Official Languages Committee on Oct. 22nd, 2024

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

That's excellent. Congratulations.

I believe there are one or two immersion schools in your region. Do you have partnerships with them regarding substitute teaching and resources?

[Nicole Nicolas]

No, we don't have any right now.

We work in two separate school divisions. However, the organization Éducatrices et éducateurs francophones du Manitoba, or EFM, as well as teachers from the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine and the anglophone school divisions that offer immersion programs work together and have access to grants for certain activities.

In fact, we've briefly spoken with one immersion school about activities that we could offer together but haven't pursued the matter for the moment.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Personally, I had another career. I previously taught at the elementary and secondary levels.

You briefly mentioned connections, but tell us a little about professional development. Is that done more online? Do you have to pay to go to Winnipeg or elsewhere? Is that something that could be done in Thompson with other immersion schools? Would you please tell us more about that?

[Nicole Nicolas]

I've actually never thought about the possibility of providing professional development with the other immersion school.

My colleague here, Mrs. Hickey, is a special education teacher and guidance counsellor in Thompson. Our experience is with student services. We offer teachers more training and mentoring. For professional training, we have to travel to Winnipeg to meet with our colleagues at the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine, and that entails extraordinary costs.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Even though I've previously taught at a public school, I know that private schools were sometimes given a chance to take that training.

I'd like you to tell us about recruitment. For example, health is a provincial jurisdiction. There are 20,000 doctors and 30,000 nurses in Canada who aren't allowed to practise as a result of all the credential issues. Are a lot of newcomers in Thompson qualified teachers who can't teach because their credentials aren't recognized?

[Nicole Nicolas]

Thank you, that's a good question, but I can't answer it because I don't have any data on the subject. However, I can give you an example. We had a janitor who worked evenings at the school. He told me one day that he had been a school principal in his home country but that he was now working as a janitor.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Thank you.

Mrs. Hickey, I want to commend you for your efforts, your passion and your vision of student learning.

We discussed the rising numbers of students in the schools. Is demand also increasing in the early childhood day care centres?

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

That's an excellent question, Mr. Dalton.

Pardon me for interrupting the conversation, Mrs. Hickey, but Mr. Dalton has the same clock as I do, and his time is up. You may have time to clarify your thoughts in response to the upcoming questions.

We will continue with the Liberal Party: Mr. Serré, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks as well to our two witnesses, Mrs. Hickey and Ms. Nicolas.

This is really interesting because your local perspective is very much like that of schools in the rural regions of northern Ontario. You aren't the only ones, and I thank you for your courage and perseverance in supporting French-language education in minority communities.

Before further discussing the transportation shortage, I'd like to ask you if you're aware of the federal government's action plan. I'd like to get an idea of the funding you've received from the various federal government programs.

[Nicole Nicolas]

I'm afraid I can't answer that question. Our school division would have that information.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

I see. I thought so, but I just wanted to know if you had that information. You aren't necessarily aware either of the funding allocated by the Province of Manitoba.

Ms. Nicolas, with regard to the faculties of education in Manitoba, it was mentioned earlier that there's a major shortage of teachers and spaces in education faculties in Ontario. Are you aware of the teacher training that's offered in Manitoba? How many spaces are there for francophone teachers in Winnipeg, for example? Do you know?

[Nicole Nicolas]

I'm not exactly aware of the number of spaces, but I know that number has increased in the education faculty at the Université de Saint‑Boniface, in Winnipeg.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mrs. Hickey, what training is offered to people wishing to work for you?

[Stephanie Hickey]

I believe you're referring to the preschool program.

Right now it amounts to college-level early childhood courses. We have the University College of the North, or UCN, in Thompson, but that program is offered in English. That's precisely where we recruited the anglophone director to support us with our day care centre. Apart from that, training is provided virtually, and since it's remote, I don't have that much information. I know there are various university and college-level institutions that I imagine could offer the French-language early childhood program.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Ms. Nicolas, do you have any statistics on the length of school transport routes? You mentioned that your numbers increased from 77 to 106 students. Was a study conducted to determine whether you could increase the number of students by adding another school or shortening the routes?

[Nicole Nicolas]

Not as far as I know. However, there's already talk of renovations, an addition to our school, in response to our increasing population.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

I would advise you to work through your school board to ensure that the province submits proposals to the federal government because announcements have been made in northern Ontario to assist schools such as yours in developing early childhood education.

We spoke with another French immersion witness. In Ontario, the appropriateness of funding immersion schools as opposed to Catholic or public schools is a somewhat delicate issue.

Ms. Nicolas, are there any students who are more or less in immersion but who could attend your school? Have you analyzed that aspect?

[Nicole Nicolas]

What's happening in our region, here in Thompson, is that students often wind up in anglophone schools after grade eight because they offer a broader selection of programs. I don't necessarily want to call that a tradition. That's why we want to work with our school division to ensure that our students, from early childhood to the intermediate cycle, stay with us right through their secondary education.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mrs. Hickey, preschool teaching in early childhood is so important in assisting schools such as the one where Ms. Nicolas works.

What can the federal or provincial governments do to help you recruit more students? Do you have a waiting list? What resources do you need in order to recruit more students?

[Stephanie Hickey]

We always have a waiting list. As I mentioned earlier, I haven't sat on the board of directors since November 2023. I let that go. However, the waiting list is endless. At one point, we were unable to accept anyone for nearly a year. The demand is there, but the service isn't always, and that's the problem. We're short of labour. We have to attract people.

Despite the fact that we're a small urban centre in northern Manitoba, we live in a very remote region. Sometimes people view us as coming from another region because we live far away from the major centres. Consequently, it's very hard to attract people to work in the early childhood field, even in our schools. So it's very—

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you very much, Mrs. Hickey.

Thank you, Mr. Serré.

The next questions will come from the Bloc Québécois: Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor.

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

Thank you for being here, ladies. Your testimony focuses more on local life, and that's interesting.

Mrs. Hickey, you say that many employees are leaving. What's the explanation for those departures? Are salaries too low? What's going on?

[Stephanie Hickey]

That's actually just an opinion that I expressed.

I arrived in Thompson in 2010, at the start of my career. My husband and I began our careers here. We had to change regions because my husband has a job that requires him to travel across the country. Thompson is a region where many people really are in transit: They come to the region to begin their careers with employers, companies, for a few years and then leave the region. That's the reality of our region.

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

With respect to the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement—2021 to 2026, we are told that there are provisions for day care.

Have you taken advantage of those provisions? Do you think that this has an impact on a number of day cares like Les Louveteaux?

[Stephanie Hickey]

I'm not sure I understood your question. Can you repeat it?