Evidence of meeting #22 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 francophone.
A recording is available from Parliament.
8:50 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Good morning, folks.
I am happy. I asked the clerk to find us a venue a bit closer to the Centre Block for this morning's meeting, but I did not ask them to put up all these curtains for us.
8:50 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
They are for our witness.
8:50 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
That is good.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), we are proceeding with our study on the roadmap and immigration in the francophone minority communities.
This morning, we will hear from Claude Harvey, Director General of the Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada.
Welcome, Mr. Harvey.
Allow me to explain the ground rules. You will have approximately 10 minutes to make a presentation. Then there will be a period of questions by committee members.
Mr. Harvey, you have the floor.
8:50 a.m.
Claude Harvey Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning to you and all the committee members.
First, I will talk about the Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada, or RCCFC.
RCCFC was founded in 1995, and its mission is to establish a genuine partnership among Canada's college-level francophone educational institutions. There are many provincial associations, such as the Fédération des cégeps and Colleges Ontario, but ours is truly a national association, from sea to sea. It is a network that provides peer support, mutual assistance, promotion, and exchange for the development of college-level education in French across Canada, while promoting the use of digital technologies and remote technology training.
RCCFC's mission is also to support the development of the Canadian francophone community by providing it with the expertise of its network institutions. RCCFC also intends to make college-level francophone education more visible to the various government bodies in the provinces and territories and to the federal government.
RCCFC's members include all francophone colleges in majority communities and most francophone cégeps in Quebec. No other organization has this particular type of membership. We are also the only college-level francophone organization that covers the northern territories, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and certain aboriginal communities. This mix of institutions under various jurisdictions is very rich and results in stimulating exchanges. RCCFC's main mission is to organize specific projects to support the emergence of francophone value added across Canada.
Unfortunately, however, our tools are fragile and limited. For example, the interprovincial cooperation program, which is funded by Canadian Heritage, permits only limited action in support of colleges and cégeps wishing to create new instruments for French-language technical education across the country.
We believe the next action plan will have to focus heavily on interprovincial partnerships for the exchange of best practices, the implementation of joint projects and professional and student mobility.
The partnerships that Quebec cégeps have with colleges in Quebec and the other provinces are particularly productive. Quebec's cégeps are 50 years old, whereas virtually all francophone colleges in minority communities are younger. One of those young colleges, Collège Éducacentre, in British Columbia, has just been recognized by its province as a college.
Based on the consultations that RCCFC conducted with the management of some 15 cégeps in 2015, those institutions are concerned and want to help reinforce the position of French as an official language in Canada by cooperating with their counterparts. With Canadian Heritage's assistance, RCCFC provides the only platform for exchange and cooperation among francophone colleges across the country.
Helping educators get to know each other better and to work together also helps build the Canadian francophony and assist in consolidating our country, which is based on its two founding peoples and two official languages.
RCCFC's role is to act as a hub for colleges and cégeps across the country. For a number of years now, however, funding for our organization's programming has trended downward. With very little money and few employees—there are only two of us—we nevertheless have a significant impact. We would be able to do more official languages promotion through our members if we had the staff to help diversify our funding sources. For a small organization with virtually no resources, it is difficult, if not impossible, to compete with larger organizations that are used to seeking funding from Canadian Heritage and other organizations. This factor should be taken into consideration in analyzing projects.
We believe the next action plan will have to support organizations and initiatives that generate actual deliverables, whether it be teaching tools or cooperation and expertise-sharing projects such as those of RCCFC. The rigid nature of accountability requirements must also be reviewed. In this area, we are absolutely required to stick to the form, but that is not conducive to proper accountability in many cases. Excessive emphasis on entering information in small boxes obscures the essential nature of our organizations' actions.
Flexibility and creativity are needed for our official languages to flourish. We cannot anticipate all contingencies when planning for a two- or three-year period. Unplanned actions must be taken in response to sociopolitical developments and current events. Accomplishments under the action plan must not be judged solely as outcomes measured against initial objectives. An “every relevant action” box should be provided for the purpose of reporting results that are achieved outside the little box. That is often where the best results are achieved because that is where the creativity is. I have achieved my best results by breaking rules and venturing off the beaten path.
I must emphasize, with pride and pleasure, that the organizations of Canada's francophone community that are directly and indirectly involved in education genuinely work together and harmoniously join forces for our official languages, in this instance for French.
We are witnessing a paradigm shift in the situation of official languages in this country. The contribution of immigration is resulting in the increased use of French in certain cities. The opening of the campus of Collège Boréal in Toronto is an example of this new paradigm. The vast majority of students there are immigrants and the institution is expanding.
This phenomenon can also be observed in other major cities such as Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg. The contribution of francophone immigration is essential for French to remain present across Canada. The immigration policies of all provinces, not just Quebec, must focus on accepting francophones based on certain criteria.
As we speak here today, the Table nationale sur l'éducation in Quebec City is setting forth the broad outlines of the strategic plan for French-language minority education.
A new trend that has emerged, and which has been the subject of national consultations over the past year, is the shift from secondary to postsecondary education in French. Nearly 400,000 young Canadians attend immersion schools, but too few of them continue their studies in French at the college level. Many students, even those from French-language secondary schools, study in English at the postsecondary level.
If we worked on identity-building starting in early childhood and established strategies for reducing language insecurity, more students from minority communities would be able to study in French at the college level. We must also demonstrate that there is a French-language workplace in many provinces and territories. Professional mobility must also be encouraged.
Although Quebec freely welcomes francophone workers from other provinces, it is difficult to have credentials recognized from province to province across Canada. In some instances, it is easier between France and Quebec than among the provinces and territories of Canada.
The recognition of credentials must not be solely the responsibility of the professional associations. Our members are prepared to set to work building these bridges and thus promoting greater mobility for francophone graduates and workers across the country.
The cultural community is a leader in this area. The broader francophone community's creations in music, theatre and the arts travel across the country. The francophone community's expression knows no barriers and art has the power to create a sense of belonging and pride in using the same language to express who we are.
The new action plan must reflect our rapidly evolving situation. The deployment of digital technology has already helped young francophones acquire greater proficiency in English. They are no longer embarrassed or reluctant to speak both official languages, and that ability is absolutely viewed as an asset.
The popularity of immersion schools and the many students studying French as a second language are also very encouraging signs. The survey results published by the Commissioner of Official Languages are also highly encouraging. Linguistic duality is increasingly becoming a Canadian value, and our role as an educational institution is to reflect that reality. To do that, we need support, and that is where the action plan is essential.
We at RCCFC are the interface of francophone college-level education in Canada. Our position enables us to play a central role in promoting linguistic duality. We are working to build complementary relationships with our colleagues from the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne, the ACUFC. That is why we support the thrust of a government policy based on the three guiding principles and four areas described in the ACUFC's brief.
Thank you for listening. I will be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
9 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much, Mr Harvey.
I have a comment for everyone in the room. As a result of the visit of the Prime Minister of China, security has asked us not to use the door located to my left. If you must leave the room, please use the door at the end of the room.
We will begin the first round of questions.
Mr. Généreux, you have six minutes.
9 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, Mr. Harvey, and welcome.
Some of you may not know, but Mr. Harvey and I have known each other for many years. When I was mayor of the City of La Pocatière and he was director general of the Cégep de La Pocatière, we were in touch with each other on a number of occasions for various reasons.
Mr. Harvey, you have cited various points. The organization you head is relatively young, some 10 years old. Unless I am mistaken, it dates back to 1995, does it not?
9 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
Yes.
9 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
At the end of your presentation, you referred to another organization.
What is the basic difference between that organization and the one you head?
9 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
RCCFC represents the francophone cégeps and colleges of Canada, whereas ACUFC represents colleges outside Quebec. There are 11 French-language colleges outside Quebec, some of which are larger than those in Quebec. ACUFC members also include the francophone universities, such as the Université Laurentienne, Université de Hearst and even the University of Ottawa, which is partly francophone. That is the main difference between our two organizations.
In addition, ACUFC receives a lot of funding, which is not the case of RCCFC. ACUFC receives funding from the justice and health departments to put French-language programs in place at the college and university levels in those fields. ACUFC's activities are very much concentrated in those areas.
9 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Does ACUFC present those programs? Are those programs organized to integrate immigrants or is that unrelated?
9 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
I believe that is a factor.
9 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
But the programs are nevertheless intended for everyone.
9 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
They are not established to recognize, for example, the credentials of a physician who arrives from Algeria. They are the same for everyone.
9:05 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Despite its youth, your organization appears to be very active in representing a lot of people. Does it have a component for all matters pertaining to the integration of immigrants at francophone cégeps and colleges across Canada?
9:05 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
Several colleges have that component. I mentioned Collège Boréal in Toronto. It is not even a choice for that college to have a specific program for immigrants, since its clientele consists of immigrants. However, the decision is up to each college.
I would also say that the clientele of nearly half of francophone colleges outside Quebec largely consists of immigrants. I am thinking of Saskatchewan, for example. Collège Mathieu is in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, a classic location in Saskatchewan's francophone community. It now has a campus for its immigrant clientele in Regina because not all Africans, for example, are settling in francophone communities. Some choose anglophone communities.
9:05 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Earlier you said there were 400,000 secondary-level immersion students in Canada but that they were not pursuing college-level studies in French.
9:05 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
The immersion programs go from kindergarten to the end of secondary school. Some of those 400,000 students do their primary school in immersion. Others do two or three years of high school. Not all students attend immersion schools from early childhood to secondary V.
9:05 a.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Why do immersion students not attend francophone colleges once they have completed their secondary studies? Do you think there are any reasons for that?
9:05 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
We know of certain factors that prevent them from doing so.
9:05 a.m.
Conservative
9:05 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
One of the major factors is language insecurity. Those who study in immersion schools speak French in class but English as soon as they enter the halls. When they finish secondary school, they say they cannot study in French because they are too embarrassed or that they feel they do not speak French well enough and therefore tend toward English-language educational institutions.
Let me give you an example. With Canadian Heritage's assistance, over the past two years we have been awarding scholarships to immersion students who continue studying in French at the college level. This year, the scholarships were awarded to students studying in French at university. Only two out of 25 scholarships were awarded for college studies; the others were awarded for university-level studies.
When we administered the scholarships, the individuals who won them were francophones whose fathers were anglophone and whose mothers were francophone, for example. They went to immersion schools but already spoke French. They won scholarships, but that was not what we were aiming for. However, it is all right that those individuals received scholarships.
When we say there are 400,000 immersion students, there are many underlying realities.
9:05 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much.
Now we will hear from Ms. Lapointe and Mr. Arseneault, who will share speaking time.
9:10 a.m.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Good morning and welcome. Thank you for being with us this morning.
When you made your statement a little earlier, you mentioned your organization's funding sources. What are they?
9:10 a.m.
Director General, Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada
We have three main funding sources.
The first is member subscriptions. The cost of a subscription is not very high compared to those of other organizations, $1,000 per college or cégep.
The second is funding from Canadian Heritage, which grants us a base amount of $288,000 a year. It also funds projects under what we call the interprovincial cooperation program. The cégeps and colleges submit projects on which they intend to work together. We receive an annual amount of $100,000 to support them.
We also have a program called PRECEPT-F. I cannot tell you what that means because I do not know myself. There are too many letters. These are projects involving an exchange of expertise among francophone cégeps and colleges.
Since the Government of Quebec provides $150,000 out of a budget of $300,000, a Quebec cégep must be involved in projects with colleges from other provinces and territories. We have $300,000 to distribute per year for these projects. In October, we will issue a call for PRECEPT-F projects and will therefore have $300,000 to distribute among our members for transfer-of-expertise projects. There are a lot of projects involving distance training and online education.
The colleges do a lot of work together and that is good.
