Globalization and exploitation of language resources:: Challenges facing, the francophone communities of Ontario

The aim of this article is to examine challenges faced by two francophones communities, one in the Niagara Peninsula, the other in the Simcoe region. We investigate (1) how communities are affected by changes related to globalization; and (2) how the members of these two communities use their linguistic resources to adapt socially and professionally to the changing economy. We conducted some 40 semi-structured interviews in each region with a diversified population in terms of languages and social practices, bilingualism and literacy, training and access to jobs. The comparison of the two regions shows that globalization encourages the development of customer service sectors, which transcends into a greater need for oral and written communication. The employers of the region can count on a bilingual population for their actual needs, but, according to them, the pool of bilingual labourers is decreasing rapidly. At the same time, unemployed Francophones are facing challenges in their search for employment: (1) they must obtain the appropriate level of education (Grade 12); and (2) they must be mobile enough to move or to accept a long daily commute, which may mean cutting themselves off from the network of solidarity in their community, and which may influence the social maintenance of the community.