Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, Minister and Mr. Murphy.
Minister, I must say that you are very good at recognizing the work of people on the ground and congratulating them. We are pleased to hear from you.
I would like to highlight the work you are doing. You did extraordinary work in the consultations you held on poverty reduction. The national housing strategy is also extremely important. The topic we are focusing on here, early childhood, is a very special issue.
I would like to mention that, about 12 years ago, Nova Scotia started a program in French for four-year-old children, so that they could enrol in francophone schools. That was an extremely successful initiative. Statistics show that, over the past 10 years, the student population in the province's francophone schools has increased by 25%. That's tremendous. It clearly shows the need to have day care and programs in French for children under the age of five.
This agreement will change the world, if I may put it that way. It's extraordinary. I would like to draw the committee's attention to an extremely important point stemming from a crucial principle of the multilateral framework: we have to recognize the specific needs of francophone and anglophone minorities. This is the first time in its history that Canada has had a bilateral agreement with the provinces that stresses the importance of ensuring that francophone and anglophone minorities are taken into consideration. It's incredible. Thank you so much for your leadership, as it will help the provinces move forward on this crucial issue.
I would like you to tell us how you managed to get this approved by the cabinet and the provinces. Four provinces have already signed the agreement. Nova Scotia was supposed to sign on Monday, but no agreement could be reached. That said, they will figure it out.