Official Languages Committee on Dec. 5th, 2024

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

Right. Exactly.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

You talked about a type of structure, so I will end on that important point. Very briefly, explain what the ideal structure would be, if I understood correctly, to ensure the continuum works in your province, Manitoba.

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

It would be a centre that could both manage and support all kinds of services, be it recruitment, retention, finance, human resources over a broad—

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Are you talking about the school system or child care centres?

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

The structure would be for child care centres and learning centres. It would be the same as in the school division, which includes a human resources department, a finance department, a quality department. There would have to be the same structure for early childhood.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

So it would be a school board for early childhood.

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

That's it exactly.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

That is a pretty interesting idea, isn't it?

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

That's right.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Right. Thank you for the work you are doing. Keep it up, and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Mr. Chair, I think the questionnaire was sent to early childhood also, was it not? Or was it sent only to the school boards?

That might be an idea we should consider. We could maybe ask the child care and early childhood centres a few questions to inform our discussions. I also know that Mr. Godin would be very pleased to get a whole lot of good information to help child care centres, in Canada—

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Mr. Samson.

Mr. Beaulieu, I am starting the clock. The floor is yours for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. L'Heureux, your federation offers programs and services as well as resources for young children aged zero to five. What kinds of services do you offer? Are they offered directly, a bit like in pre-kindergartens? Can you tell us more about that?

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

At the Fédération des parents de la francophonie manitobaine, we have the Centre d'appui à la jeune enfance du Manitoba. We manage six child care licences throughout Manitoba, and all of the centres and family child care centres that belong to the federation receive professional development from us. We make presentations for managers and staff. We even have someone now who supports us regarding inclusion of children with additional needs. We also have someone who helps with francization.

The services we offer families include the Little Chefs and Little Picassos programs. We also organize activities for parents. At present, there is a wide range of services to support children's overall development in 17 of our communities. As well, most of these programs are offered within the school division, although there are a few child care centres outside the division.

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

About how many employees do you have?

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

Right now, with six child care centres, the federation has been 40 and 50 permanent employees.

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

That is a fairly big organization.

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

It is just getting started.

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

Right.

What is your assessment of the situation for junior kindergarten and preschool in French, in Manitoba? Given that your organization is just getting started, is that enough or is it definitely not enough?

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

It is definitely not enough. As I said, this is parents' number one need.

I have some figures. According to Statistics Canada data, there are about 6,930 children aged zero to four who are rights holders. In Manitoba, right now, there are 1,055 children enrolled in a program for ages zero to five. There is double that number on waiting lists. The last time we looked, there were about 1,800 Manitoban children waiting to get access to a francophone child care service. At present, there could be as many as 3,391. I heard reports from two parents this week who were trying to find a child care service in French in Manitoba. There is a glaring need and there has been for years.

On the other hand, we are very grateful to the federal government for its investment in early childhood education in Manitoba. All of the centres offer spaces at $10 a day, which is excellent, but this has also increased the need for child care services. There is a huge amount of work to be done, particularly when it comes to creating more child care spaces.

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

You say there are over 7,000 preschool aged rights holders, but only 1,000 of them are enrolled in a francophone preschool program. So only one seventh of rights holders have access to preschool services.

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

Yes. Some regions have more than 300 or 400 children on their waiting lists.

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

That's a lot.

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

Yes, and this is even the case in rural communities. For example, a child care centre was opened in Sainte-Anne, a village with a population of about 2,000. They have 150 children on their waiting list. There is a glaring need.

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

What happens to children who do not have access to child care centres in French? Do they tend to go to school in English after that?

[Brigitte L'Heureux]

That's right. They often go over to the anglophone side. We see that a lot.