Official Languages committee  I agree with Mr. Fortin. Once again, support is needed for online service so that companies can focus on it as much as possible. Given our location, everything must be in English and French. We support the francophone community in our area. As Mr. Fortin said, we would be grateful for more support for e‑commerce so that companies can export their products.

Official Languages committee  You're talking about Mr. Nadeau.

Official Languages committee  There is no denying that we've run into issues with bureaucracy in the past. We still do, and we always will. It hinders our economic development in many ways. Certainly, things could be improved. We have to jump through a lot of hoops just to achieve something minor and tangible.

Official Languages committee  Yes, absolutely. Bringing in foreign students is very important. Here in Edmundston, we have seen a significant increase in the number of foreign students. It's gone up 50% to 60% across two institutions, Université de Moncton and Collège communautaire du Nouveau‑Brunswick. We have agencies to help them settle in the region.

Official Languages committee  The answer to this question could be quite long and take many minutes. I think the labour shortage is felt in all businesses. Indeed, it's a big issue in education, child care, and so on. We don't have a lot of resources. A lot of day care services are saturated here in New Brunswick.

Official Languages committee  Yes, absolutely. These are mainly municipalities, some in Quebec, of course, but also others in the state of Maine, where we already have good collaboration. There's also the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité du Nouveau-Brunswick, whose representative testified before you earlier today.

Official Languages committee  Yes, absolutely. There's certainly a will, and it's not just apparent. It's important. We're not just saying we want the French language to persist in business.

Official Languages committee  It absolutely could. I referred to funding. As far as I know, because I was also on the committee, there are still some funds. So the main reason isn't necessarily a lack of funds. As you mentioned, it's also a question of leadership. That said, to be a leader, you need to have support.

Official Languages committee  Those are good questions. Let me tell you how things worked before. At some point, I don't remember exactly when, after a meeting of the Congrès mondial acadien, what we call a “team of leaders” formed a committee made up of representatives from Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec.

Official Languages committee  Hello. Thank you for inviting me to join you today. My name is Cathy Pelletier, as Mr. Arseneault said. I am the general manager of the Edmundston Region Chamber of Commerce. I am also pleased to say that the Edmundston Region Chamber of Commerce is the largest francophone chamber of commerce in New Brunswick.