Another strategic plan is being implemented by the anglophone community in Quebec and by francophone and Acadian communities, in collaboration with economic development organizations, CEDEC and RDEE Canada.
You will understand that we are very concerned by the fact that the economic situation in English-speaking Quebec is not the same as in the francophone and Acadian communities. I would not go so far as to say that everything is rosy in Quebec, but let's just say that Quebec has more English-speaking employers or employers looking for people who speak English than our communities have employers looking for people who speak French.
A strategic plan is taking shape, but what I'm most afraid of is that we are going to end up with a plan that will mix the needs of anglophones in with the needs of francophones.
Also, there has not been a lot of consultation on how to approach the strategic plan that is being developed jointly with CEDEC, RDEE and Air Canada. Neither QCGN nor FCFA were really consulted before being presented with a done deal. That raises a lot of questions for us.
Right now, the survey questions coming out of the boxes from RDEE Canada and CEDEC deal more with entrepreneurship. So the survey questions are targeting entrepreneurs more than the communities.
Just now, I pointed out that communities need to be there, need to be consulted. If you want to talk about my economic development, I need to be there to be able to tell you about my reality, meaning the rural exodus in my community, the shortage of jobs for young people, and entrepreneurship training.
However, the survey that is going around—and in which we encourage our members to participate—deals more with my needs and priorities as an entrepreneur. I think that's a good thing because this is the first time I have ever been asked about it, but the other economic development organizations, of which I am a member, should not be forgotten. Of course, I think it is important that I am surveyed as an entrepreneur, but economic development is not limited to entrepreneurs. When a strategy is prepared, it is important to include organizations such as QCGN, YES and CMC, instead of working in a vacuum.
Earlier, I pointed the finger at the government, but I am also ready to point the finger at some of our francophone and anglophone organizations that decide to work in a vacuum. That serves no one. That is not a good use of taxpayers' money and the needs of communities are not met. Let's try to open things up.
My role is neither to stand up for the interests of an organization, a secretariat or an office, nor to stand up for a budget or for employees. I am sorry, Suzanne, but my role is to stand up for francophone and Acadian communities. If we don't all work together in that direction, we might as well close the doors and go home. I am not ready to do that, even though our organization has a long way to go. The government must encourage everyone to sit at the same table and promote those types of opportunities.
The concept of community-oriented schools implies that the whole community is there. In terms of immigration, I always say that it takes an entire community to welcome an immigrant. The same goes for economic development, culture and other areas. The entire community must participate and be involved.