StatsCan reports that from 1996 to 2006, the number of bilingual high school students in Canada has declined from about 16% to 13%. These numbers are disappointing, especially in light of the fact that in 2003 the Government of Canada came forward with an action plan on official languages to try to deal with this. It had an ambitious target of doubling the number of bilingual students in this country by 2013. By all reports at this juncture, it appears that we're nowhere near meeting those targets. So these are worrisome trends.
We've heard from witnesses at previous meetings that second-language requirements for admission to Canadian universities have declined over recent decades, and that second-language requirements for graduation from undergraduate programs in Canada have also declined in that time. It's interesting.
I'd like to hear from the University of Ottawa, because it is interesting to hear in your testimony that you may be strengthening some of the graduation requirements with respect to second languages, as part of the changes to undergraduate requirements you're making. Perhaps you can tell the committee exactly what you're looking at doing, and perhaps tell us if any other universities are considering doing similar things.