Evidence of meeting #15 for Official Languages in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was quebec.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
The business plans are related to usually going to a bank or a funder, so I don't know offhand if the government is an impediment at this point, in terms of those papers.
Conservative
Conservative
NDP
Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
You mentioned, Ms. Unger, that the second class of entrepreneurs that you receive are people who are frustrated with no job opportunities existing, so they create their own. We have to applaud those people, but we know that for entrepreneurs to survive, to keep their businesses afloat, they really do need certain characteristics. I'm sure you assist also with training them on how to adopt that mentality. I have a few questions surrounding that.
Was there a spike in clients for YES during the recession from 2008 to...? Well, there's some debate around whether it ever ended.
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
I think it's interesting, because we didn't see a huge spike during that period. We saw it after that. I think we see what's happening on the ground before it actually happens in statistics.
When the recession was happening, we were still seeing jobs. There wasn't the same kind of disconnect. There weren't the same kinds of mental health issues that we're seeing now. I think what we're seeing now is worse, quite honestly, than what we were seeing in the recession. I think our numbers are up. The unemployment seems to be greater in Quebec. We're seeing more people struggling and trying to get their businesses off the ground.
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
Yes, a little bit, or a precursor.
NDP
Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
Was there a parallel increase in funding to deal with that increased caseload?
NDP
Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
No.
You also mentioned, interestingly enough, that 24% are self-employed artists. That's a high percentage. I talked with Sylvia of the QCGN, and she said that it's not just the cultural sector, but ELAN and federal funding would certainly help that sector of the population.
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
For sure, and I think because we have a specific program for artists for helping them with their business skills—we've had it for about 10 or 12 years—that's why you see that number there. We have a specific business coach who deals with artist clients.
NDP
Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
That's great, but as Sylvia from the QCGN said, it's not just culture that's a challenge. As you know, Canada is an innovation-based economy, according to the World Economic Forum, and I'm thinking more along John's lines when he talked about having this vision. We really have to look to where there is success globally. If you look at Switzerland, you see that they have four languages in a federal system, and they're also consistently number one in terms of competitiveness and innovation. They have something called the Commission for Technology and Innovation. Its mission is to promote scientific research and innovation more generally.
When I look at the YES model and this commission, I see that the commission has three sectors. One is start-ups and entrepreneurship. The second is R and D funding. The third is knowledge and technology transfer between universities and industry. That sounds exactly like what we're looking for here in Canada to promote the health of our economy, whether it be in OLMCs or in the general population. Would you recommend a similar commission for Canada to deal with the problems we're facing in our economy?
President, Board of Directors, Youth Employment Services
I don't think it's my place to recommend. Certainly, there needs to be more collaboration among industry, education, and companies or groups like ours in order to be sure that it's a win-win-win for everybody; that is, that our young people are coming out of their training programs trained to meet the challenges of industry and there is an understanding of where our economy and our jobs are going.
NDP
Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
Yes. The Swiss have pretty much done this. They've put it into one commission. They have things like start-up coaches for entrepreneurs on a national level. They have innovation mentors. It just seems to make sense that you have this all in one area and then fan it out to the different jurisdictions. At least you would have a unified vision of where we're going as a country. Also, the knowledge and technology transfer between universities and industry seems to be working in Switzerland. I know it's not your place to recommend it, but....
President, Board of Directors, Youth Employment Services
Well, I would applaud it, and I have to say that I'm an academic as well as a businessperson and a volunteer at YES. When we talk about dialogue between business and industry, we forget, I think, that both parties have to listen. The universities also have to tell industry, and industry has to tell the universities. I think there's a lot of talking, but there's not enough listening.
Conservative
Joe Daniel Conservative Don Valley East, ON
Thank you, Chair.
Once again, thank you to the witnesses. I have a couple of more general questions to ask.
Is there a francophone economic space in Canada? If there is, how do you define it?
President, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada
That's an excellent question.
What is a francophone entrepreneur?
We haven't even decided what that is.
What makes me a francophone entrepreneur?
Is it my mother tongue? Is it my first spoken official language? Is it the way I operate my business bilingually, or not bilingually? Is it the way I let my employees speak French or English? What is a French business?
I consider my business to be a French bilingual business. The language spoken is French so I operate in French. Mind you, I'm a translation company, so of course, I'm a bilingual company as well.
That being said, we haven't established what it is. So you will have groups that work within employment services that will tell you there are so many English businesses in Quebec and so many French businesses. Basically, I don't know what their numbers are based on because we haven't established what is
a francophone business.
What defines a francophone business? Is it the language of work? Is it the language of the owner? I could be a francophone owner and do business in English, but because my name is Marie-France and I am francophone, you could say that my business is francophone.
First, it would be important to define that.
Second, we just said that we've created 30,000 businesses in our communities, but what is that number based on? Is it the owner's mother tongue?
In any event, there is a francophone space. I can say that there is at least one francophone employer in a minority situation, that is to say me, but I know there are many others.
A little earlier, I mentioned some numbers on francophone co-operatives outside Quebec. Their revenue was over $7 billion. So there is a significant francophone space.
Furthermore, I would say that the francophone space at home, in another business I have that is not a translation business, is also bilingual. Obviously, if I want to do business or seek funding at home in Saskatchewan, I need to go and see anglophones. My francophone space is also bilingual.
The economic contribution of my businesses to my province and to the federal government is still quiet impressive, even though they are small businesses.
Manager, Co-operative Development, Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada
This kind of discussion is taking place on the co-operative side of things as well. What is a francophone, anglophone or bilingual co-operative? We decided that, to be described as a francophone co-operative, you have to at least have governance in French within the board of directors that democratically manages the co-operative. That is where we drew the line.
The same thing is true for the numbers. When we want to determine the presence of co-operatives, the line is difficult to draw. We agreed that it was determined by the possibility of using French, or English in Quebec, within the democratic body when members make decisions as a group about the business. That is where we drew the line.
In any event, it is not so simple. For example, sometimes all the members of a co-operative's board of directors are bilingual. It is not black or white.
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
It's interesting. I don't think we have ever had the conversation, but I know John mentioned that we don't consider ourselves helping to start English businesses. I think we help to start businesses, and as part of that we're retaining the community, so I don't think we have ever had that conversation.
We provide English-language services in Quebec and we see people from all over the world. We have people coming who speak Chinese as a first language, Spanish. Our staff speak probably about 10 different languages.
John.
President, Board of Directors, Youth Employment Services
Yes, it's very clear we offer services to people looking for work or to start businesses in English, but our clientele is anyone who needs to use our services and who is able to access our services in English. That's one issue you've brought up.
Another issue, which I think is related, is about defining a community. I think it's very important for the anglophone community in Quebec to have the opportunity to demonstrate that, economically and culturally, we are part of the solution for Quebec, not part of the problem.
I think there has been an image problem—I'm in marketing so I'll describe it as an image problem—that goes back to the Quiet Revolution, or earlier. I think there is a need, and there is need for support in order to demonstrate through facts, knowledge, feelings, and information that the anglophone community in Quebec makes us stronger.
