Thank you very much and good morning, Mr. Chong.
Vice-Chairs Monsieur Godin and Madame St-Denis, members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for granting Townshippers' Association the opportunity to testify before this committee on the subject of economic development in Canada's official language minority communities.
For 35 years now, Townshippers' Association has been at the forefront of community engagement pursuing its mission to promote the interests of the English-speaking community in Quebec's historic Eastern Townships, strengthening its cultural identity, and encouraging the full participation of the English-language population in the community at large.
We work on behalf of over 46,000 English speakers who are spread across a region that is larger than Belgium in its geography, stretching from Philipsburg in the west to Mégantic in the east and from Inverness in the north to the U.S. border in the south.
The English-speaking community of the historic Eastern Townships is not a recent immigrant group. Our roots go back to the late 1700s. Indeed, our ancestors were the first settlers of European heritage to enter this region. Consider for a moment that in 1861 a full 58% of the population was English speaking. Currently that percentage has dropped to a mere 6%.
This morning we will outline for you the situation of English speakers in our region, what actions Townshippers' Association has taken to address the issue of economic development in the community it serves, and conclude with recommendations for the future.