Official Languages committee  Keeping young francophones in the Yukon is a challenge. We find it difficult to keep young francophones in our high school. They leave the francophone system for the anglophone system. Not only that, because there are no French-language post-secondary institutions in the Yukon, students leave to study in Ottawa, in Montreal or in other places.

Official Languages committee  Most of them leave the territory to study outside. But some stay in the community. A first generation of true Franco-Yukoners is emerging, French-speaking Yukoners who were born in the Yukon. The first generations are now living their lives. We do not have a lot of statistical data on it because it is an ongoing process.

Official Languages committee  There are not a lot of dropouts at the French-language school. However, according to recent statistics, 10% to 15% of students in regular schools have special needs. In the French-language school in the Yukon, it is 37%. Does that mean they will drop out? I don't know. That is one of the reasons why the school board is fighting so hard to get that funding, so that it can help those students.

Official Languages committee  Yes, it is about leverage. Exactly. That is what we have been told.

Official Languages committee  Some did not react, but most people are clearly shocked by that kind of practice. The territorial government was ordered to repay the amount immediately to the school board and it largely did so before the Court of Appeal's decision. Clearly, people were not happy. It meant less money.

Official Languages committee  In general, we support the decisions of the school board. They run the school. It is a funding issue, but it is also a values issue for some people. It is very complex. We can discuss it. It is done case by case. Not all those who are not guaranteed the right are accepted. Some of the people have a unique profile.

Official Languages committee  Everything is not all sweetness and light, but in the Yukon, it is still pretty good. That was not always the case, but at the moment, our relationship with the territorial government is excellent. We are working together to increase government services in French. The legislation comes from 25 years ago and, to this day, there has never been an implementation plan for it.

Official Languages committee  There are a lot of service sector jobs in the Yukon. So those are not always very well paid. There are some jobs in the mines. People say that there is no economic crisis in the Yukon, but we have to add a note of caution. In a number of areas, like surveying, for example, there was a lot of work previously.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for pointing that out. Finding somewhere to live is a major problem in the Yukon. It is very difficult. Sometimes, young people arrive in town to look for a job, but they cannot find anywhere to live. So they end up leaving again because it is too expensive to live on their own.

Official Languages committee  The AFY provides a French-speaking daycare. We take children as young as six months. The school takes kids from the age of four, from kindergarten to grade 12. The Association franco-yukonnaise also provides an employment assistance service. If people arrive without jobs, or if a spouse does not have a job, for example, we provide employment assistance services.

Official Languages committee  In 2009, the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon brought a court case against the territorial government asking for full school management. The case lasted some time, then the territorial government appealed to the Court of Appeal for the Yukon, which declared a mistrial on the grounds that the judge was biased.

Official Languages committee  There were a number of reasons, including the request for full school management, meaning the ability to make the selections when hiring teachers, managing the buses, and so on. It was about having full management of the school. There were also some difficulties in transfers with bilateral education agreements.

Official Languages committee  The challenges are always different, because francophone entrepreneurs have less access to resources in French. That said, the challenges in the Yukon are less than in other regions. The fact that we are a small community and are together in one place, has advantages, not just disadvantages.

Official Languages committee  There are a number of reasons. A lot of people, francophone or anglophone, come to the Yukon because they are attracted to the wide open spaces. They may also be attracted by employment possibilities in the Yukon, especially in mining, an industry that is picking up again. As for francophones, some people have immigrated to the Yukon from Europe.

Official Languages committee  I would not like to mislead you, but I think that francophones have their fair share of jobs. Often, people settle in the Yukon because they have found a job there. The people who settle in the Yukon without having found a job are few and far between. Of course, there are young people who come to the Yukon in the summer, find that they love it, and stay.