Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank the witnesses who have made the effort to come testify before the committee today as part of this extremely important study.
Your testimony will help us write a report and make recommendations. Thank you for that.
Mr. Blanchette, it was not your last name that spoke to me, although I do like it, but rather the fact that we are experiencing the same thing in the Saguenay—Lac-Saint‑Jean riding I represent. The acceptance rate is only 40% at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and 29% at the Université du Québec à Rimouski.
You just told us that the acceptance rate is 21% at the UQTR, while it is 90% at McGill University. That is a significant discrepancy. We see that francophone students from Africa are being discriminated against. We know how that impacts their life. We are talking about broken dreams for those young people whose application is refused. You talked a bit about repercussions for Quebec society. When they complete their studies, those young people get a Quebec diploma. They speak French and have created a social circle for themselves. Some of them have probably already been approached by employers.
I would like you to tell us more about the impact that refusal rate has on your educational institution. I think it would be important for the committee to know how much and in what way this affects you.