We are often asked that question, whether we have some kind of magic formula that explains why francophones are motivated to come here. There are a number of reasons for it. We like to think that our organization, the Association franco-yukonnaise, has something to do with it.
We also have a French-language school and a French-language daycare. We try to provide high-quality services, but the Yukon itself attracts people. A lot of people come to the Yukon for its wide open spaces, for a change in their lives, or for a number of other reasons.
In recent years, more and more families have come to the Yukon to settle. The young couples settling in the Yukon have children. They stay here because we can provide them with access to a daycare, a school and to other services in French. It all encourages those who come here to stay.
We are seeing a second generation in the school. Those who graduated from the École Émilie-Tremblay, in Whitehorse, now have children themselves and those children are now in grades 2 or 3. That is very encouraging for us.
Our impression is that francophones stay in the Yukon whereas once, they were just passing through. People came, had their minds blown, and went home again. We are seeing more and more people settling here permanently. We work hard to establish services with the help of the territorial government. An election campaign is going on at the moment, but up to now, the government has shown itself to be open to working with us to increase French-language services.
Of course, there are still major challenges in health care and education in French. As I said, the Garderie du petit cheval blanc is short of space. The waiting list contains the names of a number of French-speaking students. That is a problem for us because, if we do not reach those students immediately, right from early childhood, there is a danger that we will lose them. There is a much greater chance that they will go over to the anglophone side and do all their studies in English.
In my opinion, one of the main reasons is that people come to the Yukon for the Yukon. Once they are here, they realize that they can live a lot of their lives in French. A lot of people who come to visit us even say that the number of francophones, or people who speak French, is incredible. If you go to the grocery store, you will be served in French. If you go to the restaurant, a waitress will serve you in French. Service in the language is sometimes beyond what you find in Ottawa. It really is quite impressive.