Evidence of meeting #88 for Official Languages in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was business.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Professor, As an Individual
I don't think federal research funding would have a significant effect on the training of francophones.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Thank you very much, Mr. Beaulieu and Mr. Vaillancourt.
The NDP has the last turn in this round of questions.
Ms. Ashton, you have the floor for six minutes.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I thank the witnesses for being with us.
I want to go back to the topic of economic development, which we talk about a lot at this committee. That is the issue of recruiting and retaining people who can come to our regions to set up businesses, work in French and be part of the francophone community.
My question is for Ms. Pelletier first.
In this context, what are the repercussions of the labour shortage on French-language schools and child care services? What is the impact of the labour shortage on the economy of francophone communities in your region?
General Manager, Edmundston Region Chamber of Commerce
The answer to this question could be quite long and take many minutes.
I think the labour shortage is felt in all businesses. Indeed, it's a big issue in education, child care, and so on. We don't have a lot of resources.
A lot of day care services are saturated here in New Brunswick. Some people can't go to work during the day because they don't have day care, because the babysitter isn't available, or for any other such reason. Resources are very limited in these areas.
The implementation of the daycare assistance program helps us a lot, but, on the other hand, there aren't many resources.
There is indeed a shortage of educators in the day care centres and of teachers in the schools. People are being hired as substitute teachers, even though they don't necessarily have the required training. The lack of resources in this sector is such that they are hired anyway.
It goes without saying that this situation snowballs, because everything is connected, especially when you have children and can't go to work. Unfortunately, some industries can't afford to be short of employees. More and more companies are setting up child care services for their employees to try to solve this problem. Employees take their children to the child care service offered at their workplace.
Yes, it's a very important issue. It's also a very sensitive issue, and this labour shortage is greatly felt in this sector.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
I see.
Thank you very much for your reply, Ms. Pelletier.
I wonder if Mr. Vaillancourt or Mr. Fortin have any comments on this point.
Chief Executive Officer, Maple Roch
Yes, I'd like to comment on that.
On our side, we see great job opportunities for francophones. I'd love to see students from Quebec and New Brunswick come and work with me during the summer; I'd like to show them a francophone presence, and demonstrate the greatness of Canada.
As for retaining French-speaking staff, my two children sometimes come to help us. There's always someone who speaks French in our store, in our business. Many winemakers hire a lot of French speakers to talk about wines or other wine products.
Employers will go looking for people who are able to speak both languages in schools that offer French and English immersion programs.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
That's very good, Mr. Fortin.
Thank you for bringing that aspect up.
Mr. Vaillancourt, do you have a comment to add on this topic?
Professor, As an Individual
I just have one comment to add.
It's entirely reasonable for employers to set up in-house child care, but it's not good for society. It hinders worker mobility between employers. Say you put your one-year-old in your employer's child care program, and down the road, when your child is three, you get a great opportunity to work somewhere else. You will probably turn down the job offer, so you don't have to find a new child care provider.
If you could recommend something to the government, at the very least, it would be to improve the availability of child care to encourage worker mobility, as opposed to supporting employer-provided child care programs.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
I see. Thank you for sharing your views on that.
I want to follow up on something else that has come up during our study, the importance of welcoming francophone foreign students and recognizing their contribution to francophone communities, businesses and so forth.
We recently learned that the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship put a cap on the number of foreign students admitted to Canada. Thus far, Canada has not made an exception for francophone students. French-language post-secondary institutions have already expressed concerns about that.
Ms. Pelletier, given the work you do, do you think it's important to ensure that our regions can bring in francophone students? Would that contribute to regional economic development? Does the federal government need to make an exception for these students so as not to negatively affect the ability of our communities to welcome them?
General Manager, Edmundston Region Chamber of Commerce
Yes, absolutely. Bringing in foreign students is very important. Here in Edmundston, we have seen a significant increase in the number of foreign students. It's gone up 50% to 60% across two institutions, Université de Moncton and Collège communautaire du Nouveau‑Brunswick.
We have agencies to help them settle in the region. Our city is designated as a welcoming francophone community. That involves two things, welcoming people and adequately supporting them when they arrive in the region. We also have—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Thank you, Ms. Pelletier. I'm sorry to cut you off, but we are really over Ms. Ashton's six minutes.
We will now begin the next round. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Party will each have five minutes.
Mr. Dalton will go first, with five minutes.
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Congratulations on the success of your business, Mr. Fortin. What a great undertaking.
The Conservative Party wants to get rid of the carbon tax. I know that British Columbia collects its own carbon tax, but the province has to raise the tax in accordance with federal regulations, and it's supposed to go up on April 1. As a resident of the province, I can tell you that we pay the highest price in the country.
Could you please tell us how the tax impacts your business?
Chief Executive Officer, Maple Roch
It has a very big impact. I import a lot of products from Quebec and New Brunswick. A pallet of maple syrup that used to cost $400 to $500 now costs me up to $900, if not more.
All those costs have to be [Inaudible—Editor]. Paying tax on tax really affects us as a small business. We do our best to keep costs down, but as you can see, the price of everything is going up. Every time we come up with a new product to sell in our store, we have to factor in all the new taxes that apply.
For example, I have to pay a fuel and transportation surcharge. On top of that, in British Columbia, I have to pay a [Inaudible—Editor] tax of $85. Then, of course, I have to pay the carbon tax, as you mentioned. Let's not forget about the GST, which is on top of all the other taxes. Plus, I pay another $15 when I get a call letting me know that a delivery is on the way.
Yes, frankly, the taxes make a big difference.
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
The Liberal government said that businesses receive more money than they pay in taxes.
Has that been your experience?
Chief Executive Officer, Maple Roch
Honestly, so far, I haven't made a single profit from my business. I'm not trying to be negative.
It's simply a fact that everything is affected by not just the carbon tax, but also the slew of other taxes. It really puts a strain on us.
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Thank you.
Ms. Pelletier, the committee heard from the president of the Haut‑Madawaska Chamber of Commerce. His region is right next to yours.
General Manager, Edmundston Region Chamber of Commerce
You're talking about Mr. Nadeau.
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Yes. He talked about the challenges his members face when dealing with bureaucracy. Is that a problem for your businesses too? Is it getting harder and harder for them?
Tell us, if you would, about the problems and challenges of having to deal with bureaucracy.
General Manager, Edmundston Region Chamber of Commerce
There is no denying that we've run into issues with bureaucracy in the past. We still do, and we always will.
It hinders our economic development in many ways. Certainly, things could be improved. We have to jump through a lot of hoops just to achieve something minor and tangible. It's such a complicated process. We have to knock on a lot of doors, just to be able to do something locally or regionally. Sometimes, it's even more complicated when working with our counterparts in other chambers of commerce.
Unfortunately, a lot of businesses walk away from their plans because of it.
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Thank you.
Did you want to answer that question, Mr. Fortin?
Chief Executive Officer, Maple Roch
Yes.
As I said in the beginning, all the requirements we have to meet are geared towards big businesses.
As Ms. Pelletier pointed out, small businesses often walk away because they don't have the resources to fill out all the paperwork. A big business can check with its accountant, push a button and produce all the required information. For us—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Thank you, Mr. Fortin.
Thank you, Mr. Dalton.
We now go to Mr. Serré for five minutes. I'm going to be strict on the time.
Liberal
Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all three witnesses for their input, which is really going to help us with our report on economic development.
My first question is for Mr. Fortin and Ms. Pelletier.
I want to talk about market development in small regions. What can the federal government do to help you on the e‑commerce and export side of things?
Mr. Fortin, you have a niche market with maple syrup. We have good maple syrup in northern Ontario too. We can do a taste test to see which one is better, but I have no doubt that yours is excellent.
What can the government do to give entrepreneurs in your regions some tools?
The question is for you as well, Ms. Pelletier, since you live in a small remote region with a small population.
For businesses to grow, they have to export their products.
Chief Executive Officer, Maple Roch
Where I am, the Okanagan Valley, is a bit far from big cities, which have a major advantage over us.
It's very expensive for a small business to be on Facebook and other online platforms. The government could help us with that.
All of our labels are bilingual, but a lot of companies take shortcuts. Francophones like myself have to incur extra costs.
I do everything I can to make sure that any information about our business appears in English and in French. I'd like to do more in French, but I have to take into account the cost before I commit to anything. Help on that front would go a long way.
The government is helping us right now. We took a trip down to Washington state to explore how we could export our products from the Okanagan Valley to the states of Washington and Oregon, a market of 56 million people.
Liberal
Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON
Those are big markets.
Ms. Pelletier, thank you for your work at the chamber of commerce. It's vital for employers.
Do you have any suggestions for your members when it comes to exporting their products?