Official Languages Committee on Feb. 28th, 2018

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

We will now begin.

I would like to say first how pleased we are to be here with you in Vancouver this morning, the day after the budget. We will certainly have the opportunity to discuss it as well.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3), we are studying access to early childhood services in the minority language.

We are pleased to welcome this morning Ms. Marie-France Lapierre and Mr. Marc-André Ouellette, from the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique; Mr. Yvon Laberge and Ms. Isabelle Thibault, from Educacentre College; Ms. Marie-Pierre Lavoie and Ms. Marie-Andrée Asselin, from the Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique; Ms. Maryse Beaujeau Weppenaar, Executive Director of Réseau-Femmes Colombie-Britannique; and Ms. Jocelyne Ky, from the Tartine et Chocolat Daycare and Preschool.

Welcome everyone.

I will have to be quite strict with speaking time. Each organization will have five minutes for their presentation. We will have to stick to that to make sure everyone has their turn. We do not come to Vancouver very often and we have an extremely full schedule today. Please do not go over the five minutes you are allowed. That way, we will have time for discussion afterwards, during the question and comments period that will include the members of the committee.

Let us begin right away with the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique.

Please go ahead, Ms. Lapierre.

[Marie-France Lapierre, Chair, Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique]

Thank you.

So I have five minutes. I apologize to the interpreters in advance.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

As the clerk mentioned, please speak at a reasonable pace to spare the interpreters. Just because you only have five minutes, that does not mean you have to race through your presentation.

[Marie-France Lapierre]

Okay, I will try to be careful.

Hello, Mr. Chair, dear MPs, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for this opportunity to appear before you today on behalf of the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, the CSF.

You committee knows full well how important it is to recruit children right from infancy in order to enhance the vitality of our minority community. Your committee has also discussed and studied the importance of early childhood to our community on numerous occasions. Through the work you did in 2012 and 2016, and also through the work of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages in 2005 and 2017, you have been able to identify the structural problems that require permanent solutions. We appreciate the work you have done.

These problems will not be resolved by another action plan or protocol alone. Funding is absolutely necessary, but it is not enough to protect our community's rights. That is why we humbly propose a permanent solution to the major problems you have identified, in the form of amendments to the Official Languages Act.

In our presentation, Marc-André and I will talk about the CSF's experience with our early childhood education program, for four-year-olds. This experience confirms what the literature in the social sciences tells us. Early childhood education directly affects children's development, and in particular the development of children from minority communities. That is also discussed in our brief. Finally, we will talk about the multilateral early learning and child care framework and the solutions we propose to tackle the challenges related to education and early childhood.

To begin, I will describe our pilot project for four-year-olds, which is federally funded.

Launched in 2013, the project is designed to better prepare students for kindergarten, both linguistically and culturally. As part of this project, we developed a new program to offer new classes for four-year-olds.

To help you understand the impact and scope of this project, let me first provide some background information.

Since it was founded, the CSF has experienced strong and steady growth, with the number of students rising from 1,750 initially to over 6,000 students today, while the majority of the province's other school boards have seen a drop in enrolment.

The profile of British Columbia's francophone community is much more complex, however, than its school enrolment might suggest. The rate of linguistic and cultural exogamy is very high, and the province has one of the highest rates of assimilation in the country.

In response these challenges and with hard work, the CSF began offering classes for four-year-olds in the cities of Kelowna, Mission, Chilliwack, and Rossland. Table 2 on page 7 of our brief shows the number of children enrolled in these programs in the two years they have been offered. All but one of the students in the pilot project enrolled in kindergarten the next year. That is a quite a triumph for the CSF. The results of the program for four-year-olds are in table 3 on page 9 of the brief. Their results are better than those of children who did not begin school until kindergarten, at roughly 5 years of age. The results are impressive, but far from surprising in light of the scientific and academic research on the subject.

You can appreciate why the CSF would like to extend the pilot project to more schools. To do that, additional funding will of course be needed. The province does not fund initiatives for children under the age of 5.

The success of the pilot project is not an accident. The social sciences research clearly demonstrates that early childhood education is fundamental for a child's development, even more so for children from minority communities.

[Marc-André Ouellette, Vice-Chair, Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique]

I would like to go back to the multilateral early learning and child care framework.

Regardless of its terms, the framework does not offer either support or permanent protection for French-language education in early childhood.

You probably know that the CSF, the Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique, and a number of co-applicant parents urged the Supreme Court of British Columbia to conclude that section 23 of the charter confers a right to early childhood services, which of course it refused to do. The court did, however, draw three promising conclusions with regard to early childhood, which we summarize in our brief.

The modest gains achieved before the courts in the area of early childhood underline the importance of the multilateral early learning and child care framework for the future of French. The framework provides close to $400 million annually for three years. However, our communities' needs are not a priority in this framework. There are only two references to obligations relating to language, and these are far from being prescriptive. On page 13 of our brief, you will find these two excerpts from the framework. Here are the two references in question: “[...] recognize the unique needs of French and English linguistic minority communities [...]”; and secondly, under the heading of inclusive services: “[...] Number of children benefiting from programs and/or a number of programs designed to serve children from diverse populations, which could include but is not limited to children from French and English linguistic minority communities [...]”. That is it.

Forgive me for doubting that British Columbia will in fact consider our needs in implementing this framework. Consider for instance that British Columbia is the only province that still does not have a policy on French-language services. I can only relate my experience with the province, which I have been fighting for over 20 years for French-language education.

By way of illustration, I can also mention the Canada—British Columbia agreement that was signed on February 23, 2018. Under this agreement, British Columbia earmarks 1.5% of its budget for bursaries for French-language early childhood educators. That is rather laughable amount. It is...

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

I will have to interrupt you to stick to the time limit for each group. You may comment further, however, when you answer questions from the committee members.

We will now turn it over to Educacentre College, represented by Mr. Yvon Laberge and Ms. Isabelle Thibault.

[Yvon Laberge, President, Educacentre College]

Thank you.

Hello, Mr. Chair, honourable members, dear colleagues, and observers.

On behalf of the Educacentre College board of directors, thank you for the invitation. My name is Yvon Laberge and I am the President of Educacentre College. I am pleased to introduce Ms. Isabelle Thibault, our Director of Studies.

Our presentation is divided into three main parts. First, we will discuss the importance of early childhood services in the development of francophone communities in British Columbia. Then we will talk about Educacentre College, and more specifically about the early childhood services we offer. We will then present our chief findings, recommendations, and conclusions.

Your topic of discussion, access to early childhood services in French, is very important if not essential to the development of the francophone community in British Columbia. Educacentre College does not offer services directly to children. True to our mission, we offer accredited training and professional development workshops for early childhood education workers. Our objective is thus to continually improve the quality of French-language daycare services.

Early childhood services are an essential part in the continuum of lifelong learning. We recognize that the early years of life are essential to the positive development of children. Our focus is on developing children's basic skills and, in view of the specific needs emerging in the francophone minority community, developing language skills and identity-building from the time of birth are crucial.

In view of the considerable increase in enrolment in francophone programs from kindergarten to grade 12, as well as the shortage of daycare centres and certified workers, Educacentre College contributes to the provision of quality services by training early childhood workers.

[Isabelle Thibault, Director of Studies, Educacentre College]

A non-profit organization since 1992, Educacentre College was granted the status of a private college by the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education in December 2015, and at the same time received the education quality assurance seal. Since then, Educacentre College has been able to offer its own certificates and degrees, whereas in the past it had to issue them in partnership with recognized institutions. Further, we are the only French-language college in British Columbia.

I order to reach francophones and francophiles throughout the province, our courses, programs, and services are offered in a classroom setting at one of three campuses, in Vancouver, Prince George, and Victoria. In 2016, we added a satellite campus in Surrey. All college programs are also offered remotely through our virtual campus.

The college offers a certificate and a degree in early childhood studies. Its accredited programs are intended for people who want to qualify to meet the needs of children aged 0 to 5 and with special needs. In British Columbia, the profession is governed by the Early Childhood Education Registry, which establishes a skills profile for early childhood workers and ensures that each institution follows it.

As to the students in our programs, the majority are part-time students who take an average of three years to obtain a certificate and one more year for a degree. On average, our clients are between the ages of 35 and 40, and they are mostly mothers from twenty or so different countries.

There are many institutions that offer the same programs as we do, but in English. The majority of students in those programs are young and can afford to go to school full time so they can get into the labour market more quickly. As the only institution offering the training in French, we face different problems than the English-language institutions do.

Currently, we offer our early childhood programs in collaboration with an English-language college, Northern Lights College. The francophone students are enrolled in that college and obtain a certificate or degree that is jointly awarded by Educacentre College and Northern Lights College. The latter also has copyright over its programs.

Although Northern Lights College is an excellent partner, this situation presents some unique problems. First of all, Northern Lights College oversees tuition fees, which are nearly twice as high as ours. Further, it is difficult to suggest changes to the content, registration process, and admission criteria.

One of our college's greatest strengths is its ability to respond quickly to the specific needs of the francophone community and to work closely with its community partners. As you can see, however, this partnership limits our ability to respond. If we ran our own program, we would be able to implement strategies to better serve our unique clientele.

To address this situation, the college would need to develop its own program and to have it approved by the Early Childhood Education Registry. Designing a program costs about $200,000 and the college does not have access to funding or the budget for program development.

In addition to early childhood college programs, the college also offers the following non-accredited programs: basic family literacy training, which seeks to improve the skills of those working in francophone minority communities; training that provides an introduction to family daycare centres, which helps participants start up their own daycare; Red Cross first aid certification for children; webinars on topics related to early childhood; training at the annual meeting of the Association francophone des éducatrices et éducateurs de la petite enfance de la Colombie-Britannique.

With insufficient funding, however, we are limited in our ability to offer these various types of training. As a result, they are only offered when financially viable.

[Yvon Laberge]

Collège Éducacentre recognizes that the institutions and organizations that offer French-language services and training in British Columbia are generally underfunded. Colleges are still poor cousins in terms of funding from the province. In order to meet the growing demand for the training and services our colleges offers, a major increase in funding is needed. This additional funding could be invested in initiatives such as program development, awarding bursaries, or establishing partnerships.

In conclusion, Collège Éducacentre makes an essential contribution to access to early childhood services in French, to quality French as a second language programs, and to the development of the French fact in British Columbia. Greater political and financial support from the federal government and living up to its official languages obligations would help Collège Éducacentre meet its medium and long-term objectives.

We will be very pleased to answer your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much, Mr. Laberge and Ms. Thibault.

I will now give the floor to Ms. Marie-Pierre Lavoie and Ms. Marie-Andrée Asselin, from the Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique.

Please go ahead, Ms. Lavoie.

[Marie-Pierre Lavoie, President, Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique]

Mr. Chair and dear MPs, on behalf of the Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique, thank you for coming here to study access to early childhood services in French. It am very pleased to be here today and to talk to you about this subject, which is so dear to my heart.

The Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique has been active in education since it was established, in 1979. It represents the parents of the roughly 20,000 children who have the right to French-language primary and secondary education, here in British Columbia.

Our federation brings together 47 associations of parents, 32 associations of parents who are active in the Conseil francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, and 15 associations of parents who manage a preschool, whether a daycare or preschool centre, that offers a program in French.

The federation's mission is to gather, represent, support, and empower parents in their role as primary educators and to foster their commitment to and participation in creating a lively and exemplary francophone community. The federation pursues this mission by supporting parents and informing them about the choices available to them, and about recommended behaviours to foster optimum development of their children's French language skills and francophone identity. The federation also assists and informs groups of parents who volunteer at French-language schools or who start up or manage preschool centres.

Since its inception, the federation has demanded the specific legal guarantees that are necessary for the establishment of a high-quality and accessible French-language education system throughout British Columbia. Further, it has actively contributed to the establishment of this system. This long-term undertaking led to the creation of the CSF in 1996, which is responsible for managing the French-language education system, from kindergarten to grade 12, throughout the province. The student populations at our schools have grown steadily since then, year after year. We are especially proud that the CSF now has over 6,000 students.

This success can be attributed to the concerted efforts of parents, the community, and school administrators, but also to those of preschool centres, which for the most part are located within French-language schools. The vast majority of French-language daycare and preschool centres in British Columbia are run by non-profit organizations, most of them parents' associations, which rely on the fees paid by the parents who use them for their operations.

For over 20 years, the early childhood sector has been an essential component of French-language education. Access to French-language education in British Columbia does of course require a network of schools that provide instruction in French as a first language to eligible children and to those whose parents want to enrol them.

That being said, French-language education must be with a wide lens. It starts in early childhood with the infants who attend daycare centres, then the toddlers and preschoolers, and so on all the way to the post-secondary level. The entire continuum of minority-language education should in fact have constitutional guarantees.

Through their educational program that focuses on developing oral French skills, French-language daycare and preschool centres are excellent tools for the francization of our children and thereby help prepare them for French-language school. These programs have a huge impact on the children's sense of belonging to the community and help build their identity. Early childhood is a direct gateway to kindergarten. Preschool and daycare services are essential for our communities because they support parents in their role of passing on the French language and culture to their children.

It seems in fact that these findings are no longer challenged. Experts in child development, sociolinguists, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages, and your committee have all recognized, officially and publicly, in various reports and studies, that access to French-language early childhood services is crucial to the vitality and development of our francophone minority communities, in particular because this access helps pass on the language and culture to new generations.

Your committee recognized the importance of this access in 2012, in your report entitled “After the Roadmap: Toward Better Programs and Service Delivery”. The members of the committee who are here today recognized this again in 2016, in your report entitled “Toward a New Action Plan for Official Languages and Building New Momentum for Immigration in Francophone Minority Communities”.

The Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages underscored how important early childhood education was for our communities' development, and has been calling on the federal government to take action in the area since 2005. The problems in early childhood development have, nonetheless, remained the same. For example, demand for French-language preschool infrastructure continues to outstrip supply by a wide margin. If we go by Statistics Canada figures—which are flawed owing to the systematic undercoverage of rights holders under section 23 of the charter—the province has approximately 4,000 children aged four and under whose first language learned is French. However, just 450 preschool spaces exist, roughly equivalent to 113 spots per child cohort.

To give you some context, I should point out that, this year, more than 650 students are enrolled in CSFCB kindergarten programs. That means that some 500 students currently enrolled in kindergarten did not have access to French-language day care. This indicates that British Columbia would need at least 2,600 additional day care spaces—in other words, 650 multiplied by four—if we assume that children spend the first year of their lives at home with a parent. I said “at least” because, as you know, Statistics Canada data prevents us from knowing the true number of rights holders under section 23. How can we plan early childhood services without knowing how many children under the age of five there are?

Turning now to human resources, I would note that our communities are harder hit by the province-wide shortage of early childhood educators, given that our community vitality depends on access to French-language early childhood services.

Collège Éducacentre plays a key role in training this workforce but, on its own, lacks the capacity to train the number of French-speaking early childhood educators needed.

These problems all stem from the lack of financial support for early childhood development and are well-known to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. They are having dire consequences on the French transmission rate among children with one French-speaking parent.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Ms. Lavoie, I'm going to have to stop you there. You can make your remaining points during the question and answer period with members.

We have a limited amount of time, so we have to move on to Maryse Beaujeau Weppenaar.

[Maryse Beaujeau Weppenaar, Executive director, Réseau-Femmes Colombie-Britannique]

Good morning, Mr. Chair.

Ladies and gentlemen, members of the committee, thank you for inviting me today.

Réseau-Femmes Colombie-Britannique represents francophone women across the province, advocating on their behalf and contributing to their economic, social, and cultural development.

British Columbia's network of preschool centres lacks enough adequate and affordable spaces. British Columbia's day care costs are the second-highest in the country, after Ontario. In 2015, the average cost of day care in the Vancouver area was $1,225, and the cost could even be as high as $2,000. For a two-parent family with two children, day care accounts, on average, for 23% of household spending, second only to housing.

According to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, the high cost of day care, combined with the shortage of spaces, is preventing many young parents between the ages of 24 and 34 from returning to work, creating serious challenges for employers, who are struggling to find workers.

More than a third of families looking for a day care space have to wait at least six months. The wait is even longer in the case of infants and toddlers aged 18 months or younger. Too often, families are forced to put their children in unlicensed day cares, which means they have not been inspected or deemed to be in compliance with provincial safety standards. Only 18% of all children 12 years of age or younger attend a licensed day care facility. Some home-based day care providers end up having to leave the city of Vancouver and provide their services elsewhere owing to the high cost of housing.

The cost of day care almost inevitably prevents women from having economic independence. Faced with a shortage of day care spaces and the high cost of available spaces, most families have only one choice: the lower income earner has to stay home with the child until they turn five. The wage gap between men and women usually means that the mother is the one who leaves the workforce. This so-called choice has a negative impact on women's careers, professional development, and retirement. Although paternal leave is available, it is not a benefit employers adequately recognize. Employers are not favourable to an employee taking an extended absence. Being in a position of economic dependence can expose women to social or physical risk, even violence. This can affect the child's development, as well as their physical and mental health.

A 2011 study cited by Justice Canada pegged the cost of spousal violence at an estimated $6.9 billion, with women and third parties, in other words, children, bearing $4.6 billion of that cost.

Numerous mothers and expecting mothers in Réseau-Femmes Colombie-Britannique groups share stories of the challenges they experience because of the lack of choice of early child care services. Complicating the situation is the fact that much of British Columbia's francophone community is made up of migrants and immigrants. With no guidance or family support, these women become further isolated, and their mental and physical health suffers as a result. Hence, the ability to function in their mother tongue in a safe environment is all the more important for these women.

Nearly 1,500 people take part in activities organized by Réseau-Femmes Colombie-Britannique groups every year. Some members of the francophone mothers of Vancouver and British Columbia discussion group post similar stories. They find themselves faced with a choice of either not migrating or immigrating to British Columbia, or leaving the province as soon as the family has a second child.

The affordable day care shortage is an economic issue further complicated by the exponential cost of housing in regions of British Columbia where work is available. This undermines the successful integration of migrant and immigrant families. The problem is even more pressing in the case of single-parent families. Some families have even waited until the child turned five before immigrating to British Columbia. I encourage you to watch the documentary Femmes debout, by Marie Ka, about three single francophone mothers who immigrated to British Columbia.

Mother-to-child transmission of a mother tongue accounts for 80% of acquisition, but the child's non-home environment also plays a crucial role from a very young age. There is a critical threshold for language acquisition: young bilingual children must be exposed to the language 30% of the time in order to solidify that learning. That 30% is roughly equivalent to 28 hours a week.

According to a report on early childhood development, by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the United States, the capacity to learn a language is optimal from the 34th week of pregnancy until the age of 12 months, during the period when the brain synapses are forming. The best way to become bilingual is to learn both languages from birth. The optimal time to learn a second language is until the age of six or seven, although some researchers claim it is until the age of four. That does not mean it is impossible to become bilingual later in life, however.

It is essential to have a strong community that can support French-language learning, one that is conducive to both families and children's socialization.

For the past two years, the Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique and Réseau-Femmes Colombie-Britannique, in partnership with RésoSanté Colombie-Britannique, have been working on the CAFE program. CAFE is the go-to gateway for information, resources, and activities specifically designed for Vancouver's francophone families with children up to the age of six. The CAFE initiative is intended to support parents and their young children by embracing diversity, and delivering a range of programs and services in the areas of health, education, and early childhood development. It provides parents with resources to equip them for their role as their child's first educators, giving them information on available early childhood development services, including preschool centres, and promoting activities and opportunities for them to have fun with their children in French while meeting other parents.

CAFE's approach is to encourage francophone communities to work together to ensure families have access to the services essential to their young children's health, well-being, and development.

The CAFE initiative is part of the B.C. Early Years Centres network. For more information on the network and the province's early childhood development strategy, I encourage you to visit their websites.

The success of the CAFE initiative and the Franc départ program demonstrates how necessary these services are in providing families with emotional and social support, as well as language development support. Fostering an environment conducive to language development hinges on early childhood development infrastructure and the provision of family-oriented services. The CAFE initiative is available only in the greater Vancouver area. There is, however, an overwhelming need for the program across the Réseau-Femmes Colombie-Britannique communities.

In short, to meet early childhood development needs in the minority language, developing community infrastructure is paramount. Clearly, that starts with relieving the pressure on existing schools by building more infrastructure and encouraging the development of the francophone community through a significant boost in financial and human resources.

Even though French is only the ninth most spoken language in British Columbia, it remains an official language whose status confers rights. Therefore, the protective measures and actions worthy of that status must be taken.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you.

We now turn to Jocelyne Ky, from Tartine et Chocolat Daycare.

[Jocelyne Ky, Director, Tartine et Chocolat Daycare and Preschool]

Mr. Chair, members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

I would like to begin by thanking the committee for its interest in minority-community early childhood services. It is a subject I care deeply about.

As the mother of two young adults raised in British Columbia and an early childhood educator, I have, both personally and professionally, watched the development of French-language early childhood education over the past 20 years. I would like to tell you about my personal experience, which is similar to that of many exogamous families in Vancouver and other parts of the province.

In 1992, Vancouver had no French-language early childhood education to speak of. My children had to attend preschool in English. Without access to any supports, the decision to send my children to French-language school presented a real dilemma. Nevertheless, I decided to enrol them in French-language school, so it was not until they turned five that my children realized that French was a living language. They learned French but never really identified with francophone culture, and today, they do not consider themselves French-speaking Canadians but, rather, francophile English-speaking Canadians.

That is why I strongly believe that French-language preschool services are of paramount importance. Identity is formed at a very young age, and it is a common responsibility to support minority-community families in building their children's identity. My personal experience has shown me that, alone, we cannot successfully pass on our language and culture to our children.

Turning to my work life, I should point out that I am a qualified educator with 20 years of experience. I joined the Tartine et Chocolat Daycare when it opened in 2009. Our day care is an incorporated not-for-profit organization managed by an association of volunteer parents, with the support of the Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique.

Tartine et Chocolat provides French-language day care for children aged 3 to 5, preparing them for French elementary school. Our centre is open year-round, from eight o'clock in the morning to 5:30 in the afternoon.

The day care is located in an old portable in École Anne-Hébert's schoolyard. The French-language school board provides the space for free, but we pay the upkeep and maintenance costs. Our day care has 16 full-time spaces and has been operating at full capacity since it opened. Our waiting list is long, and the demand is growing steadily. The preschool centres located in the board's schools are limited by the space available in the school.

Most of the families we accommodate are exogamous families from culturally diverse backgrounds. Often isolated, the French-speaking parent faces the challenge of bringing French into the family and supporting its acquisition. Over the past 20 years, by dint of perseverance, programs for young children have been developed, including the Franc départ program, which provide such important community support. However, most parents work full time and are desperately searching for French-language early childhood education through day cares so that they can keep their jobs. When children have the opportunity to be in a French-language day care setting up to the age of five, they arrive in kindergarten with a good command of the language and a high degree of self-assurance in their francophone identity.

Unfortunately, despite studies on the subject and their definitive results, the challenges and ongoing lack of resources limit the work that can be done. French-language early childhood centres face systemic challenges and urgent needs that threaten their survival.

First, early childhood services in British Columbia, especially Vancouver, face a dire shortage of suitable, stable spaces to meet their clients' needs. In January 2017, we and two preschool services received a letter from the French school board indicating that we would be evicted if solutions could not be found in the near term to accommodate the schools' growing student populations. Despite a short-term solution, we have been operating since then under the certain knowledge that our day care will have to find other accommodations or close its doors.

The only service of its kind in east Vancouver, our day care lacks the logistical and financial support to deal with this situation. We have a severe shortage of qualified French-speaking employees to fill educator positions because of the complexity of the interprovincial credential recognition process, particularly between Quebec and British Columbia. What's more, salaries do not reflect the cost of living. Owing to the shortage of qualified staff, employees often have to work in demanding and sometimes unacceptable conditions. Staff have few or no benefits, no group health insurance plan, and no pension plan, and as a result, the occupation receives little recognition and the early childhood field is not very attractive.

It is frustrating not to be able to accommodate francophone families that have a child with special needs. For example, the building has not been modified to meet the child's mobility needs. We do not have enough qualified French-speaking support staff, and specialized organizations provide service in English only. I have seen a number of families, discouraged by the lack of available services, switch to the English-language education system as a result.

In conclusion, despite the challenges, the network of preschool centres continues to grow, with compelling progress and positive results achieved in recent years. We expect our federal government to deliver the support and resources needed to provide the assistance and development to which French-speaking Canadians are entitled, so that future generations can also have the same sense of pride.

I thank you for the opportunity afforded me today to share my experience as an educator and a mother, as part of your efforts to identify meaningful solutions in the French-language early childhood field.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much, Ms. Ky.

Thank you all for your wonderful presentations.

I apologize for having to rush some of you, given our limited time.

We will now move into the question and comments portion of the meeting. I will ask the committee members to please say their names, and state where they are from and which party they belong to. That way, everyone will know a little bit about who they are speaking with.

Let's start with Mrs. Boucher.

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

Good morning. My name is Sylvie Boucher, and I am a Conservative MP. I am from the greater Quebec City area, and I represent the riding of Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix.

Under the Harper government, I was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for la Francophonie and Official Languages and, for nearly four years, Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women. While I come from Quebec, I have always cared deeply about the French language. The first time I was given responsibilities in connection with official languages, I didn't really understand why. In Quebec, as you know, you don't hear much about francophones outside the province, and I'm not afraid to admit that. When I raised my daughters, I would tell them about all the francophones who lived outside Quebec and were probably struggling with the same challenges we faced, if not bigger ones.

That said, I'm very glad to be back on the Standing Committee on Official Languages. This is a wonderful committee. Having sat on many committees, I can tell you that the members of this committee work very well together since the French language is not defined by any political allegiance. If, however, this morning, the Liberals claim to be the sole defenders of official languages, I may have to say something.

There you have it. I've told you all about me, as instructed.

I listened to you carefully, and I'd like to clear up a few rumours. Is it true that British Columbia does not recognize francophones as a minority language community?

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Kindly specify who the question is for.

It appears that Mr. Ouellette would care to answer.

The floor is yours, Mr. Ouellette.

[Marc-André Ouellette]

That's an excellent question.

In the last throne speech, the new government underscored the importance of early childhood development, which is a good thing. However, neither the budget nor the throne speech made the slightest mention of the francophone community, and even less so of French-language early childhood development in minority communities.

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

You mean to tell me, then, that they prioritized early childhood development without distinguishing between francophones and anglophones. Do I understand that correctly?

[Marc-André Ouellette]

That's exactly right.

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

I see.

Now I have a question for Isabelle Thibault.

You said Collège Éducacentre did not have access to funding. Could you please explain why?

[Yvon Laberge]

As the person in charge of our organization's finances, I'll answer that, if I may.

The funding we receive for college training comes exclusively from bilateral education agreements. The province contributes nothing. We are trying to fix that.

Your first question is a very important one. The situation is so challenging because francophones are not recognized as a group deserving of additional funding for the provision of services.

We are a non-profit organization. We manage our own funds. To a certain degree, the funds we raise, in a variety of ways, merely help to make up the shortfall. In other words, they represent the funding the government should be providing.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Ms. Lapierre, you may add something, if you like, but I would just remind everyone that committee members have only six minutes each.

Please make it quick, Ms. Lapierre.

[Marie-France Lapierre]

You asked whether the province supported us, so I just wanted to make clear that this is the only province in the country without an agreement on French-language services.