WORKING TOGETHER WE CAN ACHIEVE WHAT WE CANNOT ACCOMPLISH ON OUR OWN
The QCGN is pleased to share, on behalf of the Community Vitality Roundtables, the 2022-2027 Community Development Plan for English-speaking Quebec entitled: Working Together for a More Vital Community.
The Community Development Plan is a framework for collective action undertaken by the community sector of English-speaking Quebec to ensure its continued vitality. Through coordinated, strategic action, the community asserts collective control over resources allocated to it to ensure its development. The Plan is overseen by the Community Vitality Roundtables, which regroup stakeholder groups with common interests to carry out the actions and strategies of the plan with the backbone support of the QCGN.
Study shows intrinsic link between economic development and community vitality
After months of research, analysis and writing, the Quebec Community Groups Network is pleased to share Economic Development and Community Vitality: A Report on Federal Funding Streams Available to the English-speaking Community of Quebec. Commissioned by QCGN, the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC), and YES Employment + Entrepreneurship (Services) for the Community Development Roundtables, this report was produced thanks to the financial support of the Government of Canada. The research was conducted by Paul Holley, Ph.D.
The results of this study demonstrate the intrinsic link between economic development and community
vitality, making the case that Quebec’s Official Language Minority Community (OLMC) is underfunded by the main federal economic development programs. It also provides a socio-demographic portrait of English speakers in Quebec that shows the level of need in this community, as well as a comparison of English-speaking Quebecers both to French speakers in Quebec and to OLMCs outside Quebec. Most
importantly it provides an analysis of federal funding programs related to economic development and
employability.
The study makes six recommendations to improve the social, economic, and cultural outcomes for English speakers in Quebec and the organizations that serve them:
- Improve transparency and accountability of federal funding streams;
- Increase federal funding levels to improve economic development opportunities for the English-
speaking community of Quebec; - Build capacity of all community organizations serving English-speaking Quebecers to obtain
federal funding; - Develop a community portal of funding opportunities, resources and tools;
- Provide mentorship opportunities for community organizations serving English-speaking
Quebecers; and - Focus on access and quality supports to enhance economic activity across the province.
The Community Vitality Roundtables will now consider the report’s recommendations to determine an effective way forward to meet the needs of English-speaking Quebec. For enquiries, please contact Riley Dalys-Fine, QCGN’s Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Alliances.
On Sept. 30, 2022, the Quebec Community Groups Network submitted on behalf of the Community Vitality Roundtables the Report on the Priorities of Quebec’s English-speaking Community for the 2023-2028 Official Languages Strategy to the Minister of Official Languages.
The Official Languages Strategy of the Government of Canada is a five-year action plan and a framework for strategic investments through multiple federal departments and institutions in the vitality of Official Language Minority Communities (OLMC). The current Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023: Investing in our Future represents a $2.2 billion investment. Consultations were held this summer with OLMC across Canada to evaluate the current Action Plan, with Quebec’s English-speaking community participating in full force.
The community’s report describes the programming, policy, and funding needs of English-speaking Quebec from the next Official Languages Strategy, which will be released in Spring 2023. It is informed by the priority actions contained in the 2022-2027 Community Development Plan, which is a shared strategic plan for the development of Quebec’s English-speaking community.
Following consultation with community stakeholders, the Quebec Community Groups Network is pleased to present the 2024-2025 Community Development Priorities of the English-speaking Communities of Quebec. Every year, the QCGN works with dozens of stakeholders to establish a set of shared development priorities, which are shared with funders in advance of the coming fiscal year to guide investments in the vitality of English-speaking Quebec.
The Community Development Priorities are informed by the document Working Together for a More Vital Community: The 2022-2027 Community Development Plan for English-speaking Quebec. This plan provides a framework for collective action to be undertaken across the community sector to improve the vitality of our Community of Communities. To guide this plan, the QCGN established four Community Vitality Roundtables, which convene stakeholders to build consensus on common challenges facing our community. There are four Roundtables, each of which addresses a specific theme in community development:
- Funding
- Data
- Representation, and
- Organizational and Network Health.
This year, the Government of Canada released its 2023-2028 Action Plan for Official Languages-Promotion-Protection-Promotion-Collaboration. Over the coming months, leaders and stakeholders across Quebec’s English-speaking Community will be called upon to take part in a series of discussions which will shape long-term priorities for the next five years and beyond. To focus on mobilizing stakeholders for these critical discussions, the Community Vitality Roundtables have decided to forego its annual survey and renew the 2023-2024 Community Development Priorities for 2024-2025.
It should be noted that the priorities contained in this list are directly informed by both the 2022-2027 Community Development Plan, as well as the Report on Priorities of Quebec’s English-speaking Community for the 2023-2028 Official Languages Strategy, submitted to the Minister of Official Languages in September 2022.
As a centre of evidence-based expertise and collective action, QCGN’s mission is to encourage dialogue and collaboration among its member organizations, individuals, community groups, institutions, and leaders. This exercise is essential in helping us identify and address the strategic issues affecting the development and vitality of the English-speaking community. QCGN would be unable to achieve these goals without active input. If you would like to become involved, please contact our Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Alliances, Riley Dalys-Fine.
The Community Growth Plan establishes a process for the English-speaking community of Quebec to influence how resources are allocated, via continuous consultation and needs assessment.
Funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, the ultimate objective of the Growth Plan is to produce a community development plan for English-speaking Quebec. The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) is the federal government’s official interlocutor with Quebec’s English-speaking community. We have been mandated to mobilize a full range of stakeholders to work together to build a strategic community plan to address community needs and priorities. This plan will serve as a framework for collective action to strengthen the vitality of our communities.
In 2018, the Government of Canada increased funding available to organizations serving English-speaking Quebec as part of its Action Plan for Official Languages – 2018-2023: Investing in Our Future. These new investments included a $5-million development fund to help these organizations deliver services across different regions and sectors.
Thanks to Growth Plan project funding, the QCGN is bringing together organizations and institutions representing Quebec’s English-speaking communities to develop this framework and discuss what support is required to build and sustain the vitality of our community of communities. The ultimate goal is for community stakeholders to work cooperatively to achieve together what they cannot accomplish on their own.
Since February 2020, the QCGN has provided multiple opportunities for capacity-building, networking, and resource sharing. More than 100 stakeholders from across various regions, sectors of activity, and cultural communities participated in three town halls, two forums, and three consultations. Together, we built consensus around many key challenges that we face. Our challenges include:
- Inadequate funding and funding sources;
- Difficulty recruiting and retaining staff as well as volunteer leaders;
- The need to improve networking and community collaboration;
- Accessing evidence-based information and relevant data;
- A lack of representation at decision-making levels; and
- Legislative and bureaucratic barriers.
In addition, participants identified the need for greater grassroots consultations to ensure the advocacy process truly reflects the needs and priorities of the English-speaking community and helps the QCGN assess its own priorities to better respond to the needs of the communities we represent.
If your organization would like to get involved in Growth Plan consultations, please contact Riley Dalys-Fine, Manager of Community Outreach and Engagement.
The QCGN is funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage.
