Official Languages Committee on Sept. 22nd, 2016

[Claude Harvey]

The organization tries to give college programs, but the problem is that the Northwest Territories' Education Act provides that there is only one college in the Northwest Territories. The act will be amended and should allow two colleges to exist. Currently, if francophones wish to study in the Northwest Territories, they may do so but will not receive diplomas; they will take a course but will not receive a diploma because the college is not recognized. That is the problem at the present time. Courses are given, but no diplomas.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

That is great for those who want to learn French.

[Claude Harvey]

It is not just French.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

No, it is everything.

[Claude Harvey]

Yes, it is everything.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

So it is a college that is not recognized by the province.

[Claude Harvey]

It is not recognized by the territory.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Correct, by the territory.

[Claude Harvey]

There are also a lot of immigrants in the Northwest Territories.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Yes, and that is why I was wondering whether they had that problem.

So it must be even more difficult for the immigrants who arrive. They cannot get an education in French or anything else because they do not have papers. They may study, but that will not ultimately give them a diploma. That is my understanding.

[Claude Harvey]

That is correct.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

That does not give them a diploma.

[Claude Harvey]

No.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you, Mr. Harvey.

Mr. Arseneault, you have the floor.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Harvey, not so long ago, I was travelling to Ottawa by car and listening on the radio to people who work for the universities, who are involved in recruitment outside the country, in international recruitment. I am of course involved in the university field. I quickly understood that the francophone section of the University of Ottawa, the francophone universities in Quebec, and the Acadian universities were competing with each other for international students and that it was a question of survival for the universities. I was surprised to learn that that was the case and that it was a matter of survival, even in Quebec.

I am dying to ask the following question: Do you have any statistics on whether Canadian universities in English Canada are also suffering from a lack of funding and must engage in international recruitment, or is this situation specific to Canadian francophones?

[Claude Harvey]

I will not venture an opinion on that, but if you go to McGill University, you will see not a large majority but rather many international students. The way the universities operate is very consistent with their reputation. We do not recruit in the United States, but the English Canadian universities do.

I do not have any figures and I cannot provide a specific answer. I do not want to make a mistake and talk nonsense. In actual fact, we have so little contact that, in some instances, you can say there are two solitudes even in the field of education and colleges. That is unfortunate. I think there should be more contact, precisely so that we can exchange information of that kind.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

If that is indeed the case for the universities, at least for the francophone universities, from what I heard on a Radio-Canada program, immigration is really becoming important.

I would like to add to what our friend Mr. Samson said. There really seems to be a problem with student visas. Unless I am mistaken, visas are issued only once a year, not for the duration of a student's studies. In other words, if a student from Tunisia or the Maghreb comes to Moncton to study for a four-year bachelor's degree, he will have to obtain a visa every year.

Are you aware of this situation?

[Claude Harvey]

Yes, I am aware, but I am not supposed to talk about it.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

We give you the right to talk about it.

[Claude Harvey]

We are no longer allowed to talk about it. One of our problems is precisely that recruiters are no longer allowed to talk about immigration proceedings. We no longer have a right to speak about that. It is prohibited now.

I will nevertheless answer the question.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Perfect.

[Claude Harvey]

A visa is issued for the duration of the student's studies. However, work visas must be renewed every year. People who come here want to work while they study. To date, except where otherwise permitted, a visa for college studies is issued for a period of two or three years. That is fine since the visa is valid for the duration of the student's studies.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Yes, but, on average, university studies take four or five years. A bachelor's degree takes four or five years.

[Claude Harvey]

I unfortunately cannot answer with respect to the universities since I am not aware of how they operate.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

All right.

Perhaps my colleague Mr. Vandal has a question.