Official Languages Committee on Nov. 6th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you.

Mr. Villeneuve, your time is up.

I now give the floor to Mr. Beaulieu for two and a half minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Potié, Statistics Canada conducts studies on English-French bilingualism. According to these studies, bilingualism in English Canada has generally stagnated, if not declined. The decline is mainly related to the lower proportion of francophones, who are much more bilingual. In Quebec, however, we are seeing an increase in bilingualism. Among francophones and allophones, there is even some assimilation and anglicization.

How do you explain the decline in bilingualism in English Canada despite the investments that have been made? You say that the investments are insufficient. Maybe I'm giving you an answer.

[Francis Potié]

I think it has kind of been said. First of all, there are not enough teachers.

How to explain this phenomenon? I think it's a system and capacity issue. There is a major shortage of teachers, which has consequences in program decisions. Let's take the example of Saskatchewan and the Prairies. Some provinces have allowed the requirement to teach a second language to be dropped. This is the case at a number of rural school boards.

We can reverse that by doing a much better job of teaching French in those places. We can't just teach French courses; we also need to recognize their value. For your information, learning a language brings all kinds of cognitive, academic and cultural benefits—

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

For a long time, I was told that English Canadians had an appetite for learning French, but fewer and fewer of them are bilingual and speak French. I think the issue is anglonormativity. Just about everywhere, speaking English is the norm.

Also, neither the federal government nor the provincial governments want to use a territorial approach, which is working well elsewhere in the world. Having territories where French is the common language would ensure the vitality of French. Right now, it's as if people are lost in a sea of anglophones, so it's very hard to move forward—

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Mr. Beaulieu, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but your time is up. You'll have a chance to finish your thought in another round. I have to go to the next member.

Mr. Bélanger, you have the floor for five minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Potié, you say that there are about three million students and that there is still a shortage of 8,000 to 9,000 teachers of French as a second language.

You mentioned that it was difficult for second-language teachers. What makes it difficult? What are the main obstacles facing second-language teachers?

[Francis Potié]

One of the factors is that they often have not been properly trained. Teachers take a course at a university, but it's not the same everywhere. There are excellent programs at some universities, but at others, a teacher of French as a second language is trained and certified without that person having taken a university course in French. However, all the research shows that the more comfortable and competent you are in the language you teach, the more confident you will be as a teacher and the more successful you will be. It's the same thing in terms of teaching skills. People who haven't had the support and training to teach languages will be lost. Right now, because of the shortage, language teachers are being recruited from all over. There are people who find themselves teaching a subject for which they are not prepared.

The support we receive from the administration and the school board is another factor. Sometimes their support is very good, but sometimes it is almost non-existent. There needs to be better recognition of what has been proved, what has worked and what has shown good results, as opposed to methods that have shown poor results.

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

How could the federal government further encourage teachers to take programs to be able to teach in their second language?

[Francis Potié]

In many respects, we're in the process of doing that. We get an investment of about $30 million a year to address the shortage of teachers of French as a second language, and we work on recruitment and retention. I don't think there's only one solution to the problem.

We are trying to attract foreign-trained teachers, but that raises other issues, such as cultural and professional adaptation to a new system. Adapting can take years and can be frustrating.

There are a number of possible solutions, including training, recruitment, career support and continuing professional development. All the reports and studies show how important it is to have specialized professional training. Language teachers complain about taking training that isn't designed for them, but rather for their colleagues who teach mathematics or another subject.

It's a matter of investing, valuing it and taking it seriously.

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

Ms. Dubois, you talk about the lack of financial and human resources and the lack of infrastructure. It seems to me that it always comes down to a lack of budget or a misallocation or management of funds. It seems to me that it would be easy to find solutions. Is there not enough money? If the money spent were better distributed, would it be enough? What do you think the problem is?

[Marie-Nicole Dubois]

There is a lack of funds, and the funds that are paid out are not necessarily distributed properly. If the funds earmarked for us really went to the right places, things would be better. As I said earlier, even the funding provided under the official languages in education program is not enough. There's a huge lack of investment.

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

Could more guidance be given to the provinces as to how to allocate the funds properly? Is that not happening?

[Marie-Nicole Dubois]

Right now, it's not being done, but it could be. Of course, if conditions were set to account for the money paid out, it would go to the right place, because there would be a follow-up. As I was saying earlier, that would be a useful avenue. If the government doesn't give more money, it should at least make sure that the money it gives goes to the right place.

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you, Mr. Bélanger.

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

Ms. Mingarelli, you will be the last member to ask questions of this panel.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Great. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Dubois, thank you for being with us today.

The growing diversity of francophone families, particularly as a result of immigration, is profoundly changing the face of francophone minority communities. How does the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique help these families integrate into the francophone education continuum, particularly with regard to the transition from early childhood to primary and secondary school?

[Marie-Nicole Dubois]

That type of activity is not at all a part of our mandate, but we support the organizations that do it. We also oversee the province's Réseau en immigration francophone. As such, we meet with all of the organizations to give them the tools they need so that these families feel welcome.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

In British Columbia, francophone communities are scattered and far apart, which makes for a constant challenge to ensure equitable access to education in French. What concrete initiatives or partnerships is your federation putting forward to address these barriers, whether through digital innovation, community co-operation or interprovincial partnerships?

[Marie-Nicole Dubois]

Again, that type of activity is not part of our mandate. Your question would be more for the school boards, because they are the ones that work directly with the schools on this kind of thing. However, we serve as a link between the school boards and the communities, because we know very well that school is an essential pipeline for the sustainability of French, while not the only one. For people to keep French in their hearts, recreational activities must also be held outside school and in the community.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Thank you.

Mr. Potié and Ms. Ostapyk, thank you for being here today.

Second-language teaching, particularly in French, plays an essential role in promoting Canadian bilingualism and intercultural understanding. How does the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers help people learn French as a second language across the country? What tools or programs do you think are the most effective for encouraging young people to take a real interest in learning French and continuing their studies in French?

[Francis Potié]

Our programs touch on four areas.

First, we offer educational training focused on the best ways to learn or teach a language. Second, we produce professional and educational resources based on current research and intended for teachers, not students. Third, we provide information through our website, magazine and digital newsletter. We do research that looks at best practices in language teaching and share the results. Finally, we promote the benefits of learning a language. That's what we're doing.

I don't remember your second question, Ms. Mingarelli.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

My second question was about—

[Francis Potié]

I remember it now. It was about how to make young people want to continue learning another language.

First, it's important to have good courses that attract and inspire people. Second, students need to have authentic, impactful experiences. The explore program and the French for the future program, as well as exchange trips and the multicultural experience, have an important role to play when it comes to making young people want to continue their experience.

After all, language is a means of communication. If you learn a language but have no one to communicate with, you are quite a bit less tempted to continue learning. Learners need to be provided with real, authentic and stimulating experiences.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Ms. Mingarelli, your time is up. Thank you.

On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank the witnesses for the first hour: Mr. Potié, Ms. Ostapyk and Ms. Dubois.

As chair of the committee, I rarely get a chance to ask witnesses questions.

Ms. Dubois, I want to thank you and your colleagues. I was lucky enough to go and see you this summer and ask you some questions. You told me about the challenges you face and how the government could support you. Thank you for your testimony today as well.

Colleagues, I'm going to suspend the meeting for a few minutes to bring in the next panel.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Let us resume.

Colleagues, welcome to the second part of meeting number 9 of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. We are continuing our study on the minority-language education continuum.

I would now like to welcome the witnesses for the second hour of our meeting. We are joined by representatives of the Association canadienne d'éducation de langue française: Marcel Larocque, president, and Marie‑Hélène Tanguay, executive director. Éric Bouchard, chief executive officer of Mouvement Québec français from 2014 to 2017 is also joining us as an individual. Each organization will have five minutes for its opening remarks. We will then proceed with a question and answer period with committee members.

Mr. Larocque and Ms. Tanguay for five minutes.