Good morning. My name is Mélanie Cwikla, and I am the director of the Université de Saint-Boniface's École technique et professionnelle, which is responsible for the university's technical and professional programs.
Members of the committee, welcome to our province, Manitoba.
During your brief visit, you will have an opportunity to see just how strong and proud Manitoba's francophone community is, in the heart of the Americas. That said, our community's vitality is far from certain, making better access to early childhood services in French essential.
As my colleague Ms. Arbez mentioned, the early childhood education program we offer at Université de Saint-Boniface has more than its share of challenges. We face numerous obstacles. There is no denying that, in order to provide access to quality early childhood services, day care spaces are, of course, needed, but so are trained educators. It comes down to creating a strong foundation for the continuum of education in French, from birth to professional life.
Our French-language programs have a dual mandate: train experts in early childhood development as well as experts in language transmission. Even though no anglophone institution has such a mandate, our training programs are often assessed based on the same performance criteria, in other words, the number of students we serve and the cost per student. Little to no recognition is given to our dual mandate or the fact that our recruitment pool is significantly smaller than that of our anglophone counterparts.
In order to support access to early childhood services in minority language communities, the federal government should ensure that a portion of the funds transferred to the provinces goes to post-secondary training in French. This would help francophone institutions provide comparable training to that of their anglophone counterparts.
As my colleague indicated earlier, our training program for educators, which includes job placements, continues to suffer from a lack of sustainable funding. Every year, we are forced to apply for funding yet again. How can we ensure the program's survival under those conditions? What's more, our advanced leadership program was suspended because of insufficient funding. What does that mean? It means that no French-language training is available to educators who want to become day care centre directors. In addition, anglophone colleges are able to offer advanced training programs that focus on children with special needs. At the Université de Saint-Boniface and École technique et professionnelle, we are barely able to keep our core programs going. Francophone children have the same needs as their anglophone counterparts, and our day care centres are desperate for qualified staff. I do not say that lightly; 11 of 21 licensed francophone day care centres had to ask the province for an exemption because they did not have enough trained staff. There is indeed a desperate need.
The shortage of trained staff is likely due to numerous factors, but I will focus on two of them—pay and working conditions. Red River College conducted a survey of its 2015-16 graduates. It revealed that they earned an average of $34,732 a year. After $8,000 in tuition fees and two years of study, graduates earn the same thing as someone who completed a five-month certificate program to become a personal care attendant for just $2,400.
When you consider the working conditions, I think you would agree that being an early childhood educator is something of a calling. The working conditions in minority communities are certainly difficult. Like their anglophone counterparts, francophone educators have to ensure children are well prepared to start school, but French-language school. They, too, have a dual mandate to fulfill: early childhood development and language transmission. Some of them eventually throw in the towel and leave the field. The federal government can help by adopting a holistic approach that recognizes the importance of the profession.
Yes, day care spaces are needed, but it's important not to disregard educator training, both in terms of basic skills and ongoing education. Children are our greatest asset, and the vitality of our communities depends on them. We need to have the means to match our ambitions.
Others have analyzed the issue, but I think it's now time to take action and make an investment in early childhood development, one that is needs-based. It's important to research early childhood development in minority communities. Special funding should be made available to support research by francophone institutions in minority communities. This would pave the way for universities and colleges to work with francophone communities to conduct research, documenting the positive impact of early childhood investments on the vitality of francophone minority communities.
The more evidence we have, the better-equipped we will be to make the right decisions. That is just as true for us, the institutions and communities, as it is for you, the governments.
We believe we have a role to play in the access to quality child care services, and we hope that the federal government recognizes this role by supporting post-secondary early childhood education training in French. This involves helping us to contribute to the continuum of education in French, from birth to career.
In closing, if the committee would like to broaden its consideration, I invite it to look at the application of section 23 of the Charter with regard to education continuum from early childhood to the post-secondary level.
Thank you.