Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for inviting us to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages.
My name is Sylvie Lauzon, and I am Assistant Vice-President of Academic, with responsibility for Undergraduate Programs and Francophone Affairs. I am accompanied today by my colleague, Richard Clément, Director of the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts. We will both be making the presentation this morning.
Your committee's study of federal government support for the efforts of post-secondary institutions in promoting bilingualism in Canada is of great interest to the University of Ottawa. We sincerely hope that the results of this study will have a positive impact on the quality of our curricula, as well as new initiatives that we are planning in order to continue to promote bilingualism and the development of Francophone minority communities.
To begin with, I would like to briefly introduce our institution and some of its achievements as regards official languages. After that, we will tell you a little about some of our new initiatives.
Since its creation in 1848, the University of Ottawa has distinguished itself by its bilingual status, its commitment and its leadership in promoting bilingualism and fostering the development of the French culture in Ontario, Canada and across the globe, as well as by its openness to cultural diversity. The University enshrined that commitment in its incorporating act, which includes very specific objectives, such as fostering the development of bilingualism and preserving and developing French culture in Ontario. It also adopted a by-law on bilingualism which provides that the University's bilingual character must be reflected in all its components—governance, programs and services—and recognizes that all have the right to express themselves in the official language of their choice.
In its governance structure, there are requirements associated with so-called active bilingualism for all executive positions. In our opinion, the University of Ottawa is a role model, as a bilingual institution where Canada's two official languages are on an equal footing. Therefore, the law of numbers does not apply to us.
Thanks to an increasingly range of programs of study in French at all three levels—undergraduate, Masters and Ph.D.—the University is attracting a growing number of Francophones. Their numbers exceeded 11,000 last September, which makes the University of Ottawa a leader in Canada for studies in French outside Quebec. This year as well, more than 3,000 students graduating from high school immersion programs across Canada registered at our institution.
In addition to its research activities in French, the University has also established the Research Chairs in Canadian Francophonie Program and, since 2004, eight Chairs have been created. I also want to take this opportunity to remind you of the leadership role the University has played as regards health care training in French in minority communities and the creation of the National Health Care Training Consortium.
In 2008, the University established the Standing Committee on Francophone Affairs and Official Languages, which is co-chaired by the Vice-President, Academic and the Vice-President, Resources. As you can see, this is very important to us. The mandate of that committee is to take responsibility for planning and implementing initiatives that enable the University to fully carry out its mission and fulfill its commitment to the promotion and development of the French culture in Ottawa, while fostering the vitality of the University community in both official languages. As part of that effort, the committee has also established the University-Community Consultative Committee, with a view to strengthening ties to leaders of the Francophone community.
I will now turn it over to my colleague.