Official Languages committee  Yes, we hear you loud and clear. Do you hear us?

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Paradis. Mr. Chair and members of the committee, first, we thank you for inviting the Association franco-yukonnaise today to talk to you about the roadmap and about francophone immigration. I will start by talking about our organization. The Association

Official Languages committee  If you have questions, we are ready to answer them.

Official Languages committee  The roadmap contains a number of agreements that have to do with those matters, specifically the bilateral education agreement. Since at least 2003, the amounts available have been identical. Every four years, we go back to the bargaining table. In fact, there is no bargaining ta

Official Languages committee  We are often asked that question, whether we have some kind of magic formula that explains why francophones are motivated to come here. There are a number of reasons for it. We like to think that our organization, the Association franco-yukonnaise, has something to do with it. W

Official Languages committee  French immersion is also extremely popular.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Let’s talk about francophone immigration. For five years, from 2005 to 2010, the AFY provided settlement services in French and English to the people of the Yukon. In 2010, we lost the contract to an anglophone organization that had no obligation to provid

Official Languages committee  I'll let Mr. Nolet answer the question.

Official Languages committee  It's about $40,000.

Official Languages committee  There's also the francophone significant benefit program, which was eliminated for a little over a year. That doesn't help us.

Official Languages committee  There are two things to consider. The first would be to broaden the clientele we can serve. Currently, all settlement and welcoming service providers can serve only permanent residents or refugees who already have status. There are temporary workers, students and people with a w

Official Languages committee  Our organization belongs to the national economic development network Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité Canada. That funding comes from the federal government.

Official Languages committee  The $2 million is not just for economic development. It also funds all of the services the association provides. As I said, we provide a variety of services relating to culture, immigration, employment and so on. We have different sources of funding. The bulk of our budget comes

Official Languages committee  It is better than it was; it is faster now. As I see it, the problem is still the costs for users, which are clearly higher than those in Vancouver and elsewhere. For example, no plan offers unlimited access to the Internet. Access is limited. The more bandwidth you want, the mor

Official Languages committee  In my opinion, there is practically no downside to the model. We are all located in the same building. All the services come under the same organization. So we have an administrative manager, an information technology person, receptionists and a secretary, all full-time. That wou