Official Languages Committee on Oct. 10th, 2024

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Okay.

I thought I saw that your region had one of the largest influxes of francophones in Canada. Did I dream that?

[Jean de Dieu Tuyishime]

You probably confused it with the Yukon because in the Northwest Territories we're seeing a decline in the general population. However, we're still seeing an increase in the number of people who can speak French. In that regard, we are indeed seeing an increase.

Francophones now represent 10% of the population of the Northwest Territories. In fact, the census showed that there is a large proportion of rights holders, but that 20% of them attend our schools.

So we're really falling short of what we can offer them.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Okay.

In your testimony, you briefly talked about infrastructure. I would like to come back to what Mr. Samson said earlier about Bill C‑13, which was passed.

There is indeed a provision in the bill, or in the act, that allows school boards to apply for access to land. I would simply like to underline that the act does not say that the federal government will necessarily invest in those lands. I know my colleague Mr. Samson well, and he is very enthusiastic. It is true that the new legislation opens doors everywhere, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the federal government, in addition to giving access to the land, will fund it. I just wanted to highlight that.

Is my time up, Mr. Chair? I guess so.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

You have 20 seconds left, Mr. Généreux.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

You are very kind, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Tuyishime. I hope to return to your region one day. I have only been there once in my life, during a trip by the Standing Committee on Official Languages; we were very well received there.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Mr. Généreux.

I gave you an extra 15 seconds because you said that this committee’s chair was more praiseworthy than the chair of another committee.

The next questioner is Ms. Koutrakis, for six minutes.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Tuyishime, thank you for your testimony.

I would like to give you the opportunity to speak about the agreements and challenges in your region.

What are your main concerns about French-language education at the primary and secondary levels? You mentioned an increase in the French-speaking population, but what are your main concerns?

[Jean de Dieu Tuyishime]

Thank you for your question.

Our first concern is infrastructure. We really need infrastructure that meets our current needs. As I said in my remarks, one of our schools is currently overcrowded. As a result, the facilities are no longer suitable for students. There is another school with a smaller capacity, but whose high school students attend classes in trailers or mobile homes. It's very concerning to see high school students in that kind of infrastructure.

Our second concern pertains to land. We currently don't have enough land to enlarge the schools, which is a concern when the maximum capacity has been reached.

Our third concern is labour. You didn't ask me about early childhood education, which is really the starting point. Since there are no French-language day care centres, we are losing many children who should be attending our schools, be it elementary or secondary. We're already losing many children, because they're attending majority language schools, which doesn't help us.

Our fourth concern is related to funding. As I mentioned, current funding per student is less than it was in 2006, for example.

In summary, my concerns are infrastructure, space or land, labour, and most importantly, funding.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Does the funding come from the territorial government or the federal government?

[Jean de Dieu Tuyishime]

Some of the funding comes from the territorial government, and some from the federal government through the OLEP, the Official Languages in Education Program. When I talk about chronic underfunding, I'm talking about the OLEP money that is given to fund elementary and secondary education.

At home, the OLEP funds elementary and secondary education. That's where the underfunding is.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Were you consulted on the next protocol and the bilateral agreements?

[Jean de Dieu Tuyishime]

We weren't consulted.

I must also say that we would like the federal government to respect its obligations when it enters into this kind of intergovernmental agreement. We would really like to see appropriate language provisions that protect minority rights.

We'd also like to see the federal government commit to service delivery agreements with the provincial and territorial governments for greater accountability and transparency, so that we know where that money is going, because we don't know how those agreements are made.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Are there any opinions or recommendations that come directly from parents about preschool, pre-kindergarten or early childhood?

[Jean de Dieu Tuyishime]

There are many concerns among parents, of course. As I told you, we have only one French-language day care centre in the Northwest Territories. It accommodates 38 children.

Recently, the territorial government sent a proposal to all school boards to open day care centres. Only the francophone school board raised its hand, precisely to open a francophone day care.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Mr. Tuyishime. We're a little over our time. You can continue to make your points in the next round.

We will continue with the Bloc Québécois.

Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Thank you.

Mr. Tuyishime, I'll let you continue.

Earlier, I thought I heard you say that there was no French-language day care. Now, you say that there is a French-language day care with 38 children. Could you tell us a little bit more about that?

[Jean de Dieu Tuyishime]

Yes.

There is only one French-language day care centre in the Northwest Territories. It's located in Yellowknife and serves 38 children. However, there is still a waiting list, which means that many rights holders don't have access to those services. So we lose many of the rights holders’ children, who go to other day care centres and end up in the majority's schools.

As I was saying, we raised our hand and the territorial government now has a process for setting up a French-language day care. But there are many challenges, because, as I said, there is no space at the school. It has to be set up outside the school, which is very difficult.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Is there a great need, outside of Yellowknife, for francophone day care centres or kindergartens?

[Jean de Dieu Tuyishime]

Yes, absolutely.

In fact, as I said, in a community called Hay River, the absence of day care centres explains why the French-language school in that small community is losing more and more students.

In another community, Fort Smith, the parents raised their hands. They want to see a day care centre set up, and the statistics show that there are enough rights holders to provide that type of early childhood service.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

You also said that the Official Languages in Education Program announced an increase in funding, but that you had noted a decrease in the amount allocated per student.

Can you explain why?

We have a chart here that seems to show an increase. Does this decrease really come from the federal government, or is it the share that the Government of the Northwest Territories gives you?

[Jean de Dieu Tuyishime]

I think a previous witness, Mr. Levesque, talked about that.

Yes, we had that increase, but because of inflation and all kinds of crises, we already had a deficit. According to the study conducted, for every dollar we got, we received the equivalent of 56 cents. Now, a 12% indexation has increased the funding, so we get the equivalent of 67 cents on the dollar. So there's still a gap in that area.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

So there was an increase in funding, but it wasn't enough to offset cost increases, and so on.

[Jean de Dieu Tuyishime]

Absolutely.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Okay.

Here at the committee, we talk a lot about francophone immigration.

Does francophone immigration in the Northwest Territories increase the proportion of francophone students in schools?

[Jean de Dieu Tuyishime]

Yes, we have very significant francophone immigration, which is increasing this student population. That explains why we have already exceeded the capacity of one of our schools, which is in the capital, in Yellowknife. Most of that is due to immigration. Francophone immigration contributes to the vitality of the francophone community. The Mobilité francophone program brings many francophone workers to the Northwest Territories.