Good morning. Thank you for inviting us and giving us the opportunity to speak to you today.
The vitality of minority language communities depends to a large extent on work carried out in the field, and therefore on the work of regional ACFO branches in Ontario. ACFO stands for the Association canadienne française de l'Ontario, for those who may not be aware of it. There are 21 ACFOs in Ontario that do their best to cover the entire territory. ACFOs have as their common goal to give the community the tools it needs for its own development, in a spirit of sustainable development and with a view to ensuring the growth of the community and the Francophonie. Every ACFO is in charge of local development in its own region, in the broadest sense of the term. Any service that is not available in a given region may lead to an ACFO's involvement, but what works in one place may not necessarily work elsewhere, because development is different from one region to the next.
Community development is the least well structured and the most underfunded of all the sectors. Regional ACFOs are one of the oldest development tools, along with education. We have been doing what we do since 1910. The Association is governed by the community it serves at the regional level. The places where development most readily occurs are the small base units, on the ground, and the work carried out in the field is neither recognized, valued or supported. The very principle underlying community development is think globally and act locally, which runs completely counter to the centralizing and bureaucratic approach which is increasingly forced on us.
In terms of the overall development of Francophone communities in Ontario, we want to emphasize the exceptional contribution that regional ACFOs have been making for years now. Community development is not just projects, and the work carried out by regional ACFOs should be recognized as the vital work that it is and supported accordingly. All ACFOs are facing similar challenges, but every region is unique and decides on its own direction in the field. Community development is not something you can do on the basis of a framework, and what is done in one place may not be appropriate elsewhere. As a result, the first step is to ensure that there is recognition of the work being carried out on the ground and of regional specificities, with a view to ensuring the survival of the community and slowing assimilation. We are in favour of long-term, sustainable development through funding in the form of multiyear grants.
Cofunding must be acknowledged by the federal government in order to support and sustain regional development, and that development happens at the grass roots. The kind of funding that is needed is not project funding, but operational funding. Program officers and funders have to be trained, because they need to recognize that community development is not project development but, rather, the kind of development that is essential to ensure the community's survival. With an adequate operating budget, we can develop projects to better meet the needs and expectations of the community.
By supporting that vision of recognition, the Canadian government will ensure the viability and vitality of the Francophone community in Ontario, while reducing assimilation and boosting its demographic growth. Regional ACFOs have to work together to develop a consistent approach that reflects their needs, and ministries have a duty to collaborate with these ACFOs to identify ways of ensuring we are truly effective.
We need guarantees in the form of a larger budget envelope for the Ontario official language minority community, so that the government can appropriately meet its obligations with respect to supporting and promoting its minority. Equitable core funding for organizations working directly with the community and for its development in Ontario is absolutely critical, and requires that all ACFOs working on the ground receive recognition.