Question Period Note: RÉSEAU POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT DE L'ALPHABÉTISME ET DES COMPÉTENCES (RESDAC) AND THE SKILLS FOR SUCCESS PROGRAM

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The Government of Canada is committed to supporting Official Language Minority Communities in Canada, as set out in the recent launch of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023-2028: Protection-Promotion-Collaboration.

The Department of Employment and Social Development Canada is a key contributor to the Action Plan. For example, through the Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities Program, a new employment assistance services stream will provide $208M over 5 years and $54M in ongoing funding. In addition, the Skills for Success Program commits $7.5M over 5 years to the Action Plan to support foundational and transferable skills training.

The Skills for Success program funds organizations to provide Canadians access to training and supports to develop the foundational and transferable skills they need to succeed in learning, work and life. Currently, RESDAC is in the final year of a $7.6M five-year SFS agreement expiring on March 31, 2024.

The Department has open, transparent processes to fund organizations. When unsolicited proposals are received, they are reviewed and weighed carefully before funding decisions are made.

Supporting Official Language Minority Communities remains a priority.

The Skills for Success (SFS) Program (previously called the Literacy and Essential Skills program) has committed funds to the Official Language Roadmaps and Action Plans since 2003. The funds go to organizations to provide foundational and transferable skills training to people in official language minority communities (OLMCs).

Since 2003, the SFS Program has been a main source of funding for RESDAC. RESDAC, formerly the Fédération canadienne pour l’alphabétisation en français (FCAF), founded in 1991, is a key representative of organizations working in skills development within Canada's French-speaking Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs).

In 2013, because of a change of policy focus from family literacy to workplace employment skills, ESDC eliminated the funding for this initiative under the SFS Program. This left a gap in programming.

In response, RESDAC (at that time FCAF) filed a complaint to the Commissioner of Official Languages, which was not ultimately upheld. Following RESDAC’s complaint the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages recommended that the Government of Canada recognize family literacy as integral to Canada’s minority-language education continuum.

In response, the Department acknowledged the importance of family and community literacy in sustaining the vitality of Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs). The Department also committed to the idea of substantive equality and equity in the provision of governmental services to OLMCs.

Subsequently, the SFS program supported RESDAC through an agreement from 2019-2024 of $7.6M over 5 years, of which $2.5M/5 years was specifically to support family literacy.

Budget 2021 provided significant additional funding to the SFS Program, in the amount of $298M over 3 years. In 2022, the program provided funding of $11.5M to Collège La Cite, as well as other francophone organizations, to address the skills needs of OLMCs.

Budget 2021 funding ends March 31, 2024, and the Program will go back to its original funding of approximately $26M/year. RESDAC’s current agreement will expire on March 31, 2024.

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