Evidence of meeting #124 for Official Languages in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was yukon.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Executive Director, Fédération des parents de la francophonie manitobaine
We don't have the figures, we just have the reports we hear.
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Right.
I would like you to tell us a bit about immigration. What impact does immigration have on the program? Is that impact increasing? What is the difference?
Executive Director, Fédération des parents de la francophonie manitobaine
What I can say is that newcomers who have children are at the bottom of the waiting list for accessing child care. If we decide to admit immigrant families, we have to make sure we are able to offer them services. What we are seeing is that when newcomer parents enter, they put their children on the waiting list, but they are at the bottom. However, they are the first to enrol their children in an anglophone service. Some of them will then enrol their children at an immersion school after that.
That results in a complete loss of French. I have seen—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Thank you, Ms. L'Heureux. I am sorry to interrupt you, but I have to turn the floor over to the next speaker .
Ms. Koutrakis, the floor is now yours for three minutes.
Liberal
Annie Koutrakis Liberal Vimy, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Clair, I am going to ask you the same question as the one my colleague Mr. Godin asked you earlier.
I think it is really important that we complete our study. Have you had an opportunity to tell the province what your needs are? What are those needs? Do they relate to funding or infrastructure? If you could give us some concrete examples, that would help us a lot.
Chair of the Board of Trustees, Provincial Francophone School Board of Newfoundland and Labrador
Thank you for the question.
I don't want to paint too pessimistic a picture of our relationship with the province, since it is relatively good. In fact, most of our funding comes from the province, and things are working well.
When it comes to the official languages in education program, however, that is a long story. The problem didn't start with the current government. It actually goes back further. I don't know why we are not consulted, but we would like to have a summit to determine what the needs of the francophone community and the schools are. We would bring that information to the provincial government and the province could then negotiate with the federal government.
Liberal
Annie Koutrakis Liberal Vimy, QC
Mr. Clair, I imagine you are familiar with the needs and with what parents want to see. Can you give us some concrete examples?
Chair of the Board of Trustees, Provincial Francophone School Board of Newfoundland and Labrador
That question would be better put to the education branch, where they could give you some examples. My own job is to find the resources we need. We know there are positions in education that remain to be filled. We would also like to have more schools and to recruit students, because we know—
Liberal
Annie Koutrakis Liberal Vimy, QC
Is it because of the lack of funding, the labour shortage, or both?
Chair of the Board of Trustees, Provincial Francophone School Board of Newfoundland and Labrador
Both factors are involved. Certainly we have a labour shortage at the moment. However, as I said earlier, Newfoundland has the lowest percentage of rights holders attending francophone schools. We would like to recruit, but we don't have the money.
Liberal
Annie Koutrakis Liberal Vimy, QC
You're telling me there is no growth in the francophone schools in Newfoundland. Is that correct?
Chair of the Board of Trustees, Provincial Francophone School Board of Newfoundland and Labrador
There is one, but it's slow. We know we could get a lot more.
Liberal
Chair of the Board of Trustees, Provincial Francophone School Board of Newfoundland and Labrador
Thank you for your questions.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Thank you, Ms. Koutrakis and Mr. Clair.
Mr. Beaulieu, the floor is yours for one minute.
Bloc
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
Ms. L'Heureux, you talked about francophone immigration and the fact that there are not enough preschool and kindergarten spaces. You said that people end up continuing their schooling in English and you lose them completely. Can you tell us a bit more about that?
Executive Director, Fédération des parents de la francophonie manitobaine
What we observe, and what I have personally observed, is that the parents' first choice is an immersion school.
My spouse is of African descent. I know families who have recently arrived in our area and I see children of francophone parents who speak only English because they spend all day in English child care centres. Obviously, when it comes time to choose a school, the parents are going to consider sending their child to an English school. If they send them to a French school, however, we have to consider all the francization supports and additional investments that have to be made. That is the situation we see every day.
Families come to us and ask whether we can help them find a place, but that is not something we can do. We know there are long wait times.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Thank you, Ms. L'Heureux.
Ms. Ashton, you have the floor and time to ask one question.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
How essential is it to do something to address the labour shortage and access to child care services, when we are facing a decline in French all across Canada?
Executive Director, Fédération des parents de la francophonie manitobaine
I think it is crucial that we tackle all these issues at the same time, given how recruitment and retention are done.
We are seeing a decline in French in the population, but we can certainly fix any decline by offering early childhood services, because that really is the gateway to the continuum. That really is where parents turn first and it is the foundation of the continuum.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Thank you, Ms. L'Heureux.
Before concluding, I would like to get a small clarification on behalf of the committee. Earlier, you started out by talking about your three themes, which are partnerships, accessibility, and structure and funding. I don't think I heard you talk about partnerships. In 30 seconds, who are these partners and how does it work?
Executive Director, Fédération des parents de la francophonie manitobaine
The partners are the school board, the Université de Saint‑Boniface, Canadian Parents for French, the Fédération des parents de la francophonie manitobaine, the advocacy organization and the Conseil jeunesse provincial du Manitoba. We can even include the school divisions that have immersion schools. We frequently meet to talk about problems relating to the continuum. We have been talking about the continuum for a long time in Manitoba.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Thank you, Ms. L'Heureux.
Mr. Clair, I would like to ask you one last question on behalf of the committee. You talked about a violation of the rights guaranteed in the Constitution arising from the failure to consult. You also cited the "by and for" principle. Are there opinions regarding that violation that you could tell us about?
Chair of the Board of Trustees, Provincial Francophone School Board of Newfoundland and Labrador
I would like the federal government, as the provinces' foremost partner, to do more to force the provinces to adhere to the bilateral agreements.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
We understood that. Was the concern you told us about, that constitutional rights have not been respected, based on opinions you have received?