Why do you say “nearly”?
Evidence of meeting #92 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was students.
Evidence of meeting #92 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was students.
3:30 p.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Parents for French - Alberta
The province negotiates primarily with the Alberta Teachers' Association, or ATA, but sometimes it negotiates with the school board.
By and large, though, the salary is pretty much set across the province.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Okay.
I am asking these questions because I'm sure you're recruiting all your instructors from universities in Quebec, Acadia and Ontario. My brother taught in Yellowknife, and my daughter-in-law is in the Canadian north.
Is recruiting for instructors working? You said that even when you have the necessary financial resources, there is a shortage of human resources. Is external recruitment working?
3:30 p.m.
Professor, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta, As an Individual
It's not exactly the same context.
For instance, teachers who come from Quebec to teach here in Alberta must have a clear understanding of the environment. It's not easy. We would prefer to be able to train them here, so that they're more familiar with the context here.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
I understand, but you also said that you don't have enough instructors and that sometimes the language quality can be lacking.
3:30 p.m.
Professor, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta, As an Individual
The school boards do it. They go all over Canada to recruit teachers.
3:30 p.m.
Instructor, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, As an Individual
It also poses a problem.
Certain school boards from here go east to hire instructors. The instructors they hire are francophone by birth, so they speak excellent French. They might come here and teach math, in immersion for example, but they aren't trained to teach immersion. They don't understand the pedagogy related to the language. They are math specialists.
I see that as one of the biggest problems.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
3:30 p.m.
Assistant Principal, Grandin Catholic Elementary School, Edmonton Catholic Schools
I just wanted to add that while it's true that we are recruiting, retention is really hard. People often come here to have a bit of an adventure, but then they go back home.
Building capacity in our school boards is therefore becoming problematic. There is constant turnover, and we cannot keep up with training and maintaining a pool of teachers.
3:30 p.m.
Professor, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta, As an Individual
We need to train more teachers here in immersion education. I want to reiterate that. Teaching in immersion means teaching all subjects in French, which isn't easy. It requires specialized expertise.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
That's right. One has to be a generalist, and not specialize in a particular subject.
3:30 p.m.
Professor, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta, As an Individual
One also has to know how to integrate the language into the various disciplines and how to teach the language and the discipline at the same time.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Ms. Cavanagh, earlier you mentioned funding for 514 students.
3:30 p.m.
Professor, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta, As an Individual
That's for Campus Saint-Jean.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
That's only for Campus Saint-Jean.
Is there demand for the post-secondary education you offer at Campus Saint-Jean?
3:30 p.m.
Professor, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta, As an Individual
Are you asking me whether there is a demand for teachers?
3:30 p.m.
Professor, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta, As an Individual
Yes, enrolment is on the rise.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
However, classes cannot be filled because you're running out of room? Is that right?
3:30 p.m.
Professor, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta, As an Individual
That's right. First of all, we don't have the financial resources needed. There's also a huge problem of lack of space. Given that we need to offer practical training, we have to set limits, for instance 25 students per class, to send them to schools. We therefore have to increase the number of sections. We really don't have enough space.
3:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
I'm sorry to have to interrupt you.
Ms. Boucher, you have the floor.
3:35 p.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
Hello. My name is Sylvie Boucher and I'm a member of Parliament from the Quebec City area, specifically the member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix. In other words, I represent the most beautiful riding in Quebec. Under the previous government, I was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Status of Women, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for la Francophonie and Official Languages.
I find this trip both very relevant and very troubling. Let me explain. I'm a humble girl from Quebec City, and we've always been told that Quebeckers are the fighters and that there are no francophones outside the province. All the francophones are supposedly concentrated in Quebec. Over the past two days, witnesses have been saying that native-born Quebeckers are not helping them very much, that their contact with Quebec governments at any level has been rather limited and that Quebeckers don't care about supporting the francophonie.
That said, we have talked a lot about school boards and instructors. As everyone knows, education is a provincial responsibility. I have a few questions for you.
Why can you not find people willing to invest in the francophonie? Why is it so hard to find instructors?
Mr. Arseneault asked whether you recruit instructors from outside the province. You said yes, but specified that you prefer to train them here. I agree with that 100%, but why can you not find any? What is the problem?
3:35 p.m.
Instructor, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, As an Individual
I would like to answer your questions in English.
It's a vicious circle, I think. I have pre-service candidates who come to me all the time who want to be French teachers, but they say they don't think their French is good enough. We do what we can to provide extra opportunities to give them enrichment in the language. I provide all kinds of clubs and so on to help them speak French every day.
Then they go for interviews, and they are told by the school that their French isn't good enough for immersion, and they'll put you in FSL. For me, that's a crime, because FSL, core French, needs as high quality as immersion does. They are getting in there, and they are teaching, or they are not hired because their French isn't good enough. Word gets out that your French isn't good enough, so don't bother trying.
Unless we can improve the quality of French in the schools as they are coming up towards university, they won't be ready to go out and become teachers.
3:35 p.m.
Conservative
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
Ms. Fedoration, earlier you mentioned doubts about language skills. What did you mean by that? Are people embarrassed to speak French because they don't speak it perfectly or fluently?
That's how I speak English, but that doesn't mean I should be embarrassed—