Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for your question, Mr. Samson.
Ms. Saikaley, as you were giving your presentation, I was reading your brief with great interest. I was reading and listening at the same time, which was doubly painful, not because of you, but because of your findings.
Allow me to read a passage from your brief:
This report revealed that, in Francophone minority communities, early childhood development is hindered by a lack of resources, a shortage of staff at early childhood centres and a fragmentation of services. It also confirmed that the lack of funding earmarked specifically for early childhood in the Roadmap for Canada's Official Languages 2013-2018: Education, Immigration, Communities has made these communities vulnerable and often unable to meet their own needs. Over the past 12 months, the Office of the Commissioner has participated in consultations conducted by Canadian Heritage that will help to develop the next official languages action plan, which will be released shortly. We noted that the groups that were consulted focused on the promotion of linguistic duality….
Against this backdrop, one question is top of mind. Given the quagmire around federal and provincial jurisdiction, how can we achieve our early childhood development objective? What can we do, federally, to identify the needs and provide resources, in light of the infamous turf war between the federal and provincial governments? Do you have any solutions to suggest?