Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'd like to thank the committee for inviting us in connection with such an important study for Canada's francophone post-secondary sector.
I am here today representing the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne, which is made up of the 22 francophone or bilingual post-secondary institutions in francophone minority communities. Our mandate is to represent the interests of our members with a view to enhancing access to post-secondary education in French.
Research and publication in French are two of our priority areas for action. We have ties with federal granting agencies to make them aware of the challenges of research in French outside Quebec. We have made an effort to ensure that research is taken into consideration in the recent Canada-wide consultations on official languages conducted by Canadian Heritage. We also oversee the Réseau de la recherche sur la francophonie canadienne, which organizes an annual symposium and a number of knowledge mobilization activities.
Last year, the ACUFC also organized the summit on post-secondary education in minority francophone communities, a major Canada-wide undertaking that ran from June 2021 to March 2022. The final report will be released on October 27, and a whole chapter of the report is devoted to scientific research and publication in French. I'd like to draw your attention to three points.
Firstly, researchers in our institutions work on the periphery of the major research networks. Teaching loads are heavy, graduate students are few, colleagues who work in French on similar topics are remote and English-speaking colleagues do not always understand the research subject. These factors naturally limit opportunities for scientific collaboration and interaction, even though they would be exceedingly beneficial
Second, English is more than ever becoming the lingua franca in the increasingly international scientific research community. That being the case, faculty members are conducting more and more research activities in English. The lack of familiarity with research issues specific to the francophonie can lead to structural prejudices and unconscious biases that make it harder for researchers from francophone communities to receive funding for their research projects.
Third, the research community and the community sector generally are very closely interrelated in francophone minority settings. Although faculty often want to assume social responsibility for producing data relevant to their environment, they may give in to pressure owing to the fact that this kind of work is not always given recognition by institutions, and they may not have access to all the resources they need to take on this responsibility.
We would like to make three suggestions.
Firstly, we would ask that the federal government take steps to foster the creation and dissemination of scientific information in French in the next action plan for official languages. They made this commitment in the official languages reform document of February 2021, and in Bill C-13, which is currently under review, and which we hope will soon be adopted. For positive measures that might be considered, we note that the action plan could contain provisions on funding for the research community to enable researchers to draw upon data on official languages from the 2021 census, as well as future data from the Survey on the Official Language Minority Population, or support ways of disseminating and mobilizing scientific knowledge and developing educational materials in French.
We are also asking that the federal government introduce the measures required to encourage Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, as well as the granting agencies, to support and enhance research in French. They could then provide access to funds and programs that better meet the needs and capacities of post-secondary institutions, including colleges. The government should also asked them to review the framework for assessing the excellence of research in French. The granting agencies also need support to avoid furthering unconscious linguistic bias in the development of programs and initiatives. For example, the Dimensions tool, administered by the three councils, whose purpose is to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in the Canadian research ecosystem, does not consider language minorities to be an under-represented group in terms of research.
Lastly, we are requesting that post-secondary sector support programs in official language minority communities allow institutions to apply for long-term support for their activities, including the hiring of full-time professors who could train the next generation of researchers and receive funding from granting agencies or institutional research support.
To conclude, I would remind you that research in French outside Quebec and research on francophone and Acadian minority communities fuel intellectual endeavours that are beneficial to Canadian society as a whole. We will continue to work with our member institutions, the research communities, and partners like Acfas in pursuance of these efforts.
The federal government, given its concern for substantive equality, needs to take significant steps to ensure that conditions for the production and dissemination of knowledge in French are equivalent to the conditions for the anglophone majority.
Thank you.