Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today regarding your study.
I am here on behalf of the Association canadienne-française de l'Ontario du grand Sudbury, or the ACFO of greater Sudbury. Our mission is to engage and mobilize the francophone community, protect the rights of francophones and advance the priorities of the francophone community. We serve francophones who live in Sudbury East, Espanola and the city of Greater Sudbury.
Northern Ontario's economy has always been fragile, subject to fluctuations in the commodities market. For many communities in the region, the service industry has become the economic driver. For years, we have watched the exodus of our young people, leaving for big cities. Our population is getting older. The francophone community is not immune to the economic impact and is, arguably, more vulnerable because of its demographic weight.
To be a master of its own destiny, a community must exercise control over a range of economic levers. A community must govern its institutions. It must be active and wield influence in organizations that are shared by both linguistic groups. It must have access to the same resources as the majority population.
In Ontario, francophones have full responsibility for the management of their primary schools and high schools. We have responsibility for the management of two community colleges. Unfortunately, we still don't have responsibility for the management of university education in our region. The ACFO has, for decades, been calling for a French-language university that adheres to the principle of for, by and with Sudbury's francophones. According to an economic impact study commissioned by the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario and the University of Sudbury, a French-language university in Sudbury represents nearly $90 million in economic potential and would generate more than eight dollars for every dollar invested by the various levels of government. That would mean direct and indirect jobs for residents, and give the community the ability to educate its young people in a way that meets its needs while keeping them in the north.
Last year, the ACFO commissioned a study on bilingualism at Greater Sudbury's city hall. Municipal government is the closest to citizens and thus plays a pivotal role in the lives of francophones. The study revealed a significant decline in the use of french at city hall. I'm not talking about front-line workers. I'm talking about the disappearance of French in decision-making bodies. That is why we must work so hard to highlight the value of francophones in a city where they make up just over 22% of the population.
As an economic lever, francophone immigration in northern Ontario is essential to the region's survival. Sudbury was designated a welcoming francophone community for immigrants. The ACFO works in partnership with other agencies to welcome newcomers and help them integrate into the area. One of the ACFO's responsibilities is preparing information kits for newcomers to make them aware of the available services in areas such as education, finance, employability and housing. In order to maintain the demographic weight of francophones in minority communities, it is crucial that the federal government increase and meet its francophone immigration targets annually.
Increasing the active offer of services in French means increasing demand for French-language services among the population. The demand must be felt by both government and private sector organizations. For years, the ACFO has made available on its website a list of institutions and businesses able to serve clients in French, and it is updated annually. This year, we decided to more actively address the linguistic insecurity of community members, and we are encouraging them to file complaints when their rights are not respected.
Up to now, I've talked about a few of the ACFO's initiatives to support the francophone community. It's worth noting that we do all that work thanks to the tireless efforts of a single employee, our executive director, Joanne Gervais. We also rely on a handful of volunteers who give their time, but it's not enough.
The ACFO is an underfunded not-for-profit organization, as are the many chapters of the ACFO in the province. We are grateful to the Department of Canadian Heritage for the increase in operational funding we recently received, but it is nowhere near enough. We are currently running on $72,000 in federal funding, which accounts for just 32% of our operating budget. To supplement our budget, we spend a lot of time fundraising, which takes us away from our main mission and eats up the time of our staff and volunteers.
If we had sufficient funding, we could hire the people we need to grow the place of francophones in our communities, ensure that organizations respect our rights and contribute to the vitality of our community.
That is urgently—