if hearings must be held the city would like to see them take place in the context of a parliamentary committee.

    In closing Mr. Legendre suggested that what we as a group and as individuals could do would be to write to Premier McGinty and Mme Meilleur asking the province to proceed with the legislation as quickly as possible and expressing our opinion that further public discussion is not necessary. Mr. Legendre then opened the meeting up for questions

    QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:.

    The first question came from Sebastian Anders, Spokesman for Canadians for Language Fairness who asked what Mr. Legendre would have against a referendum. Mr. Legendre replied that it is very difficult to formulate a question for a referendum that takes into account all of the intricacies of such an issue and consequently voters are voting blindly.

    In the second question Jon Legg commented that the term Official Bilingualism is often used in connection with the City's policy and suggested that it would be better to say Policy of Bilingualism or Policy of offering services in both languages. Mr. Legendre agreed.

    Steve Woollcombe followed with the comment that he is not in favour of a referendum because it is essentially a proxy for those who are against bilingualism in Canada.

    Laurent Isabelle thanked Mr. Legendre and Viateur Bergeron closed the meeting with the comment that as in the Quebec referendum it is a simple question, but no simple answer can be given. The Capital City of Canada is a part of Canadian unity and if we want unity we must accept compromise.

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Prepared by /Préparé par Judy Purdom, Secrétaire de Dialogue Canada/Secretary of Dialogue Canada