I understand and I apologize. I just meant that the Senate tabled a report last May on Francophone and Francophile programs.
It was entitled “Horizon 2018: Toward Stronger Support of French-language Learning in British Columbia”. I think we have to recognize the tremendous amount of work that went into that report. It underscores the serious situation that we have found ourselves in, and the urgent need and call for action.
Yesterday was my birthday, and I received the greatest gift ever. Thanks to the government's announcement, I am much more hopeful today. Thank you.
However, I couldn't say much had really changed since the Senate report was released last May in British Columbia. In fact, in some locations, access to French language education has, frankly, been worse than it was last year: the most famous case being the Vancouver School Board's closure of five French immersion kindergarten classes, representing one of the greatest disappointments to us as a parent organization seeking and supporting bilingualism.
As president of the CPF B.C.-Yukon branch, I represent 7,000 members belonging to a national network of 25,000 members across Canada, seeking French education and cultural opportunities in French for our children. I personally am a mother of two children who completed the immersion program, and am someone who has worked as a French teacher and as a languages coordinator in Richmond. I benefited from the federal program Explore as a young teacher, and have studied both in Quebec and in France. My experience in French tells me that we are at a critical point in French language education in British Columbia.
Yes, we have much to be proud of, with 5,700 francophones enrolled in school, and 54,000 in French immersion, representing a growth in French immersion programs by about 65% over the last 20 years, and a growth of about 75% in enrolment in our francophone program. Nevertheless, success breeds demand, and for the last few years school boards such as those in Vancouver and Surrey have turned away hundreds of French immersion students' registrations annually. Anecdotally, I heard it was over 400 last year in Vancouver, and in Surrey, 250.
At CPF we hear from the many anxious parents concerned about their child not getting into the program, and for parents of children entering kindergarten immersion, there are very few options. They include waiting until grade 1, when the class size increases by two kids; or maybe waiting until grade 6, when some school districts offer late immersion, where you might get in if you win the lottery. To access the program, some parents might move to another city, commute to deliver their child to a school, or move in with relatives—I've heard—to attend a school that will allow them access. When I was working as a language coordinator in Richmond, I had one desperate parent who actually rented a garage so that she could use the address to obtain registration for her child in the program.
It's true that B.C. offers several options in French. The Conseil scolaire francophone offers an excellent francophone education, but obviously the number of schools is limited at this point, and the challenge of busing children long distances makes some francophone parents place their children in French immersion or even in English. Core French is widely available but ,frankly, requires added years of study to attain bilingualism. Intensive French is another quality option but is offered in only a handful of districts. Yes, French immersion is widely available, but enrolment is tightly controlled, with school boards placing artificial roadblocks such as enrolment caps, lotteries, and camp-outs, which prevent some children from getting into the program. Such impediments are, frankly, an insult to parents, but they do enable districts to keep a tight lid on enrolment in French. We can speculate on why districts might want to limit growth, but one fact is abundantly clear: we presently have a critical shortage of French teachers.
One other interesting point is that the French immersion program started in British Columbia in the late 1970s and now many of those graduates are becoming parents. They are the great Canadian success story, but to our dismay face enormous challenges in registering their own children in French immersion. As Canadians we celebrate the social and cognitive merits of bilingualism and the skills they bring, yet we provide no guarantee to a French language education. Yes, the charter provides these rights to francophones, but none that are guaranteed to francophile, and that's a fundamental gap that I believe needs to be addressed.
Canadian Parents for French appreciates the difficulties school boards face currently—finding teachers, classroom space, and appropriate resources—are not easy and we recommend a multi-pronged approach and offer a few recommendations including.... And thank you to our dear government for providing the announcement yesterday, but I ask that the government work with our ministry of education on specific targets, including expansion of teacher training programs in French here and across the province; expansion for specialist training for teachers and educational assistants to support inclusion and learning assistance in French; provision of mentoring programs for beginning teachers, and continued professional development in French, including immersion francophone intensive and core French; and expansion of professional development funds to allow teachers to further develop their language skills in pedagogy, as well as cultural understanding.
A market adjustment to teachers' salaries would be most beneficial. We're the second lowest in Canada and that is with the highest cost of living makes it most difficult to attract teachers from out of province here.