That is a great question.
It varies depending on the people we deal with at the department. It varies widely from one department to another or one government service to another. Sometimes we deal with good people who understand our situation. We call them champions. Other times, we are talking in a vacuum, making it much harder to get our views across. Sometimes we manage, but it is always case by case. In balance, I would say that the answer to your question is no.
There is also a restorative effect that is not easy to measure. We currently make up roughly 4% of the francophone population. That percentage was once much higher. We keep losing players. If we want to reverse that trend, then we have to work with newcomers, but we also have to continue working on retaining the former members of our community.
When we look at the first, second, and third generations, the second and third generations often represent 80% of our clientele or our pool of francophones. However, consumers of new services are far more likely to be newcomers and the first generations. That means that we are in the process of losing our older members. I am deeply concerned about that.
If we want them to stay with us, then we have make an effort because our second and third generations are part of the majority and also consume the activities of the majority. If we want to bring them into the Franco-Saskatchewanian community, then they must be provided the same quality of service that is provided to the majority. That will take a lot of money and a lot of organization, something we are currently unable to offer because we just do not have the funding.
Will we end up in the same situation two years from now? Will we have lost far more members of our second and third generations? It is worrisome and if we continue down this same path, nothing will change. Next year, in two or three years, we will be no further ahead.