Evidence of meeting #8 for Official Languages in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was federal.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Jim Belanger Conservative Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be sharing my time with Mr. Godin.
Mr. Morrow, you say there's a shortage of bilingual workers in the labour force. However, young francophones study in French, but then continue their education in English. Why is that? Does it have to do with the software being used or the programs being offered?
Social Entrepreneur, As an Individual
Why do francophones choose to study in English? My expertise is in French as a second language, so I'll let francophones talk about their reality. I think, however, that it's simply due to a lack of post-secondary programs being offered in French.
Conservative
Jim Belanger Conservative Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON
In my neck of the woods, there are many francophones. Some of the university's school of medicine's courses are offered only in English, not in French.
What could we do to change that?
Conservative
Jim Belanger Conservative Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON
I'm trying to understand why there's a shortage of bilingual workers.
Bloc
Conservative
Social Entrepreneur, As an Individual
Ah, yes. I'm quite familiar with Collège Boréal.
Conservative
Jim Belanger Conservative Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON
There's also Laurentian University.
Social Entrepreneur, As an Individual
Yes.
To answer your question regarding francophones, I don't know. As for anglophones, the reason is a lack of support. It's a very interesting question.
Conservative
Jim Belanger Conservative Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON
Francophones like me learn English at a young age, because we're in a bilingual environment. Anglophones, however, don't make the same effort to learn French. That means we find ourselves in a situation where, after elementary school and high school, there are really few programs available in French. That's a tragedy, because there's a shortage of bilingual workers.
Thank you.
Mr. Godin, you have the floor.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Thank you.
Ms. Williamson, you say that in Nova Scotia, a quarter of rights holders have access to spaces in early childhood centres. Is that correct?
Executive Director, La Société de la garderie le Petit Voilier
I was referring to enrolment at the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Are there more rights holders than the quarter that apply?
Executive Director, La Société de la garderie le Petit Voilier
Of course. Some parents obviously go elsewhere, to an English-speaking centre.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
You also said that one of the issues is that children need to travel an hour each way. I think that's a common issue; Canada's a big country. Isn't that an excuse for the provincial and federal governments to shrug it off, saying that there are establishments and that it's up to rights holders to figure out how to make the two-hour drive? What do you think?
Executive Director, La Société de la garderie le Petit Voilier
I can speak for the early childhood side, but I can't speak for the school board. I know school transportation is a big issue for families. There's a disparity there. People move farther and farther away from towns, because house prices are so high. Immigrant families move even farther away. That's why families choose to send their children to their neighbourhood school day care instead of French-language schools.
That's an important issue that needs to be fixed so that rights holders can get access to the French education system. I think there's a lot of work to be done there.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Okay. Actually, I’ll give Mr. Morrow the opportunity to finish his answer to a question my colleague asked him earlier. I’ll give him the remaining 25 seconds of my speaking time.
Social Entrepreneur, As an Individual
I’ll need a minute, but I think that’s too much.
Liberal
Social Entrepreneur, As an Individual
Very well.
Mr. Dalton, you spoke as an ally of French as a second language; 290,000 rights holders studied or are studying in French. That means 450,000 rights holders. On the anglophone side, only 450,000 students are enrolled in an immersion program, and 1.27 million are enrolled in a core French program, which represents an even higher number.
Mr. Bélanger, you wanted to know how to offer French programs. It’s the same thing. You need a bigger pool of candidates. You must invite students enrolled in FSL programs to participate in the francophonie and contribute to the community. It can happen through immigration or integration. I would lean towards integrating francophones with French as a second language into the community and French–language institutions.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yvan Baker
Thank you, Mr. Morrow.
I now give the floor to Ms. Chenette, who will be the last person to ask questions of this witness panel.
November 4th, 2025 / 11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Madeleine Chenette Liberal Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Williamson and Mr. Morrow, thank you for your very constructive comments.
Listening to you, we know the problems are huge. The action plan for official languages 2023–2028 includes a total investment of $4.1 billion, of which $1.4 billion is new funding. It is therefore the biggest investment in official languages in Canada’s history. However, while listening to you, it was clear that more effort must be made to find solutions. You also mentioned the economic argument in favour of developing both of our beautiful country’s official languages. Furthermore, the Francophonie is a growing worldwide.
Ms. Williamson, it is clear that early childhood is key. Generally speaking, we know that early childhood services and the francophonie need funding, full stop.
Where do the parents stand? What emphasis do they put on French to promote it? What leads the English-speaking community to recognize the importance of French and send their children to a French-speaking day care? How do we change the mindset to say that we are on the defensive, rather than the offensive?
If you had a magic wand, what would you do to help parents mobilize around the issue of the francophonie and encourage anglophone parents to enrol their children in French-language schools or early childhood education services?
Executive Director, La Société de la garderie le Petit Voilier
To start, children coming to our schools and our French-language day cares come from eligible families. That means we can’t just tell a unilingual anglophone family to come to our centres and our schools. That’s not the reality.
Some of our students travel two hours a day to come to school. It tells me a lot about those families. When people decide to enrol their children in our centres or French–language schools, in our province, it is because they absolutely want their children to learn the language and to develop while integrating francophone culture.
I could show you our waiting list; it’s huge. Everywhere throughout the province, francophone families are trying to find day care spots. When children learn the language before starting school, it is so good for their education. It facilitates their entry into school and makes the transition very natural. Teachers told us they see a difference when children have a chance to go to a French-language day care centre for two or three years before starting school.
Therefore, I think the solution is to offer more spots so that these families can stay in the francophone system, rather than turning to the local day care or school. We have to find transportation solutions, obviously. Satellite sites could be set up in some of the province’s underserved regions. I don’t sit on the school board, but I am sure that together, we can find solutions to increase the number of children in French-speaking schools and allow them to continue their studies in French until the end of post-secondary. That’s the goal. Families want it; that’s not the problem.
