Official Languages committee  Thank you, everyone.

Official Languages committee  With regard to the 4.4% target, Alberta is not that invested in recruitment. Over the past 10 or 15 years, the Alberta economy, which has changed in recent years, has attracted people. Consequently, primary immigration helped achieve that 4.4% target. Secondary immigration also h

Official Languages committee  It would be a pleasure for us to send you the list.

Official Languages committee  That currently depends on financial capacity. As regards employability, it is very simple: we have no money to hire people. We have qualified people who could provide services, but that is not possible. We are caught in an impossible situation. The francophone population is incr

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much. First of all, I want to reiterate that it is important and necessary to have services by and for francophones and to match those services with our community's organizations and institutions. Our community has had to fight and fend for itself over the years d

Official Languages committee  Earlier I mentioned that the agreements between Canada and Alberta were very important. However, I think the federal government can play another role. I am going to ask Isabelle Laurin to say a little more about that. The federal government's leadership on the Official Languages

Official Languages committee  I think the people from the Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones really want to take part in the discussions and negotiations on those agreements. We support the "for and by the francophone communities" approach and the idea that that approach should be system

Official Languages committee  In the past 10 years, we have witnessed a dizzying increase in Alberta's francophone population. Consequently, the demand for services in the community has risen and we are no longer able to meet that demand. What is becoming frustrating to a large degree is that we are losing th

Official Languages committee  Part of it came from the roadmap and the Canada-community agreement. To improve our efficiency, we would like an increase, but also a kind of community self-determination. We would like to sign an agreement with the federal government on funding transferred to the representative

Official Languages committee  All right.

Official Languages committee  It will be me, Jean Johnson.

Official Languages committee  Perfect. Thank you very much. I would like to begin by thanking you for inviting us to give you our opinion as part of your study on Canada's roadmap for official languages 2013-2018. My name is Jean Johnson, and I am president of the Association canadienne-française de l'Alber

Official Languages committee  Yes?

Official Languages committee  This is a loaded question and a loaded comment, because there is no easy answer. In my opinion, the federal government is responsible for ensuring that it always talks with provincial and territorial governments about the francophonie.

Official Languages committee  First, I was not trying to be aggressive, but rather to say that we recognize the special status of Quebeckers. Then, we would like to obtain the same official recognition. I would like Mr. Harper to say this. When he talks about the Canadian Francophonie, I would like him to als