Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, everyone.
As the president of the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française, or FJCF, I am very happy to be with you today to present our position on federal funding for minority-language post-secondary institutions.
I want to say that the lands on which I stand are part of the traditional unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq people.
The FJCF is a national organization managed by and for French-speaking youth in Canada. Our members, youth organizations based in nine provinces and three territories, represent the interests of French-speaking youth from 14 to 25 years old. Our expertise therefore rests on young people's experience, and that is the lens we will use to present our observations to you today.
As you are no doubt aware, choosing a post-secondary institution can be complex. In my case, as a youth from northern New Brunswick, I had limited options if I wanted to attend post-secondary education in French. I could choose to stay home and, in so doing, have very limited access to programs on the satellite campus. I could move to an urban centre in my province. I could even go study in Quebec. My case is certainly not unique. All too often, our communities' youth must travel long distances or even move if they want to continue studying their chosen field in French, and this comes at a significant cost.
Despite all this, I'm speaking to you today from a position of privilege, and I recognize that. In fact, I am lucky. I had friends who had to move to another province to continue their post-secondary education in French. Because the costs associated with moving far from home are much too high for some people, they have to go through a virtual program, or they have nothing at all. Let's be honest: it's not easy to pursue post-secondary education in front of a screen, and many people end up dropping out. For others, linguistic insecurity, limited program offerings or basic unfamiliarity with francophone institutions means that they will simply choose an anglophone institution.
Beyond the choice of programs, youth also care about the services they can access on their campus. Indeed, mental health services, student academic success services and accommodation services are essential to ensure better success and reduce dropout rates. Unfortunately, those services are sometimes too limited or not well known in our institutions.
Recognizing the issues of access for youth who want to pursue their post-secondary education in French, the government of Canada created a scholarship program in 2018 for youth with French as a second language. This program delivered results. However, I can assure you that when it comes to post-secondary education in French, the obstacles encountered by youth with French as a second language are the very same among those for whom French is their mother tongue. It therefore makes absolutely no sense that this scholarship program is not available to the thousands of young people proudly attending one of the 760 French-language schools outside Quebec.
The francophone community spaces we need on campus could also help ensure this transition and build better bridges between the community, institutions and students. These spaces could reinforce the feeling of belonging among French-speaking youth and establish important connections between them. Student life is a major factor when comes the time to choose a post-secondary institution. The network of friends that young people create for themselves contributes to their academic success, as well as to their retention within our institutions and communities.
For many young people, mobility is a need. In fact, it's necessary for their academic success, because it allows them to have varied educational experiences. Mobility also allows youth to learn more about our francophone communities from coast to coast. Imagine what it would be like if our institutions had the resources to work together to ensure students' mobility.
Knowledge development, identity building and engagement are essential for development and, above all, for our francophone minority communities' sustainability. Without a doubt, our communities' post-secondary educational institutions play an essential role in community development. These institutions need strong and sustained support, be it for creating infrastructure, offering more modern and sought-after programs, working together, offering specialized services to their students, or even enhancing student life on campus. Building our post-secondary educational institutions' capacity is a strategic investment the federal government can make in our communities.
Thank you for your attention. I'm available to answer your questions.