Official Languages Committee on Nov. 1st, 2023

[Sony Perron]

The funding allocated to Economic Development Canada for the Regions of Quebec is reserved exclusively for official language minority communities, so, in Quebec, the anglophone community.

DEC's programs and services, in general, are available to everyone.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Right.

So Economic Development Canada has already provided funding for anglophones, as for any business. There is preferential funding, if I may put it that way, for anglophones, because they are supposed to be a minority.

[Sony Perron]

It is additional funding that has enabled us to expand the services we offer to make sure that services are provided to those communities.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Right. In any event, I will not shoot the messenger.

You told me that you consulted representatives of the anglophone community in Quebec. Can we know which ones?

[Sony Perron]

In fact, among the groups, there is CEDEC, the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation, which I mentioned earlier. I think you may have had representatives of that organization appear before the committee recently to learn how it operates.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Apart from CEDEC, was the Quebec Community Groups Network or were other groups consulted?

[Sony Perron]

I could provide you with that information in addition. I do not participate in all the various discussions, so I cannot tell you who was around the table.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Can you give us concrete examples of projects that you fund? Because these are public funds that fund the businesses, do we have access to information about the projects that are funded?

[Sony Perron]

Yes. As for all of the federal government grant and contribution projects, the list of contributions is published regularly. You will not necessarily find the details of the entrepreneur's business plan or technology or their financial forecasts in that information, but you will find out what businesses we invest in and what amounts are provided.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Can a person contact you to obtain the list of projects and businesses?

[Sony Perron]

Yes.

We announce it and, somewhat like our colleagues at ACOA, we put a lot of information about those projects online. We may also organize information sessions, if that interests you, or direct you to various relevant sources.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Right.

Could you give me some concrete examples of projects?

[Sony Perron]

I wanted to talk to you briefly in my introduction about a project from a small business that manufactures boat hulls in Îles-de-la-Madeleine. The project created jobs in Îles-de-la-Madeleine. It came from a group of anglophone entrepreneurs. We have projects in various regions of Quebec.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Are there also projects in Montreal?

[Sony Perron]

Certainly, there are, but I do not have any off the top of my head at the moment.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Is it in Westmount?

[Sony Perron]

I could do that analysis if that interests you.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

No. I'm teasing you.

I noticed, in the public accounts, that there are grants under $100,000; we can't tell who received them, but since 2010, the number of grants allocated has been disclosed. A fairly substantial proportion of those grants was given to economic development projects.

Could you tell me how you allocate those grants? Is there a way of getting access to that information?

[Sony Perron]

If you make an information request, we will reply to you. If you have something specific to ask for today, I am prepared to answer your questions.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Can those grants be given to individuals?

[Sony Perron]

Ordinarily, the grants are given to businesses. We have agents, economic advisers, who do evaluations based on the program criteria to see whether it contributes to improving the economic position of the various regions of Quebec. That is how it is determined.

Does it meet the criteria of our programs? Ordinarily, they are innovative businesses, businesses that have growth potential, businesses that are going to export.

However, our programs are tailored to the socioeconomic circumstances in the regions.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Mr. Perron.

Ms. Mathyssen, the floor is yours for six minutes.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Actually, I would really love to keep going in that vein.

You were talking about how you assess those factors that allow you to invest in the businesses that you do. In terms of how you make those decisions, I assume that you take into account the age of the owners—you were talking about youth—how many they employ, women, and how they bring in people from different communities in terms of those immigration numbers and attracting new immigrants to those businesses.

Can you talk about that more and be specific about it?

[Sony Perron]

Yes. We don't start by looking at who the entrepreneur is. We start by looking at the nature of the project, its value and its alignment with the program standards. We invest a fair level of effort in helping entrepreneurs from diverse groups join and take advantage of the program.

The initial assessment is really about the business value of the project or the community development potential that this project has, whether it's in tourism or in manufacturing. We look at the business opportunity and we move on it. We invest in the ongoing business to try to attract and support new entrepreneurs.

We have a stream for diversity, clearly, and we monitor our numbers to see if we are doing better. If we invest time and energy in trying to support entrepreneurs from diverse groups, we want to see them coming and taking advantage of these programs over time.

The numbers are interesting to follow. Official languages are one of the dimensions we are often tracking, so I have a sense of how much we have invested over the last five years in businesses led by anglophones in Quebec, for example.

The profile is important. Do we have an impact with everybody in all regions and in all sectors? We are looking at these stats.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

You look at the entrepreneurs themselves, but do you look at their workforce as well?