Evidence of meeting #95 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 young.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, colleagues.
I thank the witnesses for being with us this morning.
Ms. Anderson, how much federal money does your institution receive for French-language research?
President, Commission nationale des parents francophones
That's a good question.
I'll let Mr. Racine, executive director of the commission, answer it.
Executive Director, Commission nationale des parents francophones
You want to know how much money we receive at the Commission nationale des parents francophones.
Is that correct, Mr. Iacono?
Executive Director, Commission nationale des parents francophones
For research, we don't currently receive any funding. The funds we do receive are for programming. In this way, we support our member associations in the deployment of services and support for parents.
We have no funds in our budget for research as such.
Executive Director, Commission nationale des parents francophones
As far as research is concerned, we would need to know the evolution of the number of rights holders. The census data on rights holders was published in 2021, and we know how many rights holders we currently have.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
You don't know what that number will be in the years to come.
Executive Director, Commission nationale des parents francophones
That's exactly it.
We also need to know how this will evolve. We're welcoming more and more French-speaking immigrants, more and more rights holders. We were surprised by the data.
We really need to do research to find out what kind of infrastructure we need not only at the primary and secondary levels, but also at the post-secondary level to be able to meet the demand over the next few years.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Are you aware of the sources of funding that are available provincially?
Executive Director, Commission nationale des parents francophones
From province to province, funding varies enormously. As mentioned earlier, in British Columbia, the province gives some money to the Fédération des parents francophones. In Alberta, there's virtually nothing.
Liberal
Executive Director, Commission nationale des parents francophones
We do it all the time.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Thank you.
Mr. Thériault, from your side, do you know how much federal funding there is for French-language research?
Board President, Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française
Our organization does not receive funding to do research. We're a community-based organization.
As for institutions, I couldn't provide you with an answer, unfortunately.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
All right.
What is the profile of the students who attend your organization? Are most of them from the region? Do you attract French-speaking students from across the country?
What is the demographic profile of your students?
Board President, Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française
Our organization has members in nine provinces and the three territories. So they come from all over the country. We represent people from francophone and immersion schools. Others come from immigrant backgrounds.
We have a bit of a pulse on people from very diverse backgrounds within our organization.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Thank you.
Ms. Anderson, I'm going to ask you the same question.
What is the demographic profile of students in your organization?
President, Commission nationale des parents francophones
We work mostly with parents, and they represent a wide variety of backgrounds. They come from a variety of countries and professional backgrounds. There really is a great diversity within our organization.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Earlier, you talked about your needs. You said several times that your funding was insufficient.
What amount would be sufficient to meet your needs?
As we don't have any figures, it's a little difficult for us to fully grasp your situation.
President, Commission nationale des parents francophones
The question should be put to the post-secondary institutions. They're the ones who could tell us how much money they need to improve programs, offer more of them and encourage young people to continue their studies in French.
As for parents, I'd like to see more investment in this area. However, as I'm not a school board member, I don't know how much it would cost to staff every school with a full-time guidance counsellor. Even if it were only part-time, it would be a big change from what we have now.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
What else do you need?
If we want this issue to move forward, we need to better understand what the needs are and how much it will cost to meet them. These are two very important elements. We need to know more before we go to all levels of government.
Could you provide information to committee members in this regard?
I'll then put the same question to Mr. Thériault.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Thank you, Mr. Iacono.
That's an excellent question, but perhaps we can come back to it later.
For now, I'm going to give the floor to Mr. Beaulieu for two and a half minutes.