Official Languages Committee on March 25th, 2014

[Michaël Béland]

As we mentioned in our presentation, a co-operative is formed to meet a common need.

Let us take a very concrete example, a theatre co-operative in Calgary. Francophones in Calgary were finding that there were no cultural services in French, or not enough of them, and expressed the desire to have some. What did they do? They came together to create an organization, a company, that would provide them with those services. It really was a project created by francophones for francophones.

It is the same, say, for a daycare. If people want their children to be able to go to a French-language daycare, or an English-language daycare in Quebec, but that service is not provided, they can set one up. Private entrepreneurs are not going to come to set up a daycare in those communities thinking that it will be profitable for them. The community will set up the daycare to meet the community's needs.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Béland.

Ms. St-Denis, you have the floor.

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

I would like to ask you a final question about that.

What is the percentage of co-operatives in Quebec, compared to the other provinces?

[Michaël Béland]

About 35%. There are 9,000 cooperatives and mutuals in Canada, and about 35% to 40% of them are in Quebec.

In addition, two thirds of all new co-operatives created in Canada each year are created in Quebec. Why? It is not so much because Quebeckers are more co-operative than other Canadians. Rather, it is because, in Quebec, there really is support for the development of co-operatives, in terms of expertise, getting started and financial products. The environment in Quebec is a favourable one, and we hope that it will become equally so elsewhere in the country.

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

The housing co-operative sector is having a lot of problems because the government is constantly looking at abolishing the program.

In your opinion, do housing co-operatives encourage francophone populations to remain in their minority francophone environments?

[Michaël Béland]

I think they clearly do, and we have concrete examples to support that. From Regina to Winnipeg to here in Ottawa, we have housing co-ops created by francophones for francophones so that they are able to live in a French environment. Of course, they are businesses, but, more than that, they maintain a living environment for francophones, often elderly francophones as well.

In Cheticamp, a wonderful project for elderly francophones is just getting started. The people there are using a co-operative model to make it possible for them out their lives in a francophone environment. That is another example of a community that wants to create a place for itself where it is possible to live in French.

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

Let me continue, because I have some other questions, but not a lot of time.

My next question goes to Ms. Unger.

In terms of job creation, do you believe that provinces are knowingly diverting federal funding for minorities to benefit programs for the majority? Are funds set aside for minority programs being used improperly?

For example, the last subject that our committee studied was immersion. Are funds set aside for minority programs used in other ways?

[Iris Unger]

I wish I could answer that question. I think it's a question that many of the groups on our employment round table ask. I don't know the answer to that. I wish we did, and I don't know whose responsibility it is to get that information, but we really don't know the answer to that.

The groups get funding now that provide English-language services, minimal funding, and we do what we can with that money. Is it earmarked for the English-speaking community, or for services in English? I really can't answer that question. I wish I could. I think it's a question that a lot of the community groups are asking.

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

It really is an important question.

Does the English-language minority in Quebec need a specific integration program for the provincial public service? As you were saying, and as I have seen myself, anglophones are instead turning to areas like finances, or selling houses, but there are few of them in the public service. Do we need to establish a specific program for them?

[Iris Unger]

It's possible. I don't know if that would work because as I mentioned there's the whole inclusion issue. So even if there are programs to integrate people into the provincial government services, it has to go beyond that. It has to be a program that's going to work with the people who they're bringing into the government services so that they feel included. I think that's the important piece. We could create all kinds of programs, but if they don't feel part of that system.... There's a lot of perception around the language issues, and a lot of the people we see are bilingual and are capable and able to go into the government. We see that even at the municipal level. We speak to people at the government level in the city, and they have no clue how many anglophones are there, or applying for jobs for there. So even just to start asking those questions and doing some of the research would help.

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

Does the economic situation for anglophones in Quebec differ depending on whether they live in an urban or a rural environment?

[Iris Unger]

It would be difficult for me to answer that question, but I think the opportunities for jobs are obviously greater in Montreal.

I think the rural areas have other issues, and we're working more and more with them to provide services to help with retention and renewal. A lot of their young people leave to go away to university and don't come back, so I think they have different challenges than we do in the city. I think we all have the challenges—

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

In other words, you are not working on that.

[Iris Unger]

Right, and I think for young people.... I keep saying that young people are mobile. We have to recognize that it's a global issue, but how do we attract people? I think that's the real issue in Quebec. We are attracting the people, but how do we maintain them and keep them? They want to be there. That's what's really frustrating for us. They want to be there, but there are so many circumstances working against that happening.

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

Ms. Bossé or Ms. Kenney, could you tell me to what extent Quebec institutions are part of francophone community development in the other provinces? In other words, are francophones in Quebec helping minority francophone groups in the other provinces?

[Marie-France Kenny]

There is an agreement with the Quebec government's Secrétariat aux affaires intergouvernementales canadiennes. We have excellent cooperation with the Quebec government. I am talking about all francophone and Acadian communities, not just the FCFA. We share expertise and training. In health education, for example, I can tell you that services are loaned and expertise is shared.

Someone mentioned the Forum pancanadien sur le développement économique en francophonie canadienne. It took place in 2012 and the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie took part. Quebec was also present and provided a good part of the funding for the forum. At the end of the forum, we had established a strategy for the Canadian francophonie. It included Quebec and the communities outside Quebec.

We ourselves have a branch office in Quebec City, which is largely financed by the Quebec government. Our work has been done in cooperation with the Quebec government for years.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Ms. Bateman, the floor is yours.

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My thanks to all the witnesses appearing here today. It is very much appreciated. You seem like a very diversified group to me.

You are probably aware that our government is focused above all on job creation, especially for young people, as well as on economic growth and long-term prosperity. This is very important for our generation, but also for all generations to come.

This morning, I was at a meeting put on by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada. It was a book launch. I have to say that chartered accountants—I am an accountant myself—are also focused on financial literacy. I have a quotation here that comes from this morning's presentation. Unfortunately, it is in English only.

The report identified financial literacy as critical to the prosperity of Canada, pointing out that, “Increasing the knowledge, skills and confidence of Canadians to make responsible financial decisions will help them meet their personal goals, enhance their quality of life and make Canada more competitive.”

This morning was the launch of the publication called. Protecting you and your money: a guide to avoiding identity theft and fraud. They also launched two other books dealing, I think, with financial literacy for young people and for Canadians as a whole.

The objective of the government and of the chartered accountants is to educate people all over Canada in financial matters. I see a close link between what we and your federation are both looking for.

Ms. Bossé, do you want to comment on that?

[Suzanne Bossé, Executive Director, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada]

Thank you for asking this question, which is so important. There are various aspects to the answer.

For instance, OECD's international investigations assess the levels of literacy and numeracy, whether it be in computer science, math, science or another field. The results of those investigations conducted under OECD's PEICA were published last fall. Canadian Heritage, Statistics Canada and other departments have joined forces with our community organizations, including Réseau pour le développement de l'alphabétisme et des connaissances, and with FCFA to see how those data could help us better understand the specific needs of our communities, in order to develop retraining and equivalency programs.

There are linguistic data, but the resulting analysis will not have sufficient sampling of our francophone minority communities to make it possible to know the needs that vary, depending on whether the communities are rural or urban.

Two or three years ago, the same problem came up when Employment and Social Development Canada, Industry Canada, Canadian Heritage and Statistics Canada joined forces to conduct a study on francophone companies to find out how the francophone business community was doing. Unfortunately, it was not possible to put together the databases, because not all the investigations that were carried out included linguistic data. Once again, we do not have access to information dealing specifically with the communities.

It is important to include research that enables us to understand our own challenges and circumstances. That is the only way the federal, provincial and territorial governments can fully understand them as well. We are dealing with a serious challenge.

I hope that answers your question.

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Thank you.

Does anyone else want to answer?

[Michaël Béland]

I will add something quickly.

The caisses populaires and credit unions are leaders in financial literacy. That also includes the caisses in minority settings. In Quebec, we are not in a minority situation, but the co-operative family economics associations provide financial literacy training only. Unfortunately, we only find that model in Quebec.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Mr. Daniel now has the floor.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, witnesses, for being here.

I'm going to direct my questions to the YES group.

I want to talk about entrepreneurship a little bit. Can you talk to us about the entrepreneurship funding that YES allocates? What kinds of businesses are anglophone entrepreneurs starting in Quebec? Of the 200-odd businesses that YES funds each year, how many of them are first-time entrepreneurs?

It's a bundle of questions, but please go ahead.

[John Aylen]

Perhaps I'll answer the last question first.

There has been a shift in the kinds of entrepreneurs that we've seen over the last few years. In prior years of the organization the businesses that people have been forming have been truly nascent cottage industries and home businesses. We are seeing a move to a more truly entrepreneurial profile, where many of our clients now have existing businesses that actually employ people, businesses that are up and running, and expanding. Anglophone speakers don't start anglophone businesses. They start businesses that serve Quebeckers, and generally speaking, they serve in the language of their clients.

Another very important issue is that there are at least two kinds of entrepreneurs. There are entrepreneurs who absolutely have a passion for starting a business, being their own boss, and driving a new thing. There are also those people—and there are many—who come to YES, who are frustrated because they cannot find a job, who want to settle or stay in Quebec, and as a second option they try to start a business in order to create the lives they want to create for themselves. That's more common than one might think.

[Iris Unger]

In terms of the types of business—I'm just looking at our statistics here—about 35% start something in the service industry, about 8% to 10% in e-commerce. Twenty-four per cent are self-employed artists. Retail and hospitality make up 8%, and import-export is about 8%. That gives you some idea. We're seeing a real shift towards the e-commerce. Also, a lot of people are coming to us interested in the whole co-op piece. It's a growing industry, especially amongst young people.