I would also like to thank all the members of the committee for agreeing to hear from us today.
We are going to do our presentation in English, but I can assure you that, at the end of our remarks, Ms. O'Donnell and I will be ready to take your questions in either English or French.
[English]
Thank you very much, members of the committee, for receiving us today.
I'll say a few words on behalf of Concordia, and then I'll ask Dr. O'Donnell to complete our brief presentation.
We will be very happy to take questions in either English or French.
Although the roots of our founding institutions go back more than 160 years, Concordia University, as it stands today, was formed in 1974 through the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University. Concordia is an open and engaged university with a student body of over 46,000 in the faculties of arts and science, fine arts, engineering and computer science, the John Wilson School of Business, and the School of Extended Learning.
By creating links between education and social responsibility, Concordia fosters an academic environment that allows students and faculty to thrive on an interdisciplinary approach to research, creative activity, and community engagement. Since its founding, Concordia has been characterized by the cosmopolitan and socially complex nature of Montreal. We pride ourselves in what we see as our unique mission of social integration. Concordia is proud to be an English language institution in Montreal, the metropolis of Quebec. We also pride ourselves in having a unique mission of transformation in our society, a mission we believe to be essential.
Concordia houses, and is proud to house, the Quebec English-speaking community's research network, QUESCREN.
[Translation]
In French, it is called the Réseau de recherche sur les communautés québécoises d'expression anglaise.
[English]
QUESCREN was officially launched in the spring of 2009 and is a joint initiative of the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities, located in Moncton, New Brunswick, Concordia University's School of Extended Learning, and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
QUESCREN is a network of researchers, community members, and institutions dedicated to developing research capacity related to Quebec's English-speaking communities. The goal of QUESCREN is to strengthen and maintain a network of researchers and institutions to produce and share evidence-based research results on the English-speaking minority communities of Quebec. Our research partners include the Quebec Community Groups Network, the Department of Canadian Heritage, and Industry Canada.
Concordia University's research profile and research capacity have been making great progress in recent years. From structural and functional genomics to computer security and human development, Concordia encourages a collaborative research environment where different research units complement the university and our society as a whole. With this big-picture thinking in mind, housing QUESCREN is a natural fit for Concordia.
Research produced by QUESCREN and its partners helps assess questions of fundamental importance for Quebec's English speakers, such as community vitality—and Dr. O'Donnell will have something to say about that in a moment—demographic shifts, identity, arts, culture, and heritage. The network is an ideal vehicle for researchers, service providers, and policy-makers to share information and best practices. A key example of this is QUESCREN's annual conference, which shares results of studies carried out by many researchers on Quebec's English-speaking communities. It fosters fruitful exchange between English- and French-speaking research producers and users within the context of the province's most important annual research event, the congress of the Association francophone pour le savoir.
From our perspective, we believe that all stakeholders, that is, government, community groups, and community members, benefit from thorough, up-to-date research and analysis on the English-speaking communities of Quebec.
What do we mean by research? More than a simple collection of statistics, we feel that what is really needed is an accurate portrait of the English-speaking communities of Quebec, who we are, where we're going, which policies are working, and which policies may need improvement. There are many myths about Quebec's English speakers held by the French-speaking majority, and to some extent by the rest of Canada. For example, there is still a prevailing view that anglophones in the province are relatively wealthy compared to the Quebec majority, when in fact we now know the opposite to be true.
Accurate, up-to-date research on the English-speaking community can help eradicate some of these myths and sensitize the population to the challenges we face. Critically, this research will provide the government with an additional tool to review, evaluate, and improve existing policies and proactively develop new policies to deliver services and support long-term development.
I'll now ask Dr. O'Donnell to say a few words about QUESCREN.
I would now like to take you through one specific example of the valuable research the network has produced, and hopefully we can discuss others later in our exchange.
QUESCREN has recently coordinated a review by external researchers of a community vitality framework in partnership with the Department of Canadian Heritage. “Community vitality” is a term that we are hearing with increased frequency, not just with respect to official language minority communities, but in a host of community-based initiatives.
Measuring community vitality is a huge challenge, as the metrics are not obvious. This project will provide government, community groups, and other stakeholders with a model of community vitality, key indicators, and evaluation methodology. This is the kind of contribution that researchers can make to community groups who deliver services on the ground and also to government partners.
This example is only a small part of what we have been able to achieve in a short period of time with very limited resources. We firmly believe that improving government support for official languages, specifically in research, even in a challenging economic context, is a very sound investment.
Funding for QUESCREN operates on a contract-to-contract basis. Without stable, predictable levels of funding, it is extremely difficult for us to develop continuity and to establish a long-term vision of research initiatives that we can accomplish. The good news is that this area of research is gaining interest, and researchers increasingly want to turn their efforts to studying the English-speaking communities of Quebec. On the other hand, we are operating at capacity and have been forced to refuse certain requests. Current funding allows for only one full-time staff member, the network's coordinator/researcher, along with consultants as needed on an activity-by-activity basis. Moreover, the nature of special research project funding also poses a challenge.
We have been privileged to work with government partners on special projects, including the one mentioned above. We are proud to have been able to produce professional results on a variety of groundbreaking subjects, often with tight timeframes. The experience has led us to conclude, however, that even better results could come from a more sustainable, structured relationship between Concordia and government for this kind of research. Beyond improving research, this would have the added value of developing research capacity, namely, community capacity to participate in and benefit from research and researcher capacity to work in partnership with the community.
Long-term results of this kind of investment would be enhancement of the vitality of Quebec's English-speaking communities and positioning the research community, including English-speaking researchers in Quebec, as relevant and effective societal observers and actors. While we are sensitive to the time and budgetary constraints of our colleagues in the Department of Canadian Heritage, we feel we would all be better served if the government worked towards developing a culture of research in official languages, and especially in Quebec's English-speaking community.
In partnership, we can help develop an environment where universities and research institutes can conduct research with a cohesive, long-term vision.
Thank you.
:
Good morning, members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen.
The Association of West Quebecers is an organization whose mission is to serve and support the English-speaking population of the Outaouais by fostering an environment in which it can thrive. This means that the association is an information hub: we have an easily accessible website; we publish four newsletters a year; and we promote events of our partners and within the community at large through our website and our bi-weekly electronic bulletin. This keeps the English-speaking community current on events and issues.
The association undertakes a variety of projects to support youth and seniors to showcase outstanding volunteers through our annual awards banquet; to request that the City of Gatineau increase services in English; to develop activities for youth and assist them in developing confidence in the French language as they ready themselves for the workplace; and we have conducted a survey for seniors to hear what their needs are.
The association offers a new residents package. This package contains essential and valuable information for newcomers settling in the region or planning to move to the Outaouais. These are just some examples.
West Quebecers' territory is the entire Outaouais region, which covers a total of 33,000 square kilometres. This area includes an urban amalgamated City of Gatineau, smaller towns in the Pontiac and the Gatineau Valley, as well as more rural areas, such as Rapides-des-Joachims, L'Isle-aux-Allumettes, and Calumet Island.
According to the census of 2006, there are 55,235 anglophones in the English-speaking community in the Outaouais. This represents 16.3% of the region's total population of 338,190. In this instance, when we refer to anglophones we are talking about people who define themselves as speaking English most often at home.
In addition, approximately half the anglophones in the Outaouais are unilingual English speakers, which represents a special challenge for them.
Also, roughly half of the English-speaking population consists of seniors. This population in the Outaouais, with a central urban core and communities scattered over a wide territory, lives in an environment where French is the majority official language. As a result, the English-speaking community faces a diversity of challenges to maintain itself.
We are by no means the only organization that concerns itself with the needs of the English-speaking communities. Our partners include CEDEC, the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation, which concerns itself with the economic and employability issues that result from the decline of industries—for example, the forestry industry.
The Western Quebec Literacy Council works diligently to improve functional literacy in the region.
The Outaouais Health and Social Services Network provides valuable support to the English-speaking community regarding healthy living and general health information.
It goes without saying that the Western Quebec School Board, the Western Quebec Career Centre, and the Heritage College CEGEP are focused on educating our youth to be equipped for further education and to enter the workforce.
More recently, West Quebecers finds itself focusing attention on the difficulties the English-speaking population may have in accessing information about public services in English.
The possibility of doing the kinds of things I have mentioned, whether through our organization or others, depends upon continued federal government support. Without core funding it is impossible to maintain a permanent organization that can be a source of initiatives, and without project funding it is unlikely that many projects will get off the ground.
Since 2007 the federal government has pursued the line of action known as the road map to linguistic duality. This includes assistance to community organizations of official language minorities granted by federal departments. This assistance enables these minorities to take action to strengthen the economic and social foundations of their communities.
For the anglophone minorities of Quebec—there are approximately 11 regional associations across the province of Quebec representing these minorities—such federal assistance is particularly significant. It is the conviction of anglophone community leaders that their communities have a role to play in Canada's French-speaking province, and federal assistance provided through the vehicle of the road map provides practical support for that conviction.
The continued existence of these communities is a contribution to that diversity of the region and the province, which we believe to be an essential characteristic of Canada.
I thank the members of the committee for giving West Quebecers this opportunity to speak on this matter.
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, membres du comité, thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you today. It's really an honour for us to be here.
CEDEC is Canada's largest organization with a mandate to pursue economic development, including entrepreneurship and labour force development for the English-speaking official language minority community.
On March 31, 2013, the expiration date of the current road map, CEDEC will have received almost 70% of the total investments identified in the road map dedicated to economic development for the English-speaking communities in Quebec.
CEDEC is one of thirteen sponsors for the enabling fund for official language minority communities, which is managed by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. The other recipients of the enabling fund include RDÉE Canada and members of its network across the country.
The road map has contributed enormously to our community's vitality and has enabled CEDEC to play a critical role, optimizing the economic potential of English-speaking communities in Quebec and seizing opportunities for job creation and economic growth. Our primary levers in the road map include the enabling fund and the economic development initiative investments managed by Industry Canada and Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions.
One of CEDEC's key roles is building leadership capacity within communities to identify and build on assets through research, comprehensive community plans, and targeted projects. These plans ensure that the English-speaking community can leverage resources to remain competitive and innovative and contribute to the economic prosperity of Quebec and Canada.
Since 2008, CEDEC has leveraged over $7 million in direct investment in community-based economic development initiatives. These funds are generated by partners, thanks to the $2.7 million per year received from HRSDC's enabling fund, an important component of the road map. During the last fiscal year alone, CEDEC has leveraged directly $2.9 million, or $1.07 for every dollar contributed by the enabling fund.
Throughout the first four years of the road map, the federal government has contributed 47% of our leveraged resources, and a good portion of this can be attributed directly to support from the road map and specifically Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. Resources leveraged from provincial sources over this period are about 30%, which underlies our ability to build constructive partnerships with the provincial ministries, agencies, and organizations. This cooperation is essential to economic development for Canada’s English-speaking minority community, and this is made possible by virtue of the road map and the impressive work of the 8,500 volunteer hours alone last year that contributed to our initiative.
CEDEC always seeks to generate opportunities for the English-speaking community of Quebec and beyond. In the examples of community economic development that I'll share with you today, each one of them illustrates a leverage effect for the majority population and OLMCs across Canada.
In the Magdalen Islands, CEDEC has provided direct support for the development of comprehensive community plans around tourism in order to diversify the vulnerable fishing economy. These plans are serving as the beacon for community economic development, and CEDEC is keeping partners and stakeholders focused as they search for resources to enact the plans. Coming out of the overall economic downturn that we've recently experienced, CEDEC has helped to broker $824,000 to realize various tourism projects in this area alone.
Some other examples include the business vitality initiative, which is a process that brings together the business community with other stakeholders to measure the business friendliness or readiness of a community. Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions has supported this process in two communities so far: Campbell's Bay, in the Outaouais area, and the City of Témiscaming. This bilingual tool can be used in other communities, thanks to funds from Industry Canada that have allowed us to create resources and train Quebec-based facilitators.
In May 2012 we will be presenting the business vitality initiative to 180 rural development agents of the Solidarité rurale du Québec, who are situated across the province. We already have a strong relationship with this organization, both at the Réseau level and directly in some communities. We see great opportunity to leverage the BVI through relationships such as this one.
In 2008 Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions supported the start-up of Bikes in the Bay Motorcycle Festival in Campbell's Bay, which is still going strong and inspiring neighbouring communities to partner at a regional level. CEDEC built the community's capacity to conceptualize and organize this festival over several years. The demonstrated capacity built through this catalytic event was a contributing factor to the introduction of the business vitality initiative in Campbell's Bay.
In 2010 Industry Canada financed a study of small and medium enterprises within Quebec’s English-speaking community. This report confirmed that SMEs need English language networking and support services to help them thrive and grow in Quebec and be in a position to innovate, create jobs, and play a part in diversifying local economies.
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, through the economic development initiative, is helping us to expand, in geography and in scope, the CEDEC small business support network. This investment is exponentially increasing our ability to build economic prosperity for small businesses within English-speaking communities, the broader Quebec economy, and OLMCs across Canada.
CEDEC’s mature workers initiative is addressing issues and opportunities related to the English OLMC’s rapidly aging population. We are breaking new ground with a study of English-speaking mature workers, as well as with surveys targeting employers, recruitment agencies, and employment service providers. Through these studies, CEDEC is building a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with supporting a mature worker to obtain employment.
Community economic development is a long-term process that requires effective planning supported by sustained financial commitments from the federal government. This is essential if we are to establish meaningful partnerships that generate tangible results for our communities. All of these successful initiatives are a direct result of the investments of the road map.
At a broader level, CEDEC engages federal government partners through the National Human Resources Development Committee for the English Linguistic Minority, which we often simply call the national committee.
This March, for the first time, the national committee met jointly with Le Comité national de développement économique et d’employabilité and RDÉE Canada. This meeting set the stage for cooperation and ongoing dialogue about how we can leverage the competitive advantage represented by all of Canada’s OLMCs within the national and global economy.
In closing, I would like to respond to Mr. Weston’s question posed to HRSDC in a previous session, where he asked about the impact of the road map on the hearts and minds of Canadians. I think this quote is quite telling. Let me share this quote from one of our valued stakeholders, Mr. Bill Stewart, mayor of Campbell's Bay, in the Outaouais area:
CEDEC was instrumental in the revitalization of Campbell’s Bay and our neighbouring municipalities want to tap in to this tourism opportunity as well. Without CEDEC’s leadership, expertise and vision, our community wouldn’t have gotten as far as it has with this economic opportunity. We’re more than just partners now; we’re like family.
Thank you very much for this opportunity.
:
Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, the Société Nationale de l'Acadie was born 131 years ago out of the Acadian renewal at the end of the 19th century, expressing the desire of our "stateless people" to develop its own distinctive voice. "Strength in Unity" is our motto: it attests to our determination to grow strong within this Canada of ours, a country we do not question and whose nationality we proudly bear.
The SNA is the oldest francophone institution outside of Quebec; it existed long before official bilingualism came into being and it is here to stay. The SNA is a federation representing each of the Atlantic provinces francophone associations and, since 1988, the four corresponding youth organizations—a unique innovation in our country that guarantees the longevity and originality of the SNA's ideas and actions.
The SNA is the only body representing the Acadian people—its only means of promotion at home and abroad. For more than 60 years now, it has represented Acadia to member states of the Francophonie, mainly France and Belgium, with which it signed bilateral people-to-people agreements that are unique. It is also active in the Americas, most notably with the Acadians of Maine and Louisiana. In short, the SNA represents the Acadian people at home and on the international stage, and it delivers important services in the Atlantic region, a space that the SNA is the only francophone organization to occupy.
Our priorities are demographic growth and immigration, youth, culture and identity, literacy, and communications. The SNA plays a key role in these sectors by delivering services that contribute to the economic development of the Acadian people and, as such, of the Atlantic region as a whole.
In the area of demographic growth and immigration, the SNA has set up, in 2007, a round table on francophone immigration in the Atlantic region. It brings together experts from the four provinces who are developing an immigration strategy for the international market. This offers organizations and the provinces an essential service made possible only because of the international stature of the SNA.
In the cultural area, the SNA's initiative for the promotion of Acadian artists internationally is a unique service, whose usefulness and reach are recognized by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) that funds most of this initiative because of its economic benefits.
Culture also means being proud of one's identity and in this regard, the SNA, since 2004, has assumed responsibility for the World Acadian Congress, an international event organized every five years that draws thousands of participants. In 2014, the CMA will be held in northern New Brunswick and the bordering Temiscouata region of Quebec and northern Maine, an international initiative that will bring millions of dollars in economic benefits to the region.
For youth, we are launching this year a promising initiative, a youth mobility office bringing under one roof all the possibilities in training, exchanges and travel-work placements abroad for young Acadians and francophones of the Atlantic region, and, conversely, for youth from the Francophonie who wish to come to Acadia to learn a new skill or share their knowledge. Agreements with Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, France, Belgium, Louisiana and the four Atlantic provinces, allow us to deliver quality services in a concerted and economical way. Moreover, the SNA has for many years organized Atlantic youth events, such as the Acadian Youth Festival in the area of culture and the Acadian Youth Parliament in leadership. In 2007, we also set up a round table on literacy with Atlantic-provinces and federal experts who are working together in a concerted effort to fight this major problem.
Today we wish to share with you our ideas on the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality from which we get our core funding—from the national fund—and to offer our suggestions for the future.
First of all, I want to emphasize that the roadmap has been a great improvement. It gave us all—the SNA, its member organizations and indeed all the Canadian francophonie—the benefits of a precise development plan, national in scope, taking into account the community, its priorities and objectives, and for a five-year period that allowed for longer-term results-oriented planning.
Here are our recommendations for the future.
We are in favour of continuing the present roadmap model over a five-year period.
We recommend that more federal departments be involved in the roadmap in the spirit of section 7 of the act.
We encourage multi-year agreements in order to foster long-term capacity building for community organizations.
We are in favour of core funding for organizations because of its leverage effect. For each dollar of core funding, tens of other dollars are raised.
In the case of the SNA, however, the present core funding is insufficient to fulfill the organization's mandate: we receive $168,000—which works out to about 50 cents per Acadian, as I like to say—an amount that has practically not changed in six years and that is not meeting our most basic expenses. This year again, thanks to special projects, the total funding of the SNA is around $800,000; but such an effort, year after year, means some very expensive human costs and undermines the SNA's capacity to devote energy to important projects, such as a communication effort with the anglophone community and the protection and promotion of our Acadian symbols.
In this regard, we would like to suggest two new approaches to secure adequate core funding for the SNA. Recognizing its unique position in the country as the only francophone organization representing the Acadian people—that is, the second francophone founding people of Canada—we suggest that the federal government create a trust fund to secure the base financing of the SNA, or create a special fund for the SNA outside of the national fund.
With such a model ensuring adequate core funding, as is already the privilege of other groups financed by the national fund, the SNA will be in a position to fully achieve its mandate, which is to promote Acadia, and thus Canada, around the world, and to develop, in the Atlantic region, the links, projects and initiatives that are needed to enrich the region both humanly and economically.
Thank you for your attention.
First of all, I would like to welcome all the witnesses joining us today. We appreciate your comments, since, as you must already know, our committee's meetings on the study of the roadmap will be used as a basis for, or perhaps even become the substance of, the evaluation. So your comments are greatly appreciated, given that it doesn't seem like there are other consultations scheduled with the groups directly affected.
On behalf of Mr. Yvon Godin, I would also like to give his regards to Ms. Enguehard and Mr. Doucet. Though he couldn't be here today, he really wanted to send his regards to you in particular. So there you go.
My first questions are for you, Ms. Enguehard. You explained that the Société nationale de l'Acadie is the only organization supported by the roadmap that recognizes the Acadian people. Could you tell us how the work that you do to fulfill your mandate is different from that of other groups? How is that going to be reflected in your daily activities?
:
Representing the Acadian people comes with great responsibility both in terms of pride and identity. We are the bearers of history, responsible for the symbols of the Société nationale de l’Acadie. Let me give you an example of what the term “bearers of history” means.
As you probably know, the Grand-Pré site is a candidate for one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. We have worked closely with Grand-Pré's nominating committee on this.
As I said, we are also responsible for the World Acadian Congress, which includes putting out calls for bids. We are sort of like the Acadian Olympic Committee. It also means forming a jury, setting up everything and keeping the World Acadian Congress going.
And since we represent the Acadian people on the international stage, we have affiliate members: Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, France, Louisiana, and Maine. So we have many responsibilities.
Over the past few years, we have been doing international work with ACOA to continue to develop relations with Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon; the funding for the work came from other federal organizations.
:
Thank you for the question.
Currently, the network I coordinate at Concordia University works in partnership with three institutions: Concordia University, Canadian Heritage and the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities. The network exists in partnership, but it is subsidized through a contract. Since the contract will unfortunately run out next year, it is difficult for us to plan any long-term projects.
For instance, let's look at research groups that make research requests for projects that will run for five years, which is normal in the case of a large academic research project. I was recently asked to provide information and resources to help with the progress of this project that will run for five years. Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to commit to it. I told them that I was interested, that the network was interested, but that we could not promise that we will be there for five years.
In short, as concrete support, we would like to have a guarantee that the funding will last three to five years, instead of two or three years at a time, or that the trust fund of the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities—CIRLM—in Moncton will be increased, so that it can support us more substantially in the years to come.
:
Funding is always at the heart of the matter for every organization, isn't it? This is especially true for organizations where resources, both financial and human, are fairly limited. As Ms. Stronach said in her presentation, without core funding, it would be almost impossible to do any work. We would not have a physical space where we could organize our activities. We would have to do small-scale work that wouldn't amount to much.
The Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages made some recommendations in the report that came out last year on funding organizations like ours. It recommended greater flexibility in how these organizations are funded.
We fully understand that there must be some requirements for public funding, but the process to apply for funding and to present a summary of what has been accomplished is always difficult, because the request must be submitted a few months in advance for the activity that we want to undertake. When the time comes to put things in motion, the circumstances are fairly often not exactly as we had expected, and adjustments are necessary.
With respect to our relationship with Canadian Heritage, which is the source of our core funding, I must say that the department has shown some flexibility when it decides on the value of the funding requests and the subsequent results. The fact remains that, for organizations like ours, our core funding barely changes from year to year. Over the past 10 years, and I have some experience here, our core funding has increased 2%. I think you'll agree with me that this isn't exactly keeping up with the rate of inflation.
What are we asking for? Of course, we're asking for a little more money. That's what we're always asking for, isn't it? With a little more money, we could do a lot more.
I see that the chair is motioning to me. I'm sorry.
:
I think it's extremely difficult to give an overall picture, sir. For one thing, we talk about the anglophone community, but sometimes it's better to talk in the plural about the anglophone communities. As I think you know very well, there is a world of difference between, shall we say, the Pontiac and the Gatineau Valley and between those people who live out in the country and us urbanites who live in the city of Gatineau.
I would say we're probably dealing with an extremely mixed picture, which is made more mixed by the economic ups and downs of the region. Gatineau, I think you can regard as being relatively prosperous because it has, at least until now, enjoyed a stable source of employment, which is the government. In the Pontiac and on the other side of Gatineau, in the direction of Papineau County, you have industries based on forestry, which have been in decline. You have mills that have closed down and you have people looking desperately for other sources of employment. We've had some reference to the beneficial effect that has been achieved by the work of CEDEC, for example, this morning in Campbell's Bay, which of course is in the Pontiac.
Overall, I think there is some recognition within the city of Gatineau itself of the fact that there is an English language community. In some respects, it is very good. In some respects, it is less than adequate.
I would just mention, in conclusion, Mr. Chairman—excuse my verbosity—that this very week we are running a survey through the local papers and through our website about access to services in English in the city of Gatineau. I'm hoping we get a good response to that because it will be very interesting to see what the findings are.
I'd like to thank our guests for being here this morning.
As you know, it's been a few weeks, a few months even, since we started studying the roadmap. It's always good to receive comments from groups that benefit from the roadmap. It's really the communities you help that benefit from the roadmap.
Ms. Enguehard, you said that it was good to have long-term support, that to have long-term plans of four or five years, it's important to have long-term support, as well as some coordination among the departments. This is what we have tried to put in place. The amount of funding is quite large and, of course, every group always wants more. There was $1.1 billion for five years. So it isn't surprising that the groups that come here always ask that we continue to provide funding and that we even increase it.
There is one group of people that did not come and testify, and that's the taxpayers, those anonymous people who pay out of their pocket so that we can invest in groups through the roadmap.
[English]
The backdrop, and the reason I mentioned the taxpayer not being represented here, of course, is the fiscal challenges the government has. It doesn't matter whether it's the United States, France, Spain, Greece, or Quebec—all governments everywhere are wrestling with fiscal challenges. So, ultimately, the question becomes one of priorities.
Every group can say that their group is the priority, but I was wondering if you could just help us, in terms of our evaluation, in thinking through evaluation criteria, without saying “our group is the priority”. Mr. Bélanger can appreciate this, having been in cabinet in the past and their government also faced with that question of prioritization: where do you spend money, which also implies where do you not spend money.
I'll ask maybe each in turn, if you were to put yourself in the shoes of the Department of Heritage and the Minister of Heritage, and thinking about the next version of the road map—there will undoubtedly be a next version of the road map—what would you say the different criteria should be to come up with a plan for determining where to spend money? I'm thinking at a higher level than your own group, putting yourself in the position of, say, that heritage minister.
I'll start with Concordia University. It might be difficult to put you in that position, but it would be useful feedback for us, as an evaluation committee, if you can think about those priorities. You're probably aware that with the road map we're investing in seniors, in youth, in culture, in health—a wide variety of different aspects of the linguistic reality of Canada.
:
With your permission, Monsieur Trottier, I'll say a few words and then perhaps I'll ask my colleague, Dr. O'Donnell, to add something from her perspective.
The question you raise is an absolutely vital one. It is about priorities. I would point out that like everyone in the room, I think, I am a taxpayer. The taxpayer is indirectly represented here, and more directly by you perhaps than by us.
Having said that, it seems to me that it is critical for the Government of Canada never to lose sight of its mission of doing whatever it can to guarantee the vitality of all our minority communities in Canada. I think there are payoffs for the taxpayer in that.
For example, if we hark back to what Dr. O'Donnell was saying about developing metrics and parameters for assessing community vitality, having lived in Newfoundland for many years, which is where I had the good fortune to meet Madame Enguehard many years ago, I have seen it firsthand there, and more recently in Quebec, the terrible pattern of loss that arises when community vitality cannot be sustained, when communities are hollowed out and emptied and people vanish from those communities, either to migrate to nearby cities or, in the case of both Newfoundland and English-speaking Quebec, to other provinces and other countries. That is a terrible loss for Canada, it seems to me.
I think it is incumbent on the Government of Canada to do what it can, within the limits of fiscal responsibility, you're absolutely correct, to sustain those communities, because they are part of the fabric of this nation and they contribute vitally to sustaining the fabric of Canada.
:
Thank you, Mr. Trottier, for the question.
I can certainly appreciate the difficult priority-setting challenges you have. In fact, I can recall very recently one of the individuals who appeared before you who simply said, we need a lot of money and we need it for a long time. We would probably agree with that statement, but we appreciate the need for us to be very transparent and accountable, and we appreciate the circumstances that we find ourselves in.
The two factors that we would look at most closely are really very much a part of the way we evaluate success, and in fact the way our current funder, the majority funder we have, through HRSDC evaluates the success of the enabling fund. That is through leveraged funds and also through concrete partnerships that are established.
There are two very precise criteria. If I may elaborate very briefly, the leveraged piece of that is critical because it talks not about the road map being an expense but rather an investment. When we look at every dollar spent—and we made reference to this in our presentation—for the past year we can demonstrate $1.07 of immediate leverage generated in the economy to more than 100%. If we look across the country at the investment, there is $69 million going through the enabling fund over the five years. The average across the country is actually a three-to-one ratio. There's a clear value there that's being generated, and something I think we can speak very boldly to taxpayers about and let them know that we are doing wonderful things with a relatively minimal investment in this space of economic development.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here today. I'll start with Ms. Enguehard, and I will come back to certain aspects of your presentation. I will also address our Conservative friends, in particular Mr. Gourde.
Let's take the example of a youth centre in a municipality, and the centre has a budget of $150,000 to $160,000. A regional organization has an assured core budget of $300,000. Here, we're talking about an organization with a mission to defend the interests of one group, in this case, Canada's Acadians. It must also promote the group around the world, so we're talking about core funding of $168,000. Personally, I find that figure astonishing.
In your document, you say that you would like to receive funding comparable to that of other groups that receive assistance from the national envelope. How much funding would you like to have so you can ensure that Canada preserves its Acadian identity, which makes the country what it is, in the same way that Quebec does?
Thank you very much for your presentations. I found them all very informative.
It's particularly interesting today. I have an affinity, of course, with Dr. Graham and Dr. O'Donnell. I'm a graduate of Concordia University, arguably, I might say, the best university in Canada, but I'm very biased.
Mr. Gates, welcome back to the Hill, sir. I know you've worked here for some time as an interpreter for the House and for the Senate. You are here in a different role today.
I find it a little bit of an oxymoron, or very difficult, to use the words “minority communities” in Canada when we speak of the French-speaking community or the English-speaking community across the country, given that the founders of this land were English people and French people. But here we are today, it's the reality, and we have to refer to you as a minority. I'm almost apologetic when I use the word “minority” because I don't think you should feel like a minority group anywhere you live in Canada. That is the thing that I believe is the goal, if you will, of the road map.
The road map represents an investment of over $1 billion for our government, specifically to address the very issue of vitality and vibrancy and long-term success, if you will, of the English-speaking community in Quebec and the French-speaking community everywhere else.
We are studying it. We're about 80% into it now. It is going to expire in 2013. We don't know what the next phase of it will be, whether we'll call it the road map or something else, but hearing from groups such as yours today, all of the groups, about the importance the road map has played in the programs that you have initiated and in helping you with your good work, it's obvious that we need a replacement, if not a continuation of the road map right now.
This is the first question I'd like to ask—and I don't think I'm going to have time for many questions given that we only have about five minutes each here. Assuming that we continue with the road map or something to replace it, where would you focus? There is a question of sustainability of funds. You want sustainable funds to be able to continue the programs you have, but in addition to that, are there some new initiatives that you will be focusing on that you'd like to see in your organizations that can be enhanced by the provision of more funding through the road map or the continuation of another program of some sort?
I'd like to thank my colleague from Richmond Hill for his remarks. I, too, have an issue with the term “minority”, especially in language issues. The French and the English are founding members of this country. Although there are satellite communities scattered throughout this very vast country, what holds both communities together is language. The nuances that we're seeing here are really about the particulars of the Acadians, who have a very particular history, and anglophone Quebeckers have a very particular history that is different from anglophones outside of Quebec. I would hope that maybe we can start thinking about using other terminology other than “minorities”.
Another comment I would like to make is that a government's job really is not to spend money but to invest money. Ultimately, whether that investment comes back in terms of GDP, or finance, or cultural and social growth of that country, it is an investment. Every dollar is an investment. It's impossible to separate taxpayers from those who actually receive the services.
One of the things that I think
[Translation]
Ms. Enguehard mentioned the importance of protecting people's culture. That is really important in the anglophone community too. I come from a cultural community myself.
I would like to ask the people from CEDEC and our other participants what they have done to significantly improve the cultural aspect.
[English]
It's something that's apart from economic sustainability, but the culture of the people,
[Translation]
what you have done to maintain or improve that aspect?
Let's start with Ms. Enguehard or Mr. Doucet.
:
Thank you very much for your comments.
A proud Acadian whose name I am sure you know, Jean-Marc Nadeau, often says: “a small apple is no less an apple than a big apple”. So, even if we are talking about a people like the Acadians, who are not really numerous in comparison with other peoples, we are all peoples, we are all human beings and we all want to cultivate the common identity that unites us.
As to your question of how to develop culture as such, I feel that, in order to make sure that a community or a people can endure, we have to invest in its youth. In our French-speaking schools, we often talk about identity-building. Young people have to be imbued with things that will develop their pride and their identification with their culture and their mother tongue.
When dealing with youth, we often talk about “aha moments”, the times when a kid has an experience that will make him think about, understand and relate to his identity and his culture. He will choose to cultivate them and use them to advantage for the rest of his life. He will register his children in francophone schools, participate in community activities, and so on.
So we need all the initiatives that the government can support that will let kids experience events in which they get out of their communities, meet people from other places and experience those “aha moments”. Among many others, they are some of the indications, we feel, of the long-term development of the vitality of our communities.
:
Thank you, Mr. Benskin.
It's a terrific question, and one that's interesting to look at in economic terms, which would be generally the lens that we look through when we examine this.
Largely, part of the role that we have to play in Quebec as an organization that is vertically integrated with operations across the entire province is ultimately creating partnerships with the majority linguistic community. In fact, with more than 200 very concrete partnerships that are documented, a lot of what we're talking about on a regular basis is the added value of having the English-speaking community around the table deciding on the future direction of our communities and demonstrating that added value, not only with respect to ideas and with respect to directions, but also with respect to culture and this element, which is so critical.
Again, looking through a very economic lens, I think we see a lot of the possibilities to promote culture from a tourism perspective. We're very proud of the tremendous amount of work that's been done in the area of research associated with tourism.
Working with partners, not only within the English-speaking community in Quebec but the French-speaking communities outside of Quebec in the rest of Canada, CEDEC and RDÉE Canada and its stakeholders across the country are deeply involved in an initiative that would see us promote this culture for tourism reasons, and it would see terrific economic benefits for the country as a consequence.
If I might just add one brief statement, because we've heard two comments about minority communities, one of the interesting and I think perhaps most important assets of the investments that we see coming through the road map are that they contribute not only to the vitality of the linguistic minority communities.... When we look to Quebec, for example, and talk about 990,000 English speakers who reside there, in fact every dollar that gets invested there has an impact on the entire community, and in many cases an exponentially greater impact for a region than just a very specific linguistic minority community.
:
The Société nationale de l'Acadie represents Acadians from the four Atlantic provinces. So I will refer to Atlantic Acadia.
We often hear about the country as a whole being made up of Quebec and English-speaking Canada. But nothing could be further from the truth than talking about Quebec as French-speaking and the rest of Canada as English-speaking. Every francophone in the country knows that. So do Acadians.
The same goes for the Atlantic region. People often think that Acadia is in New Brunswick. But Acadia can be found in all four provinces. It has a strong presence, even in my province, Newfoundland and Labrador, where we represent less than 0.5% of the population. The population is extremely active, with its schools, its school/community centres and its organizations, some of which have spoken to you from around this very table.
More remarkable is the fact that, approximately since the 1970s, we are no longer talking about survival, even though we are still dealing with issues related to assimilation or migration; we are talking about a boom. I feel that this is a significant stage. We should also mention our relationship with the provinces and the acceptance in all provinces that francophone communities must have their place—even though three are not officially bilingual, as is New Brunswick. This is the case even in my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador. I feel that major improvements have been made in this area.
So before you today is a young Acadia that stands proudly facing the future. No longer are we the Acadia of the past, with a cap in our hand, a chip on our shoulder and tears in our eyes. This is an Acadia that wants to take, and is taking, its proud place in Canada and that wants to move forward, as everyone does.
I also have to tell you that Acadia votes for all three parties. So the Société nationale de l'Acadie is not—I repeat not—a political representative of our people. Our people vote as they choose.
:
All right. Maybe without presumption I can just make a comment on that.
Yes, I have seen this article. I'll go so far as to use a word I don't use very often, and that is that I was rather shocked. I am not an expert on conducting scientific sample surveys, but my understanding is that CROP is one of the respected practitioners of this particular art. I think perhaps the politest thing I can say about this article is that it fell considerably below the standard I would expect of them or of any other of our well-known organizations. There were questions in it that were loaded, and I think it's one thing that you don't do in a survey. Unless you really want to twist it in a certain direction, you don't ask loaded questions.
Furthermore, I will say I was entertained to some extent, in a rather sardonic way, by the well-known gentleman who apparently took a part in planning this particular survey. I'm referring, of course, to Mr. Jean-François Lisée, who presents himself as a friend of the anglophone community and answers that he is shocked by the results of this survey. Well, I would merely remark that it seems to me that Mr. Lisée probably got the results out of this survey that he wanted, and I would certainly join with one of the commentators in Montreal, who remarked “With friends like that, who needs enemies?”
:
My second question goes to Mr. Graham and Ms. O'Donnell, from Concordia University.
I thank all the witnesses who have come to provide us with their comments. But I have to point out that the first university I went to was Sir George Williams, in Montreal, now known as Concordia. After that, I made the rounds of all the universities in greater Montreal.
I represent the riding of Brome—Missisquoi, in the Eastern Townships, where the anglophone community is very active, I must say. I also want to stress that it lives in harmony with the francophone community. The two communities share the same values: protecting the environment, respecting our architectural heritage, volunteering at the BMP hospital in Cowansville, arts and culture. The first library dates from 1893; perhaps you know it—the Pettes Memorial Library in Knowlton. It is an architectural jewel, but it is also a source of cultural vitality, both for the anglophone and francophone communities. Still in Knowlton, a small village, you can find a campus of Bishop's University that specializes in the arts. They have the Tour des arts, they have community radio, and so on. They are very committed people, you can see.
Could you tell me if Concordia University, or any other anglophone university, is doing any studies on that extraordinary community? In particular, are they identifying needs? Earlier, you mentioned myths. Have you found any? You talked about poverty and wealth. What have you come across in your research on that community?
I took part in a seminar in my constituency in Brome—Missisquoi. It was about what could be done to keep the young people in the area. They go away to study at places like McGill, Concordia, Champlain College, John Abbott College, Macdonald College and so on. But how can we make sure that they come home again so that the people there can benefit from what they have learned? Have your researchers looked at that question?
:
Thank you for the question, Mr. Gourde.
I will reply in English because the notes I have with me are in English and they contain the details.
[English]
If we look at the regions, as you're well aware, and particularly in your area, for example, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions operates in such a way that they make decisions about investments in a very local way, so respond very directly to the different needs. With an organization with that presence throughout the province, we have the privilege of being able to deal with many of the offices associated with Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. In fact, in the briefing notes that we'll share with you, we've probably done about $1.67 million worth of business with Canada Economic Development over the past year or so.
One of the largest initiatives that we've undertaken is the CEDEC small business support network, which is actually a multi-region initiative with a presence in all parts of the province, working to enhance vitality, in particular working on the area of small and medium enterprise creation and expansion of those businesses. That's probably been the largest area of direct work that we've pursued with Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions.