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.