Press release
Rendez-vous des gens d'affaires et des partenaires socioéconomiques:
Montréal's socio-economic community rallies around an action plan
Montréal, October 10, 2008 The Working Committee of the Rendez-vous des gens d'affaires et des partenaires socioéconomiques turned in a particularly positive report at the conclusion of the first phase of its work during today's Rendez-vous, which resulted in the signing of an action plan outlining concrete measures adapted to the specific needs of companies with fewer than fifty employees and aiming to promote their francization.
Chaired by Isabelle Hudon, co-chair of the Rendez-vous and president and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, the Working Committee was composed of some thirty representatives of business associations and the labour-union and education sectors. In the presence of Jean Charest, premier of Quebec and co-chair of the Rendez-vous, as well as many ministers and other elected representatives, the Committee members continued their in-depth analysis of the state of French in small business workplaces and how to consolidate its use.
At the end of the Rendez-vous, an action plan aiming to promote the francization of small businesses was approved by all participants. This plan formalizes the mobilization of Committee members in favour of the francization of small businesses and will be the subject of a stringent follow-up mechanism. The action plan approved within the framework of the Rendez-vous addresses three issues: the language of hospitality and service; the language of work; and the language of products and signage. The actions will be deployed on three fronts: training, education, and support.
We originally agreed to become involved in this effort because we share the belief that it is important to rally managers and employees around a strengthened resolve to promote the use of French in the workplace. It is still essential for companies with fewer than fifty employees to avoid being confronted by the implementation of new coercive measures. So it is up to us to be proactive and propose initiatives that appear to us to be most promising. After our day of work and with the collaboration of the Quebec government, we can be proud of our shared commitment to succeed together through the implementation of our concrete action plan, declared Hudon.
Today, we successfully completed an important step. But our success will be determined by our ability to deliver the actions in the field and encourage many companies to follow in our footsteps. I'm therefore pleased that all of the Committee members, without exception, have agreed to continue our work and follow up on our commitments over the next few months, concluded Hudon.
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has some 7,000 members. Its primary mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montréal and to provide individuals, merchants, and local businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Quebec's leading private economic development organization.
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Source:
Sylvie Paquette
Coordinator, Media relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4015
sylvie.paquette@ccmm.qc.ca