I mentioned the entrepreneurial features. That doesn't mean that it's easy; it takes hard work to get there.
What happened in Sault Ste. Marie left scars, but a lot of wounds have healed since then. When these events happened, I was personally involved in the francophone community, especially in the community component. I went to Sault Ste. Marie to do planning, but also to Dubreuilville for people who wanted to start collective enterprises, co-operatives, among others, with young people. There was also the community centre that wanted to launch a partnership enterprise and become financially independent. It was clear that we were going to have to wait for the dust to settle.
These people who set up entrepreneurial projects in the francophone community had to establish partnerships and develop ties with anglophones and francophones. They had to rebuild their network of contacts. What I was able to see during follow-up on those projects was that francophones didn't create networks of contacts only with francophones, but also with mostly anglophone businesses, including the CFDA for that region, which relied on a bilingual team member. So there was a support link. Moreover, the person from the RDEE, a francophone economic organization, worked with the anglophone partners.
So spaces were created to develop various ties. I can tell you that more and more francophone businesses are being set up now, compared to 15 years ago. They were always there, but we are now starting to see them in the community. It seems that people are encouraging these businesses if they find that the product is good.