Official Languages Committee on Nov. 18th, 2025

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

Good day.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank the witnesses. My question is for Ms. Alepin.

You mentioned that anglophones are a minority in Quebec, but you think that doesn’t really count, since anglophones are far greater in number and the majority in Canada. You say that anglophones influence the school system and the education continuum.

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

What is your question?

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

He’s asking you if that is indeed what you think.

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

Yes.

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

All right.

You also say that federal funds go entirely to anglophones in Quebec.

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

It’s a fact, not an opinion.

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

All right.

As you say, this distortion has persisted for 200 years. What should be done to improve the situation?

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

I’m counting on each and every one of you to turn this trend around. As I said, the French language has been in decline for a very long time. It’s as if there were an unconscious bias—

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

I’m asking you all these questions to get to my real question.

I come from a region in northern Ontario where French is widely spoken. You are calling for Quebec to become a country. I totally disagree with that, because outside Quebec, we need Quebec’s support for the French-speaking community to survive.

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

I understand. I’ll explain my point of view after you have asked your question.

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

Okay.

I’m looking more for solutions to promote French in Quebec while ensuring the survival of the French-speaking community outside Quebec.

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

I’m so glad you asked me that question.

When Quebec becomes a country and controls all the levers to administer all its laws, which will no longer be gutted by the federal government, we will have the ability to have proper control over the French language and to enhance its vitality. We will then be able to continue working with the Canadian francophonie and become stronger. Right now, we are fading away, and the only solution is for Quebec to be master of its own future, be it over its territory, its laws, the French language or its values. That is how we will be able to continue to collaborate with the rest of the French-speaking world, as we have been doing since well before this Parliament was created.

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

There may be a way to find a solution without Quebec leaving Canada.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Mr. Bélanger, your time is up. I’m sorry.

I now give the floor to Mr. Villeneuve for three minutes.

[Louis Villeneuve, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Arseneau‑Sluyter, I will ask you a question, and then I will give the rest of my time to my colleague from New Brunswick, because I think he will want to continue the discussion with you.

In December 2024, the New Brunswick government announced the construction of two French-language schools in the southern part of the province, one in the Sussex‑Hampton area and one in the southwest, where the communities of St. Stephen, Saint Andrews and St. George are located. I have had the opportunity to visit the magnificent community of Saint Andrews.

Can you explain how these new schools will change your reality?

[Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter]

It’s important to understand that this is a very large region. The government’s announcement regarding the construction of schools in this area is excellent news. I know people in Sussex whose children are enrolled in a French immersion program, even though they are francophone. These children do not yet have access to French-language education.

While these schools are yet to be established, we have one in Quispamsis and another in Saint John. However, the Samuel‑de‑Champlain School Centre in Saint John was built to accommodate approximately 400 students, but it now has more than 1,000. The children and staff operate from closets and washrooms. It’s almost unbearable. No expansion plans for this centre have been announced. The Samuel‑de‑Champlain Community School Centre is also housed in the same building.

In 1987, when I was in charge of school transportation, some children would travel from St. George to Saint John. That’s not normal. They can do it for some time, but after a while, these children end up going to the English school in their neighbourhood.

I could talk about this at length because child care centres are also at full capacity. The question then is, what do we do? Assimilation continues.

When you are in a minority situation, as is the case in Saint John and Fredericton, New Brunswick, it is difficult to live in French. You need to begin each day by reminding yourself to work hard. I have a daughter who is now 31, and I managed to raise her to be perfectly bilingual and proud to be Acadian, even though her father is anglophone and doesn’t speak French. So, it wasn’t just school that enabled my daughter to become bilingual; my family did as well and I have poured a lot of energy into that throughout her life.

[Louis Villeneuve, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Thank you very much.

I don’t know if there is any time left for my colleague.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

There are four seconds left.

[Louis Villeneuve, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

You have four seconds, Mr. Deschênes‑Thériault.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

I would like to thank the witnesses for coming here today. It’s always a pleasure to welcome Acadians to the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you.

Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor for one and a half minutes.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Can you tell me briefly how French is doing in Montreal’s francophone schools?

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

The French language is struggling pretty much everywhere in Montreal and the rest of Quebec and the same is true in schools. I had the pleasure of shooting a documentary called Vox Populibre in CEGEPs across Quebec. It’s on TVA+ and illico+, if you’d like to watch it. I don’t have any statistics, but students told me they speak English regularly and that English is becoming an increasingly important part of their lives. Obviously, this doesn’t help us. That’s why we need laws to protect us. By “protect us”, I mean the French language.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

I would like to ask Ms. Arseneau‑Sluyter a very quick question.

You spoke to the need for reparation in response to the deliberate historical assimilation of Acadians. Do you feel that the New Brunswick government is genuinely committed to making reparations?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Please respond very quickly, as there are only 15 seconds left.