Thank you.
Over the past two years, the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne, or ACUFC, has conducted a major Canada-wide consultation process. The process is called “États généraux sur le postsecondaire en contexte francophone minoritaire au Canada”. The result is a final report containing 32 recommendations on how to sustain, support and develop the French-language post-secondary sector. This requires a variety of partners, with the federal government at the forefront.
It's important to understand that French-language post-secondary institutions across the country, especially those outside Quebec, are generally smaller than the majority. Being smaller and operating in a minority context implies additional costs for the delivery of education, as well as obstacles when it comes to achieving economies of scale within institutions. These institutions don't have the same clientele either, which means they don't have as much self-generated income as those in the majority. This puts them at a disadvantage from the outset.
We need a permanent funding program to support them, not only so that they can remain open, since in some post-secondary institutions there have been serious fears and consequences linked to funding issues, but also so that they can continue to develop and offer the programs that will meet tomorrow's needs.
In our network of French-language schools outside Quebec, we found that there were very few programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, because these are expensive programs. Institutions don't always have the resources to set up laboratories, hire people and obtain the necessary materials in French to teach these cutting-edge disciplines. If institutions want to offer post-secondary education programs in French, they have to incur additional expenses.