Official Languages committee  It is hard to identify one recommendation or point in particular. Based on discussions with and surveys of entrepreneurs, if there was only one recommendation to make, I believe it would be that a loan fund should be established. That fund could help entrepreneurs in our province

Official Languages committee  I understand the difficulty, of course. If we welcome your workers and families to our province, that may cause a problem in yours. The fact remains, however, that your workers need work. If they stay in your province and have no work, they will look for and seize job opportuniti

Official Languages committee  Obviously.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Official Languages committee  What is your question?

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

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

Official Languages committee  They work in restaurants and offer a service to the clientele. So they speak English.