Good afternoon, everyone. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the thinking on measures to protect and promote French in Canada.
I would like to point out that I have been working on the issue of official languages for almost 20 years. As such, I have two sets of proposals to share with you related to two of my areas of expertise, namely post-secondary and immigration.
First, I will emphasize the importance of approaching post-secondary education from a distinct strategy that takes a restorative perspective. Please note that the thoughts and data related to this come from a study commissioned by the Department of Canadian Heritage. The final report has not been submitted yet. Therefore, the perspectives I'm sharing with you are those of the researchers and are not binding on the department.
The second point I will raise is the importance of systematically viewing immigration from a longitudinal perspective, meaning a perspective that considers the dynamics of language transfer. This point will be shorter, but you should know that, over the past few years, I've conducted several studies on immigration, particularly with regard to workforce integration, temporary residents and governance. Please feel free to ask me questions on those other subjects.
With respect to minority language post-secondary education, education has traditionally been analyzed and funded as a whole. However, I believe that it would be beneficial to employ a strategy for post-secondary education that is separate from that of elementary and secondary education. The strategy should include access to French-language education and limited incentives. Universities and colleges are indeed among the few institutions in a francophone community that play a very central role in both proximity socialization, that is, identity building, and in socialization in the public space. I'm referring here to the representations that francophones have of themselves, but also to those of the majority group in relation to French, to francophones and to francophone communities. I will pick up the conceptual baggage developed and discussed by Mr. Landry last week to emphasize the unique nature of post-secondary when it comes to institutional completeness.
That said, the various databases we consulted show limited access and incentives for French-language post-secondary education in Canada and outside of Quebec. We are close to completing a report of over 120 pages and nearly 80 tables. I will share just a few numbers with you.
In 2018-19, of the students enrolled, about 2% studied in French, if you combine universities and colleges. Let me put that percentage in perspective: In 2016, 3.8% of Canadians spoke French as their first official language. Yet universities and colleges are unique in being able to accept not only francophones, but also francophiles and foreign students. In actual fact, the two systems are not separate, as is the case at the primary and secondary levels. So there are issues in terms of access.
In terms of incentives, we can certainly point to some challenges. For example, student debt is higher for those studying in French. This is especially true at university, but it's also true at college. Programs are less diverse, especially in science, technology and mathematics. That's quite significant, especially if you exclude the University of Ottawa. Of course, an institution's reputation is generally supposed to matter in students' choices, but that factor comes into play much less when they choose to study in French.
In addition to consulting various surveys, we spoke to industry representatives. The issue of funding emerged as important. However, it remains a very complex issue.
I will make three points. One is that the funding environment for post-secondary education has changed significantly over the past 15 years in Canada. Tuition fees are now a greater part of institutional revenue. That makes it more difficult for smaller educational institutions to compete.
In addition, planning for and providing French-language education at francophone or bilingual institutions requires more investment. That's the case in several budget categories, such as educational resources, required travel, or language training.
All post-secondary institutions have a mission to provide services to the community. Yet, when one's community is dispersed, remote, low-profile, and French-speaking, the resulting dynamics are unique.
I will close with the issue of immigration. I will focus on the importance of integrating the longitudinal perspective more strongly by taking language transfers into consideration.
Our current concern is primarily the very low numbers of French-speaking immigrants that are landed and settled each year. And with good reason. Of course, it is important to continue along those lines.
However, language retention among immigrants has received little attention. In a study in which we developed demographic forecasts for francophones in Ontario, the data clearly showed that the number of new French-speaking arrivals does not in itself greatly influence the demographic curve, if the rates of language retention are the same for francophones born in Canada as for those born elsewhere.
We know that English has an assimilating power over francophones born in Canada. Do immigrants assimilate in the same way as francophones born in this country? Do they do so at the same speed? In the long term, which factors contribute to reducing language transfer among immigrants?
Those are questions that have not been looked at closely. It is my view that they would benefit from being among the measures to protect French in Canada.
Thank you.