Thank you for the question, Mr. Godin.
Personally, I belong to a French first language school board. It is important for us to maintain this service for parents. This is particularly the case, given that we have a very interesting situation where I am. Immigration enables us to recruit growing numbers of students from places like francophone African countries and the West Indies. The challenge we face often emerges when they arrive, since in some cases they are initially referred to English-language school boards in places like Toronto and Ottawa, for example.
In Sudbury, this is less of a problem. The presence of French as a first language in our elementary, secondary and postsecondary institutions means that parents have some degree of choice in the matter. When the students arrive in Canada with their parents, they want to be able to choose French as a first language. What changes things, in my opinion, is being able to direct them to a French first language school board.
Some parents choose an anglophone school board that offers a French immersion program. It is common for immersion programs to break down over time and end up being eliminated because of insufficient funding. That is always their problem.