Hello and thank you for your presentations.
I am a Franco-Ontarian member of parliament. I live close to Ottawa, in a region whether there are 65,000 Franco-Ontarians. I am always sensitive to the needs of minority language communities.
We discussed budget cuts and government obligations under Bill S-3. I would like to point out some concrete and positive measures which show the government's support. In the field of education, we announced a $1 billion agreement over four years. In Alberta, exactly $53 million will be spent on education. In terms of community services, we are looking at $64 million. That represents a 25% increase. In terms of direct support to communities, $120 million will be granted, or an increase of 11%. We also just announced $309 million for immigration, a significant source of concern for many. As the chairman mentioned, representatives from all four parties sitting on this committee came to meet with you to speak to you and hear what you had to say. It is also a way for us to show our support for you.
As I've already stated, the needs are always great, but funding and resources are limited. Sometimes, we try to reach specific goals and we manage to do so because our targets are clear. You represent the francophone community in Alberta. How do your groups and associations work together to identify needs, and more importantly, to set priorities? We need to make decisions. If priorities can be established for Alberta, that could contribute to the development of francophone communities.
Mr. Colette.