Evidence of meeting #77 for Official Languages in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was teachers.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Thank you very much.
I am now going to give the floor to Monsieur Gourde.
4 p.m.
Conservative
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to the witnesses for appearing.
I will speak to Mr. Thompson.
According to what witnesses have told us, it appears to be difficult to find teachers. Where do these teachers mainly come from? I imagine they come from Quebec or Ontario.
Are there any other places in Canada where bilingual teachers who also meet all the other criteria for becoming a teacher can be trained?
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Mr. Thompson, you can go first, and then we'll hear from Monsieur Le Dorze.
4 p.m.
Director, Policy, Research and Public Affairs, Quebec Community Groups Network
I think the people to answer your question in detail, Mr. Gourde, would be from the Quebec English School Boards Association, who I believe will be invited, hopefully, to provide testimony for this study. Our general understanding is that the bulk of our teachers come from Quebec universities: McGill University and Bishop's University.
4:05 p.m.
Conservative
4:05 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Immersion Teachers
Thank you.
In Manitoba, the Université de Saint-Boniface trains teachers who will work in the French-as-a-first-language education systems and in immersion programs.
The number of immersion students is four times greater than the number of students in the French-language schools. The number of people trained at the Université de Saint-Boniface is not enough to meet the demand. Other faculties in western Canada also train teachers who will work in French-language and immersion schools in all provinces: the Campus Saint-Jean, the University of Regina, Simon Fraser University and others. The same is true in Ontario: some programs aim to train teachers, but there are not quite enough.
Quebec and the francophone regions of Acadia used to take part in exchanges and recruitment efforts to hire immersion teachers. That practice is ongoing, but it is much less widespread than it was 25 years ago.
There should be an exchange with Quebec so that it can send francophone teachers to western Canada. We could send people to teach intensive English-language courses in Quebec. I should say in response to the previous question that working in this way and making this kind of thing possible would be one of the possible roles for the federal government.
4:05 p.m.
Conservative
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC
Are enough people enrolling in the programs, or are they full? Are we at risk of a teacher shortage? We are going to have a problem if we want more Canadians to take immersion courses but there is a shortage of teachers. We can have a lot of good intentions, but if we do not have the people to meet the needs of the schools, I do not know what we will do.
4:05 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Immersion Teachers
That is where we stand at the present time. It is still possible to increase the number of spaces in the faculties of education for students training to teach French. The federal government will probably have an important role to play by continuing to make a significant effort to promote Canada's official languages in all areas.
In addition, creating a national second-language skills assessment tool would help the entire education community. It would help clarify skills targets. The federal government definitely has an important role to play in this area even though it is a provincial jurisdiction.
4:05 p.m.
Conservative
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC
Does anyone else want to answer the question?
4:05 p.m.
Conservative
4:05 p.m.
Chantal Bourbonnais Director General, Canadian Association of Immersion Teachers
I would like to make a brief comment.
One of the ways to help improve language skills is the entire question of teacher-student exchanges. This would make it possible to organize extended stays in francophone environments. This is another way. The number of teachers is a factor, but so is the quality of those teachers. We must really focus on the language skills of immersion teachers.
4:05 p.m.
Conservative
4:05 p.m.
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks very much to the witnesses.
At the risk of asking you to repeat yourself, I would simply like you to give us a list of recommendations you would like to see in our report. Your recommendations must focus on the federal government's role, as you described it and as my colleagues have described it as well. Mistaking us for the provinces will not be much help; we are not the provinces.
Ideally, in view of what you said, could you summarize or restate the recommendations you want to make to us?
I will put the question first to Mr. Shea and Mr. Thompson.
Perhaps you could start, please.
4:05 p.m.
Member, Board of Directors, Quebec Community Groups Network
What we attempted to present was the nature of the English-speaking community as it is. I'm sure you understand that. We are not here to speak on behalf of the educational institutions.
As the Quebec Community Groups Network, we represent more than 37 English-speaking organizations across the province who want to participate in Quebec's community. We recognize—
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
Excuse me, Mr. Shea. I understand. I would like to have your clear-cut recommendations now.
We have only a few minutes, and you were beginning to explain who the network is. I know who the network is. I want to have your clear-cut recommendations.
4:10 p.m.
Member, Board of Directors, Quebec Community Groups Network
Well, if I may, Mr. Chair, recognize that there are barriers, and some of the barriers here....
There's the point that I made with respect to small English language communities that may have 100 students in their school. The potential to be able to teach French as a second language in an immersion capacity is a function of being able to provide them with the resources and the dollars to do that while maintaining.
It's a matter of finding a way to support the English-speaking communities in Quebec as a minority, as the French language minority communities are sought outside of Quebec.
4:10 p.m.
Director, Policy, Research and Public Affairs, Quebec Community Groups Network
I think our key message today to the committee, Monsieur Dion, is that bilingualism is a key tool for our economic success. Bilingualism is what allows us to work in Quebec. It's a matter of economics for us. Immersion is a tool.
Perhaps as a committee you could link for our minority community the importance of bilingualism and immersion as an economic tool.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
Maybe I'm not clear enough. I'm speaking about solutions. I understand the problem. What are the key solutions that you think the federal government should do—money, and what else?
4:10 p.m.
Director, Policy, Research and Public Affairs, Quebec Community Groups Network
It may not be money, Monsieur Dion. It might be the redirection of programs.
Immersion right now is considered, for example, an educational problem and is dealt with by Canadian Heritage. It is dealt with in federal-provincial education transfers.
But if bilingualism is looked at as an economic problem, then it becomes a matter for HRSDC, and within their skills training, HRSDC now has a responsibility, or could have a responsibility, in helping to raise the bilingualism rates with the English-speaking community of Quebec to ensure our economic success.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Michael Chong
Perhaps I could assist you here, Monsieur Dion.
In your opening statement, you said that in the lower north shore, learning French is difficult. What would be the solution to that issue?
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
I'm looking for a solution that's relevant to the mission of the federal government.
4:10 p.m.
Director, Policy, Research and Public Affairs, Quebec Community Groups Network
The mission would be to provide targeted funding, in this case for isolated communities that don't have the educational access that they require and the economic development access that they require, recognizing bilingualism as a tool of economic development, working in partnership with the Government of Quebec.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
Mr. Le Dorze and Ms. Bourbonnais, what would your recommendations be?
April 25th, 2013 / 4:10 p.m.
President, Canadian Association of Immersion Teachers
I think that valuing the second languages and promoting access to immersion across the country would be a step in the right direction. That is not yet the case. Making immersion programs accessible across the country would be consistent with the remarks that my two Quebec colleagues just made.
I would also add the following recommendations: that linguistic and cultural skills be improved; that exchanges be promoted; that faculties of education be encouraged to enrich their basic training programs for second language teachers; that other university faculties be encouraged to offer bilingual programs to accommodate incoming bilingual students who still need to improve their second-language skills; that professional development be promoted for teachers in the form of mentoring for new immersion teachers, for example, and that development courses be offered for school administrators who, in many cases, do not speak the second language and need second-language training. Lastly, I think that the federal government could encourage the production of educational resources specifically for French immersion. Translated material is extensively used at the present time.
Chantal, do you want to add something?