Official Languages Committee on Oct. 9th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Mr. Desgagné, we've lost you. Can you hear me?

[Denis Desgagné]

Yes. I can hear you quite well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

I stopped the timer. Could you go back about 15 seconds?

[Denis Desgagné]

When we compare ourselves to the majority, we see that they benefit from billions of dollars of investment to acquire all the skills needed to succeed and thrive in Canada both economically and socially. They can access hundreds of points of service in every province. There's no comparison, particularly in terms of access to community schools where we can work together in the village. In this sense, I would say that the village is missing from our lifelong learning journey.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Time's up. Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve.

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

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

I'll ask Mr. Dion from the Association locale des enseignantes et des enseignants fransaskois a similar question.

You said that major progress had been made since 1995. What was the situation like before 1995?

[Daniel Dion]

Before 1995, prior to the introduction of school management, there were immersion schools in certain francophone communities throughout the province. However, they weren't really considered immersion schools, but rather what we called designated schools. These schools were designated by the education minister. This gave them special permission to use French as the language of instruction more than 10% of the time, which was the maximum threshold in those days. When a community wanted French taught in a school, the local council had to submit a request to the school board, which then passed it on to the minister. If the request was approved, a bit more French could be taught in that school.

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

You're saying that the shortage of schools has continued since 1995. The situation has improved, but not enough, since your needs aren't being met.

[Daniel Dion]

Indeed.

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

The new programs under the new version of the Official Languages Act call for increased funding for immersion schools in Canada rather than further increases in funding for schools run by and for francophones. Wouldn't it be more important for francophone and Acadian communities to see further increases in funding for schools run by and for francophones?

[Daniel Dion]

Certainly. Dividing funding between immersion schools and francophone schools creates difficulties that stem, in a way, from the path of least resistance. Francophone students often attend immersion schools because these schools are already established. Remember that a number of the immersion schools in our communities are part of a majority‑language school board. These school boards have had over 100 years to build their programs, their facilities and their organization. Their schools have more resources than francophone schools. They have specialized programs and extracurricular activities that we can't provide because our schools aren't big enough and we don't have enough students. Remember that immersion students can still take specialized courses in English, whereas we must provide our courses in French as part of our mandate.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Your time is up.

Mr. Bélanger, you have five minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Dion, you talked about geographical challenges. I imagine they are similar to those in other regions of the country. I'd like to know whether a region is required to have a minimum number of students before it can provide them with an education in French.

[Daniel Dion]

According to my interpretation of section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, there just has to be one. If a francophone child needs education services in French, that child should, in principle, have access to them. That said, from an economic standpoint, it's not practical to open a school and hire a teacher for one student. However, we need to recognize the value of these children, even though they are part of a small community. There are small communities that receive very good education services. I always hesitate to give a specific minimum number, because all situations are different and all students deserve to be educated in their mother tongue.

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

To ensure the minority language education continuum, both levels of government need to consult stakeholders and be transparent in the way they use the funds made available to them. In your opinion, have governments been transparent?

My question is for you, Mr. Dion, but also for Ms. Asselin.

[Daniel Dion]

Honestly, the issue of government transparency is outside my mandate. I don't have enough information to answer you. I would put the question more to the school boards and community organizations that benefit from these funds.

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

Okay.

Ms. Asselin, have governments been transparent?

[Marie-Andrée Asselin]

There have certainly been consultations, but as far as transparency is concerned, it would depend on how it is defined. For us, the major issue is stable, structural and long-term funding. Right now, we don't have that.

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

Okay.

Another topic I'm interested in is child care. You said that 4,000 young children needed child care services in French, while there were only 450 spaces.

Is this problem related to geographical factors or a labour shortage?

[Marie-Andrée Asselin]

You're asking me, I imagine.

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

Yes, I'm sorry.

[Marie-Andrée Asselin]

Okay.

The major problem is the lack of infrastructure. We were talking about schools earlier. We went all the way to the Supreme Court to get francophone schools. We requested schools with space to set up child care services.

The staffing shortage is also a major obstacle to being able to serve this population.

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but what we really need is stable, structural and long-term funding. That would boost our ability to develop child care spaces. It takes a long time to develop infrastructure projects that can house a child care centre. To implement the educational program adapted to children under the age of five, we need really adapted spaces for teaching toddlers.

How can projects of this magnitude be developed if there is no guarantee of long-term funding after 2028?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

You have 10 seconds.

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

That's fine, thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Bélanger.

I now give the floor to Ms. Mingarelli for five minutes.