You have all received the chronological presentation that explains what has happened over the last five years in our region with school boards and FSL. Today, I will use the five minutes I have to talk about our unique situation in northwestern British Columbia with respect to the French immersion program, the consultation process between our school boards in the northwest—we have four—and what associations such as ours request from those school boards. I will also look at the conflicts between FSL and indigenous languages and, finally, at the end of my speech, I will present my recommendations to the committee.
First, I will talk about the number one challenge we are facing in the north. We are in a very rural region; there are small towns everywhere, including Terrace, which is the largest with 15,000 residents. In the northwest, we do not have access to the same basic products as in the big cities. In addition, it is difficult to recruit teachers who also speak French to teach in the French immersion program. There is also a problem with waiting lists in places where the program does not exist. It is quite possible that our Francophones and Francophiles do not get an opportunity to study French at school, which is unfair.
There is also another problem: attrition in high schools. Since they are smaller than those in big cities, there are fewer options in high schools for students. So, there are always conflicts between course choices, and that causes attrition.
The challenges for school boards are primarily the budget and money. Right now, every school board receives funding for education in French, the amounts of which are in our submission. However, only 15% of those amounts can be used for administrative costs, such as salaries.
The same goes for scheduling. Students enrolled in our high schools experience many problems with the scheduling and planning of French immersion courses because of conflicts with other courses. So our number one concern with school boards is apathy.
As we mentioned in our brief, we have been disagreeing with our school boards, except Prince Rupert, for a number of years. Clearly, if school boards had a choice, they would rather not give courses in French. In addition, school boards do no advertising to promote the program. There is therefore a lack of support for students and teachers. I often hear parents and teachers in our area say that they feel helpless. They feel that the school boards do not want to do anything, and would rather let attrition continue to grow to the point where the number of registrations is so low that they will be able to cancel the program.
Finally, our situation in the northwest is unique with respect to FSL and indigenous languages. Indigenous languages are taught in schools in almost every city in our region. In Hazelton, for example, the combination of three languages works: every child has the opportunity to learn English, French and Gitanmaax, an indigenous language, and we think that's wonderful.
However, in Haida Gwaii, for example, the local school board, under a lot of pressure from the Haida chiefs, suddenly cancelled the immersion program because people were saying that Haida Gwaii's two official languages were English and Haida.
We want what works in Hazelton everywhere in our area, in the northwest and across Canada.
I know other associations will probably ask for the same thing, but here are our four recommendations to the committee.
First, the funding earmarked for teaching French as a second language and the percentage for administrative costs, which is 15% today, must be increased.
Second, school boards in rural communities should be given additional support to find teachers who speak French to teach French as a second language.
Third, teaching the second official language, French and, where applicable, the indigenous language of the region, should become mandatory and be protected by a constitutional guarantee, with a view to reconciliation.
Finally, fourth, the federal and provincial governments should develop an action plan to address attrition in high schools in remote cities. They should also find ways to support school boards, students, teachers and even parents so that the program can continue and be successful.