Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Official Languages
Issue 12 - Evidence - Meeting of November 16, 2009
OTTAWA, Monday, November 16, 2009
The Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages met this day at 5:45 p.m. to study the application of the Official Languages Act and regulations and directives made under it, within those institutions subject to the act. Topic: Study on Part VII and other issues.
Senator Andrée Champagne (Deputy Chair) in the chair.
[Translation]
The Deputy Chair: I would like to welcome you to the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages. My name is Andrée Champagne; I am a senator from Quebec and Deputy Chair of the committee. Allow me to introduce to you the members of the committee who are present today.
To my left, we have senator Seidman from Quebec; sitting on her left is Senator Mockler from New Brunswick. On the other side, we have Senator Pépin from Quebec as well as Senator Losier-Cool from New Brunswick.
The committee is now studying the current state of affairs regarding Part VII of the Official Languages Act, and more specifically the measures taken by federal institutions in that regard.
Today we will hear from the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, on the achievements and initiatives of his agency in this matter. Mr. Lebel is accompanied by Guy Mc Kenzie, Deputy Minister/President, Manon Brassard, Vice-President, Operations, and Pierre Bordeleau, Acting Vice-President, Policy and Planning.
Minister, the members of the committee would like to thank you for having agreed to appear before us today. I now give you the floor. I am sure that senators will have questions for you afterwards.
The Hon. Denis Lebel, P.C., M.P., Minister of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. Madam Deputy Chair, it is a pleasure to be here with you. Shortly after my election as a member in the fall of 2007, the Prime Minister appointed me to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Official Languages. I did not realize that one day I would have the pleasure to serve as a minister. I must say that I am pleased to appear before your committee to address in issue as sensitive as Canada's official languages.
Please note that our department is very interested in everything that has to do with our official languages in Quebec. As the Minister for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the regions of Quebec, I would like to present a brief report on our obligation to enhance the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and support and assist their development, as well as foster the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society.
As Madam Chair has indicated, I am here today with Deputy Minister Mc Kenzie, as well as Ms. Brassard and Mr. Bordeleau.
[English]
As you are aware, the agency's mission is to promote the long-term economic development of the regions of Quebec, giving special attention to those where slow economic growth is prevalent or opportunities for productive employment are inadequate. In 2006, to accomplish its mission, the agency established two programs — Business and Regional Growth, and Community Diversification — through which it responds to its obligation under the OLA.
By including in our programming a component for target groups, including anglophone communities, we have been able to strengthen our commitment and the commitment of our employers to support anglophone communities in their efforts to participate in the economy.
[Translation]
I am proud of my department's accomplishments in terms of positive measures. In 2008-2009, the agency provided financial support to 206 projects, including 149 projects by non-profit organizations to provide services in both languages, 46 projects by anglophone entrepreneurs and SMEs, and 11 projects by OLMCs.
Let us first take a look at the 149 projects by non-profit organizations. The agency has supported these NPOs financially and has made sure that their services are delivered in both official languages to both entrepreneurs and communities stakeholders.
Among the 149 projects, the Agency Funded Projects by the 14 CFDCs, 6 BDCs and 11 CEDCs subject to the Official Languages Act and required to provide services in both languages.
Next, the agency supported 46 projects by anglophone entrepreneurs, who have carried out a variety of business projects in every region of Quebec.
Lastly, the agency funded the implementation of 11 OLMC projects, which are carried out in English-language communities, providing a total contribution of $1.7 million. For example, the agency provided a contribution of almost $225,000 for youth employment services, commonly known as YES, to support entrepreneurship among young anglophones, 18 to 35 years of age, in the greater Montreal area. Just recently, I announced financial assistance of $133,540 for the Council for Anglophone Magdalen Islanders, so that it could draw up a development plan for the English-speaking areas of the Magdalen Islands.
[English]
We are proud of these results since the agency has made an ongoing effort in recent years.
The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages awarded the agency an overall score of B in its most recent report card for 2007-08. It recognized the agency's efforts, particularly in terms of the quality of its agreements with NPOs, to ensure the delivery of bilingual services as well as with regard to the mechanisms for monitoring the quality of its bilingual services.
In concrete terms, 10 of our 14 business offices are bilingual; 372 of our 420 positions are bilingual; all of our employees meet the language requirements of their positions; and we invested more than $126,000 in language training in 2008-09.
Last, alone or in cooperation with other federal departments, the agency has conducted internal awareness activities. It has consulted and communicated with the OLMCs and carried out coordination and reporting activities with a variety of federal partners.
Under the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality implemented in 2008, the agency received $10.2 million over five years to enhance the activities it already carries out with anglophone minority communities in Quebec. Under this initiative, which is in its early stages, the agency has already funded six projects for a total contribution of $900,000.
[Translation]
The agency makes sure that it meets its obligations by supporting concrete development and economic diversification projects by OLMCs, in accordance with our mandate. Our contribution allows OLMCS to actively participate in the economic development of their own communities and become more integrated within Quebec as a whole. The agency's strength lies in its ability to interact directly and regularly with regional stakeholders and provide financial support for economic development projects created by and for communities.
As a minister responsible for an economic department, I am especially proud of our contribution.
I would be happy to answer your questions.
The Deputy Chair: Minister, I think that everyone here was impressed by your presentation and the work done by your department to proactively implement Part VII of the Official Languages Act.
Senator Tardif: Minister, I heard you say that you were quite proud of the "positive measures" put in place by your government. Could you give us your definition of the term "positive measures"?
Mr. Lebel: Of course, it has to do with supporting our communities. The situation of English-speakers, who represent a minority in French Quebec, is as follows: 80 per cent of Quebec anglophones live in the greater Montreal area, and 10 per cent live in the municipalities of Quebec City, Sherbrooke and Gatineau. The remaining 10 per cent are spread out in northern Quebec, the Lower North Shore and in aboriginal communities.
The support that we have given to Youth Employment Services (YES) in Montreal is an example of the measures that we have put forward. I had the pleasure of speaking for about a half hour with the group of young Montreal business persons. We are currently supporting them in the rollout of their mentorship program with experienced entrepreneurs as well as with various projects that are intended to create the jobs of tomorrow. That is a good example of the work we have done.
Similarly, we have also supported the sport tourism industry in the Magdalen Islands by investing in a program to develop tourism within the anglophone community. We are convinced that the project will be a great success. The support was crucial for Magdalen Islanders. We must consider the specific economic circumstances of each Quebec region. By helping the regions, we helped people build their sense of pride.
Senator Tardif: You have given us two concrete examples of initiatives that you have undertaken. However, I would like to know if your department has a definition of the term "positive measures".
Mr. Lebel: The Economic Development Agency of Canada defines a positive measure as any act that facilitates citizens' involvement in their community's economy.
We have been supporting diversification development projects in all of Quebec's English-language communities for a long time, and the programs that the agency introduced in 2007 reflect this definition. It is a matter of supporting economic development in the communities, an objective which is our department's specific mandate.
Senator Tardif: Do you consult the communities as part of this process?
Mr. Lebel: Of course we consult the communities. We believe working extensively with the communities and consulting the various Quebec organizations to be essential, as it allows us to improve our services. We work regularly with the National Human Resources Development Committee for the English Linguistic Minority, the Community Economic Development and Employability Committee (CEDEC), which has three offices, one in Quebec City, one in Outaouais and one in Montérégie, the Quebec's Community Groups Network and the Community Table of the National Human Resources.
And when I say that we work with them "regularly," I mean that the federal presence is felt, and the Canadian flag is seen, in the regions of Quebec. We have 14 offices across Quebec. Often, the minister with whom people in these regions have the most contact is the Minister for the Economic Development Agency of Canada, and they talk to me as much about fisheries and oceans and transport as they do of official languages! By way of example, whenever I make a speech in the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands, I make sure that I deliver a part of it in English so that the communities' English- speakers can hear their language being spoken.
Our presence is felt by the communities at the grassroots level.
Senator Tardif: Do you consider the impact of your decisions on the English-language communities — for example the Quebec English-language community — given that that is the one we are studying?
Mr. Lebel: Absolutely. Our staff always considers the economic impact our decisions will have on these communities and always keeps their viability in mind.
In the Gaspé, for example, specific issues are examined from the perspective of all the regions within the English- language community, which submits projects to us. We want to help them as much as we can, although we are obviously constrained by available funding and our mandate.
I mentioned earlier the visibility of the Canadian flag in the regions. People also draw a host of factors unrelated to our mandate to our attention, including a number of social issues. The economic development of these regions is always at the heart of our activities.
Senator Tardif: You provided a very interesting definition of "positive measure"; was it a definition provided to you by Justice Canada when you sought advice, for example, on implementing Section 41 of Part VII of the Official Languages' Act?
Guy Mc Kenzie, Deputy Minister/President, Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec: Obviously, Justice Canada is always there to support us. As in all departments, the Economic Development Agency of Canada has Justice Canada lawyers working in its offices, although they remain, of course, Justice Canada employees. This means that Justice Canada has always been there to help, enabling us to develop a definition consistent with our mandate to facilitate economic development in the communities, even if English is a minority language in our province.
Senator Tardif: Does that means that Justice Canada agrees with your definition?
Mr. Lebel: Yes.
[English]
Senator Seidman: In 2008, the Commissioner of Official Languages made an assessment of your agency with regard to the enforcement of the Official Languages Act. In fact, your overall rating is exemplary. However, it seems that there are some challenges with regard to Part V and Part VI, specifically a lack of representation of Quebec English- speaking communities in your workforce. Could you comment on the progress you may have made in this regard?
[Translation]
Mr. Lebel: When we received our last assessment for official languages, we were very proud to have made progress.
Since then, we continue to put forward our action plan, which continues to require that we consider each business office in each region. For example, in my region of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, 98 per cent of the population is francophone. In terms of the score we get for various aspects of the official languages, the receptionist must automatically respond, "bonjour" "hello!" What impact does this have on our score, on whether we receive an A or B rating? We will continue to put forward everything we can to improve our bilingual services. Eleven of our 14 offices are considered bilingual. Three hundred and seventy-two of the 420 positions are bilingual, but there are four bilingual employees in the other four business offices in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean — they are not taken into account because the position is not a mandatory bilingual one, but the other 14 business offices in Quebec are all staffed by bilingual individuals. However, the positions are not necessarily bilingual when someone is hired. An anglophone entering any CED business office in Quebec is welcomed in his or her mother tongue — if not immediately at the reception desk, then that individual is referred to a bilingual officer. There are four bilingual employees in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, a region that is not considered to be bilingual; seven in the Lower St. Lawrence; six in Mauricie; and four in central Quebec.
Most people in Quebec work to ensure bilingualism in all business offices. The difference is that some regions are almost completely anglophone. We are continuing to do everything we can to improve the score awarded the Agency by the commissioner.
Senator Seidman: Thank you very much, perhaps you could provide us with other examples relating to this part of the act.
Senator Pépin: I have been going to the Magdalen Islands for nine or ten years, and this is the first time that I have heard about an anglophone community. Although I have suspected there was an anglophone community.
Mr. Lebel: We have provided them with assistance. They have tourism development projects that we will be supporting.
Senator Pépin: Bravo! What is your relationship with the Quebec government in terms of enforcing Part VII? Does it support you? For now, it seems to be working quite well with the business sector.
Mr. Lebel: As you know, the Quebec government does not participate in the implementation of the Official Languages Act, but we work with it on a regular basis on specific projects or issues, including that of multilingualism in Quebec, an issue that concerns the Chaudière-Appalaches region as well as the tourism sector in the Lower North Shore. We have worked together to fund tourism marketing programs. Co-operation is good for us too. We have a good relationship with the Quebec government in this regard and hope to maintain it.
Based on recent discussions I had with our Quebec partners, we will continue to work together on other projects.
Senator Pépin: Are there any specific anglophone groups, for example in the Montreal region, that, even if they are not isolated, are experiencing more difficulties? If they have special projects or need help, do you take part?
Mr. Lebel: With regard to economic and business development, we participate in projects in these regions.
Now, I am going to use the example of the lower North Shore First Nations communities. They have a number of social projects that need infrastructure to be developed. These projects do not necessarily fall under CED. However, I had the pleasure of going to the Lower North Shore where I met with mayors and chiefs. The fact that I am the CED minister was not the main issue for them. They had many projects for us. They talked to me as much about drinking water as anything else. As minister, I listened attentively to their demands, and I represent to them an intermediary who can share those demands with my fellow ministers responsible for other portfolios. We ensure that they get a follow-up, and when the time comes to develop economic projects, we work with them.
Senator Pépin: At present, there are many federal departments, and I get the impression that many of the individuals in jobs requiring them to come into regular contact with the public are not bilingual. Do you not think that there should be greater bilingualism in that respect? I know that this does not follow under your responsibility, but as minister, perhaps you could bring more pressure to bear there.
Mr. Lebel: We are making an effort every day to train staff and to implement measures, in general, to improve the level of bilingualism within our department. I am convinced that my fellow colleagues in each department are making the same efforts and I will encourage them to continue to do so, but I am convinced that everyone in the federal government at present wants to continue to increase the level of bilingualism and respect for the official languages.
Mr. Mc Kenzie: I would like to draw your attention to another hat that I wear in Quebec. In addition to being Minister Lebel's deputy, I am president of the Federal Council. The council represents 55 federal organizations in Quebec. We represent over 30,000 public servants and regularly hold board meetings.
On November 27, we will be hosting Graham Fraser, the Commissioner of Official Languages, and he will be speaking to us about the 40th anniversary of the Official Languages Act and educating our colleagues in all departments and all federal agencies. We do this on a regular basis.
That is not the mandate of the minister or myself. Our mandate is to ensure economic development, but we do much more, as the regional minister told you, as with my involvement with the federal public service in Quebec.
Senator Pépin: Thank you very much, that is extremely interesting.
[English]
Senator Jaffer: I read your presentation, and I also want to thank you for the work you do.
There is an issue I struggle with, and perhaps you or the people here with you today can help me. How do you define who is English speaking in Quebec? It is important to know that for this discussion. You have made great advances. I am pleased to know about your Youth Employment Services and the support you give to entrepreneurs. I congratulate you on your focus.
I know that many people who come to your province are English speaking and their children go to French schools, and so they should; there is no issue there for me. How do you define "English speaking" in Quebec?
Mr. Lebel: The people decide that themselves. These statistics show us the areas of Quebec that are more bilingual, those that are more francophone and those that are more anglophone. People state their mother tongue.
Senator Jaffer: I appreciate your answer.
This is a time of economic hardship. Newcomers arriving in Canada can have a particularly hard time. Is your agency working with the new anglophone community? Can you tell us what programs you have and how many people are involved?
[Translation]
Mr. Lebel: As I was saying earlier, the rural regions have been much harder hit by the current economic crisis. The majority of individuals who declare themselves to be anglophones live in the Montreal region. The economy of greater Montreal has, of course, been affected like all other parts of the world, including Canada, but less so than in more remote regions such as the Lower North Shore or elsewhere.
Our department's primary mandate, is, to help regions where employment and the economy are more precarious. The problem is that we have to deal with the projects we receive. If we do not receive any projects, we cannot help organizations. We are doing a lot of promotion, and sending out a lot of information via our business offices throughout the regions of Quebec on programs and available funding to help such organizations. We will continue to do so. However, as I said earlier, when a community still has to work to get drinking water, resolve a wastewater issue or upgrade its roadways, it is sometimes more difficult for them to put forward economic development projects. We are quite aware of everything that is happening in each of these regions. We are not just talking about the Lower North Shore, but also Abitibi, Northern Quebec and other regions. We are continuing to work with these people and we truly support them. There is even additional support to help them complete business plans. The SADCs our partner organizations, , are also helping us in these various regions.
[English]
Mr. Mc Kenzie: Furthermore, through the different regional offices throughout the province, the agency has an action plan that is discussed on a regular basis with the employees of our headquarters in Montreal as well as with people in the various communities, as the minister explained. We have 14 regional offices.
The action plan is always renewed. Through consultation and visits to regional offices, we ensure that they continue to dialogue with the English communities throughout the province; that they improve their knowledge of the anglophone community; and that they make collaborative efforts with the different departments.
The so-called 1 million anglophone population in Quebec is composed of 600,000 who have declared themselves as English-speaking, 400,000 who speak English but are allophones, and 30,000 native people. In other words, they identify themselves as anglophone or francophone, but they might also speak another mother tongue at home, depending on where they come from in the world, given the openness of our communities right now.
This is also true for our own employees. Some of them identify themselves as X or Y, but we cannot force them to declare if they are anglophone, allophone or native people. Under the action plan for the regions, we work on the detail as well as on the identification, which we cannot force. We have to take it as it comes.
We have quite a few projects with English-speaking companies. Even then, if we deal with a French-speaking administrator and the owner is English speaking, it does not make a difference to our work. A project is a project, whether it is for a native person, an allophone, an anglophone or a francophone. As long as a project stands on its own from an economic development point of view, we help them.
Senator Jaffer: Thank you for that useful information.
If you do not have the following information with you today, you could certainly send it to the clerk of the committee to pass on to committee members. Do you have any specific programs to meet the special needs of new English-speaking allophones in the communities?
Manon Brassard, Vice-President, Operations, Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec: No, we do not. We have two main programs that are very broad. The minister mentioned them earlier — Business and Regional Growth, and Community Diversification. Given that they are broad, potential applicants can be from all walks of life. Newly arrived immigrants might have needs for information. Our clientele are either communities as a whole represented by a group, or SMEs. We do not have individuals as clients and, therefore, we do not have specific programs to serve them.
However, we will help anyone, including a newly arrived immigrant, who has an economic project to start a business. If they are part of a community-based group or an anglophone group, we will help. YES was a good example of that. As the deputy minister said, often SMEs have an anglophone owner and a francophone contact person. In such cases, we will help if the project has a sound economic base and is viable.
We have partners who can help those we cannot help, provided we know there is a resource. Ressources entreprises in Montreal is on the front line. We help them. We give them money. Their role is to provide front-line information on government programs. We send people there. We can send them to the Community Futures Development Corporations, CFDCs, if they come from a region where there is one and where they have that particular information. If we do not have the program but we are aware of something that might help them, we will gladly send them to an organization that will help them obtain the right information.
[Translation]
Senator Losier-Cool: I must say that I was surprised to learn that there were anglophones living on the Magdalen Islands! I thought there were only Acadians.
I want to refer to the notice for our meeting this evening. We are studying the application of the Official Languages Act and of the regulations and directives made under it. Do you believe that the government should adopt regulations on the application of Part VII of the Official Languages Act?
Mr. Lebel: In our view, that would not be necessary; it would be more restrictive than now. Based on analyses, we do not believe we need specific regulations; the requirements are sufficiently clear to be able to work properly.
An additional framework might also reduce the needed flexibility, which is an important part of our approach to help the development of our various communities including the anglophone community in Quebec. Under the current framework, we are able to do a good job, while respecting our department's current set-up.
Senator Losier-Cool: Thank you for that answer. That is a question we ask each witness who appears before us because it is part of our study.
I want to come back now to the questions asked by Senator Jaffer. Would you be able to tell us the percentage of project applications coming from anglophone Quebecers?
Mr. Lebel: I can tell you about projects we have approved.
Senator Losier-Cool: Is that fairly representative of the situation?
Mr. Lebel: We work well together within the department and I have no problem with my colleagues providing you with the answer when they have it; the important thing is for you to get the answer.
Senator Losier-Cool: That is fine, but if you do not have it immediately, you could always send it to the committee.
Mr. Lebel: Over the past few years, the numbers have increased. In 2006-07, 8 per cent of projects came from anglophone communities; that is, some 73 out of 939 projects.
In 2007-08, 9 per cent or 34 out of 361 projects were accepted. And in 2008-09 — the most recent reference year — 15 per cent of projects were from anglophone communities; so there has been a fairly significant increase from 2006-07 to 2008-09. That is a nearly 50 per cent increase in the number of projects from anglophone communities or anglophone entrepreneurs.
Mr. Mc Kenzie: We said earlier — and I will say it again — that they are not necessarily all listed; because the anglophone owner of a company may send something to us through the company accountant or another intermediary who is francophone and it is difficult to keep track; or it could even be someone who speaks a third language. It could be someone from another country.
[English]
All in all, this is what we were saying. As long as it is a good economic project, we look at it on that basis, whether it come from someone newly arrived in Canada or someone who speaks English or French.
From the statistics we have, it grows continuously. The numbers could be even better than what we are showing you.
[Translation]
Senator Losier-Cool: I have one final question concerning the impact; you have talked a lot about the economic impact. Last week, we heard from Western Economic Diversification Canada. We were also to have heard from ACOA from the Atlantic region this evening, but that has been delayed.
French-speaking minority groups often say that these programs should have a linguistic impact, meaning that it must be a program or project that will help minority languages communities to prosper. Is that any different than what you are doing in Quebec? Because you are talking solely about the economic impact.
Mr. Lebel: That is at the heart of our work, and the raison d'être of our department is first and foremost to provide economic assistance.
We have received $10.2 million dollars for the next five years from the Economic Development Initiative under the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality. To date, we have already invested $900,000 in six projects, and we know that the money will be allocated specifically to anglophone communities over the next five years.
But as we have been saying since the start of the meeting, if a project is economically sound — as members of the anglophone community are spread out all across Quebec — if a project is sustainable and happens to be located in an anglophone community or undertaken by an anglophone developer, then we will certainly give it serious consideration. However, for communities as a whole, projects are assessed based on their economic sustainability.
Senator Losier-Cool: I rather wanted to underscore the fact that francophones in minority communities often feel more at risk and need to see visible effects in terms of language. Am I wrong to say that Quebec anglophones do not feel as threatened?
Mr. Lebel: I cannot answer on their behalf, but with 80 per cent of Quebec anglophones living in the greater Montreal area and the economy there faring rather well, we might gather that it is easier for them to maintain their mother tongue.
In Quebec's outlying regions, you have First Nations that are still fighting to keep their languages, whether Cree, Inuit or other. Clearly, that is an additional challenge for aboriginal communities.
As for anglophone communities, I have not received any feedback as to whether they feel threatened because of their language. That is not my sense of the situation, but it is difficult for me to answer on their behalf.
The Vice-Chair: At times, when reading project applications, it must also be a bit difficult to know whether an applicant with an English last name is actually a Francophone, or vice versa. That must occur quite often in the greater Montreal area.
Senator Mockler: I would first say that I am impressed by the content of the presentation you and your team have made, as well as the score awarded the Agency by the Commissioner of Official Languages. When talking about our youth — and we know that they represent the next generation — you refered to the YES program. Could you further elaborate on that and give us some concrete examples of programs for which you have been asked to share your own views with stakeholders?
Ms. Brassard: The YES program is intended for people between the ages of 18 and 35. YES is a non-profit organization that we support. It assists young entrepreneurs, people who have bright ideas but are in need of guidance concerning, for example, their business plans or first and second rounds of financing, or who need to be referred to various resources. The funding that we provide helps attract well-trained professionals into their teams, people who have the necessary tools and are able to provide the answers and mentor the young entrepreneurs.
Ultimately, we will have helped train entrepreneurs who — and this is one of the YES programs stated objectives — might then be ready to undertake projects with us, whether for the procurement of equipment or other matters. And we would be pleased to list them for future referral. That is how we work, and those people are very pleased with our level of involvement in the project.
Mr. Mc Kenzie: I can give you another example that is quite similar; as the vice-chair mentioned earlier, we cannot always match an anglophone entrepreneur with a so-called anglophone project. What is important to us is the economic nature of the project.
With respect to YES, young entrepreneurs that received help from that organization can be identified if they are referred to us after a project.
But we have also worked with the Government of Quebec, which was the subject of an earlier question. The Government of Quebec is not under the same obligations with respect to the Official Languages Act; that goes without saying.
We worked with them on a project known as "Québec multilingue," which also helps young anglophones start small and medium enterprises — that is clearly within our mandate — in the Quebec City Chaudière-Appalaches region, whereas YES targets mainly the Montreal region, though not exclusively, And once again, these are young people who want to go into business and are known to be anglophones.
Mr. Lebel: Earlier, I said I had had the pleasure to lead a conference for these people; there were about a hundred young business persons. There were also bankers and financiers from every sector who could take turns helping these young people develop their business projects.
I was quite impressed to see that all of young participants had help preparing their business plans and I have no doubt they will come back to us. During the course of the day, the 100 young entrepreneurs were able to meet with all of the stakeholders, who had many years of coaching experience. For example, there was the president of a major bank, as well as people from the communications and marketing sectors.
When we brought forward the funding for YES, we were told that, had it not been for CED's contribution, this organization would have been unable to pursue its activities. So that is one of the success stories of which we are very proud.
The Deputy Chair: We will start a second round and I caution everyone to ask somewhat shorter questions.
[English]
Senator Seidman: The purpose of the agency, as defined in the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec Act, is twofold: to guide, promote and coordinate the policies and programs of the Government of Canada in relation to the development and diversification of the economy of the regions of Quebec; and to lead and coordinate the activities of the Government of Canada in the establishment of cooperative relationships with Quebec and with business, labour and other public and private bodies in that province.
Given the agency's statutory mandate and its obligations under Part VII of the Official Languages Act, can you tell us what positive measures the agency has taken to lead an integrated economic development strategy for the English official language minority community, including mechanisms for including key community stakeholders?
[Translation]
Mr. Lebel: As I mentioned earlier, I am very proud of the measures taken by our department to ensure leadership in the area of Quebec's economic development. In fact, year after year, CED has funded about 149 organizations, including the 14 CFDCs, 6 BDCs and 11 CEDCs that provide services to businesses and communities.
The funding agreements of each of those organizations has a clause pertaining to the delivery of services in both official languages. The government has implemented the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality initiative, with a budgetary envelope of $1.1 billion divided among 14 departments in order to provide the leadership required for the recognition of linguistic duality.
CED was given $10.2 million over a five-year period for the Economic Development Initiative under the Roadmap. So far, six projects have been approved for a total amount of $900,000. We will surely be able to invest that amount in order to support the economic development of anglophone communities in Quebec.
[English]
Mr. Mc Kenzie: If I may, the organizations to which the minister just referred are on top and above our own 14 regional offices. They are organizations in the middle, which we call non-profit organizations, and they deal with the economic fabric of the province. They are located in small places, like our regional offices, and are in direct contact with people.
In the financing agreements we have with them, we ensure that that they can offer services in both languages so that whoever comes to them for services in terms of economic development — "I have a project and can you help me" — can be received in both official languages, French or English. They are intermediaries for us; they are our paddlers. That is equally true of our regional officers; they are on the ground and can speak both languages when they have a client in front of them.
Senator Jaffer: I have a comment first, and then maybe you can look at some better communication.
I believe that Quebec has the best immigration policy when it comes to encouraging immigrants to come and work in Quebec. It is a visionary policy. We all know the growth of our country depends on encouraging immigrants to come and work with us.
My city benefits from your policy; we do not have the visionary immigration policy. I am concerned that once people come to Quebec, they are not able to establish businesses and then they come to my city, which is Vancouver. I often ask them why they do not stay in Quebec. They say that they do not have the infrastructure to enable them to build businesses. I feel you have the most visionary immigration policy, but Vancouver benefits from it. That is a loss to all of us because we need all cities to grow.
I have already asked you this question, but I will ask it in a different way: How do you communicate with allophones about your programs? How do you get across to them? As they prosper, so do our cities. I find that you are losing them, and we need to do more as a country to keep people in the different regions. Do you have a communication plan for English-speaking allophones on how they can establish themselves as an economic force?
Mr. Mc Kenzie: The way we do it is through ensuring all our communication tools are done in both official languages. Whether we are talking about the website, which is fully bilingual, the different pamphlets and communication tools we have, everything is produced in both languages.
With respect to immigration policy, do we specifically target people coming from other countries, as you have alluded to? My answer is no in the sense that we do not necessarily target them, as we do target anyone else, no matter what. There is no positive or negative discrimination in any way, shape or form, but we always communicate in both official languages to ensure that they use the language of their choice and that we serve them in the language of their choice.
Senator Jaffer: I would respectfully suggest that by treating people equally, you are not treating them equally because the needs of the new immigrant are very different from someone whose grandfather or great grandfather was English speaking and was born here. They know the lay of the land.
I know that in Vancouver great efforts are made to have the allophones understand how to conduct business. I suggest that perhaps that is something you could look at.
Mr. Mc Kenzie: I understand. Thank you for your advice.
[Translation]
Senator Tardif: Minister, Have there been discussions between your department and other organizations with the same rules and responsibilities — like Western Economic Diversification or the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency — with respect to implementing the Official Languages Act, and more specifically the positive measures therein?
Mr. Mc Kenzie: Like in the case of other national programs such as the CFDCs or other types of organizations, it is difficult for a regional development agency to do anything without having discussions with sister organizations in the other regions of the country. That is obviously out of a desire for consistency.
Of course there are meetings during which the subject of official languages is raised, as are other subjects of a Canada-wide Nature. That is the case for ACOA as well as Western Economic Diversification.
Senator Tardif: Is there a concerted action plan? You indicated that in 2009-10, 15 per cent of projects had been allocated to anglophone communities in Quebec. Does the equivalent exist in Western Canada or in the Atlantic region, where 15 per cent of projects would be allocated to francophone communities?
Mr. Mc Kenzie: The funding has not been allocated, and as the minister said earlier, these are project applications. Organizations solicit our help. Obviously, we promote our two major programs, but no specific amount has been earmarked for anglophone, allophone or aboriginal communities.
We receive projects, and when they fit within an economic program, whether they are from aboriginal, allophone, anglophone or francophone communities, a good project is a good project, and the 15 per cent show an increase in spending, not resource allocation.
Mr. Lebel: Ministers do get together, not on a regular basis, but on occasion. This subject will be on the agenda for upcoming meetings.
Senator Tardif: I would like to know whether "positive measures" will be implemented. Is there a plan to be proactive in obtaining projects, announcing them, communicating and consulting so that we can say: "These are our three agencies; we have a concerted plan to implement "positive measures" according to section 41 of Part VII of the Official Languages Act"?
Mr. Lebel: I will respond on behalf of our agency. Yes, we are proactive and we will continue to be. Now, can it be said that the linguistic reality in all regions of the country is such that we could have a common action plan to meet all of the objectives? That would have to be discussed. When it comes to Quebec we are continuing to improve our services. I can continue the discussion with my colleagues from the other agencies; we will be meeting in the coming days.
Senator Tardif: I encourage you to do so, Minister.
Mr. Lebel: I will. I undertake to do so.
Senator Mockler: Your Deputy Minister was saying earlier on that he is president of Federal Council, is that correct?
Mr. Lebel: Yes.
Senator Mockler: Following these meetings, if a Deputy Minister has concerns regarding the application of the Official Languages Act, I should hope that he would share that concern with his minister. If that is the case, it would be a positive step in insuring synergy within one region, mainly Quebec in this case, to insure the appropriate application of the Official Languages Act. If you have concerns, what does the forum do to correct or improve things?
Mr. Mc Kenzie: Obviously, I inform the minister on everything that could be of concern to him. The forum is a committee that includes the heads of each organization in Quebec. I am the only deputy minister. There are assistant deputy ministers and regional directors general, or RDGs. They report directly to their deputy minister and minister. The government is organized in silos. Of course, if we had concerns about the enforcement of the act, we would directly intervene at the council.
With us at the table, we have the representative for official languages who works directly for the secretariat. She can speak in the language of her choice. She is an anglophone but speaks as often in English as in French. If we were worried, I would tell my minister, but normally, these discussions take place around the table and each organization reports to their department.
For example, on November 27, the theme will be the 40th anniversary of the Official Languages Act and the event is sponsored by Heritage Canada. I will still be chair of the assembly, but my colleague from Heritage Canada, the department responsible for the act, will manage the program for the day, with the organizations that want to participate. Our goal is to raise awareness among the 55 organizations about our mandate and obligations. This is not just lip service, it is our duty to serve in both official languages.
The Deputy Chair: I think that all the questions have been asked for now. Dear colleagues, I thank you. Minister Lebel, Ms. Brassard, Mr. Mc Kenzie, Mr. Bordeleau, I thank you for having accepted to come discuss with us today. I think we were not too hard on you, and you did a good job of answering our questions.
(The committee adjourned.)