I'm going to talk specifically about Ontario.
For decades, the province has, in its University funding formula, recognized the additional costs tied to services and programs in the minority language. This takes the form of a special funding envelope for bilingualism and French-language education.
Although this special form of funding has not grown substantially for several years, the province nevertheless hands out a total of approximately $87 million per year to francophone minority post-secondary systems to enhance core funding for these institutions. The federal contribution to this core funding is currently approximately $14 million, which represents only 16% of the funds.
We are therefore a long way from a situation in which there is an equal contribution from the two levels of government. The fact is that an additional $29 million per year should be provided by the federal government to match current investment by the province, in recognition of this additional funding cost for francophone minority universities.
I'll conclude by saying that I have come to the same conclusion as Rector Prud'homme. The federal government really needs to develop an ongoing separate program to provide financial support to francophone minority post-secondary educational institutions. The program requires two components, the current one, which provide startup funds or one-time funding, and a new component that would provide genuine permanent core funding for the institutions.
Thank you for listening.