Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. I just wanted to comment briefly on the subject of immersion that my colleague Mr. Beaulieu raised. I wanted to note that we have a labour shortage, a shortage of French immersion teachers, in our regions here in western Canada. We're also seeing teachers leave the immersion system to teach in the French-language school system. Consequently, solutions to the labour shortage should apply to the two systems, both of which need educators.
I'd also say that there's a free flow between the two school systems. For example, many children stay in the French-language school system until high school, then enter immersion. Conversely, other students start in immersion and then continue in the other system. I would just note that there are a lot of similarities between the two systems, including a genuine shared labour shortage.
Mr. Lévesque and Mr. Demers, I'd like to read you a very interesting comment from your website: “How to help: As elected school board trustees in Ontario, taxpayers, or parents in our school system, you can impact the future of French-language Catholic education by raising awareness among your local elected officials at the provincial, municipal, and federal levels.” You raise several points there. I think it's great that you give such direct advice. You also clearly state that you need support and commitment from the political class to meet the challenges you're facing. You can't just accept that things are the way they are and let the trustees of the two school systems sort out their problems. It's up to all of us to act, and I'm very pleased that you also mentioned the federal government.
I have very little time left, but I just want to give you another chance to tell us clearly how important it is for the federal government to play a role in addressing the labour shortage and these training needs. It isn't solely up to the provincial governments or universities to play that role; it's really a federal government responsibility as well, since we know that French is in trouble and steps need to be taken to slow its decline.