Official Languages Committee on Nov. 18th, 2025

[Madeleine Chenette, Liberal, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

What barriers are preventing New Brunswick from complying with the act?

[Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter]

That’s a good question, and I don’t know the answer. We do have some concerns, though.

[Madeleine Chenette, Liberal, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Okay.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Ms. Chenette.

I now give the floor to Mr. Beaulieu for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair

My first question is for Ms. Alepin.

You spoke at length about the history of Acadia, and it’s quite tragic. Ms. Arseneau‑Sluyter also touched on this subject.

Do you have any more recent examples of underfunding of French-language schools, including post-secondary institutions?

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

As I mentioned, it’s as though this distortion, which has persisted for 200 years, continues today. It’s truly unfortunate.

I can’t explain why the official languages in education program, or OLEP, is entirely dedicated to the English-language education system and English as a second language.

The Official Languages Act protects minority languages. The Société Saint‑Jean‑Baptiste de Montréal is very pleased that the minority French language is better protected in minority communities outside Quebec.

However, it is as if there were suddenly a barrier in Quebec and as if English were the language in danger of disappearing; and yet you know very well that the French language is facing a major challenge in Quebec. The French language and culture are interconnected and go hand in hand. If one declines, the other declines as well. We are in this spirit of decline.

The Official Languages Act and the OLEP are therefore not aligned.

I have some data that I would like to share with you. In terms of university funding, if we assume that anglophones make up an average of 8.5% of Quebec’s population, overall, English-language institutions received funding equivalent to 3.5 times the relative demographic weight of anglophones from 2000 to 2017. Francophones received a much smaller share of federal research funds than they should have.

This distortion has existed for a long time and this trend must be reversed. You also have a duty to do that. You have the power to change the elements of this program.

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

I have another question which representatives from both organizations could answer.

Starting in 1969, the Official Languages Act sought to support English in Quebec and French outside Quebec. In addition, we know that throughout history, the Saint‑Jean‑Baptiste Society has also been involved in Acadia and elsewhere.

What impact has the new Official Languages Act had on the solidarity between groups that champion French in Quebec and outside Quebec?

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

I’ll start.

Regional school boards were created in Quebec around the same time. From the outset, the distribution of resources to form linguistic school boards was problematic. The MEMO, or the Mouvement pour une école moderne et ouverte, regularly deplored the fact that even within the Commission des écoles catholiques de Montréal, the CÉCM, anglophones were receiving preferential treatment over francophones. The problem therefore dates back to that time. There was already an issue with the distribution of resources between the two groups.

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

Perhaps my question was not specific enough.

Francophones outside Quebec have often said they feel abandoned by Quebec. Quebec has heard similar sentiments.

Didn’t the Official Languages Act create a bit of tension between francophones in Quebec and francophones outside Quebec, even though, as the motto says, unity is strength?

[Marie-Anne Alepin]

Yes. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it has led to a rift, but it definitely had an impact. Earlier, Mr. Godin mentioned that the French language was a sensitive issue. It is sensitive, but I also think that everyone around the table agrees that that the French language should be protected and defended, at least I hope so.

In my opinion, the Official Languages Act really divided francophones across Canada when it was enacted in 1969. The Société Saint‑Jean‑Baptiste de Montréal has a fund, the Fondation pour la langue française, which originated from the Fonds Langelier. Every year, we support organizations outside Quebec that defend the French language. This fund is intended to be a link that we are creating to continue trying to counter, in a way, this more questionable episode.

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

Would you like to add anything, Ms. Arseneau‑Sluyter?

[Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter]

I think we need to work together. Unity is strength, that is obvious. Even today, many of our francophone students study in Quebec. We don’t offer all programs at the University of Moncton, our Acadian university. It’s therefore important that we work together.

Moreover, we see the influence of the Internet on our children. We see what is happening. People are increasingly speaking English. Even in Quebec, which is predominantly francophone, the French language is at risk. It’s therefore important that we always work together.

It’s obvious that in New Brunswick, our laws have greatly improved our education system, but as you have heard me say, there is still much to be done.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Your time is up, Mr. Beaulieu.

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

Thank you. I’ll get back to that in the next round.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu.

We will now move on to the second round of questions. Colleagues, given that we have 15 minutes left with this panel of witnesses, I propose that we shorten the round, as we have done before, while maintaining the proportion between the parties. I therefore propose that the Conservatives and Liberals each have three minutes and that Mr. Beaulieu have one and a half minutes. That way, we can finish the—

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

I will just have to speak faster.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

That’s right.

I now give the floor to Mr. Bélanger.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Excuse me, Mr. Chair. There are 15 minutes left, but the time you have allocated totals barely eight minutes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

No. In the second round, I will give the floor to five members in the following order: the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the Bloc Québécois, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

All right, that’s fine.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

I’m proposing 14 or 15 minutes. The clerk has checked the time calculation for me, so I am confident.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Will we have another round?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

During this round, Mr. Bélanger, Mr. Villeneuve, Mr. Beaulieu, Mr. Dalton, and Ms. Mingarelli will have the opportunity to ask questions.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

It could be four minutes, four minutes and two minutes, or something like that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

I suggest three minutes, since time is already running out.

Mr. Bélanger, you have three minutes.