Official Languages committee  In my opinion, the winning strategy is to work with employers, encourage them to hire francophone immigrants, and make it easier for them to hire them. I'm referring to an anglophone employer clientele, which we need to convince that hiring francophones is good for business. We

Official Languages committee  According to the most recent figures available to me, 2.4% is the percentage of francophone immigrants who have settled in the province in recent years.

Official Languages committee  It's true. The census data do not provide an overall picture of the people who speak or know French in Canada, because the issue is always mother tongue. The real issue should be bilingualism. Having lived in a rural community during the first 40 years of my life, I know that th

Official Languages committee  Some of these young children will definitely continue their education in English. Day care is where children are prepared for regular school. I don't have the figures in front of me, but it's been observed that when children are in an anglophone day care, they continue their educ

Official Languages committee  Absolutely. What makes a difference, especially in rural communities where jobs are available, are the host community, and integration into the community. The community that welcomes these new immigrants needs to familiarize itself with their interests. It must be open enough to

Official Languages committee  The immigration field is still rather new to our community as far as programming and planning are concerned. It's new in the sense that, even though we've known for years that we should have been doing something to increase francophone immigration in our communities, we still don

Official Languages committee  With respect to current demand in Saskatchewan, there are still waiting lists for spaces in francophone day cares.

Official Languages committee  Two or three years ago, we determined there was a waiting list of 400 kids for francophone day cares in Saskatchewan. To us, that's considerable. We tried to put measures in place. We tried to help people open day cares in private homes. That proved a sizeable challenge. Admitte

Official Languages committee  Good morning.

Official Languages committee  No, we are in the process of implementing the project. The trail should be completed and open to the public within 12 months. We have been working on this project for a year and a half thanks to the funding we received. We are working on the project in partnership with the anglop

Official Languages committee  Yes, there is a francophone presence at celebrations like the one in Batoche because they are open to everyone. Many old-stock inhabitants are Métis, who have francophone names but no longer speak the language, having lost their French over the years. That is why the French prese

Official Languages committee  I cited some specific examples. I mentioned the emergency centre that was established in one community as well as the seniors home. In addition, tourism is linked to the roadmap and to special economic development initiatives. Roadmap funding has provided us with assistance for

Official Languages committee  Certainly. Allow me to cite an example of a result we achieved with the funding we received. We are working with our neighbouring provinces, Manitoba and Alberta, on a project entitled “La Route 1885,” the route of Louis Riel. It is a tourism project to promote the French fact i

Official Languages committee  With respect to Saskatchewan's economy and future, our province relies to a large degree on resources. That sector has always been cyclical. I lived in a rural community for the first 40 years of my life, and I am familiar with the agricultural cycle. It appears that potash minin

Official Languages committee  Good morning, everyone. Thank you for the invitation to appear before you this morning. I would definitely like to talk to you about the roadmap. The Conseil économique et coopératif de la Saskatchewan, or CECS, is a member of the Réseau de développement économique et d'employ