Official Languages Committee on April 3rd, 2014

[Susan Anzolin]

Quickly, I know that there's one to respond.

With the renewal of the agency of FedDev Ontario, one of our areas of focus is, in fact, trying to increase the diversification of markets for businesses in Southern Ontario, and that obviously applies to francophone businesses. As I indicated earlier, I think that francophone businesses have an advantage in terms of having another language. France is a great partner, but, as you indicated, there are other partners, and the trade agreement that we just signed with Europe is a good platform for Canada and our businesses to get access to the European market. We are working with our partners in terms of looking at other markets across the world, and RDÉE—le Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité—has really done some good work in terms of providing some symposiums for francophone business to see how they can access trade across the world.

[France Guimond]

I think francophone companies in the west are very well positioned to take advantage of this agreement. Through our own programming, we support export activities, of course.

A good example is in Manitoba. We have the only world trade centre that's a bilingual world trade centre. They already have established relationships with many countries that do business with the French communities. They deliver our new CBN programming in the region so going back to the question to you about duplication and that. It's centralized and it helps business. It's the next step.

[Kimberly Fairman]

I would say the context in each of the three territories is quite different. We don't consider our export market a driver right now in terms of the economy. A big driver for us is mining. In the Northwest Territories in particular the francophone association began this outreach to Europe. It's very new for us. But they have been attracting.... I'm not sure; I would describe the investments as small and medium-sized enterprises that see an opportunity to expand their business in the territories. That's more the type of investment we're attracting at this point.

Certainly the francophone association has been active in promoting tourism, and tourism becomes a vehicle for some small export businesses like cottage industries and arts and crafts. The GNWT and the territorial governments are quite focused on this sort of offshoot of the tourism piece, but as I say, it's a very new initiative. They have started to expand not only the participants in the outreach but the countries they are reaching out to as well, so it's exciting.

[Lucie Perreault]

For northern Ontario our statistics show that our organizations are behind in what they can do as far as exporting, so it has been identified as a priority for us in the last couple of years in order to help assist that.

Our focus is on innovation, on assisting these small businesses to develop what they need from a marketing perspective or from a manufacturing perspective in order to be able to better access the markets and to export more. Knowing that a lot of them are working in the fields of mining and forestry, there is certainly opportunity to expand on that front.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you very much.

We'll now go to Mr. Nicholls.

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My questions are for Mr. Tanguay and Madame Goulet.

As you know, the QCGN has done a lot of work with the English-speaking community of Quebec. They came up with a document outlining priorities and strategies for this community.

My first question would be, how are the investment decisions made by Canada Economic Development guided by this document, the “2012 to 2017 Community Priorities and Enabling Strategies of the English-Speaking Community of Quebec”?

[Serge Tanguay]

I am not very familiar with that document. However, I can say that the projects that are submitted and developed are approved with the EDI in mind. I can forward you the details of the QCGN report later.

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

That document was developed in 2012 over a six-month period, in consultation with the organizations and communities, and your department is not very familiar with it. Is that correct?

[Serge Tanguay]

I am the one who is not familiar with it. I am not saying that CED is not familiar with it. I would like to be able to give you a much more specific answer soon.

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Okay, thank you.

What outreach is undertaken by Canada Economic Development to ensure that access to available resources is widely and equitably available to the many community groups working in the economic development sector to enhance the vitality of the English-speaking community of Quebec?

[Serge Tanguay]

As I mentioned previously, we have had a number of meetings with community groups. We have had over 50 meetings with community groups in the past two years including QCGN, including YES, including the dialogue day. That's how we gather the information on a macro scale.

As I also mentioned previously, where we also have an advantage are the links we have in every region of Quebec by our representatives on-site in the bureaux d'affaires or business offices that are in constant communication with minority groups and OLMC groups on a regular basis because they are our clients.

Specifically with respect to those rural communities, we have the outreach program, and the Gaspésie regional office has been particularly active in the past few years in reaching those groups because they are dispersed in some very small communities.

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

When you say “regular basis”, what are we talking about in terms of frequency for consultation with these groups? How closely does CED consult with them?

[Serge Tanguay]

I would have to get back to you, but I would assume they're regular forums. With the dialogue days, they're every two years because it's a fairly large event, but with respect to some of the smaller organizations there are lots of forums in which these groups will be represented, along with other economic development actors. So I would presume that there are contacts there, but I couldn't give you a precise answer as to the frequency.

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

In terms of resources in your consultations with these groups, do they often say they have inadequate resources to meet the needs of their users and community members? Is that often something that is said to CED, that they need more resources, either financial or manpower resources?

[Serge Tanguay]

It's often the case that, yes, more resources are needed. As with any other areas of economic development, obviously there's never enough, but our role is to obviously try to maximize and optimize those resources to the best of our ability.

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Right, and those organizations are also doing the same thing. We've had them at committee and they've talked about improving their efficiencies in the rollout of their programs. But given that even at the end of those exercises of increasing their efficiency they're still saying they need resources, wouldn't you recommend to the government, perhaps, in speaking for them, that they actually do need these financial resources to meet their needs?

[Serge Tanguay]

Well, the resources are needed. Everybody needs resources, I would agree with that.

The advantage that we do have, as a few of my colleagues have mentioned, is we can also revert back to our regular programming to help out some of these organizations via some other projects also. That's the safety valve we have, which is why we're quite confident that demand has been quite high with respect to Feuille de route number 2, 2013-18, and we're quite confident that we have already at least 10 to 12 projects in the making in our pipeline. Some of these projects are very long to develop, but we're quite confident we're going to have great success in the next phase.

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Does CED recognize the importance of arts and culture for the English-speaking community in Quebec and how that contributes to the creative economy in the province? Is there a special section or volet in CED's programs for arts and culture?

[Serge Tanguay]

There is in our regular programming, but it's always with the bias, or the lorgnette, if you want, of economic development. It's how these events will generate economic activity, will generate dollars being spent in the regions that we're targeting. It's within that component.

Madame Goulet.

[Hélène Goulet, Acting Director General, Policy, Research and Programs Branch, Policy and Communications Sector, Canada Economic Development]

If I may add, it's also like our funding of tourism activities, festivals, and things like that, and we choose to fund them when they do bring money inside Quebec, for example, with tourists outside Quebec. So that benefits all communities, and those kinds of events are funded throughout the province, but I would say there are more in Montreal, but we have that. It's also within our own programming.

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Once you confer with the department about the QCGN's 2012-17 report, could you keep my office in the loop of the collaboration that's gone on? I'm sure our partners would appreciate the feedback.

[Serge Tanguay]

Absolutely.

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

I'll pass the rest of my time to Monsieur Godin.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My question is for the representative from FedNor.

Do you grant funding to anglophone organizations that wish to provide French-language services to help them translate their websites, documents and so on?

Let me give you an example. I went to Sudbury a few weeks ago.

Actually, I will let you answer, Ms. Perreault.

[Lucie Perreault]

When we prepared the programming for our new EDI plan, linguistic duality became a priority for us, because of examples like the one you just gave us. As a result, if an anglophone company wants to have its documents translated into French in order to open up new markets, FedNor could provide that support.