Official Languages committee  Thank you very much for your question. My answer to all your questions, Ms. Ashton, is yes. There's a chronic labour shortage in our region. I've often said that if we could put dogs or other animals to work we would. That's indicative of just how little respect our community gets.

Official Languages committee  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.

Official Languages committee  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.

Official Languages committee  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.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for the question. We are trying to do the best we can with the resources we have. The territory is indeed vast. We therefore work with organizations or stakeholders on the ground and, as much as possible with the means we have, we travel. I must admit it’s a constant challenge, because we are more concentrated in Yellowknife.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Beaulieu. As an organization, we are vigorous advocates for French. If you want a service offered in French, give it to a francophone organization, because it will be sure to protect French while meeting the needs of the anglophone majority community.

Official Languages committee  There are a few, but I must admit there are not many. Within their team, some entrepreneurs work in French. However, when they have to work with clients, they do so in English. An entrepreneur who only works with francophones won’t have a huge bottom line, because there are not many francophones in the community.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Généreux. First, I'll say that you raise a good point. I like to say that the national sport of francophones and the Gauls is fighting. We like bashing each other. Arguing is part of our nature as francophones. Being separated into small teams waters down the impact we are able to have.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much.

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning. I am speaking to you from Yellowknife, the traditional territory of Chief Drygeese and the ancestral land of the Yellowknives Dene. My name is François Afane, and I am the executive director of the Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord‑Ouest, or CDETNO for short.