Official Languages Committee on Feb. 15th, 2024

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Ms. Ashton and Ms. Arbez.

We have time for a second round of questions, but it will be slightly modified.

Mr. Dalton, the floor is yours for five minutes.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thanks to the witnesses for being here with us.

Mr. Gauthier, back in the day, French Canadians came to Sudbury to work in mines, on farms and in forests.

Are these sectors still as important for French Canadians in this region?

[Marc Gauthier]

The mining sector remains an economic driver for the region, but the economy is much more diverse now.

Tertiary sector services, such as work in hospitals, colleges and teaching institutions, play a major role in the economy. The Sudbury region is more or less the capital of northern Ontario, and it has become a commercial hub for people. Entrepreneurship also plays a major role in the economy.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

I've only ever been to Sudbury once, about 40 years ago. You said that in Sudbury today, just over 22% of people are francophones and 38% bilingual. That really surprised me.

Is the francophone population stable or decreasing?

You also mentioned that the francophone population in Sudbury was aging. Is it aging more than the rest of the population?

[Marc Gauthier]

Population size is important, but the problem is our demographic weight. There are not necessarily fewer francophones, but the city is growing and our demographic weight is decreasing. More anglophones are moving to Sudbury.

There is more anglophone immigration than francophone immigration. That's why it's important to have ongoing francophone immigration to our community.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

I spoke about work in mines and forests. There could be lots of good jobs in the natural resources sector. And yet the current government is not encouraging this sector's development. I wonder whether that has an impact when younger people are trying to decide whether to remain in the region, where there are fewer opportunities for good jobs.

Mr. Afane, what measures do you think the federal government should take to make companies run by people in the linguistic majority aware of the potential advantages of bilingual communications and services?

[Francois Afane]

Thank you for the question.

The government could indeed help us convince people in the community, particularly entrepreneurs, to recruit bilingual staff. We tell employers that when they hire francophones to work in their organization, they bring new skills, and also open the door to new opportunities of which these employers were unaware. There is definitely a francophone community whose members are potential clients.

Proud francophones look to companies that encourage French, provide services in French, and show an interest in them. Providing services in French would help these companies find new customers.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

What's the francophone population of the Northwest Territories, and how has it varied over the years?

What are the economic characteristics of this population?

[Francois Afane]

Thank you for the question.

The population of the Northwest Territories is 45,000, 20,000 of whom live in its capital, Yellowknife, which represents 40% or 50% of the population.

According to the most recent statistics, of Yellowknife's 20,000 inhabitants, approximately 2,000 identify as francophone and 2,000 to 3,000 as francophile, which means that they can understand and speak French. So out of Yellowknife's 20,000 inhabitants, 3,500 to 5,000 speak French. French is also being spoken increasingly in the city.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

All right.

Ms. Arbez, how have the challenges facing your organization developed over the past decade?

Are the barriers the same or have they changed?

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

That's an excellent question, Mr. Dalton, but we'll come back to it later because you're speaking time has run out.

The next questions will be from a Franco-Ontarian from a north that is changing rapidly.

Mr. Serré, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

And I'd like to thank the three witnesses too.

Ms. Arbez, thank you for the work you've been doing in Manitoba. It's very important and I would encourage you to continue with your efforts.

Mr. Afane, I've been lucky enough to visit Yellowknife. Thank you for your additional details on the action plan we launched last year by adding $1.1 billion. Funding for the action plan has doubled since 2015. Thank you very much for the work you've been doing.

My first question is for Mr. Gauthier.

First of all, Mr. Gauthier, thank you for the work you've been doing as the Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord's director of education, and for your current work as the chair of the Greater Sudbury ACFO board of directors. Our congratulations also go to Joanne Gervais for the colossal work she's been doing every day in the Greater Sudbury area with her team of volunteers.

Thank you for your website, which provides information to the Greater Sudbury community, whose population is 170,000. My riding, Nickel Belt, is 49% bilingual, if the surrounding regions are included. With the exception of Mr. Drouin's riding, Nickel Belt is the most bilingual riding in Ontario.

I liked your earlier comments, because the University of Sudbury is extremely important as an economic driver for the region, "for, by and with" francophones. You said that every dollar invested by the federal government and the provincial government will be worth about eight dollars in terms of its impact on the economy.

Can you tell us more about the importance of having a university?

We have our school boards. I was a trustee on the Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario. We have Collège Boréal. I worked at Collège Boréal.

We need our university network in the mid-north now, because what we're talking about is local economic development.

[Marc Gauthier]

Thank you.

Its first impact is job creation and the ability to retain certain types of employees within the community, meaning academics who can add to the community's diversity. These people live in the community. They buy houses, cars and clothing. They buy food and pay for youth services. They make a contribution.

They also pay taxes to the municipalities, which go towards things like road maintainance and garbage collection. It becomes an economic driver. Francophones can then decide what their needs are and how to support the community. Young people can be trained in entrepreneurship, while at the same time allowing adults to further their professional development.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

You mentioned earlier that Sudbury was a welcoming community in terms of immigration, for both recruitment and retention.

Can you explain what the municipality of Sudbury and the ACFO do to keep francophone immigrants in the region?

[Marc Gauthier]

The municipality's role of course includes committees that decide on which immigrants they would like to have. There are several organizations. Some of them work directly on immigrant settlement and retention. Settlement is extremely important. For example, at the greater Sudbury community health centre, there is a section that receives immigrants and helps them with education and health.

Our role is to support these people and inform them about services in French in Sudbury. We work with all the agencies. We contact them and try to prepare a print version of our kit, because people don't always have Internet access. The kit is available online as well.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

We have 30 seconds left.

What's the ACFO's role with respect to the province of Ontario? How important is it to include the province of Ontario in these discussions?

[Marc Gauthier]

We make an effort to use our powers of persuasion in our work with our provincial MLAs. We have contacts with Mr. West and Ms. Gélinas, our regional MLAs.

We work directly with them and try to influence them through the ACFO, whether directly, or through other groups, such as the AFO, the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Mr. Gauthier and Mr. Serré.

It's over to you now, Mr. Beaulieu,for two and a half minutes.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My question is for all the witnesses.

In order to foster the economic development and vitality of francophone communities, should francophone immigration focus on those regions that already have a greater concentration of francophones?

[Francois Afane]

I would say so. In the north, francophone immigration is the only way for us to survive. Without it, our communities will certainly die. We have no choice but to rely on francophone immigration. It has to be one of our priorities, or the local francophone community will disappear.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

I don't know whether the representatives of the other organizations would like to answer that question.

Should the focus be on francophone immigration in locations where there are currently the most francophones?

[Madeleine Arbez]

Yes. It's important to emphasize francophone economic immigration in those areas where there is a labour shortage. Not only that, but francophone density in these areas should be increased.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Do you believe that increasing francophone economic immigration to locations that are almost entirely anglophone would amount to the same thing as sending them to areas where there are strong francophone communities?

[Madeleine Arbez]

Yes, in a way. In some communities, there is already a francophone community. Certain specific needs are dealt with. In other communities, there was an exodus of young people. What's required is to retain these young people in the community, in addition to the capacity to welcome new families and members.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Okay.

Mr. Gauthier, do you have anything to add?