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Official Languages committee Good morning. Mr. Chair, members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, thank you for inviting us to appear before you this morning. The Conseil de développement économique de l'Alberta is a member of RDÉE Canada, the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabili
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee What is your question?
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee Absolutely. The Conseil de développement économique de l'Alberta is a major player in that area. Every day we receive requests for information on available jobs from Canadians and immigrants wishing to settle in Canada. We work closely with francophone employment centres such as
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee In many cases, you have to speak English in order to settle down and live in Alberta. Francophones who come to Alberta go for long periods of time without a job. Their low level of proficiency in English makes it hard for them to find a job. We can help them by offering them Engl
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee They work in restaurants and offer a service to the clientele. So they speak English.
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee Are you putting the question to me?
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee There are many success stories. People come and settle in Alberta to start up a business. We have 200 members who are either Franco-Albertans or people from elsewhere. There are also companies that come from elsewhere. Some Quebec businesses come and settle in Alberta. For examp
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee Even though the population of Alberta is 2% francophone, there are very strong, vibrant communities living in French in villages and towns like Beaumont, south of Edmonton, St. Albert, Legal and St. Isidore. You hear French virtually everywhere as you walk around St. Isidore, the
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee Anglophones increasingly recognize the francophone communities as a value-added. And we see that during the Rendez-vous de la francophonie and the Lever du drapeau franco-albertain, which take place in 27 communities in the province. The mayors of the cities and the municipal cou
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee To answer your question, I must say that two major programs in Alberta were not extended. The first was the Small Business Internship program, which provided us with government funding, from Industry Canada in this instance, which was redistributed to businesses, SMEs, so that t
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee I will be brief. There were two parts to your question. First, you wanted to know how we set priorities. Every year, we survey our members to ask them what they need. We also hold consultations and organize round tables across the province to determine needs. The European mark
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee In Alberta's francophone community, francophone entrepreneurs also have to provide services to the anglophone majority. Very few francophone entrepreneurs can earn a living solely from their francophone clientele. However, some, such as Web developers and consultants, focus on th
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee There has been little or no increase in funding since the start, 10 years ago. Given increases in the cost of living, the reality is that we are working with approximately 20% less money than at the start. Consequently, as my colleague Robert mentioned, we cannot hire as many sta
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee Thank you. That is a very good question. The challenge for francophone entrepreneurs in urban areas is that it is hard for them to access funding for their businesses, both for start-ups and to secure working capital and liquidity. Some specific communities have access to seve
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay
Official Languages committee My colleagues addressed that question. I really want to point out, however, that we are very grateful for the contributions we receive from certain departments and the Government of Canada. However, the situation regarding funding remains unchanged.
March 27th, 2014Committee meeting
Marc S. Tremblay