Official Languages Committee on Feb. 27th, 2014

[Isabelle Salesse]

I would not like to mislead you, but I think that francophones have their fair share of jobs. Often, people settle in the Yukon because they have found a job there. The people who settle in the Yukon without having found a job are few and far between. Of course, there are young people who come to the Yukon in the summer, find that they love it, and stay. But they leave again if they do not find a job. So I would certainly say that things balance out.

The difference is in the number of bilingual jobs. Of the 4,000 jobs in the territorial government, about 5 positions are designated bilingual. Some francophones feel that it is hard for them to get into the system because of the language barrier.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

In the next few years in the Yukon, which occupations will be most in demand, which skills will be most sought after? That could send a signal to people who might be interested in settling in the Yukon. They have to know that basic skills are needed in order to find a reasonable job there.

[Isabelle Salesse]

There are a lot of service sector jobs in the Yukon. So those are not always very well paid. There are some jobs in the mines. People say that there is no economic crisis in the Yukon, but we have to add a note of caution. In a number of areas, like surveying, for example, there was a lot of work previously. There were a lot of land claims. That is behind us now. We notice the decline.

So some specialized occupations are currently in decline. But there will be jobs for people in different areas. We can think of all the mining-related jobs, like heavy equipment operators or cooks. There is also work in tourism and administration.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Is housing developing in step with the jobs? Is it hard to find somewhere to live?

[Isabelle Salesse]

Thank you for pointing that out. Finding somewhere to live is a major problem in the Yukon. It is very difficult. Sometimes, young people arrive in town to look for a job, but they cannot find anywhere to live. So they end up leaving again because it is too expensive to live on their own. A room often costs $800 or $700. So it is not always easy.

At the AFY, we help our new employees when they arrive; we help them to find somewhere to live. Not all employers are always like that. It is not easy to find a place to live in Whitehorse.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Usually people come to see how things will go, men and women alike. If they like the experience, they invite the rest of the family to join them.

What welcome services are there for new families coming to the Yukon?

[Isabelle Salesse]

The AFY provides a French-speaking daycare. We take children as young as six months. The school takes kids from the age of four, from kindergarten to grade 12. The Association franco-yukonnaise also provides an employment assistance service. If people arrive without jobs, or if a spouse does not have a job, for example, we provide employment assistance services. They can talk to counsellors who can help them in their job searches. At the same time, we send them to services that will help them get a health care card or find out how things work in Whitehorse, and so on.

For French-speaking immigrants who settle in the Yukon, the Association franco-yukonnaise has a welcome service that helps them with various things.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Gourde.

Ms. St-Denis, you have the floor.

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Speaking of the school, you just said that the school takes children. The Yukon Court of Appeal handed down a decision on February 11. Can you tell us what the decision was about?

[Isabelle Salesse]

In 2009, the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon brought a court case against the territorial government asking for full school management. The case lasted some time, then the territorial government appealed to the Court of Appeal for the Yukon, which declared a mistrial on the grounds that the judge was biased. Because of the apprehension of bias on the part of the judge, a new trial was ordered, to which the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon reacted by going to the Supreme Court of Canada.

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Why did the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon sue the government in the first place?

[Isabelle Salesse]

There were a number of reasons, including the request for full school management, meaning the ability to make the selections when hiring teachers, managing the buses, and so on. It was about having full management of the school.

There were also some difficulties in transfers with bilateral education agreements. Some sums of money that were supposed to be used for French as a first language had been transferred to French as a second language. There were a number of little things like that.

There was also the matter of giving the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon the right to decide who could be admitted to the school. There were a number of constitutional questions.

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Budgets set aside for first-language French had been transferred to immersion, given that it is very popular all over Canada, except in Quebec.

How did people react?

[Isabelle Salesse]

Some did not react, but most people are clearly shocked by that kind of practice. The territorial government was ordered to repay the amount immediately to the school board and it largely did so before the Court of Appeal's decision. Clearly, people were not happy. It meant less money. As well, in education, we know that additional money is needed to get to the same level of services; even more money, given that we have to play catch up and that we have a lot of francization to do. Francophone schools have challenges that anglophone schools know nothing about.

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

What is your position on those who do not meet the criteria set out in section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? It deals with those who have the right to primary education in French as a first language. If you only have a francophone grandmother, for example, you do not meet the criteria.

What is your organization's position on that?

[Isabelle Salesse]

In general, we support the decisions of the school board. They run the school. It is a funding issue, but it is also a values issue for some people. It is very complex. We can discuss it. It is done case by case. Not all those who are not guaranteed the right are accepted. Some of the people have a unique profile. They often speak French at home, or they are francophiles. In some cases, I think that admitting them to the French school is justified. The decision should be made by the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon.

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

As I listen to you, I get the impression that everything really is all sweetness and light.

What kind of relationship do francophones and anglophones have in the Yukon?

[Isabelle Salesse]

Everything is not all sweetness and light, but in the Yukon, it is still pretty good. That was not always the case, but at the moment, our relationship with the territorial government is excellent. We are working together to increase government services in French. The legislation comes from 25 years ago and, to this day, there has never been an implementation plan for it. The Association franco-yukonnaise asked for mediation with the territorial government and that paved the way to some openness and cooperation. So we are working together.

As for the anglophone community, some people certainly think that francophones receive too much money and make too many demands, but in general, there is good synergy between the francophone and anglophone communities. Our association does a lot of work with anglophone organizations. We even obtained funding from Canadian Heritage to support anglophone organizations in the goal of establishing bilingual products or services.

I am not going to tell you that things are going badly, just for the sake of saying so. However, everything that has been accomplished was accomplished only because we were financially supported by the government. If that financial support were to be reduced or eliminated, things would change completely. We would not be able to invest all this time, or maintain this one-stop shop that allows us to serve the community and design projects in cooperation with anglophones.

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

On the subject of funding, was there any consultation about the 58%? I met yesterday with people from the RDEE. They mentioned a figure of 70%, meaning that applicants would get funding on condition that they find 30% of the funding in the private sector.

[Isabelle Salesse]

Yes, it is about leverage. Exactly. That is what we have been told.

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

They are going to appear before this committee too. I will ask them if they were consulted.

What will happen if you do not find 42% of the funding to add to the 58%? Are they going to take that part away?

[Isabelle Salesse]

At this time, I do not know.

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Have you asked the questions?

[Isabelle Salesse]

We have asked the questions, but we only get answers bit by bit. Getting that kind of answer is difficult. They tell us the goal is not to make us go away or reduce our funding, but to encourage private investment.

There are two different issues. First, the 58% that we mentioned affects operating costs. Second, we are being asked to obtain 30% of our funding from a source other than any level of government, territorial, federal or municipal. What will happen if we don't get there? We will have to reduce our services.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Daniel, you have the floor.