Presented By: Matt Riehl, M.S.W. An Exploration of the Impact of the Cooperative Model on the Lives of Minority Francophones Living in Southern Ontario Presented By: Matt Riehl, M.S.W.

Outline Purpose Outline To outline the context of the language shift and assimilation process of Francophones outside of Quebec and explore whether this process can be reversed To explore how the cooperative model of economic development influences the lives of Franco-Ontarians including how it may impact the language shift and assimilation process Outline History and current use of the French language outside of Quebec Reasons for the language shift outside of Quebec Benefits of cooperatives for Franco-Ontarians Language assimilation and cooperatives Challenges for Franco-Ontarian cooperatives Recommendations for future success of Franco-Ontarian cooperatives

French Language Shift and Assimilation Francophone population outside of Quebec has been decreasing for years and is currently 4.4% of the total population Use of the French language outside of Quebec has declined for the last 50 years For majority members (Anglophone), second language acquisition is additive For minority members (Francophone), second language acquisition is subtractive in that it threatens the continuation of the use of their mother tongue

Reasons for Language Shift Outside of Quebec Language transmission at home/ intermarriage between Francophones and Anglophones Low birth rates among French-Canadian women Geographic isolation and low demographic concentrations of Francophones

Benefits of Cooperatives within the Franco-Ontarian Context (according to research participants) Maintain control over the economy Provide education to adults in many areas Provide employment opportunities within members own communities Promote social cohesion Provides opportunities to reinvest in the communities Unites people of all socio-economic statuses Provide needed services such as health care

Language Assimilation and Cooperatives (according to research participants) Cooperatives reversing assimilation Cooperatives increase the economic vitality of Francophones Cooperatives allow Francophones to provide services in French Cooperatives provide more contexts for the French language to be used Cooperatives facilitating assimilation Cooperatives with declining membership are offering bilingual services Cooperatives that provide bilingual services do not support use of the French language and consistently offer their services in English first

Challenges of Franco-Ontarian Cooperatives (according to research participants) Emergence of bilingual cooperatives Service gap in for-profit sector no longer exists Franco-Ontarian population is decreasing Education of cooperative members, as well as general public, is lagging Management by business school graduates leaves social goals of cooperatives unmet

Recommendations for Franco-Ontarian Cooperatives (according to research participants) Cooperatives must foster leadership within the Franco-Ontarian movement Cooperatives must provide a diversity of services and be flexible in service delivery Cooperatives should be inclusive and could benefit by recruiting French speaking immigrants Cooperatives should allocate 1% of their budgets for education of their members and the public Cooperatives must balance meeting both their social and economic goals Cooperatives should recruit and engage new segments of the population including seniors, and young adults