Official Languages Committee on Nov. 25th, 2013

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Because there is a great interest, I guess, in parents wanting to send their children to an immersion school—it opens so many more doors for them—do you think that in the next few years there will be more of an opportunity to have secondary schools open up and have more French offered?

[Shawn Moynihan]

That is certainly one of the key questions that will be answered in the secondary French immersion review that we're beginning to conduct. We know that will be a key question we'll look into because you're right: the program is so popular in elementary school it would make sense for us to explore the number of locations in secondary schools as well.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

I guess it will only facilitate more students continuing on in post-secondary, university, and then employment.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

We have Mr. Leung, from Willowdale.

[Chungsen Leung, Conservative, Willowdale, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I also apologize, because while I can handle three or four other languages, unfortunately, French is not one of them. It's something that I'm endeavouring very hard to study right now, although I must admit that when you have a second, third, or fourth language, it does become easier—but not past the age of 60.

I want to come back to the Peel District School Board. You mentioned that one of the reasons students want to study in French immersion is that there are better job prospects. Particularly in Canada, the job prospects are in government, and the military, and perhaps in well-known organizations like Air Canada or some mining companies, and so on.

Based on my experience in speaking three or four languages, you need to have that environment where you can talk about commerce and where you can conduct day-to-day living, arts and culture. What kinds of facilities or environment does a student in, say, the Peel region have for making French a lively language as they go into the French immersion program? Perhaps you can give an example of what they can do or what your program does for them to give them a sense that learning French is lively and not like learning a language like Latin.

[Shawn Moynihan]

We have many, many examples of the way our teachers bring the French language alive. We very much focus on active learning, on experiential learning. Students have many, many opportunities to use their language, especially socially, because we really try to develop some oral fluency as a first step. It's a very active classroom.

I also had the privilege of taking Latin at high school, so I know exactly what you're referring to in terms of approaches. It's very different. It's very social and there's a lot of opportunity to construct a good understanding of the French language. There are many, many activities, and it's very active, very lively, and very social.

[Scott Moreash]

We are also funded by our own ministry of education to enhance opportunities for our students outside the classroom. Because of our proximity to the city of Toronto, where there are a number of opportunities available to students—theatre, field trips, including experiences in French restaurants—the kinds of things that our teachers use to enhance the classroom experience for students in immersion.

[Chungsen Leung, Conservative, Willowdale, ON]

Is there a budget in the French immersion program to take students, let's say, to Quebec or France or francophone Africa, not necessarily at the primary level, but certainly at secondary school level?

[Shawn Moynihan]

There wouldn't be a budget to go outside the country, but the ministry has provided budgets for French cultural experiences, such as field trips.

Over the last couple of years, we've been able to provide many opportunities for our students to take field trips, whether to Quebec or to French cultural events in Ontario.

[Chungsen Leung, Conservative, Willowdale, ON]

My next question is for Madame Lalonde.

In terms of Canadian manufacturing, a lot of it is based in Montreal, for example the whole aviation industry, including Bombardier, and also SNC-Lavalin, which I have worked for in the past.

If students graduate at master's level or Ph.D. level, they can find occupations in those areas. But are we graduating enough students who are bilingually proficient to work in those industries? If not, do they have to go overseas to seek employment? I could see this opening up with the comprehensive European trade agreement.

What's the level of graduates right now? Can you absorb enough of your bilingual students?

[Jocelyne Lalonde]

I haven't done a proper study on whether we currently train enough bilingual workers to meet all the needs that could flow from the new EU agreement. But I do know that those with training who can speak both French and English are able to find jobs very quickly. We are often told, loud and clear, that there is a shortage of bilingual workers.

In any event, I don't think we're training enough bilingual people to meet the market's needs.

[Chungsen Leung, Conservative, Willowdale, ON]

In the higher sciences like computer sciences, or the other higher sciences, finance and so on, all the research tends to be in English.

Is there a problem with bilingual students working totally in an English-speaking research field yet living in a French environment?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Leung.

Madame Lalonde.

[Jocelyne Lalonde]

We're talking about bilingual workers. Of course, at some point, students doing their studies in French do a lot of research in English. So they're able to study and do research in English. But if they weren't doing their studies in French, they would lose their ability to work in that language. Despite the fact that some of their textbooks or research is in English, they at least have the option of taking certain classes in French.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Ms. Lalonde.

Ms. Raynault, go ahead please.

[Francine Raynault, NDP, Joliette, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to our witnesses.

Personally, I have always lived in a French-speaking environment. My riding isn't home to many anglophones.

My question is for Ms. Lalonde.

You award twenty-five scholarships at $5,000 a piece. That's not a lot. What could we do to give you more and enable you to encourage more people to study in a different province? How many scholarships would you like to have?

[Jocelyne Lalonde]

What do you mean by “a different province?”

[Francine Raynault, NDP, Joliette, QC]

I mean a student from Manitoba, for example, continuing their studies in Quebec, Saskatchewan or some other province with a university in your network.

[Jocelyne Lalonde]

Right now, the federal government provides us with twenty-five $5000 scholarships. On their end, universities award scholarships to encourage students to pursue their studies in immersion. The scholarships are awarded based on students' marks and abilities. The 25 scholarships aren't the only support available. Different types of funding are available to students beginning their studies.

[Francine Raynault, NDP, Joliette, QC]

How many scholarships are there?

[Jocelyne Lalonde]

I couldn't tell you how many there are all together.

[Francine Raynault, NDP, Joliette, QC]

You don't have that figure?

[Jocelyne Lalonde]

No, not that one. But I can say that it's always important to offer enough scholarships to fill the need. There's no question that 25 isn't much. We wish the program had more resources.

[Francine Raynault, NDP, Joliette, QC]

So you're going to ask the government to add more scholarships?

[Jocelyne Lalonde]

We're going to look at how we can work with the government and the universities to add more scholarships.