Employment

MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent outlines bold plans

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent launched its first strategic development plan in over 40 years during a presentation at the Salle Culturelle Alfred-Langevin in Huntingdon on November 7.

A revised version of the Plan d’action pour l’économie et l’emploi (PAÉE) was also unveiled during the event, which highlighted the MRC’s strategic orientations and ambitious objectives in terms of the region’s economic, cultural, and social development over the next four years.

Around 50 invited guests attended the event, including several mayors, representatives from community organizations and businesses, and employees of the MRC, as well as Salaberry-Suroît MP Claude DeBellefeuille, and a representative for Huntingdon MNA Carole Mallette.

In a rousing speech, Sainte-Barbe mayor and prefect Louise Lebrun jubilantly introduced what she referred to as a bold vision for the years ahead. “We are entering an era where the status quo is no longer an option, where leadership must be inspired and inspiring, and where development must be active, sustainable and intentional – an era in which regions capitalize on the characteristics and strengths that make them unique,” she enthused, while calling on those present to become involved and to work together.

Work began on the strategic development plan and the action plan for the economy and employment in the spring of 2023. Both documents were approved during the regular meeting of the regional council on September 18.

MRC director general Pierre Caza explained while presenting the main points of the plan that the end goal of the planning process was to strengthen the local economy, promote rural tourism, and encourage cultural vitality and inter-municipal collaboration. The document includes the MRC’s vision, strategic objectives, and different courses of action to be implemented between now and 2028.

Members of the regional council worked with seven partner organizations to realize the plan, which features 93 actions aimed at improving access to services and housing; economic diversification and support for entrepreneurs; planning for dynamic, attractive living environments; the promotion of the MRC’s natural, cultural, heritage and tourist attractions; and prioritizing sustainable development while taking climate change into account.

Caza maintained that the MRC worked to ensure regional planning efforts would be adapted to the area’s rural or agricultural heritage and current reality. “This is important because the reality of the Haut-Saint-Laurent is what it is. We don’t want to denature ourselves,” he said. “We love our rural environment. And we’re not going to change it,” he explained, while pointing out that this conviction should not stop the MRC from innovating and inspiring other MRCs.

The PAÉE, which was developed in parallel with the strategic plan, aims to stimulate economic growth, support local entrepreneurship, diversify the economic fabric of the area and improve the region’s attractiveness as a tourist destination.

The most recent iteration of the PAÉE was completed in 2013. In revising the document, the MRC’s regional development team partnered with around 26 different organizations, businesses, and groups for the elaboration of the plan, which includes a dozen objectives and 37 strategic actions, several of which are already in place.

Caza noted that while there were different teams working on the strategic development plan and the PAÉE, the two documents are complementary. “This is very gratifying, because it means that on both sides we were really on the right track, and we succeeded in producing tools that will be useful.”

Combined, the two plans include 130 actions the MRC hopes to achieve before the end of 2028.

Caza said the MRC employees will be working with both documents. “We are not going to create two silos. Everyone will work together and build bridges,” he explained, noting the MRC is hoping to encourage the public’s participation. “There are citizens who like to get involved in their communities. We need to be using this energy to boost the region’s development.”

More information on the MRC’s strategic development plan and PAÉE, including the complete documents, can be found online at mrchsl.com/plans.

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English speakers still face barriers to labour market, report finds

English speakers still face barriers to labour market, report finds

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

English speakers in the Capitale-Nationale region lag behind their francophone counterparts in terms of average income, employment and full-time employment, a recent report by the Provincial Employment Round Table (PERT) has found.

Capitale-Nationale encompasses Quebec City and the surrounding rural regions – Charlevoix, Côte-de-Beaupré, Île d’Orléans, La Jacques-Cartier and Portneuf. There are just under 18,000 anglophones living in Capitale-Nationale, about 2.3 per cent of the region’s population. While there are small pockets of English speakers across the region, particularly in La Jacques-Cartier, which includes Shannon and Saint-Gabriel-de- Valcartier, most anglophones (nearly 15,000) live in the Quebec City area.

The report, released at an online event Oct. 30 and based on 2021 census data, provincial government statistics and more recent information gathered from interviews and focus groups, indicates that the unemployment rate among anglophones in the region is 9 per cent, compared to 6.7 per cent for francophones, and anglophones earn a median after-tax income of $36,800 compared to $39,200 for francophones. About 10 per cent of anglophones earn less than the provincial low-income cutoff, compared to five per cent of francophones. Anglophones are less likely to work full time and less likely to hold permanent jobs – 68.2 per cent of anglophone workers hold permanent positions compared to 74.8 per cent of francophones. Both groups have similar age and gender profiles and similar levels of educational attainment – the proportion of anglophones with a high school diploma (90.7 per cent) or a postsecondary degree (70.2 per cent) is slightly higher than that for francophones (86.8 per cent and 66.2 per cent respectively). Anglophones in the region are significantly more likely to be bilingual than their francophone counterparts – 84.6 per cent compared to just under 45 per cent.

“A significant concern among participants from Capitale-Nationale was the misalignment between the competencies and educational attainment of English speakers in the region and the jobs they work in. Participants described the issue of highly qualified English speakers who end up working in jobs for which they are overqualified or mismatched … often unrelated to the industry in which they are formally trained, owing to the difficulty of having their qualifications recognized or a French language barrier,” the report’s authors added.

No shortage of will, but a lack of opportunities

In focus groups of anglophones convened by PERT, participants stressed the need for accessible French-language training adapted to the workplace, initiatives to build up anglophones’ confidence in their French skills and more vocational training opportunities, PERT research lead Morgan Gagnon explained. They also described challenges with international credential recognition and a lack of support for English-speaking job seekers. English-speaking youth faced a particularly high unemployment rate (14.7 per cent), raising fears of “brain drain.”

Gagnon said the recent cuts to government-subsidized French language learning pro- grams in Quebec City, Loretteville and Lévis (see article in this edition) were “definitely concerning.”

PERT announced two new programs to support English speakers in the workplace – a bilingual mentorship program aimed at improving workers’ and job seekers’ French language skills and confidence and a support program for employers who want to launch or improve workplace French- language training programs in partnership with the provincial Secretariat for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers.

“We’re hoping the government can find a solution to improve and maintain access to classes through Francisation Québec, but we’re hoping that these two programs, though relatively small in the grand scheme of things, can help mitigate the loss of that resource,” said Gagnon.

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Job market a challenge for region’s English speakers

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The Montérégie-West Community Network (MWCN) hosted the region’s first employment roundtable focused exclusively on the five MRCs that make up the Montérégie on September 26 at the wellness centre in Huntingdon.

Around 25 representatives from local employment-oriented organizations as well as regional development groups participated in the meeting, which included a presentation by the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) on employment statistics in the region.

“We want to talk about the issues and try to find solutions to employability issues within the region,” said Joanne Basilières, the MWCN’s employability and mental health coordinator. She invited PERT to present the findings of its recently released employment profile of English speakers in the Montérégie, and to start a dialogue amongst the group on meeting the challenges facing this community.

Chad Walcott, the director of engagement and communications for PERT, opened his presentation by acknowledging English speakers are facing growing challenges in the labour market, with higher unemployment rates, lower incomes, and persistent barriers to accessing essential French language training. These are the main findings of the report, which also notes a widening gap in the unemployment rate between English and French speakers in Montérégie.

Since the 2016 Census, the unemployment rate for English speakers has increased from 7.5 per cent to 9.1 per cent, while the rate for French speakers has remained steady at 5.8 per cent. The stats are showing a consistent trend, says Walcott. “The gaps are there, and they are persisting,” he said, noting that while some of the data from the 2021 census may have been influenced by the pandemic, the gaps have been present since 2011 and even earlier.

In the Montérégie region, the English-speaking population accounts for 13.3 per cent of the total population, while in the Haut-Saint-Laurent, English speakers make up 30.4 per cent of the population. This is the second highest percentage after Vaudreuil-Soulanges, where 34 per cent of the population identify as English-speaking.

The unemployment rate among French speakers in the Haut-Saint-Laurent sits at 6.8 per cent, while 8.2 per cent of English speakers are unemployed. In Beauharnois-Salaberry, 5.9 per cent of French speakers are unemployed, while 9.1 per cent of those who speak English do not have jobs.

In the Haut-Saint-Laurent, English-speaking visible minorities are at the greatest disadvantage, where 25.8 per cent are unemployed. This figure is twice as high as in every other MRC in the Montérégie. Across the region, the unemployment rate for visible minorities is 10.9 per cent.

Walcott noted that along with a higher unemployment rate, English speakers were also earning less. In the Haut-Saint-Laurent, for example, English speakers earn roughly $3,800 less per year than their French-speaking neighbours, while visible minorities who speak English earn $9,000 less per year.

Walcott explained that even though English speakers are participating in the job market, there is a blockage. “The fit is not there for the job market,” he said, noting that this holds true despite the fact English speakers are generally more educated and are more likely to identify as bilingual.

For example, 80 per cent of English speakers in the Haut-Saint-Laurent have at least a secondary school diploma or equivalency certificate, while 72 per cent of French speakers have attained this level of education. The bilingualism rate for English speakers is 66.7 percent, while 50.9 per cent of French speakers identify as bilingual.

During the discussion that followed Walcott’s presentation, one participant noted that many want to work with the English-speaking population, but the resources are simply not there. “It is easier to hire someone who is handicapped than it is to hire someone who is unilingually English,” she pointed out.

Many suggested more funding for work-integrated learning programs would help English speakers gain professional skills while improving their French-Language skills on the job. Others pointed to a lack of funding for industry-specific language training as an issue, as well as the integration challenges facing English speakers working in French environments.

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Cuts to Canada Summer Jobs program will impact employers, young people

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The budget allocated to the Canada Summer Jobs program for the Salaberry-Suroît region has once again been cut by the federal government.

“It was with great disappointment that I noted another three-per-cent cut in funding for the program compared with 2023,” wrote local MP Claude DeBellefeuille, in a communication to area employers who had applied for funding to hire young workers over the summer.

The drop in funding amounts to nearly $24,000 less in wage subsidies compared to last year. This, when added to considerable cuts made in 2023, represents about 40 per cent of the 2022 budget for the riding. In 2022, the region benefitted from $1,262,598 in funding. The 2023 budget was cut back to $830,771, and the 2024 budget is currently $806,791.

In 2023, the program financed at least 219 employment opportunities, while the same program provided funding for over 365 jobs in 2022.

“It is the region’s young people who will suffer, as they will be deprived of many job opportunities,” said DeBellefeuille, while noting many employers who applied to the program for this summer will receive no funding or an amount that will fall short of their needs.

The MP said she disagrees with the decision to restrict funding, and she is currently working to ensure that the Ministry of Women, Gender Equality, and Youth, and Minister Marci Ien, are aware of the impact these cuts will have on the community.

DeBellefeuille noted she would be keeping a close eye on any developments with the program.

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