Evidence of meeting #104 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was students.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Thank you. I have some other questions.
Am I correct in saying that this exam was chosen purely and simply to save time and money, to make the administration of exams much easier and faster?
4:35 p.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
I think the associations believe very strongly that the exam is effective in determining who is ready to practice and who is not. In any event, it would be better to ask the representatives from the associations.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
However, my understanding is that the university faculties of nursing were never consulted. That makes no sense.
4:35 p.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
No, they did not consult the professors from nursing faculties.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
I would now like to talk about New Brunswick.
I come from northern New Brunswick, a homogeneous region that is almost exclusively francophone. Some people there do not speak English or, like me, have trouble speaking it.
What is the current position of the Nurses Association of New Brunswick?
4:35 p.m.
Director, School of Nursing, Université de Moncton, As an Individual
In the beginning, in 2012, we came to the same conclusions as the ones in the commissioner's report and we expressed our concerns to the folks from the association. At that time, they said that time was needed, that the NCSBN would provide francophone resources, and that there was nothing to worry about.
4:35 p.m.
Director, School of Nursing, Université de Moncton, As an Individual
No, not at all.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
I know.
We read Michel Doucet's letter in Acadie Nouvelle. He is a constitutional expert.
Since you are closer than I am to what is happening on the ground, could you tell me what the current position of the Nurses Association of New Brunswick is?
4:35 p.m.
Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Shippagan campus, Université de Moncton, As an Individual
The NANB has not taken a position since the commissioner's report was released about two weeks ago. It hasn't contacted us yet. So we can't answer that question.
4:35 p.m.
Director, School of Nursing, Université de Moncton, As an Individual
As I mentioned earlier, the executive director of the NANB publicly said before this committee that she would consider another option. Since then, a national advisory committee has been created and she is a member, along with other anglophones and francophones. We are currently working on a project to create a so-called final exam. This will consolidate the basics of the old examination. The process is led by a committee made up of partners, including Yardstick Assessment Strategies, commonly known as YAS, which purchased the fundamentals of the former Canadian exam. They are modernizing it. Writing sessions were held to incorporate new elements. Work will continue over the summer. We hope to proceed with the validation for anglophones and francophones in the fall of 2018 or January 2019. If all goes well with the psychometric tests, the product will be launched in the fall of 2019.
What we are asking the association—
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
4:35 p.m.
Director, School of Nursing, Université de Moncton, As an Individual
Let me quickly finish my answer.
We want the association to have the authority to determine that this final exam will become for us, in New Brunswick, especially for francophones, the entry-to-practice exam. We will then live with its decisions.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON
Along the same lines, I would like to talk about Ontario. You talked about what's happening in New Brunswick, but I'd like to know what the situation is in Ontario.
4:35 p.m.
Director, School of Nursing, Laurentian University, As an Individual
The regulators know that the exams exist, but it's up to them to decide on the choice of exam.
May 23rd, 2018 / 4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON
Clearly, we are less advanced than New Brunswick.
You were here when the representative from the College of Nurses of Ontario appeared before us last year. You heard him when he told us that the low success rate was normal, but that the College was still dealing with it by taking the following measures in particular:
This year we will be meeting with educators in our French education programs to discuss this issue and to gain greater insight. In addition, we will be conducting research with exam candidates who graduate from a French program to gain a better understanding of their experience with the exam and what influences their choice of exam language.
Is that study still in progress?
4:40 p.m.
Professor, School of Nursing of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, As an Individual
It is completed and available on the organization's website. They spoke with seven or eight professors from francophone programs in Ontario, as well as with a number of francophone students. The report says the same thing as us, namely that the students chose to take the exam in English. Sure, the sample size wasn't huge, but still.
4:40 p.m.
Professor, School of Nursing of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, As an Individual
They are not.
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
4:40 p.m.
NDP
François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Before me I have the Action Plan for Official Languages—2018-2023: Investing in Our Future, which includes an investment of $174.3 million in training for health professionals. That is a lot of money and that is good, but it is still not enough to make up for the delay linked to indexation. We added $22.5 million. By that, I mean that a lot of money is invested in access to health care, but because of a problem like that, we shoot ourselves in the foot and, unfortunately, we back off.
As federal MPs, we absolutely must do something to support you. I'm not sure what yet, but we absolutely must intervene, because that is unacceptable. The area of health is extremely important and is one of the pillars of our society.
I know that the anglophones are satisfied with their exam; that's not a problem. However, it is a problem for the francophone minority, and it is the federal government's responsibility to look after official language minority communities.
I understand that an exam is being developed and that there will be tests soon. Can the federal government provide you with financial assistance? Can it support you by providing human resources? We need to do something to show the colleges and associations that we are serious. The government must support the communities and tell them that a very good Canadian exam will be developed. Then, the colleges and associations will be able to choose the exam they wish to administer in French.
4:40 p.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
Our association, in collaboration with Yardstick and other psychometric companies, is developing this final exam. We are using the resources we have, but we could certainly use some help.
4:40 p.m.
NDP
François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC
You are using your in-house resources.
There's a crisis, and we need to know what your needs are and to find a solution. If that is what it takes to wake up the associations and colleges, then let us support the development of an appropriate and valid French exam adapted to the Canadian reality, not translated. Earlier, you said that an exam must be designed directly in French. That is the direction in which we must go.
Send us letters and recommendations so that we can do something. That is the priority.
There is not much time left, but I will let you add something.
4:40 p.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
I just have one question.
Are you in contact with people from the Société Santé en français, at the federal level?
