Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to our witnesses today.
My questions will be somewhat similar to those of Mr. Dion and Mr. Godin. The federal government's role in education is, in a way, the basic problem for us. It is clearly a provincial responsibility. So we are looking for ways to add value to this immersion issue. The demand is there, particularly in my region. In the Toronto area, more than 25% of students are enrolled in immersion programs.
Immersion programs have been around for many years. However, it happens that, even after 12 or 14 years of immersion, graduates do not really feel they are bilingual or really francophone, despite all their efforts. I believe you touched on that point in your presentation, Mr. Le Dorze, when you talked about what is being done outside the schools, the exchange programs, for example.
As you are no doubt aware, sometimes immersion in a city such as Toronto is not really immersion. Students speak English in the yard at recess and, once they have left school, are immersed in a city where English is entirely predominant
What can the federal government do to correct these immersion deficiencies? When we talk to people who have spent years in immersion schools, it is frustrating to see that they do not yet master the language.