Official Languages committee  What we're saying is that, of all the programs, half of those available in French come from the University of Ottawa, according to the study we consulted.

Official Languages committee  Yes, that's right.

Official Languages committee  I would also add that many parents decide to send their children to an English-language school in high school to prepare them for post-secondary education, because they think it will be in English. The French-language high school system is losing a lot of young people because of the lack of supply at the post-secondary level.

Official Languages committee  You want to know how much money we receive at the Commission nationale des parents francophones. Is that correct, Mr. Iacono?

Official Languages committee  For research, we don't currently receive any funding. The funds we do receive are for programming. In this way, we support our member associations in the deployment of services and support for parents. We have no funds in our budget for research as such.

Official Languages committee  As far as research is concerned, we would need to know the evolution of the number of rights holders. The census data on rights holders was published in 2021, and we know how many rights holders we currently have.

Official Languages committee  That's exactly it. We also need to know how this will evolve. We're welcoming more and more French-speaking immigrants, more and more rights holders. We were surprised by the data. We really need to do research to find out what kind of infrastructure we need not only at the primary and secondary levels, but also at the post-secondary level to be able to meet the demand over the next few years.

Official Languages committee  From province to province, funding varies enormously. As mentioned earlier, in British Columbia, the province gives some money to the Fédération des parents francophones. In Alberta, there's virtually nothing.

Official Languages committee  We do it all the time.

Official Languages committee  There should undeniably be a better balance. I would like to share an important piece of data with you. Roughly 63% of our young people come from exogamous families. I spoke with one father who told me that, while things with his wife were generally going well, a great dispute broke out in his family when it came time to talk about their children's education.

Official Languages committee  I couldn't tell you if a shift has occurred. To tell you the truth, it's very difficult to know how provinces spend money on education programs. So it's very difficult to track the funding. A few years ago, we signed an agreement with Canadian Heritage about strategic funds. The idea was to increase transparency within each province's department of education so we'd know exactly how the money was being spent.

Official Languages committee  Yes. We're even hearing from parents who, even though they're both francophone, are forced to enrol their children in English-language daycares. We've seen some concrete cases in Nova Scotia and Alberta, for example. Afterwards, they decide to enrol their children in English-language schools, because they're afraid their children won't be comfortable enough in French to succeed.

Official Languages committee  I’m talking about francophones outside Québec. For our part, we do not want to start commenting on what Québec should do. I do not think it is our place.

Official Languages committee  I think it’s rare to see a certain national consensus for a bill, and yet what we’re seeing it currently. There are a few little objections here and there, but we feel the current circumstances are favourable. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that this consensus will break down.

Official Languages committee  I don’t know. What we want is to respond to the needs of francophones.