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.
Conservative
Joe Daniel Conservative Don Valley East, ON
Along a similar vein, what are your relationships with the Quebec Community Group Network? What kinds of ties exist between your organization and the Quebec Community Group Network and other organizations that deliver services to Quebec's anglophone community?
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
We work very closely with the partners in the regions. Right now we have a regional project that's funded through DEC that's been really successful. We're doing a variety of activities that include helping some of those organizations build capacity within their own communities. We're sending our staff there to help train the trainers, peer-to-peer training. We're also doing workshops where our coaches actually go to the regions and do coaching for small businesses. We do things online; we have the technology for this. We have huge equipment at our offices, where we can work with those organizations. So we're working with most of the organizations within that network.
As we mentioned, the issues are so complex. We'll work with organizations in the arts community like ELAN. When we do our arts conference they participate on planning committees.
I think our communities survive as a result of the partnerships that we have, especially within the community network.
Conservative
Joe Daniel Conservative Don Valley East, ON
I have one more quick question for you.
I visited a number of the aerospace companies in the Quebec corridor, in the Montreal area. They plan to expand their businesses by about 30% over the next year or so, yet one of their biggest concerns is about where they can get the engineers, etc., who can fill those positions.
You've been talking about youth unemployment in a big way. How are you doing in terms of assessing what jobs there are versus what skills there are? How are you matching those?
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
It's a real challenge. As I mentioned, it's a global issue. We have a lot of unemployed people who are coming to us with liberal arts degrees and arts degrees. It's very difficult, because yes, there are jobs, especially in the creative field where people are looking for programmers, gamers, and all of that, and they're importing people. That's why I was saying that this is a huge potential for our community, if we can figure out ways to support these people and integrate them into our community. A lot of these companies have to go outside the province to get qualified people. For a lot of those people the challenge becomes the family, which is an issue. If their families can't send their children to English schools or can't integrate into an English community, they're not going to stay in those jobs.
NDP
Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
My questions will be directed to Ms. Unger and Mr. Aylen.
First I'd like to congratulate YES on all the successes you have had over the years and for the positive contributions you have made to the community in Quebec. You've come up with a lot of positive proposals, and we should reward that success.
My first question will be fairly simple. Would you recommend increasing federal funding to agencies such as yours? I ask because I'm sure your productivity is hampered by planning private fundraising activities when you could possibly have to worry less about these activities, which would allow you to focus on offering more services to the community.
Would you recommend increasing funding?
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
I didn't plant this question—I want to put that on the record—but I would have, if I could have.
Thank you, Jamie, for your question and for your compliments. We all work really hard in the community. Getting a compliment is very much appreciated, so thank you.
As I mentioned, all the community organizations spend much of their time doing grant proposals and reporting. If there is a way that you can facilitate that....
Unfortunately, community organizations are set up with the same standards as businesses, with expectations of evaluation results. But we're not given the resources to do those kinds of evaluations and monitoring and accountability. We take it very seriously—yes, we invest that money—but there's no recognition.
Much of our fundraising goes to providing jobs for people at our organization who can do those things, because we recognize the importance of such people as the accountant, the evaluators, or grant writers. We need those people in order to function or to evaluate whether we are doing a good job and having results. But this is an area for which we don't get funding.
If there were additional funding for the community organizations to help them build their capacity in those areas....
NDP
Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
Great.
John has stated that project funding is not sustainable. You mentioned the transfer in 1998.
Were you referring to the Canada health and social transfer, which exists—?
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
For the employment, all the responsibility for employment was transferred from the federal government to the provincial government, so anything to do with employment...and it's very frustrating. If you just mention the word “employment”, it has to fall under provincial jurisdiction.
For example, the provincial government gives us enough money to service about 360 clients a year. We see about 2,000 needing help. If you go to any other government body or anybody else and say, we need help to help these people find jobs, you hear that this is provincial jurisdiction and they can't touch it.
NDP
Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
Right. That regime started pretty much in 1998 under the previous Liberal government and continued with this one.
Would you recommend that, unlike what was done before, agreements and transfers be accompanied by more robust clauses guaranteeing OLMC services?
NDP
Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
Could you state that into the record, as a recommendation that those clauses be included?
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
I would suggest that there be clauses for more accountability about where funding regarding employment is being placed.
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
Especially if we're talking about youth and jobs and the retention of the OLMC in Quebec, I think it's crucial.
NDP
Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
So there should also be a guarantee that there be funds earmarked, not just that there be transparency, but that they be—
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
Funds that are earmarked...which I don't think exists today.
NDP
Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
—yes, earmarked for those services.
John, you also mentioned that the approach needs to be not piecemeal but organic. My understanding of that is that there needs to be a vision or a strategy, and perhaps greater consultation.
President, Board of Directors, Youth Employment Services
Yes. We need to build coalitions and partnerships. We need to build coalitions between industry and organizations such as ours and our universities to ensure that we are preparing people properly to meet the challenges of our economy today and tomorrow.
There is a gap. Partly we are there to close the gap, but we cannot change the gap between the actual training that our students receive and the actual demands that industry has unless we come together to speak, talk, and plan to bring our young people into the workforce with the skills that are needed by the industries that need them.
Conservative
Conservative
John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB
Thank you, Chair.
We're going in several interesting directions. I have one quick question for the Youth Employment Services, just to clarify.
What kind of federal funding or support do you receive? I'm a bit unclear, in light of the last round and your discussion with Mr. Nicholls about the funding you receive from the Quebec government. But what about Ottawa, the federal government?
Executive Director, Youth Employment Services
From the federal government we get funding for economic development. We get funding again through Status of Women on a short-term basis. If we look at “core funding”—which I put in quotation marks because even that is not always guaranteed—we get funding through Canada Economic Development, Canadian Heritage, and some occasional funding through Status of Women. We get a little bit from what used to be called HRSDC.
This is one area, if I have to make any recommendations again, internships are really valuable and very successful when you bring the different partners together. I don't know about the youth employment strategy. Luckily the federal government held on to that piece. On an annual basis, we usually get funding to place about 10 interns.
Conservative
John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB
Thank you.
This may be for everyone. It is actually not resonant with my questioning, but you just opened up the subject of internship.
Do you have any comments on the Canada job grant, which was just signed off with many of the provinces, including Quebec? I am curious about it both as to Quebec and then to the communities outside. What are your thoughts?
We could start off with you. I would like to hear what you have to say on the issue.
Executive Director, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada
About the Canada job grant?
Conservative
John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB
If you have nothing to say, that's okay as well.
