Science and Research Committee on Sept. 22nd, 2026

[Martin Maltais]

Maybe I'll just talk about the transitional budget allocation, and then you can finish with—

[Sophie Montreuil]

Okay, you can talk about the allocation, and then I'll keep the question about alignment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

It's one person at a time.

Go ahead.

[Sophie Montreuil]

I'm going to talk about alignment.

I'll be brief and say that our concern is that the existing service will be sidelined in favour of an equivalent service that would be created within the new secretariat, which would result in a disruption in service to the community several years from now.

The two organizations—the secretariat and the SARF—operate on different scales. They are distinct instruments. Their objectives, however, are aligned. The secretariat is a compliance mechanism within the government apparatus. It's an organization we absolutely need. We fully support the recommendation to establish this secretariat. The SARF, in contrast, is an on-the-ground operator within institutions.

We can conclude by saying that the secretariat can't change the rules on its own. The SARF is already effecting change. A culture of change has taken hold, and we must ensure that the two organizations work together and don't simply duplicate each other's efforts. We have a winning formula on three fronts: It's a win for the institutions; it's a win for researchers, students and professors; and it's a win for the granting agencies, which are seeing an increase in the number of applications submitted in French every year.

[Martin Maltais]

With respect to the transitional budget allocation, it's important to understand that we're perfectly happy to play this role as an operator through the SARF. Yes, being so well received on the ground at universities across the country has enabled us to strengthen our relationships in Alberta, Manitoba, eastern Canada, Ontario and everywhere else, from coast to coast to coast. However, it must be clearly understood that we see the transitional funding we're requesting as one step among other steps to come. We've now demonstrated the concept's viability. There will be other steps. Latent demand is much greater. I wouldn't be surprised if, within five to 10 or 15 years, the growth in demand far exceeds our capacity and we may need to look at other scenarios. Does that mean that we'll end up outsourcing the activity? Will we need to set aside additional budget allocations for this in the future? The demand is there, and the potential for this type of platform to enhance scientific discourse in French is extremely significant.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Do I have any time left?

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

You have seven seconds.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you very much. We can continue on my next turns.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, MP Deschênes-Thériault.

Now we will proceed to MP Blanchette-Joncas for six minutes. Please go ahead.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to welcome the witnesses who are with us for this important study.

My first question is for Mr. Maltais, from Acfas.

This isn't the first time we've met on the issue of science in French.

Since 2021, there have been several reports, including one by Acfas entitled “Portrait and Challenges of Research in French in the Minority Context in Canada”. This committee, the Standing Committee on Science and Research, produced a report in 2023 entitled “Revitalizing Research and Scientific Publication in French in Canada”. There was also the report entitled “Report of the Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System”, commonly known as the Bouchard report, and its recommendation 21, which talks about the need for support for research in French. Now, we have another report, released in 2026, entitled “Research in French and Substantive Equality: An Opportunity”, which again highlights fragmented governance and the lack of a comprehensive strategy.

In your opinion, do we still need assessments, or is it now federal implementation that is lacking?

[Martin Maltais]

I won't tell you that federal implementation is lacking. I would say that we've reached the stage where we need to implement all of the measures. As Ms. Montreuil pointed out earlier, some measures have already been put in place recently. The SARF is one such measure that is currently active.

Furthermore, we have not implemented any major or overly ambitious measures, to avoid finding ourselves in a situation where we would be unable to respond to significant demand or growth. We first conducted a proof of concept. We built relationships. We saw that there was demand and interest in this type of support. Now, we're in a growth phase.

You have to view this as an approach that's also somewhat entrepreneurial—I'll put it that way—because there's a scaling-up phase, meaning gradual expansion, that must not be overlooked when moving forward with initiatives like this. I sincerely believe that moving too quickly would likely have led us to make a number of mistakes. Today, we have all the information we need.

It's clear that if you asked me this question again in two, three, or four years and we were still exactly where we are now, then I could tell you that we're lagging behind in implementing these measures. However, at this stage, we're in the right place at the right time to take the right steps.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

I'd like to follow up on the implementation.

In a public statement issued by Acfas on November 5 following the 2025 federal budget, you said the following:

To build a strong Canada, we need a strong scientific community in both of our country's languages. It is time for the government to recognize that science in French is also a strategic asset. Through this budget, the government is not sending a clear signal to the French-speaking research community, thereby leaving questions hanging regarding its political will to establish true equality in the research community…

The report indicates that this is a statement by Martin Maltais, president of Acfas.

I would like to discuss some recent initiatives.

In its recent budget, the federal government also announced $1.7 billion to attract researchers, particularly from the United States. Of the first 64 chairs awarded, only eight are at French-language universities. So, eight out of 64 is 12.5%.

In your opinion, is this an initiative that is truly positive for achieving real equality for French-language science in Canada?

[Martin Maltais]

Regarding this issue, it's important to understand that the initiative to recruit world-class researchers was launched at a slightly earlier stage. So, we can understand what's happening. Would it be normal to expect the same kind of result in the future for similar measures? In this case, I would say no.

Ms. Montreuil, I'll let you continue. I think you wanted to say something.

[Sophie Montreuil]

Indeed, as you rightly pointed out, there are currently no measures in place, aside from funding for a service that happens to be managed by Acfas.

I'd like to follow up on what you said, which is very important. The expert panel was created by the federal government following work in which you, among others, participated, on the issue of science and research in French. That was years ago. Funding was allocated in the 2023–28 action plan for official languages. The government honoured its commitment: it established an expert panel composed of eight experts from across the country, and 165 individuals and organizations were consulted. The assessment is now complete.

The government, now—and here I'm offering a very simple, even simplistic, interpretation—has a single obligation: to honour the work it paid for and commissioned experts to carry out.

So, when you ask whether now is the time to implement it, the answer is that it is certainly time for implementation. Mr. Maltais said that if, in a year or two, we see that nothing is happening, that will be a different story. I don't know what we'll do. However, this isn't a matter of a year or two; it needs to be done quickly. The government has an obligation to honour the work it itself commissioned experts to carry out. The decline and the needs are evident across the entire spectrum: creation, dissemination and publication. Failing to take the report's assessment and recommendations seriously will pose a huge problem for the scientific community and the organizations that represent it.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

All right. I must continue, Ms. Montreuil.

As for me, I'm looking for the positive aspects. In its brief submitted to the Standing Committee on Science and Research regarding the allocation of funding for post-secondary institutions in Canada, Acfas called for a minimum of 25% to be earmarked specifically for scientific research in French and for French-language universities. Now, you're being given 12.5%.

You said that under the Official Languages Act, which was modernized in 2023, the government is required to implement affirmative action measures. You're asking for at least 25%, and you're being given 12.5%. I'm trying to see what's positive about that.

[Martin Maltais]

We requested it, but the government has not made a decision yet. Furthermore, the process was already under way.

Now, I may well be surprised or disappointed that a desired target has not been met at this point, but these things happened simultaneously.

If, following this committee's work, you recommend reaching a target of 25% or more, or at least 25%—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting. Could you wind up your answer quickly?

[Martin Maltais]

If guidance like that were provided, it would be wonderful.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Madam Chair, would it be possible to receive a more detailed response in writing? That would allow them to—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Yes.

MP Blanchette-Joncas would like to have a written response to this question. Could you please provide that, Mr. Maltais?

[Martin Maltais]

All right.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Okay. That would be good.

We will now start our second round of questioning.

MP Godin, welcome to the committee. You have five minutes for your round of questioning.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, colleagues. This is my first time here at the Standing Committee on Science and Research, and I'm very pleased to be here.

Ms. Montreuil and Mr. Maltais, listening to you, everything seems to be going well—everything is positive. That's the message I'm getting this morning. However, I'm not sure we're on the right track.

I am responsible for official languages within my party and I serve on the Standing Committee on Official Languages. I would like to correct what you said earlier, Ms. Montreuil. You said that the new Official Languages Act has been in effect since June 2023. Actually, that is true, but it is not entirely true.

[Sophie Montreuil]

The regulations are missing.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Several regulations are missing. What year is it? It's 2026. It's been three years. So, when it comes to priorities, I'm not sure the current federal government can demonstrate that it cares about francophones across Canada. That was just the appetizer.

Ms. Montreuil, you mentioned earlier that you had 19 agreements with francophone universities. You said that you had submitted or helped submit 63 applications for financial assistance and that your success rate was 30%.

In my opinion, a 30% success rate means you're failing. So how can we celebrate a 30% success rate? That's my first question, Ms. Montreuil.