Yes. Thank you, Mr. Gourde.
In my view, one of the gaps is that federal government partially funds construction of new schools, for example, but under the Constitution, that area is a provincial jurisdiction. Subsequently, the francophone minority inherits the responsibility of playing the middleman between the two levels of government to ensure that they both contribute to completing a project.
I suggest that when the federal government wants to step in where education is concerned, it should meet with provincial representatives. They can then work out a comprehensive 10- to 20‑year agreement for building schools so that the wrongs of the past can be corrected. A small minority must not be forced to inherit the job of liaison between the federal government and the provinces. We have neither the energy nor the skills to do it.
I would like to see the federal government take a leadership role here. That would involve a full assessment of how many schools would be needed within 20 years. If the federal government works with the provinces and they have a 20‑year agreement to build schools in all the provinces, we won't have to go to court every time to make our case. It's not our job to be the middleman between the federal and provincial governments.