Debates of April 14th, 2021

Laurentian University in Sudbury

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (FedDev Ontario and Official Languages)]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that I will be splitting my time with my colleague, the member for Nickel Belt.

I rise today as a proud Franco-Ontarian and the member of Parliament for Orléans. I am concerned and upset by the black Monday that befell our community in northern Ontario. The devastating cuts, mostly to French-language programs, remind us once again that our minority language communities and their institutions are at constant risk of being assimilated.

Our post-secondary institutions are the key to a strong francophonie and will ensure the sustainability of our language and the future of francophone communities across Canada.

I was pleased to see that Parliament and all its members joined together yesterday to stand behind my community against these devastating cuts. Every member of the House, concerned about the state of our post-secondary institutions, sent a clear message that our institutions must be protected and governments must act.

The House also sent a clear message to provincial governments that do not treat minority language education and francophone services as a priority. We saw that with the Ford government, and we have seen it with the Kenney government for over a year now. These Conservative governments have made cuts every time things have gotten tough for francophone institutions and services.

Only after communities rose up and people mobilized, united in their demands, were we able to have a dialogue with those governments.

I want to make it clear that the federal government is ready and willing. It has a duty to help, but we are waiting on provincial governments that are responsible for their jurisdictions.

In these troubling times, all governments must work together to find solutions and protect the Canadian francophonie's flagship institutions.

Our government has come through for the Franco-Ontarian community in the past, and we continue to stand with the Franco-Ontarian community during these dark times. Franco-Ontarians can count on our government, because we have repeatedly shown that we are here for francophones from coast to coast to coast.

The throne speech was historic in that it recognized that the federal government has a responsibility to protect and promote French in both Quebec and the rest of Canada.

One month ago, the Minister of Official Languages followed up with a plan for the modernization of the Official Languages Act entitled “English and French: Towards a Substantive Equality of Official Languages in Canada”. This reform document presents discussions on the future of French and English in this country in a clear and unifying manner that is above all centred on Canadians' needs.

I am proud to support this transparent approach, and I am convinced that the bill will be as well received as was the vision.

The reform document actually starts by acknowledging several realities and recent trends on the ground. First, the French language is vulnerable and needs to be better protected. For the first time, the Government of Canada will adapt its interventions and take real action to protect and support key institutions in official language minority communities, such as Laurentian University, to protect their vitality.

It is understood that our efforts will fully respect provincial jurisdictions and the existing rights of English-language minority communities. However, it is also understood that the government will continue to support Canadians as long as this feeling of linguistic insecurity persists in any way. As the minister said, it is a question of respect and dignity for French and English speakers.

Secondly, I would like to highlight the measures in the reform document that would promote French language learning from coast to coast to coast by increasing opportunities no matter where one lives. Our government recognizes that it is unacceptable that parents who want their children to learn French are subjected to wait lists and lotteries to register their children in coveted immersion programs, or that adults do not have access to the opportunities they desire to learn their second official language.

Rest assured, our government will act. The reform document outlines the development of Mauril, a free online second official language learning tool designed for adults, a new francophone immigration corridor for qualified French teachers, and a national initiative in collaboration with the provinces and territories to recognize French language teaching qualifications across Canada to facilitate greater professional mobility.

Finally, but not least, is our government's renewed commitment to official language minority communities. The reform document outlines new regulations for federal institutions with respect to positive measures under part VII of the Official Languages Act, increasing supports to community institutions and establishing a better estimate of eligible rights holders for minority language education under the charter.

In partnership with local organizations and stakeholders, we will ensure that these communities of francophones outside Quebec and anglophones in Quebec continue to thrive well into the future.

I encourage members to have a look at the reform document. Under this government, the future of the official languages is promising. We will continue to defend the French language and strengthen the official languages in Canada.

To all teachers, researchers and students, I say “we are here, and here we will stay”.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the member for Orléans, for her speech.

I have a very simple question for her. Did Canada's chronic underfunding of universities create the situation at Laurentian University, which is not able to continue providing valuable services to francophones, anglophones and indigenous students? What, exactly, will the government do to fund all universities to ensure that they can fulfill their missions?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

In 2018, our government presented a concrete action plan for official languages, in which we made a historic $2.7-billion investment. I think this has been mentioned. Our Liberal government has invested just over $500 million more in support of official languages. It decided to help linguistic minority communities, including those that speak French, which is on the decline in Canada.

I remind my colleague that the government made an additional investment through the official languages in education program, which supports minority-language schools across Canada. This $60-million investment was made in budget 2019.

We must continue to do more, which is why we are having this debate tonight. This is also why the minister sent a letter to Ontario's education and francophone affairs ministers to express that we are committed to helping Laurentian University. This is what the community expects.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question for my colleague is quite simple: Has the government already determined the amount of money that could be reinvested in Laurentian University?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from my colleague, who mentioned provincial jurisdictions in his speech.

The minister has reached out. We want to work with the provinces and territories, as we have been doing from day one. The Government of Ontario just has to give us a call. The minister has already called them. She is ready and willing to keep having those conversations. Everyone will have to come together around the table to find a way to save Laurentian.

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech, and I congratulate her on her recent appointment as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages.

I wonder if she could tell us more about the need to collaborate and stand together so that our efforts to reach out to the Province of Ontario yield positive results and so we can show our determination to protect and always promote French in minority language communities.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for this very relevant question. In November 2018, after the Ford government's cuts to an important project at the Université de l'Ontario français, the federal government reached out once again to support the project.

I would like to take this opportunity to say that this subject is not only important in the context of tonight's debate in the House of Commons. I would like to thank all the organizations that spoke out and that continue to talk about it, as well as the media that reports on it.

I have always said that it is by coming together that we can be a majority in French. We need Canada's francophone communities to help us in this. However, obviously, the provincial government needs to give us a call, first.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for allowing this important debate to take place tonight. I am very proud to be here as the member for Nickel Belt and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources. I am currently in my office, here, in Ottawa, to participate in this debate.

Laurentian University is a pillar of my community, Greater Sudbury, and of all of northern Ontario. It offers first-class services to anglophones, francophones and indigenous and international students.

Let us be clear: This university is an institution that is dear to my heart. It is a part of three generations of my family and of the lives of many of my friends. My father started his studies at the University of Sudbury in 1958 and obtained his diploma from Laurentian University in 1962. I myself obtained a B.A. in communications in 1990, and my daughter got her master's in speech language pathology at Laurentian University.

Laurentian University is located in Greater Sudbury, which has a population of 160,000. My riding of Nickel Belt represents 45% of the population of Greater Sudbury. I share the city with my colleague, the MP for Sudbury.

Since being elected in 2015, I have had a tag-team approach with my colleague from Sudbury to ensure that Laurentian and the entire region receive their fair share of funding. That is our responsibility as members of Parliament.

Earlier in the debate, my colleague talked about all the funding announcements we have made to support Laurentian University. I want to assure everyone tonight that we have been there to support Laurentian University, and we will continue to support post-secondary institutions in Greater Sudbury and all over northern Ontario.

I want to thank all of my constituents and my family for communicating with me and my team in these very challenging times. Given all the anxiety everyone is facing with COVID-19, I ask everyone to please continue to be safe and reach out to neighbours.

Laurentian University has been so important to several generations of men and women for accessing higher education. They are the leaders of yesterday, today and the future. They have roots all over the world.

Let me be clear: I am very disappointed, and actually angry, that we have arrived at the situation today. I am so sad for what our community is going through with the massive uncertainty, and sad for the faculty, staff and students, who are finalizing their exams as we speak. Many students are unsure if they want to attend Laurentian University in September.

What can we do as elected officials? What can we do as a community? What can we do as members of the city council of Greater Sudbury? What can the provincial and federal governments do to support the many faculty and staff who have lost their jobs and address all the uncertainty that students have today? They are our friends, neighbours and families. What role can the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce play? We can actively get involved in facilitating employment opportunities to retain the talented individuals in our community.

I will take the remainder of my time in the debate tonight to simply say that this is within the jurisdiction of the Province of Ontario. We could let the local MPPs advocate at Queen's Park, but no, we must work through this together.

I would also like to thank the staff and the board of directors of the three federations that established Laurentian University 60 years ago. Without those three federations, Laurentian University would not exist. Huntington University, Thorneloe University and the University of Sudbury have been offering top-notch programs for more than 60 years.

Laurentian University has a world-class program on environmental studies at the Vale Living With Lakes Centre. There is also the Cliff Fielding building, for mining and innovation studies. It is respected all around the world.

The education program has been cut.

There is also the indigenous studies program. It is so important for our region to understand the history, culture and link between the environment and our indigenous communities all across northern Ontario.

There is the CROSH, for world-class health and safety training. It was created with a local steelworkers union. There is SNOLAB, the world-class neutrino lab, with many other programs. Also, because of NSERC funding, there are many national research chairs at Laurentian.

We need to find a solution. All political parties and governments need to work together to support the communities of Greater Sudbury. I know that the people of Sudbury are very concerned, but I also know they are resilient. I know we will get through these challenging times.

I would like to thank the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity for listening to us, for having an open mind and for taking action. I thank them for working with the francophone community of Greater Sudbury and Ontario and for working closely with the Province of Ontario.

I can assure the House that the federal government will live up to its responsibilities regarding minority language services across the country. We must focus on finding a solution and working with the Province of Ontario.

I would also like to thank many volunteers from francophone organizations and the people who continue to advocate for the French language across Canada and especially in northern Ontario. Laurentian University is an important institution and is central to economic development here in Greater Sudbury. There is history there. We must find solutions together.

I am very glad that the Speaker granted the request for the debate tonight and that we can take proactive measures.

I look forward to questions from my colleagues. I know that we all care about Laurentian University and services in French and that we want to find a solution.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have been in the House all night listening to the Liberals make excuse after excuse, and there seems to be a pattern: There is a lack of responsibility. I am perplexed, because for years the member for Sudbury and the member for Nickel Belt, who is a parliamentary secretary within the government, have sat idly by while this crisis has unfolded. They are members of the government, yet it was the New Democrats who brought this emergency debate forward.

I want to note for the member a message that I got from Hayley Horton, and I hope he has a response for her. She is a fourth-year midwifery student at Laurentian University who was born and raised in Blind River. She wants to return there after her graduation, but her schooling has stopped. It has been cut off entirely.

There is a critical need for obstetrical and reproductive services in the north. The member must know this, as he serves with me on the status of women committee. We know there is a lack of reproductive services for women.

What does he have to say to Hayley Horton about the lack of midwifery services, the ending of her education and his and his government's unwillingness to take responsibility?

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for this important question. I appreciate the time we spend on the status of women committee.

Yes, it is sad. For students in the midwifery program and in the many other programs that were cut, this is unexpected. Laurentian's course of action here with the CCAA has shocked everybody.

We need to find a solution, but there is no silver bullet here. We have to work with the province. We have to make sure that the province is accountable. This is in provincial jurisdiction, but I want to assure the member, and she knows this, that the federal government will be there to support universities. We have to wait to see the developments in the core process and then work with the province to ensure that we have a plan.

What is the plan right now for funding? Is the member suggesting that we provide $1 million, $2 million, $10 million or $100 million? We have no plan right now from the province, and it is important to have a plan to make sure that we look at the long-term sustainability of programs at Laurentian University and northern Ontario.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to the speech my colleague from the region gave. He is a parliamentary secretary, as my other colleague said earlier.

Apparently the situation we are in now has been in the making for months, maybe even for more than a year. The government talks about partnering with the provinces, but it looks more like the government wants provinces to shoulder the burden. In this country, the federal government has a role to play for minorities and in all services provided to francophone minorities.

I would like to ask my colleague how he and his party were involved in coming up with proposals.

Over the past year, what have my colleague and his government done to assess the situation? They had to have seen it coming. It did not just come out of nowhere. On February 12, the institution was in bankruptcy protection, but there had to have been discussions before that.

How was my colleague involved?

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I want to reassure my colleague that since 2015, the member for Sudbury and I have both been working closely with the administration and staff. We have had the opportunity to support Laurentian University's programming on several occasions.

Obviously, as far as the board is concerned, there are still short-term implications and financial problems, but I can say that, personally, I did not expect the institution to file for protection under the CCAA.

Laurentian University has made a drastic decision, but this is where we are, and we need to look at what solutions are available to support the university during this trying time. The most important thing today is to look at how, together, we can support the staff and students. The plan remains the same. We need to work with the province to find a way to do that. There is no easy solution or answer to such a difficult situation for Laurentian University, the faculty and the students.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am so interested in speaking to this topic, a university in Sudbury, Ontario. I am a member from the west coast of Canada, almost as far away from Sudbury as one can get in Canada, and I am speaking on the heels of a member of Parliament from that region. I have a great deal of respect for that, and I speak tonight with a bit of trepidation.

The reason I am so interested in the topic is that I understand that Laurentian University has a very big French speaking department. I am a proud Canadian, and my Canada was founded by two founding nations: one French speaking and one English speaking. I was raised by immigrants from Europe, Dutch speakers, and they were very proud to become Canadians. To them, Canada was two languages, French and English. That is the way I was raised and that is the way we raised our children. A lot of people out here on the west coast, even though British Columbia is English speaking, the most unilingual province in the whole country, are very interested in what is going on in Ontario, in the Franco-Ontarian community and in universities like Laurentian University, which is doing its part to promote the French language.

As I said, Canada was founded by two founding nations, but it is not geographic, first and foremost. The Ottawa River is not the dividing line between French Canada and English Canada. Canada is dual from coast to coast. That is the Canada for which I am standing. That is why I got into politics. I am a passionate Canadian and I want to do my part to promote unity within that diversity. That is what Canada is and that is the Canada for which I want to fight.

Even though I am out here on the west coast, I am very interested in the topic, and I do not stand alone. I know that many people in my riding are passionate about Canada and about the dual nature of Canada. If we look at French immersion enrolment in British Columbia, it is very big: 6,400 British Columbia students are enrolled in French immersion schools. If we could build more, more people would go. I know there are a number of them in my riding here, and the parents and the children are passionate about what they do. We could double the number of French immersion programs and we would fill them.

I know I do not stand alone. I am speaking on behalf of, and I am confident I have the backing of, my constituents when I am passionate about Canada being both French and English. I applaud the efforts of universities like Laurentian University that would put that forward.

I said I was raised by—

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I did not hear the member, but I believe he was intending to split his time with the member for London—Fanshawe. I did not know if I had heard it, so I thought I would check.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my whip for that. I will be splitting my time with the member for London—Fanshawe.

Laurentian exemplifies the duality of Canada, but, unfortunately, today it finds itself under creditor protection under the CCAA, the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. I do not know the arrangements and circumstances under which that had to become a reality for it, but it is indeed sad. I understand that it will be axing 58 undergraduate programs. Of those, 34 are English language and 24 French are language. That decision is going to have a disproportionate negative effect on the Franco-Ontarian community. That is unacceptable.

I talked about French immersion being popular in elementary schools and high schools in British Columbia, but that does not necessarily translate into students then going on to French language universities. It is not true in British Columbia and I understand it is not true in Ontario. Therefore, the closure of this French language program represents a lost opportunity to promote French and a truly bilingual Canada.

Financial woes for universities across the country have become a reality, not just for this university but right across the nation, including a private university in my riding of Langley—Aldergrove, Trinity Western University. A lot of the financial challenges that universities face have come to light in the pandemic. We have discovered that universities rely very heavily on income from foreign students. Of course, with the closure of our borders and restrictions on temporary foreign students coming into the country, that has hurt a lot.

What the solution is I do not know. We are all optimistic that the pandemic will soon be over and maybe by next year, foreign students will come back in big numbers. Canada's universities are leading academic institutions and there will always be an attraction among foreign students to come to Canada.

Universities also rely on corporate partnerships. I am a Conservative and I applaud that. I applaud private initiative, which is a good thing, but it can lead to problems as well. A lot of our research chairs are funded by foreign corporations, which creates a real challenge if those foreign corporations are owned and controlled by foreign nations, especially if those nations are not particularly friendly to Canada.

I am thinking of companies like Huawei that have financed research chairs. They get the best and the brightest of Canadians to use their intellectual prowess to find new technologies and then the foreign nation takes the technology with it. It walks right out the front door. Canada needs to do something to protect intellectual property assets within Canada, to promote more research and development and to protect universities and corporations.

One idea that has been floated is patent collectives. Canada is a big country geographically, but small in number, so we need to band together to protect our intellectual property assets, our universities and keep our IP at home, working productively for our country and economy so we can export that. We should not be exporting our students or our intellectual property. We should be developing all of that at home and selling the finished product through patent licenses, for example.

The CanSino vaccine fiasco is a great example of where Canada is failing industrially. All Canadians thought that Canada was one of the leading countries in the industrialized world, so we were all very shocked to find out that we did not even have our own pharmaceutical industry. We cannot even develop our own vaccines to keep ourselves safe. We are lagging way behind other countries in vaccinating our citizens. Certainly, too, with the country that we like to compare ourselves to, the United States, which is right next door to us, we have fallen far behind. How did that happen?

There is a fundamental problem that Canada faces, and that is a lack of industrial willpower to do it on our own. Canadian universities have to be a central part of that.

That was a bit of a diversion away from the main topic of what is happening at Laurentian University. I understand it is not necessarily a research university, but the work that it is doing is very important. I would applaud any efforts that we could apply to keep this university sound and healthy.

It is not for the federal government to tell the province how it must build, promote and defend its universities and it is certainly not for me, a member of Parliament from the west coast, to tell Ontario what it must do or tell the university how it must survive and thrive.

I want the university community, the Franco-Ontario community and all Ontarians to know that we out here on the west coast have a great deal of emotional investment in what is going on in the country and in the university community. We stand behind them. Please make this happen. Make Laurentian University survive. We have their backs.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am a bit sad. In this debate, there is talk of small measures. The government will invest a bit more money in immersion here, give a bit of money for post-secondary studies there, and so forth.

This is the second time in a year that we are having a debate on French. I have been fighting for French in Quebec for 20 years. In North America, 3% of the population is francophone. For anglophones, this issue may not be clear. Across the border, we have the United States of America. It has the most dominant and overpowering culture in the history of humanity, what with Netflix and its ilk and all the films, music and songs flooding over the border. How can we compete with that unless we declare a real linguistic emergency in Quebec and Canada?

I think that the Official Languages Act has been a failure. We should immediately declare an emergency over the French language so that we can bring in the significant measures we need to save French in Canada and Quebec.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Madam Speaker, I would do whatever is possible to protect the French language. It is a part of Canada's culture. We must defend it and protect it.

I recognize what the hon. member is saying about our living right next door to the United States, an English-speaking country of about 350 million people The French language needs proactive investment and protection. It is a beautiful language, but it does need help to withstand the onslaught of the English language in North America. I understand and appreciate that.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, I understand there are only three midwifery programs in all of Ontario. All the student midwives in the Ottawa region, for example, are from Laurentian as it has the only French program in Ontario. We know midwives are essential to improve maternal and newborn outcomes, and they deliver important care to marginalized communities. People who have given birth have said constantly that midwives provide holistic, inclusive, medical and emotional care. This is even more critical for indigenous communities and communities of colour. Getting a midwife is hard enough and losing Laurentian cuts one-third of the training programs.

My question for the member is this. Who should be accountable for the demise of a highly reputable centre of higher learning like Laurentian University, its board of directors or the Doug Ford Conservative government?

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Madam Speaker, there are severe economic strains and stresses throughout Canada's economy. Universities are not immune from that. I do not know the source of all the financial blows for Laurentian University, but universities are primarily a creature of the provincial government. I would encourage the government to work together with the university community to keep that university alive and well. Maybe it needs to focus more on certain programs than others.

I am not in a position to tell the university how it needs to govern itself and how it needs to remain strong and vibrant. However, certainly there are good solutions that well-meaning people and intelligent people, when they put their heads together, can come up with.

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have been listening to this debate, and I think it is really important that we maintain the French language in universities, but also the revitalization and protection of indigenous languages.

Universities are struggling across this country. In my own riding, Vancouver Island University struggles for funding and has to reach out for corporate funding. I listened to the hon. member talk about corporate funding, but then he highlighted some of the issues that were related to that. Universities become too dependent on it, and corporations end up making out like bandits. I am wondering where the disconnect is, if he sees that disconnect.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is a problem if the partnership is with foreign corporations that are controlled by foreign nations that are not friendly to us; that is the problem. I do not think there is a problem with universities partnering with well-funded, responsible Canadian corporations.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Speaker, I want to start off tonight by thanking my colleague from Timmins—James Bay for his work on this issue and for requesting this emergency debate.

I also want to recognize your hard work, Madam Speaker, as the member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing. You have been serving in the Chair, so you are not allowed to speak, but we have been talking about this and working on this issue for so long. I know how dedicated you are to the students, staff and community of Laurentian University, so I want to thank you for that as well.

Because you have been an incredible advocate, you shared with me that your own son, Shawn Hughes, is an alumnus of the biomedical science program at Laurentian. You talked to me about your niece, Emily Reese, and your staff member's daughter, Izabel Timeriski, who are all students in the biomedical science program that is now being cut. These are amazing young people with so much potential, but in order to complete their education, now they have to leave home.

The crisis at Laurentian University is one that should not be a surprise, however. After years of neglect and underfunding from federal and provincial governments, Canada's post-secondary education system is in trouble. The COVID-19 crisis has of course exacerbated this situation.

Laurentian University received insolvency protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act on February 1. This is important to note, as this is the first time a public university has declared insolvency and been granted insolvency protection by the courts in Canada.

Years of investment by Canadians have built this institution, like so many other post-secondary institutions across Canada. Now we see a provincial Conservative government willing to dismantle it, and a federal Liberal government standing on the sidelines watching it happen. Words of empathy from a Liberal government will not pay the bills at Laurentian University.

Canada's New Democrats, in concert with Ontario New Democrats, will not be silent, however, and we will not let Laurentian be sold off to the banks. We will fight to protect our education system and protect these institutions that Canadians have built.

Laurentian is a public post-secondary institution with a tricultural mandate to support French, English and indigenous communities. This institution is an essential economic driver in Sudbury and the third-largest employer. It serves as a beacon for francophone excellence and indigenous research and reconciliation.

The impeding restructuring and cuts will result in devastating impacts on students, workers and community members. This week, over 100 faculty members received termination notices. The university is also cutting nearly 70 programs, including entire departments, many of which are unique indigenous and francophone programs that Laurentian is mandated to support. It is also cutting programs like engineering, math, economics, entrepreneurship, nursing and midwifery.

Specifically in regard to the midwifery programs, there are only three in Ontario. They are offered at McMaster, Ryerson and Laurentian. The program being cut at Laurentian was offered in English and French, and in fact it is the only bilingual midwifery program available not only in Ontario but in Canada.

Of course, the impact on female students is measurable, as the majority of students who generally take this program are women. The midwifery program also benefited many indigenous students, since it allowed indigenous graduates to provide important health services to their local communities and particularly to the women in those communities.

Reproductive health services are severely lacking throughout Canada, but this is especially true in rural, remote and northern communities. Earlier, I rose in this House to speak about the importance of providing fair and equal access for women to health services in Canada. There are significant disparities between rural and urban access to these services, and midwives are often the major providers of women's reproductive health services in underserviced areas.

Hundreds of people are forced to travel out of their communities to access reproductive health services and must pay for travel expenses out of pocket. Travelling to another city for these procedures can mean having to take time off work, planning or paying for child care or elder care, and some people cannot afford those expenses. Access to services should not depend on one's postal code or income. I said that earlier this evening, and I will say it again.

This is a human rights violation, and it contravenes the Canada Health Act. Throughout Canada, access to health services in remote, marginalized and indigenous communities or communities that remain removed from urban centres because of religious choice, like Amish communities, depend a great deal on midwives and the services that graduates from Laurentian provide.

Fifty-two per cent of students who attend Laurentian are the first in their family to pursue a post-secondary education, and 65% of Laurentian alumni reside in northern Ontario after they graduate. These are people who stay in their communities and offer the training and help they learned from Laurentian, and this is so important.

I want to share a story from a dear friend of mine, Kathi Wilson, who works as an assistant professor in the midwifery education program. She said, “Yesterday I did a presentation on Zoom for the third-year class of midwifery students at Laurentian. They would have only just been informed of the termination of their program, and I thought, 'Will they even be able to focus on what I'm teaching them today?' I figured they must be devastated, but I was so impressed with how engaged they were.”

Kathi continued, “They asked me interesting and challenging questions and made thoughtful comments. Truthfully, they were an instructor's dream to teach. Their passion for the profession of midwifery and care for childbearing people shone through, even on Zoom. They will become excellent midwives, but they deserve to be able to do that in a university where they have been attending, with professors and instructors that they know.”

She concluded, saying, “Ontario and Canada need more midwives, especially racialized, francophone and indigenous midwives, to serve diverse communities, and we need the Laurentian midwifery education program to be able to meet our growing need.”

I want to thank Kathi for sharing her story with me. I also want to focus on an important point that she makes, and that is the diversity and strength these students have. The cutting of this program will directly impact the 14 faculty members who are women, the 120 students in the program, many of whom are indigenous, Black or persons of colour, francophone, and trans or non-binary folk.

In recent years, Laurentian has made important strides toward providing indigenous programming in courses that incorporate traditional teachings and indigenous language. These programs are a crucial component of reconciliation. We keep hearing about the government's commitment to reconciliation, yet this institution is failing right before their very eyes. What good are all the pretty words without the action needed to back them up. It is the government's responsibility to help this institution.

Laurentian University is and must continue to be an important part of our commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action on indigenous education. This institution has an immense impact on indigenous communities in Canada, and if the government lets it fail, it will represent the first indigenous studies program to be shuttered since the discipline began in 1969.

I spoke to people at the Canadian Association of University Teachers, and they were clear that without indigenous studies programs we have no indigenous language teaching at Laurentian. There are more than 1,200 indigenous learners without access to formal language instruction if they want or need it, and virtually no indigenous content requirement courses for other students.

Tonight, we have heard from members of the government on this crisis, and their response is to say that they feel bad or that this is not in their jurisdiction. Repeatedly, we see the government fail to take responsibility. It is this attitude that has left so many indigenous communities behind and has led to the poverty rates we see on and off reserve, and the boil water advisories across Canada. After all the signalling and words from this Prime Minister and the government, how can the government just sit there and do nothing once again?

I often plead with the government, on humane or compassionate grounds, to act, but I find often when it comes to Liberals and Conservatives, it is only about money. Across the country, universities are facing losses in the hundreds and millions of dollars, and now, because of COVID-19, in the billions of dollars.

In Ontario, the rising costs and revenue shortfalls from COVID-19 total more than $1 billion. In British Columbia, universities and colleges have requested an exemption to run deficits of more than $178 million. With the university seeking bankruptcy protection, its liabilities may expand and this may raise costs for universities across Ontario and Canada as banks reassess the risk of lending to them.

In other words, without action now, this crisis will spill over to other universities. This should not be a surprise to the government members as they have left colleges and universities to struggle alone throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. I wrote to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion back in May 2020 to ask that the Canada emergency wage subsidy be extended to them. I asked the same question in the House several times. The minister's only response was, “We'll think about it; we'll talk about it”.

After a lot of thinking and a lot of talking, we now see the result of the lack of action from the government. The question now is this: Will the government wait another year, think about it a little longer and do nothing, or will it finally take the necessary steps to save Laurentian University?

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Madam Speaker, you are also a francophone member from northern Ontario. I salute you and I stand with you.

I thank my colleague for her speech. Does she think that minority language universities should be 100% funded by the government, or should the government fight to ensure their relevance and funding in partnership with provincial governments? If the funding comes only from the federal government, it would have major repercussions in all other provinces.

How much does she think the government should invest?

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Speaker, there is an important role for the federal government to ensure that there are many services provided to Canadians equally, fairly and in a balanced way. Education is certainly one of them.

The federal government certainly has a role to fund post-secondary education. It has failed in that role for many years. The transfer payments that universities were provided through the provinces have not moved or increased in the way they need to. That has actually shifted a lot of the responsibility to students, who have to pay a lot more in tuition, and it has left universities looking for other alternatives.

The member who spoke before me talked about turning to private partnerships. This is unacceptable. It is the federal government's responsibility to ensure fairness and balance throughout the post-secondary education system.

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

Madam Speaker, we talked about Laurentian University. The University of Sudbury also wants to become a French-language university. We say that schools must be “by francophones, for francophones”, because bilingual and immersion schools often facilitate the assimilation of francophones. The same more or less holds true for universities.

Does my colleague think that the government should strongly support the University of Sudbury's plan to become a French-language institution?