Official Languages committee  That is absolutely one of the criteria in Newfoundland and Labrador. Economic growth is making a lot of families come and settle in St. John's as a result of the oil industry. I myself am an example of that. That was one of my criteria before I moved to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Official Languages committee  Thank you. Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Gaël Corbineau and I am the director general of the Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador. The Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador was established in 1977 and is a not-for-profit or

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Gourde I don't have the exact numbers, but I can say that, after having worked since 2008 in community immigration and francophone immigration in Newfoundland and Labrador, the economy was very good in terms of jobs. Also, most francophone newcomers came for econo

Official Languages committee  Over the past three years, little has changed. Our francophone immigration networks still do not have authorization to provide direct services, not in my area anyway. Some benefit from some provincial funding, but not us. There is also the problem that many economic class immigr

Official Languages committee  We cannot be.

Official Languages committee  Yes. Among the economic class newcomers, these temporary workers make up the majority. The temporary visa process is faster, actually. For an employer, it is much easier to recruit someone in a few weeks instead of waiting for months on end. Entry express promises that the waitin

Official Languages committee  The challenge for our immigration networks to provide services to temporary workers has been brought up a number of times before immigration officials and before the minister himself. Some immigration networks are lucky to obtain provincial funding, which enables them to provide

Official Languages committee  I am somewhere between Mr. Boileau and Ms. Hébert. There is not a great deal of competition, but France is still a competitor. Let me explain. France's economy is not doing so well, but it is not doing so bad either. The media blow things out of proportion. In fact, every year,

Official Languages committee  We get the sense that there are two parallel systems: an anglophone system and a francophone one. From the get-go, francophone minority communities have a huge handicap, and we don't have many tools left to overcome that handicap.

Official Languages committee  I'd like to make a point that no one has mentioned, given that it doesn't concern our provinces directly. I'm extremely worried about the outcome in the case brought by the Yukon's French-language school board against the Yukon government. The territorial government doesn't wan

Official Languages committee  I'd like to build on what Mr. Boileau said. We're seeing more and more articles being written about the population explosion happening right now in French-speaking Africa. By 2050, or thereabouts, French will be the most spoken language in the world. That's not that far off.

Official Languages committee  Clearly, with federal-provincial agreements, the accountability must be improved. There could certainly be a debate about that. To answer your question specifically, these are not funds transferred to the provinces. These are federal funds earmarked for education. For literacy,

Official Languages committee  We no longer have RESDAC's expertise, as they have practically no funding any more. They no longer even have an office today because they operate elsewhere, thanks to some other modest funding. They have lost much of their operational capacity. RESDAC was a national organization

Official Languages committee  I feel that there are a number of factors. First, the consultations for the Roadmap for Canada's Official Languages 2013-2018 were held very late, unlike what is happening now. At the moment, the consultations are being held one year earlier than in the process five years ago.

Official Languages committee  At the end of March 2013, when the new roadmap was announced, with a supposed starting date of April 1, were they ready? Clearly not. The government of the time wanted to look at certain aspects again. You cannot criticize a government of any kind for wondering whether it is doin