There are a number of initiatives that have been launched to try to increase the number of French-language teachers across the country. There's been funding sent directly to post-secondary institutions—faculties of education. There's also a program where we established what we call an “immigration corridor” for teaching professionals. We ensure they have certain qualifications and can quickly become part of the system. There are issues around that.
I also think we have to be mindful that teaching, as a profession, is not what it used to be. It's not as valued as it used to be. We can't recruit teachers in majority-language schools, let alone minority-language schools. There seems to be an issue. As a former dean of education, I know we used to have no problem filling our classrooms. There is something out there happening in the schools. People are saying, “This no longer interests me as a career.”
We did a study in 2019, dealing only with FSL teachers and the lack of them. It was blatant. We had people in classrooms who were not qualified. In many provinces today, in majority-language schools, we have teachers who are not qualified. We have to find better pathways. In the 1960s, we had a program whereby.... I went to school in the sixties, so we're the boomers.