Evidence of meeting #59 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.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Quickly, I will touch down in Nova Scotia.
As an Université de Moncton graduate, I know the area and the issues well.
My fellow members asked some very good questions, which I quite appreciated.
How long will it take to fix the problem? You said the solution would be to go back to a bilingual national exam. Within what time frame could that be done? Could it be done overnight? Who decides whether or not to approve that?
Executive Director, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
Are you asking how long it would take to develop an exam or to make the decision?
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
How long would it take to make the decision to go back to a Canadian exam, on one hand, and who is in charge of making that decision, on the other?
Executive Director, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
The regulating bodies make that decision.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Does each province have to ask its regulating body?
Executive Director, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
Yes, each province has to make the request.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Is there a consensus on this issue among the provinces, and do they all wish to make the request?
Executive Director, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
I don't believe so.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
How, then, will the provinces find a solution? Figuring out whether it's possible to do or not is well and good, but it's important to know who can fix the problem. Is it up to Canada's francophone minority communities to stand up and say that the current situation isn't working, that it's not acceptable, and that they want the Canadian exam restored?
Executive Director, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
The problem really comes back to the provinces. It's not a national issue. If, for example, New Brunswick wanted to move forward with its own exam, that would solve things for francophones in that province.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
That would fix the problem in New Brunswick, but what about the other provinces? You can forget about Nova Scotia since it doesn't have a francophone institution. Let's talk about New Brunswick and Quebec, then. Students have to write their exam in English. That's shameful.
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Edmundston Campus, Université de Moncton
Quebec has its own exam.
Liberal
Director, School of Nursing, Laurentian University
Laurentian University is in Sudbury, Ontario.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Oh, my apologies.
Which provinces are we talking about, then?
In Quebec, the matter is settled. In New Brunswick, the problem remains. You have Ontario. Are there others?
Liberal
Director, School of Nursing, Université de Moncton
Problems have also arisen in Alberta, at the University of Alberta's Saint-Jean campus.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
I see.
Is there a desire among the francophone communities of those four provinces to call on their respective governments to restore the Canadian exam?
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Edmundston Campus, Université de Moncton
Liberal
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Edmundston Campus, Université de Moncton
We made our dissatisfaction with the exam clear right from the beginning.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Very well.
You haven't received a response yet?
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Edmundston Campus, Université de Moncton