Thank you for your question.
I have had the opportunity to speak to various members of the group that has a mandate to strengthen the University of Sudbury. Because the francophone community is in a minority situation, there is a need for community leaders to talk to each other and get organized to find a solution. I told them to talk to people like Dyane Adam and Carol Jolin from AFO, and all the different leaders who work in post-secondary education.
It's important to have a coherent position. That's what happened with the University of French Ontario. This university was created because there was unanimity on the issue, and it is that sort of consensus that will help the community come up with a project. We are putting $5 million aside for francophone programs because we want people to know that we will be there to help them, even if the discussions are still ongoing and even if they have to get organized. We will invest money to support the creation of this project.
You don't create a university overnight, especially when it's a new one. It takes some expertise in the field and it takes a lot of work. You also have to work with the province, because it has the power to introduce legislation and provides a lot of the funding for programming. That's why we wanted to give these folk some kind of financial comfort so they can move forward.