Thank you very much.
Under the new amendments to the Official Languages Act, the federal government is responsible for taking action to ensure the presence of strong post-secondary institutions in francophone minority communities across the country.
The preamble to the Official Languages Act now states that the federal government is committed to enhancing the vitality and supporting the development of French linguistic minority communities. That commitment is restated in new subsection 41(1) of the act.
The preamble also acknowledges the importance of protecting and promoting the presence of strong institutions that serve those minorities. It is also important to note new subsection 41(3) of the act, under which the federal government commits to advancing opportunities for members of French linguistic minority communities to pursue quality learning in their own language throughout their lives, including from early childhood to post-secondary education. Subsection 41(6) even provides that education is one of the essential sectors for enhancing the vitality of French linguistic minority communities.
These commitments echo concerns expressed by various stakeholders, particularly during the États généraux sur le postsecondaire en contexte francophone minoritaire, which we organized in partnership with the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada. On the one hand, the precarious state of francophone post-secondary education is a concern for francophone minority communities, which need to be able to rely on strong and agile institutions. On the other hand, post-secondary institutions want to expand their program and service offerings for their local and international clientele. For that reason, there is an urgent need to clarify the federal government's commitments.
Our first recommendation is that the Treasury Board Secretariat expedite the production of future regulations for the implementation of part VII of the Official Languages Act in order to provide a clear indication of what the federal government's new obligations are and to clarify the role the government will play in the francophone minority post-secondary sector.
Those indications will help define the federal government's ability to act in the post-secondary sector, including its funding. Post-secondary institutions need permanent support in order to develop over the long term as strong institutions that are there for francophone communities.
The funding announced in the action plan for official languages 2023-28 in support of the post-secondary sector are welcome and will help offset the underfunding of minority language post-secondary institutions, as the federal government has stated in the action plan. However, that funding does not meet expectations. As the government itself states in the action plan, efforts are needed to further support the sector in the long term.
Given these circumstances, our second recommendation is that the federal government create permanent funding of $80 million a year to support post-secondary educational institutions in official language minority communities.
The Liberal Party of Canada promised that funding during the 2021 election campaign, but it has yet to materialize. The main political parties across Canada had also committed to supporting the post-secondary sector during that campaign. A permanent, fully funded program would send a clear signal as to the federal government's intention to perform its proper role in sustaining post-secondary institutions while respecting provincial jurisdictions. It has become clear that greater collaboration among actors in the post-secondary sector seems necessary. However, existing collaborative mechanisms among the federal government, the provinces and territories regarding education and the francophonie have no mandate to address post-secondary education issues or are simply not interested in doing so.
Consequently, our third recommendation is that the federal government support the creation of a collaborative structure that brings together representatives of Canadian Heritage, other federal departments, provincial and territorial governments responsible for post-secondary education, post-secondary institutions and other sector stakeholders.
This collaborative effort will help increase awareness among the authorities involved in francophone post-secondary-level issues and assist in better coordinating actions in support of post-secondary education by the various orders of government in a manner consistent with each party's areas of jurisdiction.
Clear indications that the Official Languages Act is being implemented, comprehensive funding and intergovernmental collaboration will help consolidate the institutions and make them more agile and attractive so that they are in a better position to recruit and retain a local and international clientele. A comprehensive range of additional measures should be considered on a co-operative and collaborative basis once all these pieces have been put in place. Thank you.
Thank you.