I will try to explain my understanding of social finance clearly and intelligently. I admit that I am still confused by it. I will give you an example. That will be the best way for me to explain it to you.
Let us take employee training in a company. Let us say that the Association franco-yukonnaise was in a position to train 100 people for a given job. The program could perhaps be funded by a private investor who might decide to accept the risk and to invest, say, $200,000 in the program. If the Association franco-yukonnaise was able to prove that it had achieved the desired results, that is, it had trained those 100 people, if that was the objective, the government would then put in some money. That is to say that they would reimburse the investor for part of the investment plus an additional percentage. In a nutshell, the investor assumes the risk, but he is supposed to get money back.
As far as I understand, there are different models, but essentially, the government would not be the only investor in some areas. The government would like private investors to take the lead in what would become a kind of collaborative venture. Then a third party would deliver the service.
What does that mean for Franco-Yukoners? It means that not a lot is going to actually happen, because there are not a lot of investors.
Anyway, the government is still talking about it, but they are not yet sure about how it will work. It is based on models developed in England and Australia, where, of course, there are no official language considerations. The government is quite well aware that it is not going to be as simple. So they are evaluating the possibilities. They are also talking to private investors to see what their interest might be.
Francophones aside, it will be very difficult for a system like that to operate in the Yukon territory. Private investors do not see why they would invest in a community of 4,000 people. What is in it for them? It is quite a concern. However, it is not yet in place.
Two pilot projects are underway with Employment and Social Development Canada. One is in Manitoba and I do not remember where the other one is. They basically have to do with adult skills. At the moment, the government is principally interested in adults acquiring skills and in training adults.