LANG Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Official Languages |
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Comité permanent des langues officielles |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
Economic Development Of Official Language Minority Communities
Ottawa, March 11, 2015 -
The Hon. Michael Chong, Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages, today tabled in the House of Commons a report entitled The Economic Situation of Official Language Minority Communities: Building Sustainable and Growing Economie.
“The Standing Committee on Official Languages investigated the state of economic development in official language minority communities (OLMCs) and heard from 42 witnesses from across the country. The report reflects the findings of the Committee on the federal government’s economic development priorities and support programs. As chair, I hope that the report will inform public policy and strengthen the OLMCs. On behalf of the Committee, I’d like to thank all those who contributed to the report,” said Mr. Chong.
Among the 17 recommendations in the report, the Committee recommends that the Government of Canada provide adequate, stable multi-year funding to community groups working for the economic development of OLMCs; implement flexible programs adapted to the needs of communities; promote bilingualism as an economic development tool and contribute to establishing French as a language of business in Canada; implement a strategy to encourage OLMCs to participate in international trade; recognize the importance of the community sector to the delivery of economic development services and as an anchor point in OLMCs; and provide community economic development organizations with recurrent funding so that OLMCs receive economic development and employment assistance services of equal quality to those offered to the majority.
The Committee also raises the importance of language clauses and accountability mechanisms in federal/provincial labour market agreements; support for internship, mentorship and entrepreneurship support programs as a way to promote employment in OLMCs; increasing literacy and essential skills levels; research on minority economic development; cooperation; the growing role of postsecondary institutions in economic development; and the arts and tourism sectors as attractions to draw visitors to OLMCs.
Members of the Committee from the New Democratic Party and the Liberal Party submitted dissenting opinions.
The report can be consulted on the Committee’s webpage on the Parliament of Canada website at http://www.parl.gc.ca/LANG-e. Individuals without access to an electronic version can obtain a copy of the report from the Committee Clerk.
The Standing Committee on Official Languages is composed of 10 members. The Hon. Michael Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills) serves as chair and Jamie Nicholls (Vaudreuil-Soulanges) and Lise St-Denis (Saint-Maurice—Champlain) as vice-chairs. The other members are Corneliu Chisu (Pickering—Scarborough East), Joe Daniel (Don Valley East), Anne-Marie Day (Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles), Jacques Gourde (Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière), Claude Gravelle (Nickel Belt), Chungsen Leung (Willowdale) and John Williamson (New Brunswick Southwest).
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