LANG Committee Report

Providing responsible governance to OLMCs: The New Democratic vision

The official opposition drew different conclusions from this study than the governing party. A responsible government is accountable for the programs it designs. This is not the case with the present government. It silences its critics and ignores proposals from the NDP. The government faces some inconvenient truths from witnesses whose testimonies are absent in the main report. Belief in a collaborative, co-operative approach with communities and government partners will address some of the shortcomings of current programs. Most of all, most witnesses said that there was inadequate, unstable funding under the current regime and that it was responsible for a host of problems that organizations working with OLMCs currently face.

The NDP fought hard at committee to include support for arts and culture infrastructure in official language minority communities (OLMC). The period of growth in artistic endeavours in Montreal’s anglophone community brings new challenges. ELAN identified an infrastructure problem, in terms of both creative space for artists and theatres and galleries to exhibit their work and connect with their audience. We look forward to seeing what kinds of support the government will offer.

Our recommendation to provide adequate, stable multi year funding to community groups working for the economic development of OLMC was accepted. New Democrats proposed that the government use best practices in working with community groups and that included 3 year funding rather that the year-to-year model. OLMCs require the resources to plan for the long term. New Democrats request that funding be indexed to the cost of living, a request the government rejected.

The purpose of the study was to find ways the government of Canada can help official language minority communities build sustainable and growing economies. The government had the opportunity to address the risks of assimilation in looking at sustainability of OLMC. It chose to ignore those risks. We are optimistic that a future government may address these challenges and that there is a public record of testimony to provide a starting point for dialogue about our common future.

Identifying vulnerabilities to increase resilience

By identifying vulnerabilities, we can more intelligently adopt approaches that build resilience in OLMCs. OLMCs should have programs specified to their needs. Canada’s official languages are protected by law. Substantive equality for minority francophone and anglophone communities needs to be significant in the design of programs and delivery of services. The Supreme Court decision in DesRochers v. Canada (industry) outlines in law the “duty to provide equal services in both official languages” and that “Community economic development services be provided in both official languages.” It further found that “It is possible that substantive equality will not result from the development and implementation of identical services for each language community.” Understanding vulnerabilities of OLMCs allow us to address those vulnerabilities and uphold our responsibility in law. A New Democratic government would be responsible in respecting its legal obligations to OLMCs.

The inequality in quality of services is not a new problem. The gap in quality of services has been flagged at least since 1995 but successive liberal and conservative governments have not addressed the gaps in quality.

Regional variations and lack of flexibility in program design

External and regional pressures can cause vulnerabilities in OLMCs. Minority status often means that a community is more vulnerable than the majority, even when surrounded by prosperity. Moreover, OLMC in rural regions are especially vulnerable. The Commissioner of Official Languages outlined how certain communities require more resources to deal with these external pressures.

Radical mismanagement of resources sector by government created external pressures for OLMCs unforeseen by policy makers. The AFCA reported an urgent need for employment assistance services in Fort McMurray, experiencing exponential population growth. Increased demand for services requires increased funding for community organizations and institutions. The government did not adapt its policy.

Radical EI policy changes are an external pressure on OLMCs. Changes made to EI in 2012 exacerbated economic problems in New Brunswick whose labour market in the North consists in large part of seasonal jobs. Seasonal workers are now classified as “frequent claimants”, making it much harder for them to qualify for EI benefits.” As a result, “if people working in those industries cannot qualify for EI, they will have to go elsewhere to work.”

Changes made to EI were not the hallmark of an incrementalist government but rather they were radical changes with negative consequences for certain regions. The Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick argued that, in addition to not being suited to the economic situation of seasonal workers, the changes were introduced too quickly to allow industries and workers to adapt.

The government still refuses to be inclusive of topics relating to OLMC when commissioning economic development studies.

Adequate funding to ensure the delivery of services of equal quality

Numerous witnesses called for increased funding in order to meet growing needs of OLMC and offer services in the minority language that are of equal quality to those of the majority. Sustained funding is necessary to make the most of past investments.

Federal funding to community organizations has not been increased in 10 years.

The AFCA lost its funding for employment services for francophones in 2011 with the funding going to an anglophone agency that was unable to offer services in French. The FCFA said funding is required for organizations tasked with services for francophone immigrants. The general lack of funding jeopardizes progress made and prevents economic and government stakeholders from working with quality community partners. Regional organizations develop flexible programs for the needs of the minority community. They need to be better consulted by government to meet the challenges they face.

Good data and research allows for better policy

Good data is needed to propose solutions. Organizations working within OLMCs are best placed to provide a ground truth portrait. With proper information on seasonal employment problems might be solved through targeted solutions. Anglophone communities in the Estrie region, facing an exodus of graduates and workers that is depriving the region of a middle class, is threatened by growing socio-economic vulnerabilities. Statistics Canada does not have the tools to understand this phenomena. Quebec’s anglophone communities did not receive funding for literacy initiatives under the 2008-2013 Roadmap. Better data may have detected these problems earlier.

Funding for research could occur through Industry Canada’s Economic Development Initiative. Federal institutions should commission studies on economic development and employability that include language questions to provide an accurate picture of the situation and of the issues encountered by official languages minority communities.

It is important that there be a mechanism in place to make it easier to share research findings with OLMC.

The abolition of the long form census and a lack of support for the analysis and research necessary to understanding vulnerabilities and strengths of OLMC continue to an obstacle to responsible policy.

Co-operatives: a potent tool for OLMC

The government misunderstands the role co-operatives play in economic development.

The co-operative movement is an indispensable economic actor in maintaining and developing official language minority communities. The committee recommended previously that the Government of Canada incorporate the cooperative model into its socio-economic development strategies for OLMCs in the 2013-2018 Roadmap. It did not do so.

Cancellation of the Co-operative Development Initiative (CDI) was misguided. The annual forum organized as part of the CDI, particularly the sharing of best practices, served as a catalyst for partnerships and networking. The consequences of cancellation were very serious. Several provinces had to stop offering services.

Investments made through the CDI were minor compared with the economic spinoffs created. Witnesses emphasized that fewer financial and human resources available to Canadian cooperatives sector through Industry Canada has repercussions on the cooperative movement as a whole. One of the consequences was the loss of sound analysis and data on the economic development of OLMCs.

Immigration: opportunities lost

Immigration is a tool to revitalize OLMC. Immigrants, even with high levels of education, face “significant challenges in terms of labour market integration, recognition of foreign qualifications and opportunities for obtaining Canadian work experience. The level of poverty among immigrants impacts the economic vitality of OLMCs. QCGN shared a report on this problem in minority anglophone communities. Immigrants whose first official language is French have higher levels of unemployment than francophones born in Canada. These problems require targeted measures.

Immigrants and refugees want to contribute to the economic development of OLMC, and they are capable of contributing. The organizations working with OLMCs must be given the tools they need to help immigrants and refugees integrate into OLMC as full economic actors.

Solutions: Multi Year funding and an Investment Fund

Multi-year funding allows organizations to efficiently plan for the long term. Witnesses agreed. They noted the importance of multi-year funding, such as three year funding that is stable and indexed. Funding programs should not create competition between the various provincial, regional and local organizations. There needs to be a greater understanding of how these organizations work together and how funding envelopes at each level can contribute to the overall economic vitality of the linguistic minority community.

OLMCs need the same tools and programs as majority communities, particularly as regards an investment fund (loan) program such as the fund managed by Community Futures. The government should facilitate the creation of loan funds for entrepreneurs in OLMCs that are tailored to the particular needs of OLMCs.

Substantive equality and the risk of assimilation

We must ask whether the services offered to minority communities are truly equal. Steering francophones toward services offered in English does nothing to promote the vitality of the minority community or make French a language of business. By breaking the ties that link francophones to their community, it is more likely they will be assimilated into their English surroundings.

The lack of financial and human resources weighs heavily on the employees and volunteers working for OLMC organizations.

Problems in the inequality of services are felt at both the local and provincial levels. Despite the fact that some organizations have a territorial or provincial mandate, the current level of funding does not allow them to provide economic development and employment assistance in all regions. This was certainly the case with witnesses such as the AFY, CDÉA and the CCS.

Conclusion

The government wants Canadians to believe that there are no serious challenges being faced by Canada’s OLMCs. This is particularly the case in the government’s view toward services of equal quality.  The government points out the relative equality in terms of socio-economic well being of anglophones and francophones without factoring in the risks of assimilation to these communities.

The government believes that OLMCs have all the tools necessary to confront economic challenges. New Democrats believe this is not the case and is contradicted by numerous testimonies of witnesses during the study. Adequate, multi year funding is required to keep service organizations thriving. Unfortunately adequate funding is a subjective notion to this government. At this point, some organizations are on life support due to a one-size-fits-all approach by the federal government that is not tailored to regional needs and challenges. At the very least, the government must address immediate problems such as roadmap funding envelopes for organizations arriving on time. Stable funding means predictable, on time funding.

Although there are points on which the government accepted New Democrats ideas, the government’s report does not address the problems that OLMC face in responsible manner. By avoiding OLMCs potential vulnerabilities, the tools offered by the government for will continue to fall short of the objectives set by OLMCs themselves. New Democrats believe that the federal government has a greater role to play in helping OLMCs create vibrant and sustainable economies.