Official Languages Committee on Nov. 29th, 2011

[Jean-Marie Nadeau]

I attended the annual banquet of the Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick, which is a francophone council. There were 600 entrepreneurs at that banquet, which is quite good for New Brunswick. It's an entrepreneurial environment. The business that won the award for business of the year invented a new machine in the forest industry. That conference was also attended by Mr. Deveau, president of Les Algues acadiennes, a Nova Scotia business that does business with 80 countries.

We Atlantic francophones are sending out our message, but we must not forget the 200 million francophones around the world and the 50 countries where French is spoken. Let's think of the Sommet de la Francophonie in Montreux, where I met the prime minister. All that's important.

I'm thinking of the francophone fibre which is increasingly in evidence, particularly in New Brunswick, where all those call centres were established in the 1990s. That has almost made Moncton the current Canadian capital of call centres. That was Mr. McKenna's idea at the time. Increasing numbers of anglophone economic analysts from the Moncton Times & Transcript understand that bilingualism is an investment, that it pays to be bilingual. That's the message that is increasingly circulating and we are proud of that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Weston.

Thank you, Mr. Nadeau.

Mr. Aubin, go ahead, please.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good morning and welcome to our distinguished guests.

With your permission, I'm going to use my first few minutes to speak with the CCCM people.

I get the impression that our meeting started off in a hurry this morning. We are here to go through the process of evaluating the Roadmap, which should soon be arriving at mid-term. However, the first thing we heard this morning was that you aren't able to evaluate the Roadmap since you aren't a party to it. How is it that you aren't a party? Could you bring me up to speed? I'm a new member. I wasn't here during the last session. I find that a little incomprehensible.

[Brigitte Gagné]

We pleaded with the committee to include an extremely important economic component in the last Roadmap, one that reflected the cooperative model, among other things. This is a tool that has always been used in the minority communities. In our view, it was important to get the cooperative movement involved so that it could provide a different vision. Individual private entrepreneurship is different from the collective version. Cooperative development expertise can be found in the cooperative movement itself.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

You don't have to convince a Quebecker of the importance of the cooperative movement.

[Brigitte Gagné]

That's true; I had forgotten.

However, we were simply not heard.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

So, in a way, you didn't get an answer regarding your exclusion.

[Brigitte Gagné]

We were told we couldn't solve all the problems at the same time.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

So your turn would come with the next Roadmap, if that's not at the same time.

[Brigitte Gagné]

That's why we're here.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Between the moment the first Roadmap was introduced and now, have you taken any steps to try to become recognized as an essential partner in the next Roadmap? If so, what are those steps, and what reception have you received?

[Brigitte Gagné]

We are so busy with requests for consulting and cooperative development services that our objective was not necessarily to lobby various departments to get that point of view across. Instead our purpose was to get ourselves recognized and to be there. So we attended certain meetings of various departments.

From the outset, I would like to clarify one point, that the cooperative model and RDÉE Canada are cooperating in the field based on needs. We are there and we work together when necessary. However, the cooperative movement does not appear in the Roadmap as a partner or player.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Even though you are not one of the main players, have you perceived any impact from the Roadmap?

[Brigitte Gagné]

Yes, I'm going to hand over to my colleague.

[Melvin Doiron]

With your permission, I will also react to the comment by Mr. Bélanger, who invited our organizations to work together. I don't want to speak for the other provinces, but, in New Brunswick, our organization currently represents 40 cooperatives from various activity sectors and 20 member support organizations, including the Société nationale de l'Acadie, which Mr. Nadeau represents. Our organization has very good relations with RDÉE, which is collaborating on various cases in which we are assisting new cooperatives, on special projects of existing cooperatives and consensus-building forums on cooperative development opportunities in our area.

Our roles are complementary, as it were. That aspect of New Brunswick has to be acknowledged. While we offer direct assistance to cooperative project promoters, which includes business plans, feasibility studies, governance training sessions and strategic plans, RDÉE contributes as a partner to funding, which has a leverage effect. Even though it's modest, it's significant. RDÉE officers sit on various promotional committees that we assist. They assist a number of committees, but not necessarily all of them.

In New Brunswick, we recognize the importance of that collaboration on both sides. We also acknowledge that the cooperative network is in the best position to provide direct assistance. RDÉE instead plays a facilitation role in that regard. It has become essential for it to be included in the Roadmap as a recognized partner with the resources it needs, or at least for both RDÉE and us.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Mr. Aubin, you may ask a brief final question.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

No, that's all right; I don't have enough time to speak.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

All right.

Mr. Menegakis, go ahead, please.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[Some voices]

Oh, oh!

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

That doesn't take up my time.

Thank you for being here today and for your presentations.

As you know, we are studying the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality. You discussed the economic aspects of the businesses in the francophone communities across Canada. My question is a general one. How has the Roadmap helped businesses? What improvements in particular would you like to see?

[Collin Bourgeois]

On behalf of RDÉE Canada, I can say that we fit well into the Roadmap. We would like more money to do more work and to work more in collaboration with the people in the cooperative movement, just as we are doing with the FCFA and all our partners in the francophone community movement.

The presentation of the Roadmap and the ideas it contains are good. In fact, the Roadmap is valid as a whole. However, like anything else, we have to improve and re-evaluate it so it can meet the population's needs.

We fit quite well into this Roadmap, but there isn't enough money to enable us to do all the work requested. We are in it willingly. We are pleased to be part of it, but we would like more money so that we could do more things.

[Brigitte Gagné]

May I ask a question?

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Yes, go ahead.

[Brigitte Gagné]

The presentation of the Conseil canadien de la coopération et de la mutualité contains a recommendation that a national issue table be established to develop a coherent national action plan. I believe that dialogue among all the departments concerned regarding investment in the economic development of the francophone and Acadian communities is very important. However, it must also be reflected within the organizations working on the ground. I believe it is very important to ensure this coherence among the players of the various departments covered by the Roadmap and the players who are working on the ground.