Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank the committee for inviting me to appear, and I welcome the fact that the committee is examining research and scientific publication in French.
Given the time allotted to us, I'll get straight to the point.
To intervene in research and publication in French in a foundational manner, it is important to grasp the circumstances in which knowledge as a whole is produced and to have a clear understanding of the institutional framework within which research is conducted in French. Foundational action must be defined in accordance with a strategic vision if we want it to be relevant and effective.
The Canadian government can still support the institutional and university community even though this is an area of provincial jurisdiction. It should provide more support to consolidate the post-secondary sector that provides educational programs in French. It should help universities and colleges develop and expand the range of programs they offer so they can more effectively meet the training needs of Canadian society in both official languages.
It is important to consolidate and develop programs because research develops better in universities that offer master's and doctoral programs.
According to a study conducted by the Sociopol firm for Canadian Heritage, science, technology, engineering, mathematics and information technology programs are provided at francophone universities, and none are available in the provinces west of Ontario. The availability of postgraduate programs is also a major factor in providing an institutional foundation for research. However, the range of postgraduate programs in French is limited and concentrated at certain institutions.
Consequently, it is important to develop a range of university programs in French at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, particularly in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and information technology, as I just mentioned. This requires foundational intervention upstream from research that can have an impact on research development.
Most francophone and bilingual universities are small and lack the research resources and capacity of the major universities. It is important to bear in mind that the federal research granting agencies, such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canada Foundation for Innovation, are subject to the Official Languages Act and, under part VII of that act, must now take positive measures to support the development of francophone minority communities. Given what they do, which is to fund research, those agencies should intervene more substantially to support the research activities carried on at francophone and bilingual universities.
It is important that political leadership be exercised to encourage the granting agencies to interpret the Official Languages Act generously by establishing action plans that contribute to substantive equality in the research sector. I would note that substantive equality is a clearly expressed wish in Bill C‑13, the short title of which is An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages.
Robust, strategic action is required to protect and promote science in French, starting with support for scholarly publishing in French by the government and research funding agencies. We must support French-language journals.
This must also be done for the francophone public. The francophone population must have access to research findings in accessible French-language formats.
We must develop a strategy, even a language plan for the language of research in French with partners such as Acfas, the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne, the granting agencies and the Canadian government.
In closing, here are a few ideas that merit consideration: support for French-language journals, financial incentives for bilingual journals to increase the percentage of articles in French, support for translation into French and the publication of articles originally written in English, support for French-language and bilingual journals to ease their transition to free access, and support for activities designed to popularize knowledge for the general public and knowledge users.
Thank you.