1. How has the government helped official language minority communities through this health crisis?
The COVID-19 pandemic has significant impacts in various sectors, including official languages, and it is important to support this sector.
Through Canada’s Economic Response Plan, our government has rapidly implemented numerous financial aid measures and programs to help Canadians, such as:
the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and changes to the Employment Insurance Program;
emergency wage subsidies; or
measures specific to certain groups especially impacted by the pandemic, such as our seniors or students.
We have had regular discussions with organizations representing communities and we have encouraged them to take advantage of these measures and programs to help soften the impacts of the pandemic.
Our Government also took specific measures to support official languages and official language minority communities. Together with Cabinet colleagues, we ensured that emerging needs or those exacerbated by the health crisis were taken into consideration.
Departmental officials supported these efforts. During several dialogue events organized with representative organizations, Canadian Heritage’s Official Languages Branch ensured that all federal institutions were made aware of and heard about the issues and needs of communities. The Department carried out significant collaborative work with federal institutions, which developed or amended policies and programs that affect communities in order to address the impacts of the pandemic. Several federal institutions held dialogue sessions for key sectors, such as: arts and culture (Canadian Heritage), immigration (Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada), health (Health Canada), justice (Justice Canada), and employment and social development (Employment and Social Development Canada).
Community organizations also benefited from continued Government support and greater flexibility. For example, Canadian Heritage reviewed the administrative operations of its Official Languages Support Programs (OLSPs) in order to take measures to accommodate organizations and speed up the transfer of funds to beneficiaries.
2. What measures have been implemented for the arts and culture sector, one of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic?
The arts and culture sector plays an essential role in Canadian society, and organizations within this sector are an integral part of the social fabric in our official language minority commmunities.
In May, our government announced the creation of a $500 million Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations. Minority community media (newspapers and radio stations) were eligible, as well as several arts and culture organizations in official language minority communities.
Nearly 500 organizations from official language minority communities received a total of $9.6 million through the Fund. Those numbers include 74 recipient organizations for Official Language Support Programs, which were allocated more than $1.2 million from this fund through the Official Language Support Programs.
Last September, our Government also made temporary changes to the Employment Insurance program to provide self-employed workers with access to benefits. This significant support will help reduce the impacts of the pandemic on the arts and culture sector, which has many self-employed workers across the community.
3. What initiatives are in place to support the economic vitality of OLMCs?
The pandemic has had a significant impact on businesses and communities across the country. Organizations and entrepreneurs in official language minority communities are key players in our economy and our Government has taken action to support them.
Through Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, we quickly implemented a series of measures to support the economy and the tourism sector, including in OLMCs.
The Regional Relief and Recovery Fund provides over $1.5 billion (including $600 million announced in October and the initial $962 million announced in May 2020) to help businesses and communities that may require additional support to cope with the health crisis. This fund is administered by the six regional development agencies. OLMCs are eligible and have been identified as priority clients by several agencies.
Our Government has recently provided specific support to businesses in official language minority communities, including:
$4.5 million to support businesses and organizations in Southern Ontario, with funding allocated to the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario, the Prescott-Russell Community Development Corporation and the Société Économique de l’Ontario, which administers the Fund on behalf of FedDev Ontario;
$2.1 million to provide assistance for and promote the recovery of Francophone businesses and communities across Western Canada, including $1.8 million allocated to Francophone Economic Development Organizations, which administer the Fund on behalf of Western Economic Diversification Canada.
Significant infrastructure investments will also certainly contribute to the economic recovery of our communities. In August, we announced that the Investing in Canada Program would have a temporary new $3.3-billion component for infrastructure projects related to COVID-19. This investment will be used to fund projects to renovate schools, hospitals and long-term care facilities in order to limit the spread of coronavirus, so that provinces and territories can meet the urgent needs of our communities and mitigate the pandemic’s impacts.
4. How is the Government providing ongoing support to official language minority communities?
Because our two official languages are among our most fundamental values, our Government has always taken the necessary actions to support our communities.
I would also like to reiterate that our Government has implemented concrete measures, such as the following, to support our official languages and our communities:
The Action Plan for Official Languages, which represents an additional and historic investment of $500 million;
the Amended Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations which improve the number and type of bilingual services available to Canadians;
The reinstatement of the Court Challenges Program;
Funding for the establishment of the Université de l’Ontario français;
Changes to census forms to improve the enumeration of rights holders, and a thorough post-census survey in order to better take into account and serve communities; and
Measures recently announced by my colleague, the Minister of Immigration, aiming to increase Francophone immigration, which is essential for the vitality of our communities.
