Evidence of meeting #38 for Official Languages in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was federal.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Denis Prud'homme  Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Université de Moncton
Pierre-Yves Mocquais  Dean and Executive Chief Officer, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta
Clerk of the Committee  Ms. Nancy Vohl
Anne Vinet-Roy  President, Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens
Dyane Adam  Chair, Board of Governors, Université de l'Ontario français

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I will be sharing my time with Mr. Dalton for the last two minutes.

4:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg

All right.

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB

I'm a member from New Brunswick, and I think it's very important that the francophones of our province be able to protect their French language and culture.

Mr. Prud'homme, can you tell us about the importance of postsecondary institutions if we want to strengthen that protection?

What would be the consequences for the francophone and Acadian communities of New Brunswick if students didn't have the opportunity to study in French in our province?

4:15 p.m.

Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Université de Moncton

Denis Prud'homme

We'd see students leaving for Quebec, in particular, and a decline in the number of graduates returning to New Brunswick to contribute to the province's economy and professional labour needs.

The Université de Moncton can play a major francizing role. I think we can contribute to official language objectives and enhance bilingualism, particularly among anglophones.

We've also proposed projects designed to increase our capacity to take in students who are in immersion at the secondary level and who could continue in French at the postsecondary level.

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB

So there would be economic and cultural consequences for the province.

The committee has previously heard that universities such as the Université de Moncton are facing many financial challenges.

Do you think your situation is representative of those of anglophone postsecondary educational institutions in New Brunswick?

4:15 p.m.

Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Université de Moncton

Denis Prud'homme

Generally speaking, I would say no. Many of my colleagues who are presidents of English-language universities have trust funds at their disposal that enable them to offset their annual deficits and feel less pressure to make cuts in order to balance their budgets.

The Université de Moncton was founded in 1963 and is thus relatively new. The financial capacity of Acadians is perhaps more limited than that of their anglophone fellow citizens.

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB

Are you talking about tuition fees or alumni donations?

4:15 p.m.

Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Université de Moncton

Denis Prud'homme

I'm talking about the ability of graduates to contribute to trust funds that are reserved for operating funding. The Université de Moncton has approximately $100 million in trust funds, but 99% of those funds are allocated to scholarships for students.

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB

Thank you very much.

In the course of another committee study, we heard that the Université de Moncton was having problems maintaining its facilities.

Can you tell us more about that? How do the Université de Moncton's facilities compare to those of the anglophone universities in New Brunswick?

4:15 p.m.

Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Université de Moncton

Denis Prud'homme

We can't compare ourselves to the anglophone universities. When we're forced to make cuts in the range of 3% and sometimes 4%, one of the priorities that's definitely neglected is preventive maintenance of and improvements to the quality of our facilities and infrastructure. We are limited to emergencies, such as repairs to a leaking roof, for example. We therefore can't invest in improvements to the quality of training for our students.

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB

Thank you very much, Mr. Prud'homme.

That was my final question, Mr. Chair. I yield the floor to Mr. Dalton.

4:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg

That leaves exactly one minute for you, Mr. Dalton.

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Mocquais, I'm going to ask you some questions, and you may answer them in writing later on if we run short of time.

Campus Saint-Jean is very important to my family and me. As Ms. Risbud said, my sisters attended the institution, and my father's family was there during the 1940s. That educational institution is important for the vitality of francophones and francophiles in western Canada, in British Columbia, where I'm a member.

The number of students there rose from 500 to 900 in five years. That represents an impressive 80% increase. Perhaps you can tell the committee how you managed to do that.

I know that cuts have also been made at the University of Alberta. Was it the university's decision to make those cuts?

Ms. Risbud also said there've been no increases in federal funding since 2009. Is that true?

4:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg

Thank you, Mr. Dalton. A minute passes by very quickly. I even let you go beyond the minute just to hear your questions.

Pardon me, but I must turn the floor over to Mr. Lefebvre for the next five minutes.

4:20 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON

Mr. Chair, I'm going to yield my time to my colleague René Arseneault since he yielded his to me when my friends from Laurentian University and my community were here.

4:20 p.m.

Liberal

René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB

Thank you, Mr. Lefebvre.

Mr. Prud'homme, I believe the infrastructure of campuses of the Université de Moncton, in New Brunswick, can accommodate up to 8,000 students. Is that correct?

4:20 p.m.

Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Université de Moncton

Denis Prud'homme

Yes. We currently have nearly 5,000 students, but we have the capacity for nearly 8,000.

June 8th, 2021 / 4:20 p.m.

Liberal

René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB

That's interesting. So an easy solution that wouldn't incur further costs would involve foreign students. Earlier you said you receive 3,000 to 4,000 applications from foreign students every year. I want to draw parallel to that subject before I turn to Mr. Mocquais.

Earlier you said that 85% to 87% of people who had studied at the Université de Moncton subsequently remained in New Brunswick. Consequently, through our university, we help retain our educated young people.

Do you have any statistics on foreign students who choose New Brunswick?

4:20 p.m.

Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Université de Moncton

Denis Prud'homme

Some 30% to 33% of foreign students later remain in New Brunswick. Unfortunately, 50% of those students leave New Brunswick after three to five years. One of the difficulties we've observed is their limited knowledge of English as a second language. That's why we'll be introducing strategies to assist them in improving their knowledge of English as a second language from the moment they arrive and during their initial years of study. This will help them improve their hiring opportunities and promote their integration into New Brunswick.

4:20 p.m.

Liberal

René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB

In any event, the Université de Moncton could become an incredible asset for our province by attracting newcomers. We want a lot of them and—

4:20 p.m.

Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Université de Moncton

Denis Prud'homme

With respect to infrastructure, what we need in the short term is an upgrade to our technological instruments so we can simultaneously offer in‑person and distance learning. By harmonizing that capability across our three campuses, we could also share courses and cooperate more with other francophone minority universities.

4:20 p.m.

Liberal

René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB

Thank you very much.

Mr. Mocquais, the president of the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta, Ms. Risbud, came to see us a while ago to discuss quotas, by which I mean provincial funding based on quotas set by Alberta.

From what I could understand, Alberta allows specific quotas for admitting students to the university and grants funding based solely on those quotas, without considering College Saint-Jean's infrastructure or its actual ability to accommodate students.

Was my understanding correct?

4:20 p.m.

Dean and Executive Chief Officer, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta

Pierre-Yves Mocquais

Yes and no. The province gives the university a quota, and the university sets quotas for the faculties.

As for infrastructure, Campus Saint-Jean's infrastructure hasn't been renovated in 20 years, apart from the science laboratories, which recently were completely renovated in response to efforts that I had made.

We have the same problem as Mr. Prud'homme. At this point, it's essential that we develop Campus Saint-Jean's digital infrastructure and emphasize what we call smart rooms, rooms equipped with digital technologies offering access simultaneously to students on site and those outside the Edmonton campus.

That's where our capacity is extremely limited. It's what the $8 million we discussed earlier was for.

4:25 p.m.

Liberal

René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB

I thought the Alberta government funded only 70% of the quotas.

4:25 p.m.

Dean and Executive Chief Officer, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta

Pierre-Yves Mocquais

Yes and no. We receive funding for a quota 575 full-time students, but we actually admit 750.