Thank you.
I agree fully with you: there is the whole question of energy and synergy, and values come from the family. I agree with what you have said on this.
On the other hand, with respect to services offered to exogamous families, when we speak of francophone families, exogamous families are included. Indeed, we know—I can no longer remember the percentage—that there are many francophones who are married to members of anglophone families or people from other cultures.
Consequently, exogamous families are included in the strategies of the Commission nationale des parents francophones. In some of our provinces, our parents federations have developed Ex Teams. I am certain that in British Columbia, you have had the opportunity to hear about the Ex Team, which is an initiative of the Fédération des parents francophones de la Colombie-Britannique, and of the British Columbia Francophone School Board. This initiative supports exogamous families by providing them with bilingual documentation to enable the anglophone parent in the family to be involved in the child's education.
If we could have an early childhood and family centre in each of our elementary schools, trust me when I tell you that the anglophone parent would be supported and able to help their children from the moment they are born. Because the decision to speak French to your children is something that occurs the minute the child is born, and sometimes even during pregnancy, which is precisely when parents decide which school their children will be going to: French or English.
If none of our communities has a French school or an early childhood centre, or none nearby, then there will be no option. We are not speaking here only of day care centres, because parents also have the option of sending their children to day care or to keep them at home: I fully agree. On the other hand, if we do not have early childhood and family centres, then there is no alternative.
As francophones, we never had an option, even though we had a right, because there were no francophone schools. The fact is that 20 years ago we did not have French-language schools.