Good morning, and thank you for being here today. I have a number of questions I would like to ask. Since I have only a few minutes, I will start by telling you my story.
I was a student in the immersion program. I now have five children, and some of them were in immersion as well. When I was at school, there were certain rules, and we were required to speak French in the halls. You talk about standards for acceptance at the post-secondary level, but at one point, Canadian Parents for French decided that the program was too demanding. It was decided that students were not required to speak French all the time. Some of the rules were abolished.
Today, my children have a great deal of trouble speaking French, because they had no opportunity to practise. I would like to know whether we could get your support before the students graduate. Before establishing standards for high school, we need your support to help students from K to 12. They have to practise their French.
You talked about scholarships. This is the reason Canadians are no longer learning French. In my opinion, our children have no confidence and do not want to continue their education in French. Last week, I spoke to some grade 11 and 12 immersion students. They told me that they were in immersion because their parents put them there. They also said that they did not like French, but that it ''looks good on my résumé''. And they could not even say that in French! Do you think this is because of a lack of scholarships, or because these students do not have the confidence they need to take high school courses in French? Do we have your support? Could we ask you to make a change and to put back the rules that you abolished. Do you think this has an impact on students?