Mr. Chair, honourable members of the committee, thank you.
This is the first time I have taken part in a committee hearing, and I hope you will like what I have to say. As an entrepreneur, I thank you sincerely for giving me the opportunity to speak to you about a topic I am passionate about, which is the economy of minority francophone communities.
As far back as my twenties, I worked for various francophone community organizations, in different sectors of activity, and I saw that there were economic challenges in that community environment. We really had to find ways of funding our organizations. Afterwards, during more than 15 years, I created and managed two private businesses. The first one, Mécén'art, dealt with events, and this one, L'Art du développement, is concerned with community economic development.
I think I can say that today I have a good knowledge of the phases businesses go through in their development, both private and community ones, in light of my professional experience and the lessons I have learned, but also because of the training and support I offer on a daily basis, every week — and have for years now — to entrepreneurs in several Canadian regions. I train and support young people, women, immigrants, or groups of people who choose to create their own business together and to generate wealth in their community.
What are we talking about when we refer to the francophone economy? I don't know if you are familiar with the Pan-Canadian Forum on Economic Development in the Canadian Francophonie, which took place in 2012. I was part of its steering committee. This forum was the first event where it was recognized that there was a plural economy among linguistic minorities, as in the broader society, as a matter of fact. This diverse economy takes into account the fact that there are private, social and public economies. However, we noted when we organized the forum that there really was a great deal of strength in the economy of francophone minority communities.
We noted that there are 430,000 francophone businesses in Canada, which represents 18% of all Canadian businesses, and that 70,000 of them are located outside of Quebec, and that they create employment everywhere, in both rural and urban areas.
In addition, 22% of these jobs are occupied by francophones in all sectors of the economy. One thing is interesting when we talk to economists. It is important to do so if we want to be recognized as an economy that plays a role, and has an influence on the broader economy and creates spinoffs in the society in which we live. Economists also consider impacts on the GDP and in that regard, we have managed to collect some figures. The economists were surprised by the scope of the economic activities generated by the Canadian francophonie, as it represents $230.5 billion, which is to say 19% of the Canadian GDP. That is quite striking. Each dollar of the GDP that comes from the francophone economic space contributes to generating 52¢ more for the Canadian GDP, while providing tax income of $23.4 billion to the various levels of government. This economy which is generated by francophones in minority communities but also by francophones period, is considerable. It is important to me, it is important for entrepreneurs, that is to say the men and women who create all kinds of businesses, but it is also important for all levels of government.
Obviously, in the context of that forum, we could not gather all of the data to document all sectors of activity. That is part of the first challenge we are facing. This is probably true of you as well. There is a blatant lack of data on the francophone economic space in the provinces and territories, as well as nationally. In order to be able to discover all of the facets of the economic sectors, a dialogue is necessary. There is a crying need for it.
The majority of figures we managed to collect touch on the more traditional economy, the more conventional economy as we know it, that is to say private business. We could say today that despite all of that wealth, the minority francophone economy is even richer.
There are many of us who support entrepreneurial development in French in minority milieus, particularly the Conseil de la coopération de l'Ontario, the Coopérative de développement régional au Nouveau-Brunswick, the RDEE, which you probably know, and the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal, a social enterprise I am associated with. There is also Passerelle-I.D.É., that focuses on entrepreneurship and works with young immigrant men and women, the Fonds d'emprunt économique communautaire, which offers support while providing access to credit, as well as many other organizations. Those organizations offer support, training, guidance and advice.
All of these entities and these people who are involved in the development of entrepreneurship do so in order to propose strategies, to learn from their experience, to document what works well and determine what would be needed for things to work even better. They get involved to create more businesses in our communities, and hence greater wealth, and to support inclusive entrepreneurial growth. Inclusiveness is important. As I was saying earlier, we are talking about both private and community businesses that are developed and managed by women, men, young people, immigrants, and this is going on in both rural and urban areas. All of these people create products and local services and support the local economy.
Despite all the effort that has been expended and some significant economic steps forward, we can see that many members of minority official language communities are marginalized by the market, by the economy, and sometimes by conventional business approaches. People organize in order to meet those challenges. The economy is not homogeneous; it takes many forms. That is why we have to understand all aspects of our economy.
Everyone is familiar with the private sector, made up of businesses, from the smallest operations, through small businesses as such, to multinationals. Everyone is familiar with the public sector, made up of the various levels of government, and of which you are a part. But there is another sector called the social economy. This is an economy of togetherness. This is the category in which we find collectives and co-operatives in all areas of activity. We also find all the community organizations that have chosen to provide services and sell products on the market in order to generate income and create wealth.
All those businesses fill niches that the market, the private sector, did not respond to. They also stimulate innovation in our communities at the same time as they improve the delivery of social, economic and social services to our communities.
For example, when no health services exist in a village, the people there will get together and establish a health co-operative. If they need daycare services, they will start a daycare as a social undertaking. If they want funeral services nearby so that they do not have to drive three hours in order to find them, they will start a business that will provide them. By coming together to provide the services for themselves, they create jobs and generate wealth inside their communities.
Basically, these community businesses promote economic growth in their own environment and help to revitalize it. Projects of that kind often improve the standard of living in my community and in those where I have worked. They come to grips with the weak points in our communities and with the need to revitalize them.
Even more impressive is the place that collective business occupies in our national economy. Currently, co-operatives, mutuals and not-for-profit organizations represent between 8% and 10% of the GDP. We came up with that figure a few years ago using data we had gathered from here and there. It is an indicator that positions this type of economy as one to be taken seriously.
Let us mention the survival rate of those businesses. The fact that three, four, five or six people have worked together to make their business a reality in their community ensures that the business meets a real need, has a real market. They also ensure that connections are made in their communities, one of which is a connection of use. But there is more. All kinds of skills are called on to contribute to the business project. About 66% or 67% of the businesses are still active five years after they were started. By way of comparison, the figure for the private sector is about 30%.
This form of entrepreneurship, which often operates at a disadvantage, without access to all the development resources available in various forms, has still a huge amount of impact in the community.
I know that people from the co-operative movement have already talked to you about co-operatives, so I will not do so. They will have talked to you about Alphonse Desjardins, the first credit union, agri-food co-operatives and all the rest. You know that it represents more than 18 million members, thousands of jobs, millions of dollars in dividends and billions of dollars in assets. At any given time, these are often the businesses that will decide to reinvest in a community because that is one of their principles. They will support other forms of entrepreneurship in that community.
Let me give you some examples. Take the Groupe Convex, in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, in eastern Ontario. Who will hire people with disabilities? Not many businesses want to deal with the hassle of hiring, training and supervising them. The Groupe Convex decided to step up to the plate. A group of social workers found out what a social business is all about. Today, the Groupe Convex is celebrating 10 years in operation. It has set up nine social businesses and created 120 jobs. It is a presence in every village in eastern Ontario. The co-operative succeeded in using funds intended for people with disabilities and invested them in companies that hire the people with disabilities and that meet community needs. They operate printing, woodworking and recycling services for the towns and villages of eastern Ontario.
Take the co-operative grocery in Moonbeam. The village grocery was about to close. People mobilized. In a few weeks, they had gathered $300,000, bought the grocery and kept it open. When it did not belong to them, they would get together and go elsewhere. Now, it is their own business.
Francophone communities are becoming entrepreneurs; they are doing things; they are mobilizing capital. They are starting renewable energy companies. They are creating strategies so that small businesses can be passed on. Did you know that 65% of small businesses in rural Canada have no one to pass the business on to?
It is important to be very specific about all forms of entrepreneurship and to recognize that they each play a specific role. They each contribute to the economy, they each create wealth and provide our communities with jobs, services and quality products. Public strategies and policies must be established to assist them, as must specific approaches.
In the document I submitted, I have 41 recommendations. I will not read them all. The recommendations are not pie in the sky; they are firmly rooted in practicality. They deal specifically with strengthening skills, with diversifying financing, and with developing markets, networks, strategic planning, research and documentation. The stories of our minority situations must be told. Some recommendations offer suggestions for the joint implementation of public policy in order to create a supportive environment. They also deal with the socio-economic integration of immigrants and with youth participation in the economy.
Thank you.
