Good afternoon, everyone.
I would first like to thank you most warmly for the invitation to present my recommendations for your study. I had the great honour of being one of the members of the external advisory panel on the creation and dissemination of scientific information in French, specifically representing the voices of French-speaking researchers in western Canada.
The conclusion of our report is clear: Research in French is a defining feature of Canada at a pivotal moment in our history, when our neighbour is threatening our sovereignty. It is also an indispensable element of soft power for forging links with our francophone and francophile allies around the world, an economic driver for the country, a source of well-being and fulfillment for francophone communities from coast to coast to coast, and a source of reliable data for more informed public policy.
However, substantive equality in the research community is far from being achieved, despite commitments made by the government in 2023, when it recognized the vulnerability of the French language in Canada in the modernized Official Languages Act. At that time, the government committed to ensuring the advancement of the status and use of French in its activities, including in the scientific field.
I would now like to discuss the situation at Campus Saint-Jean, and, more broadly, French-language research in minority-language communities, in order to further emphasize the need to implement the recommendations in our report and achieve substantive equality. I have been a professor of history at the University of Alberta's Campus Saint-Jean for eleven years now. Over the years, I have seen just how poorly understood the mission of our campus—an entity that operates almost entirely in French within a large English-speaking research university that is part of the U15 Canada consortium—has been, both by university administrators and by governments.
At Campus Saint-Jean, our mandate is not merely to educate the next generation. We are also tasked with keeping the French language alive, while it is under threat both within the academic community and across the province. Although our mission is poorly understood, it is essential. Without the contribution of post-secondary institutions in Canada's francophone communities, there would be no teachers to teach in the French-language schools guaranteed under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There would be no francophone health care staff to care for an aging population that loses its bearings when not treated in its own language. There would be no research documenting the realities of these groups, who are often marginalized and overlooked in studies conducted by the majority.
One of the issues most important to me is the development of a strong new generation of leaders who will be able to shape tomorrow's public policies in addressing the essential needs of francophone minority communities. Those who choose to pursue their higher education here at Campus Saint-Jean have testified before our committee that they often do not benefit from the same support or opportunities as their peers studying in the majority language. Although we are very pleased to benefit from the support of the SARF—the Acfas French-language research support service—the support services are not as well developed, and very few scholarships are awarded by the three granting councils to support the academic journeys of those who choose to pursue higher education in French outside Quebec.
Having addressed the issue of funding, we must next turn our attention to the state of training. Our report highlights inequalities regarding the variety and availability of programs and course options within Canada's minority francophone communities. Many people wishing to study in French are therefore forced to move abroad, leading to a brain drain that is detrimental to the vitality of the French language. In fact, only 37% of university students whose mother tongue is French pursue their higher education in French; this is not a large proportion. Others choose to attend an English-speaking university, a choice that distances them from the French language. At Campus Saint-Jean, we do not offer enough courses to enable students to complete their Master of Arts program, which forces them to enrol in English-language courses at the University of Alberta. This situation poses a problem for our multicultural student body, as many newcomers, particularly those from Africa, are not proficient in English. This group therefore finds itself marginalized.
Our master's and doctoral students are incredibly resilient and inspiring. They explore topics that only people in their situation would have thought to study: burnout among French-speaking elementary school teachers in Alberta, or financial literacy support for French-speaking newcomers to Alberta. Once they have completed their studies, these students wish to publish their research. However, they face a dilemma: If they wish to publish in English in major journals with a high impact factor, they must broaden the scope of their research, as the francophone population in Alberta is often considered to be of only marginal significance; alternatively, they must turn to francophone journals. Yet our report clearly demonstrates, once again, just how fragile the French-language publishing ecosystem has become in recent years.
Lastly, once these students have completed their studies, will there even be jobs available for them, given the precarious state of post-secondary institutions in Canada's French-speaking communities?
The recommendations set out in the advisory panel's report aim to facilitate the pathways for students—as I have just outlined—and to strengthen research that is essential to the flourishing of francophone communities across the country. They seek to redress the structural inequalities that arise at every stage of the journey for those who choose French as their language of study and research.
